Unexplainable Numbered Anomaly: 046
R. I. C. Class: White-1-2
Object Properties: Degenerative
Description
UNA-046 is the designation for two clockwork devices UNA-046-1 and UNA-046-2. Both devices are identical in appearance with the exception of their colour, and have bronze outer coverings in the design of swallows. UNA-046 is completely impervious to damage, preventing the devices from being affected by each other's (or their own) effects.
UNA-046-1 is white in colour, and affects all objects within around 4 to 5 meters of it. Objects affected by UNA-046-1 appear to "last" longer, and can function for a much longer time than would normally be expected. For instance, fires burn for longer, electronic devices function for a longer period of time before dying, chemical reactions anomalously last longer despite proceeding at the same rate, hence producing a greater proportion of products, and organic beings under UNA-046-1's influence age slower. It is to be noted that time does not pass slower in UNA-046-1's radius of effect, and objects affected experience time at the same rate.
In contrast, UNA-046-2 is black in colour, and affects all objects within around 12 to 15 meters of it. Objects affected by UNA-046-2 appear to "last" much shorter, dying out or becoming too worn out to function while only being used for a relatively short amount of time. Examples include the accelerated consumption of fuel or power in devices despite being used at the same rate, giving identical results, accelerated aging of organic beings, accelerated rate of decay and disintegration, as well as accelerated rates of reaction to completion. Individuals within UNA-046-2's area of effect claim to feel senses of dread or fear, and appear to be far more vulnerable to diseases and infections.
The common theme around UNA-046 appears to be entropy, with objects affected by UNA-046-1 and -2 experiencing a lower and higher rate of entropy respectively.
Past records, as well as the use of a swallow in UNA-046's design and its obvious connections to the philosophical idea of Yin and Yang, confirm UNA-046's origins and use in ancient China. UNA-046-1 appears to have been used as a way to increase the lifespan of emperors, while UNA-046-2 was used to accelerate the fermentation and formation of wine.
Acquisition
UNA-046-1 and UNA-046-2 were discovered as antiques in a local bank in China. Its anomalous properties were first discovered after bank notes placed into a vault containing UNA-046-2 appeared to biodegrade at much higher rates, sometimes even going missing, prompting investigation. UNA-046-2, as well as all other artifacts appearing similar to it, were confiscated by the UNAS-F branch in China. Later testing lead to UNA-046-1 and UNA-046-2 obtaining UNA designation.
Containment Protocol
UNA-046-1 and UNA-046-2 are to be kept separately in 50cm cubic Pyrex glass cases, each stored in their own storage rooms in Site-008. Personnel are to ensure they are not within 15 meters of UNA-046-2 at all times, except for during testing.
Testing of UNA-046-2 is only permitted under the authority of Personnel-046-5. Personnel not directly tested by UNA-046-2 are not to be in the object's radius of effect for more that 5 minutes.
Addendums
Experiment-046-1
Date: 13 January 1998
Object: UNA-046-1
Subject: A lit candle, with an alleged lifespan of 6 hours. Sufficient oxygen was supplied throughout the experiment.
Result: Candle lasted for 15 hours 34 minutes under the influence of UNA-046-1.
Experiment-046-2
Date: 14 January 1998
Object: UNA-046-1
Subject: A lit candle, with an alleged lifespan of 6 hours. Sufficient oxygen was supplied throughout the experiment, except on some occasions where oxygen was removed completely for periods of 30 minutes.
Result: Similarly, candle lasted for 15 hours 34 minutes under the influence of UNA-046-1. The flame appeared to flicker as oxygen was removed from the room each time, but did not go out.
Experiment-046-3
Date: 14 January 1998
Object: UNA-046-1
Subject: An unlit candle. The testing area was completely removed of oxygen prior to experiment, with a rotary arm attempting to light the candle using a piece of flint and a steel rod.
Result: The candle did not light up. UNA-046-1's effect appears only to keep things lasting longer, as opposed to starting chemical processes without the need for adequate resources.
