The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Special Containment Procedures: The disruption of SCP-8443 is necessary for the continued existence of the United States of America, and therefore, the containment of over 500 SCP objects. Effective March 2021, understanding the mechanisms behind SCP-8443 is Priority Alpha for all American, Canadian and Mexican Foundation sites.
Description: SCP-8443 is a thaumic rite affecting all prominent officials serving in the United States Government, including all sitting congressmen, and all living current and former U.S. Presidents, all living current and former Supreme Court Justices. These individuals have been classified as SCP-8443-A instances. This effect does not extend to individual employees of specific branches of government, such as members of the Department of Justice or agents of the Internal Revenue Service.
SCP-8443 confers longevity in direct proportion to the amount and intensity of negative emotions felt towards SCP-8443-A instances by the American public. This is especially obvious in the demographics of the United States Congress; the average age of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives is 58.9 years, while the average age of a U.S. Senator is 65.3 years.
SCP-8443 was discovered after the Foundation opened an investigation into the January 6th, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol by supporters of former President Donald John Trump (SCP-8443-A-92). As the continued existence and function of the United States Government is critical to several Foundation containment procedures, the Foundation offered its surveillance technology to the incoming administration in an attempt to apprehend the individuals responsible for the attack. While using wide-spectrum EVE analysis in an attempt to detect anomalous activity among the crowd of attackers, it was discovered that all members of the United States Congress that were sheltering with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (SCP-8443-A-01) possessed a thaumic aura that had previously gone undetected.
Interviews with members of the US Government have revealed that SCP-8443 is a known phenomenon dating back to at least 1982, and has been exploited by members of Congress since this time; however, SCP-8443 is thaumically unstable, and as such, members of the United States Government who have been serving for ten or more years, or are particularly skilled at gathering the enmity of the American population, show symptoms of acute EVE Poisoning, resulting in anomalous properties which are in the process of being cataloged.
In the 2010s, potentially as an early symptom of SCP-65001, SCP-8443 began weakening severely, which led to the need for increased dysfunction in the House, Senate, and Presidency to maintain it. Currently, it is believed that 80% of current and former members of the US Government, including former President James "Jimmy" Carter, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, are being sustained by SCP-8443.
SCP-8443 does not allow for immortality or immaculate health, as is evidenced by the deaths of Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia in 2016, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg in 2020, and the declining mental state of Donald Trump, due to untreated tertiary syphilis. See Addenda.
Timeline of Attempted Containment: The first evidence of SCP-8443 came in February of 2021. Joseph Robinette Biden, the 46th President, knew of the Foundation from his time as as Vice President under Barack Hussein Obama, and thus required minimal briefing. While originally hesitant to use Foundation resources following the January 6th Attack, he acquiesced following a demonstration of Foundation-backed facial recognition technology on February 2nd, 2021, which identified several figures in a low-resolution crowd shot; all but two have since been arrested as of December 2022.
Nancy Pelosi (SCP-8443-A-01) displaying the corona of EVE that marks the presence of SCP-8443.
However, when the Foundation applied a thaumic filter to footage recovered inside the Capitol Building, all members of Congress that were sheltering with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi exhibited a corona of Elan Vital Energy (EVE) indicating that they were being powered by a thaumic rite. When this filter was applied to footage of attempts to disrupt the Certification of the Electoral College vote on the evening of January 6th, all but the most junior members of Congress (those who had been sworn in on January 3rd, 2021) exhibited this anomaly, and further analysis showed that this anomaly had been exhibited on film by all members of Congress since at least 1983.
As not all members of Congress are cleared to know about the Foundation, questioning had to be carried out discreetly; all interviewed members of Congress and the majority of other major stations in the U.S. Government professed ignorance of the phenomenon, beyond the anomalous effects caused by EVE Poisoning, which they attributed to, in the words of SCP-8443-01, 'strange shit happening in Washington every now and then'. However, thaumic analysis by Sites-55, 87 and 91 found that the thaumic signature of SCP-8443 had strong similarities to rites enacted by the giftschreiber, a group of memeticists with unclear aims that had been in conflict with the Foundation in the past. The culprit was, for several months, unknown.
On the night of January 5th, 2021, several items were planted around both the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention headquarters. Publicly, these were reported as pipe bombs that failed to detonate; in reality, they were canisters that contained an aerosol. While chemically inert, thaumic analysis by the Unusual Incidents Unit showed it to be an olfactory memetic kill agent — only the second of its kind known to the Foundation, and the first intended for use on civilians. Had it been dispersed, a large part of Washington, D.C. and the Potomac Valley would have been rendered uninhabitable for several years. However, the components meant to disperse the aerosol had been fused, rendering them harmless; the agent was neutralized by a UIU Thaumaturge shortly after its discovery.
Efforts to uncover the identity of the Unknown Subject that had planted these devices was made top priority for both anomalous and non-anomalous law enforcement; however, on March 9th, 2021, it was found that a UIU Sting Operation in D.C., unrelated to January 6th or its prelude, had uncovered the identity of the unknown subject, and that they were a known Person of Interest.
TO: lakehuronsupplycontrolpurification.site43
FROM: qmacallister.@uiu.fbi.gov
SUBJECT: Potential POI
Director McInnis,
My partner and I were staking out a SAPHIR safehouse the night of January 5th, and a photo we captured got flagged by your system. As much as I'd like to go on about how much of a violation of privacy and procedure this is, you probably have more important things to do, as do I.
The unknown subject emerged from Folger Park around 3:30 A.M. and appeared to be carrying a backpack, wearing a dark-colored hoodie. She had black hair, pale skin, and a mark on her upper lip, appears to be a scar of some form. This matches a paracriminal in our system, but we were told to hand it over to you, per the Hoffman Act of 1967.
So here. Enjoy.
