Nx-42: Nihtmouth
AREA CLASS: Dunwich1
NEXUS INTERACTION PROTOCOL
Nx-42 is considered a partially lifted-veil area. The Department of Tactical Theology and MTF Sigma-3 "Bibliographers" are assigned for the creation of Ways for exploration, as no permanent access to Nx-42 is currently available. Operations are to ideally be performed within the span of a single local night where possible.
Foundation operatives transported to Nx-42 outside routine operations are to be immediately retrieved. Removal or free travel of Nexus civilians beyond research or containment purposes is deemed counterproductive for ethical, veil-related, and diplomatic concerns.
UAE-422 entities are to be prevented from exiting the Nexus where possible. While interruption of trade among GoIs is liable to cause significant disruption, the Intelligence Agency are to retrieve harvested UAE-42 when opportunities present themselves outside the Nexus.
Avoid contact with all instances of UAE-42-0 "Megaliths" at all cost.
DESCRIPTION
Nx-42, known as "Nihtmouth", is an alternate dimension containing a settlement by the same name. It can be accessed though a Newman-Hyatt Key3 globally with triggers including a clear night sky and often, but not always, the use of thaumaturgy. Upon activation, individuals will find themselves in a superficially similar section of Nx-42. Most journeys to Nx-42 are performed accidentally by non-anomalous individuals lost at night.
Nx-42 itself has rare weather and no day-night cycle, constantly appearing to be in a state of eternal night. The area around the settlement is primarily baseline, though with living flora and unusually large, clear bodies of water.
The primary feature of the nexus is a preponderance of spectral entities,4 classified UAE-42. Spectral entities cross the entire COSMO scale from small, weak "Wisps" to massive entities known as "Megaliths" on par with reality benders. While many come from humanoids who have entered the Nexus before dying or spontaneous manifestation from human thought, many appear to be naturally generated from the Nexus and likely predate human habitation of the dimension, or humanity itself. Even sections of the geography are affected by this phenomena, either being or possessing spectral traits like intangibility or ectoillumination.5
Almost all politics, trade, and individual pursuits in Nihtmouth relate to spectral entities.
A photo of the outskirt regions.
History
Pre-History/Creation
Very little about the formation or early history of Nihtmouth is known. While some spectral entities from this time period have been discovered, invariably they have been non-communicative or suffered significant mental damage. Despite this, some facts have been ascertained.
Nihtmouth likely spawned seperately to human intervention, either forming on its own or due to a pre-human reality bender, as stone tools from the Neolithic Era have been discovered in it's grounds. For at least 4000 years humans have been transported randomly to the Nexus and died due to lack of food or society. During this period little civilisation was or could be established, early settlements collapsing due to their ectomorph residents going insane without grounding activities to perform. The growing numbers of hostile spectral entities only worsened with time, harshening this effect.
One spectral entity from this time was successfully interviewed by a member of the GoI "Wandsmen", with much parapsychological assistance.
…
It isn't like we weren't used to the dark. I know humanity when on to find ways to make torches and bulbs, but in my lifetime they were rare.
The dark was comforting, I knew how to walk in it, I knew how to see in a way. The stars are so bright here.
It isn't even the ghosts. Back then things were… calmer. I remember lights I didn't understand, massive forms in the sky and sea, things that I never could have imagined which so wondered me back then. But nothing like me. I'm sure that they were hiding from me.
That's what did it. The loneliness. There's trees, and bushes, and if you're creative enough then there's ways to eat a ghost. But you have to want to try. In the cold, and the dark, without anyone around, knowing no one would ever come, and that the spirits around you don't care?
Maybe it takes years or maybe it takes seasons, it's not like you'll know the difference, but one day you realise it's not worth it. You put down your knife. You don't even cry.
You just sit on the shore as the sea laps at your feet.
And you fade away.
Early Habitation
Context Unknown.
