WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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Doctor Palma ran, heart drumming against his
ribs, his panting breaths and rapid pulse

00:00:05.650 --> 00:00:09.350
drowned out beneath the wailing emergency
claxon overhead.

00:00:09.350 --> 00:00:14.910
He collided with the ship's narrow corridor,
shoulder glancing off one wall and into another,

00:00:14.910 --> 00:00:20.039
feeling as if they were closing in on him,
ready to trap him with… it.

00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:24.769
Tyler didn’t so much as dare to look behind
him, not even out of the corner of his eye.

00:00:24.769 --> 00:00:29.240
Just knowing it was behind him, gaining on
him with every hurried step, was enough to

00:00:29.240 --> 00:00:31.270
keep him barrelling down the corridor.

00:00:31.270 --> 00:00:36.090
A sealed bulkhead door stood in his way, his
trembling fingers grabbing hold of the metal

00:00:36.090 --> 00:00:39.149
wheel to open it; the wheel didn’t budge.

00:00:39.149 --> 00:00:43.870
He frantically tried to turn it, wordlessly
yelling in panic and frustration, slamming

00:00:43.870 --> 00:00:48.879
the side of his body against the metal surface
until he felt pain scorching through his arm.

00:00:48.879 --> 00:00:55.010
For a split second, he noticed his reflection
in the small, circular porthole on the door,

00:00:55.010 --> 00:00:58.469
everything behind him blotted out by a sphere
of darkness…

00:00:58.469 --> 00:01:00.390
moving, alive.

00:01:00.390 --> 00:01:05.770
With the loud scraping of metal against metal,
the wheel suddenly rotated, turned from the

00:01:05.770 --> 00:01:07.490
other side of the door.

00:01:07.490 --> 00:01:12.619
As it swung open, a hand grabbed Doctor Palma
by his shirt and pulled him through.

00:01:12.619 --> 00:01:17.060
He’d barely had a moment to get his bearings
and figure out where on the boat he was, before

00:01:17.060 --> 00:01:21.939
a voice in his head urged him to warn the
security agents who had just saved his life…

00:01:21.939 --> 00:01:24.040
but it was already too late.

00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:26.780
He shouted for them not to look at it.

00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:31.610
The loud bangs of small arms fire were already
filling the corridor, stray bullets ricocheting

00:01:31.610 --> 00:01:33.439
off the riveted ship’s metal walls.

00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:36.780
The gunfire muffled Tyler’s panicked yelling.

00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:39.200
He had to get them to hear him somehow.

00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:40.200
Bullets wouldn’t stop it.

00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:44.740
The doctor grabbed the nearest security agent’s
arms, the man trying to jostle Palma away

00:01:44.740 --> 00:01:46.590
so he could continue shooting.

00:01:46.590 --> 00:01:50.790
The agent ordered an evacuation and requested
reinforcements from a Mobile Task Force.

00:01:50.790 --> 00:01:53.950
“You can’t look at it, there’s something
wrong with it!”

00:01:53.950 --> 00:01:56.020
Tyler shouted back.

00:01:56.020 --> 00:01:59.950
Then he realized the shooting had slowly stopped.

00:01:59.950 --> 00:02:05.700
One by one, the agents had lowered their handguns,
staring slack-jawed at the thing coming towards

00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:07.090
them.

00:02:07.090 --> 00:02:11.520
Dropping his weapon, the nearby agent did
the same, looking directly at the dark sphere.

00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:15.380
Each of them stepped towards it, mesmerized.

00:02:15.380 --> 00:02:19.470
The agent that was closest to it gripped its
surface; the sounds of him making contact

00:02:19.470 --> 00:02:25.019
with it and willingly climbing into it made
Doctor Palma sick with fear, enough to keep

00:02:25.019 --> 00:02:26.319
his eyes averted.

00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:32.410
He slowly started to walk away down the corridor
as the next agent, aided by its tentacles,

00:02:32.410 --> 00:02:34.800
allowed the thing to devour him whole.

00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:39.099
Then the next did the same… and so did the
next.

00:02:39.099 --> 00:02:44.129
And as Tyler reached the next door, he heard
the one who had told him to leave say something.

00:02:44.129 --> 00:02:47.730
“I… get to go home.”

00:02:47.730 --> 00:02:49.520
There was hope in his voice.

