They! - SCP Foundation

ᅠ

INTERNAL TRIBUNAL DEPARTMENT

Case file

Сase №24-А-II/2019

Opened on: 19.03.2019

Status: Archived

2nd Tribunal (judge Joyce, judge Brown, presiding justice Peterson)

Defendant: Doctor Frank McCreedy (personal ID 302701), SCP Foundation employee, formerly staffed at Zone 12. Held no assignment at the time of arrest due to temporary suspension.

Corpus delicti: the defendant is accused of attempting to commit crimes provided for in paragraphs § 1.2.2, §1.2.6 and §6.4 LC ITD, as well as of committing crimes provided for in paragraphs § 1.2.7, §3.2.2, §3.2.5, §3.2.8 LC ITD.

It’s hot. Sweat rolling down the back has already soaked the mantle and began to seep into the back of the chair. Judge Joyce still did not feel all too well, and so the AC unit remained off – a slightly open window had to do. Distant sounds of the city melded together into a barely discernible noise, occasionally interrupted by the sirens of the police or ambulance cabs.

Justice Peterson pried his eyes away from the papers and took a look around. Judge Brown, a confident middle-aged man, stood by the window and held his hands behind his back. His gaze was cast upon the tall white obelisk dividing the setting sun in two. Brown’s thoughts wandered further yet – into the building with the large rotunda, where the man dreamed to work instead of wearing his pants out in the SCP Foundation’s Tribunal.

Peterson glanced at Judge Joyce and passed her the napkins with a pat on the back. The aged woman with faded red hair cleared out her nose loudly and humbly responded with an apology. Joyce had been working in the Tribunal for 25 years now, and all this time she refused the promotions to the High Tribunal in Paris, time and time again.

The ISD investigator-prosecutor stopped his rustling of papers and leaned back onto his seat, lazily eyeing the gray-haired Presiding Justice cleaning his glasses. Then, after discarding the cloth into the case, the man retrieved a long silver chain out of one of the drawers – a symbol of the Foundation’s judicial authority. Having put it on over the mantle, Peterson immediately changed from the kind-hearted old professor Harvard into an icy bulwark that had sentenced more to death than any juror of the Third Reich could even dream of.

- Mr. Presiding Justice, the defendant has been delivered, - a loud awakening from snooze by the bailiff.

- Good. Gentlemen, please take your seats, - Peterson addressed Judge Brown in plural form.

With a soft step the man took his seat to the left. Brown genuinely respected Peterson, although the same could not be said for Joyce; however, he never disrespected her despite that, either.

The Sentence Enforcement Team soldier brought in a short balding man dressed in a lab coat and cuffed. None of the defendants among the Foundation personnel were allowed to dress in informal clothing – it was imperative for the judges to remember who’s standing before them. The soldier seated the man and took his spot beside. Following those, let in by the bailiff, were the secretary, invited expert, and the defendant’s colleagues. The procession closed with two of ITD’s interns, who took up spots on the last row of the almost empty courtroom.

Peterson looked over those present, then gave a short nod to the secretary. The bailiff closed the courtroom doors.

- All rise!

Those present did so, and the judges pronounced the text of their oath in unison. Then the secretary allowed them to sit back down, and Justice Peterson took the first word. His hardened voice with a light rasp instilled fear – and, at the same time, a hope for justice.

- The SCP Foundation Second Tribunal will now hear the case number 24-А-II/2019. Defendant – Doctor Frank McCreedy, SCP Foundation employee. Mister prosecutor, you may begin.

The prosecutor rose, cleared his throat, and went on to read from his paper.

- Frank McCreedy, you are charged with a number of committed and projected offences related to your position of curator for SCP-████. According to the Internal Security Department’s report, you have unwarrantedly approached a person perceived to be a GOC agent, who, fortunately, was an ISD provocateur. In line of this criminal contact with our agent you transferred information constituting operational secrets, in particular the SCP-████ dossier, information about the internal structure of the Foundation and its security system. Seized unauthorized copies of the documents in question have been attached to the case files.