While attempts at a permanent connection have seemingly been attempted across the world since the First Occult War, the first ever permanent settlement in Nihtmouth is believed to be by early Celtic Peoples. Through the use of thaumaturgy, theurgy, and perhaps assistance from a nearby Fae culture, regular travel began to occur.
It seems the dimension was not used as a permanent residence, but instead something akin to a hunting grounds. Corporeal UAE-42 entities were captured or terminated with holy weaponry or thaumaturgic workings, and then themselves used to power and enhance further thaumaturgy. The unknown tribe is believed to have expanded significantly due to the advantages of plentiful thaumaturgy, with hunting operations growing more and more intense with times.
Reports of oral history also show evidence that local spectral entities may have been worshipped in some form. Even with testimony from the time, information is sparse but indicates that hunters would provide sacrifices or follow specific rules to avoid angering larger ectomorphs. The identity of these entities is unknown, while some match the description of "Megaliths", most match descriptions of no currently recorded UAE-42 instances.
However, testimony reports that as Roman conquest reached the region this culture was inhabiting, travel quickly declined. Conflict did not allow the risk of hunting ectomorphs and thaumaturgical combat was not yet advanced enough to assist. Alongside this, the increased amounts of humans dying from both Celtic and global populations6 caused a growing population of sapient and organised spectral entities.
The sea is so beautiful here.
The sea of our home is lifeless, froth and despair.
This place is deeper. The hunters stay away, they say it calls to them. The priests leave offerings every hunt. The prey stand on it's surface, just out of reach.
And then we left. We stops revering it.
It's colder now. I hear singing. There's something just on the horizon.
The waves have never been this high before.
The sea of Nx-42.
No living humans existed within Nx-42 between 400 AD to 1266 AD.
The Founding of Nihtmouth
It would be another half a millennia before living humans returned to Nx-42. As new kingdoms were established in what would come to be Great Britain, an early group of thaumaturges in the employ of a local feudal lord would create a Way to Nx-42. While initially met with hostility, the few remaining stable spectral entities eventually began trading with this group.
Over time, Nihtmouth was established as an early Tudor village with around a hundred humans and spectral entities working as a captive artisan and serf population. Almost all individuals were in the employ of an aristocratic family or occult organisation directly for the purposes of controlling or studying spectral entities. It was believed variously that Nightmouth held the secrets to immortality, the key to cosmic power, or was a demonic location in need of cleansing. Thusly, Nihtmouth was kept highly secret, out of fear another group would gain it's secrets. Even individuals from outside Europe who arrived in the Nexus were kept inside against their will to preserve the secret.
Around this time are the first reports of a group known as The Council, a group of powerful spectral entities7 acting at the de facto ruling body of the village. They allegedly predate the entry of the new wave of humans, but assisted in the organisation and construction of Nihtmouth. The Council rules the city with unclear, byzantine, and harshly punished rules during this period, with their designs for the settlement being enforced with violent anomalous retribution.8
However, The Council also had a hand in the creation of The Wraith Watch. Often shorted to The Watch, this organisation would patrol the streets and walls of Nihtmouth to attack or dissuade hostile spectres from entering the village. The name itself came from a common pseudonym for spectral entities that either formed as or became hostile to human beings, often through insanity.
An section of a biography from a member during this time has been attached, written posthumously in 1998.
It's never easy to get used to, I always had to tell the new lads that.
You'll work with gentlemen who died before your father was born, or even your grandfather. You might work with your grandfather. It don't matter if he has two arms now or turns nothing now and then, because the threat can do worse.
Torches. Nowadays it's the electrical ones, but back then we had to make do with fire on a stick. Wave it about, axe in the other hand, hoping to spook a wraith away.
We learned quickly to establish the buddy system. Wraiths aren't more scared on light than they are damn mad. Two people make them think twice.
Then it's just a matter of walking down the same streets, o'er and o'er, checking the alleys. In the cold, damp, dark.
