PA-044

ACCESSION #: PA-044-1910015

CODENAME: “The Mummy”

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES: CO

THREAT LEVEL: YELLOW

CONTAINMENT SITE: US Site-01, Sector 05, Containment Cell #044.

SITE DIRECTOR: Alan Singh

RESEARCH HEAD: N/A

CONTAINMENT STATUS: Contained

CONTAINMENT BRIEF: PA-044 is kept at -19.7 degrees Fahrenheit in a specialized windowless chamber. Examinations are to be performed using remotely operated tools to lessen psychological effects on staff. Any personnel who have directly viewed PA-044 are to be prohibited from participating in experiments concerning the artifact.

DESCRIPTION: PA-044 is the mummified corpse of an adult human male, originally located at the bottom of a narrow vertical shaft, in the ruins of an Incan city in the Andes mountains. At the time of its recovery, it rested in a small alcove jutting out at a right angle from the shaft, and could not be observed directly. Ornaments strung outside the alcove indicate it is of some significance.

PA-044 is clothed in traditional Incan garments, wearing a feather headdress, draped in ceremonial ornaments, and was found with ceramic plates and vessels at its feet. It rests in an upright fetal position but must be supported so it does not fall over. PA-044’s face is preserved in an expression of apparent distress, with its mouth and eyes open wide. Traces of blood and vomit were found on its clothing.

When the PA-044 is directly observed, subjects will be struck by immediate, uncontrollable terror that will continue until it is blocked from view, by way of a barrier, or the subject’s removal from the artifact’s presence. A simple fabric covering is effective in blocking the effect. This effect is also present, in a weaker form, in photographs, video footage, and reflections, with subjects reporting strong feelings of unease, anxiety, and panic. The effect is undetectable in imaging techniques such as LIDAR and SONAR.

Once a subject has been directly exposed to PA-044, they are susceptible to a diminished form of its influence without line-of-sight contact. Subjects do not have to be aware of PA-044’s presence to experience this effect, and without foreknowledge, most fail to make the connection between their emotional state and PA-044. The effect lessens with distance and completely disappears outside an approximately 63.3-meter radius.

Subjects who experience prolonged indirect exposure to PA-044 often report irregular sleep patterns, nightmares, and sleep paralysis. Recurring elements of nightmares attributed to PA-044 include:

Feeling of claustrophobia
Unidentified figures speaking to subject in language resembling Quechua
Entity resembling PA-044 appearing as an intrusive figure, watching from afar or in peripheral vision

RECOVERY: PA-044 was discovered in 1902 by a North American expedition led by Professor Roth Matherson, comprised of archeologists from Harvard University. Matherson was fascinated by Andean civilizations, and wanted to investigate rumors of a so-called “lost city.” Accounts from a nearby village indicated large ruins on a nearby peak. Exploration of the city ruins unearthed several artifacts consistent with other cities of the pre-Columbian Incan Empire. The shaft containing PA-044 was discovered when one member of Matherson’s expedition, Simon Easton, reported seeing its location in a dream while sleeping at the nearby base camp. Later analysis showed this to be at the outer limit of PA-044’s known range. The team was unequipped to explore the shaft and were forced to save further exploration for the next expedition, two years later.

Matherson also led the 1904 expedition. Hired workers from a nearby Inca village refused to assist Matherson when they learned his intention to retrieve what he believed was at the bottom of the shaft. Despite a decrease in manpower, Matherson’s team went on with the plan to lower someone into the shaft, for which Matherson himself volunteered. This proved disastrous when the crudely rigged pulley system broke down, stranding Matherson at the bottom of the shaft with PA-044. Matherson was struck by PA-044’s cognitive effect and spent most of the next 20 minutes screaming incoherently as the pulley was repaired. When Matherson was retrieved, he had passed out from exertion.

