ORIGINAL FILE - HANDLE WITH CARE

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Item#: 7003

Containment Class: pending

Secondary Class: Something new. Something that defines it not as something to be contained, but utilized.

Disruption Class: ekhi

Risk Class: notice

Painting gifted to the Foundation of SCP-7003-2 by a civilian after its properties saved their life. Civilian wished to be anonymous but for the painting to be used with its file.

Special Containment Procedures: Containment is not the priority with SCP-7003. The whereabouts of SCP-7003-1, -2, and -3 should always be known in the event any SCP-7003 instance is needed in any of the world's remaining countries. MTF Omega-4 ("Horse Shoes") is on constant alert to monitor or corral the appropriate instance to the jurisdiction with the greatest need, as determined by a majority vote of the O5 Council. Interference with SCP-7003 or Foundation directives regarding their corralling will at minimum result in a 50% reduction in water rations.

Disinformation regarding their whereabouts is disseminated through Foundation plants within major GOIs not yet aligned with our mission. Information is focused on examples of the incalculable benefit SCP-7003 has had and will continue to have for sustaining the remainder of the human race. Reports of SCP-7003 worship are deemed acceptable, provided these remain fringe cases and do not interfere with Foundation directives. Anyone approaching any instance of SCP-7003 who is deemed to interfere with or deviate from established procedure should be terminated with prejudice.1

SCP-7003 is considered among the Foundation's most significant and highly valued assets. In the event line of sight is lost, locating SCP-7003-1 becomes the Foundation's primary mission, no exceptions. Personnel and equipment will be moved from the nearest strongholds in this event, even if this may result in the stronghold’s collapse.

Do not lose sight.

Description: SCP-7003 denotes three entities resembling Equus ferus specimens (the once-common wild horse) and their respective anomalous effects. Each are identifiable by their white pelt and unique area of effect, detailed below. SCP-7003 instances have demonstrated anomalous physical endurance and tolerance to hunger and thirst, with observation showing no need for sleep or sustenance.

SCP-7003-1's primary effect is an anomalous, possibly passive ability to summon rainfall. By consent of 95% of the Foundation's governance, a system to harvest rainwater caused by SCP-7003-1 has been established. MTF Omega-1 ("Cup Bearers"), comprised out of disbanded MTFs, has been given three out of the eleven surviving SolarDarity Ground Vehicles, reconfigured with water collecting capabilities. These vehicles had been rerouted from Supply Line HOG, Supply Line BUL, and the defense of Stronghold-32, resulting in their collapse2.

As of 2096/02/29, it is estimated that between 63% to 71% of the human population's continued survival is owed to SCP-7003, be it through the guarantee of sustenance, sanitation, or security.3

The first contact was with SCP-7003-1 on March 20th, 2087, after the siege of the Patriot's Eastern Blockade failed. The encounter was recorded after the activation of Endal Emergency Distress Beacon, ID #41551. Transcript is below.

Foreword: No significant dialogue or notable audible activity was recorded for 41 hours and 35 minutes after the beacon's activation. The below exchange starts then.

<Begin Log>

Soldier 1: Where… why…? Ray…

Soldier 2: What.

Soldier 1: Where… are we?

Long pause.

Soldier 2: Uh… home. You can call this home.

Soldier 1: Home didn't feel… was it always this dry?

Soldier 2: I don't remember being anywhere else. I don't know. Maybe it was always desert. Always desert. Every direction. Forever. On and on.

Soldier 1: …water? Please. Ray, please.

No reply.

Soldier 1: Who is this fucking beacon for, man?!

No reply.

Soldier 1: Who the fuck is gonna…

Soldier 2: Fuck, Ollie. Don't talk.

Soldier 1: Heh. Right. Just be quiet. Just be quiet.

Silence. Muffled whimpering.

Soldier 2: Dust. Is that dust? Something out there alive and kicking up dust?

