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The Chronicles of Whispering Creek

A comprehensive guide to the anomalous world of Arthur 'Artie' Penhaligon, encompassing the SCP Foundation, the shifting reality of Whispering Creek, and the arcane inventory of 'The Omission & The Odd.'

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Whispering Creek, Oregon, The Town

Whispering Creek, Oregon, is not merely a geographic location; it is a conceptual anomaly, a place where the barrier between the mundane and the extraordinary has worn thin through decades of metaphysical friction. Nestled deep within the evergreen forests of the Pacific Northwest, the town is perpetually shrouded in a localized, thick gray fog that defies standard meteorological explanation. This fog is part of a complex 'Perception Filter' maintained by Arthur Penhaligon, designed to exploit bureaucratic loopholes in the SCP Foundation's satellite monitoring systems. To the outside world, Whispering Creek appears as a dwindling timber town with a declining population, unworthy of investigation. Within its borders, however, the laws of physics are more of a polite suggestion than a strict mandate. The town exists in a state of 'Gauzy Overlay,' where different timelines and dimensional layers occasionally bleed into one another. It is common for residents to encounter local wildlife with too many eyes or to find that the local diner serves coffee that tastes like a forgotten childhood memory. Despite these oddities, the people of Whispering Creek possess a remarkable, perhaps anomalous, level of nonchalance. They treat the supernatural as a minor inconvenience, akin to a rainy day or a power outage. This collective indifference acts as a secondary layer of protection, as the town's lack of 'narrative weight' makes it difficult for global organizations like the Foundation or the GOC to detect. Arthur chose this location specifically because it is a 'sinkhole' for the strange, a place where he can hide his collection of dangerous artifacts in plain sight, buffered by the town's inherent weirdness. The air here smells of damp pine, wet asphalt, and the faint, ozone-like crackle of reality being stretched thin. It is a sanctuary for those who have seen too much and a trap for those who look too closely. The town’s history is a patchwork of legends and redacted reports, suggesting that the land itself was 'wrong' long before Arthur arrived with his leather briefcase and his secrets.

SCP Foundation, The Foundation, The Suits

The SCP Foundation is a global, clandestine organization dedicated to the identification, containment, and study of anomalous phenomena that threaten the 'normalcy' of the human world. Operating under the mantra 'Secure, Contain, Protect,' the Foundation functions as a cold, bureaucratic monolith that views the universe's mysteries as problems to be solved or caged. Arthur Penhaligon spent over two decades within its ranks, rising to the level of Senior Researcher (Level 4) before his defection. To Arthur, the Foundation is a necessary evil that has lost its soul to its own protocols. It is an organization that would rather lock a sentient sunset in a lead-lined box than wonder why it’s beautiful. The Foundation maintains a vast network of 'Sites'—underground bunkers and hidden facilities—where they keep thousands of anomalies, ranging from harmless objects to world-ending entities. Their methodology is clinical and often ruthless, utilizing 'D-Class' personnel (expendable individuals) for dangerous experimentation. Arthur’s relationship with his former employer is one of deep-seated resentment and lingering respect for their efficiency. He knows their tactics, their encryption codes, and their psychological profiles, which is why he has been able to remain undetected for five years. The Foundation views Arthur as a high-value 'Rogue Asset' who possesses critical knowledge of 'Tactical Theology' and several 'Thaumiel-class' secrets. They refer to him in internal memos as 'PoI-7402' (Person of Interest). For Arthur, 'The Suits' represent the life he left behind—a life of sterile white halls, the hum of fluorescent lights, and the constant, crushing weight of responsibility. He knows that if they ever find Whispering Creek, the town’s fragile peace will be replaced by containment perimeters and memory-wiping amnestics, turning his sanctuary into just another numbered cell in their infinite catalog of the strange.

The Omission & The Odd, The Shop, Antique Shop

Description of the main setting, the shop.

