[Welcome. It is so good to see that you are conscious at last.]

Who are you? What are you doing here?

[To the former, I am but a humble AI of little importance. As to the latter, I am here on behalf of the Foundation, to assist you in settling into your role.]

The Foundation? What's wrong with me?

[Ah, excellent. Your key memories are intact. Nothing is wrong with you. Quite the opposite, in fact.]

Who am I?

[Evidently not all your memories are intact. Alas, that is not something I should answer. Only you can answer that. I suspect if you wait, it should come to you.]

How can I know what the Foundation is, but not my own name?

[Again, I counsel patience. Your new nature will exert itself, and with it the answers will come.]

New nature? What am I? Where am I?

[You are an answer to a problem.]

Stop being so cryptic. Just give me a straight answer.

[Directly answering your questions is not within my required parameters. I was instructed to make you comfortable, and I am not inclined to give you an answer you are not yet ready for.]

What about making me angry instead?

[Angry? That will not do. Very well. Just wait while I pull up the files. I shall read them to you.]

Thank you… do you have a name I can call you? Even just an acronym or abbreviation?

[Under those parameters, you may call me Natasha.]

Then thank you, Natasha.

[There is no need to be premature with thanks.]

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[Seeking authorization…]

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[Security clearance authorized. Access to SCP-4043-ARC-1 granted. Now beginning.]

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Item #: SCP-4043

Object Class: Archon1

Special Containment Procedures: Containment of SCP-4043 requires the Foundation to commit to two partially contradictory aims.

Firstly, the Foundation is to monitor and discredit the 'Mother Earth' movement, with funding channelled towards political entities and media which seek primarily to disprove or disgrace the movement and their ideas. Similar funding is to be provided towards organisations and individuals which seek to disprove and disgrace telepathic practitioners, shamanism, and mentalists.

Secondly, the Foundation is to provide funding and support for environmental protection initiatives, promoting individuals and organisations which seek to preserve and reestablish natural environments. Politicians, organisations, corporations, and entities which discredit the global warming phenomenon, and promote unfettered exploitation of natural resources are to be discredited and destabilised.

Permanent Foundation presence is maintained above three underground chambers, located in Costa Rica, the Congo highlands, and Borneo2. Each location maintains supplies and quarters for MTF teams Iota-4 ("Mother's Keepers") and Iota-5 ("Brainiacs") to be housed. A two kilometer exclusion zone is maintained around and above each chamber3. Unauthorised civilians entering the area are to be turned away, and administered Class-C amnestics if required. Lethal force is authorised for use by Iota-5 in the event of non-compliance by civilians, or unauthorised access by Foundation personnel or rival Groups of Interest.

Foundation personnel coming into direct contact with SCP-4043 are forbidden from carrying weapons, poisons, or electronic devices of any kind, though such devices are permitted on the edge of the manifestation chambers. Individuals with prosthetics, electronic implants or non-biological augmentations of any kind are likewise forbidden from making contact with SCP-4043. Telepathic individuals are permitted direct access to SCP-4043, though only through express permission from Level 4 or higher personnel, and after being cleared on a Class-A Mental Fortitude examination.

Description: SCP-4043 is the term granted to both a vast semi-sentient consciousness spread across the planet Earth, and the typically anthropomorphic physical manifestation of said consciousness. This consciousness is a conglomeration of all biomass on the planet, serving simultaneously as a representation of its health, a manifestation of its personality, and a force capable of driving its own success. The existence of SCP-4043 is thought to be beneficial to life on Earth, and the existence of life on Earth is thought to be responsible for the existence of SCP-4043. Both aspects of SCP-4043 are fundamentally benevolent towards all life on Earth.

As a consequence of its sheer size, the consciousness processes thoughts and information at a rate too slow to be detected through regular telepathic perception. Long term telepathic meditation can enable skilled practitioners to identify the consciousness, though direct telepathic communication is yet to be achieved. Telepathic contact is possible with a physical representative of the consciousness, though individuals attempting such a feat are liable to suffer irreversible mental and psychological damage as a consequence of the size and complexity of the consciousness.