Something about the cold, if you do the walk every day, gets in your bones. Wool won't help, even stacked and heaped after a long rest near a bonfire. The cold is in your heart, in the knowledge something could leap out any moment, in the fact you can't see anything past your torch.
It's a little world of your own, in that circle of light.
It was always too easy to wonder what might be around the next corner.
A recent photo of a wraith in the town sewers.
Industrial Revolution
As Britain entered the Industrial Revolution, activity in Nihtmouth expanded even further. Street lighting, steel production, and new business interests blossomed Nihtmouth. The village expanded to a town within the following years, increasing from a couple hundred individuals to over a thousand. Most drastically, the towns economy shifted heavily to industrial production with hundred of individuals shipped in to a handful of new factories within the town. Some businesses were tied to the existing spectral entities, but to a degree it was simply exploitation of captive labour.
Nevertheless, secrecy remained paramount. As access into and out of Nihtmouth required skilled thaumaturgical rites, any individual dwelling within Nihtmouth would have to pass through a limited group of individuals to leave. Factory barons capitalised on this, holding food and travel captive in exchange for work. The workers of Nihtmouth were effectively captive.
At the same time, The Town Council became their most active. Clear districts defined, as they began enforcing more and more of their will upon Nx-42. Most notably, they began construction on many public works within the city, like the Spectra Library, various churches, and entertainment spaces.
Modern Era
The modern day of Nx-42 is dominated by corporate Groups of Interest. Above traditional regulation and oversight by most normalcy organisations, the expansion and use of the towns industrial sector only grew. Multiple below-veil businesses across the world began shifting production into factories inside Nihtmouth. A booming trade in ectomorphs began, furthering the chokehold on the city. Companies run shops of all varieties, perpetuating Nihtmouth's status as something akin to a company town.
The Corporate Sector now is the primary hand in the cities development, with The Town Council taking less and less interest in day to day affairs. It's unknown if this is a change in approach, despite their greater anomalous power, or part of a larger plan.
The Wraith Watch are at their largest, with population booming and recently securing a sponsorship from multiple corporate interest they are at their most confident. As of now, The Wraith Watch has been confirmed to be considering contacting various normalcy organisations for cooperation or assistance.
But in spite of it all, one new element is found in the modern day; discontent. With more and more thaumaturges existing in the modern day, the information age brewing, and more Groups of Interest that actively sabotage other interest, there is a growing desire for more freedom in Nihtmouth. In this forms the Insurrection of Nihtmouth, a loosely-knit organisation dedicated to reforming the town without the interference of the Corporate Sector and creating permanent Ways out of the Nexus.
The political description in Nihtmouth can only be described as shady and unstable.
The Global Occult Coalition established relations with the Nexus in 02/02/1979, with the Foundation following soon after in 1982. Explorations have been ongoing since, but relations are still being formalised.
Spectral Entities
Nihtmouth is defined by an array of different spectral entities. UAE-42 are formed readily and often, almost all deceased entities becoming instances upon death. Additionally, evidence holds that UAE-42 form spontaneously from the Nexus, or can be prompted to undergo noogenesis from human thought similar to other nexuses.
UAE-42 form the primary threat, economic resource, and biological life of the Nexus. Beyond being plentiful, they show significantly more complexity than most spectral entities and produce large amounts of Elan Vital Energy. The capture, sale, and use of UAE-42 is common, and so are attacks.
UAE-42 seem to mutate over time. Older instances show degraded sanity with the addition of new anomalous traits, like divergent physical forms or alterations to their CoSMO status, being common. Almost all previously human UAE-42 entities inevitably become hostile or incapacitated. Occasionally, entities will reform into separate pieces after being injured, especially if amputation is involved.
UAE-42-1 - "Wisps"
An example of a complex Wisp.
The most common kind of UAE-42 entity, "Wisps" are small formless entities found drifting within Nihtmouth. Produced naturally and by the "death" of large spectral entities, Wisps provide a form of light and power to the Nexus as they are both plentiful and almost always produce ectoluminesence due to an incomplete formation.
