SCP-5250
Item #: SCP-5250
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Any person or group of persons is capable of independently creating instances of SCP-5250, so physical containment in its typical sense is impossible. However, since creating an instance of SCP-5250 requires very specific knowledge, the monitoring and censoring of information regarding SCP-5250’s processes is a practical method of containment.
As far as the Foundation has been able to ascertain, knowledge surrounding SCP-5250 has been largely sequestered by a small group of interest calling themselves “Daemonologists.” Efforts to track down and infiltrate this group are underway.
Description: SCP-5250 is the designation given to any portal opened to SCP-5250-Λ.
SCP-5250-Λ, referred to simply as ‘Lambda’, is currently understood to be a four-dimensional universe, tangent to our own along the [redacted] coordinate of its W-axis. Lambda’s form of matter is incompatible with that of our own universe; however, both universes appear to share similar laws of acoustics, allowing interaction between the two given appropriate lab conditions.
AUTHORIZATION VALIDATED
Description Cont: Instances of SCP-5250 can only be created by a unique combination of 10 different frequencies. The first six frequencies are constant and serve to establish a link to Lambda. The last four frequencies can be anything within a range of ██Hz to ██kHz; these frequencies act as coordinates within the Lambda universe.
When combined, amplified, and controlled with [redacted] equipment, the result is a localized bridge between our universe and Lambda.
Despite the fact that matter from our universe is incompatible with SCP-5250-Λ, entities from Lambda are capable of existing in our universe due to their acoustic nature.
These entities, called SCP-5250-1, can only cross the portal when the operator [redacted] to a particular SCP-5250-1 instance.
[all further data expunged]
History: While SCP-5250 has only recently been classified, the terms “Acoustic Daemonology”, “Harmonic Daemonology”, and “Acoustic █████████” have been on the Foundation’s watchlists for nearly a century.
Rumors of a ‘daemonology’ beyond the purview of the superstitious have long circulated, and in many cases, have proved to be related to something truly anomalous. In this case, it was a box of unique correspondences between three alchemists that initially alerted the Foundation.
They were alchemists of moderate repute who had all disavowed their profession, just a few decades before alchemy itself lost currency. These letters, written after their purported disavowals, indicated they had not abandoned their ‘aetherworldly’ pursuits, they had simply moved on to something with substance.
Although their correspondence explicitly avoided details on their methodology, their descriptions were nearly identical to those of Foundation researchers that dealt with interuniversal anomalies. Their language betrayed a knowledge keenly distinct from the mythos of the time.
That was the closest the Foundation would get to knowledge on SCP-5250 for another century. Sporadically, the Foundation would intercept various communications discussing acoustic daemonology, but these messages never provided enough information to get a lead.
Discovery: It was the death of one Dr. K████ R███, henceforth referred to as “the Professor”, that finally gave the Foundation actionable intel. The Professor had been under Foundation surveillance for a number of odd purchases relating to his experiments. A Foundation field agent implanted at the Professor’s university took his death as an opportunity to go through his personal belongings. Among them were an astounding number of tracts detailing the methods surrounding SCP-5250. His work allowed the Foundation to create an instance of SCP-5250 and confirm its existence.
In his manuscripts, the Professor had discussed the existence of a protégé. By cross-referencing the mentions of this protégé with the Professor’s class rosters, Foundation personnel were able to determine the identity of the protégé. Below is a transcript of the interrogation:
Interrogation 1 - April ██, 2019
Interrogated: Alvin B████, “Protégé”
Interrogator: Field Agent ████
Foreward: The Protégé was lured into a Foundation office under the pretense of assisting a private firm with some of the Professor’s unfinished work; the intent being to interrogate and amnestitize afterward.
Protégé: Wow, it's quite a place you have here. A lot of security for a private venture.
Interviewer: We take our jobs here very seriously.
Protégé: So what exactly did Dr. R do for you? I mean, I'm pretty good, but I'm not sure I could ever really take his place.
Interviewer: We’ll get to that in a moment, but for now, please have some tea.
[The protégé drinks tea laced with ████]
Protégé: Wow, that's a flavor.
Interviewer: I’m glad you like it. So let's get to the point: Tell us about harmonic daemonology.
[The interviewer lays down a photocopy of some of the Professor's work]
[The protégé smiles and laughs]
Protégé: I should have known.
Interviewer: Please, the question at hand.
Protégé: Let's see. If you're taking this seriously and you're not offering me a job, my guess is Foundation, right?
Interviewer: Sir, things will go much more smoothly if you simply tell us the truth.
Protégé: Well, if I can hazard a guess as to what was in that tea, I assume I'll eventually be telling the truth anyway. So, you want to know about daemonology? It's more than science. It's more than something you can contain. Harmonic daemonology is an art, an art above all. It's how man can pierce the veil, take from the darkness, and mold it's stygian beasts into our own image.
Interviewer: That's a long way around saying nothing.
Protégé: Really? I think it says everything. I'm sure you know some of the horrors that lurk in this world, some of the incomprehensible—
Interviewer: Sir—
Protégé: No. Listen. Listen to me!
[The protégé pounds on the desk; guards begin to move forward]
Interviewer: Hold it, I'll let the gentlemen finish, assuming he answers the question at hand.
Protégé: I'll teach you the first lesson, the first lesson taught to every aspiring daemonologist since 1920. Your mentor sits you down. He taps his watch for a few seconds, and then he pulls out a copy of The Second Coming. He reads it. He gets to those last lines:
"The darkness drops again, vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, and what rough beast, it's hour come round at last, slouches towards bethlehem to be born?" And then your mentor says, "You're an artist first, but you're also a scientist. So tell me, what assumption is the author making?"
Protégé: [pausing before his response] Do you know?
Interviewer: Humor me.
Protégé: He assumes that there is but one beast. Only so many of those terrors can be locked away in cells, and even then, how many can you hold back? Do you really even control the ones you supposedly have contained? Science, security, these are ways to approach a battle. It won't win a war. Instead of putting a lock on the aether, you need to open the door. Open the door and take what you can. The other side has the building blocks. We need to put them together. It's a shame you've tried to keep them all apart.
[The protégé begins to visibly tire out towards the end of this paragraph]
Interviewer: How would you suggest we do that?
Protégé: Thralls. Thralls. Nearly everything within your walls is a thrall.
[The interviewer rolls their eyes]
Interviewer: Okay, keep being that way. The ████ should have kicked in by now. Name your colleagues.
[The protégé smiles]
Protégé: I poisoned myself. I'm dying.
Interviewer: Shit, shit. Get a medical team in here. Get them in here now!
Closing Statement: Approximately 12 minutes later, the protégé died from an unknown poison that had been hidden in a capsule in his tooth.
Addendum-A: A Brief Note on “The Daemonologists” Group of Interest
Via the Professor’s manuscripts, researchers were able to determine that the GoI operates with a basic cell structure in groups of no more than three. One member is considered the mentor while the other two are considered apprentices. Communication between cells exists in the form of an in-house mobile chat app which uses a novel form of encryption. Efforts to understand this encryption universally result in the self-destruction of the device being examined.
The primary goal of The Daemonologists appears to be the amassing of knowledge and “thralls” (henceforth SCP-5250-2) that can be used as weapons, ostensibly to defend the Earth against various end of the world scenarios.
Creating instances of SCP-5250-2 appears to be the Daemonologists’ primary use of SCP-5250. This process involves using SCP-5250 to extract instances of SCP-5250-1 from Lambda and containing them inside of a [redacted]-treated object, resulting in SCP-5250-2. Instances of SCP-5250-2 typically have some sort of anomalous property that relates both to the [redacted] symbols used and the object itself.
Despite the use of ████████, they do not appear to be a part of any other GoIs that are known to use it, though they are likely an offshoot or splinter group.
