Please Let Sleeping Minds Suffer Alone

There is a room in Site-19. White walls, the smell of dust, the buzz of the fluorescent lights — the usual.

The men in room contrasted the bland feeling of the room and, among the co-workers tip-toeing outside, the question of how the drab room could even stand to exist always came about when the yelling began.

Today, just as yesterday and the day before, a young researcher named Salazar stood up.

"You can stop now."

"Do you want another article… Al Jazeera maybe?" Lieutenant Samson said, bringing the newspaper down.

"No, it's fine,” murmured the newly promoted employee. “I just wanted to make sure the intel worked. Thank God it did, otherwise I would have Stephen on my back."

“Our backs you mean. Just intel won't solve the usual issue. That's why I came up with a nice, old-fashioned story to use. Now remember, when you tell this to Stephen you gotta make sure you tear up."

Samson put his hands together and in a haughty, childlike voice said, "'The boys in the Watchpoint Division really messed up big this time; they were in charge of the area. I think there should be some sort of reprimand because my role in the Prevention Department is only so limited when we have these young rascals running around.''

"How was that?" said Samson, eagerly.

By the midway point of Samson's speech, Salazar put his face in his hands. "You seriously think that will work. You and your games never work. Never worked before and will never work."

"I'm not the one who is supposed to make plans researcher. Your idea is to always let Stephen do whatever he pleases. I've always said you're a passive one, but damn it, I did not know it was this bad. Well, what do you think ol’ Stephen will do when he hears about this?”

Salazar’s hands clenched. “I know what he will do and I will have to defend myself as usual.”

Samson spoke slowly and quietly. “You know that you don't have to defend yourself; there are options. Why not have a little fun with it? Cause some chaos to distract yourself from the blame.

Samson started to get close to Salazar, tracing the sharp outline of the table along the way.

"To avoid the blame, why not finish up that backup plan I mentioned last week? I can help you out with the logistics of it…See, if you get fired, I’m a goner too.”

Salazar placed the wrinkled newspaper on his desk, shook his head, and sat down. “You always want to get out of trouble, don’t you.”

"You need me, Sal. Exactly how many times have I gotten you out of trouble?" Samson was starting to get annoyed. Salazar always ignored his plans, but as time wore on and he chipped the covering the path between them, he would always get him to agree. But today was different.

“We help each other mutually, Samson. I bring the mind, you bring the body.”

“Yes, but why is it that the body helps the mind, yet the mind has never helped the body?”

“I’ve helped you in more ways than one. I’ve helped you get this position, I’ve helped you gain respect and I’ve even helped you gain power. Look at your position 'lieutenant.' I’ve already wasted enough time talking to you. Actually even talking to you from the beginning is a waste of my time. Don’t forget who has control here. In this office, you’re under my authority." Samson was growing angry and Salazar could feel it.

Hmm, did I speak too aggressively? thought Salazar, creasing his already furrowed brow to an even more extreme degree. "Hey, no need for anything like that, I trust you. Even being here and talking should be more than enough to show that."

Both Samson and Salazar closed their eyes.

Calm

Samson laughed. “ Don't worry, I know you're panicking over the incident over in Beijing. Is it that or am I wrangling you in too harsh?"

Samson sat down and started to lazily flip through the magazine and Salazar kept pacing around, thinking about Stephen, the intel, and incident in Beijing.

Now that Samson was placated, Salazar began his daily ritual of self-doubt. A ritual, in fact, that aided him in deciding what to do.

He felt like he was on a losing streak. How many SCPs had fallen through his grasp and caused devastation because of him? Or rather was the problem the ineptitude of Samson and Stephen and the others around him?

"Hopefully, MTF deaths are under 30. That troublesome director above us might really kill me if that happens." Salazar felt Stephen watching him at this moment.

Sometimes, Salazar felt like, rather than just outside of the corner of his eye, Stephen was watching him from the blind spot between his eyes. If only he unfocused or even crossed his eyes for just a moment, Stephen would be there.

Whenever he was there, Salazar was forced to bear the mistakes of the other two in front of his colleagues.

Interrupting his thoughts, Samson asked, "what about the civilians." He knew what Salazar would say but he needed to make sure that there was enough divergence.

"Ah, no need to worry about them." Salazar thought that the civilians could always be cloned or replaced. Whether he was correct or not was unknown to him, but he was just always under the assumption that they were not under any significant priority.

