"THE DOLDRUMS" - Redwood Bureau Phenomenon #7554_3

Summary

Redwood Bureau Podcast: Episode "THE DOLDRUMS" - Redwood Bureau Phenomenon #7554_3

Release Date: October 12, 2024
Host/Author: Eeriecast Network

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Introduction

In the latest episode of the "Redwood Bureau" podcast, titled "THE DOLDRUMS" (Redwood Bureau Phenomenon #7554_3), listeners are plunged deeper into the shadowy world of Agent Conroy. This installment unravels the terrifying reality behind the Redwood Bureau's most ambitious and catastrophic project—The Doldrums. Hosted by the Eeriecast Network, the episode blends narrative storytelling with Agent Conroy’s firsthand accounts, revealing the Bureau's horrifying mishaps and the ensuing chaos that threatens both its operatives and the public.

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Unveiling The Doldrums

The episode commences with a powerful narration that delves into the origins and failures of The Doldrums, Redwood Bureau's underground facility designed to contain and study supernatural anomalies. The narrator explains:

“Hidden far beneath the earth, the Redwood Bureau's most ambitious and dangerous project has always been the Doldrums...”
(Timestamp: 02:59)

Key Points:

• Purpose of The Doldrums: Established to house and experiment on supernatural entities beyond public and even internal knowledge.
• Structural Integrity: Built as a fortress meant to withstand the containment of anomalies, it began to crumble under its own weight due to reckless procedures.
• Containment Failures: Increasingly frequent alarms, darkened sections, and the collapse of protocols led to numerous anomalies escaping.
• Bureau's Response: Efforts to control the chaos included isolating the facility and attempting to bury the truth, resulting in trapped personnel and rampant destruction.

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Agent Conroy’s Harrowing Journey

Agent Conroy, the former operative turned whistleblower, provides a gripping first-person narrative of his escape from The Doldrums. His account is fraught with tension, illustrating the deteriorating conditions and the emergent threats within the facility.

Notable Excerpts:

“I stretch out from my balled up position on the ground between the two walls...”
(Timestamp: 06:03)

In this segment, Conroy describes finding himself in a chaotic environment with physical destructions like shredded carpeting and scattered papers, signaling the facility's collapse.

“Delta Wings. Gamma Wing. Omicron Wing... Gamma Wing because it continued straight ahead. I regretted this decision almost instantly.”
(Timestamp: 06:36)

Conroy's exploration leads him to encounter various wings of the facility, each representing different containment areas, and he soon faces unprecedented dangers, including electrical anomalies and hostile entities.

Key Points:

• Navigating the Facility: Conroy details his trek through corridors filled with destroyed infrastructure and signs of frantic evacuation.
• Encounters with Anomalies: Descriptions of grotesque creatures and uncontrolled supernatural phenomena highlight the severity of the containment failures.
• Struggle for Survival: From finding a makeshift weapon to facing life-threatening obstacles, Conroy's journey underscores the perilous environment within The Doldrums.

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The Collapse of Control

As the narrative progresses, the episode emphasizes the overarching theme of lost control within Redwood Bureau. The facility's inability to manage its creations leads to catastrophic outcomes.

Insights:

“The Doldrums were doomed the moment they were built. What's happening now is simply the consequence of believing they can play God.”
(Timestamp: 02:59)

This reflection encapsulates the Bureau's hubris and the inevitable downfall that follows when attempting to manipulate forces beyond comprehension.

Key Points:

• Hubris of the Bureau: The Bureau's arrogance in believing they could harness and control supernatural elements ultimately leads to their undoing.
• Anomalies Beyond Comprehension: Entities like the Grand Falloon represent the unpredictable nature of the phenomena the Bureau sought to contain.
• Ethical Failures: The reckless procedures and disregard for human lives expose the moral bankruptcy at the heart of Redwood Bureau's operations.

