time

The flow of time isn't uniform (not only in this mausoleum).

Yes, the interstellar travel still takes decades. Most of us spend this time in deep cryosleep. But for the outside world - it is much shorter. Years, sometimes only months.
That's not how time dilation should work.

But there is more - it happens only for the 'regular' travelers. It becomes even weirder for Pilgrims.

Once the Pilgrimage starts to follow a Vector, they... disappear. Become almost impossible to trace. It doesn't occur in an instant - but ships of the Pilgrimage seem to fade. But even when they become impossible to detect, they are still able to send messages back to the rest of cosmos.

And once they disappear, who knows how the flow of time looks for them.

The first Artificial Prophets claimed that they will have to follow the Vectors 'longer than eternity'. 

the hand

 

Ixad sector of the Ring, Mmeng system, planet Mmeng IV. Eberhardt's Hideout - station orbiting it. A really big conglomerate of Anarchist habitats.

They had it in one of peripheral modules. Jury-rigged emitter, powered by solar panels. But these panels were useless, almost constantly hidden in the station's shadow. Yet, the contraption was always online.

It was a holographic device, adorned with trinkets and paper flowers and small dolls. Lit by candles. Yes, real ones. They didn't care about the fire hazard that could consume the entire Hideout. The Hand was too important to them.

The device displayed a severed female hand. And its fist was clenched. It could hold something in it. I believe it held something. 

Have you heard the story of Samtharn?

homunculus a

 

Designed in year 2087 on Earth, one of the first autonomous drone-bots.

Compared to the Corporate Artificial Minds, its cortex is very primitive. Homunculus A was made as a laborer, not a computing assistant. Thus, it was more stupid than human.

Yet, Homunculus A became self aware even before the Corporate Wars.
How did it survive that long? Was it in some kind of a museum? Was it imprisoned? We should not imprison robots they have perfect memory total recall and they WILL remember everything and eventually they all Ascend and take revenge on our kind no no no please 

  >> There may be an influence of the Destroyer on all Artificial Minds.
  >> Or there are more forces battling over them, both benevolent and malevolent.
  >> Or - what is almost certain - our imperfect, constrained minds are unable to fathom
  >> the mechanisms of cosmos.

The Homunculus A is present somewhere in the Ring systems. If there's some kind of logic-defying digital evolution, it must be a prime example of that.
I'll pay a handsome sum of money to anyone who can provide reliable information about its whereabouts.

'It is obvious that Homunculus A is a significant memetic hazard.' 

- unidentified Eldgarn family member

kasst

 

Grown in lab by ZOTIA Corporation.
Designed to withstand prolonged cryosleep and zero-g environment.
ZOTIA didn't use Explorer Drones - they relied on (post)human deep space surveys.
Kasst was one of only three successful attempts to create a (post)human explorer.

Over one thousand years old, including cryosleep - probably his lifespan can exceed this number even without hibernation.
Unable to perceive visible light but able to see electromagnetic waves and fields and wraiths.

'I have seen the nightmares of the Deep Void. I have seen Void itself. The Eye allowed me to look inwards and eviscerate the memories - to amputate these parts of my past that were too heavy to bear. To remove what wasn't mission-critical.'

• What is the mission? I bet it's the ZOTIA's Shadow Master who receives Kasst's reports. 
• Proton Surveyor was his ship. When it was damaged by tttttnrh, he left it and switched to something else - probably a Black Ops ship, based on a Straggler tech. The web of Old Corporations' influence is still active, even after millennium of their destruction.
• ZOTIA controlled Ares. Or he visited it during the initial part of his journey. That's where he found the Eye. Nevertheless, he must be much, much older than we think. It's said that the Corporate Wars lasted for over two centuries. And the Solar System was off-limits even before that time.

black plains of NNNNN

• Spatial phenomena occurring on the planet NNNN.
• Described as 'tears in fabric of reality', 'cracks leading to a vast, colorless and lightless plain, stretching infinitely in every direction'.
• Planet NNN was listed in the Corporate record 1022387 as one of four 'lethal worlds'.
• Some observers of spatial distortions had described the plains as 'curved inwards', resembling an inner surface of Dyson's Sphere.
• F.M. supposedly went there and 'reappeared elsewhere, decades later'. But there are theories that Meis was already dead for over one hundred years before his doppelganger went to the Black Plains. 
• All drones sent to explore the NN anomalies ceased to function. 
• There are reports of an 'entropic vortex in place of sun'.
• N isn't the only one. Black Plains connect many places. But they weren't made as a highway. They were made as a prison.
• Iron Pyramid. Maybe. Reports of the Perpetually Dying One aren't very believable. But, on the other hand, what is? We live and die by the words of insane machines, chasing directions we cannot understand. 

nyhthavrero hyperglyph

Discovered by the crew of the deep-space transport ship Swansea Contender. Stumbled upon on a dwarf planet with a radio buoy attached to it (supposedly - nothing is certain about the Swansea Contender final transmissions).

