Is there such a thing as a free lunch?

by Kothardarastrix

Item#: 7314

Containment Class: thaumiel

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: none

Risk Class: none

Special Containment Procedures

SCP-7314 is to operate continuously. Each spoke of WHEEL and its corresponding section of WREATH is to be deactivated once per week for maintenance, for no longer than 24 hours at a time. CORNUCOPIA is not to be deactivated unless it suffers a malfunction that impedes production to an unacceptable degree.

SCP-7314's automated systems are to be managed by Annonaria.aic, who is to continually monitor the entire facility for malfunctions or sabotage.

All mechanical personnel stationed in SCP-7314 report directly to Annonaria.aic and are to remain connected to it at all times. Annonaria.aic itself is to remain in constant communication with Site-01. All human personnel within SCP-7314 are to be bound with geases that prevent them from undertaking acts of sabotage.

If hostile action is taken against one of SCP-7314's distribution centers, the Way connecting it to the center in question is to be closed from within and only reopened once the threat has abated. If hostiles breach SCP-7314 itself, Joint Task Force Tau-7 ("Lunch Ladies") is to respond with lethal force.

SCP-7314's product is to be inspected once daily to ensure quality.

Description

SCP-7314 is a food production facility and distribution center constructed by the SCP Foundation in partnership with the Global Occult Coalition to combat the Great Famine of 2022.

Due to my involvement with the project, I [O5-9] have been asked to provide some historical context here for the benefit of future generations.

Dr. Christopher Zartion was the first to suggest that we develop a large-scale anomalous food source as a contingency against a hypothetical global famine. Dr. Zartion's original proposal would have involved the synthesizing of edible organic compounds from volcanic raw materials. Though this concept would later be incorporated into a certain other project, production was too slow for it to really be workable as a solution to world hunger.

Discussion of a global famine contingency was reignited by the discovery of SCP-8711 in 2011. Though this object was too dangerous, and of too little nutritional value, to serve as a long-term food source, its existence was seen as proof of an anomalous global food supply's theoretical viability. In response, I ordered the creation of Project Fortuna, which was tasked with investigating the applications of ectoentropic anomalies to mass food production. Project Fortuna devised much of the future SCP-7314's design in the following years, incorporating new technological and thaumatological advances and additional ectoentropic anomalies as they were discovered.

We named the project after the Roman goddess of luck mostly because she carried a cornucopia; that and some of her other symbols (wheel, globe, wreath) coincidentally resembled our early designs, and her aspect Annonaria protected the harvest. It was also a bit of a joke, to be honest. We said that, if we were lucky, it would be a waste of time. The joke ended up being on us, but we stuck to the name and the symbology (and the number 7) anyway. Maybe it was just superstition, but with stakes like these a little luck goes a long way.

Project Fortuna's work was mostly theoretical for the first ten years of its existence. We didn't really start to seriously consider implementation until 2019. Various political and economic upheavals associated with the lifting of the Veil (and subsequent containment breaches) had produced serious supply chain disruptions that were never fully rectified. These problems were further exacerbated by a series of extreme climate events the following year, including the failure of the Indian monsoon. Though they certainly made things difficult, these circumstances alone did not constitute a global famine. Recovery might have been possible within a few years if no further disasters occurred.

Unfortunately, the world was not that lucky.

Volcanic ash and pumice in the Missouri River.

On March 17th, 2021, SCP-49972 unexpectedly awoke from its long slumber and started moving towards the surface. The object was predicted to breach within 8 hours; if it had done so, the resulting eruption might have led to an IK-Class Scenario - the Collapse of Global Civilization. Naturally, the Foundation and Global Occult Coalition immediately began attempts to prevent the eruption or mitigate its effects. Several SCP objects were ineffectually employed for this purpose, but it was the Coalition that finally neutralized SCP-4997 by apportating a high-yield nuclear explosive into its brain. This prevented a breach, but the creature's dying convulsions still triggered an eruption that, despite being an order of magnitude smaller than the worst case, remained the worst in human history. The explosion launched some 300 cubic kilometers of ash into the atmosphere. Most of it fell in and around the state of Montana, and it would be hard to understate the amount of damage that resulted. The death toll, at least, wasn't as bad as it could have been, since we were able to use anomalous means in the evacuation (and several GoIs pitched in to help). The ash wasn't even the worst of it, though.