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Redwood Bureau’s Cover-Up

The episode delves into the Bureau's attempts to conceal the failures of The Doldrums, shedding light on their methods of misinformation and suppression.

Key Points:

• Disinformation Campaigns: The Bureau spreads false narratives about accidents and reassignments to mask the true extent of the disaster.
• Erasure of Evidence: Active efforts to redact and destroy related case files prevent any external scrutiny or accountability.
• Silencing Whistleblowers: Individuals like Agent Conroy attempt to expose the truth, risking their lives in the process.

Notable Quote:

“They'll burn every file, silence every witness, and destroy anything that gets in their way, if that's what it takes.”
(Timestamp: 25:xx)

This stark statement underscores the lengths to which the Bureau will go to maintain their secrecy.

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The Present Chaos and Future Implications

Conroy's ongoing battle within the collapsing facility symbolizes the unraveling of order and the rise of chaos within Redwood Bureau. The narrative suggests that the present turmoil is only the beginning of a larger, more sinister unraveling.

Key Points:

• Ongoing Destruction: The Doldrums continue to deteriorate, with more sections going dark and anomalies wreaking havoc.
• Potential Public Danger: Escaped entities pose a significant threat to the outside world, hinting at broader implications beyond the confines of the facility.
• Unfinished Business: The Bureau's inability to contain or rectify the situation suggests a looming crisis that could have far-reaching consequences.

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Conclusion and Reflections

"The Doldrums" episode serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the pursuit of power without ethical boundaries. Through Agent Conroy's harrowing experience and the detailed exposition of The Doldrums' collapse, the episode highlights the catastrophic outcomes that result from the Redwood Bureau's failed experiments and moral failings.

Final Thoughts:

“The facility is still active, still shifting, still tearing itself apart. The Bureau will stop at nothing to preserve what's left of this poorly planned labyrinth...”
(Timestamp: 41:27)

This closing reflection reinforces the ongoing nature of the disaster and the Bureau's relentless, destructive efforts to maintain their facade of control.

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Notable Quotes Summary

• Narrator on The Doldrums:

  “Hidden far beneath the earth, the Redwood Bureau's most ambitious and dangerous project has always been the Doldrums...”
  (02:59)

• Agent Conroy on Regretting Choices:

  “...picking the Gamma Wing because it continued straight ahead. I regretted this decision almost instantly.”
  (06:36)

• Narrator on Bureau’s Hubris:

  “The Doldrums were doomed the moment they were built... Believe they can play God.”
  (02:59)

• Narrator on Bureau’s Cover-Up:

  “They'll burn every file, silence every witness, and destroy anything that gets in their way...”
  (25:xx)

• Final Reflection on Ongoing Chaos:

  “The facility is still active, still shifting, still tearing itself apart... preserving what's left of this poorly planned labyrinth...”
  (41:27)

---

Final Thoughts

Episode "THE DOLDRUMS" offers a chilling exploration of the Redwood Bureau's downfall, blending intense storytelling with profound insights into institutional failures and the perils of overreaching ambition. Through Agent Conroy’s desperate fight for survival and the narrated account of The Doldrums' collapse, the episode paints a vivid picture of chaos erupting from within a once-controlled environment. Listeners are left pondering the broader implications of such unchecked power and the thin line between order and devastation.

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For more gripping insights into the supernatural and the enigmatic workings of the Redwood Bureau, tune into new episodes every other Tuesday on the Eeriecast Network.

Transcript

[Host 1]

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[Agent Conroy]

Beware the Redwood Bureau. A secret organization which captures and researches creatures and objects that defy explanation. Their reckless procedures have led to countless innocent lives lost. I am Agent Conroy. I worked for the Redwood Bureau, but I have escaped them to leak their reports to the unsuspecting public. You have the right to know the red Bul Wasn't a bitch about it.