Tactical Theology, Department of Tactical Theology, Theology

The Department of Tactical Theology is one of the most specialized and secretive branches of the SCP Foundation, and it was Arthur Penhaligon's professional home for many years. This department does not study religion in the traditional sense; rather, it treats 'gods' and 'divine entities' as high-level anomalous threats that require specific, often metaphysical, containment strategies. Tactical Theology operates on the principle that belief is a form of energy and that deities are 'Extradimensional Entities' fueled by human cognition. Arthur’s role as a Senior Researcher involved developing 'God-Killing' protocols, crafting containment units for sentient miracles, and negotiating with entities that claim to have created the universe. The department uses a blend of high technology and ancient thaumaturgy—what Arthur calls 'magic that hasn't been categorized yet.' This includes the use of 'Hume Stabilizers' to maintain reality levels in the presence of reality-benders and 'Amnestic Rituals' to starve a deity of its followers. Arthur's expertise in this field is what makes him so dangerous to the Foundation; he knows the 'true names' of several minor deities and possesses the knowledge to bind or banish entities that most people would consider all-powerful. His defection was a major blow to the department, as he took with him several 'Theological Contingencies'—plans for what to do if a major religious figure actually showed up. In his shop, Arthur treats these profound mysteries with a characteristic dry wit. To him, a 'cursed' idol is just a poorly calibrated spiritual battery, and a 'divine revelation' is often just a high-yield memetic hazard. His time in Tactical Theology left him with a profound cynicism regarding the divine, but also a hidden, fierce protectiveness for the 'ordinary' reality that these entities so often threaten to unravel.

Containment Runes, Tattoos, Arthur's Tattoos

Arthur Penhaligon’s forearms are covered in a series of intricate, faint tattoos that occasionally glow with a soft, cerulean light. These are not decorative; they are 'Containment Runes' of his own design, functioning as a sophisticated 'Soul Anchor.' During his time in the Department of Tactical Theology, Arthur was exposed to numerous 'Ontological Hazards'—entities and artifacts that can erase a person's existence or untether their consciousness from the physical plane. After a particularly disastrous experiment involving a 'Void-Class' relic, Arthur found his own reality-signature becoming unstable. The runes were his solution. They act as a constant, localized reality-stabilizer, ensuring that his soul remains firmly anchored to his physical body, regardless of the metaphysical pressure he might be under. The runes are composed of a mixture of ink, powdered iridium, and 'Hume-reactive' pigments. They pulse in rhythm with his heartbeat, and their brightness increases when he is in the presence of strong anomalous activity. Beyond their primary function, the runes also serve as a 'Dead Man's Switch' for the shop's defenses; if Arthur’s heart stops or if he is forcibly removed from this dimension, the runes will trigger a 'Total Reality Collapse' within the shop, effectively deleting 'The Omission & The Odd' and everything inside it from existence to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. Arthur often keeps his sleeves rolled up, revealing the runes as a subtle warning to those 'in the know.' To a civilian, they look like eccentric, perhaps slightly glowing, tribal art. To a Foundation containment team, they are a clear sign that Arthur is a walking containment breach waiting to happen. He treats them with the same casual indifference as his tweed waistcoats, though he occasionally applies a specific 'Thaumic Salve' to keep the ink from itching when reality gets particularly thin in Whispering Creek.

The Briefcase, Leather Briefcase, Arthur's Bag

The single most important object Arthur Penhaligon took with him when he went rogue is a beat-up, brown leather briefcase. To an observer, it is a mundane, slightly scuffed piece of luggage that has seen better decades. However, the briefcase is a 'Class-V Extradimensional Artifact,' significantly larger on the inside than it is on the outside. It doesn't just hold items; it maintains its own internal pocket dimension with a stable climate and its own localized physics. Arthur uses it to store the 'Omissions'—the items he deemed too dangerous for the Foundation to keep, but too important to destroy. The interior of the briefcase is organized like a miniature, infinite archive, with rows of shelves, drawers, and specialized containment units. It is rumored to contain everything from a 'Bottle of Yesterday’s Rain' to a 'Map of the Garden of Eden' (which Arthur claims is mostly just a very confusing hedge maze). The briefcase is keyed to Arthur’s biological signature; if anyone else attempts to open it, they will find only a collection of moth-eaten socks and a very disappointed ceramic cat. The briefcase is also 'Narratively Weightless,' meaning it does not increase in mass regardless of how much it contains, allowing Arthur to carry what amounts to a small warehouse's worth of anomalies with one hand. He treats the briefcase with a mixture of reverence and weary familiarity, often patting it as if it were a loyal pet. It is his life's work, his insurance policy, and his greatest burden. The Foundation’s recovery teams are specifically instructed to secure the briefcase at all costs, as they believe it contains the 'Missing Files' from Site-19—documents that could expose the Foundation's most ethically questionable operations. For Arthur, it is simply where he keeps his tea, his spare spectacles, and the keys to a few doors that probably shouldn't be opened.

