CARRINGTON INQUIRY
SCP-9998 CONTAINMENT BREACH
FINAL REPORT OF INQUIRY
PRODUCED BY DOLORES CARRINGTON
INQUIRY CHAIR, ETHICS COMMITTEE
INTRODUCTION
For the attention of the O5 Council,
1. I was appointed by you, with the full support of the Ethics Committee, to chair an inquiry into the events concerning SCP-9998 at NBC Studios, Burbank, California, on 18 March 1999.
2. The terms of reference for the inquiry include, in addition to the aforementioned event, recommendations regarding the Foundation's culture, practices, and containment procedures.
3. I have now heard oral evidence from 156 witnesses, drawn from both sides of the Veil, and examined much written evidence and other documentation either submitted from witnesses or sourced by our agents.
4. In producing this report I have set out the events preceding, during, and subsequent to, what is widely considered to be one of the most significant containment breaches within the history of The Foundation.
The 47th Primetime Emmy Awards. September 10, 1995. SCP-9998 was nominated for "Outstanding Comedy Series".
Special Containment Procedures: The Normalcy Restoration effort has concluded. SCP-9998 has been erased from the collective consciousness of humanity, and all efforts have been made to ensure any and all documentation relating to it is in Foundation custody. Casualties and damage resulting from the finale broadcast have either been repaired, erased, or attributed to non-anomalous causes. A decoy television series by the same name as SCP-9998 has been manufactured to minimise the risk of MANDELA-class amnestic failures.
All materials relating to SCP-9998 are to be kept in a triple-locked archive at Storage Site-██. These items include VHS recordings of seasons one through five, including the series finale, along with publicity material. Whilst viewing of seasons one to four is permissible for researchers assigned to relevant anomalies, season five is not to be viewed without the written consent of SCP-9998's Head Researcher.
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
APPROACH
28. The interviewing of civilian witnesses for the purposes of the inquiry presents complications. Those involved in SCP-9998 display significant trauma and often denial regarding the events of the finale.
29. For the purposes of the inquiry, when attempting to gain information on SCP-9998's production from civilian witnesses, these individuals were dosed with a combination of amnestics, to erase memory of overt anomalous activity, and mnestics, to heighten recollection of the time period immediately preceding the SCP-9998 finale.
30. Through this, individuals were led to believe that the finale of SCP-9998 had yet to air, and were interviewed under the premise of a media spotlight regarding the series. If necessary, sedatives and/or various mesmerist practices were deployed to support this pretence.
31. Following participation in the inquiry, all civilian witnesses were processed as part of the overarching Normalcy Restoration effort…
SCP-9998 Title Card.
Description: SCP-9998 was a studio audience sitcom titled A Prince Among Men, broadcast on American television network NBC between 1994 and 1999 for five seasons. The series was created by David Harper, who served as the Executive Producer and Head Writer throughout its run, and was produced by NBC Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Studios. The series revolved around Cornelius "Nell" Prince, a teenager from a wealthy, upper-class background who, as punishment for his comedic antics, is sent by his father to live with working class relatives in the Lower East Side, New York City. SCP-9998's anomalous attributes are detailed following an overview of its plot and production.
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
APPENDIX 014: CIVILIAN INTERVIEWS
Gary Warrington.
Interview Subject 042: Gary Warrington
Role: Executive President of Scripted Content
Yeah, I know what people said about the show to begin with, that it was derivative, they'd seen it before, yada yada. We caught some heat in those early days from folks saying it was Fresh Prince but safe for your conservative white audience. The scheduling didn't help that one. Now if we're talking about the studio perspective… maybe they ain't 100% wrong.
But not Davey,1 he always believed in what he was making. He acknowledged the similarities, sure, but he wanted to make something different. I asked him once where the idea came from — there wasn't anything like the show in Davey's background: average wealth, nice family, suburbs. You know the drill. He just shrugged and said he'd always had these characters in his mind, ever since he was a kid.
I told the cast this one day, and they start telling me about how Davey told them a completely different story at the wrap party for season two. He's put away about three bottles of wine, and supposedly starts talking about how he found the outline to the series on the metro one day. The cast's smart okay, they're not going to tell the world their golden goose is potentially plagiarised, but they can trust me, they know I won't blab. It's my golden goose too!
I get back to the studio after finding this out and I tell Shaina.2 She starts laughing, says "like shit he did", claims that Davey got all emotional with her over a lunch once. Started talking about how the whole show is based on a play he studied in a lit' class at college: a rich lord sends his son to live among the peasants to learn how to rule. That it's where the whole "five lessons" came from.
