Santa turned around calmly and he saw a young boy, most likely 
aged between six to nine. The young boy was holding an action 
figure of a brass robot, worn with age — the many years it had been 
in this boy's possession. The young boy stared blankly at this stout 
stranger in front of him, trying his hardest not to blink. 


But in the end, the temptation to blink was too potent and the boy 
blinked. Santa was no longer by the Christmas tree; he was right in 
front of the boy. He bent down again and presented the boy with the 
gift box. 


"Little Fred, | presume? Take it." 


The boy accepted the gift box, dropping his brass action figure in the 
process. He shook the box, wondering what it could be. All this time, 
Santa looked on with a gentle smile on his face. 


"If anyone asks, it's from your daddy." He said, exiting the room. 


With Santa gone, Fred continued to fiddle with his latest gift. And 
then... 


"Fred, who were you talking with just now?" His mother called out, 
holding a flashlight in her hand. 


"Santa Claus, he's kinda round." 


And so, rinse and repeat the same process, Santa eventually 
delivered gifts to all the children of the world. And finally, he went off 
to his final destination for the season — Site-19. The hallways of 
Site-19 are long and winding, although Santa knew his way around 
well enough. He walked past the D-class and staff dormitories, and 
the various cages that held many lethal SCP objects. 


Finally, Santa stopped — in front of a cell door. The door opened on 
its own accord, as though it noticed Santa's presence. Inside is an 
empty room of concrete with a Faraday cage. Santa entered the 
room and the door slammed shut. Outside that door, it remained a 
silent night with no further movement. 


Days later, Dr. Hughes of Site-19 was making his rounds to the 
anomalies under his supervision. He entered the cells of one his 
assigned SCPs: a room with a Faraday cage inside. Santa was 
seated inside that cell. 


"Good morning, SCP-055." said the doctor. 


"...And the big reveal is, Santa Claus is actually SCP-055!" Jr. 
Researcher Hu Zhi finished his narration of his Tale to his elder 
sister, Dr. Hu An. 


An silently typed into her tablet, and showed it to her younger 
brother. 


You do know there are severe lapses in logic in your 
story. Santa does not exist. It is impossible for a human 
being to distribute gifts to about 1.9 billion children 
across the world within one cycle of the Earth's rotation. 
Your depiction of Site-19 is a complete mockery to the 


Foundation's largest facility. And | suspect you named 
the boy "Fred" intentionally. 


Furthermore, it is not advisable to make light of a Keter- 
class SCP, even if it were for jest. 


"Sis, lighten up. It's the Christmas season!" Zhi insisted, "Given the 
stress of our day jobs, a bit of humour and entertainment will keep 
us sane enough to fight another day. This break's until the 26th, so 
let's savour the moment." 


An sighed at Zhi's response, face-palming herself as she relented to 
her brother's logic. She briefly glanced at the empty third chair in the 
dinner table, while typing in her tablet. Zhi peeked at the tablet. 


You sure Bao will be coming home for Christmas? 
"Yes, he should have alighted by now." 
As Zhi spoke, An continued typing additional words. 


Even father couldn't convince him to come home. You 
seriously think your emails can get through that thic 


The door bell to the Hu residence rang, while An kept on typing. The 
two siblings removed themselves from the circular dinner table at 
once, going to the door. As the door opened, it revealed the Hu 
siblings’ youngest brother — known as Agent Hu Bao at work. 


"Told you he'll be back." Zhi remarked; to which, An smiled gently. 


"Merry Christmas guys." Bao greeted. 


An Anthropological Approach to Sarkicism - Case Study 
01: The Vasha of Sarvi 


An Anthropological Approach to 
Sarkicism 


Dr. Matthieu Desmarais, Department of Anthropology 


Forward: 

Our understanding of Sarkicism has changed 
dramatically over the last few decades. This information 
has revealed a diverse and shifting paradigm far different 
from the monolithic creed first hypothesized. We are now 
able to paint a broader, more detailed picture of the 
Sarkic religion, its various sects and cultural traditions. 


Modern sects are the product of divergent 
interpretations, many bearing a mere superficial 
resemblance to their ancient progenitor cult. Most 
unexpected, especially among early scholars of 
Sarkicism such as myself, are the seemingly benevolent 
intentions of its founders. The road to hell, it is often said, 
is paved with good intentions - an aphorism the 
Foundation must always keep close in mind, for despite 
the aeons between us, we gaze into that very same 
abyss. 


And like the ancient Sarkites, we have found it full of 
monsters. 


Dr. Desmarais, at great risk to himself, seeks to better 
understand Sarkicism and its ever shifting paradigm 
through the study of living communities - revealing what 
ruins, artifacts, and the dead cannot. Though his 
methods are unorthodox (at least for the Foundation), his 


have been 
allocated to 
research 
possible 
identities of 
the bishop in 
question. 


Remaining records are sealed until further notice. 


