SCP-001: I've had enough of...of ambiguity. Faces | don't 
recognize, people | can't know...I'd just like the truth. 


Man: I'm getting to it. | sat there, at my desk, and files crossed it. 
The place | worked, it was close to the underside of the world. You 
heard things. The files | read in my time there...blood-red pools that 
spat out horrors, monsters that screamed radiation at you, hordes of 
monsters that nobody could ever see. How could | just ignore those 
things? File them and forget them? How could anyone? 


Pause. 


Man: | decided | couldn't. | left that desk behind, but | took the files. 
Took the proof. Almost caught a bullet in the head for that. But there 
were people — there were people who looked at those files, and 
promised me as much money as | needed. Thirteen people, from all 
around the world. 


The man sighs. 


Man: They talk about necessary evil these days. Like that's always 
been the case. But | always thought...at the very beginning, | 
believed that we would be an objective good. | sincerely believed 
that. | know that a lot of things were — are — necessary, but this... 


The man gestures to SCP-001. 


Man: This isn't necessary. It just isn't. 


Pause. 


Man: This has happened so many times. I've probably told this story 
before. I'm just so tired. 


SCP-001: | can't say | know what you're talking about...but I'm tired 
too. 


Man: The men outside will take you somewhere you can rest. And 
that's not a euphemism, | mean it. But | just need you to do two 
things for me. 


SCP-001: For a chance to rest, anything. 
The man holds out a file to SCP-001 — contents uncertain. 


Man: There are thirteen names there. Thirteen life stories I'd like 
you to look at and know. 


SCP-001 reads the file in the man's hands. 
SCP-001: Now what? 


Man: Thirteen people just lost their immortality. For some of them, 
that was probably a mercy. 


SCP-001: | see. What is the second thing you need from me? 
The man puts the pistol to his head. 

Man: | just need you to watch this, and remember it. 

Pause. 

SCP-001: There's no need for that. 


Man: There is. | told you — this has happened before. And they've 
brought me back, whatever Council is in charge at the time. They 
have ways of doing that. They swear never to use them, but they do, 
every time / die. I'm less than a figurehead, and they always think 
they need me. They don't. They never do. 


Pause. 


SCP-531: Paired Brass Guard Cats 


Item #: SCP-531 
Object Class: Safe 


Special Containment Procedures: SCP-531 statues are effectively 
harmless when kept facing each other. When not being studied they 
are stored in matched pairs in the medium-security facility _, 
placed in wall alcoves on opposite sides along a marble-lined 
hallway in an arrangement that approximates the circumstances 
where the original pair was found. The alcoves have sliding doors 
that can be closed via remote control to make it easier to approach 
them for maintenance or experimentation, or on those occasions 
when there are an odd number of statues in inventory. There are 
currently fourteen statues in inventory, numbered SCP-531-1 to 
SCP-531-14. 


If it is anticipated that the Foundation will have an odd number of 
SCP-531 statues in inventory for an extended period of time (i.e., it 
is not a temporary condition resulting from an in-progress test), a D- 
class personnel should be assigned to ensure that all statues have a 
partner. It is better to do this in a controlled manner than risk an 
accidental exposure. 


Description: SCP-531 consists of several paired sets of brass 
statues depicting stylized felines. The cats are in a seated posture, 
looking forward with ears raised in what is usually described as an 
‘attentive’ expression. Each cat is 74.2 cm tall and is solid metal 
weighing 451.7 kilograms. Their eyes are inset with what appear to 
be polished tiger-eye stones that give an impression of 
luminescence, though they do not directly emit visible light. 


The original pair of these statues was found by an archaeological 
expedition in a tomb near , Egypt, that dated to 
approximately B.C. The outer chamber of the tomb had been 
thoroughly looted in antiquity. The two SCP-531 statues were 


Man: If you watch this...see this, then I'm dead. That's a fact. 
Pause. 
SCP-001: | - 


The man pulls the trigger. The man dies. 


input: Access Level 5 network. 


O5 Council 


input: Continue. 


input: Only when waning. 


GS-1: 


input: | suspect foul play was involved in my promotion. | doubt that 
O5-1 'retired' as was suggested to me by Mr. Tejani. Check your 
systems for interference. 


input: Report. 


input: It was most likely illegitimate, then. Check for further traces. 


input: Yes. 


input: Check candidates. 


input: | see. Well done. 


input: Randomly assign my position and control of 
Résh-1 to one of the remaining candidates. Let them 
know it's best to fade from view. 


input: Disable security on SCP-001's containment 
chamber. 


input: Yes, I'm still here. Play that song | like, will you? 


input: Log off. Goodbye, Hellenstic. 


Administrator. 