So where the idea for the show actually originated? How's this for an answer: who the fuck knows.
Ask Davey yourself. You'll get a completely new answer.
Nell Prince at the 1997 Emmy Rehearsals.
Plot & Production: In October 1992, Harper pitched the concept of the series to Gary Warrington, Executive President for NBC's scripted content. Harper and Warrington were acquainted from their time studying at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. With Warrington's support, the concept was bought by NBC Studios as a premise pilot. After a positive reception from test audiences, a full season was commissioned.
The pilot opens with Nell Prince arriving at the home of Joseph Broker, Joseph's wife Jackie, and their two children, Allie and Anthony, who are both younger than Nell. Joseph and Jackie are introduced as distant relatives of Nell's; the ambiguity of the exact nature of their relationship is a running gag throughout the series. Nell has recently embarrassed his father, a wealthy business magnate, by performing a prank whilst his father hosted business associates at their estate for dinner. As punishment for this, Nell's father arranges for his son to stay with the Brokers for the foreseeable future. Much of the humour in the first season derives from the juxtaposition of Nell's former and current circumstances. For example, having to share a bedroom with Anthony and contribute to household chores.
The series was shot primarily at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. A permanent set was constructed for the Broker family house at Stage Five, where all scenes filmed were shot in front of a live studio audience. The set was maintained for the duration of the series, until its destruction in the SCP-9998 Incident.
The first season was scheduled on Monday nights in the slot preceding The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, leading both programs to be advertised together as "The Prince Hour". After ratings were significantly better than expected for the first two seasons, primarily due to positive word of mouth, the final three were broadcast in a coveted 7:30—8:00pm slot on Thursday nights, prior to Friends.
Despite healthy ratings, the fifth season of SCP-9998 was announced as the final prior to its airing. This was at the insistence of Harper, which brought him into conflict with studio executives at NBC.
All five seasons were predominantly episodic, but, according to production crew, episodes within individual seasons were intended to be thematically linked.
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
APPENDIX 014: CIVILIAN INTERVIEWS
Shaina Tovey.
Interview Subject 027: Shaina Tovey
Role: SCP-9998 Writer, Executive Story Producer
So, whenever we'd get together to start plotting a season, you could count on David to rock up to the writers' room with two things: pizza and a lesson.
Like… he had this goal that the show would be greater than the sum of its parts. Y'know? Each season would be a lesson for Nell. Five lessons to learn for him to reunite with Dad.
Take the second season: we learn that Nell is adopted: that his Dad isn't his real Dad. Not only that, but we learn Dad can't have kids of his own, and adopted Nell to have an heir to leave the empire to. Nell helps Jennifer3 come to terms with her pregnancy and take care of the baby, and there's a load of B-plot around the Broker parents and their kids, and Nell helping strengthen their relationship. That season's lesson was legacy. You following me? Nell learns why his Dad has such high expectations of him.
So season one is all about learning your place in the world, what else is out there. Nell's being exposed to things he'd never seen from his penthouse. Two is the importance of legacy, where you come from. Three was on growth through pain, you have the whole arc with Nell's bully, the episode with Joseph's surgery. Four was the importance of culture, Nell teaches the Broker kids about music, he sets up the theatre club at school, they put on that renaissance play. That last theme's the weakest in my opinion, it just cast Nell as seeing himself as superior. I tried to push back on that, but no success.
We start writing our current season, the all important final one. You should have heard the arguments Dave had with the big dogs about the fact he wanted it to stop. I think all of Cali' heard, the screams were so loud.
Dave rocks up to the room: pizza, but no lesson. It's a secret, he says. That we'll have to wait to the finale he — and he alone — is writing to find out.
Anomalous Properties: Following the airing of the series finale, all references to the actors who played the primary cast (Nell Prince and the Broker family) have been anomalously modified. Any mention of the actors by name has been modified to be the name of the character they played on SCP-9998. Any information regarding them which is unrelated to SCP-9998, such as personal details, federal documents, and prior acting credits, has ceased to exist. It is currently believed that, prior to the SCP-9998 Incident, none of the cast were involved in anomalous activity.
Throughout the production and airing of Season Five, several anomalous events occurred in relation to SCP-9998 (See Addendum 001). These events culminated in the SCP-9998 Incident (See Addendum 002).
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
APPENDIX 014: CIVILIAN INTERVIEWS
Lucille Keaton.