Addendum: Excerpts from analysis of SCP-928 
gameplay. 


Document has been modified to increase readability for 
researchers and executives who are not intimately 
familiar with chess strategy and tactics. 


...While SCP-928's strategy is difficult to 
ascertain given the very incomplete 
information existing regarding the game state 
and the actions of its opponent, I've come to 
the conclusion that SCP-928 is, if not highly 
skilled, then at least gives a very good 
impression of it. | would put it roughly on par 
with myself and slightly above Researcher 
Kaplan. It does not appear to possess the 
center squares, but | believe it is attempting to 
control them from the outside, suggesting 
influence from the hypermodern school... 


...On the whole, if | were forced to make an 
assessment, its play style is most reminiscent 
of Alekhine? , but as Alekhine did not play 
Capablanca chess, and | am not as well- 
versed in that particular variation's masters, | 
cannot say for sure. Given the dearth of data 
with which | have to work, nothing more should 
be expected... 


...| can say very little about Black except that it 
seems to surpass SCP-928 in skill. While 


results are undeniable and deserving of continued 
support. 


Dr. Judith Low, Senior Adviser at the Department of 
History - Religious Gol Threat Analysis. 


CASE STUDY 01: The VaSna of Sarvi 


Overview: 


A number of indigenous Finno-Ugric people inhabit the Arctic area of 
Sapmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Norway, 
Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. Due to a distant 
but shared cultural origin, Sarkic communities are difficult to 
differentiate from local Sami! but these similarities quickly disappear 
with closer inspection. These people identify themselves as the 
Vasna and they are the subject of this study. 


One Vasna community is the village of Sarvi. Located on the coast 
Lake Inari in the Lapland region of Finland, the people of Sarvi are 
isolated but self-sufficient. They harvest fish via primitive but clever 
traps and herd a distinct subspecies of reindeer for meat, fur, and 
transportation. Sarvi remains connected to other VaSna communities 
throughout the Arctic, including some which are entirely nomadic, 
but who join together for significant religious events or in the 
defense of their ancestral homeland. 


History: 


The Vasna belong to Haplogroup N (M231), a Y-chromosome DNA 
haplogroup typical of Northern Eurasia and have likely lived along 
Lake Inari for the last 4,000-6,000 years. It is believed that the 
Vasna descend from or share a common ancestry with the so-called 
"reindeer folk of Adi-um", a Finno-Ugric people once native to the 
Northern Urals who were among the first followers of Grand Karcist 
lon. 


The Norse saga "The Tale of Asbjorn the Unready" relates a failed 
invasion of Lapland, whose inhabitants closely resemble Finno-Ugric 
Sarkites. The natives are described as having ghostly pale bodies 
(though this is likely a reference to white body paint) covered in red- 


colored runes. There are frequent (often gratuitous) references to 
blood and flesh, as well as "blood magic", a "land kraken", a "god of 
entrails", and several stanzas dedicated to the description of a 
Norse warlord being turned "inside-out". 


For a time the inhabitants of Sapmi, whether Sarkic or non- 
anomalous Sami, lived in relative peace. Sweden and Norway would 
seize control of the area by the 15th century but the Vasna tribes, 
due to their northern isolation, remained largely unaffected. During 
World War II, German forces in Northern Finland applied scorched 
earth tactics to the region, causing devastating losses among both 
the Vasna and Sami. Between 1946 and 1961, the village of Sarvi 
was under the occupation of GRU Division "P" and village elders 
speak of brutal experimentation and later, unmerciful vengeance. 
Although the elders do not explain what occurred in detail, they were 
certain to note that it did prevent GRU Division "P" from ever 
returning. 


Culture, Tradition, and Misconceptions: 


The Va$na refer to their religious beliefs as Na/ka@; the word 
"Sarkic" is actually a pejorative created by the Mekhanites, an 
ancient anomalous cult of Mediterranean origin (as well as the 
probable forebears of the Church of the Broken God). Efforts to 
remove this Eurocentric misnomer from the Foundation lexicon have 
proven fruitless. Sarkites worship neither "flesh" or a "god of flesh"; 
in fact, while there is a belief in the existence of gods, they are 
reviled rather than revered - an example of dystheism, the belief that 
a god, goddess, or singular God is not wholly good as presented 
and even possibly evil. 


The Grand Karcist and his Klavigar play an important role in daily 
living. Lovataar$ (Lovarakka‘ to the Vagna) is invoked by soon-to-be 
mothers and those seeking love; Orok® offers strength, protection, 
and amulets depicting his icon are worn by hunters for good luck; 
Nadox® (pronounced "Naw-dock" by the Vagina) is prayed to by 
those seeking wisdom or those merely wishing to make the right 
choice; Saarn’ is less commonly called upon but when she is, it is 
usually in the hopes of cursing/vowing vengeance upon an enemy; 
and the Grand Karcist lon (pronounced "Yon" by the VaSna) is 
prayed to daily (although the Vasna request little from him, claiming 


that his "work" is too important to be selfishly interrupted). 


