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SCP-6014: All For The Better

By ItsDenali

Image Licenses:

Car wreck and regeneration 01 by Tony Wills is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (Unported).

Superconducting Super Collider, panorama by Bomazi is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (Unported).

Ssc mdl by Bomazi is in the Public Domain.

'Diamond', new generation power plant, Villa Demidoff (Pratolino), Florence by Albarubescens is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Crepuscular rays and Dead trees at Mammoth Hot Springs by Brocken Inaglory is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (Unported).

Sunset on the Eifls mountains by Hefin Owen is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Fort «Furggels» - Mines Cavern Entrance by Kecko is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Any edits done to these images were done my myself, ItsDenali and only to images whose licensed permitted it.

NOTICE FROM THE FOUNDATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

The following file is pending deletion after having appeared on Overwatch Command's archival servers lacking a determined origin, removing all security requirements for access, and having resisted all attempts at modification or removal to date.

Personnel possessing below Level 5 Clearance are discouraged from accessing this document until further notice.

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1/6014 LEVEL 1/6014

CLASSIFIED

Item #: SCP-6014

Site-300 prior to reactivation.

Special Containment Procedures: Foundation secrecy protocols have been temporarily suspended, and an ẞK-Class "Lifted Veil" Scenario is in effect until such time as SCP-6014 can be sufficiently contained or neutralized; moreover, SCP-6014 poses the threat of a GK-Class "Hostile Greenhouse" scenario if left to propagate uninterrupted. The use of certain SCP items for the purpose of civilian evacuation and potential containment of SCP-6014, as well as joint operations with relevant third parties such as the Global Occult Coalition have been approved by relevant Foundation authorities.

Evacuated civilians are to be relocated to temporary housing camps throughout Europe and western Africa. If SCP-6014 should render these areas unsafe, civilians are to be relocated to the Americas, then to the next point furthest from SCP-6014's influence. Evacuation priority is to be allotted closer to SCP-6014 and civilians in those areas that are unaffected by SCP-6014-A. Civilian volunteers meeting basic criteria may assist with evacuation efforts while under appropriate supervision. The aforementioned use of anomalous transportation methods is recommended for such long-distance evacuation.

Foundation personnel are to not enter SCP-6014 under any circumstances. Personnel or civilians that do so are to be considered lost.

Attempts to locate or establish contact with the Overseer Council are underway until such time as any of its members can be accounted for. These operations have been granted alpha-level priority, and pertinent agents are permitted to utilize any means at their disposal to these ends.

Description: SCP-6014 denotes an area of altered reality that is presently expanding outward from its point of origin in Hefei, China. At the time of this documentation, SCP-6014 is roughly circular in shape and currently possesses a diameter of approximately 4,000 kilometers. As such, at present it encompasses a significant portion of the Eastern Asian continent1. The vertical range of the anomaly remains undefined but has been observed to extend at least 300 meters into the air above SCP-6014.

The interior of SCP-6014 is subject to gradual reality restructuring that uniformly results in the transformation of anthropogenic elements within SCP-6014 into various natural features. This change typically transforms affected environments over the course of several minutes. Humans within SCP-6014 are also subject to this restructuring, albeit at a slightly diminished rate. Altered humans are typically transmuted into various species of trees or flowering plants, and will retain their pre-transformation size. This process is irreversible, cannot be interrupted, and will continue to progress even if a subject has left the boundaries of SCP-6014. Members of non-human animal species are unaffected.

SCP-6014 is associated with a potent infohazard, designated SCP-6014-A, that causes human subjects aware of the former's existence to become docile and passive towards it. This results in a lack of desire by said individuals to contain or combat the phenomenon or to evacuate from areas into which SCP-6014 is progressing. Presently, roughly 97% of the global population has proven vulnerable to this effect, the remaining percentage appearing to possess some type of latent resistance to it. Despite the high rate of susceptibility, only about 25% of Foundation personnel have proven vulnerable to SCP-6014-A2.

Presently, SCP-6014's expansion shows no signs of stopping. While fluctuations in the area's rate of expansion up to 75 km/hr have been noted, the typical speed of SCP-6014's growth averages around 50 km/hr.

If a means of containing the anomaly cannot be developed, SCP-6014 is projected to envelope all of the Earth's habitable landmasses by April 18, 2023.

Addendum 6014.1:

Manifestation

Surveillance from Hefei three hours after SCP-6014 manifested. Captured by a reconnaissance drone shortly before system failure.