Footnotes 

1. See A.A. Gilford'sVanishing Magic: The Erosion of the Cheated 
Deathin the Thaumaturgical Archives for more information. 

2. See Dr. Harold Gradian'sThe Fluidity of Perception: Amnestics in 
the New Millennium. 

3. Given the principles of Erikeshan conceptual engineering, this 
was presumably to reduce the size of SCP-001 before conceptual 
fusion. 

4. For information on the precise physical and genetic attributes 
required for SCP-001 candidacy, refer to Supplementary Document 
001-1. 


Lily's Proposal: The World's Gone Beautiful 


Item #: SCP-001 
Object Class: Unnecessary 


Special Containment Procedures: SCP-001 does not need to be 
contained. 


In the event of SCP-001 occurring, all personnel, including D-class, 
are to be honorably discharged, and may do what they wish with 
their remaining time. All sapient and non-aggressive SCPs are to be 
released. Any further SCPs which can be decommissioned are to 
be. All remaining Foundation sites are to be run by the AIAD 
systems. 


Specifically bred instances of SCP-514 are to be released globally. 


Description: SCP-001 refers to an event occurring shortly before 
the cessation of all life on Earth. Whilst SCP-001 has not yet taken 
place, it was discovered through various pieces of information 
gathered from extra-universal Foundations and other similar groups 
(see attached document 001-A for a list of such communications). 


It is important to note SCP-001 is not the cause of the apocalyptic 
scenario, merely a pre-occurrence response to it. SCP-001 is, 
according to records, distinctively recognised by certain key 
features. 


During an SCP-001 event, flowers are observed to spontaneously 
appear and bloom over ~90% of the viable land surface of the 
planet. These flowers are universally referred to as "vibrant", 
"bright", "beautiful", and/or words to this effect. The weather will 
clear, globally, with an ambient temperature recognised as 
comfortable by the majority of the populace. Air pollution will 
additionally clear. 


During an SCP-001 event, the global populace will become aware of 
the fate of the Earth, and of its inevitability. They will also experience 
heavily decreased levels of violence. 


SCP-001 will occur exactly 24 hours before the death of all life on 
the planet. 


Tufto's Proposal: The Scarlet King 


Item #: SCP-001 
Object Class: Keter Safe 


Special Containment Procedures: Following the recent 
investigations of Dr. Robert Montauk, no action is currently needed 
to contain SCP-001. It is functionally self-containing, and any 
Foundation interference may harm or alter its containment 
irreversibly. 


No Foundation personnel are to engage with any new matters 
related to SCP-001, with the exception of related anomalies already 
in Foundation containment. 


Description: SCP-001 is an entity ordinarily referred to as the 
Scarlet King. SCP-001 is currently located in several alternate 
dimensions simultaneously, and is unable to enter into the prime 
dimension. However, it is believed to have been repeatedly 
attempting entry for a period of several thousand under 300 years. 
SCP-001's physical, mental and conceptual properties are unknown 
to the Foundation; nevertheless, it continues to assert a strong 
influence on a number of individuals and events within the prime 
dimension. 


It is believed that SCP-001's existence represents an ongoing but 
dormant Tashkent-Class "Cross-Pollination" Scenario’; should 
SCP-001 enter the prime timeline, an irreparable alteration to 
normalcy will occur. Containment of SCP-001 is a top priority is, 
however, unnecessary. Any attempt to alter SCP-001's classification 
or object class will result in immediate dismissal from the O5 
Council. 


References in art and oral tradition to SCP-001 appear across a 
wide variety of human and non-human cultures across the universe, 
including in communities which have never previously had any 


contact with one another. Common descriptions within these 
traditions are of a red creature of immense size, ordinarily wearing a 
golden crown or other headdress signifying royalty. Although the 
names ascribed to SCP-001 vary, the majority contain two elements: 
a word signifying some form of royalty combined with a word 
signifying the colour red. Cultures which do not have a concept of 
the colour red but follow this naming pattern universally use a colour 
analogous to the English concept of the colour red. 


Most personnel, except those working on anomalies related to 
SCP-001, possess no knowledge of the entity. As part of 
SCP-2317's containment procedures, Level 4 personnel2 are to be 
informed that SCP-2317 is, in fact SCP-001. The truth of this is 
unknown, although it is a hypothesis which has received strong 
support among several members of the council. The apparently 
multidimensional nature of SCP-001, however, renders the 
possibility of SCP-2317 being anything more than a single aspect of 
SCP-001 unlikely. 


It is unknown when SCP-001 was discovered. The loss of several 
archives concerning the Foundation's origins in the 1889 "Snarling 
Coup" has prevented a full reconstruction of events, although an 
investigation shortly following [DATA EXPUNGED]. A variety of 
groups dedicated to bringing SCP-001 into the prime dimension 
have existed over the years. The most recently of these has been 
the "Children of the Scarlet King", which was destroyed in a joint 
GOC-SCP operation in January 2018. Its former leader, Dipesh 
Spivak, is currently in Foundation custody under the designation 
Pol-3172. 


