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An artificial sun orbits the cradle world of Callisto. It is a burning satellite, a masterpiece of thaumaturgic and psionic engineering, a self-sustaining loop of power. It feeds upon itself, recursively channeling energy to create heat and light. It was built with a conflux of arcane magic and invocations to solar deities, igniting a potent spark. In a thousand years, it will burn out, but until then, there can be life on Callisto.
At the moment, the life of Callisto is limited, trapped within a dome. This is is the only settlement of the taronyu, refugees from a a place of destruction. The planet is warm enough to settle - thanks to the artificial sun - but the atmosphere needs work. After that, the landscape must be seeded, and work continues.
Seyvaro is short, for a taronyu. Vis stature is comparable to an average human, but ve stands small among vis own species. And in a world only populated by taronyu, that is what matters. Vis height is not the only thing that sets vem apart, for vis skin is blotchy, with spots of olive green along vis dark tans. It is an unusual condition among the taronyu - not terribly so, all things considered, but enough to stand out from the crowd.
Ve's always been an outsider, on the edges of taronyu society. Before the Death of Mo’ara, ve had worked for the Tihawnum as an anomaly hunter, tasked to find and deal with any anomalies which might harm society. Seyvaro had never failed, but vis division had. Quite poorly, in fact. They had let things run out of control.
There is no Tihawnum Bureau of Anomaly Management, not anymore. The Tihawnum has larger projects to devote time, attention and money to, ones that cannot be given to other agencies. The terraforming of Callisto, the construction of New Kelutral, initiatives to promote offspring. Ensuring the future of the species.
Most of the former agents of the Bureau have transferred into other roles, finding new tasks. Not Seyvaro. Ve is one of the only Foundation agents on the new world, one of those taronyu that have transferred into a group with similar goals to the Tihawnum.
The Foundation is, of course, working on expanding their reach and control over the moon. There is a plot of land under their name, and negotiations with the Tihawnum are in place to build a new site there, and to formally establish a treaty of operations between them. They would have liked to have been present from the start, but the Tihawnum leveraged the secrecy of their arrival in Sol and were able to work their way out of falling entirely under the control of the Foundation.
Until then, the Foundation presence on Callisto is limited and secretive. A small cell of agents — mostly kept anonymous and off the record — reporting to handlers with contacts to the greater organization. Their existence is classified, and the Foundation denies they exist. But there are always matters that the Foundation wants to handle themselves, and these issues require their intervention.
Seyvaro is discreetly meeting with vis handler, a fellow taronyu. Apparently one of the handlers is a human — a handler of handlers, perhaps — but not this one. Seyvaro has never meant another agent of the Foundation. The pair have met in a bar, just loud enough to not be overheard and quiet enough to hear each other. The handler has a folder to xir right, a drink to xir left and a gun in xir lap.
"We have not begun any form of species reintroduction to Callisto. All of our food is currently being synthesized locally or supplied from off-world. There are only taronyu here."
"I know this. Why are you telling me?"
The handler removes a photograph from the folder. It is a picture of the night sky in New Kelutral, life under the dome. There are stars, thousands of them. Jupiter sits between the stars, dominating the sky, as it constantly does.
And in the middle, something is flying.
"Ah. I see. I’ll get my gun."
"You’ll have a partner."
"Just as well. Trainee?"
"Mhmm. Foundation is looking to expand their operations here."
"Aren't they always?"
The new partner is a recruit by the name of Mendala. Ne's a fresh face, evidently one of the younger individuals who was placed into stasis by the Tìhawnum. Ne know little of the Foundation, and even less of the Bureau of Anomaly Management. Ne are familiar with anomalies (because of course ne is: same with everyone) but not with containment.
Mendala has joined Seyvaro on the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings in New Kelutral. It looks out over the entire city, and the two can watch everything. Right now, they are scanning the artificial sky for any shapes that should not be there. The entity they are hunting was seen in the sky, and it stands to reason it will be found again here.
Mendala speaks first. "Do you have any idea what this could be?"
Seyvaro shrugs, and whispers in a noticeably quieter voice than the one that Mendala used. "There are many things. A monster from outer space, from our own brains, one that was here before we arrived, a mutant, a ghost. Anything."
"So you have no real idea?"
"Never really had a job where I had a good handle on what was happening, if I'm honest."
"So we're just waiting for it to show up, now? Nothing more?"
"We do what the Foundation needs us to do, whatever that might be. And right now, that's to wait. The job is not as exciting as you might have been hoping for."
"I'm not bored, just cautious. They told me I would be helping the species, and that resonated."
"Of course it does. That's why we were chosen to survive the end of the world."
"Fair enough. Same could be said for anyone."
The two sit waiting for over an hour, not saying much to each other. The monster they had been sent to track is taking it's time to arrive, and for a while it seems like it will not make an appearance that night. But almost immediately after midnight, Mendala notices one of the dome's roof lights flicker. There is something flying around the roof of the dome.
Mendala gently nudges Seyvaro with one arm, and points into the air with the other. Seyvaro is quick to get behind the scope of the rifle, and then swivels into place, finding vis mark within seconds. It's moving quick, and Seyvaro must keep vis eye up looking for the shape, to put it in the middle of the scope's crosshairs. It passes in front of Jupiter, tidally locked in the sky of Callisto, and is easy to track for a moment.