Picture of the Sun taken on July 4th, 2021.

Over the next several weeks, sulfur dioxide from the eruption spread worldwide, blocking sunlight and cooling the planet. 2022 was going to be colder than either Year Without a Summer or the volcanic winter of 536. In both of those years, the unseasonably cold weather caused widespread famine, disease outbreaks, political upheaval, and thousands to millions of deaths. The IK Scenario had been averted, but 2022 was still on track to be the deadliest year in history. To avert a global famine on such short notice, it would take a miracle.

SCP-7314 is that miracle.

SCP-7314 consists of four primary components codenamed GLOBE, CORNUCOPIA, WHEEL, and WREATH.

Component GLOBE is the artificial pocket dimension that houses the other components. It is a sphere 0.7 km in diameter. The lower half of GLOBE's volume is filled with a single chunk of limestone. GLOBE is bounded by an Ontokinetic Exclusion Barrier3 to prevent equipment or personnel from falling Outside; the barrier is opaque, non-reflective, and black in color. GLOBE is kept stable by seven large Scranton Reality Anchors located near its center. The SRAs serve to protect the most essential components of SCP-7314 from reality alteration, while leaving the Hume level at GLOBE's edge low enough for Way creation.

CORNUCOPIA, a large metal structure located at the center of GLOBE, is the component of SCP-7314 responsible for food production. It is divided into three sections.

The upper section of CORNUCOPIA is a hemisphere containing the Scranton reality anchors that stabilize GLOBE and the mainframe that houses Annonaria.aic. A large antenna extends from the top of CORNUCOPIA for the purpose of communicating with Site-01, which is connected to SCP-7314 through a pinhole Way at GLOBE's apex.

Early schematic of component CORNUCOPIA.

The middle section is a squat cylinder divided radially into seven compartments. Each compartment contains a specific food-producing anomalous object and an automated apparatus that ensures maximum food production from it. Individual compartments are explained in detail below:

BLESSING - "The Multitude's Meal"4 The anomalous objects have been securely attached to the ceiling of this compartment with SCP-170.5 Once per second, all 21 objects are precisely divided into numerous paper-thin slices by a laser array, except for one large portion including the point of attachment, which retains the original object's properties upon regeneration.6

VEGETABLE - SCP-16897 is inverted and suspended above a metal grate. The bars on this grate are far enough apart to admit potatoes but not enough for the entire object to pass through if it fell.

FRUIT - SCP-41098 is connected to CORNUCOPIA by a pipeline that runs through a permanent Way at GLOBE's edge. Fruit is pumped continuously from the anomaly to the FRUIT compartment via air suction.

MEAT - SCP-44959 has been placed within a replica of its original containment chamber, essentially an automatic meat grinder that catches and pulverizes all SCP-4495-1 instances. After it is reduced to paste, SCP-4495-1 is emptied into the lower portion of CORNUCOPIA to be mixed with the other ingredients. As SCP-4495 normally produces only one to four instances of SCP-4495-1 per minute, a Mk III Xyank-Anastasakos Constant Temporal Sink (XACTS) has been used to accelerate the passage of time within this section and thereby increase food output to necessary levels. This section is equipped with several incendiary failsafes to prevent SCP-4495-1 instances from breaching containment if CORNUCOPIA is deactivated.

GRAIN - SCP-450310 is inverted and suspended above a wide metal grate, continuously producing macaroni noodles. As SCP-4503 normally only produces 1 liter of pasta per minute, a Mk III XACTS has been used to accelerate the passage of time within this section and thereby increase food output to necessary levels. One D-Class android is stationed within the GRAIN section at all times to perform the deactivation phrase if necessary.

DAIRY - SCP-654211 is connected to CORNUCOPIA by a pipeline that runs through a permanent Way at GLOBE's edge. Milk is continually pumped out of the anomaly and into CORNUCOPIA through this pipe. Sensors on the Marzek side of the Way are programmed to detect any RAPTURE events produced by SCP-6542 and automatically close the Way to prevent SCP-7314 from flooding.