Item №: SCP-████

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: The location of the object is to be concealed from park visitors via imitation of park redevelopment construction. The motion for opening civilian access to the anomaly masked as a lightshow installation (see instruction to Procedure “On the surface”) is currently pending for approval.

Description: SCP-████ consists of a special region of space shaped as a round plane approx. 2 metres in radius, located in ████████████ Park, Washington, DC, USA. Peculiarities in refraction of light, propagation of waves and particles, as well as lack of outstanding air flow within the borders of the anomaly leads to believe that the anomaly is a unique example of a pseudoportal.1

With the help of mist diffusers the Foundation researchers have not only determined the specific bounds of the anomaly, but also that it is a one-way portal. The anomaly does not visually manifest or reveal anomalous properties from the “other side” (the side of the plane directed north-east).

The Foundation does not possess information on when this anomaly formed, which makes it likely that a considerable number of civilians have passed through SCP-████ without realizing or incurring any deviations from normalcy. Due to the fact that attempts at disposal have proved ineffective, and that further use of current containment methods raises considerable difficulties, the containment team is currently revising the possibility of allowing civilian access to the anomaly, presenting it as a visual lightshow installation.

Judge Brown, after requesting permission from the Presiding Justice, addressed the persecutor:

- Mr Persecutor. Aside from the SCP dossier, do you possess direct evidence of the defendant’s culpability?

The persecutor took a drink and carried on:

- Yes. We possess a transcript of McCreedy’s e-correspondence with the ISD provocateur presented as a GOC agent, as well as a video recording of their meeting in person. As such, culpability in charges provided by article one subarticle two, “Treason”, is evident. That is all in line of charges, Your Honor.

The bailiff passed the persecutor’s documents to the Justice. Peterson scrupulously examined them, then passed them – first to Joyce, then to Brown. With a rhetorical nod the judge leaned back with an indifferent look on the face; Peterson meaningfully looked at Judge Joyce. The woman coughed, then spoke up.

- Ahem. With your permission, Mr. Presiding Justice, I would like to point your attention at the charging document. Here we see accusations under clauses of Article III, “Significant Disciplinary Violations”… Insubordination… Abuse of office…

The persecutor rose again.

- Yes, Your Honor, the defendant has committed multiple disciplinary violations of various degrees. All of them are related to the service’s internal protocol. Considering the previous charges, I found it unnecessary to mention this specifically.

- A wise decision, - Brown noted while spinning a pencil in his fngers.

Judge Joyce continued talking without raising her head over the rustling of paper.

- But still, this is of relevance to the case. Such severe transgressions are not committed out of whimsy. Mr. McCreedy has an exceptional record, as well. Keter and Euclid assignments. A reward from O5-2. Excellent reviews from colleagues, senior staff and… - the woman lifted her gaze at the persecutor with her brows raised high – And even from the Internal Security Department!

- How will you explain this, Mr. Persecutor? – a sudden question from Brown, who pointedly stared the ISD officer down.

- Issue withdrawn. This court meeting is about McCreedy and not the ISD, - Peterson remarked strictly. Brown nodded in agreement and relaxed once more. – Please continue, Joyce.

- So, Mr. Persecutor, - Judge Joyce continued, - I would like to know what, according to you, is the motive for these crimes?

- We hypothesize that he intended to destroy or hand the object over to the GOC.

- But… if I understand everything correctly, - Peterson passed Joyce the seized copy of the dossier, - SCP-████ is classed as “Safe”. Additionally… right…. Yes, here – it’s written… “attempts at disposal have proved ineffective”. May I speak with the expert? Dr…. u-uh…

- Will Hunt, interim curator of SCP-████, - the unremarkable man tenuously responded as he rose from his seat.

- Mr. Hunt, please tell us about the recorded and hypothesized dangers posed by the object, - the Justice ordered.