00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:54.050
Immediately after came the sounds of his life
being snuffed out.

00:02:54.050 --> 00:02:58.190
Doctor Palma navigated through the winding
hallways of the ship, following the line painted

00:02:58.190 --> 00:03:02.019
on the floor that directed personnel towards
the bridge.

00:03:02.019 --> 00:03:05.659
The security agents' deaths had bought him
a few moments, but he didn’t find himself

00:03:05.659 --> 00:03:06.659
running anymore.

00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:11.849
He’d slowed to a little faster than a casual
jog; maybe some part of him wanted the thing

00:03:11.849 --> 00:03:12.849
to catch him.

00:03:12.849 --> 00:03:16.849
At least then, he wouldn’t need to run anymore.

00:03:16.849 --> 00:03:20.540
Opening the bulkhead door, he stepped onto
the bridge, heaving the metal door closed

00:03:20.540 --> 00:03:27.319
behind him until it slammed closed, keeping
it out and trapping him inside.

00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:31.159
Various dials and switches across cluttered
consoles filled the room.

00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:37.069
Not one member of the ship’s crew anywhere
to be seen, save for the navigation officer.

00:03:37.069 --> 00:03:41.099
His body was strewn across the ship’s navigational
dashboard.

00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:46.400
Doctor Palma froze on the spot, as General
Mulhausen stood over the dead officer, face

00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:52.370
still wet with the man’s blood, his sidearm
drawn, and pistol smoke curling in the air.

00:03:52.370 --> 00:03:55.599
“So you’ve stumbled upon me, eh, Palma?

00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:57.550
Mighty stupid mistake.

00:03:57.550 --> 00:03:59.470
Mighty stupid.”

00:03:59.470 --> 00:04:00.799
Something wasn’t right here.

00:04:00.799 --> 00:04:05.069
The General had always been the strict type,
in addition to being vain; he had insisted

00:04:05.069 --> 00:04:09.130
that the rest of the crew call him ‘General’
despite him only being the Captain of the

00:04:09.130 --> 00:04:10.230
Security Department.

00:04:10.230 --> 00:04:13.599
But this was different from his usual severity.

00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:17.820
There was a menacing vacancy to his demeanor,
even if he wasn’t currently brandishing

00:04:17.820 --> 00:04:22.770
his firearm, he was unsettling; it was as
if he wasn’t quite himself.

00:04:22.770 --> 00:04:27.550
As he turned around, Doctor Palma realized
that, whatever the cause, General Mulhausen

00:04:27.550 --> 00:04:32.240
clearly wasn’t in a stable state – which
made the fact he was armed all the more of

00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:33.780
a worry.

00:04:33.780 --> 00:04:36.490
Doctor Palma begged the General not to shoot.

00:04:36.490 --> 00:04:39.449
The General looked blankly at the gun in his
hand for a moment.

00:04:39.449 --> 00:04:45.120
“I’ll only need this if we come to a disagreement,”
he said, sliding the pistol back into his

00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:46.120
holster.

00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:47.650
“And that’s not going to happen, is it?

00:04:47.650 --> 00:04:52.440
When the general tells you to jump, your only
question should be ‘how high?’

00:04:52.440 --> 00:04:57.389
So, doc… are you ready to go home?”

00:04:57.389 --> 00:04:59.540
***
Something had fallen from the sky that night.

00:04:59.540 --> 00:05:04.440
Elias had been up late, gazing out at the
stars dancing on the surface of the sea.

00:05:04.440 --> 00:05:08.850
If he hadn’t been so high up, watching from
a spot up on the mountains, then he would’ve

00:05:08.850 --> 00:05:13.350
mistaken the moving light for just a crashing
wave catching the starlight.

00:05:13.350 --> 00:05:17.820
The comet streaked across the inky sight,
leaving a tail of flame in its wake.

00:05:17.820 --> 00:05:22.880
He raced back towards the village, following
the path of what he assumed was a meteor.

00:05:22.880 --> 00:05:27.440
By the time he made it back, it had already
fallen, striking the ground a kilometer or

00:05:27.440 --> 00:05:32.600
so outside of the village, fortunately missing
any of the buildings, now nestled in a deep

00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:33.600
crater.

00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:37.380
Elias had to tell the elder what he’d seen,
wondering if the falling object was some kind

00:05:37.380 --> 00:05:38.380
of good omen.