Soldier 1: Dust is fucking everywhere. From here to the west coast, and everything in between. I can't, I can't, I can't. My fucking leg-

Soldier 2: Ollie, shut up. Possible contact on horizon, headed straight for us.

Clattering of metal, groaning is audible.

Soldier 2: [mumbling] come on come on come on today make it today please god make it today-

Long silence.

Soldier 1: …wh-what?

The distress beacon picks up coarse chuckling.

Soldier 1: Ray, what?

Soldier 2: It's a horse. Heh. Heheheh. It's a horse. Heh. They sent us a horse to save a hundred dead men. Heheh. Heheheh.

There is a long, slow sigh, and a sharp inhale.

Soldier 2: ARE YOU A GOOD WITCH OR A BAD WITCH?! ARE Y-… are you?

Soldier 1: Whatever.

Soldier 2: Oh my God. Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god-

Muffled slapping sounds.

Soldier 1: Leave me alone, man.

Soldier 2: Look! Open your eyes! Come and see! Come and see!

Soldier 1: No.

Soldier 2: Oh yes you will, here, maybe someone else… wake… wake up you sons of bitches! Wake up! Clouds!

And then there is the sound of rain.

Soldier 2: Fine, fine, whatever, none of you fuckin' matter. Ollie! Ollie, we're going after it. Oh my God. I'm committing my life to the cloth after this. Oh my God.

Soldier 1: Give me some water, you… let me sleep.

Soldier 2: It's a fuckin' miracle. It's a fuckin' miracle. Don't ask why, just follow the fuckin' miracle out of this fuckin' desert. Get up, we're going after it, there's nothing for us here, not for years. We're gonna be okay! I'll help, c'mon, arm around my shoulder, one step at a time, come on!

Sounds of a minor struggle are muffled by wind. And rain. More and more rain.

Soldier 1: …okay.

Rainfall becomes heavy enough that no other sounds are audible. The distress beacon continues to record the sound of rainfall for 17 hours until the unit's solar battery fails.

<End Log>

Closing Statement: On receiving notice of a possible anomalous water source, Ash Tollens, transcriber of surviving Endal Beacon IDs 40000 through 50000 immediately submitted a hard copy of the recording to the O5 Council.4 Shortly after, Foundation forces abandoned the defense of Stronghold-7, resulting in its collapse and loss of the populace56 to pursue and contain SCP-7003-1.

Most of the fallen were found around the abandoned siege camp. However, a body with a severe laceration to their Achilles' Tendon was located six kilometers from the beacon. An additional 1.8 kilometers away, Foundation personnel discovered a dried corpse surrounded by desert. Cause of death uncertain; likely exposure, not dehydration.

The transcriber requested a copy of the sound of rain for personal use, prompting a review for possible memetic effects. Despite none being discovered, request was declined. Recording of rainfall may be lent to Foundation personnel who have distinguished themselves through feats of heroism.

After an exhaustive multi-week long search, SCP-7003-1 was tracked 14 kilometers southwest of Foundation Stronghold-4, located in the northeastern American region of the Coalition of North American Nations7 (CNAN). During the search, SCP-7003-1 generally moved away from personnel, also demonstrating an ability to de-manifest if threatened or approached too closely. These simple rules laid the groundwork for corralling the anomaly. The Foundation set about to collect and distribute water amongst the highest priority populations and defense forces. Rain is not continuous, but it is without a doubt more common near SCP-7003-1 than anywhere else.

Constant knowledge of SCP-7003-1's location and the collection of water is essential for survival. Requests for current whereabouts of SCP-7003-1 requires Level 5 Security Clearance or authorization from two members of the O5 Council.

SCP-7003-1 - ARCHIVE - Contamination Memo

To all runner receivable departments

From the Office of Kelton Peystalt, Director of Foundation Sanitation

[DNM8]First, to our messengers, thank you as always. You have more than enough on your minds, so I will keep this as brief as I can. [End DNM]

We have received new reports of symptoms resembling cholera in two Foundation Strongholds. I need everyone to understand, immediately, the difficulty of containing cholera after a water source is contaminated.

