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Tale: A Letter of Introduction

A Letter of Introduction

Dr. Edward Williams shuffled back into his musty office, determined to finally take a peek at that book his assistant had been nagging him to read for the past week or so. He lowered himself into a rickety old chair, something his father had built for him before he passed. It was starting to show its age, but to Williams this simply meant that it was reliable. Dropping his cigarette into the ashtray on the side of his desk, he noticed the book sitting just off-center, a hastily written note on top reminding him that he should really get around to reading it. Pulling a bottle of his favorite whiskey out of a drawer, Williams poured himself a glass and prepared to read.

As he picked it up, however, a sheet of paper fell out from between the pages, agitating a layer of dust as it settled onto the floor. Confused, Williams set down his glass and inquisitively lifted the sheet back up. It was a letter of some kind, printed on a type of paper much heavier and sturdier than what he was used to. It appeared to address him. Intrigued, he began to read this instead, leaving his assistant’s book again untouched on his desk.

Dr. Williams,
1876 has been an interesting year for you, I imagine. Yesterday’s discovery was quite surprising on its own, I’m sure you’re very eager to share this with the investors.

Yesterday? Williams was baffled. This book had been given to him a week ago. Was someone so desperate for him to read this letter that they decided to place it inside a book he had been ignoring? Perhaps they hadn’t known he never opened the book. Undeterred, he continued to read.

I suppose you’re wondering how I know. That question I’ll let you answer for yourself, soon enough. I am with the Foundation. We specialize in phenomena much like what you have recently unearthed.

Foundation? Never before had Williams heard of such a company, much less another in his field. He could only conclude that the message was a prank left by one of his excavators, perhaps one who wished to steal the recognition for his accomplishment. Taking another sip of his whiskey, intending to make the next few words more bearable, he continued.

Stop drinking. If you’re going to be a useful asset then you’re going to have to sober up. I’m done with the pleasantries. Exit this room and head down the hall to your left. Find Dr. Johnson, and tell him you’re looking for the Foundation. He will explain the rest.

Williams’ jaw dropped. Just as soon as he had looked back at the paper, he had read those words. Did they know his drinking habits, when he would take a sip? Almost certainly not, to do so would require too much chance. Taking one last sip from his glass (for he was not one to follow directions, especially not with regards to his alcoholism), Williams exited his office and entered the dingy hallway.

Opening a worn-down door and assuming the interior to be equally neglected, Williams was quite surprised to see spotless furnishings. A leather chair, certainly nicer than the one Williams had previously been occupying, sat nestled in a corner next to a white-and-blue contraption with water sloshing around inside. At the opposite end of the square room sat a large desk constructed of simple yet sturdy wood. Seated behind it was a character Williams had never seen, though the name-tag marked him as Dr. Johnson. Williams took a seat in the leather chair.

“Dr. Williams,” Johnson began, “I’m happy to see you again.”
Williams sat silently, perplexed as to the origin of this unknown person.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I see we haven’t yet been acquainted,” said Johnson, correcting himself.
Williams broke his silence: “It appears so. My name is Dr. Edward Williams, I work just down the hall doing some excavation work.”

“Of course. I’m familiar with your discoveries. Ancient artifacts are something of a hobby of mine. I only wish to see them as they were when they were new.”

“Don’t we all. Anyway, I was sent down here by some kind of letter, said something about a foundation working in the area. Did you need something?”

“Ah, they’ve decided it’s time. I supposed I should get you better acquainted. If you’ll excuse me…” Johnson rose out of his chair and shuffled over to the wall, tapping on some kind of panel laid into it.

