Multiple screens are active.
Different angles.
Different moments.
—
A door opening on its own.
No input.
No mechanism.
—
A group of personnel lifting off the ground.
Moving through the facility.
No equipment.
No authorization.
—
A containment chamber.
SCP-173—motionless.
Frozen beyond its normal behavior.
—
Another feed.
SCP-096.
Hands being moved
Face to face
—
A blue planet
Then an impact
Then Earth
—
A skeleton.
Restoration
Then—
Dust
And finally, Restoration.
—
The footage loops.
No one speaks.
—
"...Summary."
A voice breaks the silence.
"Subject demonstrates unrestricted environmental manipulation."
"Scale?"
"Temporally Absolute."
A pause.
"...Clarify."
"Door modification observed at micro-level, no change was detected."
"Reality altering metter?"
"No changes"
"Transportation observed at group-level."
"Engagement with SCP-096 observed at planetary range."
Silence.
—
"...Casualties?"
"None."
"Structural damage?"
"Repair confirmed."
Another pause.
"...Authorization?"
"None."
—
The screens shift.
A specific clip isolates.
—
Rob snapping his fingers.
—
SCP-096 collapsing.
—
"...Confirm."
"Termination equivalent event observed."
"Reversal immediate."
"...So death is optional."
"Correct."
—
Silence deepens.
—
Another clip appears.
—
Text on screen.
[Don't worry. Testing range and defense.]
—
No one comments.
—
"...He communicates."
"Yes."
"Casually."
"Yes."
"In deep space"
"Yes."
"Instantly"
"Yes"
—
A short pause.
"...Does he understand the implications?"
"Unclear."
"...Does he care?"
Silence.
—
"...Unlikely."
—
Another feed.
—
The floating "vehicle."
Personnel included.
No resistance.
No instability.
—
"...Explain."
"Conceptual construct."
"Defined as transport."
"Reality adjusted to support function."
"...Duration?"
"Stable."
"...Limit?"
"Unknown."
"Destinations?"
"Any containment chamber within the facility."
"...Confirmed limitation?"
"...No."
—
Silence.
—
"...So he is not using isolated abilities."
"No."
"...He is redefining rules."
"Correct."
—
That word settles.
—
A new line appears on the central file:
Capability Classification: Rule-Level Manipulation
—
No objections.
—
"...Containment status?"
"Unchanged."
"Non-applicable."
—
"...Then reassess."
A pause.
—
"...He is not interacting with anomalies."
Silence.
—
"...He is interacting with rules."
—
No one responds.
They don't need to.
—
Another clip.
—
SCP-096.
Retreating.
—
Trembling.
—
"...It fears."
"Yes."
"...Consistent with prior interaction with SCP-682?"
"Yes."
—
"New interaction?"
"...SCP-343?"
Silence.
—
"...Not yet."
—
No explanation is given.
—
On the main screen—
Rob appears again.
—
Unconcerned.
—
"...He is still cooperative."
"Yes."
—
"...Then we proceed carefully."
—
"...Continue testing."
—
Silence.
—
No one objects.
—
"...Next item"
Silence.
"...Assess viability of irreversible neutralization."
A pause.
"...Using the subject."
No immediate response.
"...Risk?"
"Unknown."
"...Consequence?"
"...Potential loss of anomaly equilibrium."
Silence.
"Projected benefit?"
"...Reduction of high-risk anomaly threats."
A pause.
"...Extent?"
"...Uncertain."
Silence.
"...Proceed with extreme caution."
—
"...Final item."
Silence.
A new recording appears.
—
A fragment.
Red.
Endless.
—
Distortion.
—
The feed pauses.
—
"...Source?"
"Subject's internal perception during anomaly analysis."
"...Reliability?"
"Unverified."
—
Silence.
—
"...Cross-reference."
A new set of files appears.
Fragments.
Old reports.
Unclassified incidents.
Partially redacted entries.
—
"...Correlation?"
"Inconclusive."
A pause.
"...But the pattern is consistent."
"...Explain."
"The environment observed by the subject…"
A brief pause.
"...Multiple anomalies were present."
—
Silence.
—
"...Not individually."
"...No."
"...They appeared… before manifestation."
—
A longer pause.
—
"...You're suggesting origin."
"...Possible."
—
"...A shared origin."
—
Silence deepens.
—
"...Not coincidence."
"...Unlikely."
—
"...We've seen similar patterns before."
A brief pause.
"...Unconfirmed."
—
Another fragment appears on screen.
—
Shapes.
Incomplete.
—
"...Recognized?"
Silence.
Longer this time.
—
"...No confirmed classification."
"...But not unknown."
"Correct."
—
A pause.
—
"...SCP-001?"
Silence.
—
"...Potentially."
—
No further statement.
—
"...Confidence level?"
"Low."
—
Silence.
—
"...If accurate—"
A voice begins.
Then stops.
—
"...Continue."
—
A pause.
—
"...They originate."
—
No one responds.
—
"...From a common source."
—
Silence settles heavier than before.
—
"...Do not pursue direct investigation."
A pause.
—
"...Not yet."
—
Silence.
—
"...Continue monitoring."
—
No one speaks again.
—