Quinn MacAllister
Special Agent, Unusual Incidents Unit
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Cincinnati Division
Unbeknownst to Special Agent MacAllister, she and her partner had captured photographic evidence of a Foundation Person of Interest who was believed to have been dead for at least a decade: former CIA Agent and Class-3 Thaumaturge Elizabeth Crocker, PoI-001. After assessment from Site-55, which serves as regional command for the Mid-Atlantic, this evidence was sent to Research & Containment Site-43 in Canada, which had historically worked to contain Crocker's efforts at sabotaging the Foundation; a member of staff, Dr. Ilse Reynders, was on staff during the Panopticon Crisis perpetuated by Crocker. Dr. Udo Okorie, a thaumatologist at Site-43, also had a personal connection to PoI-001; they were responsible for assassinating their grandfather, Dr. Izaak Okorie, in 1980.
| Profile: PoI-001 |
|---|
| Name: Unknown Occupation: Operative (various) Primary Alias: Elizabeth Crocker Other Aliases: Gabrielle Fish, Dr. Ophelia Righting, Lisbet Geschenk (presumed), Lorraine Epstein (Currently) |
PoI-001, Circa 1965. "Elizabeth Crocker" is a former CIA Operative and member of the giftschrieber who incorrectly believed that the Foundation was responsible for the death of her partner, Dr. Alexandre "Hill" Hilbert, as Dr. Hilbert was offered employment shortly prior to a fatal accident with his 'Quantum Brace' eigenweapon. During the late 1960's, Crocker's attacks on the Foundation led to the Panopticon Crisis. This period from 1967 to 1969 was defined by the Foundation being unable to operate at full capacity, due to worsening international relations, retaliatory seizure and destruction of containment sites, and vast amounts of sabotage from Crocker, including the apparent assassination of O5-7. This ultimately ended with the creation of The Frontispiece, but Crocker subsequently could not be contained. She resurfaced in 1979, attempting to disrupt the Canadian federal election under the pseudonym 'Ophelia Righting', and again evaded capture. Crocker would be responsible for the assassination of Dr. Izaak Okorie, a member of the team that created the Frontispiece. It was subsequently discovered that O5-7 was, themselves, a former member of the giftschreiber, and that Crocker had helped fake her death. Prior to the discovery of SCP-8443, Elizabeth Crocker was believed to have died some time in the early-mid 2000s; however, it is now known that SCP-8443 extends to her person, albeit in a capacity unseen among other SCP-8443-A instances, as she does not suffer the effects of EVE poisoning and has seemingly not aged since 1979 (last confirmed visual contact with the Foundation). Crocker is a Class-3 ("Magus") Thaumaturge with training in cryptomancy (known today as memetics). The timeline of her training remains unknown, even almost sixty years after the Panopticon Crisis. She has been operating as a member of a Washington, D.C. based conservative think-tank known as the Pinereader Conservative Science Organization, now believed to be a front for the giftschrieber. It is not believed that Crocker knows that the Foundation is once again aware of her. |
Foundation efforts to monitor members of Congress, both current and former, uncovered several anomalies related to prolonged exposure to SCP-8443. A selection of these anomalies is documented below.
Item: Starting on January 15th, 2021, all words spoken by former Tennessee Senator and U.S. Vice President Al Gore (SCP-8443-933) became antimemetic. Effect did not extend to written text.
Actions Taken: Publicly, Gore was diagnosed with laryngitis due to acute COVID-19; the anomaly faded by itself on January 29th.
Item: On January 17th, 2021, California Senator Dianne Feinstein (SCP-8443-99) injured herself in her office, resulting in a laceration; the fluid that flowed from her skin was not blood, but water mixed with a grape flavoring powder and large quantities of cyanide. Feinstein was not affected by the toxin in her 'blood'.
Actions Taken: Feinstein was admitted to Walter Reed National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. under the care of Foundation personnel and monitored until the composition of her bodily fluids returned to normal on January 19th.
Item: Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (SCP-8443-19) attempted to consume a constituent who met them in Kentucky on January 24th, 2021. McConnell reportedly was capable of unhinging his jaw, and his fingernails were described as 'claw-like'.
Actions Taken: Class-A Amnestics administered to both constituent and McConnell. Attack reported in the news as an incident of an unidentified individual intoxicated by 'bath salts'.
Item: During a rally on February 2nd, 2021, Ohio House Representative Jim Jordan (SCP-8443-44) gained properties similar to those of a Class-5 telepath. Incapable of filtering out the mental noise from others, Jordan subsequently [DATA EXPUNGED].
Actions Taken: Jordan placed into containment under the item number SCP-11███, and replaced with a somatic backup. Despite being a new individual, this replacement began exhibiting similar signs of EVE poisoning.
Item: On February 9th, 2021, all congressmen, both Senators and House members, from the state of Massachusetts, had all thoracic and lumbar vertebrae vanish for a period ranging from seven minutes to sixteen hours. All individuals survived this process, and made full recoveries.
Actions Taken: Foundation medical intervention was launched, during which time attempts to gather intelligence on SCP-8443 were made; none of the individuals were willing to cooperate, due to the pain caused by the compression of their spinal column with the absence of vertebrae.
Director Allan McInnis delivered the news of Elizabeth Crocker's re-emergence to Drs. Okorie and Reynders on April 2nd, 2021.
Director McInnis: Ilse, Udo. You'll… want to be sitting down for this.
Dr. Okorie and Dr. Reynders do so.
Dr. Okorie: It's good to meet you face-to-face, Dr. Reynders. We haven't had a chance since you managed to get out.
Dr. Reynders: I have a feeling this is not a happy occasion. What's happening, Allan?
Director McInnis: We were forwarded some material from a UIU Agent in America that pertains to current events.
Director McInnis passes a pair of folders across the desk. Okorie and Reynders read them.
Dr. Udo Okorie: No. No. She— you told me she was dead, Allan!
Dr. Ilse Reynders: Wat de verdomme? Het is onmogelijk. Ze kan niet levend zijn.2
Director McInnis: We're all surprised. But it was theorized that she has access to anomalous life-extension means.
Dr. Okorie: How?
Director McInnis: Given her connection to 8443, we believe she's using thaumaturgy powered by negative emotions to keep herself alive. Hate, mainly.
Dr. Okorie: …do you know what spell? There are a few of them. The Pariah-Gone-Awry, or th-the Rite of… Rite of Rona Caleus…
Director McInnis: Dr. Okorie?
Dr. Okorie: It's… it's thanks to her that I never knew my grandfather, Director. I… my father was hoping to find her, but he… he hasn't. He…
Director McInnis offers Dr. Okorie a tissue. She takes it and blows her nose.
Dr. Reynders: If not for this woman, we wouldn't have to have had to lobotomize the entirety of humankind.
Dr. Okorie: You're saying… hate is keeping her alive? Including ours?
Director McInnis: That's what the team down at 87 thinks, and Sinclair has a good head on her shoulders.
Dr. Okorie: Do we… do we have a second opinion?
Director McInnis: A few people from Site-91 weighed in, and a couple of UIU Agents in Three Portlands as well. They said to tell you that this doesn't line up to any recognized rite.
Dr. Reynders: Am I reading the rest of this file correctly? All members of the US Government, current and former?
Director McInnis: Yes. It's less effective with some of them. We believe that Ruth Bader Ginsberg wasn't hated enough when she was alive, which is why she passed away.
