Page 220 - Chronicles of Darkness

THE INVISIBLE CITADEL

In northern Germany there is a secret city known as the remembering their work as an enjoyable opportunity to keep
Golden Citadel. The angels that control the city have caused in shape and help build something important. However,
almost everyone in the world to forget its existence, while almost half of the people called to the Citadel remain there.
also calling an increasing number of people from across the The Truth: The city is an exercise in concealment
globe to help work in it. The characters must find a way to Infrastructure — a city not far from human settlements that
attempt to infiltrate the citadel, banish the angels, and free is built in such a way that it doesn’t stay in human conscious-
the many inhabitants. ness on a conceptual level. In a sense, it’s cognitive conceal-
Infrastructure ment, and it’s the most successful example of its type. Not
only do people ignore the Citadel, but they seamlessly fit it
into their worldview — it’s an art colony. It’s a commune. It’s
The story begins when one of the characters finds and non-threatening, maybe even beneficial. The God-Machine
purchases a curious old footlocker at an estate sale or a resale finds it easy enough to create suspicion and fear, but with the
shop. It is filled with loose papers, bits of wire, and a diary. Golden Citadel, it’s trying to create acceptance or apathy. It
The diary was written by Maria Grunewald. It begins seems to be working.
almost 30 years ago with entries about how she worked with
a dozen people to build an abstract sculpture of metal and Interchangeable Parts
bone that was the size of large RV. At the beginning of her
diary, she writes about how this sculpture will transform the The characters can be anywhere in the world, except they
world in wondrous ways. However, the tone soon changes to should be at least 1,000 miles from Bremen, Germany. The
one of fear and then horror as she writes about being one of characters could be almost anyone. They need know nothing
the architects of the destruction of humanity’s free will. Ms. about the Golden Citadel. The story kicks off when they
Grunewald writes about how the sculpture attracted people come into possession of Ms. Grunewald’s footlocker, though,
from all across Germany to build a town around it and how so working that into a previous story would set this one up.
this town eventually grew into a city, which attracted thou-
sands of people from all across the world. Blueprints
She calls this city the Golden Citadel and, in the last
portion of the diary, writes about how it is a horrifying If nothing is done, the Citadel continues to expand. For
construction that hides from the thoughts and memories of the last 20 years, it has been calling workers from across most
humanity, but draws people to it. According to her, a grow- of Europe and parts of Asia, and within the past six years
ing number of people are drawn to build and work in the people from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada have also been
Golden Citadel. Once someone leaves for the Citadel, his called there. The citadel is perfectly circular and expands as
friends and loved ones believe that this person moved and a series of concentric rings, like the growth rings of a tree.
lost touch with them or died. The angels use the power of the original sculpture to cause a
In an entry dated a decade before, she writes how the growing number of people to feel that working on the Golden
population of the Golden Citadel is almost half a million Citadel is important and also to cause everyone else to ignore
people and that it continues to grow. The diary also men- the citadel. However, the control fails to affect a few people.
tions that an increasing number of people are being fed to Some of these people see the Citadel as a strange and unfath-
the Citadel to aid in its growth. Ms. Grunewald fears that omable creation built by a cult that brainwashes the workers.
within 25 years, this city will encompass most of Germany and Others feel an inexplicable hatred of it and believe it to be evil.
that it could continue to expand until much of the world’s Direct attacks against the Citadel fail because anyone
population works there. At least one of the characters has who comes within 25 miles of the Citadel automatically feels
seen or read brief news reports about an eccentric artists’ positively towards it. This positive feeling causes only mild
colony in Northern Germany near Bremen called the Golden changes to anyone lacking hostile feelings towards the Citadel.
Citadel. However, none of the reports describe it as being However, the more that someone feels negatively about the
home to more than a thousand people. The few people who Citadel, the more the person loses free will while within the
know about it consider it a weird art project built by a few area of effect. Some who attempt to attack the Citadel remain
hundred eccentrics, thus unworthy of attention or comment. there today as part of its permanent maintenance staff be-
In reality, the Golden Citadel has been calling susceptible cause they can think of nothing beyond serving the Citadel.
people from all across the world to help expand it. Much The number of people serving the Citadel increases every
of the economy of the city of Bremen has been devoted to decade. In time, it grows so large that the entire population of
providing these workers with food, shelter, and raw materi- central Europe exists solely to serve it and the people build-
als. Some of these workers return home after a few months, ing it. A few crank websites discuss fears, theories, and data

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The Invisible Citadel