Interview Log 7362 - SCP Foundation

Following the events surrounding the acquisition of the territory affected by SCP-7362, the following interview was conducted with Jeremiah Smalls, the only individual to have survived the decontamination process. Of note is that despite a chronological age of 26, as confirmed by independent records, and an outward appearance consistent with that age, many of Mr. Smalls' internal organs were in an advanced stage of degeneration consistent with extreme age. It is currently unknown whether this was due to SCP-7362's effects, or due to the rapid decontamination process enacted upon him.

Dr. Mace (interviewer): Hello, Mr. Smalls. Please sit down.

Mr. Smalls: Okay. Um, can someone turn down the AC? I'm not used to it anymore and I'm really cold. (Note: the ambient temperature of the interview room was 29.5 degrees Celsius due to an unrelated and temporary failure in the Site's HVAC system.)

Dr. Mace: Certainly. We'll make sure your room is more comfortable when you're taken back. In the meantime, I would like to know a little bit more about the situation inside, what did you call it? The Fields?

Mr. Smalls: That's what Great Leader called it. I'd gone on a bike ride, and I saw that fence, and some buildings in the distance. I guess I was curious or something, so I went to take a look. And then I saw a woman, and she just pointed a gun at me when I got closer. Didn't have much choice then. Of course, neither did she.

Dr. Mace: For how long have you lived inside the Fields?

Mr. Smalls: About two years. Funny, it seemed longer.

Dr. Mace: Did you ever try to escape?

Mr. Smalls: In the beginning, I did. But after a while, I realized it was no use. Eternal Leader would punish people who tried to find loopholes. (Subject holds up left hand, which is missing three fingers) I got my name from this.

Dr. Mace: Your name?

Mr. Smalls: High Leader wouldn't let us use our real names, just the ones Illustrious Leader gave us. Magnanimous Leader called me Seven. To remind me, you see. So I wouldn't ever try to escape again. And I didn't.

Dr. Mace: What can you tell me about SCP-7362?

Mr. Smalls: About what?

Dr. Mace: The substance we found in the well in the town square.

Mr. Smalls: Oh. We used it as food, but it's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted. No one knew what it was, or where it came from. If Compassionate Leader knew, Beneficent Leader never told us. And I'm not sure if I want to know. But it never made us ill, or anything. Weird, come to think of it. To be honest, that stuff scared the shit out of me, and it's not like I didn't have other things to be scared of in there. But there was something… well, I don't know. And then what happened to Little Missy…

Dr. Mace: For the record, can you tell me about this incident from the beginning?

Mr. Smalls: Okay. Well, Little Missy was… Splendorous Leader used her as a… Little Missy had it harder than us. A lot harder. And life wasn't great for any of us, but if you didn't try to abuse loopholes, and didn't say anything Marvelous Leader didn't want you to say, then you wouldn't be punished. But Little Missy, she was always being punished, whether she deserved it or not. And she didn't want to go on any more. Everyone sort of knew that, already. But she couldn't commit suicide, because it was against the rules. But that day, she punctured her eardrums with a sharpened stick, just so that she wouldn't hear Wonderful Leader any more. And she ran away but she still couldn't escape. And Auspicious Leader didn't even want her back. So she stayed away for more than a month. Everyone thought she was dead, after some time. She had to be, right? We told each other that she was at peace now. That it was for the best. It may sound crazy, but it gave us hope. We didn't see much difference between dying and escaping, you know? She got away, we thought. Maybe we could, too. But then one evening, we found her inside one of the houses. She was all covered in food. You know, the stuff from the well. And she could hear again, just like that.

Dr. Mace: Did she tell you what had happened to her?

Mr. Smalls: She didn't remember. Even when Kindhearted Leader made her tell Felicitous Leader everything, she still said she didn't know. She remembered falling asleep, and waking up days later, the way we found her.

Dr. Mace: Did she seem any different to you, after she came back?

Mr. Smalls: She was crushed, of course. She'd starved herself to death to get away from Flawless Leader, and now everything was just like it was before. But… yes, there was something else. She was afraid of things. Just perfectly ordinary things, you know? Like rain, or her own reflection. Hell, she was even afraid of trees for a while! And she kept telling everyone that she wasn't ever going to try again, that she was glad it hadn't worked, and we shouldn't try either, because it wouldn't solve anything…

Dr. Mace: Why is it that the police officers who first arrived on the scene were found shot, while those who had been inside for a longer time, such as yourself, were killed in a fire?

Mr. Smalls: I'm not sure, but… we belonged to Altruistic Leader, you see. We weren't supposed to leave. Merciful Leader had to make sure we didn't… come back, like Little Missy did. Thoughtful Leader yelled something after me when I ran, but I couldn't understand the words. But Worthy Leader knows, you see. And Prosperous Leader told me I'd die before Meritorious Leader would let me escape. Virtuous Leader told me that so, so many times.

Dr. Mace: Do you have any idea where we might find him?

Mr. Smalls: I don't know. Sometimes I think Perfect Leader's already here. But that would be… that would be impossible, wouldn't it? But I really shouldn't be here, either. There's no way it'll last. Supreme Leader is going to find me and send me where the others are. Please, don't let Everlasting Leader do that. I'm begging you.

<End Log>

Closing Statement: Despite constant medical monitoring and treatment, Jeremiah Smalls died of multiple organ failure due to age and malnutrition 37 days following the acquisition of SCP-7362. Simultaneous with Mr. Smalls' expiration, an individual matching the description of "Leader" climbed out of the well holding the primary mass of SCP-7362. The individual was restrained, but tried to escape and was subsequently terminated. Autopsy revealed no biological abnormalities, and the subject's fingerprints and DNA do not appear in any medical, governmental or law enforcement database to which the Foundation has access.