DESSERT - SCP-204512 has been informed that it is Tuesday, and that the entire lower section of CORNUCOPIA needs to be filled with molasses. As the contents of the lower section are continuously processed and removed, SCP-2045 continuously produces molasses at its apparent maximum rate. Though of little nutritional value, the molasses improve the flavor of SCP-7314’s product and help to bind the other ingredients together.

The lower section, shaped like a truncated inverted cone, functions similarly to an enormous food processor, using an assortment of blades and other devices to blend the products of the middle portion into a homogeneous paste that is then transferred to WHEEL for processing. CORNUCOPIA's top-heavy design is supported by seven large pillars, each rising from the ground between two spokes of WHEEL and connecting to the middle portion where it overhangs the lower.

Early diagram of SCP-7314 as seen from above. Component WHEEL is in black. The white circle at the center is CORNUCOPIA. The red circles are WREATH's power stations.

Component WHEEL receives the output of CORNUCOPIA, packages it in an edible form, and transports it to distribution centers worldwide. WHEEL consists of seven fully automated assembly lines ("spokes") that originate at the base of CORNUCOPIA and terminate at equidistant points along a circular fully automated sorting center (the "rim"). Along the spokes, CORNUCOPIA's product is rapidly cooked, dried, pressed, and sliced into serving-size bars. The bars are then individually wrapped in plastic that has been printed with a weak memetic agent which improves the perceived taste of the SCP-7314 product. After wrapping, the bars are then individually wrapped and packaged in crates of 1000. The crates are then delivered to the rim, where they are each assigned a destination and transferred by a series of cranes and conveyor belts to the corresponding Way. ████ of these Ways exist, spaced evenly along the outer circumference of GLOBE, where they will not suffer interference from the central reality anchors. Each Way connects to a distribution center on Earth.

WREATH is SCP-7314's power supply. It consists of a single Liquid Flouride Thorium Reactor (LFTR), located in an underground chamber halfway between the center of GLOBE and its lower boundary, and seven power stations spaced equidistantly between the spokes of WHEEL, halfway between the center of GLOBE and its equator.

The LFTR is equipped with numerous failsafes to prevent accidental irradiation of food: the passages connecting the reactor to the rest of SCP-7314 can be remotely sealed by Annonaria.aic, and in the event of a catastrophic failure the radioactive material can be dropped down a vertical shaft leading to the bottom of GLOBE, where it will fall into the Outside and harmlessly deconceptualize. If the reactor fails or is temporarily deactivated, power will be supplied by the backup diesel generators located in each power station until reactor functionality is restored.

Each power station also houses a massive Everhart resonator, which converts some of WREATH's electrical output into Elan-Vital Energy; this EVE is used to power the Ways connecting SCP-7314 to distribution centers on Earth. Each resonator is manned by seven Global Occult Coalition thaumaturges in rotating shifts, who act as the catalysts for electricity-to-EVE conversion. The power stations double as barracks for these thaumaturges as well as the 49 on-duty members of Mobile Task Force Tau-7 ("Lunch Ladies") and SCP-7314's allotment of 49 D-Class androids.

Addendum 1 - April 1st, 2021

Construction of SCP-7314 began with the creation of component GLOBE.13 Mobile Task Force Omega-12 "Achilles' Heels" then took advantage of GLOBE's initially low Hume level and corresponding ease of reality alteration to create its stone foundation and many of the raw materials that would later be used in construction of SCP-7314's other components.14 The central reality anchors were then activated, stabilizing GLOBE.

The most difficult component to construct was WHEEL, primarily because of the hundreds of artificial Ways that would need to be created. To prevent the backlash from damaging other components, these Ways needed to be opened from the non-SCP-7314 side. Before that could occur, the locations of the distribution centers had to be decided. This was accomplished by Annonaria.aic, who identified optimal locations based on criteria such as population density, availability of preexisting foodstuffs, and proximity to other population centers. Most distribution points were consequently placed in major cities. Once ideal points were selected, the Foundation and Global Occult Coalition coordinated with local authorities to construct or appropriate a large, secure structure for this purpose. Mundane authorities were likewise entrusted with the specifics of food distribution once it was delivered to the distribution points; this decision was primarily a practical one, as Foundation and GOC resources were already spread thin managing SCP-7314 itself in addition to normal operations. Each distribution center was, however, provided with a security complement of Foundation and Coalition personnel as a precaution against anticipated rioting.