[Narrator]

Hidden far beneath the earth, the Redwood Bureau's most ambitious and dangerous project has always been the Doldrums. Originally conceived as a place where the Bureau could contain the anomalous and experiment without restraint, this sprawling underground facility has long operated beyond the knowledge of the public and even most Bureau personnel. It was a fortress of secrets, a prison for both human subjects and things far worse. Designed to break minds, bend reality, and ultimately serve the Bureau's insatiable search for information and power. But what happens when that control begins to slip? When the very walls of the Bureau's masterpiece begin to crumble under the weight of the horrors they've created? As with all things born from unchecked arrogance, the Doldrums are collapsing, literally and figuratively. Recent failures in containment, triggered by the Bureau's reckless practices of pushing the boundaries of the unknown, have sent shock waves through its core. ALARMS sound more frequently than not. Entire sections go dark for hours. And the once rigid protocols that held the facility together have long since begun to unravel. What the Bureau has kept buried for so long is finally clawing its way to the surface. But while those in charge scramble to control the chaos from above, those trapped inside are left to fight for their lives. The anomalies, the experiments, and even the facility itself are turning on the people who once believed they were in control. But make no mistake, the Bureau won't let their failures see the light of day. No person leaves the Doldrums, alive or otherwise, unless the Bureau permits it. And right now, they're more concerned with burying the truth than saving lives. Which is how. Numerous anomalies have already escaped, though the actual number is still unknown and growing. The facility's destruction is inevitable, and they'll do anything to ensure that the secrets buried within the Doldrums remain sealed forever. The recently obtained part of the Doldrums files dives even deeper into the heart of the chaos. The structure, once a testament to what can be accomplished, is tearing itself apart. Each failed experiment, each broken mind, each unleashed anomaly only accelerates the chaos and the facility's inevitable collapse. And the Bureau? They're still convinced they can contain it. They believe they can salvage what little remains of their precious project and eventually reclaim their escaped subjects. But the truth is, the Doldrums were doomed the moment they were built. What's happening now is simply the consequence of believing they can play God.

[Host 2]