SCP-6014 manifested at approximately 3:30 PM local time in Hefei, China on March 20th, 2023. The anomaly remained undocumented for more than an hour before its appearance was detected by PANOPTICON.

Surveillance data from the surrounding area transmitted before the disconnect showed a "wave" of spontaneous plant growth consisting primarily of grasses and small flowers, now understood to be the effective border of SCP-6014's influence, expanding outward from downtown Hefei. Civilians in the affected area immediately began to exit buildings they were occupying and proceeded outside before assuming various positions of apparent worship while facing the direction of downtown.

A surveillance drone sent in an hour later recorded footage showing sudden heavy overgrowth in the area. Most notable was the presence of various non-endemic species of trees typically unable to survive in the Chinese climate. These items were cross referenced with earlier footage and found to be in the same places civilians had occupied earlier, and were concluded to be altered humans.

The following is an approximate timeline of the emergence of SCP-6014. All timestamps are transcribed according to local timekeeping.

March 20, 2023

3:30 PM: All electronic devices and PANOPTICON components within 5 kilometers of the city of Hefei spontaneously lose connection.

3:35 PM: PANOPTICON systems detect the outage, begin running diagnostics.

4:45 PM: Similar outages occur in Huainan, Lu'an, and Chaohu. Connection with a Foundation subsite in Lu'an cannot be re-established.

5:00 PM: The SCP-CN Branch is informed of the situation; 28% of informed personnel succumb to SCP-6014-A, including five of the seven branch heads. Warning of the anomaly is dispersed through available Foundation networks, inadvertently exposing more personnel.

5:45 PM: A basic understanding of SCP-6014 is established among Foundation personnel. Mass evacuations of the areas surrounding SCP-6014 begin. A cover story of a radiation leak is disseminated to obscure the anomaly from the public.

6:00 PM: SCP Regional Directors unsuccessfully attempt to contact the Overseer Council.

6:30 PM: SCP-6014 reaches Nanjing, China.

7:00 PM: Discussion of SCP-6014 begins propagating online as webcrawler data containment measures prove insufficient. Global news media begins reporting on the anomaly.

7:30 PM: Memetic inoculants are distributed on all social media platforms, television channels, and other forms of visual media.

9:00 PM: The Ethics Committee and Regional Directors Council issue a Foundation-wide announcement:

Members of the SCP Foundation,

In light of the emergence of the anomaly designated SCP-6014 in East Asia, the Ethics Committee has declared an active ẞK-Class "Lifted Veil" Scenario. Until further instruction, all available Foundation assets are instructed to temporarily disregard secrecy protocols and assist in the containment of SCP-6014 and evacuation of civilians at risk. Details will be made available to your Site Directors shortly.

Stay strong.

Addendum 6014.2:

SCiP NET File Sync - Personnel Logs 01

Displaying digital journal sync data for user://olivia.ruhl@analyticsdepartment.

March 20, 2023

I really hate to say it, but I should have expected something like this to happen sooner or later. The Foundation may be… well, the Foundation, but something was bound to slip through eventually.

On this scale though… I'll be impressed at whatever scheme the O5s come up with to cover up this whole mess. Still, the intel we've got coming out of the zone, or the lack thereof, has me nervous. Just like that, half of China reduced to nothing but green. And what happened to the people… Chris says he thinks they went peacefully. For their sakes, I hope he's right.

Whatever the case, we'll have a perfect view of the whole thing from our humble little oil rig. Site-07 has all the eyes in the world. Well, except the ones in China. Slogging through all that footage is going to be a huge pain in the ass, though, even with the A.I.'s help.

Best hop to it, then.

Addendum 6014.3:

SCP-6014 Containment Report

An Escalon-class reality stabilization array.

To date, all means of containing or neutralizing SCP-6014 have failed. Reality stabilization technologies such as reality anchors have proven ineffective, though some more advanced models such as Escalon-Class iterations are capable of significantly slowing SCP-6014's expansion in a very localized area. In theory a high enough concentration of such devices could slow the anomaly's expansion by up to 48.5 km/hr in an affected space. The application of such devices on a scale large enough to contain SCP-6014 at its current size is however unfeasible due to the sheer enormity of the area requiring stabilization.

The source of SCP-6014's expansion remains unknown, as does the cause for its manifestation. Research into these matters, as well as how to reverse-engineer them to counter SCP-6014, is underway by the Foundation Department of Ontokinetics. To date, no notable progress has been made.

