History: Original origin unknown. Recovered by private collector 
from shipwreck in the Straits of Florida in 1872. Owned by private 
collector in Havana, 1873-1895. Acquired by Foundation in 1895. 
Believed to be used to ignite powder charges on USS Maine, 15 
February 1898, instigating Spanish-American War. Nationalized by 
Cuban forces, 1959. Stolen by Marshall, Carter & Dark, Ltd., 1961. 
Sold by MC&D to "C" in 1971. Current whereabouts unknown; 
suspected to be in the possession of "C". Now implicated by 
Foundation sources in Pan Am Flight 103 bombing. 


TOP SECRET - Global Occult Coalition - TOP 
SECRET 


TOP SECRET - Global Occult Coalition - TOP 
SECRET 


POI-55057-Black 


Person-of-Interest ID: POI-55057-Black "C" 


POI-55057-Black. 


Authorized Response Level: 1 (Minimal Threat) 


Description: Member of Marshall, Carter & Dark, Ltd. identified only 
by the alias "C" signed in green ink. Little to no other information 
known. Believed to be in possession of at least nine (9) Known 
Threat Entities, purchased from MC&D. 


Rules of Engagement: Maintain discrete surveillance. Observe and 
report unusual activities. Gather additional information as possible. 


through a substance at the molecular or atomic level. See 
Addendum 608-1. 


Discovery: SCP-608 originally came to the attention of the 
Foundation after reports of glowing tinsel in 19 . Considered unlikely 
to be important, the item was nevertheless sought out. 
Unfortunately, the house in which it was kept at the time collapsed 
on it for reasons unknown, causing large masses to be pressed onto 
the object. The effect was comparable to a [REDACTED], producing 
an explosive force of tons as well as considerable quantities of 
alpha, beta, gamma and [REDACTED] radiation. No survivors were 
found within [REDACTED] of the origin, but the item survived 
apparently unharmed. 


Research Potential: The research team is currently awaiting 
permission to attempt firing beams of small particles at the object, in 
the hopes of discovering more fundamental particles than those 
currently known. In particular, the ability of the object to baffle lasers 
has been the source of some speculation, and it is high on the 
priority list if such research is ever permitted. 


Addendum 608-1: Once the precise nature of the item was 
determined, it was immediately confined to a vacuum chamber. 
Attempts were then made to obtain a sample for analysis. Results 
follow. 


Date: - -20 
Tool: Steel scissors. 
Result: Scissor blades were ruined, no visible impact. 


Date: - -20 
Tool: Vanadium-hardened steel saw. 
Result: Saw blade ruined, no visible impact. 


Date: - -20 
Tool: 100kW laser. 
Result: Halo noticeably intensified, no damage. 


Date: - -20 
Tool: Table saw with blade composed of SCP-_ - 
Result: The halo intensified when the tool was brought within 


Do not engage except during emergencies. 
Personal Information 


Name: Unknown 

Known Aliases: "C" 

Profession: Unknown 
Allegiances: MC&D Club member 


Nationality: Unknown, suspected British or American 
Gender: Unknown 
Date of Birth: Unknown, suspected prior to 1950. 


Height: Unknown 
Weight: Unknown 
Eye Color: Unknown 
Hair Color: Unknown 


Biographical Information: Essentially nothing is known about "C" 
apart from his/her apparent membership in Marshall, Carter & Dark, 
Ltd. "C" is known to have purchased approximately nine (9) KTEs 
from MC&D since 1968. Records stolen from MC&D suggest "C" to 
have relative wealth and possibly either British or American 
citizenship. "C" is believed fluent in at least English. All documents 
signed by "C" include only that letter, written in refined script in 
green ink of unknown manufacture. 


Associated KTEs 


* KTE-0235-Hemlock 

« KTE-0589-Baskerville 

¢ KTE-0777-lvory 

* KTE-0900-Keyhole-Green 
¢ KTE-1123-Tapdance-Blue 
* KTE-1515-Gaia 

¢ KTE-1767-Flint 

* KTE-2156-Woodwork 

¢ KTE-2247-Pearl 


TOP SECRET - Global Occult Coalition - TOP 
SECRET 


Muir examined the file's contents carefully. "Monica, please fax 
these to this number," he instructed, picking up his secure telephone 
unit and dialing. 


"Harper," said the voice on the other end of the line. 
"Tim, it's Troy. Monica's faxing you some documents," Muir said. 


There was a pause on the other end of the line. "| have them," 
Harper said. "Interesting. Do we have anything on this 'C' person?" 


"I'm not familiar with him. Or her," Muir said. "It'll take us a while to 
go digging through the archives." 


"Alright," Harper replied. "Any new leads?" 


Monica raised her eyebrows, and Muir hit the speaker button. "I've 
put you on speaker, Tim. Monica's here with me." 


"Mr. Harper, our agents embedded in the British police have finished 
their initial report," Monica explained. "We had them check the 
explosive signature against the exploding coins. It was a ninety- 
three percent match, though the margin of error was about eight 
percent because of the age of the coins' baseline comparison." 