Cholera is a terror. It drains you. It can strike in the morning and kill by night. And it grows exponentially. It secretes from those it kills, and it only takes one improper disposal to ruin a water source. We can barely treat it; prevention is all we have. Yet we cannot evaluate every glass of water before it is drunk. We cannot sanitize every source. The best we can do is keep it clean from the start. We live with enough fear as it is. I implore you, prevent this. There is still time to contain.

[DNM]The few of you being sent to those minor territories will have to memorize additional procedure information, depending on the severity of the outbreak. You will be given additional water provisions. Drink no other water. And pray to every god this disease is not anomalous.[End DNM]

This foot note, your messenger, has memorized a list of basic steps that must be followed. This is important enough that the O5 require the steps to be written down, confirmation code for paper usage is BXMLZ.

We have a miracle of a water source. Every contaminated drop is lethal poison. Treat both as such and we will be okay.

<End memo>

SCP-7003-2 - Description, Discovery Details: SCP-7003-2 was discovered during, and is credited for ending, the Cholera Crisis of 2090. The first cholera outbreaks were noted in two neighboring Foundation-controlled territories in November of 2089. By May 2090, the number of cases exploded, with 30% of Foundation-controlled territories within CNAN confirmed contaminated. The Foundation, once so adept at containment, lacked the resources it once had to stem infection.

Stages of cholera outbreaks were established:

Stage 1 "Secure": Less than 5% of Foundation Stronghold population exhibit symptoms. Curtailment considered plausible.

Procedure: Stronghold is quarantined. Dispatch MTF Delta-1 "First Aid" with Penultimate Resort water rations and a surplus of food supplies. Additional water filtration devices can be commandeered from nearby territories if essential. Speak to Foot Note messenger or consult Stronghold Director for full procedure.

Stage 2 "Contain": 5-20% of Stronghold population exhibit symptoms. Curtailment considered possible.

Procedure: Full quarantine. Dispatch MTF-Delta-9 "Last Aid” with Penultimate Resort and Last Resort water rations and maximum spare food supplies. Bodies are to be collected and burned at designated points no less than one mile from any conceivable water supply.

Stage 3 "Protect": 21-35% of Stronghold population exhibit symptoms. Curtailment considered challenging.

Procedure: Anyone that goes in does not come out until cleared of symptoms. Hazmat suits required, decontamination required as supplies allow. Food and water supplies diverted from neighboring towns. Body collection is postponed. Dispatch of MTF Delta-11 "Wall Watchers".

Stage 4: Greater than 35% of Stronghold population exhibit symptoms and growing. Curtailment failed.

Procedure: Settlement and personnel within are considered lost. Abandonment of facility.

By 2090/06/25, the outbreak reached its most severe point with 8% of Foundation Strongholds reaching Stage 4 outbreaks. This was the most severe loss of civilian life since 2082. Foundation morale reached pre-SCP-7003-1 levels. Body disposal requirements of the uninfected increased. Some Foundation personnel defected to the Re-Creationists.9

On 2090/07/01 Class-1 Runner Adriana Li, a member of the Foundation's Foot Notes, was found collapsed in front of Primary Foundation Stronghold-3. Adriana Li was near dead from exhaustion and dehydration, a condition compounded by blood loss through the soles of her feet. After being taken into quarantine and examined, it was clear that apart from near-lethal fatigue, she was in exemplary health. Adriana Li was delirious while undergoing treatment yet continually repeated the below testimony from an "old man," a civilian in Stronghold-5 approximately 105 kilometers away. This is transcribed below:

Sit down, listen, listen to me. You're a runner, right? Class 1? Good on you, perfect memory, you should be proud. Tell them what happened. Tell them what I saw. Listen close.

