Time marches on, both for demons and the devils that contain them. At the end of the day, we all grow old.

by stormbreath

Harold Wodiew lived a rather uneventful life - or rather, as uneventful of a life as one could when you worked for the Foundation and were stationed in Sloth's Pit, Wisconsin. He was the Senior Archivist at the little site, storing the minor non-anomalous objects the Foundation wanted to hold onto, and all of their associated files.
He had a letter, from "ADRX-19". Checking with the records, he saw that it was the oldest Foundation site, back from the days before it was even called the Foundation. There had been an update - it was growing too old, and was being shelved, with everything being shipped off elsewhere.
Today, Site-87 received the first of their packages from the old base, a large wooden crate and a case of files to accompany it. It had been wheeled up to the bay doors of the Archives by a delivery man, and had stunned Harold when he read what was stamped to the side.

SCP-001

Harold looked at the delivery man, who only laughed and said, "You didn't hear? SCP-001 is dead."

Item Number Assignment: SCP-001-COG
Date: June 12th, 1904
Summary: Following the decision of the Administrator and Overseer Council to redesignate contained objects with arbitrary numerical designations, it has been decided that the anomaly formerly designated as #86243AR-001 will be reclassified to SCP-001-COG.
Formerly, the Foundation has appended all objects with a numeral designation indicating the order in which they brought into Foundation custody. As the new SCP-001-COG was the first object formerly contained by the Foundation, it was assigned the -001 tag. However, it has been decided that this system provides too much information to potential adversaries, and must be done away with.
The Overseer Council has elected to use the SCP-001 slot for a non-traditional purpose. Rather than host a single anomaly, it shall be a collection of the most dangerous, highest interest or most important anomalies contained by the Foundation. In this manner, the SCP-001 will contain an unknown number of real files, along with a large number of decoys.
However, the Administrator has voiced the opinion that placing SCP-001-COG among the other files of SCP-001 will allow it to act as both a real file and a decoy. The details of SCP-001-COG are accurate and can be placed within the SCP-001 slot without raising suspicion: one might think that we are merely being shy about our origins. However, it will belie the truly important anomalies of the SCP-001 slot, that actually require subterfuge.

Object Class Assignment: SCP-001-COG
Date: April 21st, 1912
Summary: Following an assessment by the Foundation's Classification Committee, it has been decided to assign SCP-001-COG the Object Class of "Euclid". This has been decided as a result of SCP-001's infrequent attempts to escape containment and the moderate danger level of the anomaly.
The Object Classification system is an attempt to assign simple metrics and descriptors to anomalies under Foundation supervision. These will ideally allow for a simple way to communicate the danger level posed by an anomaly in the event of a containment breach. Some have objected to this system as dangerously reductive, but the Classification Committee has decided the benefits outweigh the risks.
This may come as a surprise to certain readers who have been following the new Object Class system with interest. They may recognize that the "Keter" Object Class was named after the first fatality caused by SCP-001-COG, that of Doctor Hermann Keter. Dr. Keter was one of the highest ranked scientists in the Foundation prior to his death, and the decision was made to name a vital element of our operating practices after him. However, the anomaly that killed him does not meet the qualifications of a Keter-class anomaly.

Incident Report SCP-001-COG: Containment Breach
Date: 15/06/1932
Reporting Personnel: Sergeant Vincent Jordan
Summary: SCP-001-COG breached containment today, by creating a microsingularity close to it for teleportation. It reappeared fifty feet outside of its containment cell, attempting to travel the halls of ADRX-19. It is worth noting that this is substantially shorter than other teleportations that it has achieved, which have measured up to three thousand feet in the past.
After breaching containment, SCP-001-COG appeared confused by the bright lights of ADRX-19 (recently installed as part of a Foundation-wide attempt to renovate the appearance and decor of all Sites and Bases, but coincidentally helpful in the impediment of SCP-001-COG's escape attempts). As SCP-001-COG is photosensitive and harmed by light, it began to panic.
SCP-001-COG encountered a group of researchers and attacked. It first utilized a microsingularity, producing large amounts of radiation, poisoning all researchers. It attacked one researcher (Dr. Henrietta Clark) with its claws.
Site security arrived at the scene seconds later and scared SCP-001-COG away from the researchers with a burst of warning fire. They were able to successfully guide it back to its containment cell using high-intensity flashlights.
Dr. Henrietta Clark has been placed on medical leave and is expected to make a full recovery, as have all other involved researchers.

