Du-Mal.std

The Midnight Article "Careful What You Print" was written by u/YourLichKing and posted to r/MidnightPaper.

The text of the Article was as follows:

CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRINT

Dearest readers, be wary what you download to print on your 3d printing. As there are those who wish to do harm unto others or to bring the entities dwelling in the dark to your home. Those entities have found a new way to spread their icor like veins throughout the world, that of a stl file.

The poor soul, Paul, had the misfortune of finding the file called ‘Du-Mal.stl’. The image of just a simple obelisk, that he thought would look interesting along with the collection of other prints that he made. There was no description information of the object and no creator tag for the print. Reviews for the obelisk had given it a fairly high rating of 4.45 with the comments stating “Looks great”, “A Fine print”, “No descargar”. He clicked the link and downloaded the file to his thumb drive, uploaded the image to his 3d printer to start the printing process.

As the printer was working, so too was the essence brought forth from the obelisk. Paul started to hear what sounded like crying coming from his bathroom, being that he lived alone in his apartment he found this very odd and unsettling. Leaving his work station in his bedroom and heading towards the cause of this noise. As he approached the bathroom slowly, the crying grew to an almost deafening sound only to cease when he turned the doorknob, swinging the bathroom door open with an eerily creak to the hinges, revealing an empty room. Shaking off the goosebumps he turned from the bathroom and returned back to his room where the printer was. His breath caught in his throat as his feet stopped in his doorway. Looking in to see a shadowy figure stand there in front of his printer, watching the printer work. The figure turned its head in a lag type motion towards Paul, the figure's face was a dark pixelated mess that crudely resembled facial features in pain. It’s mouth, hanging open like someone at the gallows, screeching a dial-tone. Through the dial-tone, words could be heard. “Machina plus requirit atramento, Machina plus requirit atramento, Machina plus requirit atramento” Over and over again towards Paul. Resin could be seen dripping from the figure's body onto the wooden floor of his apartment as it stumbled towards him with its broken like movement. Paul turned to run but accidentally bumped his shoulder into the corner of the wall, spinning him around and causing him to fall to the ground. Turning onto his back he looked up at the figure standing above him, “Machina plus requirit atramento” were the last words he heard before feeling the immense heat of resin wash over his body, boiling his flesh while it consumed him. There were no screams heard, but oh my dear readers did Paul scream in pain.

Once the figure had finally consumed all of Paul's flesh it moved its jarring way towards the machine, disappearing into the printer's resin reservoir to finish the obelisk print.

Description:

"Du-Mal.std" appears to be a 3D printing file with the ability to summon an unknown Entity-Type Oddity. It is important to note that at least one of the users who downloaded the file lived long enough to warn the others not to download it.

Obelisk:

When used in conjunction with a 3D printer, the file causes the machine to print an obelisk. Obelisks are four-sided, narrow tapering monuments which end in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Their origins can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where they used as funerary monuments as they were believed to symbolize rebirth.

After the printer finishes rendering this object, a shadowy entity will appear, apparently materializing out of the newly-printed object. As obelisks represent rebirth, it is possible that this entity is revived or reanimated in some way due to the obelisks's presence.

Entity:

The Entity-Type Oddity that spawns from the obelisk first makes its presence known by materializing eerie crying somewhere in the user's home. It is possible that this crying is a distraction, as it effectively lured Paul (the victim mentioned in the Article) away from the printer. Perhaps the Oddity wants the user to move away from the printer so that they will not interfere or interrupt the rendering the obelisk.

As the obelisk continues to print, the Oddity will manifest itself visually as a shadowy figure with distorted features. This Oddity appeared to be watching the printer with some interest, possibly to ensure that the printing goes off without any problems. Why exactly the Oddity needs the obelisk to be rendered flawlessly and completely is unknown but, given the significance of obelisks as symbols of rebirth, it is possible that the Oddity needs a fully-built obelisk in order to manifest itself as a full-bodied being.

As Paul approached the printer, the Entity-Type Oddity released a screeching sound. This was obviously meant to prevent Paul from getting closer to the printer. The Oddity evidently feared the possibility of Paul shutting off the printer while the rendering was still in progress.

The screeching sound not only served to disorient Paul, but also to convey a message: "Machina plus requirit atramento." The Entity-Type repeated this phrase over and over again. When translated from Latin, it means, "the machine requires more ink."

The Entity then began approaching Paul. As it moved, a resin-like substance could be seen emanating from its body. It is possible that this substance resembled the stereolithography materials that are used in 3D printing.

Paul, in his immense panic, managed to incapacitate himself by slamming against a wall and tripping and falling onto the ground. He was helpless as the Entity-Type Oddity approached him and attacked. The last words he heard were "Machina plus requirit atramento (the machine requires more ink." Then the Entity-Type began consuming Paul's flesh.

Once this gruesome process was complete, the Entity retreated to the 3D printer's resin reservoir as the printer continued rendering the obelisk. It is probably that the "ink" that the Entity was referring to was "filled" by Paul's flesh.

Origins:

The developer behind the file is unknown at this time, as is what "Du-Mal" refers to. It is possible that it refers to the word "dumal," which means "a morbid or scandalous creation in literature or art."

The Entity is most likely very old, as obelisks are now obsolete as ritualistic monuments and now just serve as historical landmarks.