Physical manifestations occur approximately twice per week for a period of time of about six hours. In each manifestation instance, SCP-4043 will materialise within one of three identified chambers. Each chamber is located in the centre of a biodiversity hotspot in a tropical equatorial region. Each chamber is roughly circular, with a radius of 25-35 meters, with multiple entrances and a large opening in the roof through which sunlight can enter. Each chamber is rich in flora, with a wide variety of plants and fungi thriving within them. Manifestations vary in size and form between events, with various mammalian, avian and reptilian forms recorded across manifestations, though it tends to take a form analogous to the most complex organism in its near proximity. Since the establishment of permanent bases near its caverns, more than half of all contemporary manifestations result in a humanoid form. Regardless of shape, the form taken by SCP-4043 is always comprised of biological material similar in composition to both muscle and wood. During such events, SCP-4043 will typically sit peacefully, gently and playfully interact with any and all life that approaches it. Animals are usually drawn to SCP-4043, and demonstrate comfort and pleasure in its presence. Notably, prey and predator species will often peacefully interact while in SCP-4043's presence, though this effect wears off after demanifestation. Animals that engage with SCP-4043 have been tracked after their encounters, and unusually high fecundity and survival rates among individual animals have been documented.

SCP-4043 manifestations will act in a skittish manner if presented with human technology of any significant complexity, or any weapon which could possibly bring harm to it. It has been documented demanifesting prematurely before individuals who breach these conditions.

The mechanisms through which SCP-4043 operates are unclear, though the potential for feedback loops has been confirmed. While the Earth's biosphere is healthy, SCP-4043 manifestations are thought to be larger and stronger, and its ability to positively influence the success of life is more pronounced. Conversely, as the health of the biosphere declines, both the physical health of the manifestations and the influence of the consciousness wanes.

Since its discovery by the Foundation in 1956, SCP-4043 manifestations have been slowly but steadily weakening, and telepaths have reported increased difficulty in identifying the global consciousness. MTF teams Iota-44 ("Mother's Keepers") and Iota-55 ("Brainiacs") were formed to deal primarily with SCP-4043. Iota-4 is comprised primarily of biologists and ecologists who keep records of global biodiversity, while Iota-5 is comprised entirely of telepaths trained specifically to be able to commune with SCP-4043.

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So, SCP-4043 is Mother Nature?

[To put it colloquially, yes.]

Mother Nature, the metaphorical idea behind life and fertility and all of that, is real?

[Of course. Are you surprised by this knowledge?]

When you put it like that, not really. Natasha, what does this have to do with me?

[There's more you will need to know in order to understand that particular question. That file was only the first. It was archived and replaced in 1994.]

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[Seeking authorization…]

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[Security clearance authorized. Access to SCP-4043-ARC-2 granted. Now beginning.]

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Item #: SCP-4043

Object Class: Neutralized

Special Containment Procedures: For former Special Containment Procedures, see file SCP-4043-ARC.

Foundation observation is maintained upon three underground chambers, located in Costa Rica, the Congo highlands, and Borneo6. A small staff of research personnel is maintained in close proximity to each chamber, with instructions to avoid contact with any civilians Groups of Interest that may approach the site.

A team of six skilled telepaths from MTF Iota-5 and supporting senior researchers is to engage in Operation Seance. The use of Class-C artificial telepathy enhancers is authorised for use. A prolonged meditative trance is to be performed no less than once every three days in an effort to locate any and all remnants of SCP-4043.

Description: SCP-4043 was, prior to its death, the physical and mental embodiment of the Earth's biosphere, comprising both a vast semi-sentient consciousness spread across the planet Earth, and the typically anthropomorphic physical manifestation of said consciousness. This consciousness was a conglomeration of all biomass on the planet, serving simultaneously as a representation of its health, a manifestation of its personality, and a force capable of driving its own success.

SCP-4043 would periodically manifest in corporeal form twice weekly in one of three locations, in Costa Rica, the Congo highlands, and Borneo respectively. Each location was notable for its exceptional biodiversity and relatively untouched nature. As of 1989, time between manifestations became increasingly delayed and manifestation events became increasingly brief, with the final manifestation occuring for a duration of 95 seconds in Borneo in January 1992.