UAE-42-1 have shown animal level intelligence in tests, and are treated like bugs or vermin by many denizens of Nx-42. Despite this, Wisps form a backbone of the economy as their use as EVE batteries, light sources, and components for spectral technology is invaluable.
UAE-42-2 - "Polts"
"Polts" is a slang term, short for "Poltergeist", used to refer to the recently dead within Nx-42. Spectral entities created from human deaths continue to resemble their original bodies into death, and in some cases possess them. They show little alteration from their original personality and nominal CoSMO results.
Polts are treated primarily as citizens within Nx-42. While occasionally hunted by corporate interests, Polts make up significant amounts of workforce their ability to work beyond usual human physical limits often make them worth more as a worker than a product.
However, almost all Polts inevitably experience degradation of their sanity. They will begin to develop new anomalous traits and often because obsessed with the circumstances of their own death, for one reason or another. Psychological therapy, grounding techniques, and fulfilment of human needs, including ones that spectral entities do not strictly require like consuming sustenance, have all be shown to slow or reverse this process. If decay goes unimpeded, Polts will invariably become UAE-42-3 entities.
UAE-42-3 - "Wraiths"
A Wraith, civilian photgraphy.
Wraiths are hostile spectral entities formed from degraded Polts, or through spontaneous manifestation of an individuals fears. Paranoia can often generate a hostile Wraith just outside of view, forming spectral matter from the imagination of any conscious viewer, and the Wraith Watch mandates mental training regimens to avoid this phenomena.
Wraiths are definitionally hostile to humans and many Polts, possess distended forms, and often additional anomalous traits. Wraiths tend to resemble human superficially, but with additional limbs or deformities far beyond the possibilities of standard human morphotypes. UAE-42-3 behaviours is odd, often with obsessive patterns related around the nature of their formation. Most concerningly, UAE-42-3 entities have been reported utilising anomalies not tied to Spectremetry like transmutation or spatial manipulation.
The possibility of a UAE-42-3 entity becoming a UAE-42-0 instance is currently unconfirmed.
UAE-42-0 - "Megaliths"
Drone footage of a Megalith.
Megaliths, or UAE-42-0 entities, are the greatest threat posed by Nx-42. Each Megalith constitutes a high CoSMO spectral entity with manifestations on the scale of a Large Scale Aggressor. Appearance is variable, very often with human traits but rarely truly humanoid. Distorted features, elongated limbs, pointed bodies, partially gaseous existence, and otherwise "eldritch" traits are common in most descriptions. Psionic, Theurgic, and Ontokinetic traits have all been reported, often on massive scales.
All so far discovered instances of Megaliths are believed to not originate from humanity, but spawned naturally from Nx-42. In fact, most instances appear to be "Outsiders" and do not dwell within the Nexus itself, instead coming from the void of conceptual unspace outside the Nexus. It is unknown why they do not appear within other Nexi, as almost all are surrounded by a similar void. It is theorised the Nexus may be created by Megaliths, or is particularly habitable to their existence.
Thankfully for operations in the region, Megaliths are rarely hostile or active. Rarely more than two instances are ever seen at a single time and they are invariably docile. In most situations, Megaliths are completely non-responsive and have even been confused for oddly shaped land formations. The few motile Megaliths appear to spend time in the border regions of Nx-42, particularly the oceanic regions.
An attempt to catalogue all Megaliths is ongoing.
Topology, Geography, and Climate
Nihtmouth consists of a single plane extending for an unknown distance. The region is marshy, featuring short shrubbery, sheer cliffs, and large shallow bodies of water-like liquid with unusually clean contents. Eventually, all directions terminate in an endless sea of water-like liquid with spectral properties. Attempts at sailing have eventually terminated in a region on conceptually-null unspace void, but the exact distance to this area is unknown. While all "water" with Nx-42 is potable, it shows ectoluminescent traits and unknown long-term health affects, thus Foundation agents are to avoid consuming it where possible.