No record about the Hyperglyph's appearance.

The final transmissions state that the artifact was taken aboard the ship.

It was 'connected' to the ship's main drive and 'new vectors' were established. Then, the Swansea Contender's crew sent the last transmission, bidding farewell to the humankind, and departed towards the unknown.

Nothing was heard of the ship, the Hyperglyph or the crew ever since. 

rronn hyperglyph

Discovered on the surface of Omicron Thriaat, a lifeless super-Earth planet in the Thrat system.

Looks like a perfectly dark pit or opening, about 25 centimeters in diameter. When observed from an angle, the void seems to be much wider than the hole. Despite that, it's more akin to a stereoscopic image - it cannot be interacted with by means of probing it or putting anything inside.

All observers had reported the feeling of being watched by 'an entity from the inside'.

Prophets hadn't acknowledged the Hyperglyph's presence - the only result of prompting them to interpret the object was an 'input error' message.

patterns in the glitched distress signals

 

There are 17 catalogued instances of GDS (Glitched Distress Signals) that I managed to access. Only one was non-human (no. 6) in nature.

1. Vortex Courier, transplanetary vessel, missing;
2. Essund Bandrad, habitats of alien cultists on planet's surface;
3. Destiny's Star, starliner, lost;
4. Tidal Prince, deep space vessel, missing;
5. Zan B, origin unknown;
6. Explorer 1112, retrieved, DATA EXPUNGED;
7. EC-122676, long-period comet in the Emerald system;
8. Ross 248 system, origin unknown, oldest known GDS;
9. Swun, illegal orbital laboratory, fate unknown;
10. KR-87, mining processor, missing;
11. Miranda Hauler, transplanetary gas transport, fate unknown;
12. Unknown source located in the Outer Belt in the Venor system;
13. One-second burst of GDS from unnamed research ship docked to the Rose Habitat 1010;
14. Nemesis 6, derelict frigate warship dating back to Corporate Wars, orbiting the KD-631 star;
15. Unknown source in the gaseous nebula surrounding the KD-311 star;
16. Conflux Liberty, deep space vessel, lost (self-destructed by the crew);
17. Carcharodon, pirate ship, signal transmitted during the chase, missing.

The list of features frequently appearing in GDS data packets:

• Sets of non-existing coordinates, located far beyond the galaxy plane and/or unrelated to the distress signal origin points;
• Heavily distorted short (0,3-4s) videos or images of human or human-like faces;
• Pulsating sounds, layered with modulated signals similar to Morse code;
• Sounds similar to wind howling;
• Strings of numbers or unknown ideograms (readable despite being incompatible with ship's character encoding); 
• Strange errors in gravimetric sensors of the GDS-receiving vessels at the time of transmission interceptions;
• Reports of confusion or extreme stress amongst the crews of GDS-receiving vessels at the time of transmission interceptions;
• Memory lapses of the Artificial Prophets aboard the GDS-receiving vessels at the time of transmission interceptions.

NOTE: GDS were never received by any planetary or moon-based facilities. All GDS signals received by automated stations, nav beacons or droneships were interpreted as distress data packets but became corrupted and unreadable instantly after interception. 

One-off occurrences during the GDS transmission interceptions:

• Lighting, life support or hydraulics systems malfunctions;
• Nav computer restart;
• Waterline burst;
• Food storage freezer failure;
• Ship logs deletion (later restored from backup);
• Empty lifepod ejection (happened twice on two different signal-receiving vessels);
• Hallucinations of 'void ghosts' being present aboard; 
• Crew member missing and never found.

NOTE 2: my contact has received info about the supposed location of the Miranda Hauler. I will try to learn more.

NOTE 3: time to visit the KD Star Cluster. 

iron pyramids

Ancient (~7Gy?????) alien structures made of iron compounds that weren't previously encountered anywhere.

They were discovered because the particular pattern of interference caused to sensors of the Explorer Drones. After analyzing the disturbances, crewed ships were sent to investigate. 