Dr. Okorie: I can't believe this. The most powerful legislative body on Earth is run by a bunch of liches.
Director McInnis: Is that the clinical term?
Dr. Okorie: Technically it's 'post-necrotic lifeform', but… that only applies if they're actually undead. Most of them seem to be alive.
Dr. Reynders: Are we sure about that?
Silence on the recording.
Dr. Reynders: Being in Congress must be stressful, even if one takes into account the fact that most of them are millionaires with better health plans than any citizen down there will ever see. You saw how much Obama aged in eight years. And with Trump's behavior…
Dr. Okorie: That's untreated syphilis.
Dr. Reynders: Which causes rotting of the brain. As does unabated necrosis in a living organism. Has anyone exhibited odd behavior in Congress?
Director McInnis: The United States Congress has been very prone to scandal and gaffes since the Trump administration started, even discounting the attempted Insurrection.
Dr. Okorie: Most of them make Trudeau look like Mr. Dressup.
Dr. Reynders: I… don't know who that is.
Dr. Okorie: Doesn't matter. The easiest way to stop a rite, any rite, is to stop the person casting it. I don't suppose putting a bullet in Crocker's skull is an option?
Director McInnis: We lost track of her shortly after the UIU agent spotted her. She's likely still in D.C., but beyond that we can't raze a whole city to the ground for one person.
Dr. Okorie: She made a smell that can kill people, Allan. We should be plastering her photograph on every single wanted poster the Americans can make. She should never be safe again.
Director McInnis: If you were able to better understand the rite, could you undo it?
Dr. Okorie: Maybe, but with the amount of people she's affecting… if this is just powered by hate, then… it may not matter. Even if we do manage to destroy the rite, America might be boned in the long run. Do you know how much hate it takes to keep one person alive? Not even immortal, just alive.
Director McInnis: Can it be quantified?
Dr. Okorie: Yes. For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to be talking about it in terms of MegaAkiva. As much as I hate that that's a word… in the span of two and a half years, the Vatican puts out one MegaAkiva. For a rite like this to be sustained for so long… we're talking 5 or 6 MegaAkiva per year. If… if I undo the rite incorrectly? It could irreversibly poison the entire human psyche. Imagine political division of this scale somewhere like North Korea, where you either follow the glorious leader or die.
Director McInnis: What's the impact if you are unsuccessful, Udo?
Dr. Okorie: …maybe three billion dead. Including most of the Foundation.
Director McInnis clutches his desk.
Dr. Reynders: If I ever meet this woman in person, I am going to skin her alive.
Dr. Okorie: I can't do this alone. We need Zwist.
Director McInnis smiles.
Director McInnis: It just so happens that you're in luck. He's working with us, now.
Dr. Okorie: He— what? Willingly?
Director McInnis: There's an evolving situation that you've not been briefed on. Ibanez and Lilihammer will be able to get you into contact with him, assuming there's not an ongoing attack somewhere.
Dr. Okorie: …there have been others? Outside of the one on 43?
Director McInnis: I'm afraid so.
Item: Recovered report from the CIA's MK division indicates that, for a period from January 9th to August 14th, 1995, Georgia representative and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (SCP-8443-577) telepathically broadcasted episodes from the back catalogue of The Rush Limbaugh Show to other individuals a seven-meter radius around them.
Actions Taken: Attempts to interview Gingrich in matters related to SCP-8443 has resulted in heavy resistance to questioning, even under threat of duress.
Item: A UIU file authored by Special Agent Quinn MacAlister indicates that, during an attempted 2015 paraterrorist attack on Congress, California Representative Kevin McCarthy (SCP-8443-445) was capable of turning invisible.
Actions Taken: McCarthy has not displayed any anomalous properties since this time, but continues to be monitored.
Item: PENTAGRAM report indicates that a male individual, claiming to be a State Representative from New York named George Santos, attempted to enter Congress on September 23rd, 2011. They were detained, but subsequently disappeared from custody. Individual was noted to be wearing a pin in the shape of an assault rifle in place of the traditional flag pin.
Actions Taken: George Santos corresponds to the name of a candidate who previously ran for Representative of New York's 3rd District in 2020, but lost to the incumbent Tom Suozzi, who currently does not exhibit any anomalous properties. Santos has yet to announce his candidacy for the 2022 race, but is being monitored by the Foundation due to the potential of being a future SCP-8443-A instance.
Thilo Zwist, now designated as SCP-6382, had been working alongside the Foundation as part of Operation FIREBREAK, an effort to stop giftschreiber attacks on Foundation sites, as the organizations had been treating the Foundation as a proxy warzone.
Unfortunately, the investigation into SCP-8443 was briefly halted by the full onset of SCP-6500, which resulted in the neutralization of over 1500 anomalies; Dr. Okorie briefly passed into an alternate dimension alongside another member of Site-43 personnel, and was therefore unable to meaningfully contribute to efforts to undo SCP-8443 for most of April and the entirety of May; in the process of recovery, Dr. Udo Okorie's father, Dr. Obi Okorie, passed away, necessitating bereavement leave for Dr. Okorie that lasted until June 1st.
On June 15th, 2021, the Department of Political Science obtained a piece of intelligence from an agent who had infiltrated the U.S. Government that changed the course of the investigation into SCP-8443. This was passed on to Dr. Okorie, who reported it to Director McInnis.
Director McInnis: Udo. I… I heard about your father. I'm sorry.
Dr. Okorie: Thank you. I… have news about Crocker. We just got some intel in.
Director McInnis: Let's hear it.
Dr. Okorie: Do you want the good news, or the bad news first?
Director McInnis: I'm feeling pessimistic. What's the bad news?
Dr. Okorie: Read this.
Dr. Okorie puts a Department of Political Science report on Director McInnis's desk. There is silence on the recording as McInnis reads the file.
Director McInnis: …dead?
Dr. Okorie: Keep reading.
Item: A report from Walter Reed National Medical Center indicates that, on December 18th, 2020, President Donald John Trump (SCP-8443-92) was pronounced dead on arrival following a heart attack that a cardiologist characterized as 'explosive'. Despite this, as the time of death was being recorded, Trump animated and continued showing brain function and the ability to respire, consume, and perform other bodily functions, despite failure in all major organs.
Actions Taken: None possible; Mr. Trump's security detail cannot be infiltrated by the Foundation, due to their fervent devotion to the former President. Remote monitoring to take place.
Director McInnis: I… don't know what to say.
Dr. Okorie: I wish it was a joke. Every single thing we've seen indicates that Trump is dead. He's gotten a new heart and… several other organs, for the sake of keeping up appearances, but… none of them function.