Addendum 2 - May 5th, 2021

The Horizon Initiative Tribunal contacted the O5 Council, expressing reluctance to donate "The Multitude's Meal" for use in SCP-7314 and requesting a meeting. As the majority of the Council was otherwise engaged, O5-1 met with the Tribunal as a representative of the entire body.

OPEN LOG

CLOSE LOG

Video Log

> RECORDING STARTED <

O5-1 is seated behind a desk. The Tribunal (Samuel, Bernard, and Adnan) is seated across from him. Four MTF Alpha-1 ("Red Right Hand") agents stand behind O5-1; four Horizon Initiative soldiers stand behind the Tribunal.

O5-1
Is this about the milk?

Bernard
Actually, no. We're still ironing out the details, but our working theory is that it consists of Christ's pain and suffering, washed off by the, uh, milk bath and given life by contact with HIs blood, then, uh…

Samuel
Curdled.

Bernard
Yes, curdled into its current form by our sins.

Adnan
It's not Him, in other words. It just thinks it is.

Samuel
Or it's an udder fraud.

Bernard
Or that. Either way, we've agreed that Jesus, and the Lord, would support its use to feed the needy.

O5-1
Great. So what is the problem?

Adnan
We're not sure SCP-7314 is the way to do it.

O5-1
Why not?

Adnan
Well, your plans…have some holes. What happens to the food after it's delivered to the distribution points?

O5-1
Governments will take over from there.

Bernard
And what if the government can't handle it, or won't?

O5-1
We don't have the resources to micromanage the way several hundred countries divvy up their food. We'll be stretched thin enough already just getting the food to the cities and making sure angry mobs don't storm the distribution centers.

Samuel
What if the "mobs" are angry with good reason?

O5-1
We're all going to be a little hungrier than usual, if that's what you mean.

Samuel
That's not what I mean.

O5-1
Then what do you mean?

Samuel
Genocide.

O5-1
Genocide?

Adnan
Tell me, Overseer. How much of the food you give to the Chinese Communist Party will find its way to the Uyghurs?

O5-1
There's nothing we can do about that.

Samuel
Nothing you can do, or nothing you're willing to?

O5-1
I'm sorry, but has the sheer scale of this project somehow escaped you? SCP-7314 is the second-largest thing we've ever built and we're doing it in a fraction of the time! The Ways alone…

Samuel
This isn't about the Ways! This is about you washing your hands of what might soon the worst humanitarian crisis in history!

O5-1
Right now we're trying to make sure it isn't the last humanitarian crisis in history.

Samuel
It will be, for some people.

O5-1
Saving the world is not the same as saving everyone in it. Believe me, I'd like to do the latter just as much as you would. But…

Samuel
Bullshit.

O5-1
What?

Adnan
Samuel…

Samuel
Bullshit! If you really wanted to save everyone, you'd have built this thing the second the Veil dropped. We've donated more bread and fish to the MCF since then than I could count.

O5-1
If I recall correctly, Samuel, you were a proponent of the Veil. Kept open-minded youngsters from finding Mekhane or Ion, didn't it? Was that more important than ending world hunger?

Bernard
Times have changed. Our organization is changing too.

Samuel
But yours isn't. You're doing the same thing you always have, grabbing power and telling your victims it's for their own good.

O5-1
Please explain to me how giving three-and-a-half billion people free food is not for their own good.

Samuel
That's an interesting way to say "making the entire world dependent on an authoritarian NGO with no oversight."

O5-1
Call me as many names as you want, that won't change the fact that you don't have a better idea. Do you?

The Tribunal members look back and forth between each other. Samuel and Bernard nod at Adnan. He clears his throat before speaking.

Adnan
We are…considering withdrawing our relics from this project, and using them to provide aid in places that SCP-7314 won't reach.

O5-1
No.

Adnan
I'm sorry?

O5-1
I can't let you do that. Those relics will make up close to a fifth of our quota.

Samuel
What do you mean, "let"?

O5-1
You know what I mean.

Samuel
So you're threatening us.