Addendum-B: Inventory of SCP-5250-2 Instances
Item # | Object | Status | Description | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wrist Watch | Neutralized | An ornate wrist watch. Despite lacking a power source, always reads the correct time. Cannot be damaged. Inscribed with [redacted]. Since neutralization, time now reads 7:43:06 | |
2 | Rapier | In Storage | Allows the subject to win any sword fight with up to 3 opponents. Cannot be damaged. Inscribed with [redacted] | |
3 | 9mm Sidearm | In Storage | Neither jams nor requires maintenance. Cannot be damaged. Inscribed with [redacted] | |
4 | Pair of Earrings | In Storage | When worn by different subjects, subjects can telepathically communicate with each other up to ██ kilometers away. Cannot be damaged. Inscribed with [redacted] | |
5 | █████ | In Storage | [data expunged] | |
6 | ███ | In Storage | [data expunged] | |
7 | █████ | In Storage | [data expunged] |
Addenda C-██:
[data expunged]
NOTE: Pursuant to Internal Affairs protocol, all further information can only be accessed by the Forensics Team, the Review Team, and O5 personnel pending the completion of the investigation into the “August Incident”. Access to the report is available here for Foundation staff with adequate clearance.
Addendum 5250-August
Final Incident Report
[Clearance 4/5250-August or O5 required]
AUTHORIZATION VALIDATED: Welcome Dr. Black
Report Preface:
As of October 12, 2019, the investigation into the August Incident is finished. Below, all relevant logs, diary entries, and reports are arranged in the manner best suited to explaining the events of August 1st.
For clarity, here is a list of the personnel most pertinent to this investigation:
-Dr. Jonathan Palmer (Site Director)
-Dr. Therem Dvorak (Lead Researcher)
-Dr. Francine Carris (Assistant Lead Researcher)
-Dr. Erin Friess (Site Psychologist)
-Dr. Eric Hollister (Chief Containment Specialist)
-James Crane (Chief Security Officer)
-Dr. Karen Scheldt (Chief Tactical Response Officer)
-Dr. Aaron Hodges (Assistant Lead Researcher—appointed by Dr. Dvorak)
Section 1: SCP-5250's Initial Discovery & Site-531's Beginning
May 4,
I’ve been assigned the task of evaluating whether or not Professor R███’s works are related to something truly anomalous. It’s a tough task, but I’m nearly ready.
In the last week, I’ve poured myself into his manuscripts. They are… awe-inspiring to say the least. I’ve no doubt we have something anomalous on our hands, and I’m close to being able to prove it.
Honestly, I feel this anomaly is meant for me. Of all the other researchers assigned to the Professor’s works, none have gotten as far as I have. The whole idea just seems to click.
The concept of thralling has captured the attention of most of my colleagues. There are many different thralling projects the Professor describes, and a number of them are very similar to active SCP items.
I admit, it’s got my attention as well, although not for the same reasons. While they see it as a potential explanation for other SCPs, I see it as some sort of strangely alluring challenge. I need to keep my distance from it. It’s a distraction at best, and it won’t help me when it comes down to proving whether or not this is anomalous.
May 6,
I’ve come across some information on a process called de-thralling. This is the first time I’ve used my privileges to up-classify something beyond my colleagues.
It’s mentioned only a few times, but the professor paints it as something more dangerous even than thralling. The ability to strip objects of their anomalous properties is a very obvious and appealing potential avenue for research, but I think it best to steer my colleagues away from it until we gain a greater understanding of the anomaly.
May 7,
After reading enough of the Professor’s writing, I informed the Lead Field Agent that I was ready to confirm/deny the anomalous nature of SCP-5250.
I was taken to the Professor’s house under cover of night by a small squad of field agents and Dr. Carris, my prospective second in command should research begin.
They took me through a hidden door behind a bookshelf and down into his lab. It was exactly as he had described. There were two rooms, a small control/observation room containing a computer and a panel of twenty knobs, and a much larger, hexagonal acoustic chamber containing amplifying equipment arranged [redacted].
Dr. Carris asked me how I intended to prove the anomalous nature of 5250. I told her we were going to place the sensor in the testing chamber and turn on the equipment. A small argument erupted between the two of us over the safety of such a thing. I assured her the portal required outside power to be sustained and pointed to the large killswitch on the wall. She at first refused to be party to any such thing, trusting neither the killswitch nor the Professor’s documentation. We came to a tenuous compromise: she would allow me to go forward as long as their was a secondary way of cutting the power, and as long as I kept the equipment on for no longer than a minute.
While the security team began devising a new kill switch (namely an explosive device that would cut the power lines leading to the house), I quickly looked over the instrument panel to figure out how I would navigate it.
The twenty knobs all appeared to be for adjusting various aspects the four coordinate frequencies. For each coordinate frequency, there was a coarse adjustment knob, a fine adjustment knob, a power adjustment knob, a modulation knob, and a feedback cancellation knob.
With this and the knowledge from the manuscripts, I had a vague idea of how I’d go about creating a small instance of 5250.
When everything was ready, Dr. Carris started my timer and I began. The computer thankfully booted quickly, and I could see that all the six address frequencies had already been put in. I activated them, and a loud hum began to emanate from the hexagonal chamber. The sensor recorded no extra-universal activity.
I turned to the knob board and quickly realized why daemonologists insisted their science was an art. Adjusting twenty knobs by feel was probably hard enough with experience, and I had 45 seconds.
I upped the power of each axis, bringing it in-line with the overall power being used by the address frequencies. I turned off modulation and feedback cancellation as those were purely used for thralling and that was not the goal.
Ten seconds left and still nothing from the sensor. I racked my brain. Carris was moving towards the kill switch.
I screamed at Carris to wait. I was over time, but Carris had stopped. I brought down the power on the fourth frequency and started moving the coarse and fine knobs on the W-axis towards the home frequency. Carris began moving towards the switch again. When I had reached the home frequency, I turned up the power dial to max on all four coordinates. There was a blinding flash followed by a shockwave that sent us all to the ground.
When I could see again, the first thing I saw was Carris scrambling to the killswitch followed by darkness when she pulled it down.
“What the hell?!” Ostensibly a question from Carris, but its implication was clear. I simply smiled and pointed to the readings from the sensor: “We just found another universe.”
Despite Carris’ displeasure, the initial test was a success in two ways. First, we had confirmed the existence of SCP-5250, and second, we had established that power killswitches have 100% instant efficacy in closing the portal. This means we have starting points for both research and containment. Even Carris had to admit that was a rare result for a first run.
May 14,
I submitted a preliminary list of equipment and staff I thought would be beneficial to the research and containment of SCP-5250. Someone on high appears to be as keenly interested as I am, as pretty much everything but cross-testing got instant approval. That considered, I won’t push my luck. There’s plenty of research to be done with what I’ve been given—years worth honestly.
May 16,
I’m glad I was so quick to submit my requests.
Today I’ve been introduced to Site-531 and all my personnel. The site isn’t new by any means, but it’s been empty for quite a while. SCP-5250 will be the first project housed here and likely the flagship project.
While this would normally be cause to celebrate, the Site Director made sure to dampen any positive attitude I might have. Dr. Palmer seems completely disinterested in his post here. He spent our entire meeting staring at his computer with his flushed face, mumbling occasional acknowledgements in my direction. I would have liked to believe he was simply preoccupied with all the duties of a Site Director with a new post, but I caught the reflection of his monitor off his glasses: he was playing cookie clicker.
I’m not the only one who was left with a bad taste in my mouth after my meeting with him. The containment, security, and tactical response chiefs all had stories similar to my own. Chief Security Officer Crane in particular told me that he’s worked with Palmer before, and that he’s always had this sort of attitude towards projects in the outlands. Apparently he has a nickname as well, Jonathan “One Day” Palmer. He got it for being promoted to a number of serious posts and being demoted a day later, most notably by becoming [redacted] at Site-19, [redacted], and being demoted less than 8 hours later.