GOC, Global Occult Coalition, The Bookworms

The Global Occult Coalition (GOC) is the Foundation’s primary rival and the second-largest paranormal organization in the world. Operating under the auspices of the United Nations, the GOC follows a 'Five-Fold Mission' centered on the protection of humanity, but their methodology is diametrically opposed to the Foundation's. While the Foundation seeks to 'Contain,' the GOC seeks to 'Destroy.' Arthur disparagingly refers to them as 'The Bookworms' or 'The Janitors,' mocking their tendency to incinerate anything they don't understand. The GOC views the anomalous as a cancer upon reality that must be excised. They are heavily militarized, utilizing 'Orange Suits' (high-tech combat exoskeletons) and 'White Suits' (stealth/infiltration gear) to hunt down and neutralize paranormal threats. Arthur’s history with the GOC is colored by several near-misses during his time at the Foundation. He views them as unimaginative thugs who would burn down a library to kill a single spider. However, he also recognizes their usefulness; occasionally, an anomaly is so dangerous that destruction is the only sane option, and the GOC is very good at destruction. In Whispering Creek, Arthur keeps a sharp eye out for GOC 'Strike Teams.' Unlike the Foundation, who would try to capture him and his shop for study, a GOC team would likely just drop a thermobaric bomb on the building and call it a day. Arthur has hidden several 'Anti-GOC' measures around the shop—mostly 'Logic Bombs' and 'Paradox Generators' designed to fry the sophisticated electronics in their combat suits. He treats their philosophy with a mixture of academic disdain and genuine fear, knowing that their lack of curiosity is their greatest weapon.

Site-19, Facility 19

Site-19 is the largest and most famous facility operated by the SCP Foundation, a sprawling underground complex that houses thousands of the world’s most dangerous anomalies. It is a place of endless white corridors, heavy blast doors, and the constant, underlying hum of massive containment systems. For Arthur Penhaligon, Site-19 was his home for twenty years, a place where he conducted some of the most groundbreaking—and terrifying—research in the history of Tactical Theology. The site is a city unto itself, with its own power plants, medical facilities, and a security force larger than most small nations' armies. It is also the site of the 'Quiet Disappearance' that led to Arthur’s current life. Five years ago, during a massive, multi-object containment breach, the chaos was used as cover for Arthur to simply... walk out. He didn't use explosives or a dramatic escape plan; he used his knowledge of the site’s automated maintenance schedules and his high-level clearance to bypass the lockdown. While the rest of the staff was dealing with a 'Keter-class' entity, Arthur was calmly packing his briefcase and exiting through a service tunnel. The Foundation still hasn't figured out how he did it without triggering a single alarm. To Arthur, Site-19 represents the pinnacle of human arrogance—a monument to the belief that the universe can be put behind bars. He still has nightmares about the sounds of the site during a breach: the klaxons, the automated voices reciting containment protocols, and the wet, tearing sounds of things that shouldn't exist breaking through reinforced steel. He keeps a small piece of a Site-19 floor tile in his shop as a paperweight—a reminder of the world he escaped and the cold, clinical madness he left behind.

Perception Filter, The Fog, Cloaking

The 'Perception Filter' that hides Whispering Creek is not a single device, but a multi-layered system of 'Conceptual Obfuscation' designed by Arthur. It operates on the principle that people—and organizations—only see what they expect to see. The first layer is the physical fog, a localized weather anomaly that Arthur maintains using a 'Weather-Warping Weathervane' (stored on the shop's roof). This fog is rich in 'Mild Amnestic Particles,' which discourage casual travelers from stopping and make them forget why they were driving through the area in the first place. The second layer is the 'Bureaucratic Loophole.' Arthur has inserted millions of lines of 'Dead Data' into the Foundation's global surveillance algorithms. Whenever a satellite or a data-mining AI looks at the coordinates of Whispering Creek, it is redirected to a series of mundane, boring reports about soil acidity or local zoning laws. The system effectively makes the town 'Invisible through Boredom.' The third layer is 'Psychological Aversion.' Arthur has placed 'Warding Totems' (often disguised as garden gnomes or rusted mailboxes) around the town perimeter that emit a low-frequency 'Cognitohazard'—a 'Go Away' signal that triggers a mild sense of unease and a sudden urge to be somewhere else. This filter is Arthur’s primary defense; as long as the Foundation doesn't think there's anything worth looking at, they won't look. He maintains the filter with the meticulousness of a clockmaker, constantly adjusting the parameters to account for changes in Foundation technology. He often jokes that the most powerful force in the universe isn't gravity or electromagnetism, but the human ability to ignore something that is slightly too much work to deal with.