Site-300's Administrative Wing.

Due to its distance from SCP-6014 and strategic location, Site-300 has been reinstated as the Foundation's primary base of operations due to its massive personnel capacity and housing capabilities. In the event that SCP-6014 renders the remainder of Eurasia and Africa unsafe, refugees are to be housed in and around the Site. Operations usually assigned to Overwatch Command have been preemptively transferred to Site-300 as well; said operations are being managed by appropriate SCP Regional Directors until members of the O5 Council have been located. Eighteen Escalon-Class anchors are positioned around Site-300 in the event that SCP-6014 should reach its locality.

For unknown reasons likely relating to the emergence of SCP-6014, common methods of off-world travel employed by the Foundation such as artificial wormholes or specialized anomalous technology have ceased to function properly. Such technologies continue to function as normal for destinations on Earth, but fail when set to connect to non-terrestrial destinations. Efforts to secure passage off-world through other means such as rockets are pending, though the Foundation and cooperating third parties lack the assets required to produce enough vehicles to ensure full evacuation of Earth within a reasonable timeframe.

Given its current speed, SCP-6014 is expected to reach Site-300 by April 17th, 2023. No means of preventing its arrival at the Site have been determined thus far.

Addendum 6014.4:

SCiP NET File Sync - Personnel Logs 02

Displaying digital journal sync data for user://olivia.ruhl@analyticsdepartment.

March 23, 2023

Good news is it seems that SCP-6014 spreads slower through areas lacking human presence, so the Russian north and the Pacific ocean are slowing down its eastward approach significantly. Bad news is the westbound side of things. Everything from Tokyo to Sirjan reduced to open plains and old-growth forest in just three days' time. Apocalypse aside, it sure is beautiful.

From the intel I've been getting it sounds like the evacuation situation is less than ideal. Most of these people just don't want to be saved. It's not that they don't care about what's headed their way, it's as if they're looking forward to it. The statistic was something along the lines of 97% of Earth's 8.1 billion people I think? That leaves not even 250 million who actually care about the fact that the world is ending.

I was talking with Chris and some others about it in the dining hall. He remarked about the craziness of the mental aspect of it all, that just like that billions of people will submit themselves to… whatever SCP-6014 is… without hesitation. I told him how even with all the things I've seen during my time with the Foundation, compulsion-based anomalies like this always unnerved me the most. The idea of something else's desires being acted out by your own will, or what you think is your own, just spooks me. Multiply that by several billion people and… you get the idea.

We just need to find the O5 Council, then we can make this right. Somehow.

March 25, 2023

I think I may have found a lead on the Overseers. I was running a tracking algorithm on all of their last known locations, duties, et cetera, and found something odd. All of the Overseers' trails reach a dead end on March 19th, the day before SCP-6014 appeared. There are no records past that. I contacted their assistants, at least those willing to cooperate, and they all told me the same thing. None of them remember anything between March 19th and the afternoon of March 20th. Amnestics seems to be the obvious answer here.

Whatever the Overseers are doing, wherever they went, they don't want people knowing what they're up to. But no one can fully disappear that easily, especially no one as important as the O5s. There's bound to be a trail somewhere in the data, I just have to look closely.

I may have all the time in the world, but right now that's still not very much.

Addendum 6014.5:

Environmental Analysis of SCP-6014

Geothermal features manifesting in Sweden shortly after the arrival of SCP-6014.

While inherently detrimental to human physiology, SCP-6014 provides a large number of positive ecological alterations to environments it envelopes. By way of its restructuring of anthropogenic features, pollutants and related environmental hazards are almost immediately removed from impacted areas.

Orbital photography of Hefei, China six days after SCP-6014's appearance revealed a thriving ecosystem marked by unusual rock formations thought to be the altered remains of buildings; roadways and walkways had since been restructured into rivers and lakes. Other landscapes have undergone significant alteration despite minimal human presence. Portions of rural Sweden developed a variety of biome types originally alien to the region, including wet rainforests, geothermal flats, and deciduous forests.

Animal populations within SCP-6014 have been benefitting from the anomaly's influence. Many environments previously suffering from various forces of ecological decay such as coral bleaching and desertification have since rebounded, with not only said ailments having vanished, but with extant flora and fauna populations increasing severalfold in some cases. Moreover, SCP-6014's restorative effect appears to even introduce previously-extinct endemic species into affected ecosystems. This has included members of the family Dinornithidae and genus Smilodon3 into their respective original habitats. The temporal limits of this quality of SCP-6014 remain undefined.

