Life on Mars
A little writing I did. Based on the SCP Universe.
I have to accept the notion that there are some things in life that simply cannot go smoothly, no matter how much we may hope and pray for otherwise.
Some of these are because of a simple series of mistakes. One mishap leads to another, which spirals into an uncontrollable cycle of chaos until some administrator finally steps in and does something, usually involving large amounts of amnestics or gross use of warfare (Which will almost certainly followed by more amnestics). Maybe another mishap leads to a breach of some sort, which, to be truthful, will probably still yield death and amnestics. But nevertheless, these mistakes always end with a question: How can we prevent this from happening again? How can we do better? In the case of a containment breach it usually means that either someone messed up, and therefore we learn that some reassignments may be necessary. Or we learn something new about out prisoners that we so love to contain and adjust out procedures accordingly.
Unfortunately, there are some situations that when asked the question, “How can we do better?” The answer is simple: We can’t.
That’s not to say that we don’t try. I can attest as well as anyone else that SCP Extraction Operations have a tendency to take a heavy toll on those involved. That’s not to insult other Site members, as I’m sure they’ve all carried their own weight. But extractions among what appear to be innocent people just isn’t the same. And note that what I call, “Extraction,” other may refer to as simple abduction. And I would be inclined to agree if not for the fact that such unprofessionalism might land me in a dark room being questioned about my loyalty. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration. Rumors tend to get around. But nowadays, who can you believe? The Foundation? The O5? My coworkers? You tell me.
As much as I was hoping to avoid it, I suppose I need to backtrack to these, “Extractions.” Writing down my thoughts is an outlet for me. While I’ve tried to stray from my work in my writings, I can’t help but feel that if I don’t tell something, even if it’s just a blank piece of paper, it may have a negative influence on my work. To a degree, I’m also worried that, despite my best attempts to encrypt my personal computer, the foundation is watching to make sure I don’t write about this stuff. If they are, then sorry to whoever is reading this. I probably just created a bunch more work for you.
I digress, yet again. As I mentioned, some things simply can’t be done correctly, despite our best attempts. My mind always goes back to that village in [DATA EXPUNGED]. The extraction was a success. The supervisor told our task force it was, “...executed to absolute precision. Like a goddamn ballet.” The feeling that washed over me was odd. As if the fact that this was actually my job set it. I know those official documents like to keep things vague to protect confidentiality, and I’m probably writing this a bit vague myself. But when I heard what my supervisor said, I don’t want to be like the Foundation. So I want it to be clear, if only to me, what happened. We abducted a little girl from her parents. That may seem tame, considering all the different things the Foundation has done. It was hard for me regardless. We stormed in to be confronted by the father, trying to keep us from kicking down the door. He was persistent, yet calm. He kept speaking calmly to the girl. “[DATA EXPUNGED], you need to go right now. Please.” But the mother was clinging onto her for dear life. All she was screaming was, “No.” Over and over again.
I was the third to enter after the door was broken down. It seemed like the father was holding us back for quite a while, but in actuality he didn’t last more than a moment. As soon as the door went down, the two in front of me pinned down the father. He was resistant, but oddly calm. His eyes were on the girl the whole time, and I think he was trying to avoid scaring her. I stepped over the father and MTF’s pinning him to the ground and went for the girl. At that point, I think the girl woke up to the realization we all eventually face; That our parents won’t always be able to protect us. I remember finding my mother in the hospital, with a few broken limbs after a car accident that I wish I could say wasn’t her fault. As I said, mistakes happen.. She was my everything and my protector. But after that, she could barely do anything by herself, and it was my turn to protect her. I was well over thirty years at that point. And this young girl in front of me, probably no older than ██ realized that all in a single moment.
She managed to break free of her mother's grasp, who’s screaming only grew louder in protest. She tried to crawl after her, but the girl was faster, disappearing into a nearby hallway. I gave chase, as she was the objective here. I entered the hallway just as a noticed a door swing open and a small foot disappear inside. I followed, and expected to find her scampering out the window. Instead, the girl was digging through her closet, papers and games and photos flinging out as she searched for something. I immediately gripped her should, pulling out a suppression mask with my other hand and placed it over her mouth. She started screaming at me. Not for me to stopped. She just yelled, “Where’s my friend? I just want my friend with me!” The gas kicked in after a moment and she relaxed. Yet even as she went down, she continued mouthing that same words. “Where’s my friend?” I carried her out into the main room to find both parents unconscious, being prepped for amnestics. I simply passed the girl over to transport and they took her away.