This hasn’t exactly instilled a sense of faith in any of us, but I think we’ll still be able to get things done. Crane is seasoned and projects an air of extreme competence—which seems to reflect reality. The Chief Containment Specialist, Eric Hollister, also has a number of years under his belt working with SCPs that my level 4 clearance doesn’t even grant me a basic description of. The Chief Tactical Response Officer, Karen Scheldt, appears to be the youngest of all the Chief Staff, but she’s worked with Hollister on a number of projects and he vouches for her, which is enough for me.
May 15,
The staff selection for this site has me baffled. On one hand, the Chief Staff for the 5250 project all appear to be some combination of eager, experienced, and egotistical. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as these ingredients can and often do get things done within the Foundation. It’s this in contrast to Site Director Palmer that has me worried.
Palmer has… a reputation to say the least. It’s not my job to speculate on the truth behind rumors, but it is my job to report risks and potential conflict. What I will say is that there’s a type of site director, a person who can take a bunch of experienced hotshots and channel that energy into something that’s not only productive, but scary brilliant. Palmer is not that type of site director.
He is utterly indifferent towards his post. He is the only member of staff on Site-531 that has not had his psych eval simply because he refuses to come in. I’ve tried to hunt him down myself, but he brushes me off. I have tried to follow him, and he’ll just lock the door behind him, and since he’s the only person with 5/5250 clearance, he’s the only person that can reopen that door.
The Chief Staff of 5250 have unanimously expressed distaste for him in their interviews with me. Since I’m one of the few people with a direct line to the Regional Director, they want me to go up the chain and get this sorted out… What they don’t know, and what I’m not allowed to tell them, is that there currently is no Regional Director. The O5s haven’t picked one yet, and since they operate on their own time, god knows how long this situation will persist.
I’ve also been regularly contacted by Dr. Carris, Dvorak’s number two. She’s expressed a growing worry about her boss. She’s already pegged Dvorak as reckless, an observation which I can’t yet confirm or deny, and she’s worried that the brick wall known as Palmer isn’t exactly doing anything to assuage this situation.I’m going to be keeping a close eye on Dr. Dvorak for the time being.
As for Palmer, I’m already drafting a complaint.
Official Complaint:
To the future Regional Director,
I am requesting an immediate censure of Dr. Palmer’s refusal to cooperate with the Site Psychologist (in violation of Psychological Protocol 13, Section 4), and negligent non-communication with site chief staff (in violation of Administrative Protocol 12, Section 1).
Dr. Erin Friess, Site-531 Psychologist
May 21,
It took unanimous pressure from myself and all the members of Chief Staff to get Director Palmer’s assent to some basic testing of SCP-5250.
We’ve been granted approval for twelve experiments, all related to the study of the efficacy of various containment protocols. In other words, we’re going to be testing various killswitches… Not exactly the most interesting of experiments, but it was my proposal, and it serves a dual purpose.
The first purpose is to make it clear that Director Palmer is standing not just in the way of experimentation, but of containment. There are a fair number of cautious administrators who oppose extraneous testing, but even they typically support containment research. Palmer’s obstinance to this, documented by all four of us, demonstrates he isn’t even interested in doing that.
The second purpose is to help win the trust of the other Chief Staff. While CSO Crane has already warmed up to me, Containment Chief Hollister and Tactical Chief Scheldt are still in their own little bubble. By proposing experiments particularly pertaining their interests—and having Palmer stonewall them—it will move them away from him and closer to me.
In particular, Scheldt seemed very excited when I talked with her about the proposal individually. Some of her researchers had been discussing the potential of sonic cancellation in neutralizing SCP-5250 instances. I looked at the data and proposed about 10 different potential experiments for that specifically. Palmer knocked that number down to 4, making Karen visibly flustered. We’re having lunch together tomorrow, and I believe I can use this as an issue to wedge her closer to Crane and I.
May 24,
The tests went swimmingly in more ways than one. Killswitches at three different points along the power infrastructure all proved successful, with portals closing in <.001ms in every scenario. Additionally, Karen’s sonic cancellation devices were also able to close the portal in <.01ms in each of her four tests. This means that we have means to close the portal both internally and externally.
These results have given Karen and Hollister confidence in the safety of testing SCP-5250. In our last private meeting of the Chief Staff, the pair of them stated they were drafting safety protocols. They said they would be fine with more advanced testing in two to three weeks when those protocols could be implemented.
I, for one, am fine with the wait. Feedback along the coordinate channels was recorded in every test, and it’s being sent off to the acoustic team for analysis. They’re a bright bunch, and I have no doubt that they’ll be able to make sense of that feedback and give us a better picture of Lambda.
During this time, I’ll be diving into the whole body of the Professor’s work. Between that and the results from the acoustics team, I should get a good idea for a direction to take further research.
I am rather curious about the potential of thralling, but I doubt I would be able to gain approval from Palmer for that.
The rest of the Chief Staff and I have decided to hold regular meetings of our own to keep each other informed and make suggestions for the direction of the 5250 project. Overall, I have a good feeling about events thus far.
Section 2: Initial Doubts
June 2,
I’m growing increasingly worried. Director Palmer’s unresponsiveness has had an adverse effect on the Chief Staff. They’ve begun holding regular meetings between each other without him. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and many other sites have unofficial meetings between the Chief Staff of their projects, but in this case I think it is. This is a brand-new SCP. It’s been less than a month since SCP-5250 has been categorized, and they’re already making plans without the site director.
I’ve tried talking to the Director myself, and while he’s more than willing to talk to me, I have a feeling he’s doing it merely as an excuse to stare at my breasts. The man is quite frankly useless.
There is little we understand of SCP-5250. I got a first look at results from the acoustics team today. They used the feedback they got like a sort of multi-dimensional sonar, producing a rough wire-frame picture of the landscape of SCP-5250-Lambda. This means Lambda is not, as initially thought, purely acoustic; it contains matter of some nature or another, and this matter is simply incompatible with matter from our own universe. The bridge is only possible because the laws of physics governing acoustics in both universes are close to identical.
The picture painted by the acoustics team was unnerving. They showed me two types of images. The first was one they said was the landscape. Lambda does appear to be tangent to our universe, as everything within the W home coordinate appears identical to the land surrounding the site, while deviance from it results in landscapes that grow increasingly foreign. But that’s not what unnerved me.
I was pulled aside by one of the junior researchers. They wanted to show me a second image, one that was not controlled for artefacts. When I asked why he thought it necessary, he told me that sometimes the artefacts removed by the software aren’t artefacts at all.
What he showed me was terrifying. The ‘artefacts’ appeared to me like rough images of fauna. He showed me a couple different stills. Finally, he played the images recorded over one particular 20 second long sequence, and I saw… something. A huge, lumbering humanoid creature with growths coming out of its head. The rest of the fauna scattered before it, but some of that fauna didn’t escape. I watched one quadruped, apparently limping, not run fast enough from the large beast. The beast moved too quickly to be recorded. The quadruped was gone. The beast remained, and then turned it’s head towards the portal. That’s where the recording ended.
We sat in silence for awhile, staring at the static of the dead image. I had him replay it several times. Finally, I asked him: “What the hell was that?”
“I suspect it’s whatever gives daemonology it’s name.”
…
I’m unsure of how to proceed.
Of all the Chief Staff, I think Dvorak is the only one who really understands how dangerous this anomaly could be, or at least she’s the only one capable of understanding how dangerous it could be. She’s spent her time winning the support of the other Chiefs in order to get things done. I need to talk to her. And if I can’t talk to her, I’ll go to the Psychologist. The Psych is the only other person who can get in touch with the higher ups. Something needs to be done.For now, I’ve taken some things into my own hands. I went to the manuscripts and secretly pulled out a number of pages that I think would give Dvorak any bad ideas. I’ve never done anything like this before, but I feel like I don’t have a choice.
June 3,
Dr. Carris approached me today, concerned about my behavior. Frankly, I am too. I don’t really recall ever being so enamored with another project. I’ve spent more time reading the Professor’s writings than anyone on the manuscript analysis team. Something about his words just feels familiar. I don’t just read them; I feel like I can see what he saw.
