A New Foundation - Volume I

Dr. Jonathan Lemming had gotten tired of working for the Foundation. He was tired of the endless nights working on Euclid this, Keter that, and most of all, he hated the breaches. Site-91 had breaches all the time, but the Site Director refused to tell the higher ups about it, for fear he would lose his position. So many of the personnel were stuck here, commanded by the Director to stay in their suite. He wanted to leave, to make the Foundation pay for what they've done to so many people. As he finished another archive review, he received a knock on his door.

"Come in", he said with little enthusiasm. The Site Director walked in. Lemming wasn't in the least surprised, as the Director came to his office quite often to "check up" on him. He knew the real reason was to make sure he wasn't doing anything that might expose the Site's scandal. After poking around the shelves a bit, The Director turned to Lemming and said with conviction, "Dr. Lemming, we have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"The tedious kind."

"That's not what… okay. Fine. Explain it to me."

"So, there's a new SCP we got the other day, 3619. Weird little thing. Basically, you tell it what to get, and then it disappears and comes back later with the object near it. Only problem is, it's containment facility, Site-47, was recently destroyed during experimentation with 3619." The Director paused to take a breath. "To be precise, there's now a pyramid halfway in the ground where Site-47 used to be. For now we've relocated 3619 to Site-48, but everything else, including other SCPs, are missing in or under the pyramid. We've got a team digging through the pyramid searching for anything that may have survived, but they've found nothing so far."

"Okay, that's a bit of a problem. So where do I come into this?" Lemming asked. "Is it just filing the report, or something more in depth this time?" The Director's voice quavered as he spoke, "This is going to be a bit different then you've done so far. I need you to join the team that's exploring the pyramid. I have a feeling… just something tells me you'll be a lot of help there. At least a lot more help than you'll be here." Lemming narrowed his eyes at the Director. Lemming may have been revenge driven, but he was not foolish. He could tell something was off with this case, and the way the Director kept looking behind himself and sweating. For now, though, he had to play it cool and be wary of his surroundings. "Alright then," he said. "Take me where I need to go." "We'll start tomorrow. Don't look forward to it."

The next morning they walked through the facility while the Director told him more about the nature of SCP-3619 and its history. "It reminded me of an earlier SCP, one of the first to be contained. It's this weird coffee machine that can dispense any liquid you tell it to. They've had some bad experiences with that one, too. Although, it never caused anything quite this bad." They continued through the facility.

Once they reached the train station in the city, the Director turned to face Lemming, "This is going to deviate from your usual business, obviously, but stay close to the team. They'll protect you," "Somehow I doubt that," Lemming muttered. A sense of ominousness and dread filled his lungs as Lemming stepped onto the train. The Director watched with little regret as Lemming rode away and toward the hidden revolution, "This is for the best. Perhaps he'll do it better than I could. Better than any of us could. Feel blessed, Jonathan Lemming, for being given the tools to make a new world."


As Lemming read more reports on his phone while waiting, he began to think about what could possibly be underlying here. "It's obvious he was hiding something from me." he thought. "The question is, what consequences will I have to face for not figuring it out immediately? Well, the only thing I can do right now is be extremely careful and aware. I'll figure out the real plot here soon enough." As he stepped off the train and headed out of the station, he marveled at just how much the world had changed since he last saw the surface. He had been at underground Site-91 for 22 years, never seeing the sky once in that time. He also knew he couldn't waste much time, however, because the MTF would be expecting him. For the Director's request he would be working with MTF Lambda-5, titled "White Rabbits". He pondered why they would be on this case, "White Rabbits normally deal with K-Class SCPs and reality bending events and such. Why would they be handling a Euclid class mistake? I really need to watch my back now." His train of thought was cut short when he arrived at the border. Working in the north was very confusing for him, as he was born and spent his entire life in the southern hemisphere. He presented his ID to the security guard at the gate, and continued on.