And that was it. That’s the operation. Simple enough. But it stuck with me. That was good? That was, “Absolute precision?” It didn’t feel like it. And the following weeks didn’t help either. The rumors began to fly around. A little girl, ageless, who could see the past, present and future. A theater being built somewhere secret. A one-way rocket to Mars.
A girl in an empty theater.
I still don’t completely understand it all. I don’t think I ever will. That’s not my job. But time passes and I think back to that girl. I don’t know why the Foundation wanted her. Was she just fodder for the Scarlet King? Did she become a SCP herself? I don’t think I’ll ever know. I know the Foundation doesn’t just do these things for fun. Everything has a reason. I might not agree with their methods. There may be some real asses that make up the head staff. But at the end of the day, I still find myself trusting them. That doesn’t mean I don’t have my doubts, but despite these things, I’m still here doing my duty. I’ve seen some of the things we contain. I’ve been thanks by the civilians, the people I’ve saved, as they subsequently get mind wiped. I know were doing good. I just sometimes wish I knew why we did those things. Maybe I’d finally stop seeing that little girl at nights, endlessly hooked to that silver screen.
Until then, I’ll keep on doing my work. And hope that one day the Foundation will trust me enough to tell me what really happened to her.
-Addendum: Lieutenant Katherine [REDACTED] has been brought in for questioning to determine her psychological status, as well as her loyalty to the Foundation.
-”The fact that she got this much information from rumors is terrifying to me. While she does not seem to be aware of the truth surrounding SCP-████ I want amnestics assigned to her ASAP. I also want everyone on site to be assigned to mandatory security information briefings. I trust this sort of information breach will not happen again.” -Site-██ Director
The following is a document recovered from the home computer of Lieutenant Katherine [REDACTED] after SCP monitoring software detected classified information being stored on the subjects computer. The document recovered is as follows:
I have to accept the notion that there are some things in life that simply cannot go smoothly, no matter how much we may hope and pray for otherwise.
Some of these are because of a simple series of mistakes. One mishap leads to another, which spirals into an uncontrollable cycle of chaos until some administrator finally steps in and does something, usually involving large amounts of amnestics or gross use of warfare (Which will almost certainly followed by more amnestics). Maybe another mishap leads to a breach of some sort, which, to be truthful, will probably still yield death and amnestics. But nevertheless, these mistakes always end with a question: How can we prevent this from happening again? How can we do better? In the case of a containment breach it usually means that either someone messed up, and therefore we learn that some reassignments may be necessary. Or we learn something new about out prisoners that we so love to contain and adjust out procedures accordingly.
Unfortunately, there are some situations that when asked the question, “How can we do better?” The answer is simple: We can’t.
That’s not to say that we don’t try. I can attest as well as anyone else that SCP Extraction Operations have a tendency to take a heavy toll on those involved. That’s not to insult other Site members, as I’m sure they’ve all carried their own weight. But extractions among what appear to be innocent people just isn’t the same. And note that what I call, “Extraction,” other may refer to as simple abduction. And I would be inclined to agree if not for the fact that such unprofessionalism might land me in a dark room being questioned about my loyalty. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration. Rumors tend to get around. But nowadays, who can you believe? The Foundation? The O5? My coworkers? You tell me.
As much as I was hoping to avoid it, I suppose I need to backtrack to these, “Extractions.” Writing down my thoughts is an outlet for me. While I’ve tried to stray from my work in my writings, I can’t help but feel that if I don’t tell something, even if it’s just a blank piece of paper, it may have a negative influence on my work. To a degree, I’m also worried that, despite my best attempts to encrypt my personal computer, the foundation is watching to make sure I don’t write about this stuff. If they are, then sorry to whoever is reading this. I probably just created a bunch more work for you.