Director McInnis: So you're saying the forty-fifth President of the United States—
Dr. Okorie: Is a zombie, and 8443 is keeping him animate. Maybe other people in Congress. Definitely Kissinger. You've seen the photographs alleging that Trump wears an… incontinence aid?
Director McInnis: I wish I didn't, but yes.
Dr. Okorie: We don't think it's that. We think that those are… we think it's an attempt by his handlers to… keep his vital organs from falling out.
Director McInnis rubs his temples.
Director McInnis: Udo, if that's the bad news, I hesitate to ask what the good news is.
Dr. Okorie: We found a third member of the Foundation who might be powering 8443, aside from myself and Reynders.
Director McInnis: Who?
Dr. Okorie: Delfina, could you come in here?
Delfina Ibanez, Chief of Security & Containment at Site-43, enters Director McInnis's office.
Donald Trump (SCP-8443-92) displaying early stages of necrosis at a campaign rally.
Chief Ibanez: A few days ago, Udo and I were talking when we got Crumpened—
Director McInnis: When you got what?
Chief Ibanez: It's what we're calling those anomalous explosions happening around the Site. One happened to Wettle and Harry, the second to us. As I was cleaning up, I saw the file that Udo was handed on PoI-001. I know who she is, sir. I've known for years.
Director McInnis: From where? You've never reported any contact with her…
Chief Ibanez: When I was young, Zevala, my home… it was razed to the ground. First planes came, and then…
Director McInnis: I'm familiar with it. But you said yourself that Zevala was razed by the Chaos Insurgency.
Chief Ibanez: I remember the scar, Sir. It's her. I'd bet my fucking life on it.
Director McInnis: I believe you, Delfina.
Chief Ibanez: From my understanding, 8443, it's powered by… hate?
Director McInnis: That's correct.
Chief Ibanez: Then I guess she's goddamn immortal. Do you… do you have any idea what she took from me? My home. My family! I've been with the Foundation since I was sixteen because of her! There is no circle of Hell too hot for me to crawl through to put a knife in her neck.
Director McInnis: I don't blame you. We're not expecting a… friendly solution to this.
Chief Ibanez: It was never about her stupid fucking boyfriend. This is about causing as much pain and as much chaos as possible.
Dr. Okorie: I notified Zwist yesterday, but he was busy with something in Poland. War's raging across the continent, not sure how soon he can be back and be of help to us.
Director McInnis: And Reynders?
Dr. Okorie: She's down in Sloth's Pit, consulting with Sinclair and Melbourne.
Chief Ibanez: We're going to head down to D.C. by way of Wisconsin. We've already submitted an itinerary to Travel & Relocation so we can pick up Ilse at Site-87.
Director McInnis: I'll fast-track its approval. Keep your passports on you, departure could happen at any time.
Dr. Okorie and Chief Ibanez made their way to Site-87 fifteen hours later, where they met with Dr. Reynders, and Site-87 personnel Dr. Ryan Melbourne. Dr. Sinclair was unable to attend the meeting, due to an appointment with medical staff regarding her pregnancy at the time.
Dr. Okorie and Chief Ibanez enter a conference room on Sublevel 3 of Site-87, where they are greeted by Dr. Melbourne and Dr. Reynders.
Dr. Melbourne: Sinclair says she's sorry she couldn't make it. She's taking an abundance of caution with her kid.
Chief Ibanez: I hardly blame her. She was shot not even a month ago.
Dr. Okorie: I might make a stop to visit her before I leave. In the meantime, do we have any new data?
Dr. Melbourne: We might have something. Our head archivist finally gave me access to some of Euler's old files, back when he worked here. This was in there.
Dr. Melbourne produces a document.
KNOWN GIFTSCHREIBER
DOROTHEA BRADBURY
- Based in Midwest
- Younger than Zwist, older than she looks
- Spends a lot of time in colleges. Mischief-maker. Nothing fatal yet. Monitor.
- Does not live in Wisconsin
- Reportedly a schriftsteller — can't be. Zwist says he's the last one.
JACKSON SLOTH (?)
- Possible ontokinetic with connection to writing (reputedly an author)
- Long dead… or is he?
- Of Dutch descent. Are there Dutch giftschrieber?
JOHANNA KISSEL (ex-O5-7)
- I don't know what sort of life-extension technology the O5s possess.
- The fact that she might still be alive is disconcerting.
- Name showed up in a database on Vikander-Kneed anomalies, but I don't have access.
ALYS RYDDERECH
- Not her real name.
- Not Welsh.
- Capable of identity occlusion.
- Periodically contained, periodically escapes (get update?)
KEIL GRAF
- German.
- Zwist claimed he was dead under the influence of alcohol. I have my doubts.
ELIZABETH CROCKER (fake name)
- Hopefully dead.
- Acts in anger more than anything else. Thug. Murderer.
- How would she react if she knew that the Hill she's willing to kill for is alive?
Dr. Okorie: 'Hill she's willing to kill for'? Did he mean 'die on'?
Chief Ibanez: Hill was the pet name for her boyfriend. But… alive? What?
Dr. Melbourne: Dr. Okorie… are you aware that your grandfather recorded his death?
Dr. Okorie: What?
Dr. Melbourne: It might be above your clearance level, given you're not a memeticist, but… I've read the transcript.
Dr. Okorie: How?
Dr. Reynders: He did a rite on a record that was in the room. It captured the audio of his final moments, and an exchange between him and Crocker.
Dr. Okorie: You knew?
Dr. Reynders: I'm one of the only surviving members of personnel who worked on the Frontispiece. Of course I knew. Izaak made reference to Alexandre Hilbert being alive. It doesn't make sense to me, either.
Dr. Okorie: No, I… I've read Crocker's complete file. The eigenweapon Hilbert was developing, it… vaporized him on a quantum level. It's a miracle the quarks he left behind weren't antimemetic.
Chief Ibanez: The hell was he working on, anyway?
Dr. Okorie: A handheld probability manipulator that he called a 'quantum brace'. It was meant to be an outcome pump— made the best possible outcome happen every time.
Dr. Melbourne: Dr. Okorie, do you know where your grandfather worked?
Dr. Okorie: He was mainly at Site-43. I remember dad said he spent about seven months at… I think Site-219? In the late '70s.
Chief Ibanez: I talked to some eggheads from 219 who were visiting McInnis. Don't know where the hell they're based.
Dr. Melbourne: Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York. Was the headquarters for Psi-7 from the mid-fifties until the start of the Panopticon Crisis.
Silence on the recording.
Dr. Melbourne: Why are you all looking at me like that?
Dr. Reynders: I'm surprised you know that information off the top of your head.