I asked the Lead Researcher on the manuscript team to double check the writings for any cognitohazards himself. I gave him the papers I’d been reading and he did so right in front of me. Nothing.
I personally went through the data on the Professor. He was universally described as charismatic, although his critics accused him of being manipulative—sometimes approaching megalomania. I think my head’s just been buried in his words. I’m going to take a break from reading and try to distance myself from them.
June 4,
I remembered that Dr. Carris brought up a particular junior researcher yesterday: Dr. Aaron Hodges. He had the idea to treat the coordinate frequencies as carrier signals and the feedback as message signals, and by treating the results as a sort of sonar, he created the first visual representations of SCP-5250-Lambda and its native creatures—now categorized as SCP-5250-1.
He possesses that unique combination of a bright curiosity tempered by a lens of competent but flexible methodology. I had heard such things about him, but it was a pleasure to see it for myself. I’ve temporarily promoted him to the level of Assistant Lead Researcher and given him access to all gathered acoustics data. I think he might be able to help me with a few things…
NOTE: From now on, Dvorak begins to keep her logs in a personal, physical journal. These logs were recovered on-site, after the incident.
June 9,
I’ve begun thralling of my own accord.I don’t know why. It felt almost like a dream. I’ve had several dreams about thralling, about how I’d go about it. It felt like I went to sleep and just woke up in the middle of it.
I set up a smaller-scale daemonology lab in one of the unused parts of Site-531. I don’t want this to imply I’ve become wantonly reckless; on the contrary, I’ve implemented every security and containment protocol currently approved, on top of a few that have yet to be approved. Honestly, this should be far more secure than even the main lab, especially given the limited power available to this section of Site-531.
Since I had already started, I recreated several of the freshman thralling projects suggested by the Professor. I have now created a sidearm that never jams, a [redacted], and two earrings which act as a radio piece between the wearers, capable of communication for distances of up to [redacted].
My partner in crime for these experiments has been Aaron. It was neither expected nor intended, but he has shown a natural aptitude for the daemonic art, an appetite even. It’s like we’re always on the same page. When I had brought up the mere topic of thralling, he immediately suggested the communicator earrings. He ended up thralling them himself.I really don’t know what to think of this. On the one hand, I know Foundation Protocol exists for a reason. The kind of lenience I’d like can definitely be earned within the purview of this protocol. On the other hand, these few small experiments we’ve done have clarified a lot of the basic principles of daemonology. I have an excellent idea on where we should take further research, and I now have the basic skills to make sure I can succeed.
I know I should re-submit myself for a psych eval, but I don’t know if I can. Now we have the knowledge necessary to demonstrate the potential of SCP-5250. I can ensure the continuation of this project. I just need to keep it together.
For now, I’ve dismantled the lab. I don’t want another temptation. It’s a bad idea.
June 10,
Aaron uncovered something today. He was privately reviewing the feedback that we received during our thralling experiments, trying some variations on his methods of Feedback/Coordinate modulation. He created an audio interpretation of the feedback that came from one of my failed thralling experiments.
It was a voice. He couldn’t understand it. I could, barely. It was an archaic form of my native tongue. I’ve since listened to it several dozen times. Below is my transcription:
(in the voice of a young girl, an archaic variant of Czech dating to approximately 1700)
Voice: Please, it hurts… please stop, stop, it already hurts so much. It’s going to find me. You’re going to get me caught. Oh god, it’s coming. It hears me. It sees—(voice dissolves into screaming, then static)
As of yet, I’m unsure of what to do. Aaron has asked me to translate it for him. I don’t think I can right now.
June 15,
I’ve taken a few days to gather myself, my thoughts. I will try to focus on the scientific implications of the previous day.
There must be some way for beings from our universe, or at the very least their consciousness, to cross the barrier into the aether. The mechanism for this is unclear, even to Daemonologists. They only understand it as some unknown and exceedingly rare natural phenomenon.
How many SCP-5250-1 instances are native to Lambda? How many are simply unlucky souls that took a wrong turn in the night?I wish… I don’t know.
June 18,
Scheldt and Hollister have finished implementing their new security protocols. They appear confident in their ability to keep research into SCP-5250 safe.
I am not yet ready to suggest thralling to them. The main testing chamber is much larger than my personal testing chamber was, and that means it’s capable of interacting with accordingly larger daemons. I’ve realized that the chamber we modeled it after, the larger of the Professor’s two labs, was made specifically to experiment with the larger, more dangerous daemons.
I’ve debated whether or not I should disclose this to my fellow Chief Staff. I don’t think I will. I’m going to devise two preliminary experiments that I will want conducted officially in the larger chamber. I will come up with some explanation for them, but the purpose will be to determine just how safe it is to deal with instances of SCP-5250-1. I’ll have Aaron monitor and parse the data I know will be relevant. We’ll devise protocols of our own.
From now on out, things must go as ideally as possible. Any sort of failure has the potential to shut down SCP-5250 research indefinitely. There’s still too much to be done, too much to be learned. It must be done right. I will ensure it is.
Section 3: Intervention from Authorities
June 21,
Much to my surprise, my complaint has received a response. Not from a new regional director, but from O5-██. They informed me that they would personally meet with Director Palmer on July 31 through August 2 to discuss Director Palmer’s actions and his future within the Foundation. Until that date, O5-██ said that Palmer was to “do his fucking job.”
Less than 30 minutes later, Director Palmer reported to my office for his psych eval. He was… defeated. Palmer answered all of my questions plainly, with neither hesitation nor enthusiasm.
I’m not sure what to make of the situation. Change is necessary, that much is for sure, but I didn’t think it would happen like this.
I haven’t finalized my evaluation of Palmer. I don’t think I can until I see him after his review with O5-██, assuming I will. I think I’m just going to take my vacation this week. Let all this sit for a while until it becomes cogent.
June 28,
I was doing so well. In the year I’d gotten sober, I had successfully held two different assistant directorships. Not only that—I was liked, I was getting things done.When I got notice that I’d been selected for Directorship of 531, I was so thrilled… I thought I’d have a bottle of champagne to celebrate. I thought I could handle it.
Now I’m here. I don’t even remember the names of most of the staff. My desk is filled with empty bottles. I’m getting to the point where I can’t even put on my facade anymore. I don’t think my relationships with the higher ups can save me this time.
I know what’s coming. It’s been coming for a long time. I was debating whether or not I’d finish the job before or after my meeting with O5-██. I think I’ll wait until after.
O5-██. They were the one who saw my potential. I don’t know if it’s still the same person. I don’t know if the O5 council even really exists. But I want to see them again. I deserve whatever they have coming for me.
They saw my potential as a Chief Tactical Response Officer. They gave me a second chance when I got sober. Now they get to see me like this.
I used to justify keeping my sidearm as a keepsake of my roots in tactical response. That used to be true. It’s final purpose awaits me once I’ve finished my meeting with O5-██. The last meeting I’ll ever attend.
I was supposed to keep a personal log with entries every week when I started directorship. I guess this is both my first and my last. So farewell, to whichever poor internal affairs bastard ends up having to answer for the mess in my office. Farewell.And ██████, if you read this, I’m sorry.
July 2,
The Chief Staff and I met with Director Palmer today to propose the experiments I outlined. To everyone’s surprise, there was no resistance whatsoever. He looked at us with his flushed face, glanced over the reports we had given him, and simply gave us his approval.
Crane tells me he’s never seen Palmer like this before. Hollister suggested that the complaints that we lodged with the psych might have finally found footing.
Whatever the cause of the Director’s approval, it’s in writing now. The first experiment is scheduled for July 16 and the second for the 23rd. That gives me two weeks for preparation and debriefing.
These experiments are going to require the coordination of every team. The acoustics team, led by Aaron, is going to be responsible for creating a live 3d render of SCP-5250-Lambda. The experimental team is going to be working with the manuscript analysis team to develop a cogent process for interacting with entities from SCP-5250-Lambda. Dr. Carris is going to be working with Hollister and Scheldt to create a signal cancellation gun capable of being wielded by individuals on the tactical response team. Crane is offering his administrative team up as a resource for coordination between the departments.
