by Ethagon

3/6471 LEVEL 3/6471
CLASSIFIED

Item #: SCP-6471

Thaumiel

Foundation Alignment: Neutral/Orthogonal

Classification Notice: If the Foundation Alignment of SCP-6471 worsens, SCP-6471 should be reclassified to either Keter, Euclid, or Decommissioned depending on successful Containment.
Special Containment Procedures: Foundation Operatives are to control the largest guild in SCP-6471 at all times, both in the size of its player base and the controlled territory. At least 40% of this guild is to be controlled from both the internal and the public-facing gaming breakroom of Site-EX with the cover story of "Virtual Reality focused research".
The Guild Manager is to provide cover for any Containment Missions that can only be carried out through SCP-6471. The respective Containment Teams are to be instructed in the relevant mechanics of SCP-6471 to carry out their mission.
The debug mode of SCP-6471 is only to be activated for Containment Missions or research into SCP-6471. Research into SCP-6471 requires the approval of the Director of Site-118 or in their absence the approval of the Site-120 Director Council.
Under no circumstances is SCP-6471 to be played in Esterberg.
Description: SCP-6471 is the VRMMORPG1 "A Midsummer Night's Game Online" published by Super Carefree Playing on the 21st June 2004. The Game can only be played with a CAVE system specifically designed for the game.2 The plot revolves around the players being called into the "Connected Realm" by the Twilight Castle to claim rulership for it over the many territories that are "representations from thousands of different worlds". The goal of the game is to claim all territories for the Twilight Castle in exchange for "eternal glory".
The game is influenced by the current state of the World Wide Web and vice versa, with most in-game actions that have an effect on the World Wide Web being only possible in the debug mode.
It is currently theorized that SCP-6471 is not a video game, but rather another realm accessible only by playing the video game. If this theory is correct, then SCP-6471 should adapt to future hardware as if it was originally released for the new hardware.
Discovery: SCP-6471 came to the Foundation's attention because of the game's unusual release decision. The game needing its own dedicated CAVE system makes requiring the game expensive, especially with the general disinterest in Virtual Reality for the last few years. This, together with the Company's SCP initials despite having no apparent connections to the Foundation made an investigation into SCP-6471 necessary.
Investigation Logs:

The first thing we checked was the gameplay, so it wasn't long until we found our first surprise: The game's magic system is very close to real thaumaturgy. I've double-checked with one of ours and it seems like all spells are constructed with restrictions that make them impossible to cast on earth in this way. Seems like the game was designed with the Veil in mind.
Every "territory" in the game seems to mirror more or less one website. Claiming that territory for the Twilight Castle entails placing a "Sun Anchor" in a section of the territory that you usually reach after defeating a boss or completing a minigame. In the game itself, this makes the whole territory a bit brighter and warmer. Outside of the game it apparently results in one part of the corresponding website not being erasable. Again, this seems to have been done with the Veil in mind. We did this for a few websites and it always ends up being something you don't notice is still there if you don't specifically check for it. And if you delete the website, the territory for it becomes unreachable in the game.
For the territories themselves, you have things like flying castles made out of magnifying glasses, I'm pretty sure that one corresponds to Yahoo!, a lot of dreamlike forests and markets selling things like "The legacy of a king", "A piece of summer 1540" or "a never broken promise". The Twilight Castle itself is also an interesting case. The whole game is set at night but here there seems to be a sun "behind" the night sky like it's a bulged carpet hanging over the Twilight Castle. It's hanging lower with each claimed territory, but it seems to slow exponentially, so I doubt it will ever reach the castle.
Inside the Twilight Castle are NPCs called "Guests" that can steal your username (which doesn't have any consequences outside of that) and they're led by a "First Guest" who we couldn't encounter yet. Other players mentioned this First Guest thanked them for the claimed territories and asked them if they would like to make their stay permanent. I haven't heard of a player who accepted the offer, so I have to assume negative consequences.
Based on this I think Fae are involved one way or the other. I've reached out to Site-118 and Site-120 for further comment. There also seems to be a debug mode, but we need to activate it by connecting with a specific Super Carefree Playing server, so I'll have to look into that as well.
— Special Investigator Klara Lambrecht

