Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-4789783-20161029114911

You may have heard about the Philadelphia Experiment before. If you haven't and have no idea what I'm talking about, it was supposedly an experiment in cloaking technology conducted on the USS Eldridge in 1943. It did not go well. Somehow, the experiment caused the ship to reportedly teleport from Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia, while also apparently traveling 10 minutes back in time. It reappeared in Philadelphia, but the crew suffered from the "teleportation". Some crew members were fused with bulkheads of the ship, some were completely turned inside out, some vanished from existence, and some began to suffer from very severe mental illnesses. The project was promptly hidden by the US government, to hide to fact that they had conducted an experiment that ended with the mutilation of most of the crew, but the Eldridge wasn't the only ship to have cloaking tech tested on. Just two months later, on December 28, a fishing trawler was commissioned to be a part of the ongoing experiments. This ship was named the "Achilles", as the owner saw the ship as his one weakness, much as Achilles' heel was in the Iliad. The ship was manned by 8 crew members. 1 captain, 3 fishermen, 1 cook, and 3 mechanics. Supposedly, the technology had been improved on, making it less likely that a catastrophe such as the Eldridge would occur again. The Achilles was equipped with the tech and sent 12 miles out into the ocean. A helicopter was sent to observe to ship while the cloaking device was activated. The device was activated around 5:13 PM EST on December 29, and as the operators feared, the Achilles vanished from the helicopter pilot's sight. It was not reported appearing anywhere else. It was as if it had simply vanished.

The ship reappeared in the Philadelphia Shipyard later that day, at 10:55 PM, but only one of the crew remained alive. Reports by officers who boarded the ship say that the one remaining crew member lunged at them, tackling one officer and ripping his jugular out with his bare hands. He was taken into custody and the officer who had been attacked was rushed to the hospital, but sadly died from blood loss before arriving at the hospital. The mad crew member was locked in a cell at the Philadelphia police department, while the officer decided on what to do with him. They finally came to the conclusion that the only way to find out what had happened during those five hours in which the Achilles was gone. An officer was sent to retrieve the insane man, only to discover him dead, from complete lack of blood. Doctors couldn't figure out how the man's blood had simply vanished, as there was zero traces of hemoglobin in his body. The only evidence of whatever happened on the Achilles are in the the form of messages received by the experiment operators, getting increasingly more bizarre as the five hours went on. The transcripts have been kept secret for over 70 years, until last year, when they were released by the CIA Director. Well, some of them were released, anyway.

 Message #1(Received at 5:30 PM EST. The receiver is Radar Operator Leland Pearson.)

Captain: This is Captain Irwin of the Achilles.

Pearson: Captain, are you and your crew alright? Your ship vanished.

Captain: Yes. Everyone is okay, but the observation helicopter is no longer visible from the ship.

Pearson: Anything else?

Captain: It's pitch black.

Pearson: I'm sorry?

Captain: It is absolutely dark here. There's no stars or moon or anything. It's just blackness all around.

Pearson: Okay. Is there anything else wrong?

Captain: Other than the helicopter being gone and it being completely dark, not really. [Captain flips on the ship's fog lights] Wait...wait a minute. I see...is that...yeah, I see a ship in the distance.I'm gonna try and contact them. Maybe they could help get us back to shore.

Pearson: Um...okay. Report back in about an hour.

Captain: Can do.

The next transcript is timed about an hour and a half after the first one. This is where it begins to get bizarre.

 Message #2(Received at 7:30 PM EST)

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: The Achilles to Philadelphia. come in.

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: What happened, Captain?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: I shouldn't have tried contacting the ship.

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: What? What happened?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: I just...I radioed them. When they picked up, I...Oh god, the screaming. I've never heard such screaming in my life. It...It was...It was as if Hell itself was on that ship.

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: What happened to the other ship. Can you still see it?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: Yeah. It's just...floating there. Off in the distance. I can barely make out anything onboard. I...I think I see someone.

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">[The message cuts out abrutly]

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;"> Message #3(9:05 PM EST)

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Come in, Achilles. I repeat, come in, Achilles. This is Leland Pearson.

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Hello?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">[The line is silent for a few seconds, before Captain Irwin answers]

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: Uh...Yes, hello. This is Captain James Irwin of the Achilles. Sorry about that. It's just...it's been hell here.

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Captain. What exactly happened? The last message cut out abruptly. Are you alright?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">[The captain is silent]

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Captain? Are you still there?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: ...Huh? Um, yeah. I'm...I'm still here. This...my...um...I...The ship...t-tried contacting us back. They...They just...I don't...

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Captain, you're going to need to calm down and speak clearly. What happened with the ship?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: The...The radio started...started emitting static and...a voice started playing from it. I just...I couldn't understand a thing it was saying, I-I-I...

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Calm. Down. Has the ship made any advancements?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: It's...It's gotten closer. I can almost make out a few more features. It...It looks as if...oh my god-

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">[The captain's end cuts off again]

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Captain? Captain, do you copy?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;"> Message #4(This was the last message received before the ship reappeared. It is timed 10:21 PM EST.)

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Captain Irwin. Do you copy? Hello?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: This is Captain Irwin of the Achilles.

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Yes, hello? Captain? What is going on over there?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: Ship's crew boarded Achilles. No different from us. We are them, and they are us.

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: What was that, Captain?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Captain: Everything is fine. We will be docking soon.

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Captain, are you okay?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">[A gunshot rings out on the line, followed by the sound of Captain Irwin's body collapsing]]

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0.357143em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Pearson: Captain? Are you there? Hello? Captain Irwin?

<p style="margin-top:0.357143em;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857em;color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">[The Achilles' end cuts off for good] <ac_metadata title="The Disappearance of the Achilles"> </ac_metadata>