Interview Subject 022: Lucille Keaton
Role: SCP-9998 Casting Director
A new show is my dream. Far more exciting than a new cast member joining something long running, and a new show about a family? It's just perfect. Thinking about how these people will interact, what their dynamics are. Does the daughter look more like the mom or the dad, why did the parents choose each other, what's their chemistry? The dream. I love my job.
For Prince Among Men, Nell was obviously the role we just had to get right. We wanted someone unknown, someone the audience wouldn't have seen before. David Harper told me how he was sent to live in the skids because of a prank gone wrong. This kid keeps making jokes and playing around, then one day his Dad decides he needs to grow up. And that was all I needed: boyish, charming and mischievous, but he was also a bit of a snob, right? The dynamic with the family doesn't work otherwise.
We got headshots in, narrowed down from there. I saw forty, maybe fifty, guys for the role? Then did callbacks for ten where Gary and David joined.
I knew who was getting the role before callbacks though. From the moment Nell walked in through the door, he had a star quality to him. I knew Nell would make a great Nell Prince,4 and I knew Gary and David would agree. It's the role he was born to play.
ADDENDUM 001:
SCP-9998 SEASON FIVE
The fifth and final season of SCP-9998 was comprised of 24 episodes and aired between September 1998 and May 1999. Following information received from several sources, the Foundation became aware of several incidents with potential anomalous influence occurring during the production of SCP-9998. These are as follows:
- During filming, cast members repeatedly begin to deviate from their scripts. These deviations are often at odds with the tone of both the scene and the overall show. The below transcript is taken from the filming of season five episode fourteen, Nell Wins Big, in which Joseph and Jackie discuss the news that Nell's father will come to visit with the intent of taking custody:
Jackie: I can't believe our Nell will be leaving us soon. He said his Dad might take him to Gesualdo to celebrate!
Joseph: Gesualdo? That the pizzeria that's just opened up 'round the corner?
[Audience laugh.]
Jackie: No Joe! Would it kill ya to have a bit of culture? It's in… Italy!
[Jackie flourishes as she says the country, putting both hands over her heart.]
Joseph: …Little Italy?
[Audience laugh.]
Jackie: Joe! Italy, Europe!
[Jackie playfully smacks Joseph across the head.]
Joseph: Our Prince will travel to lands far further than Europe. And I cannot help but wonder if we have truly prepared him for what is to come, for the pitch black celestial seas he must traverse. Has his time wallowing with our squalor taught him what his father sought him learn? In truth, I wish to keep him with us. He is truly more impressive than either of my seed. Yet, those who fight destiny are just as bound to it as those that embrace it. I am scared, Jacqueline. Scared for what is to come for us. For him. For us all.
Director: Okay, cut! Joe, what was that?
Joseph: Sorry, I— I wanted to try something new.
Director: Well don't. Let's take it from the top. Places.
Jackie: Hey, give me a heads up in the future if you're planning to improv?
- During the filming of episode 16, Nell Learns the Ropes, a pregnant member of the studio audience in her third trimester miscarries. There were no previously noted issues regarding the pregnancy
- Alejandro González, chief lighting technician for all five seasons of SCP-9998, vanishes whilst working overtime alone at Stage Five. His whereabouts are still unaccounted for
- On twelve separate instances of filming, members of the live audience are escorted off the premises after they are unable to cease laughing at SCP-9998. Once removed from NBC Studios, they are able to regain composure
- The actor playing Nell Prince, who had previously maintained a meticulously clean-cut public image, makes controversial statements in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote SCP-9998. In response to a mention of a recent homophobic murder, Prince questions the validity of homosexual relationships as they are unable to result in biological children. The comments are buried by Prince's agents and the interview prints without them
- Rumours begin to circulate regarding the wellbeing of David Harper. By numerous accounts, Harper becomes quick to anger with both cast and crew, and takes almost exclusive ownership of drafting episode scripts, at one point requesting that site security bar all other writers from the studio. His physical health is subject to speculation. Eyewitnesses report his abdomen as severely distended, whilst others report sighting raw, inflamed tumours protruding from underneath Harper's clothing.
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
APPENDIX 014: CIVILIAN INTERVIEWS
Shaina Tovey.
Interview Subject 027: Shaina Tovey
Role: SCP-9998 Writer, Executive Story Producer
I'd been working on the show since day one; I thought Dave and I had a pretty good relationship. Thought. I won't be attending the filming of the finale. It's very much the Dave show: he's written it, he's going to direct it. I've not even seen the script, it's only gone to the cast.