00:05:38.380 --> 00:05:41.290
The men arrived to investigate the next day.

00:05:41.290 --> 00:05:46.199
They descended seemingly out of thin air,
cordoning off the area and refusing to explain

00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:48.800
to anyone exactly what was going on.

00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:52.729
A brutish officer then commanded three men
from the village to come and assist their

00:05:52.729 --> 00:05:53.729
efforts.

00:05:53.729 --> 00:05:57.920
Elias knew one of them, waiting nearby for
him to return so he could ask exactly what

00:05:57.920 --> 00:05:58.920
was in the crater.

00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:00.750
He never came back.

00:06:00.750 --> 00:06:02.340
Not one of them did.

00:06:02.340 --> 00:06:07.300
Any questions Elias had about what he had
seen fall from the sky would remain unanswered

00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:10.990
when the General’s men turned their guns
on the villagers.

00:06:10.990 --> 00:06:13.000
***
Tyler hadn’t wanted to leave.

00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:17.820
His office had become the closest thing to
a home he had, the familiarity and order of

00:06:17.820 --> 00:06:20.270
it providing him with plenty of comforts.

00:06:20.270 --> 00:06:25.110
Now, he was standing on a boat, feeling the
ground rocking beneath his feet, the roar

00:06:25.110 --> 00:06:27.620
of the sea all around him.

00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:32.259
Some might’ve found it liberating and exciting
to receive an assignment like this.

00:06:32.259 --> 00:06:35.509
Doctor Palma would have rather been anywhere
else.

00:06:35.509 --> 00:06:39.669
There was a need for a Containment Specialist,
but the prospect of working in the field,

00:06:39.669 --> 00:06:44.120
even with a real, active anomaly, only brought
with it feelings of dread.

00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:47.970
The ship listed gently—a change in the tide.

00:06:47.970 --> 00:06:51.920
He had familiarised himself with the briefings
that had come with his abrupt reassignment,

00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:54.639
but that was the only information he’d been
given.

00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:58.750
No other details, no further context beyond
the seven causalities that had occurred the

00:06:58.750 --> 00:07:02.509
day before: three civilians and four personnel.

00:07:02.509 --> 00:07:06.630
Whatever the security task force had hauled
aboard this ship, it clearly posed some threat.

00:07:06.630 --> 00:07:10.520
And the fact that was all he knew about it
had Tyler on edge.

00:07:10.520 --> 00:07:15.229
Then, there were the rumors, whispers he’d
overheard since he arrived on board, dropped

00:07:15.229 --> 00:07:19.860
off via helicopter only to catch wind of two
security agents talking about the incident

00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:21.940
in the village in Portugal the day before.

00:07:21.940 --> 00:07:26.349
“The General said we were protecting Foundation
secrets,” one whispered to the other.

00:07:26.349 --> 00:07:27.889
“But what we did yesterday.

00:07:27.889 --> 00:07:29.610
All those people…”

00:07:29.610 --> 00:07:30.760
“Shut it.

00:07:30.760 --> 00:07:33.360
You know why,” argued another voice.

00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:38.039
“Amnestic supplies are low, and we couldn’t
take any chances, if word about this thing

00:07:38.039 --> 00:07:39.039
got out…”

00:07:39.039 --> 00:07:40.870
“But we killed innocent people!

00:07:40.870 --> 00:07:45.460
They weren’t doing anything, they were just
curious about what had landed outside their

00:07:45.460 --> 00:07:46.460
village.”

00:07:46.460 --> 00:07:47.460
“Enough!”

00:07:47.460 --> 00:07:48.460
The other agent hissed.

00:07:48.460 --> 00:07:51.620
“Imagine being in Mulhausen’s shoes to
make a decision like that.

00:07:51.620 --> 00:07:57.550
It was a tough call, but it’s his job to
make those; ours is to listen.”

00:07:57.550 --> 00:08:02.650
Doctor Palma had been warned about the ‘General’
while en route to his new posting.

00:08:02.650 --> 00:08:07.060
He was only a captain, yet he’d been placed
in charge of the containment operation.

00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:12.880
Mulhausen was antiquated, a militaristic relic
long past his prime, his every decision stubborn

00:08:12.880 --> 00:08:15.449
and severe in equal measure.

00:08:15.449 --> 00:08:20.680
His reputation for crossing the line was one
that carried with it a lot of worrying statistics,

00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:22.760
namely fatalities.