"Alright," Harper said. "Nice to confirm what we already know. 
Continue." 


Monica nodded, even though Harper couldn't see her. "After you left 
for Moscow yesterday, | started trying to piece together who had 
access to the information that was leaked. We have no way of 
knowing for certain, because all the evidence was destroyed, and 
Director McDonnell only filed a preliminary paper report. He spoke to 
O5-5 personally, but -5 was also killed in the bombing. Given the 
nature of the information found as per the Director's initial report, at 
least one conspirator had Level 4 clearance or higher, but without 
specific SCP designations, | can't really rule anyone out. | looked at 
the Foundation's security clearance database, and there are at least 


fifteen hundred El Fours (that | had clearance to know about). And | 
don't have clearance to know exactly how many El Fives there are." 


"Even | don't know that, Monica," Harper said. "| suppose | have 
access now that | am one; | can look it up. | don't think it's more than 
a few dozen. The O05 Council, some but not all of the Directors for 
various sub-agencies, a few roving personnel like myself, not that 
many." 


Muir spoke up, "Tim, if we don't know what they had, we can't dig 
too much into this without it becoming a witch hunt." All three knew 
that such a witch hunt could do as much or more damage as the 
apparent conspiracy itself, and none of them wanted to be the 
Foundation's Angleton. 


"Let's focus on what we do know," Harper said. "McDonnell's report 
said something about the Overseers' schedules for the week. Focus 
on looking into their staff and security. We don't need another dead 
Overseer. In the meantime, I'll keep following the trail of the one 
object we do know the conspirators have." He disconnected the call. 


Muir and Monica set to work. They had to place the lives, habits, 
contacts, actions, schedules, and finances of over a hundred 
Foundation personnel under the microscope. Their task was all the 
much harder since they had no idea what, exactly, they were trying 
to find. With any luck, they'd know it when they saw it. With any 
good luck, that is. With bad luck, the conspirators would be able to 
do whatever they had planned next without interruption. 


Foundation Command-05, Moscow, USSR 
Friday, 23 December 1988, 1545 hours local time 


After finishing his call with Muir and Monica, Harper reread the files 
again. He decided to report what he had so far to O5-7. Leaving his 
palatial temporary office, he strode down the hall to the Level 5 
Office Reception and Security desk. Showing his credentials to the 
secretary, he said in Russian, "Please arrange for a secure 
teleconference with O5-7." 


"Yes, Comrade Investigator," the secretary replied. "She should be 


free in fifteen minutes. You are welcome to use the conference 
room; nobody is in there for another two hours." The secretary 
gestured to an open door. 


"Thank you, Comrade," Harper smiled. He entered the conference 
room and shut the door behind him. 


Just as the hour was chiming on the bells of St. Basil's Cathedral, 
the phone rang. Harper picked up the handset. "Harper," he said in 
English. 


A voice on the other end of the line said, "Please hold for 05-7." 


A moment later, Seven's voice said, "Mr. Harper, | take it you are 
making progress out there in Moscow?" 


"Yes, ma'am," Harper replied. "We've traced the source of the 
explosion to—" 


"The exploding coins?" Seven said. "| heard. Those have been 
nothing but trouble for the Foundation. | said it when | first became 
an Overseer, | still say it now." 


"Yes, ma'am. According to information from the Global Occult 
Coalition, the coins are in the possession of someone they know 
only as 'C'," Harper explained. "This 'C' person apparently bought 
them off of Marshall, Carter, & Dark back in seventy-one." 


"C?" asked Seven. "Interesting. First, a question though, Mr. Harper. 
What did you promise the GOC in exchange for the information?" 


"Nothing," said Harper. "Muir got it from one of his contacts as 
payment for an old favor." 


"Hmm," Seven said. "Alright. Be careful with the GOC, Mr. Harper." 


"Yes, ma'am, of course," Harper replied. "| figured they were better 
to interact with than Marshall, Carter and Dark, however." 


"True, the Club is not known for its cooperation," Seven said. "So, 
what do you know about this 'C'?" 


"Not much," admitted Harper. "The GOC file on C is essentially 
empty. Believed to be fairly wealthy, thought to own at least nine 
anomalous items, MC&D club member, probably American or 
British, signs with unidentifiable green ink. That's all we know so far. 
| have Muir and Ms. Daniel looking into the archives to see what 
might be there." 


"You can tell them to stop. There is nothing in the archives on this 
'C'," Seven stated definitively. "I've read all the files we have on 
every known MC&D club member. There is no file on any 'C' 
person." 


"Alright, I'll let them know," Harper said. "They're also looking at the 
personnel with access to the O5's schedules and security 
arrangements, since Director McDonnell's report mentioned the 
possibility of a threat against the Council." 


"Very good," Seven said. "Depending on the outcome of this 
investigation, Mr. Harper, you might be on the short list for being the 
counterintelligence director yourself. I've not spoken to the other 
Overseers yet, but I've followed your work for some time now, and | 
like what | see." 


