The light is preserved.
URGENT NOTICE FROM THE EMERGENCIES DIVISION
FOR DIRECTOR NOAH TORRENT: As per NORMALITY PROTOCOL 6-14, and due to your role as the director of Site-188, you are currently in charge of maintaining baseline reality for the city of Québec and the majority of its metropolitan area.
SCP-9880 was activated on all selected settlements and will not deactivate until the end of the ongoing threat. The city and the 516.92 km2 of land surrounding it are currently contained. You are currently the only member of your settlement who was made aware of the existence of SCP-9880 and the current situation.
Any order given by you concerning the settlement will be followed by Division members. You are charged to ensure the current attributes concerning the city must remain factual throughout its containment, and that any deviation must be corrected:
- a population of around 650,000;
- the city is located near the Saint Laurent River;
- French is the dominant language, with a strong English presence;
- a visible minority population of 32.8% at maximum;
- hockey is the most popular sport;
- Site-188 is the main SCP Foundation Site and the fourth biggest facility throughout Canada.
We count on you for the light to be preserved.
Item: SCP-9880
Object Class: K-Thaumiel
Special Containment Procedures: Emergencies Division personnel are to ensure containment of their respective settlements at all costs. Containment efforts should focus on transportation of water, food, and medical supplies into the settlement, protection of the settlement from outside forces, and misinformation programs directed at settlement residents, including other Foundation personnel.
No Division member is to interact directly with citizens of a settlement. If citizens or Foundation personnel learn of the ongoing scenario, they are to be administered amnestics as soon as possible. If there is a shortage of amnestics, termination or recruitment within the Emergencies Division is recommended.
YEAR 1
The Division told me I have to keep a journal of everything I do during the year. It's supposed to reassure me and the Division. Sure.
The citizens are unaware, as they should be. I've maintained many narratives to ensure that none get out of the city: lengthy permits, health clearances, or forms that are mysteriously delayed or denied. Some complaints are made, but nothing major. I think that dome is brainwashing them to think everything is alright.
Site-188 isn't changing much, really. They all work for the Division now, even if they are unaware of it. The only big change is the arrival of new anomalies to study and contain within the facility. But even so, they do their best to get the job done, as always.
The Division doesn't tell me much about the outside. All I know is that they have selected agents from all over the world sent to search for the anomalies necessary to resolve the situation. I tried to ask them how long it would take, but they replied that it depended. When I asked them what it depended on, they replied, “Everything.” I don't know whether I should feel reassured or terrified. I still don't know much, really. Despite being charged with taking care of the supposed "light", they keep me in the dark.
One Division member came to me not long ago. I think he was part of the medical transport team. He asked me if he could join the settlement as a citizen. I don't know what the procedure is for those kinds of things, or if I'm the one in charge of creating the procedures, so I've said that I'll allow him after a certain amount of work. Whatever that means.
Status:
- A population of ~620,000
- The city is located near the Saint Laurent River
- French is the dominant language, with a strong English presence
- Visible minority population of 31.3%
- Hockey is the most popular sport
- Site-188 is the main SCP Foundation Site and the fourth biggest facility throughout Canada
The light is preserved.
Description: SCP-9880 is a blend of 13 major thaumargic rituals, 76 memetic manipulations, 189 various micro-rituals, and 10^7 liters of water, creating a spherical dome reaching both above and below ground. The size of the dome adjusts itself to the size of the contained settlement.
Once activated, it is impossible for every living being to physically or anomalously enter or leave the area affected by SCP-9880. Physical force does not affect the dome's durability, and use of any thaumaturgy will have no effect either, no matter the amount of EVE energy accumulated. Souls' ritual, or any ritual that may remove one's spirit from a body, is superfluous, as even sentient ectoplasmic matter will be contained by the dome.
Thaumaturgic Passport
The inner layer of SCP-9880 possesses a memetic effect that alters perception of the world outside the dome, ensuring that no environmental damage is visible, no anomalous phenomena are apparent, and the sky remains blue during daytime and full of stars during night. This layer also induces a lack of engagement with anything outside of the affected location, with any individual viewing SCP-9880's inside surface feeling a sudden disinterest in leaving. These effects can be overcome by individuals with high Cognitive Resistance Values and are rendered ineffective for every Division member with the Antimeme-023 inoculation.
The only way to counter the physical presence of the dome is with the use of a Thaumaturgic Passport, which takes the form of a pin shaped like the Foundation's logo. Once the nature of the passport's use is revealed to the person wearing or holding the pin, they are able to pass through the dome's thaumaturgical barrier without difficulty.