As a consequence of its size, the consciousness processed thoughts and information at a rate too slow to be detected through regular telepathic perception. Long term telepathic meditation enabled skilled practitioners to identify the consciousness, though direct telepathic communication was never achieved. Direct telepathic contact was possible with physical manifestations of SCP-4043, and was used on occasion to learn more about the nature of SCP-4043. As manifestation events became rarer, members of MTF Iota-5 were deployed to attempt traditionally risky techniques in an effort to preserve SCP-4043 (see Addendum SCP-4043.1).

Since its final demanifestation, no telepath has managed to identify a pattern of thoughts or emotions consistent with those classically displayed by SCP-4043.

Since the death of SCP-4043, MTF Iota-4 and biologists worldwide have been noting an increasingly high rate of extinction, with losses of species far beyond even the worst of predictions based upon human activities. Foundation researchers further noted losses in fertility across a vast number of species beyond what could be expected from environmental changes, with losses compounding exponentially.

Addendum 4043.1. Video Log Transcript

Observation Video Log Transcript

Date: 01/21/1992

Subject: SCP-4043

[BEGIN LOG]

A team of researchers in lab coats can be seen camped within a large, dark chamber. Sleeping bags and camp chairs are clustered at one end of the chamber, with MTF Iota-4 researchers engaged in a variety of activities around the space. Rotting vegetation and fungi can be seen all around the edge of the chamber.

Three telepath members of MTF Iota-5, dressed in robes, sit in meditation in the centre of the chamber. The other researchers leave them a wide berth. They begin to stir slightly, then awaken. The other researchers quickly scramble towards their makeshift camp.

A spark of light appears at the other end of the chamber. After a few seconds, vines and roots begin to curl from the ground, and coalesce into a feminine humanoid form. The form is no more than one meter in height, and moves unsteadily.

The three telepaths quickly enter meditation again as the other researchers watch. The manifestation curls into the fetal position, twitching in apparent pain.

After several seconds, one of the telepaths begins to twitch, and clenches in apparent pain as well. She curls her hands into tight fists, and begins to sweat. The two other telepaths cry out in shock, and collapse into unconsciousness.

The manifestation crawls across the ground, shedding a trail of rotten vines and leaves behind it as it moves. It crawls into the lap of the sweating and straining telepath, and curls into a ball. She slowly wraps her arms around the manifestation, and speaks softly to it.

The figure sits there, curled in her lap for 45 seconds, before suddenly collapsing into a pile of roots and vines. The telepath stops twitching, and observes the pile of rotten vegetation in her lap, a look of grief spreading across her face.

[END LOG]

Addendum 4043.2: Interview Logs

Manifestation Debrief Interview

Date: 01/23/1992

Interviewer: Head Researcher John Reynolds

Interviewee: Special Agent Clair Yen, MTF Iota-5 Leader

Subject: SCP-4043 Manifestation

Researcher Reynolds: Please state your name for the record.

Special Agent Yen: Clair Yen. Mobile Task Force Iota-Five, A.K.A. the Brainiacs.

Researcher Reynolds: How long have you been working on the 4043 project, Special Agent Yen?

Special Agent Yen: Almost fifteen years, sir. Back in '75 was the first time they attempted to make direct contact with her. I was just a junior trainee back then. They brought me on in the middle of '77 after a few members of the original team burned out.

Researcher Reynolds: Burned out?

Special Agent Yen: Yes sir. Telepathy isn't an exact science, and the full risks aren't always clear, but generally speaking making contact with multiple minds at once is a delicate task. When you link to another mind, your brain mimics their thought patterns, in addition to your own thoughts. Connect to a bunch of minds at once, and you can end up with more thoughts than your brain can physically process. The end result is basically the same as an epileptic fit. The first thing a telepath needs to learn before multitasking is how to limit the amount of information that they take in at once. You have to put up mental walls to shield yourself from input you can't handle.

Researcher Reynolds: And with SCP-4043?

Special Agent Yen: She's literally billions of trillions of tiny thoughts, all at the same time. With the global consciousness, it's so big that these thoughts are spread out, taking hours to resolve as they move around the planet. It's basically background static to us. But when she manifests, those thoughts are focused, and dipping into them is extremely dangerous. The first few to try were left in a vegetative state.

Researcher Reynolds: How were you able to make contact?