Ostensibly, things don’t get as ideal as this. The ball is in my court. I’m going to put my everything into this.
Section 4: The First Major Experiment
July 15,
The whole staff’s been abuzz with the preparations surrounding tomorrow’s experiment. Scheldt and Hollister’s teams have, with my guidance, been able to reproduce 11 functioning models of the signal cancellation gun. Two of them have been distributed to the guards responsible for security around the testing chamber—the rest have been given to the tactical response team.
By all means, we are as prepared as we can be. That has not changed this feeling at the pit of my gut, this feeling that something just isn’t right…
I keep remembering the face of that beast, that creature, turning towards the portal and dissolving into static.
This experiment is all about contacting a creature from the other side, about giving a face to a world of airwaves. If that’s the face we’re going to see…
My request to be in the control chamber with Dr. Dvorak was approved. I’m going to be standing right next to that damned killswitch. I have kids. I have a husband. Not only do I want to go home to them, but I want to make sure that they’ll never have to gaze into the wire-framed eyes of whatever the hell that thing was, feeling that same white hot pit of helplessness that I did.
That thing… It knows we’re here, and it’s had just as long as we’ve had to make a plan of it’s own.
SCP-5250 Experiment #25
Date: July 16, 2019
Operator: Dr. Therem Dvorak, assisted by Dr. Francine Carris
Remote Observers:
Site Director Dr. Jonathan Palmer,
Chief Security Officer James Crane,
Chief Containment Specialist Eric Hollister,
Chief Tactical Response Officer Karen Scheldt,
Assistant Research Lead Dr. Aaron Hodges,
All Clearance 4/5250 Research Staff (11 Senior Researchers)——
<Experimental Log #25, Start Time 14:30>14:30:15 – The six address frequencies are activated
14:30:52 – The six address frequencies are brought to optimal power levels
14:32:12 – The w-coordinate frequency is set to “home”
14:33:17 – The coordinate frequencies are brought up to optimal power
14:33:18 – There is a bright flash; sensors confirm that the portal to SCP-5250-Λ has been established
14:37:40 – The 3d render of SCP-5250-Λ finishes booting up
14:37:41 – A wire-frame live-feed of a landscape identical to this part of earth appears; it is populated by a few quadruped looking creatures and one humanoid that appears to be resting against an unknown object
14:38:52 – Dr. Dvorak begins manipulating the knobs, bringing the source of the feed closer to the humanoid
14:39:18 – The humanoid becomes aware of the portal and attempts to flee; Dr. Dvorak has, however, locked on to their frequency and they are unable to escape
14:40:21 – The landscape changes as Dr. Dvorak manipulates the dials to pursue the humanoid; feedback along the channels is processed to isolate any speech
14:41:31 – The universal translator identifies the language of the persued subject as a dialect of 19th century german; Dr. Carris leans towards a microphone and speaks: “We mean you no harm. We are scientists trying to learn about your reality.”
14:42:00 – The humanoid (henceforth SCP-5250-1-01) stops and turns towards the portal
14:42:37 – SCP-5250-1-01: “Oh. Oh my god. I haven’t heard my language in many years.”
14:43:10 – Dr. Carris: “What happened to you? How did you end up here?”
14:43:33 – SCP-5250-1-01: “I do not know. I had just moved to America. It was a beautiful night, and the earth expressed a most lovely harmony…”
14:43:56 – During the discussion between SCP-5250-1-01 and Dr. Carris, a creature stumbles into the background of the picture; it appears much larger than SCP-5250-1-01, and Dr. Carris has a visceral reaction to it’s appearance
14:44:30 – Dr. Carris: (barely audible) “There… there is something behind you. Be quiet. Look at it and tell me if you recognize it.”
14:44:55 – SCP-5250-1-01 turns towards the creature and freezes
14:45:13 – The creature stops moving and turns its head towards SCP-5250-1-01
14:45:19 – SCP-5250-1-01: “No, god…”
14:45:20 – The creature apparently rushes towards SCP-5250-1-01, too fast for the renderer to capture
14:45:21 – SCP-5250-1-01 is cleaved by claws from the creature; a scream can be heard in the observation room
14:45:22 – Dr. Carris has turned to the killswitch
14:45:25 – The creature reaches its claws towards the portal
14:45:26 – Dr. Carris pulls the killswitch; the portal closes
<End Log>
Security Feed 17
Location: Debriefing Chamber
Time: July 16, 13:21:12 to 13:29:22
Dr. Dvorak: What the hell was that for?
Dr. Carris: You saw that thing! Not now, but before! You’ve seen it before! What the hell else should I have done!
Dr. Dvorak: Anything but whatever the hell you did!
Dr. Carris: Have you looked at the data? Any of it?
Dr. Dvorak: Of course I have!
Dr. Carris: Did you notice the biggest difference between this and previous experiments?
Dr. Dvorak: Yeah! The asshole next to me pulled the killswitch without warning or authorization!
Dr. Carris: I can’t believe that’s what you’re worried about!
Dvorak: We’re here to experiment!
Carris: No, we’re here to contain. Period. And do you wanna know something interesting? It took 132 milliseconds for the killswitch to close the portal.
Dvorak: So what?
Carris: In literally every other experiment, it’s taken .001 milliseconds or less. That… That thing, whatever it is, was able to keep the portal open for 132 milliseconds by itself.
Dvorak: We haven’t had time to confirm that.
Carris: Time??? Why would it take any time? You think the sensors were miscalibrated for this one experiment?
Dvorak: That’s completely possible.
Carris: What are the chances of that, though? The chances of that vs the chances of that thing trying to keep the portal open.
Dvorak: We don’t know yet. It takes time. There’s a reason we have a week before the next experiment…
Carris: The next experiment? After everything you’ve just seen, after everything everyone has just seen, you’re concerned about the next fucking experiment? Jesus, listen to yourself!
Dvorak: I’m not going to do this with you Francine. You’re not being rational.
Carris: I think fear is a completely rational response in light of what we just saw. Sometimes fear and caution are necessary elements of ex—
Dvorak: This conversation is over with. Whether or not experimentation will proceed is no longer up to us—no thanks to you.
[Dr. Dvorak exits the room]<End Transcript>
Section 5: The Penultimate Chapter
July 20,
Carris has gone about discussing the 132 millisecond issue before literally everyone. I can only assume that includes the director.
My last few meetings with the Chief Staff have been… discordant, to say the least. It’s yelling and screaming. Every time it seems like someone has a new opinion. My ally from the day before becomes my chief enemy the next day, my opposition shifts to my side quicker than I can reckon. All is chaos.
This discordance has spread to the lower level staff as well. The cafeteria is now staffed with guards to prevent physical altercations. Tension is just everywhere.
I think I have a plan though. In his manuscripts, the Professor states on several different occasions that no daemon can cross into our world if we’re not specifically tuned in to it. I’ve done some preliminary examinations of the experimental data, and if I understand it correctly, then the creature that was trying to cross over wasn’t the thing that terrified Carris, but it was the poor soul we were speaking to in the first place.
I’m going to share my thoughts with Aaron and see if the two of us can build a strong case for this. If it proves to be sound, we might be able to convince the Chief Staff to support going forward with the second experiment.
Of course, all of this is at the whims of the Director’s approval. He hasn’t made a statement yet, but he has scheduled an appointment with us for the morning of the 23rd.
July 22,
The unofficial staff meeting for today became something of an event. It started as a meeting of the four Chiefs plus Aaron, but it grew outwards to include most of the Clearance 3 staff as well.
It began with Aaron and I presenting our case for the Poor-Soul theory. Scheldt and Hollister called in their lead researchers to examine the data. We called in the manuscript analysis team. Crane called in his officers. Hollister called in his maintenance team. Scheldt’s strategic scientist made an appearance.