The shape moves through the crosshairs of Seyvaro's gun. Ve have a single moment to fire, and Seyvaro pauses during it. Ve lean up, and begin to fold the gun back up. Mendala drops nis binoculars, and turns to Seyvaro.
"What are you doing? You had the shot, didn’t you?"
"I think I know what it is. I’m going to need to talk to the parents."
"The parents? Of that thing? You know what it is?"
"No. The parents of the prnen. All of them. But yes, I do have an idea about what it could be."
"Thank you for meeting with us, Mx. Tayrangi."
Sasilpey is — among other positions — the official taronyu Ambassador to the Foundation, and is the only individual legally associated with the Foundation in New Kelutral. Seyvaro and Mendala operate in the darkness, but Tayrangi lives in the light. Xe stand near the door between two worlds, able to look through into the Foundation without entering. Xe have done xir best to not step any closer.
Xir position and loftly role in taronyu society and the Tihawnum government is mostly an accident. Before the end of the world, xe was well-ranked, but not terribly high. Over a thousand outranked xem. But not one of those spoke Ortothan, and when the Foundation arrived, it was Sasilpey that was chosen to make first contact. That catapulted xir career into stardom and success, cementing xem as an interplanetary celebrity.
"Of course. I heard this matter concerned the future of our species, and I take a vested interest in that, as you can imagine."
The house is simple, but well-crafted. It is one of the nicer houses in New Kelutral, but Sasilpey is not one to flaunt xir wealth. However, not much is needed to flaunt - the few non-essential items that the home has are enough to display status. New Kelutral is a colony, and anything from off-world can be subtly expensive. Sasilpey sits in the middle of it all and bounces xir child - Karishma - on xir lap.
"I really only have one question, very simple. But I need an answer."
"Of course, certainly."
"Have you warned your child against the ikranay? Have you told nem that if ne misbehave, the ikranay will come for nem in the night?"
"Just in passing. You know how it is when you are young. Your parents must have done the same thing to you, no? I wanted to preserve the culture of home, I didn’t mean to scare Karishma, not truly."
"Don’t worry, you aren’t the only one who has."
"See? I didn't do anything wrong."
"No, that's not why I'm here. I'm here because an ikranay was spotted in the skies above New Kelutral."
Mendala reacts with surprise - the mission is supposed to be secret, after all. Seyvaro holds up vis hand, without turning to look at Mendala's reaction. Ve have already guessed what it is, and are not worried. Sasilpey might be an outsider, but xe are one of the closest allies the Foundation has on Callisto, even if xe do not work for the group. Sasilpey merely nods at the news.
"Ah. Your partner is surprised. Let me assure them I am no stranger to the anomalous. So my bedtime stories brought the ikranay back from legend, you think?"
Seyvaro shifts in vis chair.
"Perhaps. It would not be the first time that belief and values have shaped the world in ways they were not supposed to. Not you alone, of course, but all the parents."
"There is power in belief. Much stronger power than it should, by any metric. Perhaps that is what keeps the world turning as it does. Our current sun hangs in the sky because of belief, that is for sure."
"Indeed, it does. Well, I have no further questions for you, Mx. Tayrangi. We may be in contact over the next few days, depending on what the Foundation feels is necessary."
"Fare thee well, Seyvaro. And to you, Mendala, I hope we do not have to meet again. The Foundation is not a good employer."
Neither Seyvaro or Mendala respond as they exit the house. While they are on the threshold, Mendala pauses, and briefly glances back as if to say something, but doesn't. Ne turns around to see Seyvaro has gotten ahead of them, and rush to catch up.
Jovian Orbital Satellite-03 is the Foundation's most advanced containment facility in the neighborhood of Jupiter. It is the closest the Tihawnum allows the Foundation to come to Callisto, and it is where all official business is conducted. A short space-flight - only a few hours - but not close enough for the highest up of the Foundation. Too close for the Tihawnum, however.
Seyvaro and Mendala were summoned here after giving their report to their handler. The handler took a single look at their conclusions - most importantly, their recommendations - and threw the decision up the chain of command. Somebody else more important would have to deal with the problem.
Agent Black is an ornery man, full of bluster. In the three minutes since Seyvaro and Mendala have been meeting with him, he has already popped two tablets of nicotine gum into his mouth, in addition to however many where in his mouth before. Seyvaro and Mendala instantly dislike him.
"You just want to leave it. Let it be."
"The ikranay is, well mostly harmless. And the Bureau of Anomaly Management would have done left it."
"This is a monster."
"Sir, if I may. It does little more than scare misbehaving children. Appear in the dead of the night, and scream at their window."
"It would not violate our normalcy. More importantly than that, I feel it would help it. We need the artifacts of our past, the remnants that remind of us home."
"It is familiar. It makes this colony feel more like home."
"It's anomalous. It's wraith of black smoke. You've told me this yourself."
"The taronyu view the anomalous quite differently than you do, sir."
"The Bureau's goal was only to contain dangerous anomalies, not all of them."
"That's not our goal, Seyvaro."
"Perhaps not. But what is your plan?"
"What do you mean?"
"I explained my theory for this creature's genesis. Belief. If there is no ikranay in the skies, what do you think will happen? How did we get here in the first place?"
"It'd just be a waste of time."
"An infinite amount of banshees in the sky."
"That's the kind of talk I'll accept, not the normalcy argument. Should've led with that."
"Perhaps, but I wished to be honest."
