📋 SCP-001 [djkaktus II] — Atonement
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SCP-001: Atonement

Author: djkaktusdjkaktus


This is a long one, so let's not waste time and jump right in.

Right off the bat we're told that the file contains information about a possible end-of-all-worlds scenario. Lovely. We're also shown that this file is on the Overwatch Command database, rather than the Foundation database. We'll find out why that is in a moment.

Archival Specifications: This data file, being designated SCP-001, will exist separately from the decoy SCP-001 archive on the primary Foundation database and will be accessible only by closed units at Area-11 or Site-01. No other instances of this data file may exist. This data file is designed to corrupt any systems on which it exists that do not carry the encryption markers of either of those two systems.

So that's why it's on the Overwatch Command database: they're keeping it separate from the archive of decoy proposals on the official Foundation database. The file can also only be accessed from two locations: Area-11 and Site-01. Site-01 is probably where the Overseer Council is stationed, which makes sense, but why Area-11? We'll find out in the next section.

The Special Containment Procedures show just how desperate the Foundation is to keep this thing contained. It's contained in a Spatial Stabilization Array at Area-11, which is why the file can be accessed there, had four Applied Task Forces assigned to it, and the Array has a whole host of modifications to control the thing. They have emergency procedures in the event that the anomaly breaches containment, in which they collapse the entirety of Area-11 into a borehole, cause a landslide on top of that, seal it off with steel plates, and then nuke it. They also had something called the Tredecim Protocol on top of that, which was apparently preceded by the termination of all Foundation contracts and the complete dissolution of the Foundation itself, which gives the impression that shit really needed to go down for them to use it, but we won't find out what that was until much later.

You may have noticed that I said they had four ATFs assigned to the anomaly, and that they had the Tredecim Protocol in place. They don't anymore, and the rest of the article explains why.

Updated Containment Memorandum: This file has been classified LEVEL 5 - OVERSEER EYES ONLY. All personnel remaining at Area-11 have been reassigned and amnesticized. All Applied Task Forces have been reassigned and amnesticized. Management of containment will be handled solely by the NETZACH system, under Overseer supervision. Identification and implementation of the 40 DAYS Protocol will be carried out solely by the NETZACH system. No other personnel are authorized to view this file.

This tells us that the Foundation has gotten rid of all the human staff at Area-11 and given a computer system control over both containment and emergency procedures. Something must have gone wrong, but what? We'll find out soon.

Description: SCP-001 is a humanoid gravitational singularity currently contained within the Area-11 Pietrykau-Fontaine Array.

For those of you who don't know, a gravitational singularity is the center of a black hole, in which gravity is said to approach infinity. On top of being a gravitational singularity, the anomaly is also humanoid. We find out how exactly this singularity came into existence in the first addendum.

SCP-001 is capable of manipulating the nature of reality through alterations in gravity that change the shape and structure of spacetime. As such its anomalous capabilities cannot be dampened by anything other than the Pietrykau-Fontaine array, and alterations to spacetime made by SCP-001 are irreversible.

Oh. That explains why the Foundation is trying so hard to keep this thing controlled; if it breaks free it could easily wipe out the entire universe.

The first addendum talks about the initial manifestation of the singularity. A group of researchers were running tests on the Spatial Stabilization Array, in which they created singularities. They were conducting a scale-up test when one Dr. Calvin Desmet noticed that one of the parts was malfunctioning, so he went in to repair it. Then, one of the primary generators began to fail, and an alarm was sounded, which Calvin did not hear. As they were powering down the array, it formed a singularity, which sucked in Calvin, the test chamber, and most of the research facility. Over time, the remaining staff repaired the array and resumed testing. This testing eventually led to the creation of another singularity. Two hours after appearing, the singularity became a humanoid, and attempted to communicate with Foundation staff. The second addendum details the Foundation's first contact with the anomaly.