Reports of human sacrifice appear to be unfounded. The community 
practices endocannibalism as a funerary rite but scoffed at the 
implication of hunting humans (though they do state that it would be 
"wasteful" to simply allow any corpse to decay). 


Life in Sarvi is relatively simple (even idyllic, if one enjoys the cold). 
An outsider might not notice anything unusual at first and | would go 
so far as to argue that these people could assimilate into other 
communities without significant issue (were they to choose to do 
so). Peace is valued and rarely broken beyond the occasional petty 
squabble. 


Neither puritanical nor libertine8, the Vasa have a generally healthy 
attitude towards love and sexuality. One today might refer to these 
views as progressive but such a label is relative and distracts from 
the ancient roots of their norms and folkways. Sexual orientation is 
regarded as a spectrum (though they do not refer to it as such) and 
concepts like heterosexuality and homosexuality are viewed as 
strange and restricting. The Vasna do not allocate labor based on 
gender, despite living a traditional way of life that tends to lend itself 
to such a practice, and this has possibly resulted in a diminished 
concept of gender - but gender and even biological sex? appear to 
be quite fluid throughout all Sarkic traditions. 


The denizens of Sarvi treat the human body as a canvas, artistically 
expressing themselves through tattoos, scarification, bone piercings, 
and the occasional corporeal augmentation!9. Traditional garb is 
practical and rustic but includes a pleasing aesthetic. Such outfits 
are usually composed of wool, leather, and fur. Locals use natural 
dyes which include red"1, blueish black'2, and yellow!3 and clothes 
are decorated with symbols and patterns associated with the Sarkic 
religion. 


Though physically isolated, the people of Sarvi are not entirely 
disconnected from the outside world - radios have long been 
common and the younger generation occasionally gains access to 
technology with internet access. The incremental nature of these 
changes are not the result of some aversion to technology but rather 
due to an extreme distaste for money, with most residents preferring 


to barter with outsiders. Sarvi, in turn, functions as a sort of proto- 
communism, the concept of private property being entirely foreign as 
well. 


Those born within Sarvi are free to leave and it is possible that their 
traditions are being secretly practiced in more populated areas 
without any taking notice. From what | am able to gather, most 
return but those that stay with the outside world are not begrudged 
for their choice (though | have certainly sensed disappointment, take 
that as you will). Locals refer to this practice as one's Valtaanok (or 
"The Wandering"). Davgon'4, a young man in his mid-twenties, 
attended university at Helsinki before returning; he received a 
degree in microbiology and financially supported himself through 
"odd jobs". | would interview Davgon about his culture and faith; the 
transcript is available in the collapsible below: 


+ Interview Subject: Davgon the Younger (06/15/2015) 
Interviewed: Davgon the Younger'S 
Interviewer: Dr. Matthieu Desmarais 


Foreword: Davgon is less apprehensive 
towards the Foundation than other residents. 
Earning his trust and confidence is 
instrumental to my work in Sarvi. Intelligent 
and inquisitive, he enjoys relating his 
interpretations of Sarkic scripture and how 
they pertain to modern science. 


<Begin Log> 


Dr. Desmarais: Hello Davgon. | would like to 
ask you a few questions. 


Davgon the Younger: Go ahead. 


Dr. Desmarais: How does your community 
view the practice of lihakut'ak'6? 


Davgon the Younger: To shepherd the flesh 
is no trivial act. Yes, some are born with a 


natural affinity for the craft, but it requires 
meditation, years of training. Nor should it be 
abused for the sake of power and glamour. 


Dr. Desmarais: Do you have any idea how it 
works? 


Davgon the Younger: It isn't magic. The 
actual mechanics are beyond me but... try to 
imagine yourself perceiving all living things at 
a genetic level. Imagine shifting through cells, 
moving them around, switching genes on or off 
as if they were a light switch. [Subject laughs 
nervously, his face visibly reddened] I'm sorry, 
but I'm not very good at this. | might as well try 
to explain color to the blind. If performed 
correctly, it is a transformative experience. 
Exploiting a flaw in nature, pulling it like a 
thread of cloth and watching the whole thing 
uncoil before your eyes. The hard part is using 
that thread to create something new. 


Dr. Desmarais: So you have experience with 
the craft? 


Davgon the Younger: Yes. Some. I'll have to 
show you the burrows later. | doubt the elders 
would mind. 


Dr. Desmarais: | would very much like that.17 


Davgon the Younger: Good. Good. [Subject 
smiles] 


Dr. Desmarais: Do you not change 
yourselves? We have encountered other 
practitioners of your faith who- 


Davgon the Younger: [Subject interrupts] We 
are *nothing* like the Gluttonous. 


Dr. Desmarais: Explain?