Seyvaro and Mendala leave Black's office together, and float down the halls of the JOS-03. There is no gravity, and they force themselves back to their escape pod. It is only until they have left the Foundation site that they begin to speak again. Mendala raises a question.
"You don't like the Foundation, do you?"
"No. But they need me. They don't have many choices for employees, do they?"
"But why do you stay?"
"So I can do what I did. Push them away, moderate their goals, drive them closer to my former employers. There will come a day that they try to take Callisto under their wing, but until then, we can enact as much change as we can. We keep our culture alive, as much as we can."
"Who are we working for, Seyvaro?"
"The same group the Tihawnum has always served. Never anyone else. My loyalties have never changed. Our fellow taronyu, above all else."
Original found here
NOTICE FROM THE FOUNDATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
The following file is currently under review by RAISA. A summary of current findings has been attached as an Addendum to this file.
The surrounding area of SCP-025.
Item #: SCP-025
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Outpost-025.B has been established to monitor SCP-025 and prevent unauthorized access. All trails leading to SCP-025 have been destroyed or closed to public access. Outpost-025.B and SCP-025 are currently only accessible via helicopter.
Outpost-025.B is to be operated by a singular guard at all times, to be stationed in week-long alternating shifts. Guards assigned to Outpost-025.B are to be drawn from the Site-77 Security Department and are to have a Cognitive Resistance Value of no less than 8.
The stationed guard is only to leave Outpost-025.B with approval from the SCP-025 Containment Supervisor, and such approval should only be given under extreme circumstances. Should the guard be granted approval to exit Outpost-025.B, they are under no circumstances to enter SCP-025, regardless of whether or not it is in an active phase. Access to Outpost-025.A is allowed but discouraged.
Should the stationed guard ever report a compulsion or desire to enter SCP-025, they are to be scheduled for immediate extraction. Remote controlled locks on the doors of Outpost-025.B are to be activated until a replacement can be delivered to Outpost-025.B. The guard who reported a desire to enter SCP-025 is then to be administered amnestic therapy to remove all memory of shifts at Outpost-025.B and then removed from the list of eligible candidates for SCP-025 Containment Duty.
Description: SCP-025 is a Gothic Revival style inn located in the Eastern Alps. Between sunrise and sunset, SCP-025 is nonanomalous. However, between sunset and sunrise, SCP-025 enters an active phase and develops variable and deleterious anomalous properties.
The most frequently observed of these anomalous properties is the corruption of data recorded or transmitted from within SCP-025. Other observed effects are the manifestation of hostile humanoid entities, alteration of physical matter and inconsistent topology. Most of these phenomena can be observed through the windows of SCP-025.
Given the consistent lack of coherent information produced from any attempt at entering SCP-025 during an active phase, all testing has been suspended.
Since coming into Foundation control, twenty-six individuals are confirmed to have entered SCP-025 during an active state. Only one of these individuals has been found alive following the end of an SCP-025 active phase.
History: SCP-025 was first discovered in 1874 by ██████ ██████, a naturalist and mountain climber. ██████ came across SCP-025 at night, during an attempt to traverse the Eastern Alps. He recorded the following in a journal, later collected from his personal residence by the Foundation in 1940.
The hill my colleague and I approached had an aura of tranquility to it; although it was just as jarring and unsettling as an abandoned sanatorium. I fear we made a poor choice in pressing onward through the storm, but I am grateful to see this inn as a welcoming overnight stay.
██████ ██████ and the other members of his party then enter SCP-025. At this point, ██████'s journal becomes mostly incoherent and hard to interpret, until leaving SCP-025. It is believed that this is an effect of SCP-025, but it is unclear if represents an altered mental state of ██████ or if the journals themselves were altered. Notably, all evidence indicates that the journal was written several days after ██████ had left SCP-025.
SCP-025 was first discovered by the Foundation in 1935 by a survey team. On their recommendation, Outpost-025.A was constructed in order to better study the anomaly. Outpost-025.A was originally constructed adjacent to SCP-025, but numerous security incidents forced the closure of Outpost-025.A and the construction of Outpost-025.B, at a distance from SCP-025.
All attempts by the Foundation at investigating the history of SCP-025 have been unsuccessful. No records exist of an original owner or designer, and no documentation has been found in relation to the construction of SCP-025. Explorations of SCP-025 during inactive phases have yielded no information regarding an original owner.
Addendum: Twenty-five personnel have been lost to SCP-025 since it entered Foundation control. A summary of these incidents follows:
- Five deaths from hypothermia or other symptoms of exposure, despite adequate clothing to survive.
- Two deaths from heat stroke, despite ambient temperatures.
- Four deaths from one or more stab wounds to the chest or torso.
- One decapitation, with the head not having been discovered.
- The remains of one individual were found scattered throughout SCP-025. Cause of death was indeterminate.
- Six deaths from renal failure.
- The remaining six individuals that have been lost within SCP-025 could not be found once the active phase ended.
After nine D-Class personnel were lost within SCP-025 during testing, testing was formally suspended and entrance during an active phase was prohibited. The next six personnel entered SCP-025 of their own accord, breaking policy to do so. The following note was left by the last of these personnel before entering SCP-025.
If you do not possess a Cognitive Resistance Value of at least 10, please do not read this note. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but I do not wish to harm the Foundation.
I believe that I have been affected by an unknown mind-affecting agent originating from SCP-025, of which I am assigned to. While all evidence indicates that entrance into SCP-025 will be fatal, I find myself unable to prevent my own entry.