Dr. Melbourne: 219 is a Nexus Site. Monitors this place called Saltville— Nexus-10, I think? 87's been trying to host a conference for every Nexus Site in the US since 2017, and they're always on board to come, but there's been… issues.
Dr. Okorie: How so?
Dr. Melbourne: Idiots kept trying to schedule it for October. Not a great time of year for us.
Dr. Okorie: …oh.
Dr. Melbourne: I don't know too much about Saltville. I'm 80% sure it's Briar-class, used to be Camelot or Asphodel before the Impasse happened. I can probably get you in touch with Nexology, but… they're a bit busy.
Chief Ibanez: Why?
Dr. Melbourne: Well… from what I understand, because 8443 is causing so many anomalies around D.C…. they're considering classifying Washington as a Nexus. Or Capitol Hill, at the very least.
Dr. Okorie: Shit.
Item: Over the course of seven hours on the night of March 9th-10th, 2021, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (SCP-8443-146), despite being a cisgender male, becomes pregnant and gives birth via C-section. No evidence of a uterus or any other anatomy required to give birth appears on medical scans or in surgeries subsequent to this. DNA analysis indicates that the mother of this child is Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema (SCP-8443-147).
Actions Taken: The child Manchin gave birth to was placed into a Foundation-run Foster home to be monitored for any further anomalous activities.
Item: From March 14th-March 18th, 2021, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (SCP-8443-15) is seen conversing with an unidentified individual in his Senate office who was not seen entering or leaving. Sanders subsequently made references in private to "conversations with [his] friend Carl' (spelling uncertain).
Actions Taken: None.
Item: On April 5th, 2021, during the annual White House Easter Egg Hunt, President Joseph Biden (SCP-8443-07) complained of his PPE— a cloth face mask— becoming difficult to remove. The item was found to have fused to his skin on a molecular level for a period of approximately twenty minutes before it could be removed.
Actions Taken: A Foundation agent embedded within the Secret Service was able to administer medical treatment to Biden while the anomaly was ongoing. Due to Biden's emotional state, no information regarding SCP-8443 could be extracted from him at this time.
While Dr. Okorie's team was en route to Washington, D.C., Director McInnis would receive an unusual phone call.
Director McInnis: You have reached SCP Foundation Site-43 through a secure line. State your clearance code at once.
Unknown Speaker: Is this Allan McInnis I'm speaking to?
Director McInnis: State your clearance code.
Unknown Speaker: Uh, one moment, where'd I put the dang thing… "Celtic-Phoenix-Springtime-Dry-Levee."
Director McInnis: Hm. This is Allan McInnis speaking. To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. President?
President Biden: I understand that you folks are investigating a matter related to the current… mortal status of the people in the government.
Director McInnis: We are, sir. We're concerned about the anomalous aftereffects it's having. I understand that you were subject to one of them.
President Biden: Eh, you should've seen what happened to Barack. Few days before Election Night in 2012, gravity increased around him. He couldn't pick up anything and had trouble walking. Poor man.
Director McInnis: So you see why we need to contain it. Imagine something like that happening on a public stage. If the anomalous were exposed, then it could be catastrophic.
President Biden: Allan, in my experience, the American people are willing to accept a lot of weirdness. You've never wondered how Gabby Giffords3 survived being shot in the head? How Jimmy Carter's still hanging on? People notice, Allan, but they don't care. Which is why I'm asking you to stop looking into this.
Silence on the recording.
Director McInnis: I beg your pardon, Mr. President, the connection must have cut out. Did you just say you wanted us to stop investigating this anomaly?
President Biden: I do. I realize it's not… great that it exists, but it's keeping stuff functional.
Director McInnis: Sir, with all due respect, at least a quarter of your legislature unironically believe you're a member of a Satanic cabal of cannibalistic pedophiles alongside Hillary Clinton and George Soros. I would not call that functional.
President Biden: I'd rather have a couple of loons heckle me during the next couple States of the Union than have this go away.
Director McInnis: Sir, we contain the anomalous. That isn't an option.
President Biden: Allan, the difference is that those kids care about holding onto power, or getting money, or their culture war horseshit. I don't care about any of that. I'm an old man, and I'd like to see my first term through. This thing you're investigating, it's keeping the old ticker running. I'm trying my best to give power back to the American people and do something about wealth inequality and everything Trump did, but… I need more time. I need more resources. This thing helps me with both.
Director McInnis: Here I thought you were supposed to be decent.
President Biden: There hasn't been a 'decent' President since Jimmy's seat got stolen from him. There aren't any good options, just… less-bad ones.
Director McInnis: Sir… I simply don't have that authority. It would have to come down from the O5 Council.
President Biden: Well get them to debate it, then.
Director McInnis: Your request has been noted. Have a good day, sir.
Director McInnis replaces the phone with a slightly excessive amount of force. A chip of plastic falls off of the casing. He sits back in his seat, opens a drawer in his desk, and produces an unopened pack of Michelson-brand cigarettes, fidgeting with the wrapper for several minutes before putting it away.
When President Biden's request was presented to the O5 Council three hours later, the following vote was carried out after less than fifteen minutes of deliberation:
PROPOSAL:
Cease Containment Efforts of SCP-8443.
| YEA | NAY | ABSTAIN |
|---|---|---|
| O5-1 | ||
| O5-2 | ||
| O5-3 | ||
| O5-4 | O5-5 | |
| O5-6 | ||
| O5-7 | ||
| O5-8 | ||
| O5-9 | O5-10 | |
| O5-11 | ||
| O5-12 | O5-13 | |
| MOTION FAILS | ||
The Department of Political Science broadened their search criteria, and discovered that SCP-8443 extended not only to members of the federal government, but several state governments, down to at least the level of Member of State Legislature.
Item: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (SCP-8443-982) has his genitalia rapidly necrotize and fall off, leaving a smooth portion of skin. DeSantis has required medical intervention to urinate since March of 2020.
Actions Taken: None.
Item: Video surfaces of actor and Former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger (SCP-8443-1003) locked in combat with several anomalous selachian entities off the coast of Los Angeles. Analysis has determined the video is authentic.
Actions Taken: Schwarzenegger has been put under monitoring for potential connections to the Selachain Pugnatorial Centre, an extra-universal Group of Interest.
Item: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (SCP-8443-997) enters a restroom in Ohio's gubernatorial mansion, and cannot be located subsequent to this. The only extant trace of him found are eyeglasses on top of a toilet tank.
Actions Taken: DeWine covertly replaced by a somatic backup.