“Don’t bother. I really don’t have the time for this. I’m busy working right now,” protested Williams.
“Dr. Williams. Your work here is about to get a lot more interesting,” called an unknown voice, which soon peered around the door-frame. Williams recoiled into his chair, puzzled. A mirror image of himself stood in the entrance. “You get used to it,” the figure claimed, “for now, let me introduce myself. I am Dr. Edward Williams of the Foundation. We are an organization dedicated to the containment of anomalous objects, much like what you have just discovered. In the wrong hands, such objects could prove dangerous. Given my skill, I was recruited out of time to aid with discoveries by a letter sent to me in 1876, the very one you just read. You’ll find yourself in my place soon enough. The world needs you, Williams. It needs me. Without the Foundation, reality will deconstruct itself. Phenomena that spit in the face of mother nature, pervert laws of physics, and do other unspeakable things are loose on this world. We contain such anomalies and allow the unaware public to continue living their lives in peace, unobstructed.”

The younger Williams sat back in his chair, thinking. The statement that reality was false is truly something worthy of contemplation. Yet the proof was right here in front of him. Carefully, he agreed to take up the Foundation banner. Leaving 1876 and his reality behind, Dr. Williams committed himself to his new line of work.

NOTE: This was submitted to a creative writing contest at my school. We had a word count limit (1000), so otherwise I would have expanded it. I still may do so, given that I actually quite like the idea, but for now it stays as-is. If I ever do expand it, I might actually go put this on the site. Maybe flesh out Williams' discovery as an actual article, too.

SCP-XXXX: The Death Forest

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: A█████ forest in southwest ██████████ has been purchased by a Foundation front company and has been closed to any civilian entry. The forest is to be surrounded by an electric fence 2 meters high with guard towers posted every kilometer. The fence is to remain electrically charged at all times. All personnel should be healthy, and admit to a scan for an injury or malady of any type before reporting to their station. Foundation personnel must wear a Class 2 full-body protection suit while posted on or near A█████ forest. Should a civilian successfully gain entry to A██████ forest, a detainment team should attempt to remove the subject from the forest without the use of force. Should force be necessary, light handcuffs should be used. If the subject continues to attempt to withstand detainment, the use of tasers is permitted. Subject is to be monitored for any symptoms of electrocution following the use of a taser. Should the civilian suffer any injury which causes expulsion of bodily fluids, all fluids must be immediately disposed in a standard biological hazard container. Paper related products are to be replaced with electrical counterparts, which should be encased in an electrical discharge shield to prevent unintended electrocution. Should paper be necessary, the user is to be monitored by first aid personnel at all times. Under no circumstances are stairs to be used within A██████ forest.

Description: SCP-XXXX refers to a phenomenon affecting the A██████ forest in southwest ██████████. Upon entering the forest, subjects will come under the effect of SCP-XXXX, which increases the lethality of injuries. Subjects affected by SCP-XXXX stand a higher chance of contracting deadly diseases, all wounds will experience a higher rate of blood flow, and, if applicable, increased sensitivity to allergic reactions. This usually leads to a subject's expiration within a few hours from even minor injuries. In addition to the above properties, SCP-XXXX can cause a subject to become injured from actions that would normally be harmless, as well as increase the chance of an injury occurring. Subjects experienced an increase in minor and major accidents 3 times above normal accounts when under the effect of SCP-XXXX. See Testing Log XXXX/1 for more information.

Testing Log XXXX/1

Test Number:
Test Subject:
Injury Sustained:
Result:

Test Number: 1
Test Subject: D-1475
Injury Sustained: Removal of right arm.
Result: Subject bled out and expired after 2 minutes and 42 seconds. (100% faster than other cases)

Test Number: 2
Test Subject: D-2984
Injury Sustained: Overdose on █████████.
Result: Subject lost motor control 75% faster than most cases and suffered complete loss of brain activity after 42 minutes.

Test Number: 3
Test Subject: D-4982
Injury Sustained: Paper cut on right thumb.
Result: Subject showed increased blood flow from the wound, █ times more than usual. Cut widened to a small gash, further increasing blood flow. D-4982 showed extreme distress, and attempted to attack Foundation personnel. D-4982 was terminated to prevent inflicting additional injury.