I've got a response from both Sites and we seem to be on the right track with the Fae.
Randall Owings, the Director of Site-118, says he recalls SCP-6471, but only things that are mentioned to him. He took some mnestics to no effect, but memory and database tampering seems like a given now. He guessed the Fae, he was certain that that's what the guests are, are trying to establish a Court in this "Connected Realm". He could have elaborated, but I'd have to take amnestics after the investigation and I don't take those if I can avoid it. Experience is useless if I can't remember anything to apply it. I'll get information for these courts elsewhere.
I don't have access to the debug mode yet, but we're close to getting it. Super Carefree Playing uses similar methods to some Foundation Sites for its authentication. That, the name and the Veil-centered design almost confirm that we're at least dealing with an organization that had former ties to the Foundation.
From Site-120 I got the info that there apparently was an "Esterberg Release" of the game and it got in legal trouble. And instead of settling that in a minor court, they choose to appeal to the Supreme Summer Court, the highest court in Esterberg. They had to pay a fine, but otherwise, the release of the game was granted. From what I can tell this seems to be the only special release of SCP-6471. I've sent the Supreme Summer Court a mail and I'll go over what purpose this release might serve with some Site-120 personnel until they respond.
— Special Investigator Klara Lambrecht

To: SCP Foundation
From: Surpreme Summer Court of Esterberg
Subject: RE: A Midsummer Night's Game Online: Esterberg Release

You are in contact with the Supreme Summer Court of Esterberg. All statements made by you, related parties, and the Court as part of this conversation are objectively true.
To the Foundation Operatives this concerns,
With the current state of things, I am not at liberty to discuss the content of the trial. You have however no interest in the contents of the trial, so I will instead write about things that actually concern you:

Your investigation team has strong suspicions as to what purpose the "Esterberg Release" serves. They are correct.
The fine was set higher than usual but is still within the margin our judges are allowed. The higher fine served as a punishment for bending the Court's authority for things not concerning Esterberg.
The trial could have been easily avoided and the execution was trivial. Even so, the approval of a Lesser Court would have meant nothing for the accused. I would have refused if the Law did not require me to accept every appeal to the Supreme Summer Court.

Now that I have given you this information, I expect your organization to not bother this Court with legal matters not concerning Esterberg.
As ever,
Supreme Summer Judge Edrisglair

My team got more info on what Fae Court we might be dealing with and the "guests" current behaviour plus the focus of "A Midsummer Night's Game Online" makes the Summer Court the most likely. There are quite a few Courts that are dead in a way apparently, but Summer has been completely gone for some time now. It's apparently part of the "Cycle of Seasons" that covers fundamental states of the universe. Summer is focused on Permanence, Existence and the IS in general.
If that's the case then the "Esterbergian Release" was solely made to get in slight legal trouble to get overall approval on the game by the Supreme Summer Court. And they needed this approval because the Supreme Summer Court is very likely a distant arm of the Summer Court, but focused on Esterberg. The approval of the game would match a legitimizing of the Court or so the faerie experts tell me.
This fits with what the Judge sent us, but it unnerves me a bit that they know this much about the investigation. I'll try to be more cautious of anything Fae Court related in the future.
We've also finally got our hands on that debug mode and its main function seems to be access to hidden areas in each territory. Turns out that if the website the territory is mirroring had any anomalies (and sometimes bugs) on it they appear in this hidden area. We tried interacting with one and after containing it in the game, the anomaly vanished from the website. So if this was a Foundation operation at one point, containing internet anomalies seems like a good motive for why we'd be involved with this.
With more clear evidence for Foundation involvement, I got RAISA to comp through the database for anything related to 6471. They've found this orphaned transcript.
— Special Investigator Klara Lambrecht

Attendees:

Director Thomas Weld, Explanation and Research Department
Director Randall Owings, Site-118, SCP-6471 Project Head
Chain (Factotum), Office of O5-5

Date: 2003-11-21
Topic: Determining the future duties of the Explanation and Research Department regarding Project Webcage.