I digress, yet again. As I mentioned, some things simply can’t be done correctly, despite our best attempts. My mind always goes back to that village in [DATA EXPUNGED]. The extraction was a success. The supervisor told our task force it was, “...executed to absolute precision. Like a goddamn ballet.” The feeling that washed over me was odd. As if the fact that this was actually my job set it. I know those official documents like to keep things vague to protect confidentiality, and I’m probably writing this a bit vague myself. But when I heard what my supervisor said, I don’t want to be like the Foundation. So I want it to be clear, if only to me, what happened. We abducted a little girl from her parents. That may seem tame, considering all the different things the Foundation has done. It was hard for me regardless. We stormed in to be confronted by the father, trying to keep us from kicking down the door. He was persistent, yet calm. He kept speaking calmly to the girl. “[DATA EXPUNGED], you need to go right now. Please.” But the mother was clinging onto her for dear life. All she was screaming was, “No.” Over and over again.
I was the third to enter after the door was broken down. It seemed like the father was holding us back for quite a while, but in actuality he didn’t last more than a moment. As soon as the door went down, the two in front of me pinned down the father. He was resistant, but oddly calm. His eyes were on the girl the whole time, and I think he was trying to avoid scaring her. I stepped over the father and MTF’s pinning him to the ground and went for the girl. At that point, I think the girl woke up to the realization we all eventually face; That our parents won’t always be able to protect us. I remember finding my mother in the hospital, with a few broken limbs after a car accident that I wish I could say wasn’t her fault. As I said, mistakes happen.. She was my everything and my protector. But after that, she could barely do anything by herself, and it was my turn to protect her. I was well over thirty years at that point. And this young girl in front of me, probably no older than ██ realized that all in a single moment.
She managed to break free of her mother's grasp, who’s screaming only grew louder in protest. She tried to crawl after her, but the girl was faster, disappearing into a nearby hallway. I gave chase, as she was the objective here. I entered the hallway just as a noticed a door swing open and a small foot disappear inside. I followed, and expected to find her scampering out the window. Instead, the girl was digging through her closet, papers and games and photos flinging out as she searched for something. I immediately gripped her should, pulling out a suppression mask with my other hand and placed it over her mouth. She started screaming at me. Not for me to stopped. She just yelled, “Where’s my friend? I just want my friend with me!” The gas kicked in after a moment and she relaxed. Yet even as she went down, she continued mouthing that same words. “Where’s my friend?” I carried her out into the main room to find both parents unconscious, being prepped for amnestics. I simply passed the girl over to transport and they took her away.
And that was it. That’s the operation. Simple enough. But it stuck with me. That was good? That was, “Absolute precision?” It didn’t feel like it. And the following weeks didn’t help either. The rumors began to fly around. A little girl, ageless, who could see the past, present and future. A theater being built somewhere secret. A one-way rocket to Mars.
A girl in an empty theater.
I still don’t completely understand it all. I don’t think I ever will. That’s not my job. But time passes and I think back to that girl. I don’t know why the Foundation wanted her. Was she just fodder for the Scarlet King? Did she become a SCP herself? I don’t think I’ll ever know. I know the Foundation doesn’t just do these things for fun. Everything has a reason. I might not agree with their methods. There may be some real asses that make up the head staff. But at the end of the day, I still find myself trusting them. That doesn’t mean I don’t have my doubts, but despite these things, I’m still here doing my duty. I’ve seen some of the things we contain. I’ve been thanks by the civilians, the people I’ve saved, as they subsequently get mind wiped. I know were doing good. I just sometimes wish I knew why we did those things. Maybe I’d finally stop seeing that little girl at nights, endlessly hooked to that silver screen.
Until then, I’ll keep on doing my work. And hope that one day the Foundation will trust me enough to tell me what really happened to her.
-Addendum: Lieutenant Katherine [REDACTED] has been brought in for questioning to determine her psychological status, as well as her loyalty to the Foundation.
-”The fact that she got this much information from rumors is terrifying to me. While she does not seem to be aware of the truth surrounding SCP-████ I want amnestics assigned to her ASAP. I also want everyone on site to be assigned to mandatory security information briefings. I trust this sort of information breach will not happen again.” -Site-██ Director
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