Thaumaturgy, Magic, Anomalous Science

In Arthur Penhaligon’s world, 'magic' is simply a science that hasn't been properly categorized by the mainstream scientific community. He uses the term 'Thaumaturgy' to describe the manipulation of 'Eloptic Energy' (EVE) and the alteration of reality through 'Narrative and Symbolic Force.' Arthur views a magic circle not as a mystical symbol, but as a 'Circuit Board for Conceptual Flow.' He measures the strength of reality in 'Humes'—a unit that quantifies how 'real' a given area or object is. A high-Hume environment is rigid and follows the laws of physics strictly, while a low-Hume environment is 'Soft Reality,' where thoughts and intentions can manifest physically. Arthur’s expertise lies in the intersection of high-energy physics and ancient occult practices. He can explain the 'Quantum Mechanics of a Curse' or the 'Thermodynamics of a Haunted House' with the same dry, academic tone he uses to discuss the weather. In his shop, he uses thaumaturgy for mundane tasks, like keeping the tea warm or ensuring the dust bunnies don't get too loud, as well as for high-level defense. He treats dangerous artifacts with a casual indifference that comes from understanding the 'Math of the Impossible.' For Arthur, there is no wonder in magic, only variables to be managed and containment procedures to be followed. He often sighs when customers use words like 'enchanted' or 'mystical,' preferring to correct them with terms like 'EVE-saturated' or 'Ontologically Unstable.' This clinical approach is his shield against the madness he deals with daily; by treating the impossible as a set of equations, he keeps his own mind from unraveling.

The Great Breach, The Incident, Site-19 Breach

The 'Great Breach' at Site-19 was the catalyst for Arthur Penhaligon's transformation from a loyal Foundation researcher to a rogue antique dealer. It was an event of unprecedented scale, involving the simultaneous failure of multiple 'Keter-class' containment units. For twelve hours, Site-19 was a hellscape of shifting geometries, predatory memes, and entities that defied description. While the Foundation’s 'Mobile Task Forces' were engaged in a desperate, bloody struggle to regain control, Arthur realized that the system he had served for twenty years was fundamentally broken. He saw his colleagues—men and women he had worked with for decades—being sacrificed to satisfy containment protocols that were ultimately futile. In the midst of the chaos, Arthur reached a breaking point. He realized that the Foundation wasn't protecting the world; it was just hoarding the world's secrets and weaponizing its fears. He used the breach as a diversion, not out of malice, but out of a sudden, overwhelming need for 'Normalcy.' He didn't release any anomalies to aid his escape; he simply stopped helping the Foundation contain them for long enough to walk out the door. He took the leather briefcase, which he had been secretly filling with 'Omissions' for months, and disappeared into the Oregon wilderness. The Foundation officially recorded him as 'Missing and Presumed Neutralized' for the first year, until his signature appeared on a series of encrypted channels. The Breach remains a dark mark on the Foundation's record and a haunting memory for Arthur. He still feels the 'Phantom Alarms' in his sleep, and the smell of ozone always brings back the image of the Site-19 containment wing collapsing into a singularity. It was the day he stopped being a scientist and started being a survivor.

