Doctor Langston smiled as he turned to look at the new batch of 
researchers sent to his department. His eyes darted from face to 
face: three in total, two women and one man, each of whom couldn't 
have been over 30. All three looked extremely nervous, and 
Langston couldn't blame them. They had just come from an 
orientation which basically told them that they were all more than 
likely going to die in some pretty horrible ways, and it was up to 
Langston to keep them from running for the hills. He knew it was 
important for the orientations to be completely honest with new 
personnel, but did they really need to get into the gory details about 
how their predecessors died? 


He cleared his throat and addressed the group. “Welcome to the 
Anomalous Items and Extranormal Events department! My name is 
Doctor William Langston, and for the next two or three months, I’m 
going to be the one you all report to. A little bit about myself: | joined 
the Foundation in 1976, when | was 27 years old. During my stay 
here, I’ve worked with a grand total of four SCP objects, including 
one very unhappy Keter class, before getting transferred over here 
in ‘03. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?” He 
looked over the group, hoping his short life story would help relax 
them a bit. After all, if he survived this long, who’s to say they 
couldn’t as well? Relief washed over him as the groups tense 
expressions were replaced with calm curiosity. 


One researcher, a short woman with blonde hair, raised her hand 
and asked, “Um, hi. | was just wondering, why are we here instead 
of starting directly with an SCP object?” 


“Well, while it’s true the Foundation needs researchers like 
snowmen need cold, they also know that quite a few skips are rather 
difficult to wrap one’s head around, so they send new researchers 
here to get an idea of what kinds of anomalies you might be dealing 
with,” Langston replied, walking towards the main hallway and 


Despite the Foundation's efforts to prevent fecal deposition of apple 
seeds within SCP-891, apple saplings are reported to spring up ona 
semi-regular basis. It is unknown how these seeds are sown in 
SCP-891. Requests for reclassification to Euclid have been denied. 
Due to the nature of [DATA EXPUNGED], permanent construction of 
a rapid-response establishment around SCP-891 is under 
consideration. 


Addendum-891B: Analysis of documents found within 's home 
has revealed _'s history of misanthropy and paranoia. Certain texts, 
notable in that they are not writtenin 's handwriting, seem to be 
primitive blueprints for SCP-891; efforts are being taken by the 
Foundation to discover the artist. Notes made by _ in the margins 
indicate that had little understanding of the content of the 
blueprints. A recipe was found within — 's kitchen for a cherry, 
peach, raspberry, and blueberry fruitcake. Bodies were found in 's 
backyard; internal organs of bodies were found to be pulverized 
beyond recognition. 


Addendum-891C: On / /_ , abatch of fruit exhibiting properties 
identical to those found in SCP-891-grown fruit was found to have 
reached a supermarket in _. It is believed that this was caused by 
a security [DATA EXPUNGED}], though it is unknown if [DATA 
EXPUNGED]. Fortunately, no apples were present in the delivery. 
All witnesses have been administered Class B Amnesiacs; 
casualties have been attributed to a gas leak. Foundation 
investigations in order to determine the source of said fruit are 
underway. 


« SCP-890 | SCP-891 | SCP-892 » 


gesturing for the trio to follow. 


“What's the difference between a proper SCP and an anomalous 
object? Aren’t all SCPs technically anomalous objects?” asked the 
male researcher, a slightly overweight man with dark brown hair. 
Langston chuckled. He remembered asking the very same thing 
when he first started in the Al/EE department. 


“Generally speaking, yes. All SCPs are anomalous items. However, 
the items we have here are stuck in a strange middle ground: they’re 
not anomalous enough to warrant full investigation and dedicated 
research, but they are anomalous enough that the Foundation wants 
them kept off the streets to keep up the ‘great masquerade’, so to 
speak.” 


The group stopped at the entrance of one of the humanoid 
containment cells. Langston checked the accompanying clipboard to 
ensure he had the right room before addressing the group. “We’re 
just going to dive right in and start you off with one of our more vocal 
residents, Anomalous Individual 139, or Al-139. | want you three to 
go in and question him. Your goal is to figure out why we have him 
contained here, and get any information out of him that might be 
important. Good luck!” Langston opened the door, and the group 
walked inside. 