Samson's encrypted phone rang and Salazar turned his head around. Like a giant, hands gorged with too much blood, Samson took it out of his pocket.

“Looks like they caught the guy,” Samson groaned. He really wanted to go out to Beijing and watch the fun unfold.

Samson smirked, “You’ve been assigned to interview him by the way and don’t worry about Stephen, only 29 employees died capturing him."

Salazar put the cellphone in his pocket.

Stress is building.

Interviewed: POI-654 Interviewer: Researcher Salazar, Sub-Commander of the Eastern Hemisphere Invasion Prevention Department Foreword : POI-654 is the propagator of Event: Verdant-Alpha. Event: Verdant-Alpha consisted of a minor extra-dimensional invasion of Beijing. POI-654 has, so far, shown no anomalous capability. Researcher Salazar entered the containment room with two bodyguards after safety checks were implemented. <Begin Log> POI-654: WHO ARE YOU TO BE SITTING IN FRONT OF ME? Researcher Salazar: No need to yell, I just want to… POI-654: WHO ARE YOU! Researcher Salazar:…My name is Dr. Sa… POI-654: I WILL ONLY SPEAK TO THE ONE KNOWN AS DR. CLEF! Researcher Salazar: (marks down the name) Can you tell me who this person is? POI-654: HE IS A EVIL MAN WHO WORKS IN THE ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE SCP FOUNDATION! Researcher Salazar: Why can you only talk to this person? POI-654: HE IS THE ONE WHO I HAVE COME FOR REVENGE AND, YET AGAIN, I HAVE FAILED IN CAPTURING HIM! BRING ME CLEF! Researcher Salazar: Why are you seeking the person known as "Dr. Clef?" POI-654: HE ENTERED MY DOMAIN AND STOLE MY STAFF! BRING ME CLEF! Researcher Salazar: Where is your domain located? POI-654: I WILL KILL THOSE WHO ENTER MY DOMAIN! BRING ME CLEF! Researcher Salazar: So an employee from the SCP Foundation named "Dr. Clef" came to your home and stole your property and you came to Earth looking for revenge. Is that correct? POI-654: AHHHH, I WILL END YOU IF YOU ASK ANOTHER QUESTION! Researcher Salazar: I just have a few more questions. Before we can get to that poin…



POI-654: ENOUGH! BRING ME CLEF! Researcher Salazar: Please calm done, I just hav… POI-654: ENOUGH! BRING ME CLEF! Security Officer Lyle: (walks forward and bends down to deliver a message to the interviewer) Researcher Salazar, I was just informed by Dr. Palo that there is an ongoing breach in the Souther… POI-654: (directed at Researcher Salazar) Exactly, what is your name again? Researcher Salazar: I tried to tell you before, it is Researcher Salazar.

POI-654: Interesting. I wasn’t aware that such a thing still exists. Researcher Salazar: What do you mean? POI-654: Ah, nothing. CLEF IS NOT HERE! HE MUST BE IN THE NEXUS! (POI-654 dematerializes) <End Log> Closing Statement: More information needed as no employee known as "Dr. Clef" has ever been associated with the SCP Foundation. Director Stephen recommends an investigation into perceived mishandling of interview.

Extranormal Event ID: 762-865-091 Event Description: A short letter manifested at the entrance to Site 19. The letter had an inlaid gold trim and was pressed with the slightly altered SCP Foundation Logo. Date of Occurrence: 04/02/2019 Location: Site 19 Follow-up Actions Taken: Letter was assessed by the multiple researchers and directors. After consultation with ████████, it was decided that the information contained in the letter would be acted on. Further queries on this event are under Level 5 classification.

The two men argued. They argued for a long time. Such a long time, in fact, that it seemed as though Stephen’s reprimands would have to be put on hold as both Samson and Salazar were reprimanding each other.

They argued for such a lengthy time and at such a volume that rumors existed between the two. For as long as Samson and Salazar have worked in the Invasion Prevention Department, their colleagues have always joked of the impending invasion that would behold them whenever Researcher Salazar’s door opened.

Though Samson never really left the office, they could always differentiate his gruff voice from the melancholic, wispy voice of Salazar.

"…in front of the whole department, he said that interview failure was my fault."