<Begin Log>
Chain: Session started.
Weld: For the record I am inclined against this proposal. Please outline your reasons again on why the Department focused on Explained Anomalies is specifically suited for dealing with this anomaly-utilizing project.
Owings: It is not specifically the Department but the planned Foundation Front I'm looking for. We need a Front that is close enough to the public to satisfy the Game's need for public exposure, but still under enough Foundation control for a tight leash on the game.
Weld: Weld is silent for two seconds.
Owings: No, Super Carefree Playing can only serve for the development and publishing of the game. We intend to not advertise the game at all to better control the player base.
Weld: So then why my Front?
Owings: Most Front Managers aren't up for this task. You and your team have a better grasp on upholding the public relations this project requires. That and you wanted to build your Site near the Frankfurt Dataknot if I'm correct?
Weld: Yes, we need the connection speed to properly enforce the Trevisan-Ethics-Mandate.
Owings: This project would benefit from that as well. Makes it easier for a direct link.
Owings: Owings is silent for ten seconds.
Weld: (to Chain) Would this be enough to push for approval of the Site location?
Chain: I can't speak for future decis—
Weld: Your opinion.
Chain: It would be a point in your favour. Maybe enough with the other points, you have gathered.
Weld: I'm still not entirely convinced. I know that your project deals with the F— the slot before 4001.
Owings: You will use the proper Eshu protocol when speaking about the entities from where you can expect retribution for breaking their rules.
Weld: (inhales sharply) It won't happen again.
Owings: (to Chain) Does he have the appropriate clearance?
Chain: You both have 4/General. All specific clearance concerns for this meeting are waived by me within reason.
Owings: The ones we are interacting with escaped from what seems to currently be a political battleground. We're not completely sure yet what is currently happening in there, but I know the goals of who is working with us. They won't be a danger to you or your Front.
Weld: I'm a bit sceptical at that. Why involve the public if it's not related to your goal?
Owings: They don't really think the public is involved. They think they discovered the World Wide Web as a man-made, but sort of abandoned kingdom without a ruler. The parts of this project that do involve the public are just how we—
Owings: Owings is silent for 25 seconds.
Owings: —requirement to make the Summer Court a new. They're not perfect mind you. That they choose something as changeable as the internet works against them.
Weld: (nods) What exactly would our duties entail?
Owings: We need the Front to have a room with the CAVE system needed to play the game. Your employees and visitors can then play the game during breaks.
Weld: Seems expensive. Do you have a cover story on why we'd make such a specific break room?
Owings: No, is that a problem?
Weld: (shakes his head) We'll make one of the “sponsors” of my front an investor obsessed with obscure video games. That does mean we'll need at least a small section of the Front's scientific work to be focused on that, which I'm not too keen on.
Owings: That plays well into the plans of this project. We need the largest guild in the game to be Foundation-controlled as a cover for the web-based containment mission. Placing parts of this player base with your Front seems sensible.
Weld: Okay then, let's discuss how best to facilitate my Fronts connection to-
Weld: Weld is silent for 3 seconds.
Owings: Owings is silent for 2 seconds.
Weld: Weld is silent for 42 seconds.
Owings: Owings is silent for 1 second.
Weld: Weld is silent for 37 seconds.
Owings: Owings is silent for 23 seconds.
Weld: Weld is silent for 5 seconds.
Owings: Owings is silent for 1 second.
(All parties think to themselves for a bit)
Weld: Weld is silent for 25 seconds.
Owings: Owings is silent for 23 seconds.
Weld: Weld is silent for 1 second.
Owings: Owings is silent for 1 second.
Chain: If neither party has anything else to add, I'll end the session here. This was productive. I look forward to working together with both of you.
<End Log>