In the second addendum, the singularity establishes contact with Dr. J. Barton Ramsey, a researcher stationed at Area-11.

SCP-001: (Pauses) He- yes. Johannes Barton Ramsey. You are a doctor. The S- (pauses) -SCP Foundation. Containment. Is he being contained? (Pauses) He can't see, He's- the array. This is the… Pietrykau-Fontaine… He knows this place, he-

The singularity appears to have the same memories as Calvin. He recognizes Ramsey, the Foundation, and the array.

SCP-001: No, he- (pauses) There is no I, only He, someone else. A man. I think I was him, or He- He is me. (Pauses) He was here once, and then He wasn't.

Here we learn that, while Calvin being trapped within the singularity has allowed it to manifest a personality and memories similar to those of Calvin, the singularity itself is not Calvin, although it does act on his behalf.

SCP-001: A- a way to distinguish between two like things. (Pauses) He needs… an Overseer. Overseers. All of them. Bring them here.

Dr. Ramsey: That's against protocol, and-

SCP-001: No. They will come for this. He has something to offer them.

Dr. Ramsey: What's that?

SCP-001: A way out.

The singularity claims that Calvin has a way out to offer the Overseers, but a way out of what, exactly? Let's find out.

In the third addendum, O5-1 is sent to communicate with the singularity. The singularity claims that it has a way out of entropy itself. It says that before he was sucked into the singularity, Calvin saw that there are an infinite amount of universes, and that the anomalies the Foundation contains are the result of entropy causing other universes with vastly different laws to bleed into ours. Because of entropy, the singularity claims, it is inevitable that all universes will end in chaos. It also says that we only have a few decades left before this happens. It offers a way out: remove the barriers protecting every other universe from entropy, destroying them and leaving a single universe that can continue forever, unaffected. It says that the only reason it hasn't already done this is because it is being held back the array, and that the overseers need to shut it off first. O5-1 leaves, and the addendum ends. Shortly after this, all the human staff at Area-11 were removed and replaced by the system.

In the fourth addendum, the O5 council is debating whether or not to accept the singularity's offer.

O5-3: After investigation by several teams working independent of each other, we have determined that SCP-001 appears to be correct about what it has said regarding the nature of creation. The trend-line of anomalies we are aware of and have contained has followed the accelerated progression that SCP-001 predicted. Based on our models, we should expect an uncontainable number of new anomalies within 30 years, and even more past that. Our best guess is that something big gets loose within 45, and at that point there's nothing left to be done.

Here we see that the singularity is right about how fast the amount of anomalies the Foundation has to contain is increasing. They only have a few decades left before the anomalies are uncontainable, and only a short amount of time after that before something really dangerous breaks out of containment, lifts the veil, and causes mass death and destruction.

O5-1: More than that. I took the liberty of… consulting with a number of the precognitives, and-

O5-9: (Interjecting) That is forbidden.

O5-12: (Interrupting O5-9) Wouldn't you want to know?

O5-9: We made a decision that cannot so easily be-

O5-1: -we confirmed, as well as we could, that there is a point in time that is arriving soon that obscures their vision. They can see up to it, but not past. I don't even know if they realize it yet - it was only after we drew data from dozens of tests that we realized none of them have made a prediction past 2066.

More emphasis on how screwed the Foundation is: none of the SCPs capable of viewing the future are able to see past 2066.

In the end, the motion to use the singularity passes, and O5-1 says the following:

O5-1: I knew Calvin Desmet, years ago. In a different life. He wasn't recruited by the Foundation - he volunteered. He was part of a team contracted by the Insurgency to run trials on new technology they were developing at the time. But he had a young daughter that was killed by SCP-106 when it breached containment during transit in 1975, years before we had developed functional containment procedures for it, and… after that, he sought us out. He never said much about it, but you could tell. If that's him in there, and he had found a way to remove every trace of the anomalous from our universe, no matter the cost, he would do it. I know he would do it. I can hear it in his voice.