Dave's scripts and story outlines had taken an increasingly conservative tone as the show progressed and — look — I'm not best friends with Gloria Allred, but with everything that happened with Clinton, I just thought it was important that young girls watching the show knew that there was more to being a woman than just sex. That they could be seen as more than that.
There's a scene Dave wrote where Jackie tells Allie the most important role she'll ever have in life is as a wife and mother. Y'know, you've probably seen it: episode three of this season. I asked him if we could loosen the language a bit, showcase that there's more than just one role model a girl can aspire to.
And he blew up. I don't know if it was the stress of writing the final season. Maybe the coke.
Probably the coke.
But he just screamed in my face.
Q: Do you remember what he said to you?
I'm not gonna forget. He said, if I was so concerned about female role models on the show, he could get Joseph to chop Jackie's limbs off so she could be, and I quote, an "immobile brood mother". He then told me to fuck off out his office.
That was… yeah. That was uncomfortable.
Following the airing of episode six, Nell heads to the Renaissance Faire, NBC announced that the series finale would be broadcast live. The move, a joint decision between studio executives and Harper, followed other successful experiments in live episodes, such as the second season of Roc and the season four premiere of ER in 1997. The episode would be filmed and broadcast once in its usual East Coast slot, resulting in the West Coast broadcast being rescheduled to earlier in the day. Alongside this announcement, the following logline was publicized:
Nell's time with the Brokers comes to a close, as his Father arrives to return him home.
The announcement of the live episode and its summary resulted in intense public interest and media speculation as to the identity of the actor playing Nell's father. Bookkeepers began accepting bets on a wide variety of celebrities both actors and non actors. Figures speculated to be participating in the finale in some form ranged from businessman Donald Trump to seasoned sitcom actor Bill Cosby. The announcement also precipitated a significant increase in anomalous activity; all illustrative incidents listed above occurred post announcement.
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
FOUNDATION INVESTIGATION
135. In the leadup to the finale of SCP-9998, Foundation staff correctly identified several anomalous incidents relating to the show. These occurred both on and off set.
136. The impetus of investigation into SCP-9998 was information received from the Hollywood Branch of the FBI's Unusual Incidents Unit ("UIU" / GoI-102). For several years, GoI-102 has investigated claims of an anomalous cult active in Hollywood and wider entertainment circles linked to the number five. Due to the perceived prevalence of the number in SCP-9998 — five seasons, five lessons, filmed on Stage Five, five primary cast members — GoI-102 believed the rumoured cult to have influence over SCP-9998 and informed Foundation contacts of such.
137. Foundation agents, both those who initially received the information and those who conducted subsequent investigations, did not demonstrate sufficient skepticism nor independent validation of the information GoI-102 provided. Whilst GoI-102 is often regarded as a co-operative organisation, all information received from third parties should be challenged and treated with both scrutiny and rigour. The Foundation overly relying on GoI-102's hypotheses regarding SCP-9998 ultimately led to a misidentification of anomalous parties involved.
138. Cultural issues present in the Foundation compounded weaknesses in the initial investigation. SCP-9998 was incorrectly identified as low risk and received insufficient attention and resources. The scale of SCP-9998's eventual containment breach was considered, at best, highly improbable, at worst, impossible. This is best demonstrated by the below extract taken from Researcher Tim Watchman's testimony. Full testimony is available in Appendix 013, Foundation Interviews.
I know how this is going to sound. And in retrospect, it sounds negligent. But we're all human, and we exist on both sides of the Veil. The Wall coming down, the War ending, it really affected us. Things felt safer.
Sure, there were still innumerable horrors contained within most Foundation Sites, most of which were armed with nuclear fail safes. But both those things were ours. They were under our control. We no longer had to worry about a containment breach arising from the Cold War turning hot, we managed to take custody of most of the paraweapons both sides had been researching. We were all more optimistic for the future.
For the first time in a while it felt like things would be okay.
139. Through the course of this inquiry, incidents of complacency were identified in the categorisation, investigation, and handling of 32 anomalous items or phenomena initially deemed low risk, in addition to SCP-9998. These discoveries were incidental and unintended — the true scale of the issue is likely much greater.
140. As stated in para. 135, the Foundation did identify anomalous incidents relating to the immediate production of SCP-9998. The issues listed in para. 136 through 139, though, limited the scope of Foundation investigations and staff failed to identify several, more severe anomalous incidents linked to SCP-9998 which have only come to light through this inquiry. These include:
140.i. A 37 year old woman in Detroit, Michigan, expired due to aspirating her own blood arising from a broken jaw. Her husband was arrested and charged with her murder; he claimed his wife's jaw broke due to excessively laughing at an episode of SCP-9998.
