[PO-684-01]

The Inversion Engine

Overview

   The Inversion Engine, hereby referred to as PO-684-01, is a machine consisting of a metallic cube and a large red button with two arrows going in a circle which, when pressed, will reverse some physical aspect of the being which pressed it. For example a tall person might become short, or a weak person may become strong. This aspect is chosen at complete random, and in more cases than not results in the death of the presser.

Appearance

   PO-684-01 is a metallic cube 50 cm across on all sides, it’s outer casing being made of ordinary steel, painted white on one half and the other half painted a dark grey, with a 2 cm wide unpainted strip running down the middle. It weighs 152 kg, mostly due to the steel outer casing being rather thick. On the front side is a large red button made of a plastic that seems to be abnormally resistant to wear but otherwise unremarkable in composition. On the back is a panel secured in place by four impractically large bolts, which when removed will reveal the internal mechanism. This internal mechanism appears to be a series of spinning arrows, all crudely repurposed from several various Russian and Polish language board games, each stacked on levels on top of each other, which spin every time the button is pressed. The spinning of these arrows appears to be the determining factor in what the effect of each button press is. The button does not appear to be connected to anything inside.

Function

   Whenever PO-684-01’s button is pressed, the arrows inside spin one after the other over the course of several seconds. The top arrow may land anywhere on a circle, the area of which is 37% green and 63% red, determining whether the spinner will receive a positive or negative effect respectively. 3 arrows will spin if the effect is positive, and 5 will spin if it is negative. The method by which the button being pressed causes the spinners to spin, and the mechanism by which the results actually affect reality as they do, are currently unknown, as the machine will have no effect while the panel is open, and any attempts to record the process from inside have resulted in the recording equipment being destroyed by high radiation, though no radiation is detected during or after this except coming from the remains of the equipment.

   When the outcome is determined, the entity which pressed the button will have some physical aspect of themselves inverted. The nature, scope and end results of these inversions all vary wildly, though most result in the pusher’s death. Below are selected test logs to demonstrate the effect of PO-684-01.

[Test Logs]

Test #001

-Subject was presented with the button and told to press it.

-Upon doing so, the subject stood there for several seconds, before screaming in agony then collapsing and dying from an apparent stroke.

-The autopsy revealed that the subject’s blood had been flowing backwards shortly before it died, as evidenced by unusual damage to the heart several blood vessels.

Test #004

-Subject was presented with the button and told to press it.

-Upon doing so, the subject began to complain that it was lightheaded, and promptly lost consciousness before dying.

-The autopsy revealed that the subject had suffocated. Further investigation found that it’s cellular structure had changed throughout it’s body to respire using carbon dioxide rather than oxygen. The subject likely suffocated due to the atmosphere in the testing chamber being less than 0.1% CO2.

Test #009

-Subject was given a rock and told to throw it at the button.

-Upon doing so, the subject’s gravity was reversed and it fell upward, broke it’s neck on the ceiling and died instantly.

-This test revealed that direct contact with the button is not required for it to take effect.

Test #011

-A repeat of test #009, except an additional subject was told to stand closer to the device than the one throwing the rock.

-Throwing subject missed the button on first attempt and had it’s throwing ability mocked by the other subject.

-After successfully hitting the button, the subject who was closer to the device was unaffected, while the rock thrower had it’s hair color change from orange to blue. Whether this is to be considered positive or negative is still uncertain.

Test #014

-Two subjects were presented with the button, and one was told to grab the other’s hand and use it to press it.

-The subject whose hand was used to press the button was unaffected, while the one who grabbed the other’s hand had his inside and outside swapped.

-The ensuing mess left the other subject traumatized.

Test #015

-Subject was presented with the button and told to press it.

-Upon doing so, it’s molar and incisor teeth were swapped, causing extreme pain, but the subject survived.

Test #017

-Two subjects were presented with the button and told to press it simultaneously.

-Upon doing so, one of them had the air in their lungs swapped with the blood in their veins, killing it, while the other had it’s skin changed to a pale green color, as opposed to the pale reddish color it was before, with no detrimental effects.

-This result shows that the same push of a button can affect multiple entities in different ways.