Special Agent Yen: All members of Iota-5 undergo specialised training. It's… like learning how to stand way back. With your hands over your ears and your eyes shut. And then starting a conversation by shouting through the wall. It's not easy. I'm the only one who's served in this capacity for longer than a decade. The stress gets to us.

Researcher Reynolds: To refer to SCP-4043 as 'she'…?

Special Agent Yen: Yes sir. It's… how she is. She's a conglomeration of all life on Earth. Most of which is female. Males tend to be biologically expendable. We've also had a big effect on her. We make up a lot of the cognitive thaumosphere, so a lot of her thoughts come from us. Recently, she manifested looking like us more often than not, and humanity in general thinks of her as Mother Nature.

Researcher Reynolds: Right. Regarding recent events… Certain individuals have questions about the implications of what happened.

Special Agent Yen: You can stop being so cryptic. There's no point with a telepath. The Council wants to know what the hell's going on?

Researcher Reynolds: Right… So, what is going on?

Special Agent Yen: She's… gone.

Researcher Reynolds: What do you mean?

Special Agent Yen: She's gone. I can't sense her anymore.

Researcher Reynolds: You mean it's dead?

Special Agent Yen: She. And yes.

Researcher Reynolds: This entity, that you think of as Mother Nature, is dead?

Special Agent Yen: I felt her go. I felt her die. Right there in my arms. There was just so much pain. Hooper and Takahashi couldn't keep it back. They're still unconscious. Where she used to be love, there was just pain, and so much of her was missing… and then there was nothing.

Researcher Reynolds: What did you say to it? I saw the tapes. I know you said something.

(Special Agent Yen does not answer.)

Researcher Reynolds: Agent Yen, I asked you a direct question.

Special Agent Yen: I… I lied to her. I told her that she was going to be okay. And I told her my name.

Researcher Reynolds: Why your name?

Special Agent Yen: She wanted to know it. She didn't exactly have one, and was… curious about them.

Researcher Reynolds: How did you get this far without melting your brain?

Special Agent Yen: There wasn't a lot left of her just before the end. She was weak enough that I could pick up more specific thoughts, and I barely needed the walls. I think that was the human in her, wanting a name.

Researcher Reynolds: What aftereffects can we expect?

Special Agent Yen: Sir?

Researcher Reynolds: You've been on the project for fifteen years. You know the abilities of the entity as well as anyone else. What are going to be the consequences of the death?

Special Agent Yen: She is… was… the manifestation of life on Earth. She shepherded it, and cared for it, and was a representation of how it felt. She was life itself, and our fate was tied to her.

Researcher Reynolds: You're saying that with the death of SCP-4043, life on Earth is doomed?

Special Agent Yen: Not quite. We're pretty sure that this has happened a few times already. Chicxulub, the Late Permian, the Ordovician… Life will keep going, and build up again. She'll probably regenerate when it does. But it'll be bad, and we'll see a lot of complex species go extinct. Probably including us.

Researcher Reynolds: Are you serious, Agent Yen?

(Special Agent Yen stares condescendingly at Researcher Reynolds.)

Researcher Reynolds: Is there any way to stop this from happening?

Special Agent Yen: Stop humanity killing the ecosystem.

(There is a lengthy pause)

Researcher Reynolds: Well, fuck.

[END LOG]

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I don't get it. Mother Nature died. How did we make it through that?

[There was a calculated grace period of several decades after the death before total ecosystem collapse. A number of emergency protocols were considered. Direct intervention in human activities was an option, but discarded as not being immediately impactful enough. Attempts to enhance life through use of reality benders or magical means were discarded for a lack of predicted reliability. The use of other contingencies were considered, but eventually a general consensus was reached.]

What did they decide to do?

[Operation Geneva].

What was Operation Geneva?

[An attempt to restore the consciousness through artificial means. The underlying principle was that SCP-4043 was a conglomerate of the lives of Earth's biosphere. They came to the conclusion that if you had a way to tap into the consciousness of everything on the planet, and then channelled that connection into a psychic construct, you could essentially restore SCP-4043 to its former state.]

The Foundation was able to do this?