I stretch out from my balled up position on the ground between the two walls in a tight corner behind A flipped table. My eyes were sore, my face layered in dried tears. My head was swimming, and I peered around in the dark thoughtlessly as I stand up, still groggy and more than a bit disoriented, I look around the room. Only a few dim lights hint at the chaotic environment. Computers and desks are thrown all over. Paper had been scattered with enough veracity to get stuck in the ceiling, and a line of carpeting was completely shredded from one end to the other. Something had ripped through here. In my haste to find a hiding spot, I hadn't noticed these crucial details. I certainly wouldn't have been able to sleep if I had. The way I came through was blocked off. The scrambler I had used was now spinning around inside the guts of whatever blocked our path before. I was pretty sure grabbing it would pull me into the anomaly, where I'd probably be crushed. Or worse, it would be suicide to go back for it. Instead, I looked down the new path, questioning where it might lead. Sadly for me, it's a steep staircase that goes downward, swallowed by more concrete on all sides. The only other way was through the anomaly, and without anything to disrupt or disable it, I was left with one option. I began down the metal stairs, hoping that I wouldn't find a collapsed section at its base. As I continued, I found something much better. Rocky ceilings gave me the impression that this segment was inside the stone, presumably making it much more stable than the concrete lattice falling my whole way here. And better still, the lights were on. Their fluorescent bloom was comforting compared to the possibilities in the dark sections. As I continued onwards, I found a few signs that gave me a hint of direction. Delta Wings. Gamma Wing. Omicron Wing. With no insight, I chose at random, picking the Gamma Wing because it continued straight ahead. I regretted this decision almost instantly. After only a few steps into the hallway, its most distant lights went off. A new, more brilliant light formed in the center as a ball of electricity, its streaks reaching up into the lights and overcharging them violently. The sphere was heading my way, and I ducked into the Omicron Wing to get out of its path. Moving slowly, I could feel its reverberations through the concrete, a constant buzz that wafted from one side to the other. At the moment of its volume reaching an apex, the light cascaded the hall I was in. A single electrical streak lunged along the metal floor and shot into my foot. There was no pain, but the literal shock of the situation had me falling down. I could hear it motion up the stairs and into the office room. Maybe this is what tore up the carpet. Slowly rising to my feet, I started exploring the Omicron Wing, finding a lengthy passage that led into a much larger room. A single tower rose from the center of this room, and many smaller sections were within the cylindrical wall surrounding it. A lone walkway extends from one end to the other, a cross section in the middle where the tower lies heading inside. The air was uncomfortable. It felt like I was being watched, and before I knew it, I confirmed that suspicion within the walls. Inside of each individual room was a person. A human. Some of them looked angry, leering at me with scowling faces covered in tattoos or scars. Others looked far too normal. One man stood against the glass, his hands pressed against it with a disheveled look of worry, a pair of glasses loosely staying on the bridge of his nose. Everyone was wearing the same navy blue clothes, white shirts beneath. Their lights were still on, and they looked exhausted. A motionless body lying still in one room. Some of them were weakly banging on the glass while looking down at me. Another was slamming the glass with his full body weight. And then there was the one who seemed calm. His eyes showed panic, shock, and desperation. Yet when our eyes met and without hesitation, he points toward the tower in the center. The tower stood tall and imposing, a looming shadow in the darkness. There were no lights on and no signs of life. Suddenly, a strong tremor shook the ground, prompting me to start running towards it. There I find a spiral staircase that leads up and down. I head up. The spiral seems to continue forever, and each floor I pass has a box where you can observe the walls from. Some of these boxes had spent cartridges ejected from weapons. One box had a disturbing amount of shell casings piled inside, and a major portion of the visible wall rooms had bullet holes and dead bodies. It didn't take me long to figure out that this was some sort of