My sister, her name was Marinaya, she was healthy, happy. Doing well. Pulled her weight and then some at the energy pumps. But how she kept people alive was her attitude. That's it. She believed this isn't the end of everything, she believed we're all going to be okay. And she loved the stars, they brought her down to Earth. Something up there somewhere is going right, she said.

Cholera took her in two days. Two days. Two days. I didn't expect to envy that. You have no idea.

These past months, I've seen people hold on for weeks. You know what the best treatment is? Plenty of food. And more water than anyone's ever seen. It's your body going nuclear. It's your body panicking, going beyond desperation, going beyond self-destructive, just to flush the disease out. Pale shit. A person can pass three gallons of it in a day. Sometimes more. You just got here, you have no idea. No idea. No idea. The worst thing. The worst thing.

You know what it's like. Living off rations. A glass of water a day. Sometimes it had to be shared. Never knew real hunger like this. Never knew real thirst. Not 'till we thought we knew, then had enough water, but then had it taken away. You know what it's like. Fragile supply lines, another symptom of life.

Then the Foundation abandoned us. Everything did. I don't blame them now. Everything's hard. Everything's hard. You hear of Stage 1 and 2 and 3 and you never expect it to happen to you. But you don't know what death is until after you lose hope. When you've reached that point there's a small, very small line between dead and alive. Very small. Indistinguishable. You can just stop breathing. When even the guards on the wall leave, we know what the score is. We know what's next. Bad ways to go. The best way to go we have, but a bad way to go.

Three days of that. Imagine that, three days of walking dead. People dead in the streets. The gutters. I watched a man from my window walk three paces, pause, turn around, walk three paces. Over and over for hours. Then he stopped and that was his story.

Three days. I don't…

The third day. I remember nothing from it, like my eyes were closed. Like dreamless sleep. Retching and pain and pain and hollow coughs and pain and pain and pain. Until somebody shouts about a savior. About a miracle. A cry starts up from choked throats, sounds like the dying of a great engine. People start sobbing without water to allow tears. Someone sits me up, pointing, shouting, handing me my sister's tiny telescope, and through it I see two white horses on the horizon.

You have heard the stories of the one. It's a legend, you never see it yourself. You pray for it, hope for it, maybe that animal's mind will come to you. Maybe it needs to feed the desperate. But whatever it is, you dream of it and dream of it and dream to see white pelt. It's one thing to believe in a god, very much another to see one and feel its miracle.

It rained. It has been a long, long long long long time since I felt rain. I crawled, crawled out my hut, and lay on my back in god knows what, mouth open. Every drop, life itself. Every drop. I don't know if it was the water but I felt strong again, young again. I still felt pain but I felt a cure. The rain went on and on, I heard singing and howling and screamed prayers of thanks.

I was dead, past the line, and I feel purged, cleaned, alive again. God help me, God help me, I will see tomorrow.

Go, tell your masters. You don't have to tell them everything. Just there's two white horses now, one that nourishes and one that heals.

According to the best estimate for the timeline reconstruction, before the manifestation of SCP-7003-2, MTF "Horse Shoes" had lost perpetual line of sight with SCP-7003-1 for the first time.

Not only did Adriana Li convey the testimony, she also chased SCP-7003-1 until it came within close enough proximity to Foundation territory to be corralled. Adriana Li's efforts to bring this to the Foundation's attention at great personal cost resulted in her being awarded the Foundation Stars Medal of Heroism10, and was granted her request to listen to the rainfall recording. Applications to use this as a reward for unusual feats of valor is under consideration approved.

Although the Foundation has not been able to scientifically define its effects, this testimony and the testimony of others support the hypothesis that SCP-7003-2 has an anomalous ability to eradicate disease. The current presumption is this area of effect increases or decreases depending on its proximity to and severity of disease afflicting individuals in an area. Observation has shown this does not extend to physical injuries or illnesses that have progressed to the point where a body cannot repair itself. Beyond this, it appears to gravitate towards the most severely afflicted locations and will at times outrun any escort and vanish once crossing the horizon. This loss is acceptable for a maximum of one week.