As previously mentioned, Nihtmouth exists in a perpetual state of night. Unlike other Nexi, Nihtmouth appears to have exact equivalents to the night sky as seen from within the baseline reality Sol system. It does not project the night sky or exist in a separate reality but shows verifiable images of the real night sky. However, it's location is not known, as while many attempts to locate it have been tried, all have failed, the night sky suddenly appearing to come from a location as sensors are turned towards it. In most cases, the physical location may not even correspond to Earth and in multiple instances planets have been seen at much closer distances, as if the Nexus was orbiting them.
The Town of Nihtmouth has two divergent building styles, one side of the city reflects Tudor and early Victorian styles while the other is primarily modern construction like brutalism. The two sections of the city are split apart by a river, the Town Council permitting reconstruction by the Corporate Sector on one side but refusing on the other. The town features many public services like street lighting, fountains of water-like spectral fluid, and a high Tudor era wall around most of it for protection.
Allegations Nx-42's geography is one massive Megalith-type entity are highly unlikely, albeit not disproved.
Government and Politics
The Wraith Watch
A peace-keeping organisation under command of the Council and sponsorship of the Corporate Sector. The Wraith Watch has minimal resources, most often combatting Wraiths with light sources and inherited medieval weaponry, only recently incorporating more firearms into their training. They seem to follow a standard military rank structure, and are lead by a Watch Commissioner.
While the town originally functioned on a "hue and cry" system, many crimes being perpetrated by the Corporate Sector, or handled by the Town Council, they have been known to deal with murder, theft, and other cases. Their standing with the town is high, being a symbol of Nihtmouth itself while employing both Polts and baseline humans. Recently, concerns have been raised about them being "bought out" by the Corporate Sector, refusing to intervene due to much funding from them.
They are currently reaching out to various normalcy organisations for support or alliances, including the SCP Foundation.
The Town Council
Very little is known about the Town Council, but they are the oldest faction in the town and consist solely of spectral entities. They have total physical control over the Nexus and, de jure, authority as well despite rare enforcement. They define the town laws, which are often alien and make little sense to human minds. They mostly do not act, besides in egregious cases of violations of their rules, remaining within the Council House.
Their behaviour has compared to multiple alien entities like Corbenic residents and YWATGSYT being illogical, inadvertently cruel, while having a tendency for irregular speech. Only one instance has been seen in public during Foundation monitoring, resembling an inhumanly tall hooded figure with slight traces of blue ectoluminescence.
Corporate Sector
A conglomeration of sub-veil business interests that, while not an official organisation, work with each other closely. Only a small handful of organisations are included, but they range a full scale of manufacturing roles alongside various public services the nexus requires like food. Almost all jobs derive from these companies, from food delivery to massive sweatshop-like manufacturing plants to UAE-42 hunting parties.
The Corporate Sector values Nx-42 highly for many purposes. The primary interest is the use of spectral entities for military, thaumaturgical, and technological purposes, utilising them as highly mouldable living specimens, powerful EVE batteries, or light sources via ectoluminesence.
The secondary purpose of Nx-42 is is a captive company town. Entering and exiting Nx-42 requires thaumaturgy or access to the Wanderer's Library, meaning most individuals must rely on thaumaturges to travel in and out. While individual thaumaturges are free to travel, selling or providing the means to exit is harshly controlled by the Corporate Sector, even if it requires the use of violence. Workers are fed, clothed, and housed by the Corporate Sector, often for the most part to be used as slave labour. The few exceptions tend to be more skilled or advanced roles, but even then they may not pay particularly well.
It is believed most major corporate Groups of Interest may have a hand in the Corporate Sector.