It is currently unclear to me what the vector of infection for this mind-affecting agent would have been, as well as the specific nature of the infection. I am currently under the belief that an unknown object or set of objects inside SCP-025 possesses previously unidentified cognitohazardous properties with a period of dormancy. Therefore, during an ordinary expedition into SCP-025, I was exposed to this agent and now find myself compromised.
Therefore, for my last act as SCP-025 Research and Containment Supervisor, I am ordering a review of the Special Containment Procedures for SCP-025. The construction of Outpost-025.B is an adequate measure to prevent further loss of personnel to SCP-025, but I fear that it may not be enough. I also recommend the prohibition of entrance into SCP-025 during the day.
I hereby resign from all roles and duties that the Foundation has given to me, effective immediately. I am sorry for not being able to perform my obligations.
A copy of my will can be found in my office. I trust that the Foundation will be able to execute it faithfully.
Thank you,
Dr. Joshua Eichen
Outpost-025 Director
Following the recovery of this note, a detachment from the Memetics and Infohazards Department was deployed to Outpost-025.A to investigate the claims of mind-affecting phenomena made by Director Eichen.
Over the course of this testing, five D-Class were sent into SCP-025 during an active phase to search for a memetic or cognitohazardous agent responsible for the suspected compulsion effect. The deployment of D-Class in this manner was unsuccessful.
Over the course of such testing, four personnel from the Memetics and Infohazards Department entered SCP-025 shortly before an active phase and were lost during the event. These personnel were evidently aware of their infection and elected to self-terminate as opposed to potentially infecting other members of the research team. As such, they left no intact records following their presumed infection, other than the message "We hear the Black Moon howl", a standard phrase indicating infection by a mind-affecting phenomenon.
After the loss of these personnel, the Memetics and Infohazards Department withdrew from further investigation of SCP-025, having failed to find a vector for the observed compulsion. An official recommendation was made to the SCP-025 Research and Containment Supervisor, including changes to the Special Containment Procedures. These changes were later implemented.
Under the course of the newly suggested Special Containment Procedures, the security crew of SCP-025 was reduced to minimal numbers and all entry into SCP-025 or the potentially compromised Outpost-025.A was forbidden. Despite these changes, a security personnel member was lost to SCP-025.
Further changes involving the immediate extraction of all personnel voicing a desire to enter SCP-025 were implemented, but another personnel was lost following the inability of the extraction team to reach Outpost-025.B in time as a result of inclement weather conditions.
Addendum: On August 18th, 2012, a routine review of the files of SCP-025 indicated multiple discrepancies between the file present in the main list copy and backup copies located at Site-77. The source of these errors was determined to be a series of unauthorized edits made from Outpost-025.A.
Further investigation of this revealed several discrepancies: Outpost-025.A's SCiPnet connection had been scheduled to be decommissioned in 1960, following the completion of Outpost-025.B. Further investigation revealed that order had been rescinded, with the order being made from the same terminal as the edits originated from. The unauthorized edits made to the SCP-025 file were apparently from the accounts of multiple personnel that had been lost to SCP-025, including Director Eichen.
The following is a review of the changes made to the SCP-025 documentation over the course of these edits:
- Altering the description of SCP-025 to include reference to a fictitious "active phase" lasting from sunset to sunrise. In reality, the anomalous phenomena associated with SCP-025 are present at all times, and no inactive phase exists.
- Removal of discussion of a 1985 Memetics and Infohazards Department Review, which concluded that SCP-025's mind-affecting properties were likely the result of an outside sapient influence, as opposed to a simple cognitohazardous or memetic effect.
- Modifications to the Special Containment Procedures to remove directives concerning the prohibition of the stationed guard from using any kind of communication other than a simple alarm, and the addition of an implication that regular reports should be given to Site-77 command.
- Alteration of the stated reason for the construction for Outpost-025.B from concerns that Outpost-025.A had been compromised by the anomalous phenomena surrounding SCP-025 to the desire to minimize personnel loss.
- Removal of an event log detailing instances in which anomalous phenomena manifested in the area surrounding SCP-025 during active phases. Further edits were made in this fashion to portray anomalous phenomena as being localized within SCP-025 itself. These phenomena include, but are not limited to:
- Sourceless telekinetic manipulation of objects both within Outpost-025.A and in the surrounding area. Objects then typically behaved in a hostile fashion.
- Sudden formation of English and Italian writing on the walls of Outpost-025.A, typically composed of human biomatter.
- Anomalous meteorological patterns localized to SCP-025 and the surrounding area. Such patterns frequently forced or encouraged entry into SCP-025.
- Appearance of hostile ontokinetic spectral humanoid entities within Outpost-025.A and along numerous paths leading to SCP-025.
- In general, phenomena that manifest outside of SCP-025 are nonfatal and encourage entry into SCP-025, as opposed to the invariably fatal (with the exception of D-JJ87A0) phenomena which occur inside SCP-025.
- Deleting a log detailing D-JJ87A0's experience within SCP-025, which included details of why he was able to survive. The log attributed his survival to a prior term of service with an anomaly concerning hostile ontokinetic entities.
- Deletion of a 1990 Containment Review by the SCP-025 Containment Board concerning the area of effect of SCP-025. This discussion notably concluded that the previously surmised theory of SCP-025's range of influence was incorrect, and rather SCP-025 affected the entire hill upon which it was located.
