Link to article: Excerpt from a GOI's Primer.
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[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] = **[[size 150%]]Intercepted GOI communications: Item Number 12-181[[/size]]** ------ _ //Alpha-Commander Taylor,// //I am pleased to present to you the updated intelligence assessments of our great enemy and their infrastructure, personnel, and military capabilities. This information was gathered and corroborated by our cells across the globe, along with embedded undercover agents when appropriate. You have my assurances that the enclosed packages are wholly true, and that careful reading will keep you and anyone you share this with fully informed of the great enemy’s strengths and weaknesses.// //As you have requested, two separate documents are enclosed: a brief primer, which is written under the assumption that one is not familiar with the SCP Foundation, and a reference work, which contains a detailed list of all known Foundation sites, biographies of persons of interests, lists of MTF and Covert units, dispositions of their forces, and SCPs currently in their containment.// //Should there be any questions or need for clarification, it would be my pleasure to answer them at the soonest possibility.// //Our light burns ever brighter,// ███ ██████[[footnote]]Why am I just finding out the Insurgency has a new Intelligence Director from this letter? Unacceptable. Gurney’s unit will be reprimanded.[[/footnote]] //Commander of Intelligence// [[=]] _ **A Brief Primer on the SCP Foundation** **1. Their Political Structure** **2. Their Physical Sites** **3. Their Military Capabilities** **4. Their Veil Maintenance** **5. Their Fronts** [[/=]] _ **1. Their Political Structure** **A. The Division of Power** The SCP Foundation’s political structure has been described before as a ‘bastardized mix of corporate and government laws’,[[footnote]]This is admittedly not too far off the mark.[[/footnote]] a crude but apt comparison. Generally speaking, the SCP Foundation is governed along the lines of a quasi-parliamentary system, in the model of the United Kingdom or Germany. Power is distributed unevenly between the Foundation's three main organs: the Office of the Administrator, the O5-Council, and the Ethics Committee. If one squints hard enough, they may see a division of power between an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. The Office of the Administrator is the most junior branch, created in 195█ in the aftermath of the Pacific Disaster. This event is beyond the scope of this work, but the O5-Council’s inability to come to a consensus and act led to the containment breaches of multiple SCPs, which almost resulted in the breaking of the veil and led to one of the largest cover-ups in the foundation's history, stretching its resources to the breaking point. In light of this, the Office of the Administrator was created to act decisively when time was of the essence. The Administrator was empowered to marshal the military resources of the Foundation in times of crisis without O5 approval and negotiate with governments and other authorities. Over time, this mandate has changed from emergency to normalcy. Currently, the Administrator manages the Foundation's military forces, handles day-to-day affairs, and negotiates with political authorities when necessary, all without the need for an ongoing crisis. The O5-Council frequently delegates its own duties and powers which it considers frivolous to the Administrator, which has left the office in limbo: in theory, the Administrator has many powers at their disposal to exert their influence; in reality, almost all of them can be revoked at the whim of the O5-Council.[[footnote]]The writer’s ability to take a nugget of truth and exaggerate it to absurdity is impressive.[[/footnote]] Additionally, most Administrators are former O5 members: of all the Administrators in the Foundation's history, only four (including the current one) were not members of the O5-Council before their appointment. This has led to an office that never challenges the council, sympathizes with them, and is usually subservient to their wishes. //(Note: The current Administrator has frequently clashed with the O5-Council and challenged them on numerous matters.[[footnote]]How exactly does the Insurgency know about this? We will have to step up our counterintelligence efforts. Concerning.[[/footnote]] Why they have respected his wishes and not taken any action to rein him in is unknown. This may be the start of a new trend of more independent Administrators, or it may be a rare case of a forceful personality holding the office.)// Administrators are appointed by the O5-Council and are officially selected if they gain the approval of a 2/3rds majority. Likewise, removal from their office requires a 2/3rds majority. Their terms are five years, and there is no term limit for individuals. If the Office of the Administrator is junior and relatively new, then the O5-Council is ancient. They are the supreme power that commands the Foundation. The history of this body is shrouded in mystery, much like the Foundation itself, but it is assumed that the council was created at the same time the Foundation began to take its first steps. For decades, they were the only sanctioned official group overseeing its operations.[[footnote]]So they don't know all of our secrets.[[/footnote]] The creation of the Ethics Committee and the Office of the Administrator may be seen as the O5-Council losing its grip on power, but this would be a faulty assumption. To get a position on this body is no easy feat—it is the last and top rung of the political ladder in the SCP Foundation. Soldiers, Directors, Researchers, Scientists, Bureaucrats, and Intelligence officers have all made the climb, but it is the researchers and scientists who historically and presently make up much of the council. It should come as no surprise that their needs dominate most of the council’s time. And such a hold is not easy to break. The O5-Council elects itself—with token input from the Ethics Committee—ensuring that their perfidious cabal[[footnote]]The bias is just dripping off the page. Whoever wrote this is a raging lunatic.[[/footnote]] lives on to stifle any opposition to it. A ¾ majority of the O5-Council is required to be elected as a council member (along with a simple majority of the Ethics Committee), and they all serve 15-year terms, with no term limits, of course. In practice, an appointment to the council is a lifetime commitment, barring the exceptions of those who resign, either due to health issues, disgruntlement, retirement, being 'promoted' to Administrator, or being forced to do so due to political machinations. Only in exceptional circumstances are members voted out of their position. The O5-Council directs and oversees the overall long-term strategic planning and vision of the SCP Foundation. All power, authority, and legitimacy derive from them; even the Administrator and Ethics Committee are puppets of their will.