//------------------------------// // Prologue: A Whole New World // Story: Secure Containment for Ponies // by epiccuttlefish //------------------------------// It worked. It actually worked! The anomaly that had occurred a decade and a half ago had been successfully reverse-engineered! All of the equipment that he and others had carefully set up now indicated that there was a portal out of reality open in the test chamber. From the observation chamber, Dr. ███████ looked into the test chamber to see the portal and where it led. “Huh. A desert. Definitely not what I expected.” he said, as one of his colleagues (also in the observation chamber) piloted an unmanned rover, loaded with thermometers (both digital and analog), Kant counters, mass spectrometers, and various other pieces of scientific equipment through the portal. Shortly thereafter, once the rover had been moved through the portal and all of its equipment had been set up, Dr. ███████ began looking at the data from the rover. 30.1 degrees Celsius: hot, but definitely within the temperature ranges of deserts on Earth; atmospheric composition of 77.5% nitrogen, 20.8% oxygen, 0.9% argon, 0.7% water vapor, 0.1% other: a bit dry, but otherwise the same as Earth; air pressure at 101.3 kilopascals: same as sea level on Earth; Hume field at 99.87 Humes: a bit low, but within natural variance. Wait a minute. 100 Humes? The portal should lead outside of reality, and therefore there should not be a Hume field… He decided to ask. “Hey, are the Kant counters calibrated correctly?” “They should be, why do you ask?” “They’re giving a reading of a hundred Humes. The portal should lead out of reality, so the Hume field should be zero, by definition.” “Maybe we found a different reality? Haven’t the Bailey brothers been exploring alternate realities?” “No, you’re thinking of parallel universes, which are part of this reality. No other realities have ever been discovered, much less explored.” “Maybe the portal just leads somewhere on Earth, then.” “That would not explain why all of our instruments are telling us that this portal is leading out of reality, as well as why there are no radio signals. If the rover is on Earth, there should be at least some detectable radio signals; from the GPS satellites, if nothing else.” “Maybe the portal leads to a different time, then.” “Maybe. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” The two scientists resumed studying the data that the rover was collecting. Then, the rover started to receive a radio signal. On a standard Foundation frequency. With standard Foundation encryption. Dr. ███████ asked, “You getting this?” “Yup. Who do you think it’s from?” “Don’t know. The identification code is not one that I recognize, and besides, it’s coming from the other side of the portal.” “Are you sure it isn’t just some signal from Earth leaking through the portal?” “Yes! You helped me set up the Faraday cage, remember?” “Yeah. So, what does the message say?” “I don’t know. There seems to some further encryption, so I just have the message header. You know, the identification code, timestamp, and all that stuff?” “Yeah. So, who’s it from?” “I just told you, I don’t know. I don’t recognize the identification code, and a search of the database comes up with no results.” “Maybe it’s some secret project someone came up with. God knows, we have enough of those.” “Maybe. I’ll send it to the O5 Council just to make sure. But what does SCP-343 have to do with anything?” “Nevermind.” The next day, the O5 Council convened in an emergency meeting. O5-1 started the meeting. “I assume that you have all read the briefing for this meeting.” O5-8 replied, “Yes, yes. But how do we know that this… ‘portal’ does not just lead somewhere on Earth? Maybe not sometime today, but maybe in the distant past or distant future?” O5-5 sighed. “If you actually read the briefing, you would have read that the rover observed the constellations of the other world, which do not match any known location, either before or after Event 2047-A” “Event 2047-A?” O5-9 queried. “An event back in ’73 when Earth switched places with an exoplanet. But that is not what we are here to discuss,” replied O5-10 “Yes. And I have yet to be convinced that the portal leads to another reality,” stated O5-8. “Nevertheless, we still have to decide what to do with the portal,” replied O5-2. “We could contact whatever civilization exists on the other side and set up an exchange of some sort,” suggested O5-4. “That seemed to work well with the Third Antarctic Empire,” agreed O5-3. “The plan that our mysterious friend sent us seems like a good one, and everything that we have discovered about this new world supports it,” recommended O5-6. “I agree, though we should go ahead with the plan even if the other civilization refuses to help,” added O5-7 “I think that we should just close the portal and forget this whole thing,” grumbled O5-8. “What? And lose all of the hard work that our scientists put into this?” O5-5 exclaimed. “Well, why did we have our scientists create this portal in the first place?” countered O5-8. “Fifteen years ago, a portal opened up near Philadelphia. It stayed open for less than a minute, so we were unable to locate it, though we did receive part of a Foundation-encrypted radio transmission from the other side. Using the data that we collected about the portal back then, our scientists managed to create this portal,” O5-2 answered. “If we aren’t going to close the portal, then we should explore whatever’s on the other side as much as possible. I propose that we…” began O5-8 “I’m going to stop you right there. The message specifically stated that the country on the other side is an absolute diarchy, and the rulers have been covering up the existence of humans for thousands of years, so manned exploration is out. Unless you want to risk angering them…” interrupted O5-1. “In that case, I propose that we go ahead with our mysterious friend’s plan for now, begin extensive unmanned exploration while we