Amaranth

The Foundation was only officially formed in 1999. No recorded group has existed before FoPVoS that was both dedicated to protecting the Veil and had the power to do so. In fact, before VoS, paranormal organizations were almost entirely focused on publicizing "the truth." Groups like that still exist, of course, but the new millennium and the Foundation marked the beginnings of attempts to maintain the ignorance of the general public to the Weird.

This raises the question: how does the Weird remain obscure?

It is well known that after veil threatening incidents, Weirdness is integrated into folklore, urban legend, rumour, and conspiracy theory; never, however, does it become accepted fact. Thanks to the internet, the paranormal has become closer to being discovered as fact, yet asymptotically never reaches the truth; as well as the truth, the internet makes misinformation—and, as our Foundation knows well, disinformation—spread much faster; however, this does not explain the obscurity of Weird in its entirety.

The Ontonics Department may have found the solution. First, what separates the Inside from the Outside? Literally, the Pretercosm does, but in terms of essence, the Outside has a much higher Weirdness than the Inside. This suggests an ontological quality of "Normal" unique to the Inside. This quality is called "Amaranth." The reasoning for this term is classified.

What must be known is that Amaranth prevents the Weird from becoming widely-known, but it does not necessarily do this in a satisfactory manner. It is a powerful force that can change reality in unpredictable ways. Occasionally, a Weird specimen is erased, and people forget about it. Usually, though people disappear. Towns suffer mass hysteria. Know that the work of the Foundation is necessary.

Most of the information in the Watchman version of this document is correct. However, important details are missing.

Firstly, understand that Amaranth is not a vague, nebulous force. Amaranth is the expression of the will of the Amaranth Empress, the encapsulation of the Normal. It is a constantly freshly bloody statue of an unknown figure, clearly not human, dating back millenia. The statue has a kind of consciousness. The Amaranth Empress is currently contained by the Ouroborus Institute at Site-██. Its destruction would result in a rapid increase in Weird incidents and the failure of the Foundation, resulting in the Fall of Man. Despite its strange qualities, it is not Weird. It is Normal.

Amaranth manifests in around 1% of circumstances where a Weird instance becomes known by experience to otherwise ignorant individuals, 10% of cases where the weird is communicated by internet, 20% where it is communicated by word-of-mouth, 50% when communicated by unreputable publications, and 90% where it is communicated by reputable publications. This implies the Amaranth Empress has a sense for the perceived credibility of certain communiqués.

When Amaranth manifests, it makes several attempts to prevent the exposure of the Weird, in order suppressing:

Acknowledgement of the Weird specimen
Acknowledgement of the Weirdness of the specimen
Reasonable action regarding the specimen
Communication about the Weird specimen
Communication of the Weirdness of the specimen

It does this through an "Amaranth Flash," a mental interruption that has the main symptom of seeing the image of The Amaranth Empress in a sea of amaranth static, whence came the name. The image of the Empress is distressing and leaves a lasting subconscious impression, and has the symptom of overwriting thoughts about the Weird. Side-effects include broader amnesia, madness, and erratic behavior. In some instances, it results in an inexplicable death.

The Foundation works so that the Empress does not.

So, you've done it. You got all the way to the highest level of clearance there is. Good job, prick. Don't expect the niceties of the rest of the Foundation here. If you climbed that bureaucratic ladder to do more bureaucracy, you're outta luck. Welcome to the Amaranth Committee.

Alright, first things first, forget all you learned about Amaranth. This is it. There's no mysterious force that causes people to overlook the Weird. Truth is, the Weird itself's the problem, Amaranth is just our codename, the ones who know the most about it, the Weird. Most people's minds can't handle it, and they freak out if they learn too much about the Weird. Well, let's make a distinction. To know and to acquaint are two different things. You can know something without ever seeing it yourself. You can only be acquainted with something by experience. Use the word "grok" if you're into old sci-fi. This is why "Amaranth" manifests in very few personal experience cases and in almost all cases of research and publication. It doesn't really do anything supernatural, it's just the way people react to things they don't get.

As for the Amaranth Empress, it's just a totem. The Ouroborus Institute gets to think we're after it, but we're not. We made up the whole thing ourselves. Sorry if you're disappointed. No one's helping us keep things under wraps. Well, that's not entirely true.

You see, most people do not want to know the truth. Not really. Because then, they'll know how powerless they are. It's why people hate learning about all the bad shit their government does. Or why people hate thinking the rich are dicks. It's easy to be a reactionary who thinks the world can be fixed just by retreating back into comfort. Radicals aren't better off either, though, thinking they can change the way of things. Nothing's gonna change. Nothing. ever. happens. Sorry for foolin' ya. Shame on us, we did it twice, haha. You're lucky there aren't even more versions of Amaranth in the records, lmao.

Anyway, back to the point. Critical thought is hard. That's why people don't do it. You got people saying it's suppressed by the state or capital or whatever, but really folks just limit themselves. They read something that doesn't gel with them, they deny it; they read something that does, they accept it. Simple bias. No analysis. They see something they don't get? Now, there's something more likely to actually make them change. You can see the "Amaranth manifestation chance" as disguised chart of the likelihood of a freakout. At the lowest percentages, they'll either acquaint the Weird or disbelieve it. At higher chances, they believe it but don't get it. This can't be allowed to happen, because they'll know the Weird, but not acquaint it; they'll flip their shit.

Don't think we could just educate the public about the Weird, either. Some people just won't ever get it. Most people, even. And teaching people about the Weird means they can exploit it. We don't want that. Just look at how technology has developed in the last hundred years. Don't mistake us for luddites, but damn if the stuff techies come up with isn't evil. Just ask the Cryptography Dept. guys, ha.

Another thing. You better know by now about Elseproliferation. If you don't, whatever, just means we've done a damn good job compartmentalizing the truth. Anyways, it means that the more the Weird is encountered, the more it is sought out, the more it is encountered. There's a 5% chance there's a paranormal element to it, like the hundredth-monkey-bologna or something, but it doesn't really matter. It just means don't tell people about the Weird or we'll have to deal with it more.

Last thing. Now that you're one of us, you better not tell anyone about this. It would mean the end of the Foundation. The Fall of Man scenarios aren't fake, don't worry, it's the truth. Just to make sure you don't tell anybody: Maybe, just maybe, we're lying, and Amaranth is real, and people knowing about the Weird will go missing or die of Amaranth accord. Or maybe, we'll gut you if you betray us. Welcome to the family!!! xoxoxo <3 <3 <3 ;)