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Door to the End of Mankind
Door
Door appearance on 4/28/1983

Origin

Unknown; found in the possession of Frederic Brown

Type

Door

Effects

Updates its appearance over time to match the current era's and location's primary aesthetic. Opens to "the end of mankind".

Downsides

Can only be opened from one side. Occasionally makes knocking noises from the other side.

Activation

Constantly active

Collected by

Brenda Tovar

Section

The Restricted Chamber

Shelf

Placement #7

Date of Collection

May 13, 1949

[Source]


​Origin

The true provenance of this door are unknown, as are how it came to have its effects. It is theorized to have somehow travelled around the globe, and is apparently the inspiration for Thomas Bailey Aldrich's text from the Ponkapog Papers in 1904 before somehow travelling all the way from Massachusetts to Ohio and being found at the residence of Frederic Brown in 1949, a year after he published his flash fiction story, Knock. In both the story and the text by Aldrich, there is a man, the last on earth, sitting alone, when he hears a knock or ring at the door.

However, due to it's unknown means of travel, and it's abilities, it's also been speculated that the door has existed long before Aldrich discovered it, and may have been responsible for disappearances or historical "visions of the apocalypse".

Effects

The door is capable of changing its appearance to match the current "look" of its era and location (i.e. it would look different in 17th century France when compared to 20th century California). This includes changing which side its hinges are on, what material it is made of (it can change into different kinds of wood, and even into metals used in doormaking), and whether or not it has a certain kind of knob.

The door can open both ways, and when entered from the outside, it opens to a world that matches the common appearance of the apocalypse (dilapidated and broken buildings, fog, smoke, etc.). Once the door is then closed, it can only be opened from the outside, potentially leaving anyone who enters stuck inside. Ocassionally, knocks can be heard from the "apocalypse" side of the door despite their being (presumably) nobody there.

When opened, the door leads to a small room with various amenities, devices, furniture, and more that are from seemingly random times. Some, include a brick fireplace, electric sconces from the early 1940s, and a shelf full of various scrolls dated to around 430 AD and books from 1117 AD, as well as publications as recent as 1947.

Notes

The following changes have been recorded by agents and Warehouse researchers who simulated or used time-travel on the door to trigger a change in appearance.

  • Changes in composition (woods and metals of various kinds)
  • Hinges shifting between the left and right sides
  • Doorknobs changing sides, material, design (with or without locks, knobs to handles and vice-versa, ornate and simple)
  • Addition of glass windows to the door (looking through from either side only gives the view of a formless void)
  • Size (can become shorter or taller, wider or thinner, or even become a pair of double doors).

In addition to it's aesthetic alterations, the following information has been recorded about the door.*It has been proven that no matter what artifacts or technology are used, GPS can not pin the coordinates. Whether this is an effect of the door or because there are no satellites at the "end of the world" is uncertain.

  • No other living creature has been observed from inside the door.
  • While keeping the door open, Agents conducted experiments by having someone (armed with an artifact that would teleport them back to the Warehouse at any sign of trouble) travel as far as they could. After walking for several miles, they returned saying they was no end in sight, meaning that the world inside the door is theoretically as large as the real Earth, and possibly the real universe.
  • Time passes normally through the door, and day/night cycles match that of the location the door is located.
    • One experiment conducted involved seeing whether it was possible to reclaim objects from across the door after it had been closed an re-opened. After leaving a sandwich inside for several days, it was then reclaimed and still as fresh as they day it was placed inside.
    • Later, the same experiment was conducted with a lab rat with enough food and water to last 3 days. After collaring it to a small pole across the door by a string led underneath it, the door was closed. Upon re-opening, they found the food was finished, but the rat was nowhere to be seen. Whether the rat escaped or simply vanished is unknown, and testing with living organisms was henceforth prohibited. Afterwards. when the door was closed, small scratching could be heard, but after opening it again, there was no discovered cause.
      • However, living organisms that were inside for less than 3 days while the Door was closed were recovered, meaning that the artifact has a time limit before something vanishes

Storage

Due to its unknown nature and potential risk towards living organisms, this door was stored in the Restricted Chamber by Agent Tovar.

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