YEAR 8
That new "Duty Points" system I've created, which is supposed to "dictate who may join the city as citizens depending on what prowess and years of service they have given for the Division," seems to be working. But it's far from perfect.
That kid I talked to years ago came to me again. I barely recognized him. He seemed much older, and he had a large scar running down his face. He told me that he could join the Québec colony now because this was what he had been promised after years of service and accumulating enough Duty Points. I told him I couldn't. The city's minority population already reached its maximum, and any new arrivals would upset the status quo. I told him I was sorry and suggested he ask me again in a few months, and we'll see if the numbers have changed.
Apparently, that same kid later assaulted and fatally injured a senior official member of the Emergencies Division to acquire the Thaumaturgic Password, granting him unauthorized access to the settlement. He actually managed to enter the city. That kid is in my city, hiding from his duty, with a key to let others in. I can't believe this.
They assured me that his name and previous achievements for the Division were removed from the DEEPWELL archive and that he will be forgotten in our next life. That's not enough. I need him out of my city. I need him terminated.
The city is not going strong. I've maintained the narrative that we're going through a severe economic depression. The stats are not good either. I suspect that other members of the Division are admitting people into the city without my knowledge. I alone should take care of the light.
Status:
- A population of ~550,000
- The city is located near the Saint Laurent River
- Both French and English are the dominant languages
- Visible minority population of 36.1%
- Hockey is the most popular sport
- Site-188 is the main SCP Foundation Site and the fourth biggest facility throughout Canada
The light is preserved.
SCP-9880 was created by the Emergencies Division at the request of the Department of Continuity prior to the current K-class crisis. The purpose of SCP-9880 is to contain a surviving remnant of normalcy in a situation where most or all of the world is affected by a K-class scenario, or a similar situation where baseline reality is no longer the foundational reference point. SCP-9880 activates automatically as soon as the Foundation detects that more than 75% of humanity on Earth has perished or been affected by an anomalous phenomenon. The contained settlements are maintained to ensure the following;
- The original idea of a world under Veil is maintained, with no alteration, once the K-class scenario is resolved.
- No other civilization created after the K-class scenario will take over normalcy as we once knew it.1
- Foundation personnel inside the settlement may work in a healthy environment.
- Foundation personnel helping the Division may be granted full amnestic treatment and subsequent reintegration into the settlement as veiled citizens under certain conditions.
YEAR 16
I've allowed a few citizens who are really insistent on leaving to let them do so. It hurts the stats, but at least they'll be helping the Division from the outside.
I've also elevated the Duty Points necessary to join the settlement again. A group of Division members has protested against this and even refused to work. I expected this. The Division confirmed later that the traitors had been terminated, and their identities were removed from DEEPWELL. They shall be forgotten.
I've heard that Québec is the last settlement of America. The last one fell due to "mismanagement." I knew it. My city is the strongest. The only one worthy to be kept.
I say that, but with each passing day, I fear that it is less and less the city I know.
No one in the city is aware of the millions dead outside. No one is aware of the dome currently surrounded by dead bodies. No one is aware of the many I've killed myself. No one is aware of reality. I wish I could have taken amnestics when there were still some left. I wish I could be ignorant again. I wish I could be normal like all of them.
Status:
- A population of ~300,000
- The city is located near the Saint Laurent River
- No dominant languages
- Visible minority population of 41.1%
- Most popular sport is unknown
- Site-188 is the main SCP Foundation Site and the second biggest facility throughout Canada
The light is preserved.
Citizens inside the settlements are to remain reassured that their world is not at end, and that there is no reason for them to leave the place. This is maintained by Veil.aic, the Artificial Intelligent Conscript in charge of information within the contained settlements.
Veil.aic possesses a high memory storage to maintain a detailed profile of all inhabitants present in the settlement, as well as an intelligent Voice Impostor system that can imitate all related Profiles stored in memory. The main function of the AIC is to call and respond in the voice of relatives and acquaintances of the settlement's population. The AIC is also charged with maintaining fake international news of an under-Veil outside world through artificially generated images.
Foundation facilities located in the settlements are to study anomalies related to the current K-class scenario with the objective of developing countermeasures. Only high-ranking personnel are to be aware of the reality of the situation. This measure is intended to preserve operational stability and ensure that staff continue to function in a controlled, low-stress environment, unburdened by awareness of the broader collapse. Veil.aic is tasked with generating and distributing falsified Foundation documentation of various Foundation facilities across the world to maintain the appearance that external conditions remain stable.
