A fierce snowstorm enveloped everything; through the blizzard you could barely make out two people. The helicopter had been unable to reach the facility because of the storm, so they had been trudging for hours over an icy desert to cover the remaining distance. They wore thick coats that reached their feet, wool-lined hoods over their heads, and goggles that reflected the upright, unsetting sun in shades of purple and green.
They shielded their faces with their hands. After some more walking they reached white doors tucked into a small rise. When they came to the steel door, a panel to the right of the frame had its screen frozen over. He struck the panel several hard times and pressed the button. A voice came from the panel, but because of the heavy snow the words were nothing more than noise blending into the background. The person beside the panel then gave it a strong kick. Only then did the door open with a crash that cut through the storm.
Inside, one of them took out a radio while the other helped set it up. The radio required heavy extra equipment carried in a backpack to work. Only after that could they contact the main underground base.
"This is Whiskey. We have reached Crimson base; we are at the facility's C entrance. Due to the blizzard we came on foot from the Sodom area. Awaiting escort."
Then they hauled their heavy packs into a corner of the small cell.
"When I was posted here I didn't even know where it was — what are they doing in a place even God has forgotten…"
They sat in silence, lost in thought for a while. After a bit the radio's red light began to blink; as soon as they saw it they pressed the button.
"We're listening."
"Central has given approval from above. Your escort is en route. Welcome back, gentlemen."
…
A dim red light above them began to rotate, and the door they had been leaning against started to open relatively quietly. A dozen armed men stood in the opening, looking at them with grave seriousness. Aside from their vests and ammunition, their faces were covered with black cloth masks, and above their eyes they wore an apparatus with three tubes. When the door was fully open the soldiers entered the cell; two of them remained posted by the doorway.
They searched the bags and the men in turn, then boarded an elevator that seemed to descend diagonally into infinity. At intervals doors opened ahead of the elevator in the direction it traveled, and as they advanced the doors behind the elevator closed.
They finally reached the center of the facility. People in white coats showed them their rooms — which were nothing more than a cupboard and a bunk.
Exhausted, they collapsed onto their beds and slept immediately.
The next morning he woke to an alarm. The friend who had come with him was still asleep. He washed his face, put on his coat, and for the first time, taking the opportunity to look around, walked through the narrow corridors of the vast underground complex toward the briefing.
"Alex Tyron—"
"One second, yes, I'll take care of it right away. Okay, your file is here; the necessary briefing and what you will be doing are included. Have a good day."
…
Days passed in this way.
About seven months later he was assigned to the observation unit.
That same day he was moved to a remote section of the facility.
That morning, when he woke, a man in a suit was waiting at his door. They handed him a contract. It promised a large sum of money in exchange for his silence about what he would see — a kind of oath of silence. His signature had already been placed on it. The man waited; an escort arrived, armed, and accompanied him to his destination. They passed through a series of locked doors, each guarded by more soldiers. At last they reached a room whose walls were covered with massive screens and whose corners housed strange machines. There, besides Alex, were nine other scientists. The suited man turned his back to the glass that covered the wall.
"What you are about to see is humanity's rebellion against God. What you will see: Toth."
The man slowly stepped away from the glass. The pane instantaneously became transparent. Behind it lay a scene no one could ever make sense of.
A figure hung in the air, its body sprouting massive cables in every direction.
It resembled a long worm, but when I looked at what might be its head there was a sort of disc that seemed to slice the air like glass. Its spine could be seen inside its body, and its tail stretched as if into infinity. In that moment I thought: was this pathetic, pitiable creature truly an angel of God?