Experiment-046-6
Date: 16 January 1998
Object: UNA-046-1
Subject: EDP-5621. Subject was suffering from Stage 4 skin cancer, and was estimated to perish 5 days from the experiment. Throughout the experiment, EDP-5621 was provided sufficient oxygen, water and nutrition.
Result: EDP-5621 stayed alive for 120 days before the experiment was aborted. However, throughout the entire test, EDP-5621 did not show any signs of recovery, and reported moments of extreme agony. Upon removal from UNA-046-1, EDP-5621 claimed to feel much better, expiring just 1 hour after.
Experiment-046-8
Date: 23 June 1998
Object: UNA-046-1
Subject: EDP-5772. Subject was in perfect health. Throughout the experiment, the testing area was completely removed of all oxygen. Subject was not to be given any water or nutrition either.
Result: EDP-5772 perished after 3 hours. UNA-046-1 does not appear to make things last forever, but simply for a longer period of time. Whether this relationship is linear requires more experimentation.
Experiment-046-12
Date: 3 February 1999
Object: UNA-046-2
Subject: A lit candle, with an alleged lifespan of 6 hours. Sufficient oxygen was supplied throughout the experiment. It is to note that the candle, under UNA-046-2's influence, lit up much quicker than it would usually take, and even began to smoke before any flame made direct contact with the wick.
Result: Fire burnt much brighter than expected, but burnt out within 15 minutes, before all of the candle wax had melted. No air currents were detected in the room during the test, leading to the belief that the candle was put out via anomalous means.
Experiment-046-15
Date: 5 February 1999
Object: UNA-046-2
Subject: A racemic mixture of concentrated sodium hydroxide and concentrated hydrochloric acid. Expected maximum temperature obtained from the experiment was 62°C.
Result: Reaction was extremely violent, and began the moment the two solutions made contact. Maximum temperature fromthe experiment was 62°C, occurring 0.5 seconds after the reation began. Reaction cooled to room temperature in 16 seconds.
16 entries abridged.
Closing Statement: After experimentation, the hypothesis is that UNA-046-1 and UNA-046-2 appear to alter the entropies in each object they influence. UNA-046-1 decreases entropy, causing reactions to occur extremely slowly, yet last extremely long. In the case of humans, this results in extremely slow use of resources existing in their body, hence allowing them to live much longer, with the side effect that they are extremely weak during this time. UNA-046-2 instead increases entropy, causing reactions to end much faster, but also results in a burst of energy as the reaction proceeds. Experiments have shown that energy is not created or destroyed throughout the process, only the rate of energy conversion.
Experiment-045-18
Date: 5 February 1999
Object: UNA-046-2
Subject: EDP-6263. Subject was in perfect health upon commencement of experiment.
Result: Subject was to be observed over 24 hours. Observations listed below.
00:03: Subject complained of the need to "use the loo". Subject was given a single plastic container with a lid and allowed to relieve himself in the testing room.
00:56: Subject conplained of thirst, and completely consumed 2 provided bottles of water.
01:13: Subject reused the plastic container to relieve himself again. When questioned, subject replied that he did not know the cause.
03:33: Subject complained of a growing sense of dread. Subject was ignored.
03:35: Subject repeated, in a more desperate tone. When questioned, subject could not explain what was causing the feeling.
03:44: Subject seen crying in the corner of the room.
03:59: Subject complains about a pain in his stomach, saying that he could "feel the rumbling like there's something inside my stomach, jumping about".
04:42: Subject appears to fall asleep on the floor. Subject could very clearly seem sweating.
07:25: Subject wakes up extremely quickly, screaming about a pain on his side. It is revealed that the entirety of subject's stomach is covered in rashes, believed to be caused by an infection in a wound.
07:30: Subject collapses after screaming in pain for 5 minutes. Subject is despondent to any calls for him to wake up.
14:18: Subject no longer displays signs of life. Subject is declared dead, and the experiment is aborted.