Before the Silence Claims: In Absentia

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

Before we begin, I would like to ask you a favor:

For over twenty years, I have translated the journals, notebooks, and handwritten notes of a German scientist named Anton Bormann. I believed I was simply organizing the final records of a man consumed by old age—I was wrong.

In virtually every manuscript, the same place name appears: Eisenschall. No map I consulted records its existence. Yet the name recurs with unwavering consistency across every document analyzed. The records below remain among the best-preserved:

Archive XLVII — Eisenschall

"Willkommen in Eisenschall...*
Hannah... how did I end up back here?
With every lapse... I feel further lost.
(Illegible section)
I can still feel you...
...but I cannot see you."
Notebook I, Entry I

*I preserved the original phrasing, as I believe translating it alters the meaning observed in the manuscript.

Anton insisted that his wife Hannah, who passed away long before the date of this entry, was still alive there—yet I was never able to see her. Can you?


PRELIMINARY REMARKS

After years spent translating these records, I came to realize one thing: Some experiences cannot be translated—only witnessed. This is where I need your help.

From this moment on, you assume the role of Explorer, reliving these events through the fragmented memories recovered from Anton himself.


OBSERVED PATTERNS

The Reliving
Strive to hold onto your sense of reality. Once the reliving begins, nothing will indicate your progress or condition. You will have to rely solely on your own instincts and senses.

The Crystal Radio
When the reliving begins, it may be useful to remember that Anton modified an old crystal radio set. Regrettably, we were never able to locate it for prior analysis. What strikes me most in these accounts is that the scientist never describes the device as a weapon or a sensor; throughout his writings, he consistently uses the verb 'to interfere'. There are also accounts of revealed passages, previously hidden objects, and entities becoming aware of his presence whenever it was used.

The Schubert Records
Among the recovered artifacts, there is a note that might prove useful during your exploration. Mention is made of rare, unique Schubert records whose playback seemed to temporarily restore Anton's lucidity. Curiously, whenever this occurred, Eisenschall was described as an even more unstable place.

The Entities
For a long time, I considered these descriptions to be the ramblings of a fading mind. Today, I am no longer so sure. The patterns repeat far too consistently to be dismissed.

The City
No record describes Eisenschall in quite the same way. It is as if streets—sometimes entire neighborhoods—return altered or ruined. There are indications that the town seems to remember whoever explores it long before they even arrive.

***

There is a hypothesis I never officially recorded.

Perhaps Anton never wrote to be understood, but rather to be relived. Should you decide to proceed on this journey, do not put your trust solely in Anton—nor solely in what I tell you.

— The Translator