prison. An intricately designed one, but a prison nonetheless. It appears that during this catastrophe, these folks were left behind. When the guards got out, I wanted to free them if I could figure out how. At the highest point of the tower, the wall rooms were entirely below, and a simple ladder would enable me to go even higher, into the ceiling. Who knows how many floors I've ascended? My legs were burning, but I'd found a new area. I ascend the ladder and find myself in a small room. I exit into a gargantuan concrete abomination. Huge expanses of curved stone, line by line, reached across what could be miles of. I stand on a small walkway which extends parallel to these dishes. Massive drains rested at the base of the stone bowls, and these concrete half pipes reached into infinity lengthwise. Part of me thinks it's a dry dock, but how? Why would there be a shipdock when we're so far underground? Then it hit me. Maybe I'm at surface level. In a moment of excitement, hope filled my thoughts, only to be castrated by a terrible noise. Not the sound of some horrific living creature, but rather the sound of movement, of motion. Eventually, red lights replaced the calm white ones. Blaring alarms deafened me as water came rushing in from the dark tunnel ahead. The troughs started filling, and I needed a way out. I searched frantically until I found a ladder highlighted by flashing blue. I climbed up a good portion of it until I felt safe enough to steal a look back down, seeing an immense amount of water filling the troughs, creating turbulent pools. As the water rose to the height of the walkway I was just on, it continued to rise at an alarming speed. I quickened my pace up the ladder and found a metal bulkhead that was luckily open at the top. I got up into a room where I slammed the round hatch shut behind me. The panic was overwhelming, and I stopped for a moment just to catch my breath and slow my heart rate. Within minutes, I could hear the water rise to the bulkhead and lap against its face. The room I was now in had a second one, connected by another massive metal door, which I entered through without much hesitation, mostly out of paranoia that the water might burst through the first bulkhead and drown me. I was beginning to feel rather spent. In short order, I managed to find a prison with dozens of murdered inmates and even more simply left to starve. Then a massive dock underground that started drowning itself with me in it. Did I ever close the door down to the prison? Of course, I couldn't go back and check, and so I tried to push it from my mind. Ahead lay more corridors, nothing different from what I've experienced from the beginning. Just concrete and long holes. Occasionally I passed a ventilation shaft or an AC unit, but the monotony was exhausting. It was at this moment that I felt as though I was losing my mind. I've seen many things and nothing has made sense. A man dies to some monster. Deb dies to some sort of a blob. And now I may have just drowned. A huge contingent of people trapped in here just like me. Things float. Lightning appears out of thin air. Flesh is material, and bones are structured down here. If I hadn't gone insane, then this was surely the gates to hell. Perhaps I'm here to witness them opening up for the first time. The tremors do no favors in dissuading this thought. As I pondered about this literal Pandora's box, I kept searching around for a way out. A way up. Where that may be, I'm unsure, but I do find something. A simple red door. A little yellow sign that reads Tokamak and it's unlocked. Inside, I find an observatory. A large window looked out over an odd looking shape like a torus. It's a cylinder that wraps back around in a circle. In front of the window is a large array of controls, one of which looks like a power lever. The other's too numerous to even guess at mentions of magnetism and temperature gauges. I knew I couldn't hope to understand it, but one button seemed obvious and helpful. The one labeled Lights. I pressed it. Instantly, a massive, wiry mess is bathed in light. The large torus sits firmly in the center, and a pool of some strange liquid rests all around it. Initially I believed it to be water, but upon seeing the reflection as I shone my flashlight on the liquid, I realized it was something very different. More green, viscous and iridescent. The wall lights didn't illuminate it, making the torus appear to be sitting in an abyssal pool. I simply shrugged and sat down next to the control panel. The red metal door was closed behind me. I was next to some sort of machine, so I felt a semblance of safety here. I huddled up, finding a measure of peace before drifting into a mild sleep.