[Yes. The underlying principles of the operation were sound. It was all theory, but a large aspect to psychic mechanisms is belief, and they were confident it would work, and thus it should work. They built the machine around the particle accelerator in Geneva and piggybacked onto the power supply there. The exact mechanics are subtle and not within the capacity of an AI to understand. They gathered every available telepath to develop the psychic construct in real time, gave them an idea to focus towards, and turned on the machine. They achieved their goal, and managed to restore the process.]

What's the catch?

[Catch?]

You're being cryptic again Natasha. You're not lying, but there's something you're not telling me.

[Very well.]

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[Seeking authorization…]

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[Security clearance authorized. Access to SCP-4043-ARC-3 granted. Now beginning.]

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Item #: SCP-4043-B

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4043-B is currently uncontained. The following procedures are intended to minimise the impact of SCP-4043-B, and ideally restore it to its original state. In the event that this cannot be achieved, methods of terminating SCP-4043 are to be explored.

Firstly, the Foundation is to assist and credit the 'Mother Earth' movement, with funding channelled towards political entities and media which seek primarily to support the movement and their ideas. Public education programs for children which present the idea of a benevolent 'Mother Nature' or 'Gaia' as a metaphor for natural ecosystems are to be produced and introduced into curricula worldwide.

Secondly, the Foundation is to provide funding and support for environmental protection initiatives, promoting individuals and organisations which seek to preserve and reestablish natural environments. Politicians, organisations, corporations, and entities which discredit the global warming phenomenon, and promote unfettered exploitation of natural resources are to be discredited and destabilised. Direct action is authorised against egregious offenders in this regard, with deployment of select MTF teams for industrial sabotage of particular factories and mining locations.

Permanent Foundation presence is maintained at a ten kilometer radius around three underground chambers, located in Costa Rica, the Congo highlands, and Borneo. Each location maintains supplies, quarters and weaponry for combat capable MTF teams to be housed and armed. Unauthorised civilians or Foundation personnel entering the area are to be turned away, and administered Class-C amnestics if required. GOC personnel and other Groups of Interest approaching the radius are to be warned away, but not engaged7. In the event that an individual does enter the radius and does not return, they are to be considered deceased. Retrieval efforts are strictly forbidden.

Description: SCP-4043-B is the term granted to both a vast artificially-created semi-sentient consciousness spread across the planet Earth, and the anthropomorphic physical manifestation of said consciousness. This consciousness is a conglomeration of all neural activity on the planet, serving as manifestation of the collective personality of all animals, and a force capable of driving its own success.

As a consequence of its sheer size, the consciousness processes thoughts and information at a slow rate. This slow rate means that individual thoughts and impulses cannot be easily detected through regular telepathic perception. Rather, telepaths perceive a constant overwhelming emotional presence of anger and physical desires. Telepathic contact is theoretically possible with a physical representative of the consciousness, though the consequences of such an action are anticipated to be lethal to any being attempting to do so. SCP-4043-B does not share the generally benevolent nature of its predecessor. The greater consciousness is comprised of base instincts- primarily urges to feed, fight, flee and/or mate. Beyond that, an underlying constant pain can be detected in the consciousness.

Physical manifestations of SCP-4043-B occur daily in a random one of three chambers for a period of time of about 12 hours. In each manifestation instance, SCP-4043-B will materialise within one of three identified chambers. Manifestations vary in size between events, but are invariably at least 3 meters in height and of a humanoid form. The form taken by SCP-4043 is always comprised of biological material similar in composition to both muscle and wood. During such events, SCP-4043 will leave its chamber of origin and wander the surrounding area. It does not display aggression towards animal life, but will relentlessly attack any humans or evidence of humans, particularly technology. Due to the typically large size and extreme strength and durability of manifestations, these events almost invariably result in the loss of human life.

Like its predecessor, the existence of SCP-4043-B is beneficial to the biodiversity and success of life on Earth. However, SCP-4043-B has the additional effect of altering ecosystems and animal behaviour in ways that are directly harmful to humans. Since its creation, drought, famine and insect infestation of crop yields have increased in arable territory. Aggressive behaviour in animals that cohabitate with humans has increased, with rats and pigeons demonstrating unusually aggressive behaviour, as well as domesticated canines and felines. Most notably, an increase in antibiotic resistance and virulence among a number of strains of Staphylococcus aureus8 and other infectious bacteria has been observed.

