CLASSIFIED FILE – SCDF DPA
ITEM DESIGNATION: Mask of Torment (MoT)
ITEM CLASS: Omega-Level Psychological Hazard
CURRENT STATUS: Secured in [REDACTED]
ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Level 7 Clearance or Higher
OVERVIEW:
The object known as the Mask of Torment (MoT) is a smooth, featureless mask composed of an unidentified composite material with no discernible origin. It is cold to the touch and exhibits a faint, rhythmic pulsing when held, though no internal mechanisms or energy sources have been detected. Despite extensive analysis, no conclusive evidence exists to explain its anomalous properties.
Legends regarding the MoT date back centuries, often appearing in disparate cultures with no known contact. Common themes in these accounts describe individuals who, after donning the mask, gained unnatural insight into the thoughts and emotions of those around them—often leading to paranoia, psychological instability, or self-imposed isolation.
The mask was retrieved in 1872 by British explorer Alistair Winthorpe, who discovered it in a subterranean chamber deep beneath Mount Kita. Winthorpe’s personal journal, recovered decades later, remains the only known firsthand account of the artifact’s effects. His writings describe a gradual but undeniable change in his cognitive perception following the discovery of the MoT.
WINTHORPE’S ACCOUNT (EXCERPT, 1873):
"At first, it was but a whisper, an indistinct murmuring at the edges of thought. But soon, I knew their minds as if they were my own. Not speech, not voices, rather, an unspoken language of emotion and intent. The lies people tell themselves are so much more damning than the ones they tell others, and I saw them all. Every flinch of hesitation, every shift of breath, before the words left their lips, I already knew the truths they sought to bury."
"I asked nothing of the mask, yet it granted much. The merchants who sought to swindle me, the thieves who plotted in the dark, I bent them to my will with but a glance. A single suggestion, offered with careful precision, and their thoughts became my own."
"But it takes from you, as all things do. At night, when silence falls, I feel its weight in my mind. The memories of others, the whispered fears, the suffering of every soul I have touched, it does not leave me. Their pain is my own now, and I do not know if it will ever release me."
"I dare not wear it again. God help the man who does."
ATTRIBUTES (UNVERIFIED):
While no modern scientific testing has confirmed the MoT’s purported abilities, compiled reports from folklore, classified field observations, and Winthorpe’s journal suggest the following potential properties:
- Telepathic Sensory Amplification – The wearer allegedly perceives the thoughts and emotions of those nearby, described as an intuitive "knowing" rather than true mind-reading.
- Cognitive Manipulation – Subjects claim the wearer can influence decisions through subtle verbal and nonverbal cues, akin to an advanced form of persuasion or suggestion.
- Emotional Echoing – The mask purportedly imprints the emotions of those it influences onto the wearer, accumulating psychological trauma over time.
- Psychic Deterioration – Accounts indicate extended use may lead to progressive detachment from personal identity, as the wearer becomes overwhelmed by external thoughts and emotions.
SECURITY PROTOCOLS:
- The MoT is contained in a psychically insulated vault to prevent unauthorized exposure.
- All personnel assigned to the MoT undergo routine psychological evaluations for anomalous behavioral shifts.
- Direct contact with the artifact is expressly forbidden under all circumstances.
- Any individual reporting auditory hallucinations, intrusive thoughts, or unexplained emotional distress after exposure is to be placed under immediate quarantine observation.
To date, no living subject has been permitted to wear the mask. Given Winthorpe’s account and the historical patterns of its recorded use, it is the assessment of this department that the MoT is too dangerous to risk activation. Any attempt to remove it from containment is to be met with unbound lethal force.
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