Insurrectionists
Loosely-knit and still developing, the Insurrections comprise the only explicitly Foundation-hostile group within the Nexus. They consist mainly of Polts and humans brought to the nexus unwillingly, and their primary goals are free travel from the Nexus alongside the reformation or replacement of Nihtmouth authorities opposed to this. While not inherently hostile to the Wraith Watch, they distrust the Town Council and actively opposed the Corporate Sector. The Corporate Sector controls trade and travel access to the Nexus, creating conditions they deem undesirable
The Insurrectionist have created multiple small Ways and have an in-depth bartering economy, separate from the Corporate Sector, based around trade within the Nexus rather than without. Membership is variable, with various covens of mediums, fishing businesses, and members of the Wrath Watch all seeming to be aligned.
Very few members of this organisation take any care for the Veil, desiring to live as they can. Many members have known connections to the Serpent's Hand, and possible Chaos Insurgency intervention is suspected.
Culture and Industry
While a comprehensive list is not feasibly, Nihtmouth does feature many important public landmarks that may be of relevance to an SCP agent. Listed below are some of these examples.
Hall Humanity
An entertainment and dining hall highly prized by the residents of Nihtmouth. It features anart music concerts, spectral entity theatre, and occasional prize fighting sports, making up a critical backbone of Nx-42's culture and psychological well-being. The name itself is derived from a common sentiment among local Polts that the Hall is the primary reason they have avoided decay into a Wraith. Almost any event, regardless of legality in another Nexus, is permitted to be hosted within Hall Humanity so long as it's owners deem it entertaining.
Food served as Hall Humanity primarily consists of ingredients obtained within the Nexus rather than the corporate sector, including; Smoked Oceanic Wisps, Nightapple Pie, and Megalith Fillet.9
Temple Quarter
Worship of religions from every region of the globe or even anomalous community is common in Nihtmouth, requiring a vast temple quarter. Architecture trends High Gothic, littered with separate shrines to different religions, with the only commonality seeming to be a tendency for towers incorporated into or comprising the entire building.
The most noticeable element of the Temple Quarter is the Black Bastion, a massive temple complex that dwarfs every other building within the area. It has no traditional entrances, only accessible by Polts or Wraiths with the ability to become incorporeal. Allegedly, the church is dedicated to worship of various Megaliths and even the Town Council, but many church-goers are reticent to speak on matters and other individuals within the Nexus find them highly distrustworthy. When you see it's majesty, no one will be there to pull you back. Find the Bastion, see the infinite, and return broken. That is the promise.
Starlit Library
The only known academic institution within Nx-42, the Starlit Library is a combination observatory and library dedicated to the study of astrology and spectral entities. Most of it's employees appear to be UAE-42 entities, with the Head Librarian being a highly divergent Polt, and most others following suit.
Located far outside the town outskirts, the building itself has a purely glass ceiling to show the night sky, no natural lighting, and does not permit bright lights or fire within it's walls. Patrons are expected to have good night vision or use small, soft lighting as to not disturb the delicate work of astrology. It also provides free braille lessons every Saturday, and features copies of most books in braille with at least one only known to be available in it.
Due to an agreement with the Librarians of the Wanderer's Library, the Starlit Library has the only permanent Way within Nx-42. Access is limited only to those with library cards, rendering it useless to most residents, but it is known as a hot spot for Serpent's Hand, Wandsmen, and Unusual Incidents Unit activity.
Natural Landscape
While not a specific business, the natural landscape of Nx-42 is important to understanding it's culture. This is no natural fauna, and while some natural flora does grow, most does not form a stable food supply. A local species of fruit known as Nightapples are incredibly tart even when ripe and only grow once a year, while their are minimal edible tubers or grains. Attempts at domestication have not been wholly unsuccessful, but stymied by slow growth times in all cases. Attempts at creating a stable, local, food production via genetic engineering or crossbreeding have failed due to lack of corporate interest, most desiring to
The waterways around Nihtmouth provide most of it's food and a good section of commercial income. Beyond para-tourism and small luxury cruises, fishing is a backbone of local food production. Wisps obtained from the ocean often have more substance or even creating standard matter to dwell in, allowing them to be consumed for sustenance or pleasure.