Test Number: 4
Test Subject: D-9277
Injury Sustained: Injection with SCP-███.
Result: [DATA EXPUNGED]. Rapid spread of SCP-███ infection. Full lockdown initiated. Further testing halted by order of Head Researcher M████.

Addendum XXXX/1
On █/██/20██, Head Researcher M████ visited the A███████ forest on a routine inspection. Upon entering the forest, M████ experienced and extreme headache and stomach pain. Within 2 minutes, M████ began asphyxiating, and expired after another 3 minutes before extraction was completed. It is theorized that M█████ had previous health issues that had gone unnoticed, which were strengthened by SCP-XXXX. In light of this, Dr. ███ proposed a health test involving subjecting O5 council members and other high level personnel to a few seconds in the forest, thus making any health issues more apparent. Proposal is still pending approval.

NOTE: This article is still in an early state. Everything is subject to change. Likely changes include: Removal of testing logs for accidental events, public discovery (upgrade to Euclid), and potentially some kind of XXXX-1 entity. I also want to explore the effects on flora. I also plan to update the containment procedures to require minimal use of paper and other sharp objects… Assuming I ever get around to it.

Also, I plan on altering the main system to not only cause damage, but to intensify any effects. This would mean that, for example, a drunk person would become extremely inebriated, health-promoting activities would be extremely effective, and the like.

SCP-XXXX: Infinite Radio Receiver

NOTE: Currently just a rough idea, but the gist is that this device is a common household radio receiver that can obtain a signal from anywhere (and get some BS to explain signals of the same frequency). While not interesting on its own, I want to focus on how the object came to Foundation attention as well as potential uses for it.
Keep in mind that the sentence structure here is draft-esque and is not meant to replicate the final style.

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Euclid (or safe, see end of discovery section for the idea that would make it such)

Special Containment Procedures: Instances are to be given to any Foundation field operative as well as equipped at every site (for use in inter-site communications). A low-range transmitter (temporary name) is to accompany all instances and a naming system should be used to identify the transmitter to the receiver (used for crossing frequencies, potentially rework system later). Foundation systems should additionally monitor all social media and other services for references of SCP-XXXX phenomena (also local channels such as newspapers).

Description: SCP-XXXX is a radio that can receive any broadcast sent from anywhere on the world with zero latency, even if the original radio signal would not yet have traveled to the receiver.

Discovery: Following social media posts about the Foundation, a field agent was sent to the house of Joe Schmoe (not final name of course, probably will be redacted anyway) and discovered the object. It was initially classified as a single item before additional reports of SCP-XXXX's properties were discovered and additional instances were confiscated. The Foundation tracked the instances to the parent company but was unable to stop their business (make up something about them not using any radio stuff so we can't find their actual production facilities, or scratch the above and have the Foundation make a deal with them to produce specialized equipment for the Foundation (I'm actually leaning towards the latter now)).

Here we get into the Foundation uses of the items, and potentially an incident log where a Foundation MTF unit lost device functionality and got stranded (Not sure if it would help the story or it should be put to a tale instead).

Tale: Reality Soup

NOTE: Currently a very basic, bare-bones idea from a 1am bout of inability to sleep. Essentially, the SCP itself is a soup-like substance being cooked up in a trailer. The nature of this soup is unknown except for a field report, and the retrieval team goes in to… retrieve. They know that it bends reality (having low Hume levels in the vicinity of the soup, but not too far as to progress to active reality-altering effects), but aren't sure of what happens to those who consume it. Once inside, they maintain contact with HQ (or whatever operating body is in control - I haven't decided) but realize that exiting the van leads them to a void. At this point hallucinations set in, and another character enters the van (appearing at the doorway, phasing in from outside). They appear to be the owner (corroborated by HQ), and the team start asking questions. The unknown owner is, at this point, basically an X-Man, so I'm still trying to figure out how to properly use him in the story. A lot of the inspiration for this comes from SCP: Dollhouse by Evan Royalty, though of course I'm trying not to replicate it exactly. At any rate, that's how far I've gotten in the thinking. Probably will now forget about this for a long while.