At the end of the day, every staff member in a position of power, excluding Carris, ended up being brought into the fold and presented with pertinent information. I initially thought it was a recipe for disaster, that there was no way experimentation was going to proceed in any fashion barring intervention from above. I was wrong.
All of our teams had been gathering their own data, and when they put it together, they had reached the same conclusion that we had: The entity responsible for keeping the portal open was almost certainly the one we had been speaking to before the hostile creature attacked.
Sometimes I forget that there are people who are just as smart as I am. It’s a welcome surprise.
There was a consensus that research should continue, although there was dissent concerning contingencies. Aaron asserted that, if an entity we were interviewing was attacked, we should attempt to leave the portal open and thrall that entity into an object. The other teams asserted that we should simply close the portal again out of safety. We agreed to draft separate plans and present them to Director Palmer.
We had gone about our business without his approval for quite a while, but it was clear that he would need to make a decision in this case. After three hours, this agreement ended the meeting.
Chief Staff Meeting Minutes, July 23
Date: July 23
Staff Present: Dr. Jonathan Palmer (Site Director), Dr. Dvorak (Lead Researcher), James Crane (Chief Security Officer), Dr. Eric Hollister (Chief Containment Specialist), Dr. Karen Scheldt (Chief Tactical Response Officer), Torvald Pevear (Director’s Chief Secretary)
Quorum: Yes
<Opening Statements>Palmer: I know that the lot of you have been waiting quite a while for this. It’s no secret that the events of the 16th have stirred up quite a bit of controversy, bringing into question the wisdom in continuing experimentation with SCP-5250. That will be the first and only item on the docket for today. Before I claim any sort of decision, I shall open the floor to all Chief Staff for statements. Dr. Dvorak, as lead researcher, you have the floor first.
Dvorak: Thank you Director Palmer. The Chief Staff and I have convened on several separate occasions since the 16th. Yesterday, we convened ourselves and the entirety of our senior staff to make sense of the events related to Experiment 25. We have unanimously found that it was not the hostile entity responsible for keeping the portal open, but it was instead the victim of that entity attempting to escape its clutches. There is, according to all available data, no way any entity except for the one to which SCP-5250 is specifically attuned to cross the portal. Therefore, despite the admittedly terrifying spectacle we witnessed on the 16th, Site-531 was in no danger of being breached by the hostile entity, and SCP-5250 was in no capacity threatening a containment breach. We have prepared an after-action report providing the details behind this conclusion, which we now submit to you.
(Dr. Dvorak hands Palmer a copy of the report)(Palmer spends roughly 10 minutes going through the pages of the report)
Palmer: Do the Chief’s of Security, Containment, and Tactical Response assent to the contents of this report?
Crane: Aye.
Hollister: Aye.
Scheldt: Aye.
Palmer: Very well. Torvald, please take this report and note the unanimous assent of the Chiefs’ to its content.
(Torvald takes the report)<Meeting Body: 1 Item on Docket>
Palmer: This brings us to the second part of today’s meeting. We are, at 1600 hours, scheduled to conduct experiment number 26 involving SCP-5250. The weight of the decision whether or not to proceed with this experiment is obvious. I open this meeting to the floor, starting with Dr. Dvorak.
Dvorak: Thank you sir. All of us could not but help question whether or not it would be wise to continue experimentation given the events of the sixteenth. Even when we came to an agreed interpretation of those events, we still could not reconcile our philosophies of continued experimentation. There are currently two newly proposed protocols for experiment number 26. Individually, we the Chief Staff recused ourselves from writing these proposals to avoid conflicts of interest. These protocols have been written out, but they are nearly identical except for a particular contingency. Might I provide a summary?
Palmer: Do the other Chiefs assent to Dvorak’s summary?
Crane: Aye.
Hollister: Aye.
Scheldt: Aye.
Palmer: Proceed, Dr. Dvorak.
Dvorak: Thank you. The first protocol, proposed by the research department, is to allow any entity, if threatened, to cross into our universe and be thralled into an object, thus sparing them from a death at the hand of their predator and providing us with an object for further research. The protocol proposed by the other three departments is to simply shut off the portal instead.
Palmer: Very well. All of this will be noted and filed for future consideration. While I have no doubts that these conclusions and proposals have their merits, I simply cannot, in good conscience, allow any further experimentation involving SCP-5250. It is far too dangerous.
Dvorak: With all due respect sir, what sort of knowledge or reason do you have for this decision?
Palmer: For all your claims of unanimity among yourselves and your senior staff, your reports all curiously appear to exclude the opinions of Dr. Francine Carris. Why should I trust any scientific conclusion of yours when you can’t even get approval from your own second in command, Dr. Dvorak? Why should I trust any conclusion that excludes her when she’s worked closely with all of you?
Scheldt: If I may interject, sir, why is it you’re so keen on having Dr. Carris’ input? Is it because you respect her opinion as a scientist, or is it because you respect any woman with a bust size larger than your own?
Palmer: Your comment is out of line, Scheldt. If you have any issues with the way I’ve acted around Dr. Carris, you can feel free to take that to HR. All of you need to trust that this decision is informed by my experience and—
Hollister: Your experience as what? Jonathan “One Day” Palmer, who’s highest command was as a site director’s assistant’s assistant at Site-19? Someone who couldn’t hold an administrative command of any substance without fucking it up? You have no clue what you’re talking about.
Palmer: You all are not the only ones with doctorates here! Do you think I am incapable of examining—
Crane: A doctorate in what, exactly? If memory serves, it’s a doctorate in Philosophy, focusing on Heidegger. I’ve read your dissertation, sir, and if it’s any indication, you couldn’t even tell me the difference between Heidegger’s formulations of care, concern, and solicitude. How could any of us expect you to examine—
Palmer: That is enough! Enough out of all of you. All of you are suspended. Research and experimentation is on an indefinite hold pending the results of my meeting with the higher ups. And if I have my way, research will be permanently suspended. The lot of you are obviously too far up each others’ assholes to see the danger of this anomaly. I have read the Professor’s manuscripts. I have poured over every available piece of information pertaining to SCP-5250. The daemonologists did not take lightly the naming of their craft. I am far from the best Site Director; believe me, I understand this. But I am more than capable of understanding a dangerous anomaly when I see one. I am naming Dr. Carris as the temporary site director, and I’m naming Dr. Friess her assistant. From now until August second, you will all report to them. They’re the only sane ones left in this fucking loony bin. Now get the hell out of my office.<Meeting Dismissed Early>
July 24,
I got quite a few angry looks from staff yesterday. I wasn’t really sure why until I opened my mail this morning. Director Palmer has recused himself from his position and named me Acting Site Director until the second of August. He also named Friess my Assistant Director.
This is a shock to say the least. I’ve decided to call an orientation meeting between myself, Friess, and the director’s secretary, Torvald. Hopefully this will give me some clue about just what the hell is going on right now.
I’ve held some administrative posts before, and I have an ostensible understanding of the role of the Site Director, but I still really have no clue on where I’d even want to start. I hope my meeting will clear it up.
July 25,
My orientation meeting proved fruitful. I read the minutes of the Chief Staff meeting from the 23rd and it gave me a rough picture of how bad things have gotten. The Chief Staff are clearly in bed with each other, and the makings of a coup are very much present.
I’m still sifting through relevant information granted to me by my temporary Level 5/5250 clearance, but I understand enough to know what I need to be doing now. I’ve scheduled personal interviews with every Senior Security Officer. I need to find one I trust and name them the acting Chief of Security. It needs to get done before the Chief Staff recognizes the power vacuum and tries to place themselves at the top.
July 26 (AM),
It’s 1 am. I found an officer I can trust: Alvin Bjergsen. He’s the only senior officer who seems to have some reasonable distance between himself and Crane. I debriefed him on the situation and asked him how many guards he trusts. He said it was less than 10. That means I have a security staff of, at most, 10 loyal guards responsible for keeping a staff of over 150 other personnel in check. If the Chief Staff mobilize themselves, I won’t be able to stop it.