The cell was mostly empty save for a hospital bed, on which lay 
Anomalous Individual 139. He was short but thin with black hair 
growing all over his body, and as they approached they noticed he 
was held down by leather restraints. His bloodshot eyes were 
transfixed on the group as they stopped a few feet away from his 
bed. The group stayed silent, unsure of how to begin, until Al-139 
broke the silence harshly. “Well? Are you not here to question me?” 
he said, his voice higher pitched than they had been expecting. 


“Anomalous Individual 139, please tell us your name and place of 
birth.” ordered the male researcher, inwardly slightly put off by how 
intently Al-139 was staring at him. Al-139 paused for a moment, 
then responded, 


“It would seem your Foundation has already given me a name, so 
why you are asking me now is unusual. Nevertheless, the name | 


was born with is Shavalis. | am an emissary of Gaia, and my home 
is within her embrace. | was born in the cradle of leaves she 
fashioned for me, her protectors kept close watch upon me as | 
slumbered.” Al-139 grinned, his teeth each pointed and sharp. “l am 
her child. She has given me reign over the creatures in her domain.” 


“What do you mean, ‘reign over the creatures in her domain’?” 
asked the taller female researcher, looking up from her notes to look 
at the strange man before her. Al-139’s smile grew wider as he 
turned his attention to her. 


“The beasts of the animal kingdom respond to my command. | am 
their king. From the smallest mouse to the mighty lion, all see my 
heritage and respect my words! The only exceptions are the bastard 
children, the humans,” Al-139’s grin changed quickly into a hateful 
snarl, “they choose to ignore my birthright, to ignore their master. 
You...things know not your place, and you dare to imprison me in 
your artificial walls of steel!” 


Al-139 jerked suddenly against his restraints towards the group, 
causing them to collectively step backwards. His eyes widened and 
his mouth again contorted again into a grin, this time twisted and 
hateful, looking as though he had gone mad. “But | do not worry, for 
my time here is soon over, and then you will all pay” he said, nearly 
shrieking near the end as he pulled wildly at his restraints. “My 
subjects will find me and they will tear you all limb from limb! And 
when | am free | will incite a war that will decimate you pathetic 
creatures!” 


The group of now frightened researchers backed away towards the 
door as Al-139 continued its rampage. “I am Shavalis! | am Gaia's 
child, and she loves me more than you! She will send unto me a 
bride who will bear my child who will control the winds themselves! 
This world is mine and | will not be held here...” Anomalous 
Individual 139’s insane ramblings were muffled as the door to his 
cell closed behind the researchers. Langston smiled as he walked 
over to the group. 


“Charming fellow, isn’t he?” Langston said, remembering his first 
encounter with Al-139, who at that time claimed he would 


‘personally rip Langston to shreds’. “Now, who can tell me why we’re 


holding him here?” The group, still slightly shaky after their 
encounter, looked down at the notes they had taken. Langston 
remained quiet, giving them the time they needed to calm down, and 
after a moment of collecting themselves, the blonde researcher 
spoke up. 


“Al-139 is being held due to his ability to communicate with animals, 
as well as his readily apparent mental instability,” the blonde 
researcher said, an air of confidence surrounding her. Langston 
nodded as he replied, “Alright, and what measures would you take 
to contain Al-139, and how would you go about testing his abilities?” 


“For containment, secure him to a bed or chair to ensure he doesn’t 
attack anyone, and give him food twice daily. For testing, introduce 
varying types and numbers of animals to test the limits of his 
abilities.” The tall female researcher said, handing her clipboard over 
to Langston. Langston looked over the researchers notes, then 
smiled. Not bad for a bunch of people who not twenty minutes prior 
were shaking in their boots. 


“Well done,” Langston said, feeling slightly bad about what he was 
about to say, “you all have done rather well for your first assignment. 
However, I’m afraid you're all a bit off the mark. Truth is, Al-139 
doesn't have the ability to talk to animals. We thought he did for a 
long time, had a SCP designation and everything. But we ran 
literally dozens of tests to figure out why he would think that, and 
every animal we put in his cell completely ignored him. After a while, 
the site director ended up sending him over here to make room for 
something else, I’m not sure what.” 


“Then why do we still have him here?” Asked the blonde researcher, 
sounding slightly annoyed and disappointed that they failed 
Langstons test. 


Langston laughed slightly as he explained, “Actually, it’s because of 
the fur on his body. We've run tests on it, and as far as we can tell 
it's actually Tasmanian Devil fur, which is odd because we picked 
Al-139 up in the middle of Idaho. Based on our initial tests, he 
apparently grows this fur naturally, and let me tell you, he was 
absolutely /ivid when he woke up completely shaved.” The 
researchers laughed, and Langston was happy that his team didn't 


seem stressed anymore. 