00:08:22.760 --> 00:08:26.379
Were it not for his efficiency in producing
results, the Foundation would’ve likely

00:08:26.379 --> 00:08:31.009
awarded him with an early retirement and a
heavy dose of amnestics to chase it down with.

00:08:31.009 --> 00:08:34.969
Heading to the mess hall, Tyler spotted a
familiar face sitting alone at one of the

00:08:34.969 --> 00:08:35.969
tables.

00:08:35.969 --> 00:08:40.220
Rob was a senior member of personnel responsible
for crunching the numbers on various costly

00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:41.320
endeavors.

00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:45.520
His bored expression mirrored exactly how
Doctor Palma felt as he stared at what was

00:08:45.520 --> 00:08:49.870
meant to be hamburger on a polystyrene plate
– the meal and the thing it was served on

00:08:49.870 --> 00:08:53.180
probably shared the same texture and nutritional
value.

00:08:53.180 --> 00:08:56.850
Tyler went to sit down opposite, leaving a
stack of case reports he’d been carrying

00:08:56.850 --> 00:08:58.140
on the table’s surface.

00:08:58.140 --> 00:09:00.519
Dr. Palma asked him if he needed a partner.

00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:03.060
“Do I look like I’m ballroom dancing here?”

00:09:03.060 --> 00:09:05.000
Rob answered sarcastically.

00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:08.230
It didn’t take long for the pair of them
to begin lamenting the assignment they were

00:09:08.230 --> 00:09:09.940
both currently stuck on.

00:09:09.940 --> 00:09:14.310
Tyler’s earlier concerns had dwarfed the
fact that despite being there to help contain

00:09:14.310 --> 00:09:18.470
an anomaly, he hadn’t even seen what he
was meant to be working with.

00:09:18.470 --> 00:09:22.750
It wasn’t exactly conducive to him fulfilling
his role as a Containment Specialist if he

00:09:22.750 --> 00:09:27.170
wasn’t allowed to know ahead of time what
the anomaly even was.

00:09:27.170 --> 00:09:31.180
Despite having the stature and stare of a
corpse, one of the few things that gave Rob

00:09:31.180 --> 00:09:36.630
life was indulging in idle gossip; workplace
rumors and classified secrets were like a

00:09:36.630 --> 00:09:39.250
defibrillator jolting him with energy.

00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:43.140
Rob asked Palma whether he knew anything about
the anomaly they’re all meant to be attending

00:09:43.140 --> 00:09:44.140
to.

00:09:44.140 --> 00:09:47.000
“Only the damage it’s done,” Palma answered
bleakly.

00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:51.930
“Besides, I’m only here to oversee research;
I doubt I’ll get close to whatever it is.

00:09:51.930 --> 00:09:55.760
And if ‘the General’ wants to put key
personnel in close vicinity with the thing,

00:09:55.760 --> 00:09:59.820
then I’ll be abandoning ship faster than
you can say ‘high-risk containment protocol

00:09:59.820 --> 00:10:01.290
violation’.”

00:10:01.290 --> 00:10:05.480
There were still a few more hours to kill
until he was due to oversee the initial tests.

00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:10.460
The conversation shifted to home, something
that had always eluded Tyler but that Rob

00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:11.940
had plenty to say about.

00:10:11.940 --> 00:10:16.730
He missed his daughter, Matilde, and made
it no secret how eager he was for this expedition

00:10:16.730 --> 00:10:19.370
to be over so he could visit her.

00:10:19.370 --> 00:10:23.339
Part of Tyler wished he could relate; he’d
never felt like anywhere had ever really been

00:10:23.339 --> 00:10:24.339
his home.

00:10:24.339 --> 00:10:28.600
But he enjoyed hearing Rob talk about his,
and encouraged him to go on.

00:10:28.600 --> 00:10:34.300
Little did either of them know, this would
be the only time they’d get to talk properly…

00:10:34.300 --> 00:10:37.950
Testing would provide the answers to Tyler’s
burning questions, but they did little to

00:10:37.950 --> 00:10:40.220
offer him any reassurance.

00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:44.920
He joined a pair of Junior Researchers, Santos
and Torres, in a small chamber full of computers

00:10:44.920 --> 00:10:47.260
and scientific instruments.