- Evidence that had been used to support this claim was similarly deleted.
- Changes to the number of personnel apparently lost to SCP-025 over the course of containment, decreasing the number from 38 to 25.
RAISA is currently conducting a review of all information gathered concerning the SCP-025 and is attempting to cross-reference such information against other sources, as the possibility of foreign and anomalous contamination remains present. All information must be independently verified before a revised file can be published.
Outpost-025.A has been scheduled for remote demolition by means of a drone delivered rocket strike.
Until such time as the SCP-025 file can be reviewed and verified as accurate, all further research and containment of SCP-025 is to be halted. No guards are to be stationed at Outpost-025.B, and it is to be regarded as formally uncontained. All measures must be taken in order to ensure that no further personnel are lost to SCP-025. Good luck.
Item #: SCP-6000
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Due to the location of SCP-6000, it is currently impossible that civilians will reach it. However, the possibility remains for civilian detection. As such, any attempts to seismically analyze the earth must have a Foundation embed. Should evidence of SCP-6000 be discovered, this embed is to remove any and all such evidence, contacting MTF Eta-8 for amnestic treatment if necessary.
Description: SCP-6000 is a spherical chamber, approximately 1200 meters in diameter located at the exact center of the Earth's core. Although SCP-6000 can be detected through nonanomalous methods, it can only currently be reached through anomalous means.
The interior of SCP-6000 is anomalously capable of supporting life. The extreme heat, pressure and gravity that would be expected from the location of SCP-6000 are not present within SCP-6000: rather, it possesses a constant temperature of approximately 290 degrees Kelvin. Despite SCP-6000 being a near-perfect vacuum, living organisms are able to respirate without ill-effect, and sound travels regardless of the lack of atmosphere. Gravity is oriented to the surface of the Earth.
At the center of SCP-6000 is a spherical spatial distortion (designated SCP-6000-1) with a diameter of approximately 600 meters containing two anomalous entities (designated SCP-6000-KORE and SCP-6000-SATURN). SCP-6000-1 is subject to massive fluctuations in temperature, pressure, gravity, time, pH, light and other factors at random. It generally produces 100 lux of light at any given time.
SCP-6000-KORE is a humanoid entity physically resembling a human female of Afroasiatic[?] ancestry, with immediately obvious anomalies. SCP-6000-KORE is able to restore injuries by emitting flashes of light exceeding 50,000 lux, after which all physical trauma will be removed. SCP-6000-KORE is constantly holding a sword made of an unknown white metal, which is repaired during the aforementioned healing process.
SCP-6000-SATURN is a large vaguely humanoid entity, resembling a highly emaciated human male. SCP-60000-SATURN possesses a number of nonhuman features, including greatly distended limbs, an additional ten arms, large horns, and dark grey skin. SCP-6000-SATURN possesses the ability to rapidly regenerate lost mass and/or injuries; separated body parts disintegrate when separated.
ADDENDUM 6000.A
On July 15th, 1965, a lone member of the Serpent's Hand opened a Way into SCP-6000, set up art supplies and began to paint SCP-6000-1. Foundation agents were within SCP-6000 at the time, but located at a significant distance from the member of the Serpent's Hand. Although the agents immediately attempted to apprehend to the member of the Hand, the Hand member had ample time to escape. However, a large collection of objects was left behind at the time, including the following:
I Love You, Mama
Ages and ages and ages ago,
Just as man began to know fear,
A devil came to earth.
Rising from the black dirt,
It made a demand of the world.
A wish to feast, a wish to eat:
The hearts of a hundred infants,
The teeth of a thousand more.
All of this and much else.
The people bowed down in fear
and offered up bountiful harvest.
And so it slunk under the world.
But it would return again,
And so on and so on, for centuries.
Until a girl, of but few years,
Grabbed her father's white sword,
Recieved her mother's kiss,
And stood before her demon.
The beast laughed and laughed,
And filled the canyons with mirth.
But his opponent was undaunted:
She merely took her gleaming sword,
And spat in his face.
He tore her to shreads on the spot.
The corpse lay broken on the ground.
But then she picked herself up,
And stood immortal forever.
The champion took her brilliant blade
And split the ground itself.
A chasm opened in the world,
Down to the very crux of the world,
Eating her wretched enemy.
She followed, blade in hand
Never to return again, nor to rest
Nor to see the light of day,
And to never know defeat or cowardice.
ADDENDUM 6000.B
SCP-6000-KORE and SCP-6000-SATURN have been engaged in physical combat for the entirety of the time in which they have been observed by the Foundation. Each is able to navigate and move freely within SCP-6000-1 without issue, and both frequently use this talent to navigate during the fight. The pair frequently converse in what has been tentatively identified as Proto-Afroasiatic. As Proto-Afroasiatic remains undeciphered, the content of this speech is unknown.
Since the beginning of observation, the fight has been markedly one-sided. SCP-6000-KORE is rarely injured by SCP-6000-SATURN, and quickly heals from any injuries. SCP-6000-SATURN spends the overwhelming majority of its time either attempting to flee from SCP-6000-KORE or failing to negotiate with it.
You step out of the plane, and breath in the fresh air of England. It hasn't been too long since you were last in the country - just a few months, but you always did love this country. It's the early hours of the morning, your favorite time of day.
The car is waiting not far away, to take you to Protected Site-01, which is only three minutes away from the end of the air strip you landed on. There are guards everywhere around you - nothing but the highest security for your position.