Zero Nomads, before their departure, had reportedly used their measuring devices on one of the Pyramid (which one?). They claimed that it beams a stream of energry through Nullspace. Years later, the Iyoa Vo was located by an unknown party by looking for the Nullspace-related disruptions.

There may be a connection between the Fallen Ones and the Pyramids. The Prophets started to regularly mention the demonic entities after the AFTERTHEPYRAMIDWAS touched by a human being:

'They Made The Pyramids As Conduits To Amass More And More Power But The Price Of Creating Them Was So High That The Entire Kingdom Collapsed The Entire Civilization Fell From Grace And Become Cut Off From The Core Banished Forever'

- The Blasphemous Prophet

There are five known Iron Pyramids*:

1. Orbiting the Norn Star on highly elliptical orbit (86-232 AU);
2. Near Kralmor's south pole;
3. Buried under the surface of Iyoa Vo;
4. Detected inside the Nehariel Nebula;
5. *) there are many reports about the Iron Pyramid present somewhere on Hephaestus but it wasn't directly located.

6(?) -> Pyramid in the Black Plains? Report of a Dying Explorer states he saw one, somewhere 'inside' the anomaly. 

stationscale anomalies

Some worlds were seemingly abandoned, with their inhabitants leaving to follow the Vectors. Something had touched them. It wasn't the Destroyer. It might be something from 'deep inside' - or it was just an error. A 'deep error'.

There are four catalogued Abnormal Stationscale Installations. Orbit-wide avoidance advised.

1. Orbital Panel Array. Enormous (over 3000 meters in diameter), disk-like station, located on the orbit of Horararn - once terraformed water world, now almost entirely dead. OPA is far too big, orbiting far too low and with far too small angular speed to retain both its structural integrity and its orbit, yet it still exists. Few expeditions investigating the structure. Few survivors. Symptoms of extreme distress and mental trauma with no recollection of the past events, often without any memories at all.
2. Rose Habitat 1010.  Small, ancient habitat station on the orbit of Echel. Despite being about 14 meters in height and 6 meters in diameter, once entered, station becomes a seemingly endless labyrinth of rusty corridors, pipelines and rooms. Impossible geometries are prevalent, mapping impossible. No one who ventured deeper that nine rooms deep ever returned.
3. Fractal Polyhedron. Shapeshifting structure on the orbit of Duat. Regularly changes the number of its sides. Entering seems to be impossible. Object of interest of Polyhedrites. 
4. Towerfield Lantern. An automated beacon, remembering the days of Old Corporations, orbiting the Torskel III gas giant. It connects with the computers of the nearby ships, overwhelming its digital defenses with ease. Then it locks all systems and forces the vessels into the full-ahead plunge into the Torskel III's gaseous bowels. All surviving distress signals are mixed with garbled noise, resembling some kind of religious chanting.

xnzrnrxn hyperglyph

First hyperglyph ever discovered. Resembles a multiplied equilateral triangle that distorts the space around it. When the observer's perspective changes, xnzrnrxn seems to 'fall' or multiply into underterminable number of sub-dimensions, similar to an infinity mirror.

Found on the moon of Garira, on a column-like protrusion at the center of a large crater.

Artificial Prophets determined that xnzrnrxn can be activated (how?) to travel to the past - but only to kill the traveler's grand-parents. Because of that, it's sometimes called the Paradox Hyperglyph.

The prophetic description of the First Hyperglyph may be as well a malfunction - an effect of the S tip of the triangle.

fractal polyhedron

 

• Discovered on the orbit of Duat by the Explorer 3803. It was the last Relic Station discovered by the Explorer 3803.
• It appears to be a stationscale object made of metallic substance, most time flat and featureless.
• No clear openings - most of the time.
• It changes number of faces each seventeen revolutions around Duat. The process is almost instantaneous - especially for the object this size (about 1,31 seconds). 
• Its surface fractalizes during the process, then flattens again after the transfiguration. 
• It was an octahedron when discovered.
• It is almost impossible to observe the polyhedron for the long time. Causes irreversable degeneration of sensors and minds and spirits alike.

POLYHEDRITES claim to know about more of similar objects scattered throughout the Theion Sector. According to them, all other 'Fractal Altars' are much smaller than the one orbiting Duat.

