Goetia 20072012.B-X
This was found in the basement of the Georgetown University library, in an unmarked card board box. It was discovered by chance when a recruit was helping cleaning the library and noticed this object was unusually cold to the touch, even in the middle of summer with broken air conditioning. He brought it for inspection at our Kentucky office.
The object is 340.05 mm in length, 100.11 mm in with and 20 mm in height. The outer casing is composed of unmachined, 99.9% super-pure aluminum. It is two interlocking pieces, which produce a small hole about 100 mm in length on its right side, allowing outside access to the inner piece. The cases appear to have some form of attraction to each other as they 'lock' together as if they were magnetized, but show no evidence of being magnetized. The inside of the object is composed primarily of silicon and plastic on a circuit board. Typically the nomenclature we would use is 'printed', but as with the outside of the object, there is no evidence of manufacturing or machining at all.
The circuit board itself slightly levitates along the underside of the bottom aluminum 'box'. At first it was thought to be held by some mechanism or physical lock, it appears there is a 1 mm gap between every inch of the circuit board and the bottom of the aluminum housing. Despite all efforts, it seemingly cannot be removed from the bottom of the aluminum casing, even if it is not being held in place by anything. One agent got so frustrated he put a pair of pliers to the circuit board, and despite applying enough strength to break the board itself, it would not move. The agent was later written up and cited for a potentially dangerous action. After examining the board itself for damage, there was no indication that pliers had been used on it, nor any pressure applied. Everything remained intact, even though such boards are extremely delicate.
While it cannot be removed from the aluminum box, it can be examined. Not much microscopy can be done since it is effectively unable to be disassembled from the bottom aluminum cage. What was done indicated no evidence of any thermal damage to the solder at all. While some agents requested that the circuit board be hooked up to a power source, this request was denied as the consequences of such an action could not be predicted.
Analysis of the circuit board, despite protests, was ceased due to its unusual nature and resistance to physical change. Administration did not want to take a chance that even the slightest amount of electricity, specifically uncontrolled static electricity, might initiate some process on the board itself.
Though tests were still approved on the upper portion of the box. Experimentation on the material’s thermal conductivity revealed it to be 235.4 W/(m*k), actually slightly lower than average thermal conductivity of aluminum which is 237 W/(m*K). Further temperature experiments revealed that it heated and cooled as expected. However, when heated to the melting point of aluminum, temperature transfer simply stopped before any physical deformation. Absolutely no thermal expansion of any kind was registered, and the object was unchanged by the immense heat put upon it. Electrical conduction tests were within expected limits as well for its purity. However, there was no explanation for the coldness of the box itself, which remained at 26 degrees Celsius.
Thermal imaging indicated the box was always at room temperature and fluctuations in temperature was what were expected. Even placing hot or cold objects onto the aluminum registered an average transfer of heat. When placed into a rat colony for 24 hours, the entire colony avoided it as if it weren't there, in an equidistant ring of 500 centimeters. Because of the object's seemingly innocuous properties, agents began to handle it unprotected. One agent held it for 15 minutes, commenting it was 'not that cold'. After he placed it down, approximately three minutes later his left hand began manifesting symptoms of extreme frost-bite. Despite the best medical efforts of personnel on site, the agent required amputation of the left index finger as well as amputation of the left thumb. All organization personnel on site were warned once more of underestimating anomalous objects and those directly involved given citations for disregarding PPE safety protocols.
Though the injury of an agent on-site was unfortunate, the administration felt a need to continue with biological testing. Especially in light of the accident. The entire object was to placed in the hand of a medical cadaver for 72 hours, provided by the Georgetown University School of medicine. The recruit who first found the object was enlisted to preform the experiment. As it was summer break, an appropriate small laboratory was found where the experiment could be conducted safely and without interruption. However, after 72 hours had elapsed and the senior investigator came to see the results, the recruit was nowhere to be found. More alarmingly, the object, video recorder and cadaver were also gone.
No witnesses have identified the recruit leaving the Georgetown campus, though security cameras show him leaving in a hurry with a small bag one day after the experiment started. A search was mounted and soon after the recruit was found in his apartment, where he had apparently crudely hooked up the object to his desktop computer. The video recorder was next to the desktop. He was found in bed, unresponsive, eyes closed. His computer was non-functional. Upon inspection of the device, all of the components inside except for the object seemed to have been subject to extreme temperatures, well in excess of their ignition points. Despite this, there was no evidence of any fire. The video recorder also seemed to have undergone a massive amount of heat, so no experimental footage was found. The unresponsive recruit was declared deceased and his body brought to our facility for autopsy. The medical cadaver was not found, and continues to remain missing.
Upon external examination, his body showed no signs of trauma. The body was 28 degrees Celsius, so time of death was determined by witness testimony. It was determined that he died shortly after he left the Georgetown campus by interviewing a neighbor who heard a loud bang in the early morning hours, shortly after he arrived from the Georgetown campus. However, after being dead for 48 hours, the body showed no signs of rigor. Nor did it show pugilistic attitude, flexing of the arms and legs, as a body would display if they had died by extreme heat. For all intents and purposes, he was a healthy, 22 year old male Caucasian with no signs of trauma. However, once dissection started, underlying tissues were completely destroyed. Muscles displayed symptomology of fourth degree burns. Organs were charred and unrecognizable. The reason for his eyelids unable to be opened is because the eyes themselves had been completely gelatinized and melted, fusing the eyelids closed. When the brain was examined, the medical officer was quoted as saying: "Its like someone used his head to make a ****** stew."
The object itself was sealed in a lead box and the crude cables and wiring the physician used to hook it up to his computer were removed. Containment would have been fairly easy, except the object was lost in transit to our Missouri Field office from Kentucky.
Completed by ████████ on 4/20/2014
Addendum:
The agent who has written this entry has been declared deceased as of 23/12/2017. It seems he was the cause for the missing object. In light of this theft and the death of our recruit, our protocols have been strictly tightened. It is not understood how the agent of record was using it, though I ordered a thorough investigation of his financial records by the IRS. They reported massive financial deposits from untraceable marketplaces a year after the object went missing. He also owned several properties, one listed as a ranch in Montana, in which his remains were recovered. There is no record of him ever having been to Montana before or of him even seeing the property. Nor does he have family there. I ordered his movements for the past three years re-traced. Apparently, the only time before his death that was unaccounted for was three sick days in 2015.
What follows is only a hypothesis of the timeline of the event leading to his death. Shortly before it, he seemed very alarmed and suddenly took a week in vacation time, going to Montana, in the middle of December. It is unknown what time he entered his property, however two days after he took leave, a thermal anomalous event (See entry Golgotha 22122017.A-N for more details) occurred on his property. Since he lived alone in an isolated area there are no witnesses to the event itself. However, news reports from the area reported ‘unusual lights in the sky’ and the daily evening temperature rose about 10 centigrade in an area of 16 kilometers.
Upon investigation, the agent’s house and person had been instantly carbonized by the event. This was only known after gas chromatography was done on the remains. The object itself was found in the center of the event. It was unharmed. As for its temperature, it was 26 degrees centigrade.
I've had the object welded in a lead box and poured into the concrete base of a classified nuclear waste storage facility. To prevent any further temptations from those that might seek to profit off of our good works. The investigating agent's name is struck from our history, his records sealed and all his casefiles under my review. Don't mention him. Or I'll know.
- N. Laplace, 23/01/2018
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If you can guess what it was and what Mr. Carbon was using it for, I'll give you a cookie.