"Ofivate."
The driver slurs your title into one word - officially, it is Level-Five Overseer Number Eight, but you can't remember ever being called that. Your name was stripped with you and replaced with the title, and now you live in a world of secrecy and silence.
You quip a response at the driver, and the armored car rolls off, down the highway. It is night, and the world has not yet woken up. You have flown in from far, far away and have not yet had time to rest, still attuned to the daily cycle of another time and place.
This time - the late part of the night, when the world is just beginning to stir, when the sun is just beginning to crest over the horizon. It is a quiet beauty, but more importantly, it is your favorite time to work and get things done.
But the drive is short, and it is not long before you are within the bowels of Site-01 itself, one of the most secure locations in the entire world. One of your Factotums - your most trusted and resonsible assistants - greets you, hoping to deliver an update.
"Overseer Eight. Welcome, ma'am. You've arrived a bit earlier than we were prepared for, and the rest of the Council is still asleep. Should-"
"Don't bother. Hold the meeting at seven, as scheduled. I'll wait in the conference room and file some paperwork."
You spend the next half hour finishing reviewing a few containment proposals for a small assortment of anomalies that had been marked by one of your assistants as wanting your direct approval. It is simple work, some of the easiest you do in the Foundation.
Time escapes you, however, and before you realize it is five minutes before seven. That's odd, as O5-1 could always be trusted on to arrive early to a meeting, as could Six or Ten. There is a knock at the door. You slowly rise to answer.
The Factotum from earlier is at the door, his face aghast. He is pale, and shaking like a boy.
"Overseer, the rest of the Council will not wake up, nobody at Site-01 can, it's just the skeleton night shift at the moment, it's probably anomalous interferance but we can't be certain and-"
"Calm down. Contact other sites, see if they are having the same problem. Don't panic: we've beaten worse before."
TIME: 0732 UTC EARTH
DATE: DAY 12 MONTH 08 YEAR 2019
ATTENTION ALL SITES - O5-8 UPDATE
KEY: The black moon howls to deny us sleep through the darkened night.
I want all Sites to give me an update if any sleeping individuals can be woken, as well as the last time at which anyone awoke. Include both anomalies and personnel.
No personnel has woken up within the past forty five minutes at any of the five Foundation sites that have responded to me. Limited evidence suggests that this may be the case worldwide.
Be on prepared for the declaration of a K-Class Scenario.
— O5-8 VERIFIED OVERSEER ACCOUNT
Junior Researcher
You stare at the message that popped up on your terminal screen - an urgent message using the Foundation emergency broadcast system, straight from O5-8 himself. You were briefed on the system as soon after you started, but you cannot remember if it was ever even used before.
At first, it seems to you like something of an overreaction - just less than an hour and an O5 is declaring global emergency to every Foundation site? That's hardly enough time to decide that mankind is undergoing a global catastrophe preventing all humans from waking up. But another voice in your head tells you "No, the Foundation cannot afford to be cautious. Paranoia is what has kept us alive."
You rise from your desk, leaving the unfinished addendum unsaved, and go to check in with your Site Director.
Notice from O5-8: The following file is required reading for all personnel. All non-vital personnel are reassigned to the SCP-0000 project.
Item #: SCP-0000
Object Class: Apollyon
Threat Level: Black
Special Containment Procedures: Do not fall asleep. Remain awake.
The state of sleep is to be regarded as a Class-I Death-like State. This means that any sleeping personnel are to be considered deceased and indefinetly lost.
Description: SCP-0000 is an anomalous phenomenon preventing sleeping humans from waking up. At the time of writing, no method of waking any sleeping human has been found. SCP-0000 is estimated to have begun around 0645 UTC, August 12th, 2019.
Even with the heavy usage of stimulants, baseline humans are only able to survive for approximately two weeks without sleep. Most humans are expected to fall asleep before this point. Additionally, the human body can only survive for approximately one week before dying to a lack of water.
SCP-0000 is an MH-Class "Loss of Human Consciousness" Scenario. If a solution cannot be found by 0645 UTC, August 17th, 2019, it will be an MK-Class "Total Loss of Human Consciousness" Scenario. By this point, the number of conscious humans will be too low to find a solution. The usage of SCP-2000 will not be able to restore the world from this event.
the world has noticed and is falling into chaos
yadah yadah
civilian
"oh god what about loved ones"
"what the fuck is the scp foundation and why is anderson cooper interviewing them"
Notice from O5-8: The following is an update to the SCP-0000 file. Reading is required.
Addendum 0000.1: oneiroi shit
Subadddenda 0001.1.2 Dr. Bright
that one dream siringe
bright
tau-5? (fall asleep & reboot)
the new director of site-81
You are the acting Site Director of Site-81 now. Aktus is still alive, of course, but he's no longer capable of fulfilling his duties during the ongoing crisis situation, and the Site needs an active director.
You weren't even very high on the chain of command…
You found his body…
He isn't dead, but he may as well be.
Notice from O5-8: Update.
Addendum 0000.2: the sleepless anomalies and the transhumanists are getting tired
this is the only compulsiony bit and it's just "people who wouldn't normally sleep are going to bed
"The-"
The man in front of you gulps. He is distraught, and looks as if he cannot believe what he is about to say. He touches his fingertips to his forehead for a second before rushing the rest of his statement.
"The last of the Nornir has fallen asleep, just now. Our goddesses are gone. They will not return to us."