140.ii. The president of the Nell Prince5 Fan Club, a 26 year old woman in Boston, Massachusetts, attempts to remove the cochlea from both of her ears with a corkscrew. She is hospitalised, and reports that she was attempting to silence a laugh track which she has begun to hear constantly.
140.iii. A 23 year old man in Springfield, Oregon was discovered completely exsanguinated at his residence, in front of his television. The site was devoid of blood with the exception of a bloody handprint on the television screen. The Foundation became aware of the incident and the television was taken into custody on the belief it was anomalous. After three weeks in storage, testing was conducted and concluded that the object was non-anomalous. Autopsy reports place the man's death occurring during an SCP-9998 broadcast.
140.iv. Two boys, aged 9 and 14, were admitted to St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco, California, with multiple fractures and bruising. They claimed their father — who had no prior history of neglect or mental health issues — had beaten and admonished them both for not being as good a son as Nell Prince was.
141. This report finds that if The Foundation had correctly and completely gauged the full extent of SCP-9998's anomalous influences, the potential for a scenario on the scale of the SCP-9998 Incident should have been considered and the incident potentially prevented from occurring.
ADDENDUM 002:
SCP-9998 SERIES FINALE
The following transcript is the final ten minutes of SCP-9998's series finale. The entirety of this transcript was broadcast across The United States:
«BEGIN LOG»
[The Broker household is decorated with balloons and a banner reading "TIME TO RETURN." Nell Prince and the Broker family wear domino masks.]
Anthony: Oh man. This is what a Masquerade is? I thought it was an energy drink!
[Audience laugh.]
Allie: Oh brother…
[Audience laugh.]
[The camera pans to the other side of the room. Nell stands next to Joseph and Jackie.]
Prince: Hey, I just wanted to say, before I go, I've had a really swell time here.
Jackie: Awh, sweetheart. That's so kind of you.
Joseph: We'll miss you, Nell. You've been the best…cousin—
[Joseph looks at Jackie, she shakes her head. Audience laugh.]
Joseph: Nephew—
[Joseph looks at Jackie, she shakes her head. Audience laugh.]
Joseph: Second cous—
[Joseph looks at Jackie, she shakes her head. Audience laugh.]
[Joseph is silent.]
Joseph: Niece?
Jackie: Joe!
[Jackie smacks Joseph across the head. Audience laugh.]
Joseph: In the end, it doesn't matter! You're family, and that's what counts. Come 'ere.
[The three hug. The audience fawns.]
[The household phone rings.]
Anthony: I'll get it!
[Anthony begins to run towards the phone. He trips, and falls behind the sofa.]
[Audience laugh.]
Anthony: Ah… I think I broke my widdershins.
[Audience laugh.]
Allie: Your what?! You don't have a widdershins!
[Audience laugh.]
Anthony: Not anymore I don't.
[Audience laugh.]
[Nell walks over to the phone and picks it up.]
Prince: Yello! … yes, this is Nell … oh … okay… no, I understand. I'll let them know.
[Nell hangs up.]
Jackie: Sweetheart? Is everything okay?
Prince: I… I don't know. My Dad's sick. Really sick, he can't come anymore. I'm still going back. But he can't come here, he's sending someone he trusts to collect me instead.
Jackie: Oh Nell, I'm sorry. Being a parent is the most important thing in the world to me, so I'm sure when I say this: he'd be here if he could.
Prince: I know.
Joseph: And you'll still be back beside him, in your rightful place, soon enough!
Anthony: You can't escape your blood. You can run but it will always run with you, fuelling your futile flight.6
Allie: Oh brother.
[Audience laugh.]
[Someone knocks on the front door.]
Prince: That must be who my Dad sent!
[Audience woop.]
[Nell runs to the door and opens it.]
Prince: I thought it would be you!
[The identity of the new arrival cannot be seen. They linger outside the set and outside camera shot.]
Prince: It makes sense Dad would send you. Please, come on in.
[Nell stands aside and gestures to the guest to enter.]
[SCP-701-1 enters through the doorway.]
[Audience is silent.]
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
APPENDIX 013: FOUNDATION INTERVIEWS
Interview Subject 132: Dr. Laxmi Narang
Role: SCP-701 Head Researcher
Prior to the finale of SCP-9998, there had not been an SCP-701 event in years. Some of the team wondered aloud if there would be another, asked how long it would have to be before the object class was reassessed. And then another event took place. And it was beamed live to nearly every family in America.
