Postmortem: Plaster Pigs

ATHAN

Previously on REDACTED.

KAREN

Pet! The fucking! Dog!

SLOAN

Postmortem incident report regarding Aberration ATPC-0214. Colloquially known as Plaster Pigs. TRU members in attendance, Eli Reyes. Meeting recording by public relations Agent Sloan Summers.

SLOAN

Agent Reyes, before we begin, are you… feeling all right? Your report mentioned direct exposure to the Aberrations.

ELI

No, yeah, yeah, I'm—I’m good. Took a few hours, but the—rage thing wore off.

SLOAN

I see. Well, I'm relieved to hear that there were no lasting effects.

SLOAN

Let's proceed then.

SLOAN

Please walk us through the events of the case.

ELI

Sure. So this case opened when Dr. Fleming–caught wind of an unusual pattern of collapsing homes in a large suburban area, all involving casualties.

ELI

And what made it stand out is that the cause of death was unrelated to the collapse itself, right?

ELI

Instead, first responders found fatal wounds resulting from mutual combat. So blunt force trauma, slashing wounds from kitchen knives, bite marks.

ELI

And to top it off, we found photo evidence of unidentified hoof prints surrounding the house and on the bodies.

ELI

Suffice to say, seemed like our kind of case.

ELI

So, Agent Kipp made first contact with what we believe would have been the Aberration's next victims, a couple with an infant child. When Lucas approached the door, the Aberration was already present in the home and the family was compromised.

ELI

They were convinced the thing was their dog, kept insisting Lucas pet it, calling it a good boy, classic delusion behavior we see with cognitive Aberrations, but the big thing is the rage induction.

ELI

I mean, proximity and physical contact with the pigs cause immediate and severe aggression towards everyone, except the pig itself.

ELI

We chose to enter the home and intervene once the couple turned violent, and the pigs were everywhere, coming out of the walls, crawling on the ceiling, maybe a dozen, more?

ELI

It was obvious that their tunneling was compromising the–structural integrity of the house, but at this point they didn't seem bothered by us?

ELI

So we reached the homeowners, removed the baby from the house, and then incapacitated the couple after they attacked.

ELI

And that's when the pigs went ballistic. Any that were crawling around the house converged on that room, and they were just scratching at the door, throwing themselves against it, trying to just– (claps hands) –break through and the walls were literally shaking, and–

SLOAN

So what you're saying is that the Aberrations demonstrated a sort of protective behavior toward the affected humans.

ELI

Right.

SLOAN

Is that correct?

ELI

Yeah, seemed like it. Or maybe we were just interrupting their cycle and they were pissed off.

ELI

I'm not quite sure.

ELI

But anyway, we moved fast.

ELI

You know, the house coming down.

ELI

Ultimately, the Aberration was killed. The witnesses were handed over to processing and Ignatius was called in for cleanup.

SLOAN

Thank you, Agent Reyes.

SLOAN

Agent Koška has cleared the witnesses. The Aberration's effects didn't last long once they were no longer exposed.

SLOAN

Fortunately for us, that means that there was no permanent psychological damage, at least none that we could detect.

SLOAN

And the cognitive tampering works in our favor, actually, given that they still remember the Aberration as their dog.

SLOAN

Makes my job a little bit easier.

SLOAN

I've also been informed by Dr. Danse that a cluster of unlaid eggs were salvaged from the pig carcass you delivered.

SLOAN

So, well done on that front as well.

SLOAN

This leads us to believe that the tunneling is part of its nesting process.

SLOAN

As to the rage induction–Dr. Danse hasn't yielded anything tangible yet, but… no reports indicate that the pigs consume their deceased victims or anything like that. Perhaps the pigs derive some sort of nourishment from the anger itself?

SLOAN

This is one of the theories we're testing, at least.

SLOAN

I'm sure he'll make more progress once they hatch–

ELI

Wait, once they—?

SLOAN

–So we have that to look forward to.

ELI

Once they hatch?

SLOAN

There's still much to learn about these creatures, Agent Reyes.

SLOAN

Destroying the eggs without seeing what becomes of them would only be a waste of a valuable opportunity and resources, so of course we're going to let them hatch.

SLOAN

In terms of public exposure, well, it's unfortunate that mundane emergency responses became so involved before your investigation began, but alas, this becomes unavoidable when these things become as high-profile as collapsing houses and domestic mortal combat, so...

SLOAN

This is at a stage where an official explanation might do more harm than good. It's convoluted enough as it is. All trace evidence of the Aberration was removed from the site, so for now, as far as we're concerned, we're content to let them continue scratching their heads in confusion.

SLOAN

Now, what I do need is to note one concern regarding your team's field conduct.

ELI

What's the concern?

SLOAN

Per your report, Agent Kipp's contact with the Aberration occurred when the affected civilians coerced him into petting the Aberration, correct?

SLOAN

Well, I understand that the situation was delicate. Perhaps your team should develop better protocol for avoiding physical contact with unknown entities?

SFX

Eli scoffs

ELI

Better protocols? Agent Kipp was trying to avoid provoking cognitively altered civilians. What were we supposed to do? Shoot the pig in front of them?

SLOAN

I'm simply suggesting…

ELI

Ah, (mocking) I'm simply suggesting.

ELI

You know what, Sloan? It's real easy to critique field decisions when you're safe in your squeaky clean office. Ooh, how about we put you in a house full of—rage monsters?

ELI

See how you do, just (imitates pig grunting) oinkin' at you and shit!

SLOAN

Agent Reyes!

ELI

I...

ELI

(Laughs weakly) I'm sorry, that was...

ELI

I...

ELI

I think there still might be some residual effect from the pig.

ELI

I should... I should probably... I should probably go.

SLOAN

I think that would be wise. I'll finish the report without you.

ELI

Sloan, I... I really am sorry, that was...

SLOAN

See Dr. Danse and have him clear you before you leave the facility.

ELI

I...

ELI

Yeah.

ELI

Thank you.

SFX

footsteps, door shuts

SFX

sounds of a phone number being entered, then ringing

DR. DANSE

(Over the phone) Sloan?

SLOAN

Good afternoon, William.

SLOAN

I just sent Agent Reyes to you for an evaluation.

SLOAN

He should be appearing at your door shortly.

SLOAN

He was showing signs of agitation and elevated temper during our debrief.

SLOAN

Claimed it was residual effect from his contact with the plaster pigs or something like that.

DR. DANSE

I see. Did… something happen?

SLOAN

Eh. Minor outburst.

SLOAN

Nothing serious, but… I think it's for the best if we keep him under quarantine until we are certain that it's, you know, under control.

DR. DANSE

What's the time frame?

SLOAN

Mmm.

SLOAN

You know, let's start with 48 hours. If it's truly a residual effect from the Aberration, then we should consider reclassifying its threat level. And if not, just let me know so I can update Agent Reyes' file accordingly.

DR. DANSE

Ah, understood. I'll keep you posted.

SFX

knock on the door

DR. DANSE

He's here. Bye for now.

SFX

hangs up

SLOAN

Becca! I think I could use a drink.

OUTRO

Outro theme

ATHAN

Thank you for listening to another episode of REDACTED Postmortem, starring Lyssa Jay as Sloan Summers, Athen as Eli Reyes, and Derek Moreland as Dr. Danse.

ATHAN

If you're enjoying the show, visit the redactedunit.com for episode details, the redactedunit.com/discord to connect with the audience, and the patreon.com /theredactedunit for behind the scenes and bonus content.

ATHAN

We'll see you next week.

ATHAN

Thanks for listening.

Transcript from the production script, matched to the final audio.