Excerpts From Nonexistent Books

10/22: First signs of activity. Laboratory power grid flickers at 10:27:38 GMT.

10/23: Janitor notices that Mechanical Room 127A has been sealed from the inside.

10/24: After janitor and security are unable to access the room, a call is placed to the DoD.

10/25: DoD operatives arrive and attempt to open door with breaching rounds and explosives. Both attempts fail with casualties.

10/26: Analysis of the door indicates that the steel has been replaced by a metallic crystal lattice structure of unknown composition. The process appears to be akin to fossilization and did not alter the color or texture of the door.

10/27: Subsequent analysis indicates that the entirety of Mechanical Room 127A has been replaced by the unknown metallic crystal lattice. All surrounding walls and floors have been “fossilized” in this way to a distance of .0777 meters–exactly the width of the door. The facility is evecuated and further tests are conducted remotely.

10/28: At 10:27:38 GMT, a second power surge occurs. Subsequent testing reveals that the affected area has grown in all directions by .0777 meters.

11/03: A third expansion of .0777 meters occurs, again at exactly 10:27:38 GMT. This is the final such event observed to date.

11/29-12/19: After the expansion of the “fossilized” area is completed, the facility is condemned. All non-“fossilized” material is removed, and the remaining area–Mechanical Room 127A and .1554 meters of surrounding building–is sealed in airtight foam for transport.

12/20: Mechanical Room 127A is removed for study. The laboratory is compensated and construction of a new building elsewhere is authorized.

Notes: The contents of Mechanical Room 127A are currently unknown, as all attempts to cut into it have failed. The only option that has not been explored is a thermonuclear detonation, which has been rejected on practical grounds.

Nothing in the building or janitorial records indicate anything amiss int the area, which had undergone a routine inspection six months earlier. Previously used to house mechanical pumps and parts of the building’s air conditioning units, it had been rendered redundant by renovations and the pipes cut and sealed. Reports indicate that it had been used for temporary storage and as an occasional smoking room for janitors.

A personnel search after the incident revealed that a single building occupant was unaccounted for. The DoD has redacted all personal information about this individual pending a thorough investigation. Though it is likely they were trapped in or responsible for the incident, the individual’s security clearence and education seem incompatible with the latter theory.

No audible communication or response to taps has ever been recorded from within Mechanical Room 127A, nor have any further incidents occurred.

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Sobbing, he held her limp body in the midst of the summoning circle. The daemon paced back and forth outside its protection, clutching his lapels like a salesman. Every move was feline in its easy, supple motions with menace coiled in wait for a lightning strike and barely contained.

“How will I know it’s really her?” he sobbed.

“How did you ever know what was really her before?” purred the daemon. “Does anyone really know another’s heart? Can they?”

“And…it’ll be like she never died?”

“Of course, of course,” said the daemon. “You’ll never know the difference until the day comes for the Darkfather to claim his prize, and she carves out your living heart to offer upon his black altar.”

The man sniffed. “A small price to pay. What about her, afterwards?”

“Why, I do believe that will be none of your concern,” the daemon replied. “Suffice it to say that it can’t be worse than her present predicament.”

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