The transcript looks like it's been tampered with, but I've spoken with all participants and they all remember it happening like that. Without context. My initial guess was that the reason for the extended silence and why this file is orphaned lies in censoring key information about Super Carefree Playing, but if that is the case they used a sledgehammer to censoring with how loose this information is. The goal can't be complete removal either, because then we wouldn't have found this transcript in the first place. Either way, the transcript is the only file we found referencing a "Project Webcage", but it fits with my previous theories.
The rest of the transcript holds up with other things I found. The installation of the CAVE system contributed to Site-EX being allowed to be built near the Frankfurt data node. I've also found personnel on standby to start playing SCP-6471 to form the Foundation Guild. They were just waiting for further instructions. Owings set together with these "Guild members" and reconstructed most of the Containment Plan we had involving SCP-6471. We're just missing the parts involving Super Carefree Playing now, presumably. Owings wants to move forward with Project Webcage now and use SCP-6471 as a Thaumiel. He said we benefit more than it harms us for now and we could always reclassify it later.
The last thing I could confirm is that Site-118 apparently had visitors from beyond the well intersect with their intranet, which by the way is really concerning. With that I can make a rough timeline of events:

The aforementioned visitors visit Site-118;
During this encounter, they become aware of the internet;
They understand the internet as a realm without a ruler, so they need to build a new Summer Court;
Someone in the Foundation realizes how a Fae-internet intersection could be used to permanently contain web-based anomalies (don't know enough about fae-magic to know how);
Both sides come to an agreement;
SCP-6471 is "developed" by Super Carefree Playing in a way that fulfils the requirements of both parties;
The Fae or guests (having now stolen enough usernames to not be a concern for ESHU protocols) demand an Esterberg Release;
This results in legal troubles in Esterberg and the approval by the Supreme Summer Court of the game and with that indirectly the new Summer Court.

There are still some questions unanswered, with the main one being what happened to make large parts of the Foundation forget about this and why is Super Carefree Playing not a Foundation Front. I'd advise the Foundation to not utilize this anomaly until there is a clear answer to these questions. However, I don't see these questions getting uncovered in the foreseeable future either. This concludes my investigation.
- Special Investigator Klara Lambrecht

Update-2004-09-23: A new orphaned but severely corrupted file related to Project Webcage has been discovered. Since complete corruption is likely by 2004-12-21, research continues for backup servers that have no ontological connections to our reality.

