Futuristic Control in Wonderland

[Sharp Bones]

• the situation
• the Bureau
• the Oldest House
• OoPs
• the Board
• the Hiss
• the Director

• 
  
  the board.
  

  

  
  welcome. you are new to this place/event. we will instruct/remind you on the current/passing situation.
  
  you have recently arrived/appeared at the Oldest House. you came there looking for someone. the Oldest House is inhabited by/houses the Bureau.
  you located the Oldest House, only to find yourself interpolated among unexpected chaos/processes. research/control usually conducted by the Bureau has been interrupted/developed by the sudden arrival/perception of the Hiss. just before the Hiss became visible/audible, the Director of the Bureau, Zachariah Trench, shot himself.
  
  the Bureau must always have a Director. the Director must always be capable of controlling one or multiple OoPs.
  (Multiple is preferable.)
  to save yourselves from this unexpected/echoing chaos/process, you demonstrated an aptitude for paranatural powers by mastering an OoP. one of you has been made the new Director of the Bureau (consent/understanding is not required). as Director, you must save the Bureau from the Hiss.
  
  the Oldest House is changing/listening. we/the Board will speak with you on the Astral Plane.
  ​
• 
  the Bureau is an organisation affiliated with ███████. it's purpose is to investigate, understand, and █████ paranatural phenomenons. these paranatural phenomenons are to numerous to be listed or indeed known, but the Bureau has gained some degree of insight into a small selection of them over ███ years. the Bureau is, above all, a collection of scientists. the research conducted seeks to fully understand the incomprehensible. utilisation of this understanding for █████ and █████ purposes is a secondary objective of the Bureau.
  
  the Bureau is overseen by a Director. a Director is always an individual who is capable of mastering OoPs. this grants the individual use of paranatural powers, and has demonstrated a greater affinity of accurately perceiving and comprehending all paranatural phenomenon.
  
• 
  no one knows how old the Oldest House is. but it is very old. that is not so say that it has been the same for a long time.
  
  the Oldest House changes. shifts. it is a spatiotemporal hotspot for thresholds to other dimensions, planes, and timeloops. what causes the Oldest House to shift is unknown, but our researchers have hypothesised that it is influenced by the collective unconscious of, at least in part, humanity. though the Oldest House at present looks much a modern architectural construction, reports indicate it has always looked 'contemporary' to its inhabitants, though it has always given its residents a sense of the uncanny, of being normal-but-slightly-to-the-left.
  
  it is unknown if the Oldest House is conscious. no communication has yet been measured from it.
  
  the Oldest House can be kept from shifting, at least in specific locations, by the construction of ritual circles encapsulated by specially designed measuring equipment. from these ritual circles, those with paranatural inclinations can travel to the astral plane, communicate with the Board, and jump between ritual circles previously known and experienced within the Oldest House. So far, only █████ and █████ ██████ have been identified as concrete side effects of utilising ritual circles.
  
  the Oldest House is infinite. though the Bureau utilises a known, mapped space of it, it is theorised to go on without limit. we know only what rooms and corridors have allowed us to perceive. what lies beyond is not yet conceivable.
  
• 
  OoPs, or Objects of Power, are Altered Items that grant certain individuals paranatural gifts. Each OoP grants a unique ability, which is believed to be tied to a particular spatiotemporal resonance. Objects of Power are believed to be conscious, as they are capable of enacting protective mechanisms, hostile attacks, and on occasion, random teleportation when they feel threatened (though this is speculation; no OoP has ever communicated directly or expressed an experience of feeling threatened).
  
  OoPs are one of the primary research points of the Bureau. Several are located across the appropriate research sectors (and high-security unit) of the Oldest House. Known examples of OoPs include: a red hotline telephone (granting portable communication with the Board); a pink feather boa (granting levitation); a slide projector (granting ██████).
  
• 
  the board are, we believe, an entity. they/it is perceivable/located within a black inverted pyramid visible in many layers of the astral plane. they can be spoken with on the Astral, but usually interact most/only with the Director. Most communications with the board are cryptic. They/it appear to find human languages dissatisfactory, and often fail to express concepts, opting for a either/also method of expression. the Board does not ██████ but it/they may ██████.
  
  we do not know their/its purpose. often, helpful (if inscrutable) advice/guidance is provided by the Board. listening to it/them is, of course, optional. disregard for their communications has been known to provoke ██████, however.
  
• 
  the Hiss is an entity, we think. we are unsure how the Hiss infiltrated the Oldest House (or if indeed it was an infiltration, as opposed to a case of merely being 'dormant'), but it is believed that the Hiss spreads itself/its message via a resonance. Possibly, the Hiss is the resonance. Postulation is unhelpful until the threat is dealt with.
  
  the Hiss claims people. (Possessed would imply they could be un-possessed, regained). it contorts them. controls them. transforms them, using them as pawns to spread itself. the Hiss is actively hostile to Bureau agents and all humans it has encountered thus far within the Oldest House. it is of the utmost priority that the Hiss be contained within the Oldest House. it is of the utmost priority that the Hiss be eliminated.
  
  we are not yet sure how this can be done.
  
  for now, the Hiss can be protected against by the use of HRA (Hedron Resonance Amplifier), which creates a counter-resonance to guard against the Hiss. HRAs can be worn on one's person, but they are difficult to manufacture and were not produced in bulk before the Hiss arrived. At present, the majority of Bureau survivors (i.e. those not claimed by the Hiss) are hiding in shelters constructed from Black Rock that functions like lead against the resonance. you may wish to help these people. you may not.
  
  agents are reminded that HRAs are not listening devices. ██████ .
  
• 
  The Director runs the Bureau. now, one of you has been made Director. this means that, to some extent, people will listen to you and follow your instruction. having said that, they always now expect you to save them and sort out the current situation. until then, they are unlikely to help you on personal quests (i.e. finding whomever it is you are looking for.)
  
  your predecessor, Zachariah Trench, shot himself just before your arrival. no note was left. we are unsure why.