8000ContestItsDenali - Fragment 7

Link to article: 8000ContestItsDenali - Fragment 7.

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+++++ [[span class="gregory"]]//Rise, and greet a brilliant dawn.//[[/span]]
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+* BY ORDER OF THE OVERSEER COUNCIL
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[[div class="orderdescription"]]
 _
+* THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT IS 5/8018 RESTRICTED
++++ Unauthorized access is summarily prohibited.
[[/div]]
[[div class="itemno"]]
+* 8018
[[/div]]
[[/div]]

----
[[=]]
++++ __Addendum 8018.1__
+++++ **Exploration/Incident Report**
[[/=]]
----

The following is a timeline detailing O5-10 and Sigma-0's discovery of SCP-8018 as documented from the //SCPF Volos//. All times are in CET (Central European Time) due to the approximate longitude of the spacial ingress point.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

##firebrick|**{{[05:14:]}}**## The //SCPF Volos// arrives at the spacial ingress point and utilizes its dynamic positioning system to remain stationary. The team makes preparations for departure. Captain Garrett Maxwell is given emergency contingency protocols in the event of negative developments on the excursion.

##firebrick|**{{[08:39:]}}**## O5-10 and Sigma-0 depart for the island in a small reconnaissance vessel. //Volos// personnel are instructed to be on standby for radio transmissions.

##firebrick|**{{[09:51]}}**## Sigma-0's lead Alder sends a confirmation signal that the team has reached the island. No further radio communications are detected after this point.

##firebrick|**{{[12:00:]}}**## Repeated attempts to establish radio contact with Sigma-0 are made, none are successful.

##firebrick|**{{[13:45:]}}**## Due to a lack of response from the Overseer's team, Captain Maxwell makes the decision to initiate the emergency contingency protocols. Overwatch Command is contacted and appraised of the situation.

##firebrick|**{{[13:47:]}}**## Shortly after the contingency protocols are activated, //Volos// crew discover all five members of Sigma-0 unconscious on the deck of the ship. Attempts to wake them fail, but no visible injuries are noted on their persons. They are moved to secure housing to await further examination and interviews upon awakening. O5-10 remains unaccounted for.

##firebrick|**{{[14:00:]}}**## Overwatch Command instructs the //Volos// to remain in place until backup arrives to locate and extract O5-10. No further activity occurs for several hours. Sigma-0 remains unconscious during this time.

##firebrick|**{{[23:26:]}}**## A bright flash of light and a deep rumbling are detected as spacial ingress point permitting access to the island closes. A series of radio signals is collected from the aperture as it closes. At the same time, O5-10 is seen standing on the deck of the ship. She is hurried inside and examined for injuries before contacting Overwatch Command. Sigma-0 awakens at this time. O5-10 instructs Captain Maxwell to set a return course for the nearest Foundation harbor in Buenos Aires.
-----
Five days later, the //Volos// docks in Argentina. From there, O5-10 and Sigma-0 are transported to the United States and then Site-57 to begin recuperation and debriefing.

[[/div]]

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[[=]]
----
++++ __Addendum 8018.2__
+++++ **Interview Log**
----
[[/=]]

The following interview was conducted between the O5 Council in the days following O5-10's return from her investigation of SCP-8018.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

= **VIDEO LOG**
----
**DATE:** 10/11/2024

**NOTE:** Prior to this interview, each of the Overseers was given briefing documents pertaining to O5-10's investigation and exploration of the anomaly, including Sigma-0's bodycam footage and O5-10's own dream-radio waves collected from her encounter with Gregory Sorenson.

This interview was conducted remotely by each Overseer; O5-1 and O5-13's connections are audio only.
----
**[BEGIN LOG]**

**O5-1:** The Council has been called to discuss developments regarding the anomaly provisionally designated SCP-8018. Ten, you have the room.