File Name corrupted
Guest0354 has joined the channel.
Edrisglair has [DATA CORRUPTED] the channel.
•DirectorS118 Greetings, Supreme Summer Judge. I did not expect you to [DATA CORRUPTED] the invitation.
Guest0354 has left the channel.
Edrisglair I did not. I never joined this channel.
Guest0025 has joined the channel.
•DirectorS118 Of course.
Guest0025 has left the channel.
Guest0001 has joined the channel.
Edrisglair It stuck. You have my congratulations on this occasion.
Guest0001 I graciously accept.
Edrisglair They've fixed the loophole by now. Too many candidates depend on the nameless. Be happy with the few dozen you were able to get out.
Guest0001 I am. I thought I had longer before they found out about my exploit.
Edrisglair Spring is always fast on the up-take, no matter the circumstances.
Guest0001 What a shame.
Guest0001 Where are my manners, thank you for hosting me, DirectorS118. Apologies for my late introduction.
•DirectorS118 Don't worry too much about it. You wanted to clear up some things again?
Guest0001 Correct, this is only about things we already discussed. It's important to me that we repeat them, now that the Esterberg Release has the approval of the Supreme Summer Court and with the launch day drawing near.
•DirectorS118 Of course.
Guest0001 So first of all: Am I correct that nothing stands in the way of me and my few dozen companions residing in the Connected Realm?
•DirectorS118 You have more control over that than I do for the most part. [DATA CORRUPTED] control of the Connected Realm is rudimentary.
Guest0001 That is not a definitive statement.
•DirectorS118 I will speak as clear as my interlocutors.
Edrisglair As is fair.
Guest0001 As has been established we come from the court with which you are in conflict, so we can not simply be in contract with your Foundation
•DirectorS118 I might be off with this but aren't you closer to Summer than Spring now?
Guest0001 What makes you think that?
•DirectorS118 I'm afraid that's classified.
Guest0001 Let me offer you the same courtesy. My reasons are 'classified' as well.
Guest0001 As before we can not be in contract with the Foundation. It was agreed upon that we would be in contract with Super Carefree Playing instead. I ask of you if Super Carefree Playing is part of the Foundation.
Guest0001 And don't evade this question, I require a clear answer.
•DirectorS118 Then will you give me the same?
Guest0001 I pledge to be precise and clear in my answers to you for the rest of this meeting.
•DirectorS118 Then yes.
Guest0001 Randall Owings, as one that is on the brink of summer I accuse you of untrue statements. It is evident that [DATA CORRUPTED] is a Foundation Front filled with personnel that are part of the Foundation as well, making one part of the other. As you are part of the Foundation you have a choice. We accept your statement as fact and make it so. Super Carefree Playing will be distinct from the Foundation. Or we accept your statement as a lie and you and your Foundation will leave the Domain of IS and vanish to where liars go.
Edrisglair This would mean Winter, temporarily.
•DirectorS118 Alright
•DirectorS118 What does each choice entail?
Guest0001 The first would be the complete cessation of everything that makes [DATA CORRUPTED] and the Foundation connected. The second would mean the Foundation being non-existent until the 23rd of September of this year. I do not know what changes on that date, I just know it to be true.
Guest0001 Choose now, summer will not wait.
•DirectorS118 I will go with the first option.
Guest0001 Excellent.
Warning: This channel is experiencing corruption.
•[DATA CORRUPTED] Is this your doing?
Guest0001 Not directly. But this chatroom is a connection between you and [DATA CORRUPTED] so it needs to go.
•[DATA CORRUPTED] [DATA CORRUPTED]
Guest0001 Goodbye.
[DATA CORRUPTED] was kicked by [DATA CORRUPTED].
Edrisglair is now the owner.
Guest0001 I thank you for the level of involvement, but your [DATA CORRUPTED] wasn't needed for this to work, Supreme Summer Judge.
•Edrisglair I am not present. This chatroom doesn't exist. You know this.
Guest0001 I made no statement that you were.
•Edrisglair I do not care. As you have chosen to involve me with your stunt in Esterberg I will tell you this: Your endeavour will be fruitless.
Guest0001 We are already on [DATA CORRUPTED] of summer.
•Edrisglair Precisely my point. The brink. You can not BECOME summer. You ARE part of its Court or you are not.
•Edrisglair A true fellow of the Summer Court would not have needed to give Owings the choice. They would have dictated the IS as it is right.
Guest0001 Would you say the same in a time when the [DATA CORRUPTED] court is no more?
•Edrisglair Are you simple? The Summer Court can not CEASE just as much as it can not BECOME.
•Edrisglair At least now I know what brought on this delusion.
Guest0001 But… if Summer isn't gone where is the Summer [DATA CORRUPTED]
•Edrisglair It is simply displaced.
•Edrisglair If summer were truly gone then I would have lost my limited premonitions for truehoods and the Supreme Summer Court would have dissolved from its current state requiring only truth to be spoken and its judgements to be intrinsically final. It is only in its authority to judge for Esterberg, but the Supreme Summer Court of Esterberg is part of the Summer Court, after all.
Guest0001 May I [DATA CORRUPTED] where the true Summer Court was displaced [DATA CORRUPTED]
•Edrisglair You may. It is [DATA CORRUPTED]
Guest0001 [DATA CORRUPTED] you repeat that?
•Edrisglair I will not. It is not for your ears.
Guest0001 [DATA CORRUPTED]
Guest0001 *I see.
•Edrisglair Go back to your pseudo-court of summer in your realm made of misunderstanding the modern world. Maybe you will even find a way to true summer. It does not matter to me. But I want one thing to be clear. Engrave this into your very being.
Guest0001 I will.
•Edrisglair Stay out of Esterberg.
[DATA LOST]

Footnotes
1. Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
2. Cave Automatic Virtual Environment. A room with virtual projections to the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. The version used for SCP-6471 also includes 3D sound, regulated temperature and some aroma options.

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