»» PART II: THE SCALES BENEATH THE SCALES ««

[ a partial reconstruction of MKCroc Project documents recovered from the flooded sub-basement of RM-404 “THE WET ROOM” ]

croc doesn’t exist…

…but the absence of croc has mass. declassified MKCroc memoranda recovered from a flooded filing cabinet in Langley basement sub-level 4-B (designation: RM-404 “THE WET ROOM”) describe a 1961 incident in which Subject 17, a 34-year-old postal worker from Boca Raton, was administered 0.4 mL of MKCroc-β via the standard sub-occipital route. within 90 seconds Subject 17 reported the presence of “a gentleman crocodile named Reginald” who was, quote, “going through a divorce” and “no longer spoke to his son, who works in insurance.” Subject 17 wept for forty minutes. there was no Reginald. there has never been a Reginald. Reginald called Subject 17’s mother that evening to apologize.

this was the first documented instance of RETROGRADE CROC SEEPAGE, in which the hallucination outlives the hallucinator and begins making phone calls.

★ THE SEVEN STAGES OF STACKING ★

1. RECOGNITION — the subject perceives one (1) crocodile. the
   crocodile is soft. the crocodile is employed.
2. MULTIPLICATION — the subject perceives between 4 and 11
   additional crocodiles. they are arranged in no particular order.
   one of them is wearing a watch.
3. THE TOUCAN ARRIVES — always. without exception. in 100% of
   documented MKCroc trials a toucan has arrived. the toucan does not
   speak but its presence is “linguistic.”
4. THE URGE — the subject is overcome with an instinct older
   than language to place crocodile upon crocodile. researchers
   describe this urge as “approximately 7× stronger than hunger and
   roughly equivalent to the need to sneeze, but spiritually.”
5. THE STACK — forbidden. fatal to the stack. crocs are NOT
   stackable. the moment vertical contact is achieved between two (2)
   crocodiles, both crocodiles cease.
6. THE GRIEF — see Subject 17. see Subject 23. see Subject 41,
   who is still grieving as of this writing and has been grieving
   since March 1962.
7. THE LAKE — every subject, regardless of geography,
   regardless of whether a body of water is physically present,
   perceives a lake. the lake is the same lake. the lake has been
   mapped. the lake is in Paraguay. the lake does not appear on
   any map of Paraguay.

★ KNOWN ANIMALS OF THE CROC DIMENSION ★

ENTITY	FREQUENCY	NOTES
🐊 The Soft Croc	~98%	fur-textured. employed. divorced (62%).
🦤 The Toucan	100%	arrives uninvited. is the cause of the throwing.
🦊 Stacked Foxes	~71%	seen exclusively in vertical configurations of 3, 5, or 7. never 4. never 4.
🐬 The Dolphin	~44%	does not speak. observes. takes notes on a clipboard that subjects later “remember the texture of.”
🦎 REGINALD	1%	see above. do not call him. he will answer.
?? THE GOBBO	<0.01%	only one (1) recorded sighting. Subject’s testimony was redacted, then redacted again, then the redaction itself was redacted. the file is now blank but warm to the touch.

★ FIELD MANUAL EXCERPT // MKCROC OPERATOR’S HANDBOOK p. 47 ★

> 5.7.3 — under no circumstances shall the operator stack the specimens. should stacking occur in the operator’s presence, the operator must IMMEDIATELY look away, hum a tune of their choosing (suggested: “Camptown Races”), and refrain from grieving on government time. grief is to be filed via Form CRC-12B in triplicate within 72 hours of incident.

> 5.7.4 — if the toucan addresses the operator by name, abort the trial. the operator’s name is now compromised. the operator will require a new name. acceptable replacements are listed in Annex F.

> 5.7.5 — the lake is not a metaphor.

★ TIMELINE OF THE LEAK ★

• 1957 — Project MKCroc initiated. funding laundered through a
  shell company called “Reginald & Sons Linoleum, LLC.”
  this is, statistically, suspicious.
• 1961 — Subject 17 incident. a memo is written. the memo
  gets damp.
• 1963 — official program termination. unofficial program
  continuation. the lake is surveyed for the first time.
  surveyors do not return. surveyors send postcards.
• 1971 — a single canister of MKCroc-γ is “lost” during
  transit between Fort Detrick and a P.O. box in Boca Raton.
  (note: same Boca Raton.)
• 1986 — first civilian sighting of a soft crocodile. the
  witness, a 9-year-old boy, names it “Croc.” the name sticks. the
  name was already sticking.
• 1997 — release of a video game. you know the one. do not
  pretend you do not know the one. the gobbos were a warning.
• 2003 — Reginald is granted a Yahoo! email address.
  reginald_swamp@yahoo.com. it still receives mail. it does not
  reply. occasionally it replies.
• 2026 — THE CROC IS TICKING.

★ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ★

Q: Is croc real?

A: no. unfortunately, “no” is also a hallucination induced by croc.

Q: Why does the toucan throw the alligators?

A: this question presupposes the toucan has a choice. the toucan does not have a choice. the toucan is, in a sense, also being thrown.

Q: What happens if I stack two crocs?

A: please do not. you will be fine. the crocs will not be fine. you will feel not fine for the rest of your natural life and a portion of someone else’s.

Q: Why are the foxes always stacked?

A: the foxes are not stacked. the foxes are nested. there is a difference. the difference is approximately 14 feet.

Q: Where is the lake?

A: behind you. don’t turn around. it isn’t there if you don’t turn around. (it is there.)

Q: His roar beckons. What does this mean?

A: it beckons.

★ A PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF SUBJECT 41, RECORDED MARCH 1962, STILL ONGOING ★

[00:00:14] he was soft. they were all soft.
[00:00:31] the toucan said nothing but i understood that rent was due.
[00:01:02] i stacked them. god help me i stacked them.
[00:01:03] [SUBJECT BEGINS WEEPING]
[00:01:04] [SUBJECT IS STILL WEEPING]
[00:01:05] [SUBJECT IS STILL WEEPING — see overflow tape, reel 2 of 14,847]
[63 YEARS LATER] ...reginald, if you're listening...
[63 YEARS LATER] ...i'm sorry about your son...
[63 YEARS LATER] ...tell him insurance is a noble profession...