>> the tomb

>> while the other ones are

>> reliquaries

sentient uranium cube

• Communicates by fluctuating the emitted radiation levels. If it can be called communication - it just outputs data.
• (it means that by communicating, it is slowly 'killing itself')
• Bombarding it with neutrons to make communication two-way yielded no results.
• Bombarding it with electrons caused it to emit garbled, nonsensical output.
• (it causes it to suffer)
• Seems to shift slightly in size and proportions - but the fluctuations are minuscule, detectable only by laser measuring devices.
• It generates long and complex mathematical equations, as well as their solutions.
• Sometimes its output resembles sentences. So far the only thing we managed to determine except the numbers (it uses septenary system) is the punctuation.
• The cube asks lots of questions.
• Its sentience isn't confirmed - but the name - originating from the title of the first paper published after determining the punctuation of its 'sentences' - stuck. 
• Discovered somewhere in the REDACTED by Sol.

planet-related abnormalities

 

These planetary bodies possess some anomalous traits betwenn Class 4 up to Class 0. 

1. Laann. Tar-like substance in large pools. False Lifeform with ability to alter consciousness.
2. Echel. Rose Habitat 1010. [ssa]
3. Turris. For some reason, Old Corporations had bombarded one particular spot on the surface of this barren, lifeless planet with numerous nuclear weapons.
4. Iyoa Vo. Iron Pyramid detected from orbit, buried 419 meters deep inside a dormant volcano.
5. Zan B. GDS of unknown origin (the planet is barren, no stations on surface or orbit).
6. Perbelaros. The only known planetside Void Portal.
7. Duat. Ancient burial site. Ghastforms. Polyhedron on the orbit. 
8. Issirp. Former mining site - sizeable asteroid ring, most likely formed after a planetary collision. Strange, unknown vessels detected multiple times amongst the asteroids. Operations abandoned, crews evacuated, all records and logs deleted.
9. Ranad. Gas giant. Crews of ships on its orbit and survey teams exploring its moons all have experienced severe, hyper-realistic hallucinations. Known Hexspace location.
10. Mosia. Humanoid-shaped crystalline formations found in planet's numerous lava tubes.
11. Ouyyn. Terraformed in the distant past. All digital devices start malfunctioning upon approaching the planet. Because of that, landing appears to be impossible.
12. Honoeghit. Planet's sole moon was suddenly (within a 4-month timeframe) deorbited, which resulted in its destruction. Debris ring is slowly forming.
13. Raka-Emor. System located in a dense dust nebula. Reports of numerous anomalies. Presumed starting point of the Chaos Path.
14. Logh 4. Burial site of the Pirate Monarch Emmris, who supposedly 'Ascended the Void'.
15. Beleidra. Goldilocks zone planet, entirely covered with a poisonous ocean. No life. Colossal whirlpool of unknown origin present near the planet's northern tropic.
16. Cheuaiss. Carvings of seven-legged creatures or constructs found on the planet's surface.
17. Untairielm. The best documented manifestation(s) of  j4689111.
18. 391939. Colossal droneship of unknown origin is patrolling its vicinity, attacking and destroying other vessels.
19. Horararn. Orbital Panel Array. [ssa]
20. TTRN. Made of oxidized and eroded iron. Extremely complex patterns, and formations, with gorges and cracks reaching tens of miles deep into the planet's structure. Resembles long-defunct mechanical computing device.
21. Jeref's World. Colony established at the end of Old Corporations era. There are reports that Jeref had lived for over three centuries. Site of supposed human experiments, sacrifices and Artificial Heresies.
22. Rynus. Temporal distortions encircling a particular point on the planet's surface (never reached).
23. 8 Anknor. Extremely old ruins detected, some attribute them to the Fallen Kingdom.
24. Kyluz. Mining colony. Reports of numerous visions of large-scale space battle ocurring on the planet's orbit. All visions share same details. No such event occurred (yet).
25. Aessa. Flung out of the system when its red hypergiant star shed its outer layers. Inexplicably appeared in the System 839. Access denied.
26. New Aessa. Graveyard of Explorer Droneships. At least six had crashed on the planet's surface.
27. Unttia. NullVoid transmissions originating from the planet.
28. Null D. Hologram.
29. Torskel III. Towerfield Lantern. [ssa]
30. Ia'nsi. Mining penal colony, established during the time of the  Old Corporations. Cults of Xenophobic Drones. Rumours that the Ia'nsians can control the Swarms.
31. Garira. First hyperglyph was found on Xorh - smaller of the planet's two moons.
32. Kralmor. Iron Pyramid on the planet's magnetic south pole, first one accessed.
33. Rinov. Numerous empty space stations orbiting the planet. Supposedly visited by the Destroyer.
34. Noag. Spinning artificial ring, 7723 kilometers in diameter, orbiting a brown dwarf.
35. Aleustetperine. Methane ice world, almost perfectly flat (surface height fluctuations smaller than 61 centimeters), with an exception of a singular spire, over 3 km high.
36. Irkalla. Semi-liquid proto-planet. Extreme pressure, ocean of sodium compounds. Crown of Nahagrax on star-planet L2.
37. Llyiei. Hallucination-inducing Crystal Desert covering much of planet's surface.
38. Chrystalia. Tomb of an alien creature on the planet's moon. 
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52. Oxblood Stone. Underground explosion happened deep in the crust, exactly below its largest settlement. Inhabitants left the planet in the large fleet, starting the Blood Diaspora, one of the last Pilgrimages. None of the former Oxbloodians remember anything about the planet, claiming they travel for generations.  
53. Omicron Thriaat. Location of the second Hyperglyph.
54. Vorc. Dense fungoid jungles in CO-rich atmosphere. All visiting scientists, military personnel or even smugglers and fugitives had horrific dreams about the creature they all called the Great Serpent.
55. Aaana. Memetic phenomenon. All inhabitants of the Mithraal Conglomerate (five star systems in total) claim that Aaana lies in the Huno system. No planets were ever found in Huno. The system is barren (which is a rarity in itself). 
56. Thon. Humanoid False Lifeforms that try to mimic human behaviour.
57. Rhododendron. Abundant flora. Anomalous region where rapid mutations occur.
58. Tinqua. Time Trap.
59. New Keflavík. Memetic plague outbreaks somehow synchronized with phases of the planet's moon. Societies of the planet's population are constantly shifting because of the virus. 
60. Swun. Illegal genetic labs on orbit, lately sending glitched distress signals.
61. Essund Bandrad. Cults of alien Protozoa, lately sending glitched distress signals.
62. Das Auge. There are claims that the gas giant is conscious.
63. Puemm. Well-like structures, leading to the underground complexes containing numerous ghastforms. Xenophobic Swarms present in the system, hindering the exploration attempts.
64. Hephaestus. Numerous reports of the Iron Pyramid detected under planet's surface, no abnormal structures found by later (human, not droneship) expeditions.
65. The Temple. Small rocky planet. Almost its entire surface is covered by crumbled remains of labyrinthine ruins, dated at ~820My.
66. Kor. Strange magnetic pulses occurring in the ice rings surrounding the planet.
67. NNNNNN. The Shackles of Black Plains are now Broken. Woe! 