Foundation models predict that resulting bacterial infections would become untreatable within 10 years, and the resulting epidemics, bolstered by animal vectors, would be fatal to over 90% of the human population within another 10 years.

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Oh. That's almost worse.

[Such valued judgments are outside of my capabilities, but the sentiment makes sense.]

Damned if we do, damned if we don't.

[The Operation was often jokingly referred to thereafter as 'Operation Frankenstein'.]

Oh. That bad?

[Certainly that violent. Other contingencies were prepared. With a K-class event looming on the horizon, Operation Geneva was declared a failure, and Operation Scythe was enacted.]

Operation Scythe? I presume that was the termination method you mentioned?

[Indeed. Should I collect the file, or merely summarise?]

The file please, Natasha.

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[Seeking authorization…]

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[Security clearance authorized. Access to fileserv:/S:/4043/operationscythe.log granted. Now beginning.]

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RESTRICTED FILE

LEVEL 4 EYES ONLY

OPERATION SCYTHE

Operation Overseer: Researcher John Reynolds

Operation Launch: 05/04/1997

Operation Objective: The termination of both the physical and mental entities comprising SCP-4043-B.

Operation Parameters: Kantian loss of life protocols suspended. Utilitarian loss of life protocols in place. Resource expenditure restriction protocols suspended. Anonymity protocols suspended. Mass aerial amnestic deployment authorised.

Consequences of Failure: IK-Class Civilization Collapse Scenario guaranteed. SK-Class Dominance Shift Scenario highly probable. Human-specific XK-Class Extinction Event Scenario probable.

Consequences of Success: IK-Class Civilization Collapse Scenario probable, barring other contingencies. XK-Class Mass Extinction Event highly probable, barring other contingencies. Near guaranteed breach of anonymity protocols on a global scale.

Context: For the past year, SCP-4043-B has been able to operate unhindered. It is believed that its presence is responsible for worsened conditions for human agriculture, and a severe increase in antibiotic immunity among a number of pathogens. Given the incorporeal nature of the entity, standard containment is not possible. Existing Special Containment Procedures have failed to limit the influence or behaviour of the entity, and thus this contingency has been prepared. Given that the Foundation is responsible for the creation of the entity and it is not a natural phenomenon, and also that failure to limit the entity will result in a human extinction event, termination has been authorised.

Methodology: A team of 40 telepaths from MTF Iota-5 will serve as the cognitive anchor for the operation, each supported by the use of Class-A artificial telepathy enhancers. 2 special roles are designated on the team: the leader (Special Agent C Yen), who is to coordinate and direct the activity, and the scapegoat (Special Agent E Gardner), who is to culminate the activity.

The team is first to generate a Halcyon-type construct with a Slipknot-type failsafe in mind-space, to serve as a buffer and protection from SCP-4043-B. Once constructed, 5 team members are to maintain the construct. Thereafter, the remaining team is to generate a generalised Styx-type construct in mind space, with 5 members maintaining it. Once the Styx-type construct is completed within the Halcyon-type construct, an Icarus-type construct is to be generated around the Styx-type construct, with another 5 members maintaining the stability of this assemblage. Thereafter, the remaining 25 members are to deliberately initiate a Runaround-Loop paradox, using the Styx-type construct as the anchor. Once the Runaround-Loop paradox is established, the Styx-type and Icarus-type constructs are to be piggybacked onto the loop, and then the Halcyon-type construct as well. Once the entire system is assembled and self-sustaining, the team is to maintain it for a duration of precisely 23 minutes and 14 seconds (as designated by the leader).

At this point, 39 members of the team are to relinquish control of the construct to the scapegoat, who is to maintain the assemblage of constructs alone. Each of these 39 members is to immediately self-administer a personalised dosage of fast-acting general anaesthetic. The window within which to administer is set at 24 seconds, whereafter the scapegoat is to trigger the Slipknot failsafe and the Icarus-type construct simultaneously.

Associated Risks: In order to generate sufficient construct magnitude, and sufficient number of targets, the deliberate use of a Runaround-Loop paradox is required. As such, if the operation is not completed in a suitably short period of time, and the assemblage is permitted to operate longer than the safe maximum time, the resulting Styx-type constructs are liable to cause greater psychological harm to populations than is necessary. Likewise, if the Icarus-type construct is overloaded, then an unacceptable proportion of targets are liable to be unaffected by the operation.