[[footnote]]The Ethics committee would have something to say about that![[/footnote]] They control the funding of new projects and expansion (new sites, military forces, etc.) and all the monies they make from their many front organizations. The O5-Council has final say over all matters and can overrule the Administrator on whatever it sees fit, even in emergencies. Any treaties, pacts, and agreements with governments and other entities must be ratified by them to go into effect. They alone can approve of the decommissioning of SCPs or their voluntary release. Finally, the usage of any of the Foundation's nuclear arsenal requires the approval of the O5-Council. //Note: All sites are equipped with nuclear warheads in the case of a containment breach that threatens to break the veil; in this situation, the O5-Council and the Site Director must approve their usage (if the Site Director is incapacitated, then their respective Regional Director takes his place). The O5-Council can overrule even the objections of these directors, but the vote must be unanimous.// The Ethics Committee is the final formal body in the SCP Foundation. Unlike the others, it has its own hierarchy and subordinate groups due to its unique role. Therefore, it would be wise to start from the bottom of this hierarchy and work up to the Committee itself. At the bottom is the so-called ‘Ethics Officers’. These men and women are numerous and are the face of the Ethics Committee. These officers are attached to all Foundation sites (both official and unofficial[[footnote]]Do they know about any of our black sites?[[/footnote]]) as well as military units to report on their doings, any potential violations of ethics, concerns, and so on. This group is made up of a mix of volunteers and those assigned to it, usually as a form of punishment; inside the foundation, Ethics Officers are seen as busybodies and meddlers. The number of these officers varies considerably from site to site and unit: small facilities like Site-23 have only 15 or so officers, while the biggest ones have hundreds of them. As a rule, military units generally only have a handful of officers attached. All these reports and findings are relayed up the chain of command to their respective Ethics Councils. Made up of 7 individuals, these local councils are found at all Foundation sites and at the headquarters of larger military garrisons. Their role is exclusively of an adjudicative nature; they do not make new guidelines or offer new interpretations of existing laws. They only offer judgment in cases and mete out punishments to offenders, ranging from censures, docking of pay, and reassignment. As these councils do not have the authority to authorize the use of amnestics, execution, or other severe punishments, there is no way to appeal these decisions. One might imagine this can lead to injustice and corruption, which it certainly does.[[footnote]]Does the insurgency even have ways of settling issues without the end of a gun?[[/footnote]] These Ethics Councils send reports of their proceedings, decisions, and any disputes that are outside the scope of their authority to their Regional Ethics Councils, which correspond to the regional directorates. As a result, there are seven of these councils: the North American Council, the South American Council, the European Council, the African Council, the Asian Council, and the Pacific Council. The regional councils serve as a court that deals with severe cases and consequently heavy punishments. For a case to reach the regionals, it requires serious accusations of wrongdoing, such as murder, negligence, dereliction of duty, and other such offenses. Composed of 9 individuals, the regional councils render judgment and can authorize the usage of amnestics, execution, and demotion. These can all be appealed to the final rung of the ladder: the Ethics Committee. Composed of 20 people, the Ethics Committee issues final decisions in appeals it decides to hear and regularly reviews the containment procedures of entities in containment to make sure they are in line with what is currently defined as ‘ethical’ or not. What is ‘ethical’ is a moving target that changes depending on whatever is most convenient for the O5-Council.[[footnote]]Astounding ignorance![[/footnote]] The Committee also gives the O5-Council its counsel and opinions regarding decisions involving sentient SCPs, Class-D personnel, and other such humanitarian concerns. The containment procedures of all entities must be approved by the Ethics Committee, as well as any changes made to them. One may have noticed that the Ethics Committee is composed of an even number of individuals: what happens when there is a tiebreaker? This is another intentional design by the O5-Council to control all other political bodies and preserve their power. In a tiebreaker, the O5-Council casts the decisive vote by a simple majority. Additionally, any case that makes it to the Ethics Committee can be forcefully removed from their hands by the O5-Council if they will it. The council rarely does this to keep up the charade of an independent body, but the truth is there for all who have eyes to see.[[footnote]]And no brains either.[[/footnote]] To attain a position on the committee, one must first be added to a list of potential candidates drafted by the O5-Council, which is then presented to the Ethics Committee. The committee votes on who joins their ranks by a 2/3rds majority. This is another charade put up by the O5-Council—the Ethics committee votes for its own members, but the O5-Council decides who can be considered. While the committee members do vote on prospective O5 members, true rejection is relatively rare. Only on two occasions has the Ethics Committee rejected a candidate, and one of them managed to be elected regardless after ‘intense negotiations’.[[footnote]]As said before: exaggeration.[[/footnote]] Ethics Committee members serve 10-year terms with no term limits. From a bird-eye's view, these three bodies interact to efficiently run the SCP Foundation. The O5-Council acts as the supreme body, focusing on the big picture while delegating the day-to-day affairs of the organization to the Administrator. The Ethics Committee deals with disciplinary matters and the overall ‘humanity’ of the SCP Foundation and its actions, acting in both a judicial and policing role. In practice, the O5-Council is an all-powerful body that created these vestiges to give them the task of actually governing while they spend time doing whatever idle things they fancy. Using the plunder of public money and their other ill-begotten gains, they focus on containing anomalous objects for their use in the intimidation and shakedown of the world’s governments.[[footnote]]!!![[/footnote]] Combating this devil was why our organization was created, and why we will continue to do so, so long as we have legs to stand on and gun's in our hands. They use the anomalous to further their own interests, suppressing humanity’s awareness of them to keep themselves in power. After all, what is more powerful than knowledge? ------ //Forward this to Director Ross. She will want to see this.// //-C.M// [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box]] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box-end]]