Pay very close attention to that statement.

In the fifth addendum, the O5 council gets the system to power down the array part-way. They instruct the singularity to erase an SCP from existence, and it does so. Then things begin to go wrong.

The space around SCP-001 within the array begins to shimmer. Low, loud pulses of noise are emitted from the air around them, and the light within the chamber begins to bend in towards SCP-001. The array creaks and groans under the stress. O5-4 and O5-12 step away from the observation window. O5-1 does not move.

The building around them begins to shake. Points in the air around SCP-001 begin to distort, as if being dragged down individually towards SCP-001. The room darkens. More low pulses begin to rise up out of the borehole. A single, thin ring of white-hot debris begins to form around SCP-001. Others join it. Nearby, a klaxon can be heard as NETZACH warns of intolerable load on the array.

That isn't good. What is the singularity doing?

Suddenly, O5-1 jerks backwards. The space around his body begins to distort, as if being pulled in towards his center. He reaches forwards towards the observation window, his body compressing unnaturally.

Well, shit.

SCP-001: (In O5-1's voice) If that's him in there, and he had found a way to remove every trace of the anomalous from our universe, no matter the cost, he would do it.

Remember when I told you to pay attention to that statement? This is why. The singularity lied when it said that the way to save the universe was to destroy all the other ones. In reality, the way to save the universe is to purge every trace of the anomalous from the multiverse. This includes the Foundation and the Overseers. This addendum is titled "Deception" because the singularity knew that the Overseers wouldn't accept its offer if it told them what it really had to do, and so it lied to them.

SCP-001: (A dull, grinding roar) Your children free to live lives that do not end in horror. An end to your perpetual struggle. An end to darkness. The freedom to live in the light. All traces must be removed. This world must be washed clean. The Foundation does not escape atonement. It is the only way out.

This quote provides more evidence that the singularity has to purge every trace of the anomalous, including the Foundation, but what does it mean when it says "atonement"? The singularity may not be Calvin Desmet, but it acts on his behalf. Calvin wasn't recruited by the Foundation; he approached them after his daughter was killed by SCP-106. The loss of his daughter to an anomalous entity likely caused him to develop a hatred for the anomalous. During his time at the Foundation, he may have begun to blame it for his daughter's death. After all, if the Foundation could have contained 106 reliably, then his daughter wouldn't have been killed. This belief extended to every death caused by a containment breach. If Calvin blames the Foundation for these deaths, then the singularity does by extension. It is not unreasonable, then, to say that the singularity considers the Foundation's annihilation at its hand to be atonement for all the deaths it caused, and all the pain it inflicted to keep the anomalous contained. That also explains why it didn't hesitate at all to kill O5-1, even though Calvin knew him personally in life. As one of the leaders of the Foundation, it views O5-1 as partially responsible. SCP-001 is Atonement, and the Overseers would rather contain it and doom the world than face it and sacrifice themselves to ensure a better future.

The sixth and final addendum tells us that the Tredecim Protocol involved senior staff members jumping to another universe to escape the singularity, and that it is no longer an option. This ties in to the scenario presented at the beginning to the article: the end of all worlds. The Overseers think that the singularity is trying to destroy the multiverse, so if it breaches containment then they'll have nowhere to run. This isn't the case, of course, but they don't know that. From their perspective, they've just been duped into letting a malevolent entity destroy the multiverse, when in reality they are the ones responsible for the doom that will eventually befall them.

And then it ends. Like the singularity says, the Foundation cannot escape atonement. Whether it comes from the singularity or the increasing amount of anomalies doesn't matter. However, by facing it head on instead of allowing it to come to them, they could ensure the survival of future generations. It's a shame then, that they never will due to their ignorance. Thank you for reading.


Link: SCP-001 [djkaktus II]: Atonement

Written By: UncannyClown276UncannyClown276, u/UncannyClown276

Date Published: January 21, 2019

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