- Yes, Your Honor. Judging by the results of a large number of research measures undertaken, we can confidently say SCP-████ poses absolutely no threat to…

- It’s a lie! – McCreedy shouted suddenly, bolting up from his place. His guard menacingly whipped out a tazer. – Will… Your Honour, I wasn’t able to convince them or reach the GOC, but please – at least you listen to me…

- To order! Defendant, you will be given your word. Mr. Hunt, please continue.

- Ah… yes. Of course, - the man wiped sweat off his brow and guiltily turned away from the accused. - SCP-████ is not dangerous and requires no special containment procedures. It’s a pseudoportal, the only one of its kind. It leads nowhere… No, not exactly, it leads exactly where it is. Its exit plane is where it should be. It’s basically just an area with odd refraction of light, violations of heat transfer and anomalous atmospheric separation that does not affect other material objects. The portal has been detected in the city park, lots of people have come through it and found nothing suspicious. Currently we have an array of water dispersers and lights to point out its location. We plan to lift the quarantine soon and open it up to the public under guise of a lightshow. The path there is rather difficult, anyway, and further efforts at concealment would only raise more difficulties.

McCreedy listened his former colleague’s report with undeniable alarm, but the last few phrases ticked him off.

- Come to your senses already! What are you doing? Files, read my files, you’re bringing about a K-class event! Classifying a Keter as Safe, even planning civilian access as if it were a tourist attraction! - McCreedy scowled at his colleague.

The guard pointed his taser at the defendant, but was then stopped by a gesture from the Presiding Justice.

- Continue.

- Oh, - the alleged criminal swallowed audibly, and rose with a clank of his chains. – Listen. I apologize in advance for an overly hasty and expressive tale. I am very concerned. Phew… I previously held the position of curator for this anomaly. My group researched the peculiarities of light refraction, passage of waves, and hypothesized that this portal is indeed an unusual case of a one-way portal. But it leads to a dimension that fully copies ours, up to the point where it contains a similar portal that leads into our reality. That is, SCP-████ is basically two portals in two identical copy dimensions.

While Justice Peterson leafed through the dossier, Judge Joyce looked over his shoulder.

Update as of 11.11.2018 Fragment of initial description of SCP-████ contains incorrect information. Object has been reclassified as Keter.

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: The object must remain under protection by MTF Ξ-13 “Storm Harvesters”. Any and all intrusions SCP-████-А must be carried out under direct observation of the curator of research. All persons who disregard this order and enter the object are counted as MIA. Copies of such persons exiting the portal must be immediately terminated or detained (by decision of MTF duty officer at the time).

Description: SCP-████ consists of a special region of space shaped as a round plane approx. 2 metres in radius, located in ████████████ Park, Washington, DC, USA. The object is a portal leading into a different area of space-time (hereafter referred to as SCP-████-А), which is a complete copy of our reality and is inhabited by copies of all real persons (SCP-████-N) and other living organisms.

The unique property of the anomaly is that an identical portal leading back to our reality is located in SCP-████-А. The location of both portals in relation to the landscape is identical. The existence of the object is only visually confirmed by irregularities in refraction of light on the border of the anomaly.

The portal does not transfer light from the other dimension, which makes direct observation of SCP-████-А from our reality impossible. Additionally, the “other side” of the portal plane does not exhibit distortion of space-time. That means that a subject that has crossed the border of the object will not be able to return to their dimension by stepping back. In order to “return”, one must step around the portal and enter again from the same side which they entered when entering SCP-████-А.

All processes happening in SCP-████-А are absolutely identical to those in reality, from global events to molecular chemistry. Additionally, all instances of SCP-████-N consciously mimic the behavior of their “counterparts” in reality. As such, all cases of civilian or employee passage into SCP-████-А leads to an similar passage of an instance of SCP-████-N into our world, with them copying the actions of the “original” in our dimension. The process has been depicted on fig. 1.