**O5-10:** Thank you, One. I trust everyone has had a chance to look over their briefing materials?

**O5-3:** Of your little get-away behind the Council's back, yes.

**O5-2:** Mind yourself, Three.

**O5-9:** You were complicit in this, Two, don't act as though you didn't help her run off to convene with a //god// without the Council's knowledge or approval.

**O5-10:** These were excepting circumstances. Gregory was at the end of his power. If I hadn't answered his summons, there wouldn't still be a reality in which we can argue about it.

**O5-8:** Be that as it may, it was unwise to proceed with such minimal backup and only one measly taskforce.

**O5-10:** Alder and the others put their li--

**O5-1:** (//Interjecting.//) Settle down, all of you! Bickering amongst each other will not change what has already happened. We are here to discuss what happens next.

(//The video call is silent for a moment.//)

**O5-3:** Twelve, has there been any word from Pataphysics?

**O5-12:** Well, the entire Department has been turned on its head for the last week, but the numbers are mostly within the ranges they should be.

**O5-6:** Mostly?

**O5-12:** There are slightly elevated levels of... how did they put it... //narrative plasticity//.

**O5-7:** Meaning what? Humanity isn't going to turn into a race of Type-Greens or something, I hope.

**O5-10:** No, this is different. Reality bending is its own category, pataphysics is more... fundamental. With reality bending, you get to decide every detail of how you get from Point A to Point B. Pataphysics on the other hand is deciding where Point A, or B, or even //C// is, or whether you even have to go there at all.

**O5-8:** Which would mean that humanity's free will has been, in effect, expanded. But still, with the Halcyon's power divided eight-billionfold, the impact on normalcy shouldn't be detectable. You wouldn't be able to tell something had changed unless you explicitly knew what to look for.

**O5-12:** Precisely. Moreover, the Pataphysics Department ran the numbers on a series of hypothetical scenarios a while back, narrative plasticity increases among them. (//She displays a data file in the video call.//) Current numbers considered, this would manifest as a greater freedom regarding which paths a person pursues throughout their life. Individuals with a particularly strong force of will should be able to break more easily from the mold, so to speak, and acquire a more active role in determining the course of their lives.

**O5-4:** Like Sorenson put it in your dream, humanity is its own god now.

**O5-11:** But what does that mean for us? Our duty is to maintain normalcy and contain the anomalous. We've had our share of Archon anomalies before, but are we supposed to just not act in the face of something like this?

**O5-10:** That's exactly what we do.

**O5-6:** Should we catalogue it away under Archon then?

**O5-10:** I considered it, but ultimately, SCP-8018 is fundamentally different. While something like an Archon can just sit there and not be a threat as long as we don't interfere, it's still an anomaly, a blemish on normalcy in one way or another. However, 8018 is intimately, innately a part of our reality. You remember what Sorenson said in the dream. The Halcyon's fantasies were not bendings or alterations of reality, they //were// reality. I won't say that SCP-8018 is non-anomalous, but it is essentially the next closest thing.

**O5-8:** That is a reasonable enough distinction, I suppose. I wager you'll have quite a time trying to convince the Classification Committee of this when we're done here, though.

**O5-10:** I already took the liberty of consulting the Committee earlier this week. After some deliberation, they have created just such a designation. (//She displays a memo from the Classification Committee in the call.//) Object Class: //Halcyon//.

**O5-4:** (//Mutters.//) Subtle.

**O5-1:** Not to mention jumping the gun a bit. You assume the Council will even decide to move forward with a plan like this that doesn't involve containment.

**O5-2:** Can we even contain something like SCP-8018 though? If this is as Ten's documents and Sorenson say, then that would be like a fish trying to get rid of the ocean.

**O5-12:** To even try would be the height of folly.

**O5-4:** Agreed. Under these terms, SCP-8018 is "considered exempt from Foundation containment initiatives," among several other things. The Classification Committee was thorough, I'll give them that.