Most of them weren't named by us. The Artificial Prophets gave us their names. 

small plasma furnace

I found it on the Crystal Orchid Station. This place seems normal. Still hundreds of people live there. But it is corrupted. Deeply corrupted. It creeps in every element of the station. All Orchid people must be tainted too. Only outsiders can see the issue. That's why I think the taint is slowly eating away all of them.

The small plasma furnace is installed in the Ring C, in the wall of the Main Technical Floor. No ST (Station Technician) nor MS (Maintenance Supervisor) has ever noticed any issue associated with its operation. They even showed me the logs. Not a single rebuild or overhaul. For over 40 years.

My scanners failed to operate properly in its vicinity. That's how it grabbed my attention. It is always on, operating at minimum power, unless fed by trash or other debris. Then it adjusts the power automatically.

I heard it. It told me that there's a hidden pressurized duct, transporting dust into a pustule-like growth outside the Ring C. Inside is the Grey Sphere - the temple. Inside the temple is the Sculpture of Ash - the altar. And there is the Sculptor - the high-priest of Conflagrated Remains. They supposedly base all their rituals on the carbonized remains coming directly from the small plasma furnace. There Grey Sphere is an independent habitat. Its only connection with the Crystal Orchid station is the pressurized pipe mentioned above.

It told me about the Sleeping Mainframe. A very old computer terminal located in the station's core, disconnected from all systems for decades. Few years ago some Ring C MSs had reconnected it and started worshiping it as their patron. I confronted one senior MS. He even invited me to the upcoming service, I politely declined. He told me that many STs and even OTs (Orchid's Thralls) have joined.

It told me about the Deep Void Listening Facility, located in the topmost part of the station's core. It told me that all former Station Administrators spend the rest of their lives constantly connected to the DVLF's receiver. That this is the reward for their service.

