Hopetown
Item #: SCP-001-H
Object Class: Thaumiel
Special Containment Procedures: Site 0, situated within SCP-001-H, is to comply with SCP-001-H's containment procedures.
Site 0's Population Control Department is to maintain the population of SCP-001-H at no more than 2 500 000 2 000 000 residents. If this number is exceeded, the department is authorised to use such methods of reducing population as: increase in crime rates; domestic unrest; mass diseases; deterioration in general welfare of the population and quality of medical services provided.
MTF Alpha-10 ("Border Guards") is to operate on the frontier of SCP-001-H. Its task is to detain all unauthorized persons attempting to leave SCP-001-H and provide protection from outside threats.
To comply with the Veil Protocol, a group of the same name has been formed, and an artificial neural supernetwork CAKENET has been developed, which permits simulation of normal operation of the Internet.
Predicted end date of current containment procedures: 2035.
Description: SCP-001-H, located in southern UK, is a territory of approximately 600 500 km². It is impossible to establish a reliable area size due to inaccurate boundaries of surrounding anomalous activity.
At the center of SCP-001-H, there is the city of Hopetown with a population of 1 791 568 as of 2030. Site 0 has been established underneath the city, connected by a system of tunnels with administrative buildings and cover companies. The territory of SCP-001-H outside the city is marked as the "frontier".
SCP-001-H, unlike any other objects in the catalog, does not have anomalous properties in our usual understanding, and also does not contain any other anomalous objects. Nevertheless, SCP-001-H's exclusivity and value for the survival of humanity requires the Organization’s intervention and special containment procedures.
SCP-001-H is the only open available area that has not been exposed to any form of anomalous exposure. The object is considered the last remaining territory where a person is able to exist in normal and relatively safe conditions. All attempts to detect preserved human civilization in any other area have, so far, failed.
Through the actions of the "Veil" group, the whole population of SCP-001-H is convinced that the world is in its regular state.
Description of anomalous border zones: SCP-001-H borders three anomalous zones that define the boundaries of the object.
The northeastern anomalous zone has the longest border with SCP-001-H. From the side of the frontier it is observed as a visual anomaly, which dims all light (including sunlight) that falls on the territory of the zone down to 0.006 cd/m². As a result, the zone maintains an illusion of it being constantly shrouded in night.
MTF Alpha-10 operatives also reported seeing a mirage in the form of a city in various places in the northeastern anomalous zone. To this day, it has not been possible to organize any of the expeditions that could confirm the existence of any infrastructure on the territory of the northeastern anomalous zone.
Exploration of the northeastern anomalous zone has been banned by order of the O5 Council, effective July 5, 2020.
The western anomalous zone is capable of accidentally materializing the thoughts of people in it. It was originally used by the Organization to replenish the resources of Site 0, but following Incident 001WA-013, the O5 Council imposed a moratorium on visiting the western anomalous zone.
Aside from that, there has been an isolated incident from the western anomalous zone of MTF Alpha-10 operatives meeting a person residing outside SCP-001-H. The details are described in the document «Incident 001WA-014».
The southern anomalous zone, according to the current hypothesis, is an independent predatory creature. The anomaly can interact with the environment within its reach to kill any victim within. The victim's body disappears in an unidentified way within 24 hours.
Following the failure of the last expedition on May 12, 2030, the area of the southern anomalous zone has expanded, reaching the nearest outpost of MTF Alpha-10. After this event, the O5 Council has banned further expeditions into the southern anomalous zone.
For more detailed information regarding the border anomalous zones, see the corresponding documents.
Containment History: Following registration of SCP-7561, the Foundation made a series of analytical predictions to determine the dynamics of anomalous zones around the world. Further research established that the least anomalous activity during the entire lifetime of the Organization's operation took place in the area known today as SCP-001-H. The emergence of new anomalous zones in this area was also not expected.
In 2009, after a series of incidents caused by anomalies, territories with low anomalous activity were considered "zones of increased normality." A year later, the Foundation initiated a program for the development of civil and organizational infrastructure in these districts. Construction of Site 0 began within SCP-001-H.
In 2012, areas of increased normality received the status of SCP-objects of category -H .
In 2029, Site 0 lost contact with SCP-058-H, the last known zone of increased normality other than SCP-001-H in Longyearbyen, Norway. SCP-001-H is deemed to be the last object in the Organization’s containment.
Addendum 1 - Procedure for Final Withdrawal of the Veil Protocol:
Final withdrawal of the Veil Protocol is initiated by the O5 Council if it is known for a fact that SCP-001-H's breach breach of special containment protocols will occur within less than three months. The procedure includes several stages:
- Preparation of materials aimed at disclosing real historical events of recent years and the activities of the Foundation for publication.
- Sealing the warehouse of world history in Site 0.
- Issuing hydrocyanic acid capsules to all staff, except for the Site 0 burial floor workers and Class A.
- Burying or cremating, depending on their preference, the staff who chose to take the capsule.
- Handing out hydrocyanic acid capsules to staff of the Site 0 burial floor.
- Publishing materials described in clause 1.
- Implementing hand-out of free hydrocyanic acid capsules in pharmacies and hospitals in Hopetown.
- Handing out hydrocyanic acid capsules to Class A staff.
The O5 Council has the right to omit some of the points if the deadline for their implementation turns out to be too short.
Addendum 2 - O5 Council’s Appeal to the Staff Assigned to Object:
We have done a great job.
Even now, when our analysts can predict the end of the world to within a week's margin of error, we are still, nevertheless, doing a great job. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to you for this.
Perhaps, during all the time of our work, we have stepped back only from one of our principles. Instead of all the strange and anomalous things, today we contain the remnants of what reminds us of the usual, old, normal life. Although such things in the current world seem to be something incredibly unique and strange.
We could not do otherwise. The exponential growth in the number of anomalous objects has been noticed long ago. The object series in the catalog got filled up so quickly that we could not be fast enough to transfer the anomalies from temporary storage to their permanent containment chambers.
Accounting paperwork could not keep up with the new pace of work, finances got scattered over more and more places. Containment incidents have increased by a significant percentage.
But even then, we were doing our job successfully.
When, instead of New Zealand, may God rest the souls of its people, there appeared what we now call SCP-7561, many of us expected the secret world to be revealed to the public. But thanks to the brave employees of the Oceanic Branch, we were able to form the "Veil" group in time, develop a system for introducing false memories and deploy CAKENET, the work on which was already approaching its final stages.
As the world continued to die out, piece by piece, we all felt how helpless we were in the face of what was happening. Today we only have the last fragment of the old world - SCP-001-H. Our resources, assuming the established plan for their consumption, will last until 2035. However, each of us realizes that, most probably, our work will be interrupted much earlier by some random factor, as it has happened recently during the expansion of the southern border anomalous zone. Despite that, we are obligated to continue pursuing our goal.
While the rest of mankind dwells in the light, we must stand in the darkness to fight it, contain it, and shield it from the eyes of the public, so that others may live in a sane and normal world. Until the very end.