He only realized now how out of touch he was with culture and society. Since the last time he even breathed fresh air or saw sunlight was the 90s, it wasn't surprising to him at all, though still depressing. "I should've gotten breakfast before I crossed the border. I've never been to Canada before, anyway. Should be an experience."

As he looked around him and saw people living their lives, taking pictures by a lake or drinking coffee in a cafe, he realized just how surreal his time at the Foundation was. "I can barely believe that I've done the same thing every day for 22 years. How have I not realized until now? These past decades have flown by. I don't want to go back to Site-91, and that damn office. I can't. I won't. After this is over, I'm leaving. They won't miss me, so they won't stop me." Lemming also knew this train of thought would be problematic for him, but he was driven so far he didn't care anymore. He was driven so far into the dark from day after day after day of living in a dim office, doing nothing but filing reports and drinking the grey coffee that was so bland. The sounds from containment had always kept him awake so long into the nights. Or was it the days? There was no time in Site-91, because there was no Sun, or sky.

Lemming was so entranced in the morning sky's beauty that he didn't notice he was at the meeting place until he nearly walked straight into the door. The sign on the steel door read "White Rabbits Law Firm, Serving since 1968" "Well, I suppose that could be a clever disguise. I hope at least someone on their team is a lawyer, though." he thought. There was a small doorbell next to the sign, which Lemming pressed. He heard no sound come from the bell, but when he heard rustling from behind the door, he knew it had worked anyway. After a few seconds, the door flew open and a tall man with circular-shaped glasses and a vest with the Foundation logo stared down at him.

"Are you the one Site-91 sent?" he asked in a rather gravelly voice.
"I am indeed, sir. And you're part of Lambda-5?"
"Actually, no, I just work at this particular outpost, but Site-91's Director informed me of what was going down further up north. I already knew, obviously, but another notice just confirms this ridiculous incident."
"Alright then, so where is Lambda-5 now? Are they already here?"

"Yeah, they're downstairs getting everything ready." Lemming's underlying sense of dread and panic started to build up again, "What kind of horrific stuff was at this site? God, if there's just a bunch of Keter Class here, I'll probably shit myself. This is really beginning to bother me. What was Site-47 again? I remember a file I archived from Site-47… it was an odd SCP… damn, I can't remember. Shit, was 682 here? No, that's Site-19… or was it? Fuck, I can't remember!" The man with the glasses continued, "They're really odd, honestly, those White Rabbit guys. Although I guess the only thing that matters is they get the job done. Creepy, to say the least, however." Glasses Man continued his monologue while Lemming peeked downstairs to see what exactly the White Rabbits were made of. This was his first time seeing the team, let alone talking to them.

A squad of about fourteen tall figures wearing military vests over trench coats stood around the corner to the break room. The vests were all bright white, with a logo resembling a half rabbit, half dragon hybrid. The symbol of Lambda-5. "That symbol is exceptionally weird." he thought. He was going to introduce himself when he heard them speak, "Have you found the location of the K-class yet?" said the one on the left. "No, it's still missing as far as we know." said another in the middle. "Hopefully this new guy we're expecting has the connection we think he does. We don't need another case like Talloran." said the left again. "Hopefully this won't go as bad as the last attempt. This could be out chance to start something better. I remember a tale I read I the archives once. We always thought the Foundation was a necessary evil. But what if it isn't? Maybe it's not." said the one on the right. From the way he talked to the others and the way he stood, Lemming assumed he was the MTF Commander. Each MTF had a commander, supposedly the 'best of the best', or whatever. Lemming didn't believe in that sort of thing, the glorification of the already glorified people. He was terrified right now, though, because he didn't like his name and Researcher Talloran's name used in the same conversation, "That was the guy who did all sorts of disturbing shit with one of the ZK-Class, SCP-3999 I think. That report convinced me the Foundation was doomed from the start. All kinds of disturbing things happened to Talloran."