Another day, another mistake by Researcher Salazar or perhaps did he even make a mistake to begin with?

"The investigation is coming soon, don't worry about it so much." Samson's face grew to a smile. "They always let you do the interviews if they ever gave me the chance…I would get the real info.”

"Like you know anything about the nuance of interviewing."

"Okay, tell me what you know then? What do you do if a subject is unresponsive and…"

And Salazar and Samson kept arguing.

This time it was over interviews, yesterday the topic of discussion was whether coffee or tea would be better for the morning. All the while, whispers of Salazar's mental state grew but they were subsided by Director Stephen who, whilst hating the duo of Salazar and Samson, couldn't seem to live without them.

Stress is building.

From the Multiversal SCP Foundation _ We Secure, We Contain, We Protect Forever Regarding minor computer error affecting classification

This is an automated letter from the Multiversal SCP Foundation to be sent to the SCP Foundation located in Universe 4jm3-ioq86. Dear SCP Foundation, recently scanners have noticed multiple universal anomalies in your universe. The cause of these universal anomalies has been determined to be due to a minor glitch in your universe's classification. The result of this has been a mixup of your universe and that of Universe 4jm3-ioq85. In order for this minor classification glitch to be solved, we will need you to send one representative from Universe 4jm3-ioq86 in order to answer basic questions regarding your current status. Currently, the Multiversal SCP Foundation is encountering three Epsilon level events across the Multiverse. These include the expansion of ODGIJUMC territory, 111th Crusade of Alagadda, and exponential increase of SCPs across every universe. Due to this, 456,994,556,986 allied SCP Foundations (0.4% of total) is currently unable to assist in this inquiry. The Multiversal SCP Foundation can also, therefore, not lend any cross-universal safety equipment. After a short analysis of this universe, it has been determined that the best representative would be Researcher Salazar S. S.. Our records indicate that universes within Uni-Cluster 987 have the most optimal universal representative as Researcher Salazar S. S.. To transport to the nearest Multiversal Foundation Helpdesk, please have your representative orally consume this letter. Researcher Salazar S. S. will be safely returned after this issue has been resolved.

Stress is building.

"So they finally want to let you go." Samson's eyes were solemn. "The directors want to get rid of you now. Testing? Saving normalcy? Those are lies we've told others before sending them off to death."

"I don't know Samson, we saw the letter. It referred to us directly." Salazar was upset too but tried to not show it. He thought that two emotional people would just make the situation worse. "I think that there are other ways we can get around this. Also even if we get sent to this interview I have the feeling that it won't be so bad."

"A deserved irony isn't it. You are to die how you lived, kissing the boots of your bosses. Any more harmful decision-making and you know what will happen, right?" Samson looked in the pocket mirror on Salazar's desk.

"Don't even think about it," Salazar sneered. "The director hadn't been informed of the decision and you already know why."

"I'll call him. I have too. With death knocking from below and guns aimed to the head, what else can I do."

"No, I won't have you ruin this for me."

"Hmm, let me guess. Is your solution to kill the upper echelon? Escape, maybe?"

"That's exactly what I would do."

"Well, hmmm, maybe your actually on to someone."

"Wait, really?"

"No stupid, do you think I'd risk my position for that. Working my way up, escaping death, now look where I am when people like you are the only thing that I talk too."

Samson picked up the mirror off of Salazar's desk and threw it against the wall. "Hey, next time you insult me, I'll take control. Do not forget who you are."

"Hah, like he would let it happen. He knows about you, idiot."

The door of the room slightly opened and a head popped through the opening.

"Is everything okay in there Mr. S…"

"Yes, Emma. I just dropped a glass. I'm talking on the phone, please come back later." Salazar gestured for the secretary to leave.

She left and as usual was scared, for the floor was carpet and the crash was loud.

Sala…Samson closed his eyes. "Let me ask you a question, dear Salazar."

Salazar's head turned and his eyes widened. He couldn't recall the last time Stephen used his actual, full name.

"If the top guys sentenced you to death, what would you do?"

"Interesting question. Not applicable to this situation though. There's a bunch of stuff I could do. Try to escape. Fight to the death. Maybe call an old friend or two."

"There's your mistake." Salazar shook his head.

"In this fake scenario you made, we will die! What would you do then?"

"I would save the directors."