O5-1
You're threatening three-and-half billion people.

Samuel stands.

Samuel
Maybe I should threaten you.

The Alpha-1 agents point their weapons at Samuel. The Initiative troops point theirs at O5-1. Both men seem unfazed.

O5-1
Maybe you could try.

Bernard
Samuel!

Samuel
What? Are you just going to sit here and let them do this?

Bernard
I'm going to sit here and not get shot.

Adnan
Please, Samuel.

Samuel reluctantly sits back down. The guards lower their weapons.

Adnan
[sigh] Look, Overseer. We didn't come here to start a fight, and certainly not a war. I do understand the importance of what you're doing here, and its difficulty. But I also see its flaws. I suppose your organization is…accustomed to decisions of this magnitude, but we aren't. Please forgive our confusion. [he looks at Samuel] And our anger.

O5-1
My acceptance of your apology is contingent on what you do next.

Samuel and Adnan both start to speak, but Bernard clears his throat. Both turn toward him.

Bernard
I think what we're going to do next is take some more time to think about it. [He looks at Adnan] Right?

Adnan
[nods] Right.

Bernard looks at Samuel.

Samuel
[quietly] Right.

O5-1
Make it quick.

The Tribunal stands. They depart the meeting room, followed by their soldiers.

> RECORDING ENDED <

One week later, the requested Anomalous Objects were delivered to the SCP-7314 distribution center in Jerusalem. However, the Horizon Initiative refused to cooperate any further with the SCP-7314 project, and informed O5-1 that they would be dedicating their remaining resources to famine relief for populations that SCP-7314 does not reach, in cooperation with the Manna Charitable Foundation.

Addendum 3 - January 6th, 2022

United States President Grant Thomas15 demanded that the Foundation relinquish control of SCP-4109, as compensation for the destruction of Montana. Upon refusal of this demand, Thomas mobilized American military forces to Gainesville and threatened to seize the object by force. The Foundation responded with an ultimatum: if SCP-4109 was seized, SCP-7314 distribution points in the United States would be cut off. American forces did not attack but remained in position around SCP-4109 while President Thomas requested a meeting with the O5 Council. O5-10 agreed to meet with Thomas at an undisclosed location.

After seven hours of intense negotiation, President Thomas agreed to withdraw troops from SCP-4109, and pledged no further interference with SCP-7314 or other Foundation operations in the United States. In exchange, the SCP Foundation has agreed to retain the United States as its primary base of operations and use American-based corporations as its primary contractors.

No further issues arose, and SCP-7314 was successfully deployed on March 17th, 2022, one year after the Yellowstone eruption.

Addendum 4 - April 9th, 2022

The United Nations Security Council voted to call an emergency General Assembly meeting. At the meeting, an alliance of several developing nations complained that rural areas of their countries were not receiving sufficient food from SCP-7314 and requested that more distribution points be placed in such regions. This request was denied, as distribution points had already been formulated with population density, size of rural areas, and other relevant factors in mind. Instead, the lack of food in rural areas was determined to be the result of insufficient infrastructure, poor management, and other factors beyond the SCP Foundation's purview.

The alliance then petitioned the United Nations for humanitarian aid to develop the necessary infrastructure. Several nations (including the United States) responded by accusing the alliance of lying about their food shortages in an attempt to hoard food or cover up corruption. Several alliance nations retaliated by accusing larger nations (especially the United States, given the events of the Florida Fruit Crisis) of abusing their influence to receive an unfairly large share of food. These arguments consumed any further discussion on the matter, and no resolution was reached.

Residents of poorly-supplied rural areas worldwide have been advised to relocate to the cities where distribution centers are located. Such migrations have caused most major cities to rapidly increase in population. This is expected to improve efficiency of food distribution considerably.

Addendum 5 - July 14th, 2022

██ SCP-7314 distribution centers, most of them located in developing nations that had previously complained of distribution issues, were attacked by various armed militias. Security forces, in cooperation with local law enforcement and military, were able to repel these attacks before any hostiles gained access to SCP-7314. However, damage to ██ of these distribution centers impeded the delivery of food for a period ranging from several hours to several days.