Fig 1. Main principle of anomaly functionality.

The danger of the anomaly consists in the transfer being completely unnoticeable due to the portal’s properties and equivalence of the entry/exit points in the copy dimensions. The Foundation currently does not possess information on the number SCP-████-N in our reality, or on the number of civilians currently presiding in SCP-████-А. Unfortunately, no method of determining subjects as SCP-████-N exists as of yet. Passive copying of the “original” behavior coupled with complete lack of display of own will also prevents search and detainment of such subjects. Of special importance is the fact that there exists an SCP-████-N copy of every human on Earth, including those of Foundation personnel and world leaders.

The anomaly containment group has taken the decision of classifying the object as Keter due to unknown level of threat from SCP-████-А, unidentified number and level of intrusion into human society by SCP-████-N, undetermined motive for their behavior and level of self-conscience.

- So, to put it bluntly, if I insert my leg into the portal, my copy’s leg will leave through the other side. If I enter wholly, my copy will appear in our reality and carry out all actions I do there. The transfer is unnoticeable, so you could just go out on a jog and, as silly as it sounds, jog into the parallel world. You’d go home, sleep, go to your work… and never notice that you’re surrounded by a false stage inhabited by copies of your relatives, friends, colleagues. Not just copies. Thinking copies. Consciously pretending and mimicking copies. Now multiply all that by the prospect of the portal opening again. Dr. Hunt is opening the door to a dominance shift scenario. One of K-Class Events, I’ll have you know.

- Yes. I see. Right here, - Peterson tapped a dry finger on the paper, - is your version of the document, attached to the case and determined false by the current curator. With a figure… I understand your point, overall. What research led to such conclusions? Do you have proof?

- He does not, Mr. Presiding Justice, - the persecutor denied McCreedy a chance to speak. – Allow me to read an addendum dating 10.12.2018, added by interim curator Hunt after reverting the document to its initial version.

Update as of 10.12.2018 The above fragment of SCP-████‘s description contains false information. SCP-████ has been reclassified as safe. The document has been reverted to original, Doctor Hunt has been temporarily assigned as curator. Personnel with level 4 clearance may view the addendum to the dossier for details.

Incident ████-1-I Description

Previous curator of SCP-████, Doctor McCreedy, had initiated a set of experiments aimed at determining and confirming the theory of existence of «SCP-████-А»2, a copy of Earth and its population fully copying all activities of its “originals” on Earth.

Doctor McCreedy’s theory was based on “personal experiences”, unverified by witness accounts or voice and data recorders. In order to search for confirmation of his theory of existence of a parallel world, Doctor McCreedy had initiated a number of tests, a non-exhaustive list of which is as follows:

comparison of star maps;

behavioral testing;

“passphrase/response” checks;

measurements of all known emissions and waves;

measurement of radioactive decay on both sides of the portal;

experiments of data transfer through a cable inserted through the portal;

“infiltration” and long-term dwelling with a helm-mounted camera;

comparison of various events (including those impossible by chance) near the object and inside «SCP-████-А»;

capture and experimentation on persons from «SCP-████-А»;

torture of persons from «SCP-████-А» aimed to receive admission.

Throughout the time of research absolutely no proof of existence of «SCP-████-А» or «SCP-████-N» has been determined. In his attempts to defend his working theory to the last, the curator unjustly reclassified the object as Keter and initiated costly containment procedures. Doctor McCreedy also ignored numerous direct orders and directions from higher staff.

The doctor’s colleagues, ISD and the Ethics Committee timely prevented experiments on selective termination and autopsy of persons from «SCP-████-А». Foundation administration likewise dismissed the doctor’s requests of arrest of his staff and denied a full rotation of the research campus.

During one of the latest experiments there was a “violation” of the unjustified containment procedures installed by Doctor McCreedy. One of the research team members, having been uninformed of the new directives due to gross criminal negligence, crossed the anomaly border and has been thus terminated by a member of MTF via flamethrower. After McCreedy’s dismissal and following investigative measures, Doctor Hunt has been assigned as interim curator of SCP-███.