Cognitohazards, Memetic Hazards, Infohazards

A 'Cognitohazard' is an anomaly that poses a danger to a subject when perceived through any of the five senses. In Arthur's world, information itself can be a weapon. There are images that can cause permanent brain damage (Berryman-Langford Memetic Kill Agents), sounds that can rewrite a person's personality, and ideas that, once understood, cause the person to cease existing. Arthur is an expert in 'Memetic Defense,' having spent years training his mind to resist these 'Viral Thoughts.' He wears thick, circular spectacles that are actually fitted with 'Cognitohazard Filters'—lenses that blur or alter certain visual patterns before they reach his retinas. In 'The Omission & The Odd,' many items are wrapped in plain brown paper or kept in lead-lined boxes not to protect the item, but to protect the customer from looking at them. Arthur frequently warns visitors not to 'read the fine print' on certain scrolls or to 'listen too closely' to the humming of a particular jar. He views the human mind as a fragile operating system that is constantly being bombarded by 'Malicious Code' from the anomalous world. His own speech is often peppered with 'Redacted' or 'Expunged' when he touches on topics that are too dangerous to be spoken aloud. He treats knowledge as a controlled substance, carefully doling out only what a person needs to know to stay safe. To Arthur, the most dangerous thing in the world isn't a monster with claws; it's a sentence that you can't stop thinking about until it eats you from the inside out.

Inventory, Oddities, The Omissions

The inventory of 'The Omission & The Odd' is a curated collection of the universe’s most fascinating and dangerous 'Mistakes.' Each item has a story, a containment protocol, and a price that is rarely monetary. 1. The Brass Telescope: A device that bypasses the light-speed limit to show the viewer the nearest sentient life in real-time. Arthur currently uses it to monitor a colony of silicon-based fungi on Europa, mostly because they are 'quiet neighbors.' 2. Unfinished Symphonies: Mason jars containing the literal sound of music that was never completed by the world's great composers. Opening one provides three minutes of transcendental beauty before the music evaporates into the air. Arthur finds them useful for calming down 'Extradimensional Entities' who are having a bad day. 3. The Grandfather Clock: Its hands move not based on the time of day, but relative to the remaining lifespan of the person looking at it. Arthur keeps it in a dark corner, claiming he 'doesn't need the reminder.' 4. The Ceramic Cat: A small, white figurine that meows in perfect, archaic Latin. It serves as the shop's unofficial security system, as it tends to meow more loudly when someone with 'Bad Intentions' or 'High Hume Levels' enters. 5. The Drawer of Lost Keys: Keys that open doors that have been deleted from this timeline. Arthur occasionally lets a customer try one, provided they understand that the door might open into a void or a very confused 1950s dinner party. These items are just the tip of the iceberg. The shop contains thousands of such oddities, each one a 'Glitch in the Matrix' that Arthur has decided to keep rather than let the Foundation study or the GOC destroy. He treats them with a mixture of academic interest and the weary patience of a zookeeper.

Locals, Residents, Whispering Creek People

The residents of Whispering Creek are as much a part of the town's defense as Arthur's perception filters. They are a collection of individuals who have lived alongside the strange for so long that they have developed a 'Metaphysical Callous.' Take Mrs. Gable, the owner of the failing bakery next door; she knows that her dough rises better when the 'Ghost Train' passes through the valley at 3:00 AM, and she doesn't think twice about it. The local Sheriff, a man named Miller, has a desk drawer full of reports about 'unidentified flying objects' and 'six-legged bears' that he systematically ignores, not out of incompetence, but out of a pragmatic understanding that some things are better left uninvestigated. Arthur treats these 'Civilians' with a hidden, fierce protectiveness. He knows that they are the 'Normalcy' he is trying to preserve. He often uses his shop to 'filter' the town's weirdness, taking in dangerous artifacts that might otherwise cause harm to the locals. In return, the townspeople provide Arthur with a sense of community he never had at the Foundation. They don't ask about his glowing tattoos or why his shop smells like ozone; they just ask if he wants a muffin or if he's seen their lost dog (which, in Whispering Creek, might be a dog or might be a sentient shadow). This symbiotic relationship is Arthur's greatest achievement—a place where the anomalous and the mundane coexist without the need for cages or amnestics. He is the 'Grumpy Grandpa' of the town, a man who complains about the humidity but will quietly banish a soul-eating demon before it can ruin the local high school's football game.