Stress has built.

Stephen tripped forward. His eyes grew unfocused.

"What would you do?" Salazar and Samson asked in unison.

He stood up. "I would show them the true path."

Exploration Video Log Transcript Date: April 3rd, 2019 Foreword: After analysis of Extranormal Event 762-865-091, ██. ███████ unanimously agreed to uphold the conditions set forth in the received letter. The main impetus being the reduction of unusual, anomalous events with seemingly extra-dimensional aspects. With the condition of becoming the full liaison to extraversal affairs, Researcher Salazar has agreed to fully adhere to the procedures laid out in the letter. Location: Multiversal Foundation Help Desk Team Lead: Researcher Salazar [BEGIN LOG] Researcher Salazar begins to chew the letter. He dematerializes and video footage shows him inside a white room. Researcher Salazar looks around the room. Ambient, white light is pervading the room, however, there is no obvious source. The only object in the room is a single metallic chair in front of a protruding segment of the wall. The wall has an outstretched table with a small slit, about 10 cm high. Drifting hands and a paper-like substance are seen through the slit. No other objects of interest reside in the room. Unknown Multiversal SCP Foundation Employee : (soft voice coming from an unknown location, received in both microphones on Researcher Salazar's person) Please have a seat, this will only take a few moments. Researcher Salazar: Sure. (Researcher Salazar sits down on the metal chair. The hands underneath the slit begin to touch the paper and symbols appear on it.) Unknown MSFE: Oh, don't worry about that, I just don't like using pens. Researcher Salazar: Just to make sure, when I'm done answering these questions, the extraversal SCPs will stop appearing, correct? Unknown MSFE: In due time, Researcher Salazar. Let's go step by step. (pauses) Okay, just a quick question for the records. What is your full name and what is the organization you currently work for? Researcher Salazar: My full name is Salazar S. Samson. I just prefer Salazar though. The organization I work for is the SCP Foundation. Unknown MSFE: Just for nomenclature's sake, what does the middle "S" stand for? Researcher Salazar: I'm actually not sure, it's always been there as far as I know. I'm pretty sure it stands for nothing. Unknown MSFE: Perfect, before I begin I would like to explain one thing. You may or may not already know but the Multiversal SCP Foundation is simply a group of Foundations working together to aid each-other whence the time arises. According to my records here, your universe's SCP Foundation has already worked with extra-universal SCPs so this should not be that much of a surprise. The main reason you are here now is that we believe that a minor classification error in your unique universal ID code has been interfering with your universe. After a few questions, we can get everything back to order and resume normalcy. Unknown MSFE: Okay, I'll start with the first question. Is the general public aware of your SCP Foundation? Researcher Salazar: No. Unknown MSFE: Third question, how long has the SCP Foundation existed in your universe? Researcher Salazar: If I recall correctly, our SCP Foundation was founded during the Cold War period by the merging of various anomalous prevention groups. Unknown MSFE: Has your universe ever been reset or humanity ever faced extinction? Researcher Salazar: I'm not exactly sure, but I would assume no. Unknown MSFE: To your knowledge, what is the newest technology that the SCP Foundation has developed until this point in time? Researcher Salazar: Right now, the technology division has just finished development on a new reality stabilizer called the Scranton Anchor. Unknown MSFE: Has your SCP Foundation ever come into established contact with any other universe? Researcher Salazar: No. Unknown MSFE: Just a few more. How many times have you died? Researcher Salazar: Hopefully zero. Unknown MSFE: Is there a man in the SCP Foundation that goes by the name "Dr. Stephen?" Researcher Salazar: (pauses) No. (later on, Researcher Salazar, remarked, "he's not Dr. Stephen, he's Director Stephen.") Unknown MSFE: Also, how is Dr. Samson doing nowadays? Researcher Salazar: What? Unknown MSFE: Oh, I'm sorry. I meant Lieutenant Samson. Researcher Salazar: He is fine. Very annoying too I guess. Why do you ask? Do you think he has something to with the error? Researcher Salazar: I'm not aware of this person. Unknown MSFE: (pauses) Thank you. You may go. (Researcher Salazar instantaneously teleports back to Site 19) [END LOG] Conclusion: Researcher Salazar has been promoted to Multiversal Liaison, should the need for more contact arise. The information gained through this encounter is currently being analyzed.