“Why did you have us do all that, though? | mean, what was the 
point of having us talk to Al-139 when you already had all the 
information you could get out of him?” asked the male researcher. 
Langston sighed. “Several reasons. First and foremost, | wanted to 
get an idea of how you would handle yourselves around humanoid 
anomalies, and on the whole you all did rather well. But more than 
that, | wanted to teach you a few things about working with 
anomalies.” 


“One, you need to know that when dealing with sapient anomalies, 
you should never completely trust what they have to say, especially 
the more hostile ones. Listen to them, sure, but even if they tell you 
what they believe is the truth, you shouldn't believe them blindly. 
Second, even though there will be anomalies that will try and hurt 
you, remember that one of the Foundation’s primary goals is to 
contain anomalies. As such, you have quite a few lines of defense 
between yourself and the anomaly. I’m not saying you should be 
careless, but don’t spend your days worrying about when the thing 
you’re working on might kill you.” 


“Finally, and | want to stress this, | was not joking or lying when | 
asked you to gather information for us. Fact is, there may very well 
be things we don’t even know about Al-139. Anomalies can always 
surprise you, So always remember to be observant of everything. 
You never know what you might have missed the first hundred 
times.” Langston looked at his watch, then looked back at his group. 
“Well, I'd say you’ve earned yourselves a nice lunch break, go 
ahead and check out the site cafeteria, then meet back here in, say, 
an hour. I'll be waiting!" 


Lessons from History 


What can we, as a species, learn about the threat of hostile 
extraterrestrials from Columbus’ discovery of the New World and the 
subsequent extermination and subjugation of its Native inhabitants? 
There were many factors behind the colonization of the New World, 
most of which are readily obvious. From those factors, we can 
understand what allowed European powers to overtake Native 
American societies, and how we can prevent hostile extraterrestrials 
(henceforth referred to as "HE") from doing the same to the human 
race. 


The most apparent advantage which Europeans possessed over 
inhabitants of the New World was much more advanced technology. 
Europeans had gained gunpowder, powerful navies, propaganda, 
written records, and countless other inventions during the course of 
history. On the other side of the Atlantic, complex societies such as 
the Aztec and Inca empires lacked the wheel, and no way of 
crossing the Atlantic. Due to this technological gap, European 
monarchies easily and quickly crushed even the most advanced 
Native nations. 


An equal, if not larger, technological gap would likely exist between 
the human race and any HEs (this, of course, assumes the HE 
contacts the Earth first, and not vice-versa), as interstellar transport 
would only be possible with thousands, if not millions of years of 
technological prowess over humanity. Along with spacecraft, the 
HEs will likely bring weaponry as of yet not conceived by the human 
race, medical abilities far beyond our own (to be discussed later), 
and other inventions we, much like the Native Americans, could not 
understand at the present date. 


How, then, are we to respond to HE technology? In the same way 
many Native societies responded to European technology: adapting 
to it. Within several generations, the Comanche tribe of the Great 
Plains had become skilled on horseback, despite never having 


encountered them before the arrival of settlers. Many tribes learned 
to use gunpowder and muskets along with traditional bows and 
arrows. In one notable example, the Cherokee silversmith Sequoyah 
developed an entire syllabary for his people based on the Roman 
alphabet, despite being unable to read or write. 


In the same way, the best hope for humanity would be to gain, either 
forcefully or through negotiation, HE technology. While early usage 
of weaponry would be restricted to simply using the weapon until it 
breaks down or is destroyed, efforts would be made to reverse 
engineer and recreate the item. In the case of the new technology 
being an abstract concept (e.g. a new system of writing, new way of 
government), simple observation and interrogation will help us 
understand the technology. 


While technology was a major boon to the European conquest of the 
New World, the largest killer of Native Americans was European 
disease. Millions of New World inhabitants died of illnesses such as 
smallpox, measles, tuberculosis and cholera. At the same time, very 
few Europeans died of Native American diseases. This was a result 
of the crowded living conditions in Europe at the time, in which many 
people were living very close to each other, rarely bathing, and 
spreading disease. Over centuries, most living in the cities 
developed genetic immunity to the diseases. When the first colonists 
reached the New World, the Native Americans were simply 
unprepared for such powerful, quick diseases, and suffered as a 
result.