**O5-1:** I propose a vote. The designation of SCP-8018 as a Halcyon-class anomaly and the observation of all procedures contained therein. All in favor?

**O5-1, -2, -4, -5, -8, -10, -12:** Aye.

**O5-1:** All oppose?

**O5-3, -6, -7, -9, -11:** Nay.

**O5-1:** Thirteen abstains. The measure passes.

(//A grumble goes up from the dissenters, but quickly fades. O5-1 sighs.//)

**O5-1:** I know it's been a busy week for everyone, so thank you for your time. I will close with this: you heard what Sorenson said. Humanity is its own god now. For our sakes, that's one less deity for us to have to worry about. Now go get some rest, all of you.
[[/div]]

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[[=]]
----
++++ __Addendum 8018.3__
+++++ **Classification Committee Report**
----
[[/=]]

In light of the unique properties surrounding SCP-8018, the Classification Committee has designated a new item class to be applied to the anomaly to more aptly communicate its nature for the purposes of documentation, containment, and recordkeeping.

[[div class="classification_memo"]]

= __Update to the SCP Foundation Classification Committee Guide to Esoteric Containment Classes__
= - Revision #27, 2024 -

Halcyon-class denotes an item or phenomenon that is to be considered exempt from Foundation containment initiatives due to said anomaly constituting a critical part of overall normalcy and/or baseline reality. This can owe to a variety of factors such as the item's functionality, nature, origin, or utility on a global scale. Containment of Halcyon-class anomalies is therefore considered to be in violation of the SCP Foundation's core objective of maintaining normalcy, and is to be avoided entirely.

This classification differs from superficially-similar containment classes such as Archon[[footnote]]Item can be contained, but ought not to be.[[/footnote]], Chhokmah[[footnote]]Item is entangled with baseline reality and its containment would affect intelligent entities.[[/footnote]], or Ticonderoga[[footnote]]Item cannot be contained but does not need to be contained.[[/footnote]] in that Halcyon-class entities are considered so integral to normalcy as to be an innate, native part of it, rather than entangled in it or present within it.

= -- Dr. Andrew Nadeau, Chairman of the Classification Committee
[[/div]]

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----
++++ __Addendum 8018.4__
+++++ **SCP-8018 Current Iteration**
----
[[/=]]
[[include :scp-wiki:component:anomaly-class-bar-source
|item-number= 8018
|clearance= 6
|container-class= esoteric
|secondary-class= halcyon
|secondary-icon=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-8018/Halcyon_ACS.png
|disruption-class=amida
|risk-class=notice
]]
----
[[div class="scp-image-block block-center" style="width:100%;"]]
[[image https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-8018/TheGlitteringCity.jpg style="width:100%;" link=https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/scp-8018/TheGlitteringCity.jpg]]
[[div class="scp-image-caption" style="width:100%;"]]
[[span style="font-family:times new roman;"]]THE LEGACY ENDURES FOREVERMORE.[[/span]]
[[/div]]
[[/div]]
----
**Special Containment Procedures:** SCP-8018 has been integrated into baseline normalcy. No further containment measures are considered necessary.

**Description:** SCP-8018 denotes the pataphysical concept comprising the narrative structure of reality. Prior to Incident 8018-Alpha, this concept was maintained by SCP-8018-1, a complex eigenconstruct referred to as in historical records as "The Glittering City." Access to this construct was permanently lost following the Incident.

**History:** SCP-8018 was originally created by an apex-tier pluripotent entity referred to in historical attestations as "the Halcyon" sometime approximately 4.5 billion years ago. Due to the circumstances of this creation, the narrative reality of Earth and its surroundings[[footnote]]The exact extent of which remains unclear, though largely unimportant.[[/footnote]] developed as a part of this entity's own established narrative, leading to global events following its will up until its death approximately 800,000 years ago.