[Narrator]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Guard 1]

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[Host 2]

As time passed, I was hardly able to rest. Within what felt like minutes I was back upright, feeling just as exhausted as I was before, but now with a hint of lethargy. Yet when I rose to my feet I could tell the time did go by. The room with the torus was now half full. Whatever that fluid was had been seeping in from somewhere. After a twitch of motion, some hint of life within that liquid, I quickly opened the door and left. In the hall again I knew I had come from the left, so I began my trek once again further into the concrete maze. My stomach grumbled, a sensation that oddly brought tears to my eyes, and a dose of hopelessness washed over my body. My pace slowed and I was fixated on the ground, one hand over my stomach. This self pity was halted by a strange noise. Adrenaline numbed my senses once again as my mind surged with the possibilities of monstrosities. A muffled groan, a slam of something against metal. Something was heaved. Its body hit a wall and a few more resounding bangs when it settled I peered around the corner. There was a pulverized dead guy up against the wall next to several bloody person sized dents in the concrete and something lumbering at the very end of this corridor. Its massive body continues through a small doorway and it disappears. As I look over the body I notice something else. Something he had on him. A bag of chips nearby his still form. The guy was relatively stocked as well, with a rifle and more than a few spare magazines in his tactical rig. The gun seemed to be fully loaded. I realized he didn't even get a single shot off. As I slung it over my shoulder along his rig dangled grenades, a few thin silver ones, and a single greenish pineapple shaped one. Just as I want to snatch them, I heard something behind me. I turned around quickly and started backing down the hallway I came from, unwilling to stand face to face with whatever that thing was. Two Dim eyes glare at me from the darkness, unmoving and unblinking, I aim the rifle at it and start backing away slowly until it's out of sight. Back at the original hallway, another corridor shoots off in the opposite direction, and so I hedge my bets. Just a few steps in, I felt a desire to retreat to the red door, if only to enjoy a snack. For the first time in ages. I turn around and see it, the dim eyes watching me from around a corner. I aim my gun and gently say to it, please go away. Shockingly, as if it understood me, the beast recedes. Now I really felt a sense of concern. I hadn't seen what was in this part, and the red door was a good distance back. Pushing forward to find a new, safe spot or backtracking to the old one, I make the questionable choice to push forward. If I've learned anything from my time in this hellhole, it's that staying somewhere is more dangerous than remaining on the move, as staying in place will put you in the path of this place's gradual collapse. I pressed on, occasionally looking behind me to make sure that things stayed away. This new hall was a bit different. Instead of concrete and metal, it was mostly coarse stone. An odd, eerie hum resonated through the walls, growing in intensity as I continued. Eventually I found myself at another large red door. This one's yellow sign was missing. The last one was safe enough, so I opened this one to see what's inside. To my surprise, I found a room so expansive I could barely see the other side of it. I entered into what appeared to be an observation deck, just like before, yet now I was raised, possibly hundreds of feet above what lay below. I could hear movement, sudden cracking, jolts, and gooey squelches from the sound alone. I felt a little sick, but looking down, I started to grow horrified. I was drawn in by the odd sounds of rhythmic slapping, like bare feet against a flat surface. Below me was some undulating mass, an array of thin hands groping at the concrete walls. Their emaciated fingers were all I could see. The rest of it was obscured by the dark. The hands seemed coordinated, moving in unison, and had different features mixed in. One hand was white as sour cream, another was light brown, and one was pinkish, with little to no skin covering its flesh. Within the veil of darkness I could see other limbs moving about, but I couldn't make out the details. A nearby paper with the word granfalloon written on it. Details. What must be the thing below, explaining a monster that grafts living people to its Frame. I trembled with fear. As I hoped it couldn't get me. Even if it somehow gets up this high, there's still the glass to go through. And I'm sure it was built to withstand significant impacts. I move away from the window and pop open the chips. A small bag of tortilla chips, nacho cheese flavored. They didn't last more than 30 seconds. With relative clarity, I started looking around the office, hoping to find anything of use. Outside the red door, I could hear movement. Heavy, slow footsteps. I look to see its latch turning and I swiftly run to intervene. I yanked the latch back as hard as I could, pulling a sequence of small levers along the frame of the door to hopefully lock it. Once done, I let go and watched as the door was jostled. Whatever was on the other side let out a growl but then went silent. There wasn't a sound, not even footsteps. Something must be still out there. Standing in front of the door, somehow knowing that I'm trapped inside. I felt like a rat in a maze. Now cornered by two horrors that would kill me. For a moment I considered if this was it. I couldn't leave the room without going through the red door, where something awaited me. If I stay here, I either starve or the abomination below find some way to get me. Hopelessness once again consumed me. A plan formed in the back of my mind. I had gotten away from that body with a gun, a bag of chips, some spare magazines and a grenade. One of the metal cylinders. Possibly lethal, but I couldn't be sure without setting it off. Maybe I can blast this bastard out of existence. Cautiously and carefully, I unlatched the locks on the door. I slowly turn its handle and peek through the tiniest