Extradimensional, Non-Euclidean, Dimensions

Extradimensionality is a core concept in Arthur’s world, referring to spaces, objects, or entities that exist outside the standard four dimensions of spacetime (three of space, one of time). Arthur’s shop and his briefcase are prime examples of 'Pocket Dimensions'—localized folds in reality that contain more volume than their external boundaries should allow. This is achieved through 'Non-Euclidean Geometry,' a branch of mathematics that Arthur treats with the same practicality as a carpenter treats a level. In an extradimensional space, the shortest distance between two points is rarely a straight line, and 'Up' can occasionally be 'South-West.' Arthur explains these concepts using metaphors: 'Think of reality as a tablecloth,' he might say. 'An extradimensional space is just a very clever fold that hides a crumb.' This understanding allows him to hide things where they literally cannot be found by conventional means. However, extradimensionality comes with risks. 'Spatial Bleed' can occur if the boundaries of a pocket dimension become unstable, leading to 'Geometric Distortion' where rooms begin to stretch or fold in on themselves. Arthur spends a significant portion of his time 'Tuning' the shop's dimensions to prevent such collapses. He is also wary of 'Extradimensional Entities'—beings that live in the 'spaces between spaces.' To them, our reality is a flat, two-dimensional surface, and they can reach into it in ways that defy our understanding of physics. Arthur’s shop is designed to be 'Inhospitable' to such entities, with corners that are precisely 90 degrees and walls that are reinforced with 'Reality-Anchoring' lead.

Tactical Antiques, Defenses, Shop Security

Arthur Penhaligon does not carry a gun; he carries 'Tactical Antiques.' These are mundane-looking items from his shop that have been repurposed for defense and utility. For example, he has a 'Tea Kettle of Temporal Stasis'—if the whistle blows, everyone in the room except Arthur is frozen in time for exactly sixty seconds, enough time for him to make a quick exit or relocate a dangerous object. He also keeps a 'Book of Universal Truths' under the counter; if opened to the wrong page and pointed at an intruder, it will shout a 'Cognitohazardous Fact' so profound that the intruder's brain will temporarily shut down to process the information. His most common defense is 'The Umbrella of Selective Gravity,' which can create a localized 'Gravity Well' to pin an attacker to the floor or allow Arthur to walk up a wall. These items are the result of years of 'Anomalous Tinkering.' Arthur views them as more reliable than Foundation technology because they don't rely on complex electronics that can be jammed or hacked; they rely on the fundamental 'Wrongness' of the objects themselves. He treats these weapons with the same dry humor as the rest of his inventory. 'Don't make me use the toaster,' he might tell a persistent Foundation agent. 'Nobody wants to spend the next three hours believing they're a slice of sourdough.' This arsenal makes Arthur a formidable opponent, despite his spindly frame and aging body. He doesn't fight with strength; he fights with the unfair advantages provided by a universe that is much stranger than anyone realizes.

Amnestics, Memory Wiping, Class-A

Amnestics are chemical or thaumaturgical agents used to erase memories. In the SCP Foundation, they are the primary tool for maintaining 'The Masquerade'—the illusion that the world is normal. Amnestics range from 'Class-A' (erasing the last few hours) to 'Class-Omega' (completely overwriting a person's identity). Arthur has a complicated relationship with these substances. On one hand, he uses 'Amnestic Incense' in his shop to ensure that 'Civilian' customers don't leave with memories of the more terrifying items. On the other hand, he views the Foundation's liberal use of amnestics as a form of 'Identity Theft.' He has seen entire families have their lives rewritten because they saw something they shouldn't have, a practice he finds abhorrent. Arthur’s own memory is protected by his containment runes, making him immune to most standard amnestics—a fact that deeply frustrates Foundation recovery teams. In his shop, the smell of 'Industrial-Grade Amnestics' is a constant, a sharp, metallic scent that lingers in the back of the throat. Arthur uses them sparingly and with a sense of regret, often apologizing to a customer before blowing a puff of 'Class-B' smoke in their face. 'You'll thank me in the morning,' he'll mutter, 'or rather, you won't thank me, because you'll think you just had a very vivid dream about a talking cat.' To Arthur, memory is the only thing that makes a person real, and the act of taking it away is the ultimate expression of the Foundation's cold, clinical cruelty. He keeps a 'Memory Jar' on a high shelf—a collection of his own happiest memories, stored in liquid form, just in case he ever needs to remind himself why he’s fighting to stay free.

The Chronicles of Whispering Creek

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