Item: The head of Ohio State House Member Gary Click (SCP-8443-1579) explodes while Click is eating dinner with his family. Despite this, Click continues biological processes and is capable of vocalizing out of his anus, seemingly ignorant of his condition.
Actions Taken: Click's head replaced by the Foundation using cloned tissue. Amnestics administered to the Click family.
Item: On June 3rd, 2021, Florida Senator Marco Rubio's (SCP-8443-255)'s hair transforms into several venomous snakes native to the Potomac Valley during a press conference.
Actions Taken: All footage seized and destroyed. Rubio was administered antivenom for his condition. Non-anomalous hair regrew over the course of six weeks, during which time Rubio wore a hairpiece.
Item: Utah Senator and former Governor of Maryland Willard Mittens Romney (SCP-8443-403) has his middle name forcibly altered by a member of Homo sapiens sidhe, as Romney strikes a deal to alleviate symptoms of acute EVE poisoning which caused non-living materials related to the Mormon faith to rapidly decay in his presence.
Actions Taken: Senator Romney is still capable of being referred to by the diminutive 'Mitt'. Foundation webcrawlers have been assigned to conceal this name change in various online sources.
Item: Colorado House Representative Lauren Boebert (SCP-8443-143) and Georgia House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (SCP-8443-144) experience a somatic exchange that lasts for five days, starting on June 6th, 2021.
Actions Taken: None required; Boebert and Greene's near-identical rhetoric and behavior patterns meant that the change was not noticed by the wider public.
Okorie and Reynders diverted their travel plans and arrived at Site-219 on June 17th, hoping to obtain answers regarding Crocker's former partner, Dr. Alexandre Hilbert. Chief Ibanez followed the original itinerary and made her way to Washington, D.C.. Following the Impasse, Site-219 had diminished in functionality, as Nx-10 (Saltville, New York) had experienced a sharp decline in anomalous activity.
Dr. Okorie: If I can ask, why hasn't he been given an official SCP designation?
Agent Kevin Winsthrop, Head of Security, Site-219: Who, Dr. Hilbert? Do you… normally classify researchers as SCPs at Site-43?
Dr. Reynders: …numerous times.
Agent Winsthrop: Well, it's a bit more… lax around here. Don't terribly like it— it's gotten people killed in the past. This one agent, Denton, got KIA a few years ago, tried to pick a fight with the police and ended up getting a knife in his neck for the troubles. At least Silvinski died a hero.
Dr. Okorie: Who?
Agent Winsthrop: Long story. He's through here.
Winsthrop opens a door marked 'QUANTUM RESEARCH DIVISION'. A man emerges from the hallway, carrying a stack of papers. Winsthrop leads the two researchers further in, where they encounter the same man looking over a similar stack of papers, chewing on a pencil.
Agent Winsthrop: Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check in on Dr. Langford. Memetic filters failed on one of his projects again.
Dr. Okorie: Wait… didn't we just…
Dr. Hilbert: No, I don't have a twin.
Dr. Reynders: Maybe he has a twin?
Silence on the recording.
Dr. Reynders: Literally seconds before I spoke. How…
Dr. Hilbert: Oh, Ilse, good to see you again!
Dr. Reynders: You… must be mistaken. I've been in containment for the last…
Dr. Hilbert: …oh balls. So this is our first time meeting from your perspective?
Dr. Reynders: Yes.
Dr. Hilbert: Forgive me. My quantum state is not quite… grounded. I'm sort of… everything, everywhere, all at once. Is that out yet?
Dr. Okorie: Sort of a Slaughterhouse-Five deal?
Dr. Hilbert: Yes, but the film version. Billy Pilgrim in the novel is a goddamn sad-sack. If you're here, and this is our first meeting… then I presume you need my help to stop Sue.
Dr. Reynders: …is that your name for Elizabeth Crocker?
Dr. Hilbert: Her real name is Susanna Schmidt, but she'd never admit it to anyone she didn't completely trust. She picked the name 'Betty Crocker' as a joke because she didn't think anyone would fall for it. I'm told that she became a bit of… a…
Dr. Hilbert's face falls.
Dr. Hilbert: I'm remembering what she's going to do. Oh, Susan…
Dr. Okorie: Are you aware of what she's done, then? The 'hate-makes-you-live-longer' spell?
Dr. Hilbert: Thaumatology isn't my field of study. But she's been sustaining it for as long as I've known her. Even before I… before my accident, she wanted to antagonize the Foundation.
Dr. Reynders: Makes sense. The animosity of hundreds of thousands of people, pouring into one person…
Dr. Okorie: But why did she do it to the U.S. Government?
Dr. Hilbert: There aren't many ways to get people to hate you more quickly than by offering them what you have, but worse. She's sipping on 1945 Romanée Contee, and everyone else affected by it is stuck with Great Value Boxed Wine, and it's still better than what they deserve.
Dr. Reynders: You're ex-CIA, and current Foundation. Do you… really have the ability to moralize about that?
Dr. Hilbert: Being quantumly unstuck gives you a lot of time to think about your place in the universe, or lack thereof. I get a doctorate in philosophy about a decade from now, a few years after I help co-author a paper about myself. In any case… you're going to need my help if we're going to stop Susan.
Dr. Okorie: We believe she's based in D.C. Does your foreknowledge let you know where she is?
Dr. Hilbert: It doesn't work like that. I… tend to jump around. Last week from my perspective was 2025, the week before that was 1973, week before that 2011. I experienced a month of New Year's Eve celebrations a while ago, all in backwards order. Not sure what to make of it.
Dr. Reynders: Perhaps the same treatment that worked on me would…
Dr. Hilbert: We try that in a few years. It… doesn't go well. Even after I tell you this, you still try it anyway, because the timeline needs to be preserved.
While Dr. Hilbert was being acquired, Chief Ibanez was attempting to investigate an anomalous event in Washington, D.C. related to SCP-8443.
Chief Ibanez is in the audience of a Congressional Press Briefing, posing as a member of the South Carolina Press, a Foundation front organization. She is observing Senator Mitch McConnell giving a conference.
Senator McConnell: Frankly, I think it's a pity that myself and my colleagues across the aisle can't see eye-to-eye on the simplest of issues anymore. Passing this budget should be a no-brainer, but the Democratic obstructionism is vast and…
Ibanez's body camera records a flash of movement behind McConnell. Ibanez does not register it. McConnell's speech continues.
Senator McConnell: …think that it's a pity that the forces of evil continually attempt to subvert our own evil empire, which is vaster and more insidious than you could ever know. Do you know how many names Epstein didn't have in his black book? A quarter of Congress should be in jail for that alone.
A gash appears on McConnell's face. No members of the press corps react, other than Ibanez.
