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Yet another metallic monolith has been spotted by locals in California, the third such structure to pop up in recent weeks after two others were found in Utah and Romania, leaving netizens increasingly baffled as to their purpose.

The new monolith – resembling the ominous structure in Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ – was found on Pine Mountain in Atascadero, California by local residents on Wednesday morning.

“I guess this is the thing now, right?” resident Gary Lyons, who regularly hikes the mountain, said in a video he captured after stumbling upon the odd find, first obtained by Storyful News.

Be prepared to see these everywhere.

NEW: Mysterious monolith appears in Atascadero, California pic.twitter.com/aPJxe0U13X

Got up close and personal with the mystery California #monolith today. Anyone else been out to see it? pic.twitter.com/8pOimhQiyY

The structure appears almost identical to other monolith-like protrusions recently found in the Utah desert and near Romania’s mountainous Piatra Neamt region – both of which have since vanished without a trace. While eco-activists copped to taking down the Utah monolith last Friday – arguing that the site was drawing tourists along with litter and pollution – the disappearance of the Romanian version remains a mystery.

Unlike its cousin in Utah, however, the obelisk discovered in California was not fixed to the ground, and “appears to be hollow at the top,” according to a local report.

The true purpose of the unusual monuments has left netizens bewildered, becoming a hot topic of debate on Twitter for days on end. The battle was rekindled again on Wednesday with the fresh find, prompting a litany of different theories. Many, however, appear convinced the phenomenon is merely “some marketing bulls**t” or a “PR stunt.”

Terrible marketing that’s going to be hit with big fines.

No one cares lmao it’s clearly a PR stunt that’s why every news website is “reporting” on it

Some refused to allow the dream to die, hoping against hope that the monoliths are a sign of alien life, or perhaps will usher in the “next age” of enlightenment for mankind – anything but a guerilla marketing campaign.

if it ain’t aliens, gtfo

Monoliths signal next age/era of man as they did in 2001 A Space Odyssey. Aquarius is coming.

pic.twitter.com/rXZ0OeturP

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