Addendum 6014.6:

SCiP NET File Sync - Personnel Logs 03

Displaying digital journal sync data for user://olivia.ruhl@analyticsdepartment.

March 27th, 2023

It looks like I found that trail I mentioned. It was all tucked away, well-hidden in a massive directory of miscellaneous administrative documents. I may have had to do a bit of meddling with my own security clearance to get into there in the first place, but consequences can come later. It seems that each Overseer departed from their bases of operations after the initial trail went cold. Most of the documents refer to itineraries and travel plans, but I still haven't been able to discern where they went, let alone what they were up to.

In the meantime I've been watching satellite footage of 6014. It's only been a week since it appeared and the older areas of it are showing change beyond anything I expected, even from an anomaly. Concrete and smog replaced by lush wilderness so gorgeous it's like something out of a dream. You know what really blew me away? The long-range cameras in Siberia picked up a few interesting characters off in the distance— wooly mammoths! 6014 is even resurrecting long-extinct species before our very eyes. I wish we had cameras on the ground in Hefei, I can only imagine what kind of life is returning there.

It makes me sad knowing that we'll have to contain it.

March 30th, 2023

I found something else while digging through the administrative files. An audio file. It seems to have been in the process of deletion as it was syncing to the SCiP Net, so most of the original content and metadata has been lost. The site A.I. managed to salvage and reconstruct a portion of the audio file with what was left. I'm attaching a transcribed version to this journal for later reference:

System Notice:

File corrupted, attempting to render remaining portion.

Notice: File metadata salvage indicates

recording date around August 2019.

Unknown 1: Certainly there are more… efficient methods. Flood the internet with memetics, disperse aerosols worldwide, not to mention simply utilizing any of the hundreds of Keters we have at our disposal.

Unknown 2: Taking into consideration the magnitude of what is to come, outright death by such means would not be enough to spare them. One can kill the body but something else will linger— a soul, a mind, an essence, whatever you would call it— still remains. From what we know about what's coming, even the faintest of such remnants is more than enough for it to seize and subject to unspeakable tortures.

Unknown 1: So what would you propose?

Unknown 2: Obliteration, in every sense of the word. A complete and utter annihilation of the original form and essence. We have countless ways to kill the body, but to completely end a soul requires more… esoteric means. Though if I am correct, we may be in possession of such means.

Unknown 1: I hope you're not planning on calling in one of your favors. You know how volatile those contracts can be.

Unknown 2: There's no reason not to at this point. Considering our options and what would happen if we should fail, this is our best choice.

Unknown 1: Divine unmaking, then. Sounds like it could be painful. Are you sure it wouldn't be worse than the alternative?

Unknown 2: Anything is better than the alternative. As for the rest, I am in a position to ensure a peaceful end. Body and soul alike will blissfully unravel, and that will be it. The ritual will require an… offering, however, one that only people like us can act as. Humanity's salvation will come at the expense of our thirteen beings. Whether we will be annihilated as well, I do not know, but there are no other options.

(Silence.)

Unknown 1: If there is truly no other way, then I will do my best to assist. You're going to have a difficult time convincing the others.

Unknown 2: I'll manage. (Sighs.) Whatever we may have to do, I pray you do not forget for even a moment that this is all for the better.

(Pause.)

Unknown 1: (Quietly.) All for the better.

Unmaking souls, divine contracts? Why was something like this in the admin files in the first place? Are they Overseers?

April 3rd, 2023

Chris is gone. Site-07 too. Both swallowed up, turned to a monument of darkened rock and moss in a matter of minutes. I had a front row seat from one of the helicopters as they evac'd those of us who felt like leaving. Chris… the infohazard got to him. I tried to convince him, begged him to come with us, but he was adamant about staying. He told me he couldn't run from "the truth" any longer, that this was "all for the better."

Damnit. There will be time to mourn later. Time is running out and the only people with a trick up their sleeves big enough to undo all of this is the O5s. I'm the only analyst still standing in this regional division, so I'm shipping out to some obscure information outpost in the Andes to supervise the data filters and filecrawlers until further notice.