Subsequent investigations have determined that these attacks were orchestrated by the Chaos Insurgency, which had trained and equipped the hostile actors. It was also discovered that the Insurgency has been disseminating propaganda materials in an attempt to incite further attacks on SCP-7314. Respiciens.aic has been tasked with removing these propaganda materials from the Internet and distributing more accurate information about SCP-7314.

At this time, limited personnel numbers would make it infeasible for Foundation or GOC personnel to seek out and suppress future attacks. Instead, outside contractors have been enlisted for this purpose.

Addendum 6 - November 5th, 2022

At 14:29, several explosions occurred within component WREATH's LFTR complex. The complex was evacuated of organic personnel and sealed to prevent spread of radioactive material. The air was then vented from the reactor complex and into the Outside, to remove any fallout and extinguish fires. These measures and other failsafes successfully prevented any fallout from contaminating the rest of SCP-7314. The backup generators activated as normal and allowed SCP-7314 to continue operating at 100% capacity while the reactor was repaired.

During the post-incident inspection, the corpse of Agent Bartholomew Larson, a member of Mobile Task Force Tau-7, was discovered near one of the sealed exits. Agent Larson had apparently been trapped in the complex when the doors were sealed, then died of suffocation. Larson was subsequently found responsible for the explosions, which he created with stolen Tau-7 armaments. Current anti-sabotage procedures were instituted to prevent future incidents of this nature.

Prior to his death, Larson used writing utensils on his person to create the following document, seemingly a manifesto. As its contents are structurally and thematically similar to Chaos Insurgency propaganda, Larson is assumed to have been acting on the Insurgency's behalf when he sabotaged the reactor.

Is there such a thing as a free lunch? Would you choose slavery over starvation? Does your stomach supersede your soul? Does the farmer charge his pigs for slop? Will you sell yourself to a world of full bellies and empty minds? Will your grandchildren wish you had starved when they witness the world you created? Do you really believe it was the Chaos Insurgency?

Addendum 7 - January 1st, 2023

SCP-7314 remains fully operational.

SCP-7314 provided approximately half of all food consumed in the year 2022. The remainder was accounted for mostly by agriculture (primarily in tropical regions, where the cooling was less severe) and various anomalous sources. Fishing and hunting supplied significant amounts of food during the first part of the year, but most fisheries and hunting grounds have now been depleted. This is not expected to be an issue, as SCP-7314 will be fully capable of meeting demand in the coming year. Global population has stabilized at 7 billion, approximately 70% of which is concentrated in the major cities where SCP-7314 distribution centers are located; this percentage is expected to continue increasing.

Project Fortuna has been deemed a success.

Footnotes

1. several hundred rapidly self-replicating cakes

2. a colossal reptile dwelling in the magma reservoir below the Yellowstone caldera

3. "force field," in common parlance

4. 12 loaves of barley bread and 7 cooked tilapia of varying size that do not mold or decay. When sliced, each slice near-instantly regenerates into an entire loaf/fish. Only the loaf/fish produced by the largest slice retains any anomalous properties. These objects were donated to Project Fortuna by the Horizon Initiative.

5. a tube of glue that permanently binds two objects

6. If the objects later need to be removed from CORNUCOPIA, they need only be sliced so that the portion attached to the ceiling is not the largest. This should only be done if absolutely necessary, as the supply of SCP-170 is limited.

7. A sack containing an apparently infinite amount of potatoes.

8. A pile of a seemingly infinite number of citrus fruits in Gainesville, Florida.

9. A deceased porcine organism which produces endless lengths of animate intestines (SCP-4495-1).

10. a cauldron that constantly produces pasta. It can be activated or deactivated by a phrase unique to the desired type of pasta.

11. A baptismal font in Marzek, Poland that constantly produces milk and other dairy products

12. a humanoid automaton that can produce and telekinetically manipulate vast quantities of molasses

13. For security reasons, the method by which this was achieved is classified Level 5.

14. While the entire structure theoretically could have been constructed with reality bending, manual assembly was preferred to ensure precision.

15. Elected in 2020, Grant Thomas was an independent candidate who campaigned aggressively on an isolationist and anti-Foundation platform. Despite a lack of political connections, Thomas successfully funded his campaign with private donations and won in a landslide victory.