The entity is thought to have been discovered by members of [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1000 SCP-1000] a relatively short time before its demise, and constructed SCP-8018-1 alongside other anthrospecies[[footnote]]Refer to the Dr. Cindry's //__Of Hair and Ash: A History of Anomalous Human-Adjacent Species__// for more information.[[/footnote]] as a means of sustaining the narrative which would otherwise collapse without its creator.

Due to the nature of SCP-8018-1 and its interaction with SCP-8018, a viable individual was required to preside over the former and facilitate its functions. This position was inherited by several members of different anthrospecies, including humans, throughout SCP-8018-1's history.

**Incident 8018-Alpha:** On 10/2/2024, the base functionality of SCP-8018 was altered and the bearer of SCP-8018 became collectively transferred to all of humankind from its previous inheritor, Gregory Sorenson. This transfer was facilitated by O5-10 following her arrival on the island containing SCP-8018-1, and by extension SCP-8018 itself.

The exact consequences, outcomes, and implications of this transfer remain unclear; however, data points collected from various Foundation divisions, including the Onierics, Thaumatology, and Pataphysics Departments indicate no signs of any ill effects on the physical or conceptual structure of reality. While no hazardous phenomena have yet manifested as a result of this transfer, this event coincided with a massive spike in vivid and lucid dreaming worldwide.

Global pataphysical and narrative conditions are being monitored for significant changes at this time.

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When I met Gregory Sorenson in 1923, over a century ago now, I hated him at first. He touted his prowess with the esoteric arts, his cunning skills of intelligence gathering, all with the pompous flare of someone who acted like they knew everything. To Gregory's credit, he very nearly did.

His time working alongside the Foundation changed that. The more Gregory began to witness the complexities of the anomalous world, the more he began to consider others. It humbled him. From the gruesome rites of the Sarkic cults, to the voracious appetite of Mekhane, and more, each encounter gradually shaped him.

But Gregory was ultimately just another servant to the tide of life and fate, like the rest of us. He was aware of it, of course. As arrogant as he could be at times, people as smart as him always eventually come to notice such philosophical elephants in the room. Yet it was that selfsame arrogance that would change everything.

We still aren't completely certain who orchestrated the attack on myself and two of the other Overseers during the time, but Gregory divined it in a dream the day before it was set to begin. He saw me lying there on the floor of the meeting hall, drowned in my own blood beside the bullet hole-ridden corpses of my fellow Overseers. He had seen it, this vision of the future, a fate set in stone. So Gregory did the unthinkable: he fought it. What could be more arrogant than thinking you knew better than destiny?

And yet that is exactly what he did. He warned us, blew the whistle, even physically intervened. Many people have taken a bullet for me, and Gregory had become no exception. It was the //reason// behind his act that fascinated me most of all. He acted not just to save me, but to challenge our story itself. And there we both stood, alive, with fate broken at our feet. We grew close after that. Together, the two of us were unstoppable.

Then one day, he was gone. We had no idea what had happened to him at the time of course. Little did we know he'd been summoned to the ends of the Earth to bear the weight of godhood. We lamented. I mourned. And then we moved on. But that whole time, he was out there, turning the wheel of the sky as we danced and dreamed beneath it. All the while, preparing the way for the next step of humanity's escape from the fetters of fate itself. I can't help but think that his arrogant hatred of destiny drove those actions, but regardless, here we stand, with the shackles of the story broken at our feet. This time once and for all.

So whether you're a fellow Councilmember looking to refresh yourself on this immutable truth of our grand story, or a clever researcher who managed to bypass the security measures in place on this document, I will leave you with this:

We live in a new world now. Yes, a world that may be just a fantasy, but why should that be cause for remorse? For anything less than utter jubilation? There exists no force beneath Heaven or Earth that can fully keep one from their highest-held ambitions any longer. No one can truly stop you but yourself. We are our own god now.

Find your fantasy, realize it, and rejoice.

//-- Altasha, O5-10//

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8000ContestItsDenali - Fragment 7

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