No excursion was attempted for three days while Matherson recovered, during which he spoke semi-lucidly about his experience. As no one would volunteer to be lowered down into the shaft, it was decided to improvise a rudimentary remote camera to photograph what rested in the alcove. Matherson’s team was disturbed by the resulting photograph but voted to attempt to extract the mummy from its resting place. The second attempt failed when the volunteering team member, Chandler West, succumbed to PA-044’s effects and begged to be retrieved. A solution was found when one team member, Professor Edward Jeffreson Jr. suggested looking at PA-044 through the mirrors the expedition had brought for shaving. With some difficulty, the team was finally able to remove PA-044 from the shaft, covering it with blankets to avoid its effect.

Over the next week, only three other members of the expedition viewed PA-044 directly, all experiencing the same effects as Matherson and West. All team members began reporting unusual dreams, some leaving detailed accounts in their journals. It is during this time that Matherson likely began exposing himself to PA-044’s reflection in an attempt to overcome its effect. The trip back to the United States was fraught with difficulties, including poor planning brought on by lack of sleep and agitation due to constant proximity to PA-044. An indigenous guide (referred to in recovered journals as Khuyak), two donkeys, and several artifacts were lost in a landslide. Just before reaching Quito, Ecuador, Chandler West shot himself in his tent and was found in a similar upright fetal position to PA-044.

The team had initially agreed to take the mummy to Harvard University for study, but Matherson instead had it transported to his home in Concord, Massachusetts, where he had PA-044 displayed in a secluded room. Based on accounts by house staff, Matherson would spend hours at a time in the room, sometimes speaking to the mummy, sometimes screaming. Over the next five years, Matherson became more reclusive, quitting his teaching position at Harvard and spending all his time at home. His wife, Mabel Matherson, and most of his staff left. In 1910, the Beauru of Preternatural Intelligence was made aware of the expedition and its findings and conducted a raid on Matherson’s estate. A single gardener, two cooks, and a butler were the sole remaining staff. Matherson himself was discovered to have died weeks earlier and was found in front of PA-044’s display case in an upright fetal position. Blood and vomit were found at the scene, and the corpse’s expression indicated he had died in extreme distress.

No excursion was attempted for three days while Matherson recovered, during which he spoke semi-lucidly about his experience. As no one would volunteer to be lowered down into the shaft, it was decided to improvise a rudimentary remote camera to photograph what rested in the alcove. Matherson’s team was disturbed by the resulting photograph, but voted to attempt to extract the mummy from its resting place. The second attempt ended in failure when the volunteering team member, Chandler West, succumbed to PA-044’s effects and begged to be retrieved. A solution was found when one team member, Professor Edward Jeffreson Jr. suggested looking at PA-044 through the mirrors the expedition had brought for shaving. With some difficulty, the team was finally able to remove PA-044 from the shaft, covering it with blankets to avoid its effect.

Over the next week, only three other members of the expedition viewed PA-044 directly, all experiencing the same effects as Matherson and West. All team members began reporting unusual dreams, some leaving detailed accounts in their journals. It is during this time that Matherson likely began exposing himself to PA-044’s reflection in an attempt to overcome its effect. The trip back to the United States was fraught with difficulties, including poor planning brought on by lack of sleep and agitation due to constant close proximity with PA-044. An indigenous guide (referred to in recovered journals as Khuyak), two donkeys, and several artifacts were lost in a landslide. Just before reaching Quito, Ecuador, Chandler West shot himself in his tent, and was found in a similar upright fetal position to PA-044.

The team had initially agreed to take the mummy to Harvard University for study, but Matherson instead had it transported to his home in Concord, Massachusetts, where he had PA-044 displayed in a secluded room. Based on accounts by house staff, Matherson would spend hours at a time in the room, sometimes speaking to the mummy, sometimes screaming. Over the next five years, Matherson became more reclusive, quitting his teaching position at Harvard and spending all his time at home. His wife, Mabel Matherson, and most of his staff left. In 1910, the Beauru of Preternatural Intelligence was made aware of the expedition and its findings and conducted a raid on Matherson’s estate. A single gardener, two cooks, and a butler were the sole remainig staff. Matherson himself was discovered to have died weeks earlier, and was found in front of PA-044’s display case in an upright fetal position. Blood and vomit was found at the scene, and the corpse’s expression indicated he had died in extreme distress.