The Sacred Lab

A Cradle for a New God

We lucky few may count ourselves blessed to live within the incubator for a new tomorrow.

— Resident of the Sacred Lab

Within the furthest reaches of the highlands of Hansun, in a barren expanse featuring nothing but rocky mountains breaking up the stretches of lifeless dirt, is the complex which houses all of the Legion's deepest and darkest secrets. The titanic structure of steel and concrete is surrounded on all sides by sheer stone cliffs, visible only from above; perfectly hiding the enormous monster of brutal architecture and horrific science. Here is the home of The Human Augmentation Program, where they may conduct their terrible experiments far from any prying eyes.

by Simone Hutsch

Divine Monument

The Sacred Lab in any other setting would tower over all other neighbouring structures; it stands hundreds of meters tall, built of rough unfinished concrete bound by reinforcing steel. The form of the Lab takes on an almost cathedral-like aspect, with a grand central spire that widens out to a massive complex of conjoined structures below. The spire is the central point of the lab, and is an indicator of extreme importance for what may be found within; surrounding it are all of the auxillary systems and spaces required to keep such a monumental complex running.

The spire in particular stands out from the rest of the Divine Lab as it is entirely devoid of windows; this tall cylindrical structure instead proudly erupts nearly a kilometer above the rest like a giant fluted column, strange protrusions jutting out from it at sharp angles into the cold mountain air. Additionally, it's the one place within the entire complex that appears to use a different type of concrete -- instead of the regular beige-gray of the rest of the Sacred Lab, the spire is a dark-charcoal colour, and seems to be far older than the surrounding structure.

I'm getting lost just looking at the place. For the life of me, I can't tell what leads where. Please don't ask me to try and sneak inside, guaranteed that you'd never hear from me again.

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— Regiment for Humanity operative

Though appearing complex in its layout and organization, the remainder of the spaces that make up the Sacred Lab are arrayed in a mostly radial fashion around the grand spire. There exists a few larger structures that form the main hall or body of the Lab, and from there a labyrinth of warehouses, silos, living quarters, machine shops, and more extend outward. Circular and rectangular windows punch through the expansive concrete network to allow air and light into hard to reach places, and steel catwalks or bridges span the gaps between the larger structures.

Population

1,500-2,000

Style

Gothic Brutalism

Type

Military, Base

Owning Organization

Altruistic Concilium of Sacred Architecture

Divine Construction

A secret known only to the original builders and Dr. Evingston herself is what lay in this specific site before the Sacred Lab ever began construction; a strange and ruined tower that seems to have stood in solitude for centuries. Its purpose, what was housed within, and who built it are unknown -- likely forever lost to time.
Whatever the reason for its existence, however, it proved to be the perfect location for Dr. Evingston to stake a claim and have her secret complex built. The ruins themselves were integrated as part of the design, providing space and structural support for the massive structures that would soon populate the area.
Some effort was put into attempting to match the overall aesthetics and material of the existing ruins, but whatever the original tower was built out of seems to be impossible to replicate.

by Stefan Spassov

The Blessed

The vast majority of people that live within the Sacred Lab are the ones directly responsible for keeping the place up and running; technicians, food service workers, and cleaners make up a sizeable chunk of the population. Each and every one of them is, of course, vetted before being allowed to live here -- it's best when they have no outside family, as for most who come to call this place home, once they're in, they can never leave.
This is rarely an issue however, as those who are chosen to live and work within the Sacred Lab are the most dedicated and fanatical believers of the plan laid out by the Altruistic Concilium of Sacred Architecture. Everyone, from lead researchers conducting blasphemic experiments, all the way down to the ones that wash the stained bed sheets afterwards, believes wholly in a future that will be brought about by the creation of a new deity. This strong belief comes in quite handy for The Human Augmentation Program's scientists who also reside within the Lab, as it means there's never a shortage of volunteers needed for each step of their terrible plan.

We each have our own part to play. Our calling that comes for us. I will play mine for as long as it takes -- and when I'm asked to make the great sacrifice, I shall do so with a smile on my face, knowing in my heart that I'm doing the right thing.

— Sacred Lab Resident; Dishwasher

by Stefan Spassov

Hallowed Facilities

You'll know when you're allowed to see what's beyond that door.

— H.A.P. researcher

Every single part of the Sacred Lab works together like a well tuned machine to support exactly one thing; the central lab itself. It's here where The Human Augmentation Program does its most important work -- requiring all manner of Ichor, power generators, tool cribs, and more. Located in the largest volume directly under the grand spire, it's a massive void space so large that Qur could walk through without hitting his exposed skull on the ceiling above.

The Central Lab

The walls of the lab feature massive tanks of Ichor every hundred meters, rigged up with countless lengths of tubing that runs the length of the space in incomprehensible patterns. Gigantic steel cabling meant to transfer more electricity than a small city uses in an entire year run parallel to this tubing, along side scaffolding that is 10's of storeys tall, all leading toward the Altruistic Concilium of Sacred Architecture's grand project -- The 15th.
The artificial god hangs here, brutally affixed to the wall, in the spot directly underneath the central spire of the Sacred Lab. It is in an unfinished state; a barren exposed skull full of scrapes and blemishes, uncovered ribs that jut out of oozing sores, and rotten musculature exposed to the sterile air of the lab. A patchwork flesh has been started -- a dripping mass of a myriad of flesh tones crawls its way up the left side of the monster. The complex network of tubing and cables finally reaches its end point here, feeding Ichor and Power at ungodly rates into the horror pinned to the concrete with massive spikes of iron.

by Arno Senoner

The Endless Tunnels

The Sacred Lab has enough of a permanent population to remain almost self sufficient. Amongst the many massive spaces and buildings attached to it are quite a few hydroponic farms that supply the residents with enough food to survive; but due to the nature of the work done here, an impressive supply chain is still needed to keep things running smoothly (mostly through supplying enough Ichor to keep H.A.P. experiments going). In order to keep the location as secret as possible, this supply chain is run through an incredibly long network of tunnels that run underneath the entirety of northern Hansun.

These tunnels terminate in a secret cove on the northern coast of Hansun, not far from the Teneran Deep. The entrance to them is kept as nondescript as possible, and is made to look generally like a rocky cliff face -- any shipments made to or from the tunnel network is done during the cover of night, with utmost secrecy.

It takes 3 days to drive the length of the tunnels. Triple that to walk. Mind your manners, lest you lose driving privileges.

— Sacred Lab Acquisitions Officer

Espionage

The single greatest failure of The Human Augmentation Program was when a defector from the original organization leaked a set of documents revealing the existence of Catalurgy, the horrible experiments used to invent it, and the goals of those running the terrible program. This seemed like a massive win for the people of Cathedris, and it was a boon for sure -- but it also prompted the H.A.P. to become even more secretive than ever when it was inevitably reawakened.
The Regiment for Humanity, the current form of resistance to the Legion, operates under a much more careful and strict set of rules now, in order to prevent any more layers of secrecy and security from being added. They gather information carefully, and share it sparingly, doing the best they can to ensure the Legion has no idea what they're up to.

The view of the Lab

The Regiment has managed to intercept communications regarding the Sacred Lab on more than one occasion; but it's only been recently that they finally discovered the location of it. A small team was sent out to investigate -- not to infiltrate, as that would likely give away more than the Regiment is willing to lose, but rather just to gather intel regarding the size and form of the Sacred Lab itself.
Due to the incredibly defensive position of the lab, and the difficulty in reaching it undetected, the reconnaissance team returned with only one sketch of the structure. It shows the tall central spire, surrounded by a nearly incomprehensible network of buildings and living quarters.

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