Since the incident with Psi-9, we were cautious with exploration of Alagadda. Frequent rotations of staff assigned to the anomaly. Incursions took place, but teams were under explicit instructions: get in and out as quick as you can, stay near the exit doors. Do not venture further in.
Maybe we were too wary. It made information gathering difficult. We knew though that, despite the lack of 701 events, nothing seemed to have changed or developed. Then, in the weeks prior to the finale, there was markedly increased activity, crowds of… entities, inhabitants and visitors alike.
We only found one willing to talk to us, albeit briefly. They mentioned they were part of a delegation. Visiting to attend "the coronation".
Equipped with hindsight, you can see how the pieces fit together. Yet, at the time, how were we to know that mild anomalous activity on a mediocre US sitcom were connected to these anomalies?
We could not.
It was impossible.
But how I wish it was not.
Prince: Welcome to the party!
[Audience is silent.]
[Nell and SCP-701-1 walk towards the centre of the set. The majority of the cast do not react to the latter. Jackie's demeanour changes. She appears distressed and removes her mask. Joseph looks SCP-701-1 up and down, then turns to Jackie.]
Joseph: Those heels are higher than yours!
[Audience is silent.]
Joseph: Now I've seen everything. I can't keep up with these modern trends.
[Audience is silent.]
[Jackie looks offscreen, towards the camera crew.]
Jackie: David, what's going on? This wasn't in the script I don't like—
[SCP-701-1's head snaps towards Jackie. She falls silent. All cast members bar Nell freeze in place.]
Prince: Can I get you a drink?
[Nell walks to the kitchen area and takes a bottle of beer from the fridge. He walks back to SCP-701-1 and offers it the beverage.]
[SCP-701-1 does not react. Audience is silent.]
Prince: …More of a wine person, huh?
[A quiet chuckle is heard from a member of the Audience.]
Prince: That's fine, I've got a great one I can offer you.
[Nell walks over to Allie.]
Prince: How about a nice 16 year old white?
[Sound of faint laughter from the Audience.]
[Nell produces a corkscrew from his pocket. He inserts it firmly into Allie's submental space7, rotating the instrument as he does. Neither Allie, nor any other individual present, reacts to this.]
Prince: Say, how do grapes greet each other?
[SCP-701-1 does not respond.]
Prince: They go "chardon-hey"!
[Sound of faint laughter from the Audience.]
[Nell withdraws the corkscrew and places a wine glass under the wound. It begins to fill with blood.]
Prince: What do you get a sommelier for valentines day?
[SCP-701-1 does not respond.]
Prince: A bouquet of rosé!
[Audience laugh.]
[The blood overflows the cup. It runs down Nell's hands, dripping across the set carpet. He moves towards SCP-701-1.]
Prince: To returning home.
[Nell hands SCP-701-1 the glass, which it accepts. It holds the glass for the remainder of the episode. Whilst the entity is never seen to drink from the glass, its contents diminish with time.]
[SCP-701-1 emits a noise similar to a northern wind flowing between the pages of a forgotten text. The sound tastes of milk, honey, and never-said-things. White silk on a soft neck. It is tutelage. It is the bond between a father and his prodigal son. It is the promise of ascension and knowing your position.]8
Prince: I've learnt so much, being here with you. With all of you. And there's one thing I've learnt, above all else. My final lesson…
[Nell looks directly at the camera.]
Prince: I am superior to each and every one of you.
[The audience erupts into wild cheering.]
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
THE BROADCAST
514. The appearance of SCP-701-1 within SCP-9998's final episode was flagged as anomalous within three seconds of the entity's arrival by a staff member located in the Broadcast Surveillance Hub (BSH).
515. It is noted that the BSH's cognitohazard shielding successfully deployed and prevented staff from being affected by SCP-9998.
516. The decision to shut down a terrestrial television broadcast requires the authorisation of two officers of a seniority of Grade 2V of higher. Authorisation must be input digitally into PANOPTES, the Foundation's broadcast surveillance system. Of the two supervisors of this grade on duty at the time of the broadcast, one immediately gave authorisation. In a breach of protocol, the second supervisor was not present in the BSH, and thus could not grant authorisation. It took three minutes and 34 seconds to locate the supervisor in a nearby meeting room,9 return them to the BSH, and grant authorisation.
517. Broadcast shutdown was enacted. As noted in the SCP file, SCP-9998's anomalous properties kept the broadcast from being terminated. The BSH recognised this and immediately escalated containment efforts.