collect the necessary resources to enact the plan, and make a final decision when we have more information than what our mysterious friend has given us,” proposed O5-6. “And what are the benefits of this plan, exactly?” countered O5-8. “There seem to be three main benefits to this plan. One: we will have a place to put high-threat anomalies so that they will not destroy our world if they breach containment; two: if everything goes well, the citizens of this new land will eventually be the ones maintaining the containment of these anomalies, thus freeing up valuable resources that can then be used in other ways; and three: we won’t have to worry as much about the Chaos Insurgency or the Serpent’s Hand stealing these anomalies,” replied O5-7. “Is there any other discussion? …No? Then let us vote,” said O5-1. The Council voted. Support: O5-2, O5-6, O5-7, O5-9, O5-10 Oppose: O5-3, O5-5, O5-8, O5-12 Abstain: O5-1, O5-4, O5-11, O5-13 O5-8 brought up some issues with the plan. “Now that we have decided to do this – not that I think that it is a good idea – how are we going to do it? The plan specifically mentions using HL-49 and an AIC to initiate contact. Are we sure that HL-49 is up to the task? After all, Dr. Glass diagnosed it with post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic stress. And which AIC are we going to send?” “First of all, HL-49 is the old designation. Now that it is in containment, it has been assigned the preliminary designation SCP-5746 until proper containment procedures have been approved. Second of all, our mysterious friend claims that this plan will help SCP-5746’s mental issues. Third of all, the plan specifically says to have SCP-5746 use one of its… puppets, I think it calls them? to visit this new world. Fourth of all, since we are planning to construct a containment site for Keter-class anomalies in this new world, we should send PROJECT: SCEPTER, as it will be designed to run a Keter-class site,” O5-6 stated. “Puppets? I didn’t read anything in the preliminary containment document about puppets,” O5-10 said, confused. “SCP-5746 can create new bodies for itself to use, though it would still die if its original body were killed. Hence, it refers to the additional bodies as puppets,” O5-4 explained. “Okay, so we send SCP-5746 and PROJECT: SCPETER to this new world, but what robot should we use for PROJECT: SCEPTER?” asked O5-9. “Well, the plan suggests that we contract Anderson Robotics to create a robotic body for PROJECT: SCEPTER,” observed O5-2. “Anderson Robotics? Haven’t we been trying to find them and eliminate them for years?” asked O5-5. “Yes, so we will need to do this slowly and carefully, so Anderson doesn’t get frightened,” O5-4. “I could have Salt go try to set up a meeting with an Anderson Robotics representative,” offered O5-10. “Agreed,” said O5-4. “If nobody else has anything to discuss, I call this meeting over,” declared O5-1. Months later, Salt was waiting in an abandoned warehouse. The person that she was there to meet was surveying the surroundings for… something. Salt wasn’t sure exactly what. There wasn’t much around that she could be looking for, anyways, just a couple of objects hidden under black sheets near one of the walls. “Sorry for the delay, Ms. Salt,” the middle-aged woman said, as she completed her search, “and for the location. My employer values secrecy, so I had to check for... observers.” The woman reached out a hand for a handshake. Salt accepted, after a brief pause. “I am Mrs. Saker,” the lady said kindly. “Shall we begin?” “Yes,” Salt replied. The fact that you were able to set up this meeting indicates that you both are trustworthy and have the money necessary to buy our products. May I ask what you are looking for in particular?” Saker asked. “My employer wants a custom robot made, and Anderson Robotics is the best in the field. I have the specifications right here,” Salt said, pulling a roll of paper out of her bag and handing it to Saker. Saker looked at the document. “Looks very complicated. When would you be needing this? And who is your employer?” “My employer would prefer to have their identity kept secret. As for when they need it, my employer would like to put it to use as soon as possible, but other… materials required for that endeavor will not be ready for an estimated nine months to a year,” Salt answered. Saker looked thoughtful. “That should be enough time, but it will be expensive. Much more expensive than a normal unit. How much money does your employer have?” “More than enough,” Salt responded. “Hmm… I see that your employer’s contact information is in this document, as well as the address to deliver the finished product to. We will contact them if we have any more questions,” Saker said, ending the meeting. Eight months later, the custom-made robot was delivered to the provided address, and was picked up by the Foundation. One month later, a year after the portal was first opened, everything was ready. The AI (newly installed on the robot made by Anderson Robotics) and the reality bender’s puppet stood at the portal, waiting for the technicians around them to finish the final checks on the stability of the portal. “Everything ready, SCP-5746?” queried the AI. “Yes, but please call me Josephine. It will attract less attention in this new world. Come to think of it, you should go by something other than PROJECT: SCEPTER,” the reality bender replied through her puppet. “PROJECT: SCEPTER was my codename during development. My name is Saber now that I have been completed. You should change into something less conspicuous before we go through the portal,” the AI stated flatly. “Yes. I probably should,” Josephine said thoughtfully. Josephine waved her puppet’s hand, and it transformed into a form that would not draw attention in the world that they would explore. “Everything checks out. We are go for travel,” stated one of the technicians. “Shall we begin?” Josephine asked. Wordlessly, Saber stepped through the portal. Josephine followed shortly after.