Terra Nova Research Base, Antarctica.
RAIN-2416: “Alcatraz Island”
Published in 1971 [no further updates]
Even with the most destructive and world-changing artefacts we had to deal with, at least we are able to move them to secure locations to prevent they got reactive again. An ever-pressing problem arises when the artefact itself is not just dangerous to an extreme, but also unable to be relocated to any of the bases. It’s in those occasions when we have to take a line from the original manual of operations written by Alice Athenida in 1871. Quote:
“In the event of transporting a dangerous artefact that cannot be removed, either by its size or notoriety, we recommend doing the following:
Use the Camera from Louis Daguerre’s studio to take a picture of the artefact in place. Pour water from Hebe’s Cup to bring the photograph to life, and then use the size-altering paste made from Wonderland Toadstools which is provided in the laboratories.
If everything was done correctly, you now will have two identical objects: the original artefact, reduced to a portable size, and a copy ready to be installed in place. Nonetheless, I strongly advice in the use of Francisco de Borgia’s cross. This is to remove any type of residual energy that the spot where the artefact used to be, avoiding creation of another artefact of identical proportions.”
Her operations manual became the golden standard and the end of about two hundred years of tradition in artefact retrieval. For most of the history of the Artefact Collection Gallery, the artefacts too large to be retrieved were simply left on site. This is why we have at the base mostly intact artefact buildings working as pieces of the city’s design, their abilities made them impossible to be damaged or destroyed as it did their normal counterparts.
By the time Ms. Alice had developed this idea, we had developed a list of about 50-ish artefact that could not be moved. This began a long craze for setting the record straight and move the objects to a secure and permanent location. Therefore, the actions of Ms. Alice were one of the main factors in the declining of Sophia as a viable place and the rise of Terra Nova.
With the modern era, luckily, we had the chance of retire some of the artefacts listed by Ms. Alice in her manual. Louis Daguerre’s Camera (RAIN-2900) and Hebe’s Cup (RAIN-3981) were replaced by a figurine of Gumby from the “Howdy Dowdy Show” (RAIN-3534), and the Wonderland Toadstool Paste by the machine from the science fiction movie “Dr. Cyclops” (RAIN-1811). The latter, was mostly due to a shortage of the prime source of the paste after the disappearance of Ms. Alice, being the one who could freely enter and leave Wonderland.
Regarding this artefact in particular, it was recovered early this year due to the decommission of Alcatraz prison during the government of President Kennedy and the end of its occupation. The place had three instances which marked it, first as a possibility, then as a candidate, and finally as a confirmed artefact.
Alcatraz Island was known until the first third of the 20th century as one of the forts constructed after the idea of Pio Pico, the Mexican governor, of a lighthouse in private land failed to became true. The fort itself was part of Mexican dominium until the acquisition (if we have to put it somehow) of the surrounding California region by the United States of America. During this time, the fort became a training ground for military operatives and, with time, a makeshift prison for the deserters and conscience objectors in the early days of the First World War. Though this period itself was enough to lay the foundation of a magical site, due to the remaining of ancient rituals and enough magical beings enlisted as members of the US Army before the Act of 1901.
The second period was, albeit a brief one, the real foundation for the artefact proprieties of the island itself. On April 1st of 1923, the island began a five-month contract to the most powerful economical empire on earth. This being the unapologetically titanic Athenida Corporation, known at the time as Athenida Industries. This vacate the island from its military personnel and “loaned it” (off the books, of course) to the corporation and the recently created RAIN-Falcon Transportation Company. The reasoning being a place for training of the new people to work for the latter, and what wasn’t mentioned was “where” exactly where they going to be working. We now, obviously, this was the personnel for the Terra Nova Research Station. The continuous usage of magic on the terrains, and exposure to other artefacts,
But the most important point and what made it a fixed artefact, it was the becoming of the island in the known prison in the early 1930s. It is known as the place which was impossible to escape. In the middle of the San Francisco Bay, surrounded by a permanent current. Also being the place were artefact-related people went to be imprisoned, Al Capone is the first that comes to mind for obvious reasons. I recommend revisiting the archive report related to his fedora hat (RAIN-1785), but also check the biography in Robert Franklin Stroud (ARK-2010) for further details in how the energy of a person can influence a place.
After the escape of Alcatraz Penitentiary of June, 1962, rumours began to arise regarding the closing of the prison. This was followed by revision on the budgets, being a prisoner in Alcatraz was far more expensive than everywhere else in America. And then it was the buildings themselves. Building by the sea causes corrosion in metal and erosion in the concrete. Repairing, or worse, reconstructing, was a cost the government wasn’t ready to deal with, not with more pressing issues at hand.
We proceeded as recommended by the updated manual and the real Alcatraz Island made its way to the base shoreline on March 17th of 1972, while a perfect copy was lodged in its place.
Ariel Bonheur, Chief Archivist
Comments (0)
See all