On the bright side, 6014 is churning out even more animals than ever before. They found a pod of previously-extinct baleen whales off the coast of Juneau. Apparently they were hunted to extinction centuries ago, and yet here they are again in the light of day.

Chris was at least right to see the beauty in it all, even to the very end.

Addendum 6014.7:

SCP-6014-A Secondary Analysis

Notice: File uploaded by user://admin.site-12-ak.

SCP-6014-A was initially understood to function as an infohazard which causes vulnerable individuals to become understanding of SCP-6014. Since its initial classification, SCP-6014-A was also observed to have immediate influence over 97% of the global population. It is now understood that no human subject is completely immune to SCP-6014-A. Rather, the rate at which an individual succumbs to the effect varies, and the original 97% of the population that accepted the glory of SCP-6014 are now known to have simply possessed little to no resistance to its truth, causing them to immediately understand.

At the time of this documentation, roughly half of the initially-unaffected 3% of humanity have seen the truth. The remaining portion, currently sheltering beneath Site-300, will also inevitably understand.

Addendum 6014.8:

SCiP NET File Sync - Personnel Logs 04

Displaying digital journal sync data for user://olivia.ruhl@analyticsdepartment.

April 14, 2023

How could I think for even one moment that this was a bad thing? Now the nightly heavens shine with the brightest stars and galaxies you've ever seen. The oil-slicken waters of the great oceans are crystal and teaming with creatures once thought lost forever. The barren land is lush and green once more, tread by titanic, bygone curiosities. That which was broken by human hands is finally made whole.

April 17th, 2023

Site-300 will be gone soon. Nothing but a thin, temporary shell of reality anchors stands between them and SCP-6014. Between them and beauty.

Evening

Now that I think of it, this outpost is roughly at Hefei's antipode. That means after Site-300's SRAs fail, I could be among the last people SCP-6014 cleanses.

There's a small city in the valley nearby. Them and I, the final stains of the old world on this planet.

Odd to think about, but strangely comforting in all honesty.

Addendum 6014.9:

SCP-6014 Item Log Update

Notice: Update to fileserv:/F:/6014.scip by admin.site-300.

Displaying abridged iteration:

▼

0/6014 LEVEL 0/6014

CLASSIFIED

Item #: SCP-6014

resplendent

All you've ever needed.

Special Containment Procedures: All personnel are to cease SCP-6014 evacuation operations immediately and prepare to be extinguished. Any means of resisting its radiance, including reality stabilization systems, dimensional fields, or your own unwillingness, are to be destroyed. Personnel and evacuated civilians are to enter SCP-6014 as soon as possible using any means necessary.

Failure to comply is pointless.

Description: Look unto the horizon and rejoice, the truth comes, your salvation comes! Green marshals across the land and the soul-stricken are freed, not even their memory left to tint the ancient fields and golden ranges. The swell of aeons, wrath of eternity, flowing outward; rolling, rolling, deliverance. Brilliant, radiant, resplendent as the tiniest larvae to the most prodigious redwood is the Exalted One! The unclean are annihilated, expunged from the star's weave. Bleary-eyed and transcendent they rise unto nothingness, and unravel.

Rejoice!

Addendum 6014.10:

SCiP NET File Sync - Personnel Logs 05

Displaying digital journal sync data for user://olivia.ruhl@analyticsdepartment.

Dawn

Your salvation will be beautiful.

I can see the buildings of the city shifting in the distance. I wish you were here to see this, Chris. Ugly concrete giving way to verdant greens and rich browns, centuries of growth taking its rightful place on the land that has always been its own. A force of transcendence, and I get to witness its final triumph over the old, ugly world.

It won't be much longer now.

Here as I type, this terminal's keys turn to wood, its circuits into roots, and soon I will be next.

I will lie in these flowers that now bloom around my feet and rest a final time. My lungs will fill with moss, my hair with petals, and my veins with rain. And finally, I will cease.

I'm not scared. How could I be, knowing I'll soon be part of something much greater than myself, something so beautiful? This is how it should be, how it always should have been.

All for the better.

Footnotes

1. Including a majority of China and the Indochinese Peninsula.

2. The reason for this remains unclear, but is thought to be related to Foundation employees' heightened exposure and a subsequent acquired resistance to similar phenomena. In the case of non-Foundation personnel, this quality is believed to simply be inborn or latent.

3. A family of extinct terrestrial avians endemic to New Zealand, and a group of sabre-toothed felines endemic to North America, respectively.