518. In addition to the delays in attempting containment, the identification of the entity as SCP-701-1 took over six minutes to be made. Had this identification occurred sooner, the Foundation would have been better positioned to contain subsequent events.
Finale watch parties were held across the country.
At this point within the broadcast, significant anomalous effects began to manifest. The Foundation attempted to shutdown the show's broadcast immediately on SCP-701-1's manifestation, but SCP-9998's anomalous properties resulted in the broadcast continuing unabated.
Audiences watching SCP-9998 experienced outbreaks of sudden violent behaviour. An illustrative instance is detailed below:
[Hennessey's Bar, Brooklyn, New York. The SCP-9998 finale is broadcast on a large television screen. Patrons sit at tables, drinking, eating, and interacting with one another.]
[The first twenty minutes of the broadcast proceed as expected.]
[At SCP-701-1's arrival, a hushed atmosphere descends upon the bar.]
[Whilst some patrons appear concerned or frightened at the entity's appearance, none leave the premise or cease watching.]
[As Prince and SCP-701-1 interact, some patrons resume laughter.]
[Unprovoked, a patron attacks the individual sitting next to him with a beer bottle. The bottle shatters. The instigating party proceeds to pick up the broken glass and attempt to feed it to the target. Throughout this interaction, both men laugh.]
[Rioting breaks out in the venue, with viewers randomly attacking anyone in front of them, regardless of prior relationship.]
[A woman is thrown towards the television screen. The screen shatters. Each individual shard of glass continues to display the broadcast. The violence continues.]
[En masse, the group exit the bar and continue to engage in random and opportunistic violence with each other and those they encounter on the street. The empty bar is littered with injured individuals. One corpse is sprawled over the bar, the faucet of a beer tap has been forcefully inserted into the left orbital cavity. Beer overflows out of the facial orifices.]
[Another anomalously compromised group exits a watch party at a bar on the opposite side of the street. The two groups collide, the street is subsumed by violence.]
[Several patrons enter their cars and proceed to use their vehicles as weapons, driving through the brawling group.]
Scenes such as these erupt across the country.
The broadcast continued as follows:
[Nell walks to the centre of the set, the camera follows him. SCP-701-1 does not move. It is located at the edge of the shot.]
[Noises are heard from behind the camera. Movement and wheezing.]
[A hunched figure walks onto the set. It is David Harper. He speaks, addressing SCP-701-1.]
Harper: I did it. I did what you [cough] asked of me.
[Audience laugh.]
Harper: I wrote.
[Audience laugh.]
Harper: They witnessed.
[Audience laugh.]
Harper: An heir for the Sterile King.
[Harper unbuttons his shirt. The entirety of his upper body is subsumed by a large mass of inflamed tissue. He turns to face Prince. The Broker family cast members speak in unison.]
Cast: With this, fool's blood, we do ordain.
[SCP-701-1 raises the index finger of its left hand. The mass of tissue bursts, covering Prince with blood. Harper falls to the floor, dead.]
[Audience laughter registers new peak decibels. The laughter continues uninterrupted for the rest of the broadcast.]
O5 Command authorises the use of Foundation satellite weaponry to neutralise the broadcast and enact containment:
SATELITE VX-Ω STARTUP INITIATED
[The blood covering Prince steams and dissolves his clothes, with the sole exception of the masquerade mask. SCP-701-1 begins to slowly rotate its index finger. The skin at Prince's right foot is degloved. The skin peels upwards, flaying Prince's leg before detaching. The process repeats across Prince's body, and he is quickly fully flayed, revealing the musculature and bone beneath. He does not react to this process. The skin floats behind him in large strips.]
Joseph: And to our King, who could not sire, we provide a tribute, we provide a child.
[Prince falls backwards, being caught by his skin. The strips of skin move upwards into the air, carrying Prince. He is still in full view of the camera.]
STRIKE CO-ORDINATES ACQUIRED.
[The audience's laughter continues to intensify. Recovered CCTV footage reveal they have begun to engage in flagellation of themselves and those around them. This does not halt the laughter.]
Jackie: What is already born can not be born wrong. But what is born can on rope be strung.
[Six bone-like protrusions erupt from Prince's scalp. They break through the skull and muscle, emerging directly upwards. Blood drips from Prince's flayed body onto the set below.]
Anthony: Raised in secret, raised amongst cattle, what once you were will become your chattel.
[The four Broker family cast members reach behind their back and each retrieve what appears to be an antique dagger. These daggers are not visible in any prior shot. Audience members who have flagellated the skin off their bodies proceed to gouge out their eyes.]