I’m going through the Site Director manual looking for every possible option that I have at my disposal. I pray that things don’t sour.
July 26 (PM),
I’ve been going about my daily routine throughout the site, visiting the cafeteria and the various departments to get a sense of how things are.
Everything is… tenuous, to say the least. The best of the staff appear to be lost in the confusion, unsure of what to do when both their boss and their bosses boss have changed. The worst of the staff glare at me, taking me as some sort of representation for all the upending that’s occurred. I haven’t slept for nearly two days now. I’ll have to sleep after the Chief Staff meeting I scheduled for tonight.
July 27,
The meeting went poorly. I tried to have a discussion with the former department leads and acting Security Chief Bjergsen. It devolved into insults and screaming. They all seem to believe it was my fault that things are the way they are. I can’t blame them for thinking so—Director Palmer did an excellent job of shifting their ire onto me.
July 28,
The messages I sent to other sites in the region requesting that some of their security staff be sent to Site-531 were universally denied, with the minimum amount of words necessary to convey that they have neither the desire nor the obligation to do such a thing for an acting site director.The best interaction I had was with the Supervisor of the Mobile Task Force assigned to my region. He showed sympathy for my predicament, assured that a team would be on standby if it got down to it, and offered some advice for the situation.
I brought this information to the attention of Bjergsen, who was quick to implement the MTF supervisor’s suggestions. Security is now handled by squads with 2 loyal guards and four guards of questionable repute, bringing our active security force up to 30 people. Hopefully this strategy won’t have to be tested.
What I do know is that this gives me enough assurance to finally get some sleep.
July 30,
It’s been quiet these past few days. The Site Director left this morning for his meeting with O5-██. His departure seems to have lifted the spirits of everyone on site. I can’t say his absence hasn’t improved my mood either. The man was an ass at the best of times.
July 31,
Dear god, they are planning a coup. I found footage from a distant part of the site, one that’s unused. It’s happening tonight. I’ve (this log entry auto-saved at 10:52 PM; nothing more was entered)
Section 6: The August Incident
11 PM July 31 marks the end of all information entered manually by personnel. This is the time at which the site automatically archives and backs up personnel information to a database at Site-[redacted].
The forensics team has only been able to recover one log which provides insight into how Dr. Dvorak was able to convince the other Chief Staff to take part in this coup. Presumably, it was a diary entry. The date and some other pieces of information were burnt off; below is a transcription of what remained:
[…] my hesitance, I’m going to disclose the process of de-thralling to the rest of the Chief Staff. I’ve compiled a list of other SCPs which I have strong reason to suspect are SCP-5250-2 instances. This […]
[…] I know to be dangerous, but it’s the only way to ensure the continuation of research. The prospect that this project could neutralize other SCPs should be tantalizing enough to sway them.
I’ve picked the 5250-2 item which appears the most innocuous—the watch that the Professor used to wear […]
[…] gone over the processes countless times. I should be able to do it. It seems simple enough. I’m ready.
Unfortunately, one of the articles that Dr. Carris had hidden from Dr. Dvorak described the nature of SCP-5250-1 instances that are typically thralled into watches:
There is but one surefire way to know the talent of a master—you ask to see his watch. Thralling a watch is a traditional rite of passage, the project in which you enter as an apprentice and leave as a master. The watch itself is almost allegoric for daemonology: It is something simple, but within it…
Recall the basic tenant for selecting a daemon that you want to thrall into an object: The object must be active enough to keep the daemon occupied while not quite wearing them out. Every action performed by a daemon in our reality draws from its power.
So, what does a watch do? It ticks. Every second. Every minute. Every hour. Every day. What kind of daemon can withstand such a constant draw of its energy? What kind of daemon needs this to simply remain occupied? Consider still that the watches of the founding daemonologists tick to this day…
A watch will remind anyone that they only have so many seconds on this earth. A master who has seen the face of the dark, who has heard its horrid scream as it was pressed into their time piece, they will know better than anyone.
All further information has solely been gathered from the forensic recovery team assigned to the site. The majority of information comes from recovered camera feeds; there is a single interview with one survivor
Compiled Transcription:
<Begin Transcription>
<July 31>
22:53 - Security footage shows several guards stepping into Dr. Carris’ office; she sounds a silent alarm alerting the local MTF before going peacefully with the guards
22:57 – Acting Security Chief Bjergsen sends an all-clear to the MTF, calling it a false alarm
23:12 through 23:51 – Various personnel that Carris had described as loyalists are escorted to a locked room at the far end of the site—Bjergsen is not one of them
<August 1>
00:15 – The coup appears successful; thirty-two personnel have been escorted to the various locked storage rooms and are being controlled by several teams of guards
00:16 through 04:42 – The Chief Staff go about re-instating their permissions and controls throughout the system using login credentials stolen from Dr. Carris
04:43 through 06:14 – The Chief Staff all begin preparations for an unknown experiment; the rest of the site is quiet
06:15 through 06:21 – The staff imprisoned with Dr. Carris attempt to break out; they are initially successful, but are eventually subdued by the Tactical Response Team
06:22 – All imprisoned staff have been recontained; there are several minor injuries but no fatalities
06:30 – The research staff are finishing preparations for their unsanctioned test; SCP-5250-2-1 (the watch) is placed inside the testing chamber
06:32 – Dvorak powers on the equipment; sensors report a connection is established to SCP-5250-Λ06:32 through 07:01 - Dvorak manipulates various knobs on the knob board
07:02 - Electricity begins to arc between the portal equipment and the watch
07:09 - Following more manipulation, something begins to emerge from the watch; it appears as more arcs of electricity, but it is clearly different; its shape is being pulled and stretched towards the portal
07:15 - Dvorak mutters something unintelligible and begins increasing the power draw of the portal equipment
07:21 - More of the unknown creature has stretched out of the watch; it appears as if its shape is being torn by the portal
07:22 through 07:39 - Dvorak frantically begins adjusting all the various knobs; the power draw of the chamber is steadily climbing
07:40 - The creature seems to be completely outside of the watch with part of it being pulled through the portal
07:41 - The maximum sustainable power draw has been reached; Dvorak: “Shit”
07:42:01 - Dvorak: “Hit the killswitch! I can’t hold it!”
07:42:12 – The killswitch is pulled; outside power to the room is not recorded, but the devices powering the portal remain on
07:42:15 - The creature, no longer being drawn towards the portal, is now fully visible; it looks like a large, horned humanoid approximately 5 meters tall, outlined by arcs of electricity07:42:39 – The killswitch for all power is pulled; emergency lighting turns on, and power to all ancillary systems is confirmed to have stopped; the portal remains open
07:42:50 – Containment alarms are activated; the tactical response unit outside the portal chamber has readied their signal cancellation guns and prepares to breach
07:43:02 – The tactical response team breaches the door as the creature has moved itself some distance away from both the watch and portal
07:43:05 – The tactical response team hesitates, staring blankly at the creature that has now turned it’s head towards the team. The creature speaks three words in what’s later confirmed to be ██████: “Time. To. Die.”
07:43:06 – Camera feed turns to static<End Transcript>
At 07:43:12, MTF Regional Headquarters receives an alert from Site-531; it is not cancelled.
From approximately 07:43 to 08:01, all camera feeds from Site-531 will go blank, starting with those on the north end of the building housing the experimentation chamber and ending with the storage rooms containing the imprisoned personnel.
At 08:05:11, MTF-[redacted] arrives on scene. They report charred and cleaved bodies, scorched walls, and melted internal doors.
At 08:36:42, the MTF on scene reports they have swept the entirety of Site-531. They find four survivors. Three are in critical condition and unable to respond. The final survivor has minor cuts and lacerations. Below is a transcript of their interaction recorded over radio:
Transcript:
<Transcript Begins>
MTF-Leader: You, are you okay?
Survivor: Physically yeh. Mentally, I’m checked right the fuck out.
Leader: Can you identify yourself?
Survivor: Containment Technician 3rd Class, Lister D.
Leader: Database confirms it. He’s legit. What happened?