of cracks. Sure enough, the thing is right there. Breathing. Waiting. I only opened the door up enough to slip the cylinder through. I pulled its pin and pushed it through the crack, closing the door quickly. A loud bang sounds. Anything. Roars. In pain or rages, I ripped the door open and I could see it in full. The light from the room showed me its awful figure. That of a grotesquely muscular human. Its head wrapped in many layers of flexing vestigial muscle. For a moment, I didn't understand how it was alive. It had just taken a point blank grenade. Without another thought, I slipped past it and ran as fast as I could. A little way down the hall, I hear it roar again. My sore legs carried me as I bolted down the hall, guns swaying in my arms as loud thuds sounded from behind me. It didn't take long for me to understand that there wasn't another way out of this, so I turned around. The thing was a little ways away and closing fast, so I aimed and fired. Loud reports deafened me. My finger clamped on the trigger as my body tried to control the recoil. A good majority of the shots luckily landed on target, and the hulking form screamed in agony before turning around and running away. My ears were ringing and my arms were now trembling. I needed to figure out how to reload this thing. I started back down the hall, mostly deaf and seeking a means of safety. This safety would never come. Instead, I found myself hiking through an eerie, quiet and crumbling part of the complex. I had no reason to return the way I'd come. I'd rather be buried alive than deal with that monstrosity again. The whole time I was searching the gun up and down before I finally found the release. I pressed it and the magazine fell out. I then put in a new one, took a few steps, and remembered from watching movies I might need to chamber a round. I was never a fighter, never knew or owned guns. Here I was amid a calamity, having destroyed my hearing from firing an entire magazine in panic. Thankfully, my hearing was returning, if slowly. The crumbled walls did no favors in assuaging my anxiety. I searched for any modochrome of peace, finding nothing but concrete and cold drafts. Exhaustion was creeping back in. Soon enough, new doors appeared. A double door that the whole hallway ends at. Above these doors was a sign. Stability. Flux, whatever that meant. I slowly peeled the doors back and stepped inside. Some glowing sphere stood squarely in the center of a large room, hoisted by a pedestal of intricate metals. The pedestal looked like molten lava. The metal had twisted and morphed around the ball's base, appearing as a spiral that stretched upwards. The ball itself was difficult to look at. Its luminance almost matched the sun's, and even putting my hand up to block its light warmed my flesh. I could see the bones of my hand through the skin. The most awe inspiring sight, however, was above. The ceiling had entirely collapsed. Massive rocks of inconceivable weight. Cleaved segments of the crust were within and were floating gently above. The largest chunk was right above the ball and it was the furthest from the floor. Somehow this sphere was keeping this room, and possibly this entire section of the complex, from collapsing or at least from falling. All around were smaller debris, little stones and pebbles that hung about in the air as if there were no gravity. Out of curiosity, I went to push one of the Small pebbles, and was electrocuted. The moment my finger got too close, I recoiled and could now understand the terrible power. I stand in front of a circle, stood around the sphere's pedestal, made of red tape. Presumably I shouldn't cross that line. I began circling the ball hesitantly. In the back of my mind, I imagined its light being hushed suddenly and the whole room falling on top of my head, turning me into a subterranean pancake. As I inched around the sphere's apex, I felt a pull around my neck. I looked down to see my rifle in its sling pulling towards the sphere with tremendous force. This force grew and grew until my body weight couldn't stop it. My weapon drew me closer to the danger zone. I tried to pull away, but the force was far too strong and I had to unbuckle the sling. As it pulled me towards the circular mass, the sphere yanked the rifle in. The frame melted and the bullets in the magazine all went off. The bullets ricocheted around the room, miraculously missing me. Within moments, a new layer of molten material was wrapping around the spiral pedestal. Another close call. And another loss. I hoped losing the rifle wouldn't mean my death. A room or two later, another set of doors sat on the opposite end. Justice crumbled, but the path went up from here. With no gun, I suddenly felt a sense of hesitance, only to remember how long I'd been in here and how much of that time I was unarmed. Nevertheless, if I encountered that beast from before, I had no way of fending it off a second time. The path up was easy, yet it grew steeper as time wore on. Further up, the walls weren't as decayed and in fact looked relatively normal. I kept walking to find brightly lit hall with many doors on either side. An uncomfortable, disquiet calm had fallen over the place. My anxiety was high and I moved forward in tentative steps. I looked through the window on one of the doors and saw cubicles. I saw computers and desks. For a moment, my heart dropped. Thinking I was back where I started, I dart down the hall looking for more. A flipped vending machine with its glass face broken had several food items scattered in front, including a bottle of water. I snatch whatever I can and search around for some more, chugging water and gnawing on snacks. Soon I find an office with its door open and head inside. There I sit for a few minutes, gleefully consuming the food I had pilfered. For the first time in a good while, I could feel some weight in my stomach, a feeling that gave me a Tremendous release from the gnawing pains. Now I just needed to find a way out. I stood back up and went for the hallway when I heard footsteps ducking beneath a desk. I decided to wait it out, but I could hear some chatter as they grew near. The whole place has gone to shit, one said. Yeah, I wonder how long it's going.