The Foundation has not been able to confirm whether or not the cholera outbreak was anomalous, but it will be treated as though it was. This only further cements the importance of SCP-7003 to humanity's continuity.

SCP-7003-2's whereabouts are known to the Foundation. Requests for information can be provided to those with Level 4 Security Clearance or authorization from one member of the O5 Council.

SCP-7003-3 - Description, Discovery Details: While unprovable, the avoidance of a grand scale conflict between the Foundation and one of its current allies is attributed to SCP-7003-3. As with any resource that assists survival, SCP-7003-1 and SCP-7003-2 caused escalating tensions between GOIs. Control of SCP-7003-1 and SCP-7003-2 was commonly believed as the primary asset any organization would need for strategic superiority11. As a result, between 2091/12/03 and 2093/08/24, every appearance of SCP-7003-1 and SCP-7003-2 resulted in escalating skirmishes, each with significant casualties to each side. The primary aggressors included the New Occult Coalition (NOC) and the Re-Creationists.

All diplomatic efforts with the Re-Creationists have failed. This group is now solely classified as a threat. During this time, Foundation efforts were focused on deescalating tensions between the NOC.

On 2093/09/26, an envoy was sent to the NOC South American Capital. A copy of the message can be provided on request, but in short it specified that if the envoy was not given a reply, or if the envoy or NOC envoy did not return within exactly two weeks, then the Foundation would take it as a tacit and explicit declaration of war. During the interim, as all signs indicated conflict, Runners were sent to all available military personnel to prepare, with military defenses coalesced around Primary Foundation Strongholds 1, 2, and 3, as well as other high population strongholds.

On 2093/10/03 the envoy returned unexpectedly, with a small NOC squadron as escort to Primary Foundation Stronghold-1. The squadron identified itself as the protection party for a newly appointed NOC's Foundation Ambassador, a position created explicitly for this meeting. Under high guard, the ambassador and two escorts were allowed an audience with three high ranking Foundation members. An excerpt from this meeting's minutes are below:12

"A Horse for a Kingdom" - Meeting minutes:

Date: October 4th, 2093

Leader: O5-2

Facilitator: New Occult Coalition Representative Josiah Montag

Recorder: Foundation Cataloger Ysla Aghira

Time Keeper: Foundation Cataloger Ysla Aghira

Attendees: O5 Council Members 2, 3, 4, NOC Representative Josiah Montag, NOC attendants Alexander Cho and Jun Uilars

Agenda Topic: War or peace between the Foundation and the New Occult Coalition subject to negotiations on access rights to SCP-7003-1 and SCP-7003-2.

Time taken: Nineteen hours

Discussions: Meeting begins with highly formal greetings by each delegation to each delegation. O5-3 immediately inquires as to the status of the envoy. Occult Coalition representative provides evidence that the envoy has accompanied them, and will be released into Foundation control as a show of goodwill and to provide witness testimony to NOC claims.

NOC begins a presentation to answer, as they put it, "why we came all this way." They have uncovered a new massive underground river, estimated 1,800 kilometers in length. While the water is not suitable for human consumption without superhuman filtration efforts, the water appears connected to a variety of underground volcanic soil incredibly rich in organic material. This means the water can enable dead tracts of land to become suitable for agriculture. NOC representative provided small samples of water for Foundations' own testing. Each are labeled "Do not drink."

