Interface

The Interface series (also known as 9M9H9E9 or Mother Horse Eyes) is a web series in the form of reddit posts made by the user _9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9. The story is told from a variety of disconnected viewpoints and across many time periods, often in wildly differing styles. They were originally posted in the comments of various reddit posts, with the story only becoming clear when the disparate posts were read together. The series covers several genres, with science fiction and historical segments united by an overall horror atmosphere. A small portion of the story takes place in a prehistoric era of uncertain connection to the main threads of the plot.

Plot
The story is cryptically told, being related across seemingly unrelated plot threads, that are not told in order. There are historical segments, mostly occurring in wars of the 20th century, though Elizabeth Bathory is mentioned in one post, and several occur in an unnamed prehistoric era. There are also segments occurring in a cyberpunk future setting, segments from the perspective of a cat, and others. Many of these plotlines deal with mysterious conspiracies and horrific fictional technologies involving the mutilation of multitudes of human beings called "flesh interfaces", with strange properties. The "main" plot thread follows a man dealing with alcoholism, who is haunted by memories of being kidnapped by a disturbing entity called "Mother Horse Eyes", implied to be the force behind the horrific happenings in all of the different segments of the story. The man telling his personal story is revealed to be the one posting the historical and science fiction stories to the reddit account, and he believes that the stories are merely nightmares, but later comes to believe that they are real. He eventually conquers his unresolved fear of Mother Horse Eyes, though the wider implication of this is left unresolved.

Narrator's unnamed tribe
A tribe which lives in the vicinity of a large river they call the Mother River, who prize oral performances concerning "the Fathers and the Deeds" (presumably epic tellings of genealogies and legends). Cats live among them.
 * The unnamed narrator, a young man.
 * The crone, an old woman not of the narrator's tribe, who offers to liaise with the monstrous strangers. She may the Mother Horse Eyes of other storylines in the series.
 * Maed, a man who plays the flute.
 * Resh a man.
 * Rima, a woman the prehistoric narrator is attracted to.
 * Rona, Rima's younger sister.
 * Charm and Greyscruff, cats belonging to the narrator.

Painted Backs
Another tribe, wiped out by the strangers.

Grub Eaters
Another tribe warred against by the Painted Backs and the narrator's tribe.

Strangers
While the crone claims the strangers are men with strange powers, they prove to be horrific monsters, with massive bat-like wings, thin bodies, black teeth and blood, and huge eyes. Most disturbingly, they possess a many-parted penis with "snake-like" tentacles, capable of lifting a person off the ground.

Prehistoric Content
The narrator's river-dwelling tribe discovers a naked old woman, called "the crone", who is not part of their tribe, and claims to be the daughter of the river. She tells them that she had lived with a tribe called the Painted Backs, but that strangers had carried them off and left her naked. The narrator's tribe debates whether to take her in or not, since she is very old and can do nothing useful for the group. The crone offers to prove herself, and wading into the river, pulls out three clams. The people are not impressed, until when opened, the clams all prove to have large pearls in them. She is admitted into the tribe, but the narrator is suspicious that she might somehow have put the pearls there.

The crone integrates into the tribe, and proves adept at finding unusual foods like snake eggs, and integrates into the tribe. Unlike the people, who stay near the river always, the crone is unafraid of the open land and wanders in it. Some time after her adoption, the girl Rima disappears, and the tribe suspects the crone of consorting with evil spirits or being one herself. The crone explains that the same thing had happened to the Painted Backs. First young women were taken, then men, finally the Painted Backs were attacked by white skinned men who could turn into eagles and lions. The crone offers to teach the tribe things that will bring good luck, but the tribe leaves her behind instead. The tribe members continue to disappear, and they resolve to send a few men back down the river to find the crone. The narrator among them, they find the crone at the same spot they left her.

The crone advises that the tribe must sacrifice a woman each year to the mysterious strangers, and they will not be destroyed if they do. The narrator takes the crone back to the tribe, where a debate begins. The narrator argues that giving away women is cowardly and will weaken the tribe, and that they should close ranks and find. His uncle advises that the Painted Backs were not cowards, and it would be better to give a little away rather than invite complete destruction. The tribe agrees to take the old woman's advice, and the girl Rona is selected. The narrator argues that he should accompany Rona and the crone, to make sure that the monstrous strangers the crone described are real and the tribe is not being tricked. The narrator expects that the crone is lying and will not want him to go, but she compliments his wisdom and accepts the stipulation without argument.

Taking a spear and two cats, the narrator accompanies the crone and Rona away from the river. They travel to a large smooth rock where the meeting will take place. The crone tells Rona the strangers will treat her well, taking her far away and making her a great woman of their tribe, causing the narrator to strike the crone. As night falls, the narrator hides in the shadows while Rona sits and the crone sleeps by the fire. The narrator's cats become tense, and one of the "strangers" appears, a pale, giant, bat-winged man, with sharp black teeth and large eyes. The thing attacks Rona, but the narrator is paralyzed fear. The thing unleashes its monstrous penis, which enters Rona's mouth and vagina, lifting her into the air. The narrator attacks, spearing its side, and taking Rona away into the darkness, but she dies by morning. In the morning, he finds the thing dead, the crone and his cats gone, and leaves to return to his tribe, resolving that his people must fight the monsters, since they can be killed like any other animal. Returning to the river, he arrives at a different place than he left, and finds a group of Painted Backs, but with war gear and victory signs painted on their bodies, with eyes similar to the monster he had slain.

Links to the prehistoric parts of the story

 * https://www.reddit.com/r/9M9H9E9/wiki/archive#wiki_.2353.3A_2016-05-16_01.3A04_utc
 * https://www.reddit.com/r/9M9H9E9/wiki/archive#wiki_.2361.3A_2016-05-21_08.3A13_utc
 * https://www.reddit.com/r/9M9H9E9/wiki/archive#wiki_.2366.3A_2016-05-25_08.3A19_utc
 * https://www.reddit.com/r/9M9H9E9/wiki/archive#wiki_.2367.3A_2016-05-25_23.3A15_utc
 * https://www.reddit.com/r/9M9H9E9/wiki/archive#wiki_.2370.3A__2016-05-29_07.3A06_utc

Archives of the whole story

 * https://www.reddit.com/user/_9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9/comments/
 * https://www.reddit.com/r/9M9H9E9/wiki/index
 * https://www.reddit.com/r/9M9H9E9/wiki/archive
 * https://github.com/cryzed/The-Interface-Series-e-book