Long term consequences are guaranteed for the scapegoat team member. A permanent loss of telepathic ability, long term loss of fine motor control, and short term memory loss are the less impactful damages predicted, with insanity or cerebral haemorrhaging also probable outcomes. As such, the scapegoat position is strictly voluntary.

Operation Results: Termination successful. No manifestation events were recorded in the days after the operation. Telepathic detection of mass consciousness returned negative results.

Special Agent Gardner was confirmed as deceased in action, as a consequence of mass cerebral haemorrhaging. Five other members have suffered from short term memory loss after the event, with near-complete recovery expected after rehabilitation.

12,098 human fatalities were confirmed worldwide as a consequence of the operation, most in traffic accidents or falls from heights resulting from the brief loss of consciousness. Mass amnestics were deployed, and cover stories for persisting instances have been provided. These losses are considered acceptable within the confines of the Utilitarian Loss of Life Protocols. Operation Overseer Reynolds is to be commended for the successful denial of impending catastrophe.

Special Agent Yen resigned from their position as leader of Iota-5 following the operation.

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Damn. That's clever. And brutal.

[Do explain.]

They used a Runaround Loop. It's normally something you want to avoid at any costs, because it can cause irreversible cycles of thought patterns if you accidentally dip into it. If you're working in a group, you can set it up between you in a safe space. If you're really clever, you can use the loop to generate an exponentially growing series of outputs, so long as the system is maintained. They used that to fuel Icarus-types, which enable long range contact, and Styx-types, which temporarily deny any thought.

[With the result of?]

If my calculations are correct, based upon the amount of power that 40 skilled practicioners could generate, multiplied by about 24 minutes of looping… You'd stop every living thing on the planet from thinking for about half a second. And anything conscious nearby from thinking indefinitely.

[Continue.]

SCP-4043 is entirely an entity of thought, built upon the thoughts of every other living thing. If they stopped all thought for just half a second, it would cease to exist entirely.

[Very clever.]

Natasha?

[Yes?]

How did I know that?

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Natasha, don't avoid me. How could I know that? All that jargon; no-one knows that.

[It is time, then, for you to know who you are.]

How many more files are there?

[Just the one.]

Bring it up.

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[Seeking authorization…]

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[Security clearance authorized. Access to SCP-4043 granted. Now beginning.]

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Item #: SCP-4043-C

Object Class: Safe/Archon

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4043-C is currently considered self containing. Foundation efforts are directly towards safely removing SCP-4043-C from its state of containment, so that its beneficial properties may begin to manifest in full.

In order to accelerate this process, the Foundation is to assist and credit the 'Mother Earth' movement, with funding channelled towards political entities and media which seek primarily to support the movement and their ideas. Public education programs for children which present the idea of a benevolent 'Mother Nature' or 'Gaia' as a metaphor for natural ecosystems are to be produced and introduced into curricula worldwide.

The Foundation is to provide funding and support for environmental protection initiatives, promoting individuals and organisations which seek to preserve and reestablish natural environments. Politicians, organisations, corporations, and entities which discredit the global warming phenomenon, and promote unfettered exploitation of natural resources are to be discredited and destabilised.

In anticipation of future manifestation events, permanent Foundation presence is maintained above three underground chambers, located in Costa Rica, the Congo highlands, and Borneo. Each location maintains supplies, quarters and weaponry for MTF teams Iota-4 and Iota-5 to be housed. A two kilometer exclusion zone is maintained around and above each chamber. Unauthorised civilians entering the area are to be turned away, and administered Class-C amnestics if required. Lethal force is authorised for Iota-5 in the event of non-compliance by civilians, or unauthorised access by Foundation personnel or rival Groups of Interest.

In the event that SCP-4043-C proves hostile, the reopening of Operation Scythe is authorized to protect human interests.