Survivor: Well, that fucking thing came clawing through the door. Melted it right the fuck down. We’d all been thrown in here, locked up by the damn knobheads who thought it would be a brilliant idea to go play with the thing for giggles. It seemed to be gaspin for breath almost, but it still cuts right through all my mates. It gets down to me, stares at me.Leader: So what happened?
Survivor: Well it tried to reach towards me, and it just kinda seemed to… fall apart. A bunch of its little electric arcs kinda just, dissolved, and eventually the whole thing did. And I just kinda sat ‘ere, waitin for you I s’ppose.
Leader: Well… Alright. Get this man to medical. Have him checked out.<End Transcript>
By 12:15, August 1, MTF completes a sweep of the surrounding area, finding no signs of the creature’s escape.
At 13:23, Director Jonathan Palmer arrives by helicopter and is allowed into the site to assess the damage himself. At 13:45, an MTF soldier hears a gunshot come from Director Palmer’s office. Director At 13:52:01, Director Palmer is pronounced dead due to a gunshot wound to the head. It’s been ruled a suicide.
Conclusion and Recommendations:
The forensics team has concluded that the events of August 1st were precipitated by a massive breakdown in the power structure. Director Palmer’s relapse and subsequent abdication of his responsibilities, both unofficially during the beginnings of Site-531 and officially during its end, left a massive power vacuum. This vacuum allowed Dr. Dvorak to grow her own power and political capital, resulting in the events of August 1st.
Since both parties deemed primarily responsible are now deceased, there are no recommendations for punishment. However, the team does recommend that the protocol determining Site Directorship be revisited.
Acting Director Carris performed her duties to the best of her abilities. All her claims of reaching out to other sites and to MTF command have been confirmed. Security footage confirmed her late nights of research and extensive interviews with senior security officers. She has been absolved of any responsibility for the events that unfolded. It is recommended that she be given a posthumous promotion to Site Director, both for her admirable service and for the benefits it would provide to her family.
As for SCP-5250 containment, all data indicates that the killswitches functioned properly. Although it cannot be confirmed, it appears that the entity used its own energy to sustain the equipment responsible for the portal. This would explain the entity’s drained appearance and its ensuing expiration as described by the surviving technician.
The efficacy of signal cancellation guns in SCP-5250 containment breach scenarios is debatable. Recovered research suggests that the guns were meant to be used on the portal equipment itself. It is unknown whether the guns had any effect on the entity. They may have been partially responsible for its drained state, but it’s impossible to know for sure.
No experimental data could be recovered from August 1st. Additionally, we could find no data concerning Dr. Dvorak’s illicit personal research; it is presumed lost.
Addendum 5250-August/1: Staff Roster
Summary: 145 Personnel (140 deceased, 3 critically wounded, 1 alive, 1 [expunged])
Site-531 Staff Roster
Site Director: Dr. Jonathan Palmer [deceased; suicide]
Lead Researcher: Dr. Therem Dvorak [deceased]
Asst. Lead: Dr. Francine Carris [deceased]
Asst. Lead: Dr. Aaron Hodges [deceased]
Experimental Analysis Lead: Dr. Frank Mellon [deceased]
Dr. Tau [deceased]
Dr. Font [deceased]
Dr. Alvord [deceased]
Dr. Abrahamson [critically wounded]
12 Junior Researchers [all deceased]
Manuscript Analysis Lead: Dr. Irena Alvonovna [deceased]
Dr. Carroll [deceased]
Dr. Pollard [deceased]
6 Junior researchers [all deceased]
Acoustic Analysis Lead: Dr. Huffines [critically wounded]
Dr. Whittaker [deceased]
Dr. Roosa [deceased]
11 Junior Researchers [all deceased]
Lead Containment Specialist: Dr. Eric Hollister [deceased]
Maintenance Lead: Alexei Virbonye [deceased]
Technician AJ Rimmer [deceased]
Technicial D. Lister [alive]
4 Repair Robots [irreparable]
Containment Research Lead: Dr. Pedersen [deceased]
Dr. Robert Corvant [deceased]
4 Junior Researchers [all deceased]
Lead Security Officer: James Crane [deceased]
Lieutenant Hendersen [deceased]
8 Guards [all deceased]
First Sergeant Bjergsen [deceased]
8 Guards [all deceased]
Sergeant Eriksen [deceased]
8 Guards [all deceased]
Sergeant Olaffsen [deceased]
8 Guards [all deceased]
Sergeant Bob [deceased]
8 Guards [all deceased]
Lead Tactical Response Officer: Dr. Karen Scheldt [deceased]
Lieutenant Hertzfeldt [deceased]
4 Tactical Officers [all deceased]
Sergeant Hapspell [critically wounded]
4 Tactical Officers [all deceased]
Sergeant Vivant [deceased]
4 Tactical Officers [all deceased]
Administrative Staff:
Director's Secretary: Torvald Pevear [deceased]
Building Maintenance Lead: Larissa Volokhonsky [deceased]
16 Janitors [all deceased]
6 IT Technicians [all deceased]
4 Mechanics [all deceased]
|->Path: >%ERROR%<AUTHORIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
|>…
|>You have thr65e active files f6Fr 22O5-3133 A75gust"
|>…
|>Disp6C61ying Active 4669l6573:
|>
Name: Therem Bonita Dvorak
Formerly: Dr. Kazuo Ryder “The Professor”
Details: Dr. Ryder was detained by Field Personnel operating under the supervision of O5-██. When it was discovered Dr. Ryder had poisoned himself, Field Staff performed a neural archetype map on the subject before he passed.
On orders of O5-██, this neural archetype map was combined with the experiences of several different senior research personnel and uploaded to a BZHR located in [data expunged]. The result was Dr. Dvorak.
The intent was to create a Foundation researcher adept in the ways of SCP-5250. Whether or not this was successful is still under review.
Memorandum
Author: O5-01
Recipient: RÇssM³6
Subject: SCP-5250 Incident ReportI know you were a personal believer in Director Palmer. Considering how well he’d done since he quit drinking, most of us even believed he was a decent choice. None of us knew he relapsed. The MTF found his 12 month chip in the trash, so it must have been recently.
As for the Dvorak experiment… It was a brave suggestion, the kind you don’t usually make. Perhaps Ryder’s personality was simply too dominant. None of the scientists whose memory we pulled from were that manipulative. No one has been able to find any issues with Ѭiwc1ø=È’Ô|ïðxÐ^¿,1ÊÓÇç{û_=Ý’ÒhÞE–>É?œ§.
It was still a big fuck-up. Not nearly as costly as any of eight’s, but still big. Despite this, we cracked SCP-5250. Progress is •’Ü”Á¹Éœ¤Üt¶‚3.[
cŽŽAoL˵J¥QŽI\'A1¨½1™v”Jwg¥|@á_"…Q¾¯TcCBcÇÓªúPî!Úqa1;>À÷¥
To Casey Carris,
Dr. Carris has honorably served this organization for 29 years. Her work has brought light to countless mysteries and saved countless lives. Unfortunately, it did not save her own. On August 1st at approximately 8 am, a terrible accident befell å“ÝJô¦Ã¶¼lÁ›Ã€õò*oÜ» 9ÉLìVîl²vòf˜OÿÐ/Ö2ÌÎ%¶V8æ΃˜R
She did not go gently. Our investigations have revealed that she went well beyond anyone’s expectations to prevent the events on August 1st, down to the very last second. This has not gone unnoticed. For her actions, she was posthumously promoted, and she was awarded øö¥ äT©;gÑS["ð³ËžS©§91lÇDÊÛ‘—the highest honor given in our organization.
Of course, this means very little in the face of what has happened. I’m sure that you have many questions.
If there is anything that we can do for you at all, please call me personally 3;Á6ÎжýÇŒó¼Óÿ"ï½ÁêC/kÁT¼ä. I will answer any questions you may have in as much detail as I’m able to. And if you should ever need a favor—please ask.
From the Office of the Overseer