Incident Report SCP-001-COG: Neutralization
Date: 17/08/1961
Reporting Personnel: Sergeant Vincent Jordan, Junior
Summary: This morning, a routine check of all anomalies contained within ADRX-19 indicated that SCP-001 was not moving. After entering the containment cell, armed guards received no hostile response from SCP-001.
Further medical investigation of the anomaly revealed that it was no longer breathing, and its heart had stopped beating. While little is known about the biology of SCP-001, it was confirmed that it both had a pulse and needed to respirate.
This comes at the end of long period of apparent old age from SCP-001. In the past decade, SCP-001 has been weaker and more sluggish than it was when initially captured, demonstrating significantly less violent behavior and fewer breach attempts.
It is likely, therefore, that SCP-001 merely died of old age.
An autopsy for SCP-001 has been scheduled for 19/08/1961.

Foundation Wide Update: ADRX-19 Closure
Date: 01/06/1980
Summary: ADRX-19 was the first of the Foundation's dedicated containment locations, and its legacy still bears an impact on operations today. The leading containment site (Site-19) was named in honor of ADRX-19, as a tribute to the dedication of the individuals who worked at that site.
Many of the current operational practices and architectural designs that are used by all Foundation sites were first conceived and implemented at ADRX-19. These are many and vary wildly in nature, but ADRX-19 was the first Foundation building to truly have the "Foundation style" that is so familiar to us all.
However, ADRX-19 is growing old, and it is time for the Foundation to move on from these roots. Beginning in 1970, Phase I of a plan to phase out ADRX-19 began. As a result of this, anomalous objects ceased to be sent towards ADRX-19 for containment and were sent to other locations, including its successor, Site-19.

Beginning in 1973, all Keter class objects were transferred from ADRX-19 to other, more appropriate locations. Beginning in 1977, all Euclid class objects were transferred. And now, all remaining Safe or Neutralized objects are being transferred to other sites. Archival and low-security objects will be sent to appropriate locations.
The actual building of ADRX-19 will be demolished once all objects have been relocated, and all personnel stationed there will be transferred to new locations.
Overwatch would like to thank all the staff members of ADRX-19 for their commendable service over the past ninety years. Their dedication is appreciated.

In the crate, Harold found nothing more than a pile of inhuman and strange bones that belonged to something that should have never existed. The files he had been given were strange and outdated - they looked like they had been written decades ago and had never been updated.
He had heard legends about what SCP-001 was, little stories from here and there. The greatest failings of the Foundation and the Ethics Committee or secrets too terrible for the Foundation at large to know or terrible monsters. It happened all the time over lunch: "What do you think SCP-666 is? SCP-013? SCP-1000? SCP-001?"
He was disappointed, in a way, to know that it was nothing more than the first thing the Foundation ever threw into a box. There wasn't really anything important about it, not anymore, at least.
As Harold wheeled the crate containing the remains of SCP-001 to the back of the storage hanger, he mused to himself about how the Foundation had moved on. The documentation he recovered implied that SCP-001 had been crucial to some of the early decisions of the Foundation - Keter wasn't named after the Kabbalah but a German doctor, for instance.
So that's why it rhymes with Peter and not better?
Weeks after the bones of SCP-001 came in, Wodiew was still thinking about it. Something just didn't sit right with how something as influential as it was being treated. He had always assumed that SCP-001 was a cause for the foundation of the Foundation, rather than being as unimportant he discovered it to be.
One late night, just before he closed up the Archives for the night, Wodiew walked down the dank halls and found the crate that contained the skeleton. He cracked it open with a crowbar and removed the skull.
The Foundation had never figured out where SCP-001 had come from, or what it was. All they knew was that it was a demon that screamed radiation. It had died before they could ever figure it out - not that it looked like they were trying very hard when it did die.
He couldn't justify his feelings - there was just a gut instinct that SCP-001 was supposed to have been important. There wasn't any rhyme or reason for it, he had just heard too many rumors about what it was. But there was nothing that justified those feelings, and no reason it should be any different than the rest.
He raised the skull in his hand, examining it and turning it around, trying to find something that all those that had come before him had failed at doing, and failing at that.
Alas, poor SCP-001.