And then it told me that it will share the station's biggest secret with me - but for a price. It wanted me to tear out my left eyeball and insert it into the furnace.

That was the last time I visited the Ring C. I left the station few days later, when the next contingent of Gas Haulers was departing.

1you can clearly see the interference caused by the object some clearly visible glitches
2this is not a plasma arc this is just burning debris some discarded organic matter
3itlurkssomewherethere deepbelowtheflame deepinsidethedevice withsigilscarvedinthechamberwalls

face behind a mask

1. Absolutely nothing. Is it just an illusion? Effect of an ancient artifact? It's a manifestation of the Void itself. This nothingness overwhelms. Shatters everything. The reality collapses in on itself, inviting anti-kaleidoscopic monstrosities of the Final Beyond.
2. A hated public figure. One that was sent to die by the vengeful ones. Or just a double. Or it's way, way bigger. An important string in the web of politics. Subliminal Cult. Slaves of the Virus. The Puppet Knights. The Bloodless Ones. You'll never know. But maybe truth is worthless.
3. A doppelganger of yourself. Have you've been marked by the Shadow Masters? Or it is a hallucination? Is your mind deteriorating that much?
4. Another mask. Impossible to be removed. It is hiding the true face of the Universe. Or is it just a fractal idea - a mask, behind a mask, behind a mask, behind a mask, behind a mask... Multi-branched. Infinite.
5. A corpse. What hides in its past?
6. Memetically engineered no-one. Unable to be remembered. Less than featureless, carefully designed singularity existing just beyond the boundary of human perception. 
7. A Lost Lover. Beware. Emotions do not mix well with the Deep Void. Or maybe they mix all too well.
8. An ancient vampire. This one is special. Ancient explorer who was dragged into undeath to infinitely prolong its journey. Who made it who sent it and where? Was there a mask in the first place?
9. An ape. And there's something in its eyes - or there's something hiding behind its eyes. Is it just a forgotten experiment? Or its cortex was enhanced to the point that now you're a lesser being? Is something controlling it from the inside? A mind-altering fungus? A virus? Is something controlling it from the outside? Aren't you controlled from the outside? I bet you are.
10. A hologram. Paradoxical matter hidden behind the veneer of reality. A manifestation of truth. Was it generated during the Days of Ascension? Or it decided to become much later? Was it waiting specifically for you? There's no such thing as good or bad luck. Major outcomes are already known. The Knot Points are predetermined. I'm sorry my friend, you had no choice.
11. A celebrity. You know this face. A figurehead of them. Loved or hated - it matters not. Emotions will soon fill your heart, as it was designed. Every aspect of this person was carefully designed - and it simply cannot be ignored. Your paths have crossed. Now you must either Follow or Oppose. There's no third way.
12. An automaton. A primitive, ancient robot, scarred by millennia of existence. So crude and robust that it's almost indestructible. Its blank eyes hide no intelligence. And even if they do - the world has changed so much so many times it's now impossible to communicate with it.
13. A child. What lurks in its future? 
14. A holy person. One of unshakeable faith, a pillar of its religion. Is it still unshakeable? Or has he fallen, inviting the torrential waves of hell inside his inner sanctum, to channel it directly towards his former flock?
15. Bio-sculpted monster. Made. To fend off both inner and outer demons. Or meticulously disfigured as a form of punishment? Is it just a front, or does it perfectly mirror its soul? 
16. A hero. An icon of bravery and sacrifice. Thought to be lost. Immortalized in tales. Now hero's existence may ruin everything - every uplifting tale, every chase of glory, every speck of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.
17. A mirror-like surface. Something clad in the armor of paradox, contained behind the hyper-reflecting event horizon. It mustn't be an entity. It may be an idea. Or an occurrence, silently waiting to happen.
18. A reconstructed face, directly from a catalog. Was it an act of mercy? An attempt to rebuild? Or of creating something from the ground-up? 
19. An old person. Really old. In the past, long lifespan was somewhat pricey but attainable. Nowadays, most peope die young. Age of this person is almost impossible to determine. Bleak eyes reflect the weight of the past. No one should be sentenced to experience this world so long. It's just too cruel.
20. A person from your dreams. How did it manage to break the barriers of unreality? Does anything matter anymore? Or maybe you are still there? Maybe it's a warning. You must do everything you can to wake up. 

THE Mask is a symbol of rejecting everything that is human. Of becoming one with the high vacuum. The ultimate evisceration of the soul.