YEAR 27
A large famine. That's the current narrative, and the closest to the truth I've ever allowed into the city. People are starving to death, and the few with enough strength to try and find a better place elsewhere will be met with disappointment. Or a bullet to the head if they don't join the Division.
That's what "normalcy" is, right? That's the only way to explain this hell. But this isn't supposed to be hell. This is supposed to be the last memory of our world. But how can one see this place and think "this is the world I once knew." I sure don't. It's not right. Yet it should be, cause that's all we have left.
The other Foundation agents of Site-188 don't bother with their work anymore. They're too occupied spending time with their friends and families. I don't even know if the ones I love are still alive. I don't want to know. At least I can afford this ignorance.
I've asked the Division when it will be over. Last time, they said a "few" years. Has it not been more? Has it not been enough? They haven't answered me. They no longer respond to any of my messages or orders. It has been a long time since I last saw food and all other necessities being transported to the city. I'm scared they might have given up on this place. They've left us to die slowly while they bother with the more important parts of this doomed world.
Wait, that's what it's all about, isn't it? We're waiting for the end of the world to end? We're conscient enough to admit that the end is here, yet we're stupid enough to think that there's a chance for us. To think that the past'll remember us. But we're not supposed to think. We're all supposed to have joined the dead long ago, rotting among all other corpses decorating the world we once knew.
But we're not dead.
No. We have to keep working. We have to keep hoping for a better time. For a better world. They've given up on us, but we won't. Not until.
Not until.
Status:
- A population of less than 100,000
- The city is located near the Saint Laurent River
- No dominant languages
- No visible minority
- Most popular sport is unknown
- Site-188 is the main SCP Foundation Site and the biggest facility throughout Canada
The light is preserved.
Once the K-class scenario is resolved and Earth is confirmed to be mostly habitable and non-hostile, SCP-9880's effects on the settlements will be lifted. The remaining members of the Emergencies Division will rejoin the Foundation. All individuals listed who assisted the Division in any way during the crisis will be rewarded. Their strength, courage, or sacrifice will be honored by being recorded in the Foundation's database.
It will be the duty of citizens and Foundation personnel to reconstruct normalcy as we once knew it, using all necessary tools. The light will shine once again, because of you.
YEAR ███
"One pair of every animal," said God to Noah, "the flood will come, and only your ark and its occupants will survive. Everything else of flesh I have created will die. Choose carefully who lives, as I believe you to be righteous."
As expected, the flood arrived, and every other life not present on the boat perished. The world Noah once knew came to an end, and now all he had to do was wait for the new one he was promised.
After 150 days, God did not remember Noah. However, being the righteous man he was told to be, Noah showed patience. Every day after taking care of each creature on board, he looked through a window of the wooden vessel, hoping to see the water subsiding and the land slowly showing its skin again. But the heavy rain decorating the horizon outside did not alter, not yet.
After 300 days, God did not remember Noah. A glimpse of doubt he expressed, which he immediately repressed, as he knows to trust the word of God. The animals, however, became agitated. Some of them have started fighting, others have lost hope and reason. Still, Noah believed in God's judgment, no matter what it might be.
After 500 days, God did not remember Noah. Doubt was no longer a glimpse but an ubiquitous fear. Had he somehow misunderstood God? Had he saved the wrong animals? Had God suddenly changed his mind? He continued to look out the window, wondering if there was even any land left beneath the water. The rations left on the boat slowly became rare. Half of the boat's occupants have been used to feed the other half. Noah himself had to taste some of the creatures he promised a new world to, and he hated himself to know they tasted delicious. He was the only one who still waited for the flood to end.
After 1000 days, God did not remember Noah. But Noah wished dearly he could forget about God. The rations on the boat have long been no more. All passengers have killed each other in the hope of a few more spells of existence in this dying world. In the end, Noah and one of the two mice were the last animals to survive. When he finally found it hidden behind a plank of wood, he grabbed and squeezed its little body firmly within a fist. The cries of the rodent echoed within the enormous hollow boat until it had no more air to scream. Noah swallowed his very last meal whole. Then, he remained still in the middle of his creation, his body moving along the flow of the sea outside. The ark still stood after the years gone by, but no boat, no matter how strong, could last an eternity. Noah promised himself to show silence until the very end. He knows not to break this promise.
After 100,000 days, God might have remembered Noah. But there was no one left to tell.
Status:
- Population of 1
- The city is located near hell, heading towards
- Silence is dominant
- No one visible present
- Site-188 is the only SCP Foundation Site
And the light was snuffed out.