Judge Peterson shifted forwards, took his glasses off, and spoke:

- My experience tells me this violation of containment procedures was premediated. Is that so, Doctor?

McCreedy remained silent. The ISD investigator-persecutor took a victorious grimace.

- So you suggest, mister Presiding Justice, that he… - Brown pointed a finger at the defendant and went still, awaiting an answer. The persecutor was the one to answer in place of Peterson.

- Yes, Your Honor. That was the continuation of his experiments. We have no proof, unfortunately, and thus I refrained from voicing this charge, but… the ISD is convinced that McCreedy knowingly sent the junior specialist into the anomaly, aware that he will be destroyed by the MTF soldiers. The Ethics Committee forbade him from experiments involving termination and autopsy, so he chose sacrifice of his staff member instead.

- What? Is that your doing? Yours? – Doctor Hunt stood up and was immediately halted by the guard’s stern glare. – You’re a fucking psychopath, that’s who you are. And for what? Got your damn proof?

- No, I did not, - quietly wheezed McCreedy, - the damned hero burnt him to a crisp, there was nothing much left to investigate. Seems like intentional sabotage. Listen – nobody knows of the originals’ fate. They may be destroying them in secret, making additional copies. They may no longer shy away from acting the way they benefit from. From failing to copy us. Please understand, with no distinctive properties it is very difficult to keep track who passed through the portal how many times and, consequently, who’s who. We could have missed a lot of people. As such, regarding that flamethrower accident… I have the surname and ID of that soldier, Your Honor, I would like to make a motion to…

- Enough, McCreedy. Personally, it’s all clear to me, - Judge Brown looked over to his colleagues. – Nothing more to discuss here.

- One last question, if I may, - Judge Joyce addressed the ISD persecutor, - was there an expert examination of the defendant’s putability?

The persecutor rummaged through his briefcase and procured a small document.

- Yes, Your Honor. Medical Service Area number 01 has examined the accused and has determined the following…

Medical Area 01

Impression № 475/14-1

Comprehensive analysis of Doctor McCreedy’s mental state has yielded unfortunate results. The medical board of doctors has determined that mister McCreedy is under the influence of a severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, as well as paranoia characterized by absolute belief in his unjustified and improvable theory. It is known that the employee held an immense authority among his peers and was a first-class specialist. Evidently, prolonged pressure on Keter-class duties, excessive stress and following sudden transfer to Safe-class curator duty considerably undermined the subject’s mental health. In turn, his excessive obsession with work grew into a paranoiac delusion regarding SCP-████.

It is our unanimous opinion that McCreedy’s testimonies that confirm his own theory are result of a systematic delusion based on a single case of disturbance of consciousness, coupled with auditory and visual hallucination.

Result: the subject is no longer fit for performing further activities in SCP Foundation due to high psychological instability and extremely high threat to the Organization and the surrounding personnel. Despite aforementioned symptoms, the subject fully comprehended the dangers of his behavior and fully accounted for all decisions. Recommend directing Doctor McCreedy to compulsory treatment in Medical Area 01, followed by deletion of memories of SCP Foundation and personality restructurisation.

- … that he fully realized the extent of his deeds and bears full culpability. Please, study the impression, - the persecutor passed the paper over through the bailiff.

- So, let’s summarize, - Justice Peterson passed a hand over his tired face, - we have established practically all aspects of the case. Now, the last question. From myself. What spurred your belief in the parallel world beyond the portal? Why did you ignore the most obvious explanation and construct this complex theory full of specificities and assumptions, which you failed to prove, in addition? Mr McCreedy, please retell us the testimony that the medics of Medical Area 01 and the new curator Hunt allude to.

McCreedy, jingling his chains, exhaustedly rose and proceeded to tell his story.