00:10:47.260 --> 00:10:50.320
At the far side was a large, shuttered window.

00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:54.610
Without even seeing beyond it, Doctor Palma
knew that’s where the anomaly was.

00:10:54.610 --> 00:10:57.339
A few short moments later, he’d be proven
right.

00:10:57.339 --> 00:10:59.209
“Rise and shine, eggheads!

00:10:59.209 --> 00:11:01.630
Here’s the monster of the day!”

00:11:01.630 --> 00:11:04.589
General Mulhausen declared smugly as he made
his abrupt entrance.

00:11:04.589 --> 00:11:09.470
Pulling a lever, he raised the shutters and
gave Doctor Palma a look at exactly what he’d

00:11:09.470 --> 00:11:11.420
been brought in to contain.

00:11:11.420 --> 00:11:16.410
Inside a large, rusty chamber beyond the thick
glass was a large fleshy orb.

00:11:16.410 --> 00:11:20.940
It looked almost tumorous thanks to the sickly
color of it.

00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:25.830
Three times the size of a human being, a series
of short tentacle-like appendages protruded

00:11:25.830 --> 00:11:28.070
from its slimy surface.

00:11:28.070 --> 00:11:33.250
On the lower region of the sphere was a large
hole with enough space for a person to enter,

00:11:33.250 --> 00:11:37.510
although Tyler doubted that they’d ever
be seen again if they crawled inside.

00:11:37.510 --> 00:11:41.360
He assumed that’s what had happened to the
unsuspecting villagers in Portugal.

00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:45.090
The mass seemed to be steadily undulating;
it was living.

00:11:45.090 --> 00:11:49.920
“You've got a couple days to tell me what
the hell is going on with this thing,” Mulhausen

00:11:49.920 --> 00:11:53.170
declared, pacing in front of Doctor Palma
and the two Junior Researchers.

00:11:53.170 --> 00:11:57.260
“Don't waste time staring, you’ve got
work to do.”

00:11:57.260 --> 00:12:01.959
Then Tyler made a mistake: he asked what the
anomaly could do.

00:12:01.959 --> 00:12:06.350
General Mulhausen’s answer came in the form
of calling a member of D-Class personnel into

00:12:06.350 --> 00:12:11.029
the room; a man in his fifties, haggard and
terrified.

00:12:11.029 --> 00:12:15.570
With total disregard for his safety, Mulhausen
ordered the D-Class to look enter the chamber

00:12:15.570 --> 00:12:18.510
and look directly at the dark, fleshy thing.

00:12:18.510 --> 00:12:24.329
The man did as he was told to but then couldn’t
seem to look away when the General instructed.

00:12:24.329 --> 00:12:29.600
He began weeping, timidly stepping towards
the anomaly only to rush towards it, unphased

00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:31.560
by the General’s instructions.

00:12:31.560 --> 00:12:35.829
Unable to stop himself, he ran straight into
the opening of the orb, crawling into the

00:12:35.829 --> 00:12:39.270
fleshy mass, shouting incoherently until he
had gone.

00:12:39.270 --> 00:12:42.440
“He won’t come back,” Mulhausen said
bluntly.

00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:44.260
“None of them do.”

00:12:44.260 --> 00:12:49.040
Doctor Palma was shocked, outraged at the
pointless and callous waste of life that the

00:12:49.040 --> 00:12:50.410
General had enacted.

00:12:50.410 --> 00:12:55.410
His tone and familiarity with the object were
the only clues Palma needed to here to confirm

00:12:55.410 --> 00:12:59.529
his suspicions, that Mulhausen had used the
villagers to test the anomaly back where they’d

00:12:59.529 --> 00:13:00.610
found it.

00:13:00.610 --> 00:13:05.400
As much as he tried to maintain composure,
Tyler couldn’t let this stand; he had to

00:13:05.400 --> 00:13:06.470
say something.

00:13:06.470 --> 00:13:11.200
Dr. Palma plucked up the courage to lay into
the General for his inhumanity.

00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:15.920
He raged at the man, calling him a monster
for wasting human life to prove a mere point.

00:13:15.920 --> 00:13:18.029
“You’re not in charge of this operation.

00:13:18.029 --> 00:13:22.949
I’m here to do whatever I deem is right
for the mission,” the General stepped closer,

00:13:22.949 --> 00:13:26.829
his stony face was uncomfortably close, eyes
wide and goading.