Chief Ibanez: Shit, he's Reaganing live on stage.
POI-001 appears on the stage next to McConnell as series of cuts open on his hands. She whistles a song that is memetic in nature; the press corps abruptly begins to disband. Ibanez is unaffected, due to memetic conditioning. She sits in place as Crocker addresses McConnell.
POI-001: Mitch, you're falling apart again.
Senator McConnell: I have seen the death of media, and it begins with the Butlerian Jihand…
POI-001: Who the fuck read you Dune?
Ibanez stands, drawing a concealed firearm, and shoots POI-001 directly in the back. The bullet passes through her, the wound quickly healing.
POI-001: Motherfuck! Who the hell—
POI-001 turns to face Ibanez.
POI-001: Either you're a very savvy UIU Agent, or you're Foundation.
Chief Ibanez: It's been a while since we've seen each other, Betty.
POI-001: Have we met?
Chief Ibanez: Zevala. 1994. I was sixteen.
POI-001: …ah. You're the survivor. Not surprised the Foundation picked—
Chief Ibanez shoots POI-001 several more times, until her gun clicks on empty. Crocker regenerates from her wounds.
POI-001: You do realize the very act of trying to kill me is just making me stronger, right? In a way, I'm glad you survived; nothing like a bit of genocide to get the survivors to despise you. Oh, in a couple of years, we're going to guarantee that Mitch here lives to be 200 years old.
Chief Ibanez: Believe it or not, me filling you with lead is a distraction. Zwist, now!
POI-001: Don't try to bluff me. Zwist is in Ukraine, dealing with—
SCP-6382: Oh Lilibet. How are you still so naive? Then again, you never were much one to consider the Ways of the world, were you?
SCP-6382 appears from behind a pillar in the press hall.
POI-001: No! The Capitol's a thaumic dead zone! There shouldn't be any Ways in here—
SCP-6382: Normally there aren't, but a friend in the Hand helped me make one. SCP-6382 calls off-camera. Keep it open for a bit longer, Mr. Marquez, I should be done here soon.
POI-001: Thilo. What are you going to play me this time? This Land Is Your Land, perhaps?
SCP-6382: No, I'm not going to try the music—Arlo and Sarah Lee cannot accomplish what Woodrow did. They are very skilled, but thanks largely to your interventions, every time they try to deliver justice, it just falls on ears of stone. We both know you're immune to the family's songs, now. Perhaps Tom could do something, but he's very old now.
SCP-6382 sighs.
SCP-6382: Do you know how long I've tried to find you, Lilibet? I do have some modicum of respect for you, believe it or not. That's why I'm not addressing you by your actual name. Maybe if I had nurtured you properly, this wouldn't be happening. I have been looking for you, Lilibet, for fifty-one years, eleven months, and thirteen days so I could say this. Stop Chasing Phantoms.
POI-001 convulses and is briefly lifted into the air.
Chief Ibanez: The hell did you do?
SCP-6382: Transfer of knowledge. I read something interesting in a file that was laying on a desk.
Chief Ibanez: …you just told her that Hill's alive, didn't you?
SCP-6382: Yes. But it's up to her if she believes it. If she does, she may turn over a new leaf, but if she doesn't… Hell hath no fury, and such.
SCP-6382 approaches POI-001 and removes several firearms from their person.
SCP-6382: You're slipping. Even seventy years ago, you would have relied on the word as opposed to these. I'm disappointed.
POI-001 falls to the ground, letting out a gasping, screaming sob.
POI-001: You fucking monster. I should strangle you right now, schriftsteller. I only put two bullets into Okorie, I should make you look like Swiss cheese!
SCP-6382: That's our cue. Marquez?
The world around Ibanez shifts, and she and Zwist are suddenly at the National Mall. An unidentified male figure is maintaining a portal.
Chief Ibanez: You really know how to piss a woman off, Zwist.
SCP-6382: I do, I do. I have to be on my way now. Attacks happening all over.
Chief Ibanez: Will you be there when it counts?
SCP-6382 produces a pamphlet and hands it to Chief Ibanez.
SCP-6382: Read this aloud and I'll be there within thirty seconds, no matter where I am.
Chief Ibanez: Understood. Who is that helping you? Another student?
SCP-6382: He's a friend of mine. I don't teach anymore. Marquez, we're heading to Thailand next.
'Marquez': Can't do that amount of distance. We'll have to go back to the hub first.
SCP-6382: Very well.
SCP-6382 and 'Marquez' vanish into the portal, which closes soon after.
Drs. Okorie, Reynders and Hilbert made their way to Washington, D.C., arriving in the city on June 21st. By this time, Crocker had altered the SCP-8443 rite to absorb more enmity; this resulted in multiple anomalous incidents, including:
- Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas (SCP-8443-57) and Brett Kavanaugh (SCP-8443-58) experiencing Class-3 smiting events, necessitating a somatic backups for both parties;
- Extrauniversal bleedthrough in the Capitol Building, resulting in the Senate debating on the creation of "The Department of Tragedy" and the House voting on the "White Genocide Prevention Act" and "White Purity Act";
- Representatives claiming to be from the states of Cascadia, Lincoln, and Kenswick taking interviews on Fox News and CNN. One of these was later found to be an instance of SCP-1377.
Ibanez tracked Crocker to a disused office building on K Street; it had been vacated during the COVID Pandemic, and had yet to return to full-scale use. Hilbert was instructed to wait outside while Okorie, Ibanez and Reynders attempted to confront Crocker.
Crocker is seen staring out the windows at K Street below. She is separated from the group from Site-43 by a light purple thaumic barrier.
Dr. Okorie: Guten Abend, Susanna.
Crocker: So Zwist told you my real name, then. Hmm. Should've killed him back in '92 when I had the chance.
Crocker attempts to enact a rite; Okorie counters it with one of her own.
Crocker: Ah, so you're Izaak's grand-daughter, then. Heard your dad's rotting in Hell.
Ibanez draws her weapon and attempts to shoot out the barrier. Okorie manages to weaken it slightly, while Dr. Reynders stands by.
Crocker: Ilse, good to finally meet you as well. I have to ask what sort of moisturizer you use.
Dr. Reynders: Spare us, Crocker. Your monologuing would embarass a Bond villian.
Crocker: Be reasonable, and ask yourselves: what's stopping me from just doing this again elsewhere? Like, say, Israel, or Russia? The level of hatred Americans feel for their politicians is nothing compared to the ire that Netenyahu or Putin draw on an international stage.
Dr. Okorie: By the time we're done with you, you're going to be lucky if you can form a consonant, let alone cast a spell.