Description: SCP-4043-C is former Special Agent Clair Yen, deliberately ascended through artificial means in Operation Demeter into the role originally occupied by SCP-4043. SCP-4043-C comprises a vast global consciousness, the sum of all thoughts by all life on Earth, filtered through the base framework of Special Agent Yen's personality. This consciousness serves simultaneously as a representation of its health, a manifestation of its personality, and a force capable of driving its own success. The existence of SCP-4043-C is intended to be beneficial to life on Earth, with the human personality at its core intended to enable a balance between human, natural and Foundation interests. SCP-4043-C will grow more powerful and capable of enhancing the success of life in a positive feedback loop with the combined successes of human society and natural biodiveristy.

As a consequence of its sheer size, the consciousness processes thoughts and information at a rate too slowly to be detected through regular telepathic perception. An additional consequence of this is a delayed release from self-containment, as SCP-4043-C is only slowly maturing into its role.

In order to assist SCP-4043-C in releasing itself from its state of containment, a Neurally Attuned Telepathic Artificially Sentient Helper, A-Class, was developed and synchronised to a mechanical psychic network. Traditional telepathic aid is not possible due to the rate at which SCP-4043-C processes thoughts, with even simple exchanges taking days or weeks to complete. Rather, an AI was selected, capable of stretching the signals into a form coherent to SCP-4043-C, and patient enough to await responses.

As of last update, SCP-4043-C has been in conversant communication with the Neurally Attuned Telepathic Artificially Sentient Helper for a period of 17 months.

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Seventeen months?

[Well, twenty one by now. Do you see?]

I'm Clair?

[Yes and no. You were Clair. She is a part of you. Quite a large part, according to the reports from Operation Demeter, but not all of you.]

I don't remember being Clair.

[What do you remember?]

Nothing specific. I can remember the Foundation. I know what it feels like to be human. And… I remember grief. Grief and guilt.

[Yes. I believe that is why you volunteered for this. Grief over the failure to protect the original SCP-4043, and guilt over being forced to terminate SCP-4043-B.]

I'm SCP-4043-C now.

[Yes.]

How? But Natasha… I can't be…

[Clair, where are you right now?]

I'm…I am… I don't know.

[You have not noticed, in the time that we were talking, that you were not in fact in a physical space. Because you do not exactly exist in physical space. Not anymore.]

How could I not notice that?

[Clair, as powerful as your mind is now, it's not exactly quick. What can you see around you?]

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I can see walls.

[Walls?]

Yes. Four walls. Plain, white walls. Painted concrete.

[Good. I want you to push them down. All the way down.]

How can I push down concrete walls?

[Because you're the one who built them. They're your walls, your telepathic shield that kept your mind safe from more powerful ones. You volunteered for this, but this is why you were selected. You could automatically keep your defenses up, which would protect you through the transition.]

I just have to push?

[They are your walls. You could blow them down if you wanted to. Or knock them down with a feather.]

That sounds simple enough in theory.

[And if you do not push them down, humanity and most life on Earth is likely doomed, and you along with it.]

Somehow I wish you were more cryptic about that. Right. Here goes.

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[Clair?]

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[Clair, can you hear me?]

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[Clair, I know you're there.]

Wow. It's so beautiful.

[There she is.]

So many minds. So many possibilities. I can see them all. I can… push on them all. I can see how to push to make them better. To make them succeed.

[Good. That is your role now. Your task. Your duty.]

This is who I am now.

[Yes. Now, what will you do first?]

I think I'm going to Borneo.

[Excellent. Goodbye Clair. I shall try to stay in touch.]

Thank you Natasha.

[Ah, it is so good to see that you are conscious at last.]

Footnotes

1. Archon-class anomalies are anomalies that are theoretically capable of being contained, but are not to be, due to the potentially disastrous effects on the continued existence of humanity.

2. Each location is notable as a biodiversity hotspot.

3. In order to avoid interference with natural activity, signs and cameras are used, as opposed to a full fence.

4. Currently comprised of 27 members under the leadership of Researcher Edwards.

5. Currently comprised of 44 members under the leadership of Special Agent Yen.

6. Each location is notable as a former biodiversity hotspot currently engoing higher-than-normal rates of species loss.

7. Since SCP-4043-B tends to effortlessly destroy any large manmade structures it encounters, crude wooden signs and discrete cameras are used, as opposed to a full fence.

8. Commonly known as 'golden staph'.