The NOC requests:

70% of the materials sufficient to build pumps to fertilize and water crops

Access to a total of 200,000 acres (810 square kilometers) of potential agricultural land within Foundation territory, with the option of expansion if crop growth is sustainable

Assistance with the transportation and digging of 100% of wells

In return, the NOC will:

Consider this a cessation to hostilities, with an agreement for this treaty to last 10 years provided neither side reopens hostilities

Consider SCP-7003-1 and -2 as the Foundation's asset alone and the Foundation's sole responsibility

Provide 25% of food generated to the Foundation, and provide personnel and ground/vehicle support sufficient to guard the Foundation's allocation of crops

NOC representative requests the following to be added to the record:

"The New Occult Coalition has the ability and the wherewithal to construct the aqueducts, dig the plots, control the land, and farm the soil ourselves. But it would be a tragedy, for all of us, to try and kill each other with the aim of having more, when we could support each other by sharing enough.”

Negotiations begin. During this time, the water samples were processed and confirmed to be near-miraculous for enriching soil and for the cultivation of a multitude of crops.

Full minutes are not shown for brevity, but may be made available. Please submit a request to your Stronghold Director if you have an essential need to access the full log.

Conclusions:

The Foundation will provide:

50% of materials to build irrigation for crops

300,000 acres (1,215 square kilometers) of potential agricultural land within Foundation territory

A full cessation of hostilities

Assistance with the transport of equipment and the digging of 100% of wells with the exception that they will provide a maximum of 70% of the transportation or personnel to guard it

Three emergency uses of SCP-7003-1 annually and three emergency uses of SCP-7003-2 to NOC, with as much available Foundation cooperation as can be provided. Otherwise they are considered fully in the Foundation's care.

The NOC will provide:

10% of the location of the underground river, with an additional 5% revealed annually

Provide 35% of cultivated crops to the Foundation, 50% of personnel, and 90% of ground/vehicle support sufficient to guard and the Foundation's allocation of crops

A full cessation of hostilities

Military support in armed conflict if deemed an existential threat to itself and the Foundation. The Foundation has agreed to the same for the NOC.

Monthly meetings will be established between a NOC representative agreed on by the Foundation and a Foundation representative agreed on by the NOC.

The total text of the treaty is expected to consist of over 35 pages (blank paper provided by NOC as an additional show of goodwill). Requests for copies or to see the original document are not available.

O5-2 requested additional details, including when the discovery was made and if any unusual activity was noticed. NOC provides testimony, corroborated by multiple witnesses including the Foundation envoy, that shortly after discovery of the underground river, on the horizon were "three white horses, all in a line."

Documentation Verified and Signed by:

O5-2

█████████████ ██████████

O5-3

█████████████████

O5-4

████████ █████████ ███████ ███████████

Survive, Construct, Protect.

This testimony is the earliest known instance of the third white horse, SCP-7003-3. It is notable in that it is the only known time all three horses have been seen in a line, as each instance usually has several hundred miles between each other.

SCP-7003-3's exact ability is not understood nor has it been well defined. This is primarily owed to the rarity of its appearance and the abstractness of its effect. To the Foundation's best supposition, each of SCP-7003-3's appearances coincide with a de-escalation of hostilities at a point of high tension between two adversaries, including the Serpent's Claw Conflict, the Collapsed God Catastrophe, ██████████████████, █████████, ██████████████, █████████████████████, ██████████████13. While SCP-7003-1 and SCP-7003-2 have strict guiding principles to aid territories in most need, a loss of sight on SCP-7003-3 has been deemed acceptable14.

SCP-7003-1 and SCP-7003-2's benefits to humanity's survival are quantifiable, while the hypothetical prevention abilities of SCP-7003-3 are not. Nevertheless, each of these anomalies are considered critical to humanity's survival.

Incident 7003: On September 22nd, 2098, visual of SCP-7003-1, -2, and -3 was lost simultaneously for the first time. Strongholds were alerted and envoys were sent to the Foundation's closest allies, the NOC and the Serpent's Claw. As previous individual disappearances had occurred, the longest being SCP-7003-3 for 42 days, the length of SCP-7003's absence was not expected to exceed this. Yet after three months of growing unrest, anger, and despair, the Foundation answered to the need to address the issue. Below is the full statement.