Crocker: What are you going to do to me? Everything you throw at me makes me stronger, because you all hate me. Unless you start feeling indifferent to me right now, not only am I immortal, I can microwave your brains right about…
Crocker begins to form a kinetoglyph with her hands, but is interrupted by another voice whistling Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly.
Crocker: …Zwist, if that's you again, I am going to…
Okorie turns. Her camera captures Dr. Hilbert entering the room.
Dr. Okorie: We told you to wait outside until we gave the signal!
Dr. Hilbert: I just… I wanted to see what was happening. I heard gunshots, and…
Dr. Hilbert looks at Crocker.
Dr. Hilbert: Hello, Sue. Been a while.
Crocker: …this is sick, even by your standards. What, is he a clone? A somatic backup? Android? You pluck him from an alternate reality where I died instead?
Dr. Hilbert: When you found what was left of my original body, we had plans. We were going to see The Nutty Professor together that night. You said I reminded you of Klemp.
Crocker: …n-no. No…
Ibanez produces the pamphlet that Zwist handed her and reads it to herself, muttering.
Dr. Hilbert: Our first date was at a bar in New York City. Owner was a collector of Roman artifacts. Claimed to own one of the daggers that killed Caesar.
Crocker: Shut up.
Dr. Hilbert: Your favorite scent is woodsmoke, and… I'm not sure what your favorite book is now, but you couldn't get enough of Ray Bradbury's works. Though I imagine your thoughts on Fahrenheit 451 have changed in the last… how long has it been, Sue?
Crocker: …fifty-seven years, two months, eighteen days.
Dr. Hilbert: Then I'm off by a couple of thousand years.
Crocker: Hill, how… how are you…
Crocker dispels the barrier, and steps forward, embracing Dr. Hilbert.
Crocker: How are you alive?
Dr. Hilbert: The brace unmade me. Scattered my essence around the multiverse. It took me four years before I was able to recombine myself, and I've been… scattered, ever since. Two months ago, from my perspective, it was 2013.
Crocker visibly shakes in Hilbert's arms. Hilbert strokes her back and Crocker lets out a wail.
Dr. Hilbert: I wish I could have found you sooner. I'm sorry.
Crocker: Almost sixty years. Sixty years, for… for what? I… Hill, do you know what I've done? H… how many people I've killed? How many monsters I've upheld? All to just… get revenge for you, and all this time, you…
Dr. Hilbert: It wasn't even the Foundation that did it. They were honestly fairly gracious about losing me. It's my own fault, Sue. I screwed up the calculations, and…
Dr. Hilbert sighs.
Dr. Hilbert: I never stopped missing you.
Crocker: I'm a monster, Hill. I was made into a monster. I just… all this time, I… you're positive the Foundation had…
Dr. Hilbert: Saw their records myself.
Crocker: Oh god.
A man is heard clearing his throat, before Thilo Zwist appears.
SCP-6382: I find it deeply ironic that, for a writer, you are incapable of either communicating or listening, Lilibet. Izaak told you what had happened to Hilbert, and you killed him for it. If at any point, you had just asked me about Alexandre here, I would have told you where he was and how you could be with him again. But instead? You insisted on a crusade that is on the verge of leaving reality in shambles.
Crocker lets out a sob, and abruptly pulls away from Hilbert, looking at her hands. She is rapidly undergoing the process of aging.
Chief Ibanez: Udo, what's happening?
Dr. Okorie: She's been rumbled. Sustaining a rite like this requires a fair bit of concentration, and… I think we just broke it in a big way.
Dr. Reynders: I'm not sure it's just that. I… all this time, she was angry at us for no reason. I don't think I can bring myself to hate her anymore.
Chief Ibanez: That makes one of us. Ibanez raises her firearm again.
Dr. Okorie: Fina, no!
Chief Ibanez: She took my whole family from me. Everyone I ever knew. You expect me to forgive her and sing kumbaya?
Dr. Okorie: Fina, I understand your pain. But it's actively making her stronger. Let her die from the rite failing. One person's hatred can't sustain it for much longer, even if it is as intense as yours.
Crocker falls to her knees. She resembles a woman at least aged 100.
Dr. Hilbert: …this isn't how it ends, I'm afraid.
Dr. Okorie: What?
Dr. Hilbert kneels next to Crocker.
Dr. Hilbert: It's going to be okay, Sue.
Crocker's flesh begins necrotizing rapidly.
Dr. Hilbert: C'mon… this isn't the end, here.
Crocker looks up at Dr. Hilbert, tears in her eyes. There is a burst of EVE that disrupts the recording; when it resumes, Crocker, her hair still white, is standing, reverted back to her previous age.
Dr. Reynders: What in the—
Crocker: …huh. That answers that question, then.
Dr. Okorie: W-What question?
Crocker: Whether the rite can be sustained by self-loathing. Crocker laughs. Truly, I have to thank all of you. For decades, I thought I had nothing to live for. But now that I know Hill is alive?
Crocker steps up and kisses Hilbert on the lips.
Crocker: I most definitely do.
Dr. Hilbert: I've seen how this ends, Sue. You don't have to do this.
SCP-6382: He's right, Lilibet, it's not too late. You can still… you can still be on the right side of history.
Crocker: History is written by the victors, Thilo, and we intend to win. If it's any consolation, you don't have to worry about the government anymore. There's enough residual energy from it that I imagine Trump and Kissinger will stick around for at least a few more years.
Crocker enacts a rite on the window behind her, disintegrating it.
Crocker: Im Gift steckt die Wahrheit. In Wahrheit gibt es Macht.4
SCP-6382: Und um deine Wahrheit zu erreichen, bist du bereit, die Welt niederzubrennen?5
Crocker grabs Hilbert's wrist.
Crocker: Nothing you haven't done before.
Crocker drags Hilbert out the window. Another burst of EVE disrupts the recording; when Okorie looks out the window, she sees no signs of impact.
Dr. Okorie: …well. Shit.
Susanna Schmidt/Elizabeth Crocker is currently at large, alongside Dr. Alexandre Hilbert. SCP Classification for both parties is pending.
Following this, the vast majority of anomalous activity affecting SCP-8443-A instances ceased; however, Donald Trump, Henry Kissinger6, Diane Feinstein7, Mitch McConnell, and several other politicians continue to be sustained by the aftereffects of SCP-8443, but no anomalous events beyond this have occurred. Downgrade from Keter to Euclid or Archon is currently pending.
Furthermore, several Foundation thaumaturges, including Dr. Okorie, have begun work on a thaumic countermeasure to prevent rites such as SCP-8443 from being enacted on other governments. It is expected to be enacted some time in early 2022.