00:13:26.829 --> 00:13:30.589
“I make the tough calls, not you, Doctor!

00:13:30.589 --> 00:13:34.579
You’ll follow your mandate and respect the
chain of command.

00:13:34.579 --> 00:13:39.570
Your job is to make sure that thing stays
contained…” he raised an arm, a single

00:13:39.570 --> 00:13:41.209
finger pointing to the window.

00:13:41.209 --> 00:13:44.990
“Or I’ll gladly throw you in there myself!”

00:13:44.990 --> 00:13:48.350
As Mulhausen went to leave, Santos murmured
something about the reports.

00:13:48.350 --> 00:13:53.180
There had been seven documented deaths, three
villagers, and four personnel.

00:13:53.180 --> 00:13:57.269
Reluctantly, Doctor Palma chased the General
out into the hallway and called after him.

00:13:57.269 --> 00:13:59.540
“There’s four additional deaths listed
in the report!

00:13:59.540 --> 00:14:01.750
Did you send them into that thing too?”

00:14:01.750 --> 00:14:02.899
Doctor Palma shouted.

00:14:02.899 --> 00:14:06.190
“We don’t know anything about it, and
you’re just feeding it bodies!”

00:14:06.190 --> 00:14:08.959
“I can do whatever the hell I like.

00:14:08.959 --> 00:14:10.959
Get the hell out of my face.

00:14:10.959 --> 00:14:12.980
That’s an order!”

00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:16.440
General Mulhausen barked back, wide-eyed and
angry.

00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:19.040
***
That had been only a few days before the alarms.

00:14:19.040 --> 00:14:23.009
Doctor Palma had studied the security recordings
from the anomaly’s chamber for hours at

00:14:23.009 --> 00:14:27.300
a time, trying to determine just what had
compelled the D-Class to run at the fleshy

00:14:27.300 --> 00:14:30.620
object with no regard for his own safety.

00:14:30.620 --> 00:14:35.889
The audio accompanying the footage was garbled,
with poor-quality recordings of already incoherent

00:14:35.889 --> 00:14:38.070
babbling and slurred speech.

00:14:38.070 --> 00:14:42.020
Listening to it over and over again, Doctor
Palma couldn’t figure out what the man was

00:14:42.020 --> 00:14:45.510
saying until he slowed the audio down.

00:14:45.510 --> 00:14:51.270
Then it became clear – the man had been
repeating one word, so much and in such a

00:14:51.270 --> 00:14:53.300
manner that it was unrecognizable.

00:14:53.300 --> 00:14:57.410
But now he could hear it: Home.

00:14:57.410 --> 00:14:59.800
***
Tyler had been in the mess hall with Rob again,

00:14:59.800 --> 00:15:02.740
not really paying any attention to what his
friend was saying.

00:15:02.740 --> 00:15:08.120
He intercepted fragments, mostly complaints
from Rob about missing his wife and daughter.

00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:12.510
Palma was still thinking about the anomaly,
and about how General Mulhausen had been acting

00:15:12.510 --> 00:15:16.940
more like a mafia boss than the senior commanding
officer of this operation.

00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:20.920
Even he forgot sometimes that he wasn’t
even a general, only a captain that everyone

00:15:20.920 --> 00:15:22.050
called ‘General’.

00:15:22.050 --> 00:15:24.940
It seemed like the power had gone to his head.

00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:29.820
The sound of the claxon pulled Doctor Palma
abruptly back to reality as blood-red emergency

00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:32.509
lighting drenched the cafeteria.

00:15:32.509 --> 00:15:36.160
Everyone started hurriedly rushing for the
emergency exits, although the concern that

00:15:36.160 --> 00:15:40.560
they were on a boat was ringing as loud as
the alarms in Tyler’s ears.

00:15:40.560 --> 00:15:44.040
Where were they supposed to go in the middle
of the ocean?

00:15:44.040 --> 00:15:48.459
He and Rob rushed to the deck, other personnel
racing past them under the dark, indifferent

00:15:48.459 --> 00:15:52.980
sky, staring down at them with a million pinprick
eyes of starlight.

00:15:52.980 --> 00:15:57.790
In the state of mounting panic, Doctor Palma
didn’t notice that Rob had stopped following

00:15:57.790 --> 00:16:01.259
him… until he caught sight of him staring
at something.