[Host 1]

To take to clean up.

[Host 2]

If they even decide to, the other responds.

[Guard 2]

If we spot anyone, we're supposed to shoot on sight, ask no questions.

[Host 2]

But do we need to? I mean, there's gotta be subjects down here who don't even know what's happening, right? The other asks.

[Guard 2]

Probably, but it's our job to clear out the subjects as there's a huge possibility they're infected with something or carrying an anomaly or drawing one near. We're gonna head down to the Panopticon prison and clear it out. Then we head back and wait for orders, alright?

[Host 2]

Alright, the other agrees. I could hear them just outside my door. Let's peek in the offices. In a moment of panic, I huddled further into the desk, wondering how I'd get out. Then a sudden occurrence. On one end of the office I was in. Something extraordinary appeared. A doorway like before. It wasn't in any wall, and its angle was slightly off from the walls. It just stood there menacingly at the end of the room. It tempts me, though, as I know this anomaly. It's gotten me out of these situations before, but it also drove me deeper into the complex. My mind swam with wonder and possibility until one of the guards walked in.

[Guard 2]

Hey, what's this doing here?

[Host 2]

He asks.

[Narrator]

The Doldrums have always been an experiment in control. Control over anomalies, over human subjects, and over the very fabric of reality itself. But like everything the Redwood Bureau touches, the illusion of control will inevitably shatter. What's happening inside the Doldrums now isn't just a failure in containment. It's an illustration and a failure of the Redwood Bureau's entire philosophy. As the facility continues to collapse, the Bureau scrambles to contain the fallout, but it's clear they're fighting a losing battle. The anomalies are no longer restrained by the advanced containment methods that once held them, and the people trapped inside have become little more than prey, picked off by entities and phenomena that the Bureau neither fully understands nor has control over. A growing number of sections of the facility have gone dark, and communications with the outside world has been mostly severed. For all intents and purposes, the Doldrums have been cut off, left to descend into Chaos and become a breeding ground for destruction. But instead of standing firm and mitigating the danger, the Bureau does what it always does. It hides the truth. Their cover up is already in motion. They've begun circulating stories to explain the sudden disappearance of anyone connected to the facility. Accidents and reassignments that don't hold up to scrutiny. Soon enough, the Bureau will make its move to erase the Doldrums from history altogether. If they can't control the facility, they'll bury it. Literally, but only as an absolute last resort. Many of the anomalies inside the Doldrums have become something else, something worse than what the Bureau expected. And as the facility itself mutates, rumors have begun to surface within Bureau circles of a deeper connection to another case long thought of as a myth. I recently came across an old, heavily redacted report. It details a prior encounter with the entity referred to as Grand Falloon, a grotesque, shifting mass made from the remains of countless victims. Though the file is sparse on concrete details, there are striking similarities between the anomalies found within the Doldrums and the descriptions of the Grand Falloon. While I hadn't seen the connection at first, it appears to me now. That file shows an early version of. Of the Doldrums. The report hints that this entity may have been created, or at least experimented on, within the facility years ago. The Bureau has already begun the process of redacting and burying any case files connected to the Doldrums in any way. But once you've seen behind the curtain, it's hard to unsee the links between their past failures and the chaos that follows. What we do know is the Bureau will do everything in its power to keep this story buried. The Doldrums may be a failure, but it's a failure they can't afford to let their own members see. They'll burn every file, silence every witness, and destroy anything that gets in their way, if that's what it takes. And they'll do it with the same cold indifference they've shown time and time again. But I know enough about the Doldrums to know that whatever is happening inside isn't over. The facility is still active, still shifting, still tearing itself apart. The Bureau will stop at nothing to preserve what's left of this poorly planned labyrinth, even if it means sacrificing the nearby residents, who have no idea they live in the facility's horrifying shadow.