- So, is that it? – the energetic balding man in jeans and a black sweater approached the plastic diffuser arc.

- Yes, Doctor. The dispersers have been installed yesterday, so you can’t see light distortion on the edges now, but the border is much more clearly pronounced. No more accidental contacts, - the young dark-haired woman in a bright T-shirt passed the report and photos to McCreedy. – I took it upon myself and made a few experiments with D-class personnel while you were getting here.

- Excellent work. Let’s see-e… Pseudoportal… Interesting. Number of interactions…

- Twenty four. That’s those we conducted ourselves. Add in the agents who have detected the anomaly and an uncountable number of people who passed through the portal without noticing a thing. All recordings have been made, no radiation, memetic or antimemetic hazards found. No problems with the test subjects. No other effects of the anomaly.

- Very good. Preliminary assignment of Safe, then. Have you been there yourself?

- I… – the woman faltered. – I arrived immediately after the discovery and the agents have already been through. So we thought this is just a visual distortion…

- Understandable, - McCreedy smiled.– But, Claire, for the future. I’ve been assigned to Safe as a little vacation of sorts, but my line of duties lies in much more dangerous matters, where a wrong step will have you dead. You might call me paranoid, but I’d only climb into there in person after the twentieth D-ummy.

- Yes, Doctor. You’re absolutely right.

- Oh, don’t be upset. Sometimes I wish I could take an amnesiac to forget all my work… A week of Safe should cheer me up. You think I should take a visit?

- No entrance into the portal has been accompanied by anything unusual, Doctor.

- Right. Turn it on, I want to see it in person.

The quiet hissing of water ceased. McCreedy approached the portal and attentively looked it over. Just by the edge of it, beyond the parapet, the air shifted and shimmered slightly, as if over a stretch of hot asphalt.

- Never would’ve noticed it myself, - McCreedy voiced his thought and entered through.

Nothing happened. The doctor saw no shimmering as looked back, either.

- Yep! It only works one way! – Claire shouted over, standing at the other end of the bridge across.

McCreedy nodded to her and went on to walk around the anomaly’s surroundings. Fresh air and sunny weather all arranged for it. The doctor’s head began filling with idle thoughts.

«It’s been so long since I’ve just walked in a park. Maybe… five years. Or six. I’ve earned this. “You can’t leave this object, you understand it best”. I’m not a machine, Mr. Director, sir, I’m a human person. If I could have copied myself, I definitely would have».

McCreedy strolled on the gravel path. A Foundation member guarding the gates of the containment area, posing as a construction worker, tapped his hardhat with the right hand slightly. The doctor was leaving the guarded area.

«You could bring an impulse charge into that sierra tunnel. An EMP. If it blasts out the equipment, we’ll be able to collapse everything without worrying about repercussions. Heffelbaum would be against that. Oh, his ideas of “Thaumiel on the Moon”. Silly. I should think over the details and make a draft for a proposal».

McCreedy, absorbed in thought, strolled out of the park and into a small alley connected to it.

«Right. Not the right thing to be thinking about. SCP-████. Portal. Or, pseudoportal. Mhm. Nothing on the measurement, passage is safe. So, what do we have here… Examining physical state… Analyses, blood… The girl’s young but has got her head on her shoulders. Echo… Encephalogram… Real-time distance ECG… Now this is interesting. A miniscule shift in biological rhythm during transfer. Is that a malfunction? Right… No, consistent between everyone. No error in other measurements. Less than a second of delay. No visual inconsistencies during transfer. So then what?»

The doctor failed to look ahead and collided with a well-built man. Both painfully fell to the asphalt. The big guy hit his head, a tinge of red began showing above his ear.

- McCreedy, bastard. Fucking shrink… – muttered the man while holding his head, but then swiftly changed face.

- Sorry, I didn’t mean to… Hold on. What did you call me?

The man swiftly changed face, twice.

- I didn’t call you nothing. Do you have a paper napkin?

- Yes, I do. Could you repeat what you just said at the very beginning?