00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:04.110
Rob muttered something about going home.

00:16:04.110 --> 00:16:05.920
The anomaly was loose.

00:16:05.920 --> 00:16:10.579
All Doctor Palma caught was a brief glimpse
before urging himself to look away.

00:16:10.579 --> 00:16:15.760
He tried to grab Rob, but he’d already started
frantically running towards the fleshy object.

00:16:15.760 --> 00:16:21.929
“I’m coming home, Matilde!” he yelled,
stopping once the thing had enveloped him.

00:16:21.929 --> 00:16:23.730
***
Now standing on the bridge with the General,

00:16:23.730 --> 00:16:29.290
it was obvious to Tyler that the object’s
influence had extended to Mulhausen, too.

00:16:29.290 --> 00:16:33.709
But instead of drawing him in, it was using
him to do that to others.

00:16:33.709 --> 00:16:39.220
Palma watched as Santos was given to the tumorous
black orb, lured with false promises that

00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:43.399
he was being sent home, that his home had
somehow been brought aboard the ship.

00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:46.279
“We brought your home all the way here.

00:16:46.279 --> 00:16:51.640
Isn’t that nice?” the empty shell of General
Mulhausen said, before he compelled Santos

00:16:51.640 --> 00:16:54.920
to track down Torres and send her home too.

00:16:54.920 --> 00:16:57.930
Then, it was Palma’s turn.

00:16:57.930 --> 00:17:02.470
The husk of Mulhausen, filled with the whims
of the fleshy tumor, grabbed him and screamed

00:17:02.470 --> 00:17:05.000
at the doctor to look at the object.

00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:06.199
And he did.

00:17:06.199 --> 00:17:10.820
He saw his house, his family’s old home,
back in Portugal.

00:17:10.820 --> 00:17:14.439
They were in there waiting for him, waiting
for Tyler to come home.

00:17:14.439 --> 00:17:17.069
But then he remembered the nightmares.

00:17:17.069 --> 00:17:20.319
The raised voices, the fighting…

00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:21.900
This wasn’t his home.

00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:26.660
The facade melted away, the inside now resembling
a worn-down apartment.

00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:31.740
The furniture was all tinted an ugly grey,
the walls coated in red meat.

00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:36.350
Instead of wood and glass, everything was
made from flesh and bone.

00:17:36.350 --> 00:17:41.290
One of the reclining chairs had veins beneath
its surface… and Torres’ face peering

00:17:41.290 --> 00:17:42.290
out of it.

00:17:42.290 --> 00:17:44.100
Rob’s eyes were in the wall.

00:17:44.100 --> 00:17:49.440
A crude arm, a mess of different body parts,
reached out towards Doctor Palma, More and

00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:53.300
more of them sprouted from the floor and the
walls, clawing at him, trying to grab him

00:17:53.300 --> 00:17:54.909
and keep him there.

00:17:54.909 --> 00:17:57.700
Trying to bring him into the living room.

00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:01.930
Tyler ran right out of the disgusting tumorous
orb, all the way back to his quarters.

00:18:01.930 --> 00:18:06.880
He ducked inside the tiny, cramped closet
space, pulling the door shut and holding it

00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:09.150
tightly, his knuckles whitening.

00:18:09.150 --> 00:18:12.290
Listening, he waited for any sounds of movement.

00:18:12.290 --> 00:18:13.580
There was silence.

00:18:13.580 --> 00:18:19.120
Not another living soul aboard the ship except
him and the thing…

00:18:19.120 --> 00:18:23.890
Hours passed when the whir of helicopter blades
and the clomp of heavy boots broke the silence.

00:18:23.890 --> 00:18:28.120
Mobile Task Force operatives searched the
ship from stem to stern, finding an exhausted

00:18:28.120 --> 00:18:31.440
and terrified Containment Specialist in a
closet.

00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:36.110
Despite having their guns trained on him,
for the first time in a while, Tyler Palma

00:18:36.110 --> 00:18:38.580
felt like he was safe.

00:18:38.580 --> 00:18:39.980
He was home.

00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:42.669
“Command,” one of the agents said into
his radio.

00:18:42.669 --> 00:18:43.980
“We’ve located one survivor.

00:18:43.980 --> 00:18:47.140
Moving to reestablish containment of SCP-002.”

00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:52.010
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