He sighs.
"And if goddesses cannot stand against this, whatever it is, how can we? They were not even biological, and yet they too descending into the depths of sleep. If divinity falls, how can man ever hope to succeed? We must-"
"Ha!"
You turn to look at the interuppter, along with the rest of the Council of 108 - although now it's only 26. He's the current acting representative of the Satanic Scientists, you never bothered to learn his name with all of the replacements. Most of the men in this room are foreign to you.
"How can we defy the gods? We are men, the greatest species to walk this earth. Defiance of the gods is not impossible, it is our destiny. Man is indomitable, and we will fight to the end, and it will not be this… sleep."
"I will not stand for such hubris…"
You stop listening then. You don't need to hear two men angrily debating the merits of their religions as society drowns in an ocean of rest. You'd stop them and try to get them on the right track, but it would be meaningless - the world cannot be saved.
You look around the chambers of the Global Occult Coalition, and realize this is not where you want to spend your final moments. The walk outside is short, and refreshing. You've never seen New York City so quiet. You never look back.
This was never how you saw the world ending, even in all of your years of fighting against the end. Beyond Entropy had been founded in order to save the world from environmental disasters. You had done it plenty of times, but this…
It came out of nowhere, and was far too fast to be stopped. There is nothing to do now but succumb to the inevitable. You are beginning to question why you even fought in the first place, but it doesn't matter now. Nothing does.
You have found a nice bench in a small garden, with a good view of the East River. At least you die in a nice, quiet place. It is no Korea, but it is peaceful and calm. It will do, especially considering you don't have much of a choice in the matter.
On one of the benches down from you is a body. Something drives you over to it, and you can't say why - you don't know what you are expecting to get out of it, but you go over and check the woman for signs of life.
You recognize her, she is the representative of that nature group from the western coast of America. What was it called? Wilson's Wildlife Solutions? She is still breathing, and her heart still carries a pulse. She is not yet dead, only sleeping. If only she were to wake up, she could carry on. Go back to saving the animals of the world.
All is not lost for her.
And neither should it be for you.
You rise, your passion rekindled and your mettle unbroken. Hope is not entirely dead, and it is wrong for you to surrender. Your chances of victory are slim, but they are not gone in full. And as long as there is even the slightest glimmer of shining hope, you must try to take it.
Your task might be sisphyean, but you know your myth. Sisyphus never gape up.
| Welcome to the SCiPnet Chat Relay System! — Just keeping each other company at the end. — Send messages at least once every five minutes, please. — It has been an honor. |
| You joined → #general |
| A.Rosales.Z2 |
Ah, so you're the one who's been missing. |
| You |
Sorry, I just found out about this. I didn't even know we used this anymore. |
| Xyank1t58fa |
Generally speaking, we don't. But there were extentuating circumstances… |
| Overseer-8 |
Alexandria, how many humans are awake? |
| Alexandria.aic |
There are currently eight Foundation personnel awake, plus TheAdministrator. All are in this channel. Current estimates are that there are no more than twenty thousand individuals awake worldwide. |
| J.Bright.19 |
Fuck, that's low. |
| You |
I feel a bit out of my league - I've only heard legends about some of you. |
| You |
J.Bright.19: Are you Jack Bright? |
| J.Bright.19 |
The one and many. |
| You |
I have a question, if you are still at Site-19. Is 682, well, asleep? |
| J.Bright.19 |
Like a baby. Guess immortality doesn't protect from sleep. |
| TheAdministrator |
That bodes poorly for me, I suppose. |
| Overseer-8 |
Can I get a check-in, everyone? |
| You |
Still awake. |
| J.Everwood |
Still awak, boss. |
| J.Everwood |
*awake. I'm jyst so tired. |
| Consuelo |
consuelo |
| TheAdministrator |
I haven't slept for centuries, not since I was human. |
| Overseer-8 |
Looks like they finally got Alto.Clef. Was that how any of you saw him going out? |
| Overseer-8 kicked Alto.Clef (REASON: Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest) |
| TheAdministrator |
I have forgotten what is is like to sleep, to dream. I have not been tired in such a long time. |
| A.Rosales.Z2 |
I can't imagine what that must be like. I'm longing for sleep already, and it's been only been a few weeks. |
You are sitting at your computer terminal, in a chatroom with what just as may well be the last humans awake. The white light of the computer is stinging your eyes, and you turn away for a second. As you do, you notice you are out of coffee.
You rise, stretching yourself to wake yourself up a little more. A little exercise can keep you awake, right? You remember reading that somewhere. In any case, it won't hurt you, and you finish the little routine.
…
As the coffee brews, you absent-mindedly begin a yawn, but stop yourself from finishing it. The coffee is still brewing, so you walk over to the sink to splash some water on your face. Maybe that will stave of sleep for just a few minutes.
The water is cold and gives you a minor jolt, but as you look back into the mirror above the sink you see a monster. It's eyes are dark and sullen, face inhuman, teeth yellowed, hair frazzled. You recoil in disgust. Knowing it's you doesn't make it any better.
The coffee is ready. You take the pot and pour it out into a mug, spilling some hot coffee as you do. As you suck on the wound, you realize your hands are shaking. You're dosed up on too much caffiene, sleep-destroying cognitohazards, and whatever drugs in the pharmacy you thought were safe enough. You'll crash soon.