- I didn’t say anything, get off of me. Hissed in pain and that’s it, - the man stood up, shook himself off and spat out, - weirdo.

The doctor remained on the ground. An unusual moment of insight shone within him – and without knowing what he’s doing, he entered a minimarket.

There was a small queue at the checkout, a male cashier slowly checked the goods. McCreedy stood near a rack of old-timey sunglasses, tried a pair, and began eyeing the journals on a nearby shelf. Having noticed a big circular mirror above himself, he made a cautious glance in it. The whole queue covertly watched him with seemingly innocent passing glances, studied him. In a fit McCreedy turned on his heels and shouted. For further element of surprise he pointed a finger the way children would improvise a gun. The bystanders did not even flinch, but watched without concealing themselves.

- I’ll show y’all’s true colours, - sung out the doctor, mimicking a southern accent.

The crowd watched unblinkingly. After a moment, the cashier responded nonchalantly:

- You won’t prove anything anyway, McCreedy.

The doctor was taken aback. Suddenly, their looks shifted to judging, and then began whispering between each other. McCreedy heard the words “psycho” and “nutjob”. He ran out of the mall and ran to SCP-████, failing to keep breath.

- …when I entered the portal again, I immediately directed a group of agents to search for the video out of the mall. And what’d you expect? The recording is the almost the same, but only almost. Nobody was watching me, and the cashier never addressed me. Do you understand? And when I returned SCP-████-А, the video had been already deleted. Do you get that? I returned back again, but somebody wiped it in our reality as well. They’re among us! Listen to me! Anybody! – with a crash of his cuffs McCreedy noisily fell into his seat again.

- I’ve heard you, Mr. McCreedy. The Tribunal will now depart to make their judgment, – said Peterson.

The judges held their council for about forty minutes and emerged quite exhausted. Those present rose again.

- The SCP Foundation Tribunal will now declare their decision. In the name of humanity and normalcy. Dr McCreedy, for your transgressions against the organization, which are: attempts at sabotage, attempts to contact a GoI, dissemination of classified information, preparation to destroy anomalous object, preparation to transfer anomalous object to GoI control, multiple gross disciplinary violations, as well as unproven but obviously evident case of termination of a Foundation employee, considering the weight of your charges and a high risk of recidivism, the Trubinal sentences you to death penalty. Considering your contributions and a lengthy record in line of duty for the Foundation, as well as a fact of psychological illness, the Tribunal considers it possible to replace death penalty with personality deletion followed by compulsory treatment and implantation of false memories. The Tribunal reserves the right to again replace treatment with death penalty on motion from the ISD or Foundation medical personnel. This decision may be repealed by O5 Command in accordance with the established procedure.

McCreedy closed his eyes and silently let the guard drag him out of the hall. The invited participants slowly filtered out, and the last to leave were the ISD persecutor and the secretary. Only the judges remained.

It has gotten dark outside. Judge Brown shifted to his favourite window and took a look again at the snow-white building with a grand dome cupola. Behind him, with a loud clattering of metal, the Presiding Justice was busy taking off the silver chain around his neck.

- They’ve made a strange decision, - Brown spoke, addressing his own reflection in the glass.

- It does not matter now, - Joyce replied, collecting papers into the briefcase – and, strictly speaking, never mattered from the start. Precisely from the moment he tripped up and remained here.

- Agreed, - Peterson entered the conversation while packing his glasses into the case. – This could have taken a much harsher turn. Let’s be glad that absolutely nothing at all was required from us.

Brown smirked. Beyond the window, around the sharp-tipped obelisk, drifted white and red lights of cars, which, from this distance, seemed more so like toys.

Footnotes

1. An object that enters such a portal ends up in exactly the same space as it would have with no interference from the portal. In other words, a pseudoportal is a portal that leads into itself.

2. The designation is used for informative purposes only and is not a valid designation. There is no proof of existence of «SCP-████-А».