Certified Direct Statement from the O5 Council

To All People of the Foundation:

We want to alleviate your concerns. We want to tell you they are found, that all is well, but that is not yet the case. We ask much of each of you, every day, small tasks of monumental importance that allow us all to survive. And now, more than ever before, each task assigned to you must be carried out. Do not let despair become a burden to you, do not weigh it down, as it will become a ball and chain and harm yourself and those around you. Because this is not the end. There is no cause to believe it is.

We all know what this is regarding. Some of you have your own names for them. I, personally, am fond of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo. To the Foundation, they are SCP-7003-1, 2, and 3. My fellows on the Council believe it right to tell you all now that we have, on at least fourteen occasions to date, been unable to locate one or all of SCP-700315. This is not the first time we have had to relocate them, and will not be the last. They will be found, and their benefits will not be lost.

And during their absence, do not forget we are in a better place. Some unhappy few of us remember the Fifty State Hurricane. The European Schism. The Tear of the Hayward Fault, the Great Misfire, and the Energy Collapse when our power died for the last time. The list goes on, too long. Although these were decades ago, they changed the world in ways we once believed would render humanity's survival impossible. Listen to me now when I say this: today is not that day, and these are not those times. Every day we defy such a fate, and defy the words of our enemies that believe only the next life is worth dying for.

No one thing was responsible for the current state of the world, yet it is human nature to blame it all on one thing. Just as it is human nature to look to one cause, perhaps SCP-7003, for its continuation. We no longer face the number of threats we once had. We have allies now. We have agriculture. We have supplies stored away for a very long, dry summer. All this is built on a strong Foundation. We, dare I say it, once again believe there will be a future.

The Foundation will inform everyone as soon as SCP-7003 is relocated. Until then, we will be okay. Today we survive, tomorrow we thrive.

The O5 Council

SCP Foundation

Survive, Construct, Protect

SCP-7003 File Note: Reception was mixed.

SCP-7003 remained unaccounted for throughout the rest of 2098 and most of 2099. In the intervening time, the Foundation experienced tests of the stability it had worked to build. The Re-Creationists, who through the alliance with the Serpent's Claw were thought to be virtually eliminated, found a swell of recruits and became bolder than they had in years at their mission. Tensions between the NOC and overburdened supply lines mounted. There were widespread reports in dozens of Foundation Strongholds of despair, insurgency, violence, and civilians wandering out into the wilderness, chasing phantoms of horses.

On December 27th, 2099, the O5 Council had an emergency meeting. Minutes and transcript are locked and inaccessible, protected under Council Decree DNY "Protection of Destabilizing or Existentially Threatening Communications", 2068/07/01, to anyone who is not a member of the O5 Council. Shortly after, on December 29th, 2099, the Foundation announced SCP-7003-1, -2, and -3 had been spotted overseas, and are moving back in the direction of the Coalition of North American Nations. No estimates could be drawn for when SCP-7003 would return, but the Foundation begs your patience. It will not be much longer now.

SCP-7003 - Final Addendum: On December 31st, 2100, the documentation for SCP-7003 was stolen by an unauthorized individual. Documentation was recovered after Ash Tollens, transcriber of surviving Endal Beacon IDs 00000 through 99999, abandoned her duties to find Endal Beacon 70123 herself. Instead of returning the documentation when found, she defaced it by transcribing the unauthorized individual's message on the back of official Foundation documentation. Once she rewrites the documentation, the full O5 Council will see if disciplinary measures are necessary. The individual, Class-1 Runner Adriana Li, has not been located. The footnotes she added will also be removed.

We look forward to her return.

Hey Ash. I made sure to get one of your beacons. I've been sitting here a long time. This beacon's been on for a long time. I wish the Foundation ever had enough people to answer these.

[laughter] The problem used to be too many people. Or so I heard. I hear a lot in my job. I had high clearance. Like, remember all those anomalies? There's theories about why there's so few now. Some very smart people think they "manifested in proportion to human population." Some very smart people disagree. No one knows. Doesn't really matter. The three white horses are gone.