Harper could think of nothing to say, so he said nothing. 


"Mr. Harper, | believe | may have a lead for you," Seven said. "Go to 
London. Speak to Sir James Mycroft. He is a mathematics professor 
at Cambridge. He is also something of an information broker about 
both the mundane and the paranormal - he is known to have 
supplied information to all of the various big players, including 
MC&D. | suspect he may know, or know of, this 'C' person." 


"| will do that," Harper affirmed. 
"Keep me informed," Seven said, disconnecting the call. 


Harper quickly called Muir to pass along the information. Then, he 
left the conference room. "Comrade, | need a seat on the next flight 
to London, as well as an English copy of the Foundation's file on a 
person of interest," he said to the secretary in Russian. 


"Of course, Comrade," said the secretary. "Do you have a reference 
number or name for the file?" 


"Yes," Harper said. "Sir James Mycroft." 


« Part Il | HUB | Part IV » 


Conspiracy, Part lV 


The Information Broker 


British Airways Moscow-Lonaon Flight, Somewhere over the North 
Sea 
Friday, 23 December 1988, 1900 hours GMT 


Enjoying a cigarette and nursing a thirty-year-old scotch, Harper 
perused the Foundation file on Professor Sir James Mycroft from the 
relative privacy of his first class seat. A curious fellow, this Sir 
James. As Harper read the file, it occurred to him that it was a little 
strange that he had never heard of the fellow before; after all, 
Harper was high in the Foundation's counterintelligence hierarchy, 
and the Special Contact Protocols related to the professor required 
any and all contact to be routed through Foundation Cl. Harper 
exhaled. Perhaps not, he thought. After all, the Foundation is a large 
organization with a great many contacts. | doubt even any one 
Overseer knows of all the various groups- or persons-of-interest. 


Person-of-Interest File 


Name: James Carl Mycroft 


Special Contact Protocols: All Foundation personnel are to 
observe caution and report any interaction with individual to 
Foundation counterintelligence. Individual is known to solicit 
classified material; unauthorized disclosure of information is grounds 
for disciplinary action under Foundation General Security Protocol 
03, Sections 366. 


Gender: Male 


Date of Birth: 12 March 1945 (age 44) 

Nationality: British; Maintains citizenship in both United Kingdom 
and Switzerland 

Hair: White (wears full beard, also white) 

Eyes: Blue 

Height: 188 cm 

Weight: Estimated ~80 kg (designated light heavyweight boxer 
during university days) 


Decorations/Honors: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent 
Order of the British Empire (GBE) 

Profession: Professor of Mathematics, Cambridge University, UK 
Academic History: 


¢ Bachelor of Science (Mathematics), Cambridge University (c/o 
1966) 

¢ Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematics), Cambridge University (c/ 
o 1970) 

* Doctor of Philosophy (Astronomy), Cambridge University (c/o 
1974) 


Academic Society Membership: Institute of Mathematics and its 
Applications, Institute of Physics, Royal Astronomical Society 


Language Proficiency: English (Native), German (Native), French 
(Fluent), Russian (Fluent), Italian (Conversational), Spanish 
(Conversational), Classical Latin (Rudimentary) 


Recruitment Prospects: Recruitment attempted and failed, 1971. 
(See addendum) 

Affiliations with Groups-of-Interest: Serves as freelance 
information broker, having provided information to the Foundation, 
the Global Occult Coalition, and Prometheus Labs, Inc.; Believed to 
be a club member of Marshall, Carter and Dark, Ltd.; Displays little 
loyalty to any single group and is willing to provide information to all 
sides if payment is sufficient. 

Threat Level: Moderate; Foundation personnel are to observe 
caution and report any interaction with individual to Foundation 
counterintelligence. 


Profile: Professor Sir James Mycroft is a Professor of Mathematics 


at Cambridge University. He has published extensively on advanced 
mathematics and celestial mechanics. He is also a freelance 
information broker for organizations studying the paranormal and 
preternatural. He displays little loyalty to any single such 
organization, preferring a self-described "neutral" stance. He has 
consulted with the Foundation on several occasions, both providing 
information about other organizations and objects not in the 
Foundation's custody, and performing analysis on mathematical or 
astronomical SCP objects. Though the source[s] of Mycroft's 
information within the Foundation and other organizations is/are 
unknown, it is speculated that said source[s] is/are high-level and 
pervasive. Foundation personnel are advised to observe caution 
when interacting with Mycroft; all such interactions are to be 
reported to Foundation counterintelligence. 


Mycroft is wealthy, owning large shares in a variety of major 
corporations including (but not limited to): 


¢ Baasch Engineering Corporation 

* Global Transport, Ltd. 

* Howell Information Technologies 

¢ Huntington Arms, Inc. 

¢ Prometheus Labs, Inc. [*Group-of-interest to the Foundation] 
* Saito Mining Industries 

¢ Wallace Security Enterprises