Update 01/06/2018: SCP-001 has recently been the subject of an 
extensive investigation by Dr. Robert Montauk, Project Lead on 
SCP-001, SCP-231 and SCP-2317, and deviser of Procedure 110- 
Montauk. 


Based on the results of this investigation, SCP-001 has been 
downgraded to Safe following a decision taken by the O5 Council. 
Upon the request of the former O5-13, a number of documents 
related to this investigation can be found below, in order to provide 
context and further information pertaining to this theory. These have 
been curated, categorised and included by the former O5-13 herself 


with the permission of O5-1, in order to provide some context to this 
re-evaluation. 


+Phase 1: 'Blood' 


Document 1: The following is an interview between Dr. 
Robert Montauk and Pol-3172. 


Date: 01/04/2018. 

Interviewer: Dr. Robert Montauk. 
Interviewee: Pol-3172 

Location: Site 713, Interview Room 2. 
<Begin Log> 


Pol-3172: Again, Dr. Montauk? | don't 
understand what you people want from me. 


Dr. Montauk: Hello to you too, Dipesh. I'm 
sorry to do this to you again. | think it's silly 
too, to be honest. What we want from you are 
answers. 


Pol-3172: It's been, what- weeks, months? 
You've dragged me down here, into one of 
your interview rooms, and asked me these 
endless questions. You or one of your lackeys. 


Dr. Montauk: I'm sorry if you've been made to 
feel uncomfortable. It wasn't my intention, but 
it's hard to keep tabs on everything any more. 
Have the guards been treating you badly in 
any way? 


Pol-3172: No. No, not really. | can't really 
complain. It's just their eyes. They look so 
dead, so cold. 


Dr. Montauk: If you like, | can rearrange some 


personnel and put someone else on your 
security detail. We're a bit short-staffed around 
here at the moment, and a lot of our best folks 
are away. And then there's the paperwork, and 
the endless oversight. There's been some 
trouble over with- well, you don't need to know 
about that. 


Pol-3172: You weren't what | expected, you 
know. 


Dr. Montauk: You thought the Foundation 
would be different? 


Pol-3172: No. | thought you would be. 
Dr. Montauk: You'd heard of me? 


Pol-3172: Of what you've done. Procedure 
110-Montauk, well... the people in my circles 
have done some dark things in their time, but 
that- 


Dr. Montauk: | merely did what was 
necessary, Mr. Spivak. As a Foundation 
researcher, and as someone who doesn't want 
to see his loved ones die. 


Pol-3172: Yes. That's very like the 
Foundation, isn't it? Everything done is 
justified by what is necessary. You see the 
world, the people moving through it, living lives 
touched only be totalising, universal laws of 
society and physics. And everything has to be 
channelled through those laws, and that which 
lies outside it is to be contained. It's all so very 
simple. 


Dr. Montauk: You wouldn't say that if you 
worked here. 


Pol-3172: Some of us called you evil. | don't 
think that's quite it. 


Dr. Montauk: That is kind of you to say. And 
to tell you the truth, | don't think you're quite 
what | expected, either. Especially given your 
reputation. 


Pol-31 72: I've been told | am a hard person to 
get along with. Too "cryptic", they say. One 
person even called me "airy". 


Dr. Montauk: | don't think I'd call you "airy". 
Your head may be in the clouds, but you seem 
to be maddeningly smug about it. Granted, not 
as smug as some of the delusional cultists 
who have passed through here. | suppose | 
should be thankful for that, at least. 


Pol-3172: I'll try not to take that as an insult. 
But this is what | don't understand. Your 
procedure. 110-Montauk. It's not- 


Dr. Montauk: | can't discuss that, I'm afraid. 
We must get on. Time and tide and all that 
rubbish. Please tell me what the Children of 
the Scarlet King's overall intention was. 


Pol-3172: The Children are dead. There's not 
much left to tell you. 


Dr. Montauk: | would like to hear things in 
your own words. 


Pol-3172: Then | suppose you could say that 
our "intention" was to save the world. 


Dr. Montauk: And how were you planning to 
go about doing that? 


Pol-3172: By bringing the Scarlet King into this 
reality, of course. You know this already. 


located in the passage leading to the inner chamber, in alcoves 

54 cm above the floor on either side of the passage and facing each 
other across it. Although the passage was open, no looting had 
occurred beyond this point. The expedition's members experienced 
an extreme aversion to passing in between the two statues and it is 
speculated that this psychological barrier is what protected the inner 
chamber from prior looters.