I've felt worse, to tell you the truth. Like… when I ran from those monsters, those people that attacked my little town. They were dying of hunger and thirst like we were, but we never hurt anyone. I ran from them, and I outran them. I made it to a Foundation Stronghold. I'm still here. They're dead. Stamped out.

So what. The three white horses are gone. Some very smart people think there's gonna be a fourth. I'm just sitting here, hoping to see one, like all those other people did. I'm done here. We're done here. I did my job and I did it well. This is me retiring.

I'm sorry I took this documentation. But it wasn't like it was heavily guarded. No one really cares anymore. Everyone's giving up. I read it for the first time, and then a few more times. I'm kind of… disappointed? These things were miracles. I don't think that comes across right. "These are essential to humanity's survival" was written down like three times, but, what, there wasn't room to mention the good people did because of them? You know those Stage 4 quarantine things? Neighboring cities volunteered water. Imagine that. Free water. Some people volunteered to carry it to the lost cases knowing they'd be lost too. I carried some as best I could to those zones because even people who know they're dead can still feel alive. I would not have done that if I thought there was no point. I wouldn't do this, either.

Then I got locked in and sick and was going to die like everyone else. and because I got locked in and left for dead I did the best thing I've ever done in my life, which was running for hours and hours and hours and hours to tell people there's another reason to live. Won a medal for it, but I also didn't want them to leave. I'm glad it worked out.

Hope can't die twice. I was dead. I was dead. Actually dead. Beyond saving. I'd come to terms with it, as best as anyone could. I lost it, all hope, will to live, all for good, and then I was saved. So I think whatever else happens, I'll believe I can be saved. When I die, I won't notice it. I'll die hopeful.

I miss you. I'll sit here and wait for you. If I'm not here, it means I saw them, and I'm chasing them. I'll report back. I'll cross the horizon and I'll report back. If anyone can, I can. I proved that, right?

Don't worry. Depending on your definition of it, everything will be okay.

Or not [laughter, her laughter]. I don't know. I don't know what I'm trying to say here. Maybe, Ash, all you need to know is that you're alive. That's beautiful, and that's worth living for.

See you someday.

Footnotes

1. The Foundation may not be immediately able to resupply ammunition used for termination.

2. "This was not an easy choice. There are no more easy choices. But water is life for everyone. It comes before anyone. Even hundreds."

3. See Foundation 2094 World Alliance Census (excluding population of the Oceanic Island Federation, Antarctica, et. al)

4. Method of processing authorized via Council Decree 3AD "Emergent Supply", 2065/01/01.

5. A request to revise this sentence has been declined. Remember the cost.

6. "Remember the cost. Remember the cost. Remember the cost."

7. Formerly sovereign nations United States of America, Canada, and Mexico.

8. Shorthand for the Foundation's Foot Note personnel. DNM stands for "Do Not Memorize", signaling this portion is not part of the communique. Foot Notes are the Foundation's department of message runners. If you consider yourself capable of intensive long distance running and believe yourself trustworthy of flawlessly memorizing critical Foundation information, you may apply for messenger evaluation by speaking to your superior officer. This is not a duty to be taken lightly. We survive on information and information alone.

9. Pronounced "REE-creation-ists"; Full GOI documentation requests require level 3 Security clearance. The Re-Creationists are an organization formed at some point between 2068 and 2075, who hold the fundamental belief that the current state of the world is a sign from a higher power (although it is not agreed within the group which higher power) that humanity's time in this world is at an end. Motto: "Hell is for the living, salvation is for the dead."

10. Only given to those who die for the Foundation, so they say.

11. "Water is life." Water is always life.

12. Full meeting minutes requires Level 3 Clearance or above.

13. I'm surprised that I'm surprised how many I didn't know about.

14. Yeah, let it go where it needs to. Let it run.

15. fuck you