After their conversation was over, Lemming entered the room. Seeing their faces at last, he asked, "You guys are Lambda-5, right? I'm the one Site-91 sent, Jonathan Lemming." A blonde female on the right was the first to speak, "I see. Well, yes we are indeed Lambda-5. Now listen carefully. I imagine the Director did not tell you, but this is not a Euclid class case. This qualifies as a K-Class scenario, and extra precautions must be taken to ensure survival. I'd imagine that's why they called us. A certain SCP by the name of 3619, or "Golden Retriever", was at Site-47 and caused the incident. However, this SCP is no longer qualified Euclid. It now poses an RK-Class World-Exposing scenario. This is a new K-Class made specifically for SCPs that are an extreme threat to exposing the Foundation and SCPs to the rest of the world. Common society is currently asking about the incident, and I don't think even the Foundation can apply amnesiacs to the entire continent. Either way, we need to contain 3619 before it can screw anything else up." As the "White Rabbit" kept talking, Lemming studied the objects in the room and wondered how many were Thaumiel, "No, not likely. They'd have better containment."

Once the introduction was over, the outpost manager explained where the Site was, "It's on the northern end of ██████. It's quite cold, but you'll manage. Here's a picture of Site-47 before the whole pyramid incident." He proceeded to hand Lemming a photograph of what appeared to be circle of massive stone pillars in the middle of a forest.

site-47.jpeg

"This is odd. What kind of Site has this low level of security? This really doesn't seem like a good place to keep SCPs." The manager continued, "I know what you're thinking. It's a lot more secure than it looks. You'll see when you get there, or maybe not. Considering it's destroyed, and all. Either way, we're leaving in twenty. Get ready."

The team went their separate ways. A couple of Lambda-5 walked over to the weapons locker to make sure all their weapons were still working. A few others headed upstairs to finish their breakfast. The leader just sat down at the table and put his head in his hands. Lemming was new to these type of operations, so he wasn't sure what to do. He continued to wander the outpost until the manager shouted, "Okay everyone! It's time to leave, so gather at the entrance!" Lemming wanted to poke around more, but he couldn't be late for something so important. So he headed back through the door, and to the beginning of the end.

When he reached the gate at the entrance, everyone was waiting for him. The manager bid them farewell and they were off. As their truck rode through the snow topped trees, Lemming pondered about that strange room, and what lied ahead. "They said there wasn't anything to be afraid of on this op, but something tells me they're wrong. There's always something to be scared of at the Foundation, whether it be Keter, or undiscovered. There's always something out there to be afraid of, and I think it will find us there." His rather low outlook was cut short, however, when the truck stopped at the base of a towering wall between two hills. There was a giant decal on the wall that read "CURRENTLY UNDER DISASTER RELIEF. DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION." Seeing the look on Dr. Lemming's face, Lambda-5 leader got out and said, "Well, obviously we have authorization. No need to be concerned about that."

The border to the "disaster zone" had no visible entrances, but the Leader brought out what appeared to be a small Nokia phone. "It's a very old model, they used these back when I first entered the Foundation." Lemming thought as he watched the Leader punch several numbers into the keypad on the phone. The minuscule screen slowly changed from a pleasant background to the Foundation logo Lemming had woken up to way too many times. The phone's speaker spurted out several statements about Site security, personnel, O5 Council, and other fine print. Once it had completed, the phone said, "Authorized for RK operations. Beginning unlock. Removing memetic kill agents. Memetic kill agent removal complete. Unlock complete. Proceed, authorized personnel."

Nothing about the wall had changed, but the Leader walked towards it and just kept moving. Lemming was about to tell him to watch out, but the Leader walked straight through the wall as if it wasn't even there. The other members of Lambda-5 didn't look surprised, and followed suit. For a few seconds Lemming just stood there, trying to figure out what he had just seen, when one of the members from beyond the wall snapped him back to reality by saying, "Come on. We can't let you fall behind."


Once they entered