Link to article: The Foundation And Evil.
[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] This is the first in what may be a series of out of character essays on the nature of the SCP Foundation, its works, and its aspects. Keep in mind that the Foundation, being by nature, a collaborative work, is, by necessity, a fluid canon. Aspects are placed into and removed from canon on a constant basis. My purpose here is to give one writer's point of view onto general trends within the Foundation. My first essay is on the subject of Evil within the Foundation universe. Evil, by definition, is a nebulous concept, but can generally be defined by conscious immoral actions. This is the reason why the mentally ill are often not described as evil: one must have an understanding of morality and choose to act in an immoral manner to be considered evil. If one doesn't understand the concept of good and evil, you are, at worst, insane. Writers often fall into two traps involving the Foundation. The first is to assume that the Foundation is on the side of good. Certain older articles tend to fall into this trap: references are made to SCPs turning to the Foundation for help, to the Foundation fighting against the evils of the world, and generally painting the Foundation in the light of paladins fighting against the darkness. This ignores the extreme immoral acts that the Foundation often resorts to. My [[[SCP-231]]] has been brought up as an example of this, but the truth is, a far more sinister and subtle example can be found in the example of [[[SCP-132-arc | SCP-132]]]. SCP-132 is an example of the Foundation as White Knight. The SCP in question is a girl whose existence causes her pain. By turning to the Foundation, her pain is relieved. This would seem to be a good act on part of the Foundation. . . but consider the final sentence in the article. //Because of Agent ████-████████'s unprofessional approach to SCP-132's admission [refer to PROTOCOL-XII of Retrieval Code of Conduct], he was subsequently terminated.// If that doesn't send a chill up your spine, read it again and let it sink in. If you've ever seen Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the Foundation is Agent Sands. We exist to maintain balance. . . we might not go so far as to shoot a chef in the head because his cooking is TOO good for this world, but we come close. And that is why the Foundation can't be good: because we are willing to lock up things that seem to be largely harmless, or even beneficial to the world, simply because they don't conform to the Foundation's view of what the public should perceive as reality. The other trend, and one that has been rising lately, is to paint the Foundation as a bunch of dog-shooting, rapist psychopaths who are fighting against an even worse evil. This mindset often describes the Foundation's personnel as complete amoral freaks who are sadistic, cruel, and irredeemable. . . except that the things they fight against are worse. Right? Wrong. The truth is, the Foundation doesn't engage in evil for evil's sake. The people who work for the Foundation are not necessarily evil either: most of them are good, caring individuals who do what they must because they have to. Example: my alter ego, Dr. Clef, has often been portrayed as a violent psychopath who goes around murdering SCPs just for the hell of it. However, if you consider his actions, and compare them to the actions of some of the more. . . unstable. . . members of the Foundation, you see. . . or I hope that I have been able to make you see. . . a simple pattern to his violence: precision. Clef is not unnecessarily violent, although there are staff members who are: he is just as violent as he feels he needs to be. For another good example, read any one of the many other Decommissioning Logs: no remorse is felt for ending a life or destroying a unique artifact. Only, at most, sarcastic humor. In the end, the Foundation staff aren't murderers and madmen. They're just people doing their part to protect the world. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banality_of_evil However, this doesn't change the fact that in the end, many of their actions are immoral and unjust: at the very least, the fact that many humanoid SCPs are being imprisoned against their will simply for what they are should give one pause.] Do the ends justify the means? We don't know. And that is the big question that every reader of the Foundation Wiki will have to answer for themselves in the long run.