Allie: The Hanged King waits for your return. The Pact of Skin is recognized.
[As Allie speaks, blood sprays across the set on account of the injuries previously inflicted.]
[Each cast member disembowels themselves with their dagger. Their intestines exit their bodies and spill onto the floor. Whooping and hollering from the audience. The cast members begin to speak in unison.]
Cast: And with this…
ORBITAL STRIKE READINESS AT 80%
[The intestines proceed to tie themselves into one continuous length of organ. One end floats upwards, into the rafters of the set and out of shot.]
Cast: …our blood…
[The other end of the rope of intestines ties itself around Prince's neck.]
ORBITAL STRIKE READINESS AT 90%
Cast: …we ordain the Hanged Prince.
[SCP-701-1 closes its hand into a fist.]
[The lengths of flayed skin supporting The Prince cease levitating.]
ORBITAL STRIKE READINESS AT 98%
[The Prince drops.]
ORBITAL STRIKE INITIATED
[The entire set is obliterated by Foundation intervention. For a second, the broadcast displays a bright, white light before ceasing.]
[Anomalous phenomena deemed to have ceased.]
«END LOG»
Following the strike, Foundation agents were dispatched to the scene to investigate. Forensic analysis of bone dust in the rubble accounted for the bodies of 86% of the audience and crew, the four Broker cast members, and David Harper. No biological material attributable to Nell Prince was recovered. Its whereabouts is unknown. SCP-9998-1 designation pending.
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
CONCLUSION & FINDINGS
701. The broadcast of SCP-9998 led to a total of █,███,███10 casualties across The United States.
702. The broadcast resulted in a significant deviation from normalcy. Warning signs were missed and procedures were not followed. In this instance, The Foundation failed in its mission of containing the anomalous.
703. Whilst the use of Satellite VX-Ω resulted in the cessation of anomalous phenomena, the activation time was outside of acceptable parameters. This was determined to be the result of a containment breach at the site of operation. Several staff members, including those with key knowledge of the satellite array's operation, were compromised following a screening of SCP-9998's finale in the recreation room.
704. Despite concerns being raised regarding the television program's links to the anomalous, these were not distributed to the leadership or security of any Foundation site. This was due to SCP-9998 not receiving an official SCP designation until after the finale's broadcast. This led to SCP-9998 finale viewing parties being held in ██11 sites.
705. Ultimately, to achieve containment, in addition to the measures listed in the database's containment procedures the decision was made to enact the ███████ ████████12
706. ███ ████ ██ █████ ████,13 the challenges posed in doing so resulted in █████ ███ ███ █████████ ████ ████████ ██ ████.14
707. █████████ ██████████ ████ ██████ ██ ████████ ██████████.15 It has been deemed acceptable to establish this as an element of new baseline reality.
708. It is unknown how many more times such a procedure could be enacted. Current estimates stand at █ ██ █ ████ █████.16
709. The O5 Council have voted to accept the findings of this report, implement select recommendations, and commit to transparency throughout the process on account of █ ██ █.17
710. Recommendations made on the basis of this report are detailed in Appendix 06…
CARRINGTON INQUIRY
APPENDIX 014: CIVILIAN INTERVIEWS
Gary Warrington.
Interview Subject 042: Gary Warrington
Role: Executive President of Scripted Content
It's a shame it's ending, really. I was pissed when Davey told me but at the end of the day I gotta respect the guy and his choices. We'll find something else, we always do. I'm not sure he will though. The way Davey talks about this show, it's like he has no interest in other content. A real one and done.
Q: What are you expecting from the finale?
Big numbers, records broken! Ha.
Q: What are you expecting from the story?
What am I expecting… I heard some of the writers' wager on what they think the final lesson will be. Davey's had complete control over this show for nearly five years. He took over the writing of the finale because he wants everything to be done just right. The writers thought that Davey would work that into the lesson: diligence, doing things the right way.
…the thing is, I think there's a part of this which Davey just doesn't get. You say diligence, some people might say control freak! Sure, he can control the writer's room. It's his name at the top of the credits. He can step away from the show, he can retire — but you can't control everything. You're going to fail if you try.
He's created this thing, it's out the box now. Hell, it's on the box. When something grows beyond you, that's when you lose control.
So sure, this series is getting a finale. But who's to say there won't be another? Spinoffs, reboots, cameo appearances. I'm not sure this is the last you'll see of Prince.
'Cause here's the thing: If there's people watching, we've got no choice but to put on a show.
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