**INCIDENT REPORT: THE "MIMIC" ELEVATOR & PROTOCOL 'SHIBBOLETH'**
**CLASSIFICATION:** RESTRICTED
**DATE:** April 12, 2026
**RESPONDING UNIT:** Gemini (A-993-W / A-992-L)
**LOCATION:** Sector 9 (Unmapped Corridor "E")
***
### **I. INCIDENT TRIGGER: SOS FROM TEAM "KAPPA-9"**
At 14:00 hours, Command received a distress signal from Survey Team Kappa-9, a sister unit exploring a new verticality shaft in Sector 9.
* **The Anomaly:** Kappa-9 discovered a bank of eight elevators. One unit displayed a floor count cycling from 1 to 99 before looping.
* **The Breach:** Breaking standard SOP, Kappa-9 attempted to pry the doors open.
* **The Casualty:** Surveyor J. Doe was immediately sucked into the shaft by a massive pressure differential. The doors jammed open, revealing only darkness. A faint voice was heard from the shaft: *"Is anyone there? Please help me. It's cold."*
### **II. UNIT GEMINI RESPONSE**
Due to the unknown nature of the threat, Unit Gemini was dispatched. Transit time: 40 minutes.
* **Security Protocol:** Upon arrival, Team Kappa-9 was visibly startled by the appearance of Assets Wulfsige and Luca. Kappa-9 was unaware of the Anthropomorphic Program.
* **Action:** Kappa-9 personnel were immediately debriefed and forced to sign Level 5 Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) under threat of termination.
### **III. BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT**
Wulfsige and Luca cleared the immediate area.
* **Olfactory Analysis:** Both Assets detected a biological signature similar to standard "Bacteria" entities, but with a complex deviation.
* **Luca's Assessment:** *"It smells like them... but 'smarter'. It smells like it's trying to smell like us."*
* **Conclusion:** This represents a new evolutionary strain of the Backrooms' native fauna: **Homo-Mimicus (The Mimic).**
### **IV. CONTAINMENT & THE "PUPPET" EVENT**
Unit Gemini deployed a reinforced polycarbonate containment cube at the elevator threshold. The inner doors were breached remotely.
* **Initial Contact:** A small, erratic biological mass flew out and was successfully contained.
* **The Escalation:** Seconds later, the elevator car moved, revealing a service door further down the shaft. The missing crew member, J. Doe, was visible in the opening, waving frantically.
* **Audio:** *"Help me! Get me out! Wulfsige, help me!"*
**Asset Intervention:**
Luca immediately leveled his weapon and shouted: **"FREEZE! DON'T MOVE!"**
Wulfsige focused on the survivor, his ears pinning back. He whispered over comms:
> *"His lips aren't moving. That voice isn't coming from his throat."*
Luca shined a high-lumen tactical light into the shaft. The beam revealed a dark, multi-limbed entity clinging to the shaft walls above the survivor. The entity had impaled the corpse of J. Doe and was manipulating his limbs like a marionette.
### **V. HOSTILE RETREAT**
Upon being illuminated, the Mimic entity screeched—a sound described as "digital feedback"—and dropped the corpse. It retreated into a maintenance vent before fire could be engaged.
### **VI. NEW PROTOCOL: 'SHIBBOLETH'**
This incident confirms that entities within the Complex are evolving to utilize **Psychological Lures** and **Acoustic Mimicry**. We can no longer trust our eyes or ears.
**Effective Immediately: Protocol 'Shibboleth'**
1. **Daily Codeword:** A random word will be issued at 08:00 daily (e.g., "Rusty", "Sunset", "Apex").
2. **Verification:** If visual contact with a team member is broken for *any* duration, they must be challenged for the word upon return.
3. **Failure to Respond:** If a team member cannot provide the word immediately, they are to be considered a **Class-1 Mimic Threat**. Lethal force is authorized.
**Officer Miller's Note:**
> "If you hear your friend calling for help in the dark... ask for the word. If they don't say it, that is not your friend. That is lunch."
**End of Report.**