You chug the coffee. It's too hot for that, but you don't have enough control to stop yourself, not anymore. Besides, the burn will keep you up for a little longer, and that's all that matters.
Sighing, you decide to head back to the office, and back to the last vestige of civilization on your computer. As you walk back down the hall, the rock you've been blaring cuts out. You'll be alone with your thoughts and your hallucinations now.
And then, out of the corner of your eye, you see it. It scares you.
Your bed.
You had forgotten that this route went your bedroom. That was a mistake. You knew you wouldn't have been able to resist.
You enter your room. The bed invited you.
It hasn't been made in days, but it is still inviting. Warm and soft. Surely it wouldn't hurt to just, lie down? Not go to sleep, of course, but you've been sitting and standing for so long, and your spine is beginning to hurt.
You're just so, very, very tired.
Wouldn't it be so nice to
lie down,
close your eyes,
get some rest,
and
drift
off
to
sleep?
Notice from Amos Sanchez: Under Protocol MIDNIGHT BLOSSOM, I have been granted Level 5 Clearance and assumed acting duties as interim O5-1.
There may be only three hundred waking beings on the planet, but we will win.
Addendum 0000.3:
On August 26th, 2019, the last nonamalous human on Earth fell asleep. Following this, Mobile Task Force Omicron-Zero (Ará Orún) Command to cease general thought, in an attempt to fall asleep. This was done as a result of the general consensus of MTF ω-0, feeling a lack of will to continue opration during a total K-Class event.
The ability of MTF ω-0 to fall asleep was confirmed on August 17th, and believed to be a further anomalous property of SCP-0000. The exact mechanism of this appears to be linked to the similarities between the infoscape of the SCP database and infoscape of the Oneiroi dreamworld, with a further connection resuting from SCP-0000.
80% of MTF ω-0 tried to, and was successful at, achieving this sleep like state. The remaining 20% of MTF ω-0, forming a dissenting opinion, remaining awake and active. Senior Researcher Amos Sanchez, Ops Director of MTF ω-0, was one of these dissenting members. The active members of MTF ω-0 soon discovered they were able to recieve limited information from the other members of MTF ω-0, who appeared to have entered the dream world of the Oneiroi.
Identity Warrior Training (which most members of MTF ω-0 are proficient in) has proven to be applicable within the Oneiroi dreamworld. This means that members of MTF ω-0 are experienced combatants in the relatively peaceful dreamworld.
Further investigation by MTF ω-0 has indicated that SCP-0000 was caused by a hostile Oneiroi (designated SCP-0000-A), seeking to expand their territory within the dreamworld. info about 0000-A
MTF ω-0 has located the Oneiroi formed by Mobile Task Force Omicron Rho ("The Dream Team") and are beginning combat preparations to attack and neutralize 0000-A.
You study the horizon, an army of righteous dead. You measure in the hundreds, and you are the deadliest beings in the entire Dreamtime. This is a world of information, and ghosts like you are nothing more than information with a mind of their own.
Your commander is the exception. They are a truly projection into the dream, a gestalt formed of a handful of soldiers. They trained for this their entire life, and they were ready to fight. But they are outmanned, outgunned, and unable to fight against the monster that haunted the dreams of the world. One being cannot stop an apocalypse.
But what about an army, like you?
o-ρ sends a thought out, nothing more, and you all hear it. The enemy is near, and now it time to fight to the death. You'll need weapons, of course, but you are never unarmed. It is made of steel, a machine gun with lasers and rockets wielded onto it, and it is the only weapon any of you will ever need.
You form into an army. You are not used to such physical operations (none of your company has needed anything like that for some time) having grown used to working as a collection of ideas and thoughts held together by nothing more than traces of an identity. But here you are no different from any other dreamer.
o-ρ leads you forward, and you see the heart of the beast. You had already known of its presence, with the black ichor and rot that it caused having spread throughout the Dreamtime. Black tendrils snaking out and choking the entire world. o-ρ told you to ignore them, but not all of you did.
The source is a monster. Each one of you looks at it and sees something different. Your mothers, your fathers, your past lovers, your inner demons, Freddy Kreuger and the like. But you begin to share these ideas, and the monster fuses identities. It becomes indistinct, forced to the barest mythemes that compose it.
What is now before you is a shifting blackness. o-ρ tells you to attack.
Like clockwork, you raise a thousand guns that do not exist and fire a thousand lasers that are terribly real.
The beast is struck by the fire, and begins to fade out of sight. It lashes back
Notice from O5-8: The following is the updated file for SCP-0000.
This sentence is antimemetic. We would like to thank MTF ω-0 for their heroism.
Item Number: SCP-0000
Object Class: Neutralized
Threat Level: None
Special Containment Procedures:
Description:
You enter your office, and your coat takes itself office and hangs itself up on a rack. The crisis, for the most part, has been resolved, thanks to the heroism of a Mobile Task Force almost no one was previously aware of before. (You were, of course.)
The only remaining members of Overwatch are yourself and Overseer-8, so you'll be needing twelve individuals to fill out the rest of the Council. Eight served well, she could do with a promotion. She'll be O5-1 from now forth - fitting for someone of her stature.
Filling out the rest of the council will be a task - you aren't quite sure what to do with the rest of that lot. It has been something of a tradition to fill the role of O5-3 with something of a ghost in the machine, and Amos Sanchez would be a literal interpretation of that superstition. You enter your clearance code and immediately grant him a position among the most powerful men and women in the world.
