"Access level: BLACK-3"

At 12:03 local time, a team consisting of Agent "Raven", a subject later identified as Experimental Host #12 (listed as a test subject in Sector "K" of Lab 9), and an avatar of the R'mel civilization (temporary codename: "Light in the Sand") attempted to reach the Pilgrims' intended gathering point - an area within the city limits, in an area previously occupied by construction. The attempt was unsuccessful: the team encountered multiple cognitive distortions, accompanied by spatial distortions that disrupted causal relationships and basic orientation.

According to reports, the team advanced for 17 minutes while remaining within the same physical sector. Attempts to use navigational devices, including quantum beacons and biomagnetic landmarks, were unsuccessful. Visual cues shifted with each blink, and the auditory environment showed signs of reverse synchronization - the group members' speech was reflected with a delay and distortion that didn't match their articulation.

At the same time, the Psychomancer structure, which had previously stopped, activated one of its outer circuits - a radiating field presumably designed for interconscious information transfer. The field's geometry was a complex grid of intertwined lines forming unstable fractal patterns. Eleven seconds after the emission began, the command post of the 134th Special Brigade detected a weak but stable signal, partially decipherable. Only one phrase could be extracted from the entire stream: "Don't go to the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims will come to you."

At this point, an event occurred that was not covered by any protocol: Bruce Stein, a Finance Department specialist previously unauthorized for field operations, independently activated one of the mobile psychostabilization units mounted on a military truck (model TR-99, modified for the needs of the Observer Foundation). The device is designed to temporarily stabilize the mental background in areas of cognitive impairment.

Stein, acting without orders, redirected the unit's output channel to an unknown frequency, presumably associated with the Pilgrims. A sharp burst of activity in the cognitive spectrum was recorded, followed by a brief loss of consciousness in all operators within a 200-meter radius. 3.4 seconds after the unit's activation, a one-way message was recorded in the logs.

SUPPLEMENTARY MESSAGE / FIELD REPORT
Observation Foundation / Access Level: BLACK-3
Date: October 12, 1997
Location: Eastern sector of [TITLE REDACTED], 134th Special Forces Brigade Command Post

[00:02:23] - BEGIN RECORDING

OPERATIONAL FRAGMENT / TRANSMITTED FROM THE FIELD

Voice (unidentified, presumably communications technician):
(against a low-frequency hum, distorted electromagnetic noise)
- Unstable active radiation detected from a military truck. Repeat: the psychostabilizer unit is active.
- The signal is directed into the upper spectrum. Contains parameters previously associated with the Pilgrims.

[00:02:31] - STEIN'S MESSAGE

Bruce Stein (Finance Department):
(recording from the truck cabin, voice level, without emotional fluctuations)
- I offer myself.
(pause)
- Use me as a vessel. I am pure. I agree.

Surveillance operator's voice:
- At the time of transmission: cognitive stability level is abnormally high.
- Emotional profile - suppressed.
- Possible outside interference excluded: Stein is acting voluntarily.

[00:02:45] - OBJECT REACTION IN THE AIR

Observation Officer:
- The object has changed orientation. It's turning.
(pause, noise intensifies)
- He looks at Stein.
- The space between them... is compressing. Visually, it's as if the distance is disappearing.

Voice (soldier):
- It's walking toward him. Straight through the air. Without movement, but getting closer.

[00:02:57] - PSYCHOMANCERS' INTERVENTION

Voice (Observation Operator):
- The psychomancers have begun restructuring.
- The geometry is shifting... they're forming a shield.
- Positioning themselves between the object and Stein.

(in the background, a sharp sound pulse, like the tinkling of glass, superimposed on a low hum)

R'mel (mentally, recorded as background):
- They understood. He's not for him.
- Stein is not a vessel. He is a door.

[00:03:11] - ARTILLERY STRIKE BEGINS

Voice (battery operator):
- Fire! I repeat: fire!
(sound of a volley, followed by a dull thud, signal distortion)

Observation officer:
- The shells are not reaching their target. Space... is compressing.
- But the figure is reacting. The pulsation has increased.
- Psychomancers are stabilizing the front. The shield is holding.

[00:03:26] - STEIN'S CONDITION

Voice (medical observation technician):
- Stein is alive. Consciousness is active, but unresponsive to external stimuli.
- Pupils dilated. Pulse rate 41. Body temperature rising.
- A weak cognitive field surrounds him. Possibly the initial stages of contact.

[00:03:39] - UNKNOWN TRANSMISSION

Voice (distorted, source unknown):
(overlaying on communication channel, voice unidentifiable, multi-voice)
- The gate is open.
(pause)
- He is not a vessel. He is a circuit.
- We are moving.

Voice (communication operator):
- These are not Psychomancers. Not a figure. This is... a third source.
- Signal parameters are off-scale. Frequency is non-localizable.

[00:03:54] - FIGURE REACTION

Observation Officer:
- The figure has stopped.
- It is... trembling. As if losing its shape. - The space around us is tearing apart.
- The psychomancers are strengthening the shield. One... is destroyed.

[00:04:02] - SUBJECT #12'S COMMENTARY

(body mic recording):
- He can't get through. He doesn't know how.
- He wasn't invited.
(pause)
- But the Pilgrims are coming. They're already here. We're in them.

R'mel (mentally):
- Don't move. He'll see movement. He doesn't see forms. He sees intent.

[00:04:15] - SYSTEM WARNING

Signal distortion. Momentary communication failure. Stabilization in 2.7 seconds.
Cause: Cognitive surge of unknown origin. Source: Bruce Stern.

[00:04:20] - CONCLUSION OF THE FRAGMENT

Agent "Raven" (on the internal channel):
- We're not going to them.
- They're coming to us.
- They're going through him.

[RECORDING INTERRUPTED / TRANSITION TO REAL-TIME]