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The live broadcast chat room was now smothered in a chilling silence. Even though many believed that the contents of the file might not be entirely real, that did little to ease the collective anxiety crawling up everyone's spine.
"WTF? This is beyond cruel!"
"Are they trying to contain SCP-3999, or destroy this poor researcher Talloran?"
"Whoever wrote this file has to be a psychopath. This is monstrous."
S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters.
These sentiments were echoed across the entire monitoring facility. Most agents and top personnel stared at the screen, disturbed and confused.
"So... this is all just a prank?" Natasha Romanoff murmured, her tone uncertain.
"...I don't know," Nick Fury admitted grimly.
That in itself was telling. For a man like Fury to hesitate, to doubtâit meant something serious was brewing beneath the surface.
He felt it. A strange contradictionâa clash between truth and unreality. Logic and madness.
Suppressing his discomfort, Fury continued watching. Onscreen, James was still calmly flipping through the pages of the SCP-3999 file.
"Do you feel anything?" he asked the others.
Zyn looked pale. The file had clearly gotten under her skin. Lois wasn't faring much better. He forced a laugh but failed to hide his unsettled expression.
"What do you mean? Feel what?"
James replied calmly, "Inconsistency. Conflicted logic. Multiple perspectives fighting to define reality."
"Yes!" Lois exclaimed suddenly, "That's exactly how it feels!"
James nodded. "I have two possible theories."
Lois blinked in surprise. "Waitâyou figured something out?"
James continued without flinching. "First possibility: the person who wrote this file suffers from severe schizophrenia. The contradictions are the result of wildly different mental states writing at different times."
Lois froze for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Damn... that actually makes a lot of sense. What's your second idea?"
James took a deep breath. "I need to see more before I say anything."
Right on cue, the screen displayed more of the file.
[What is the classification of SCP-3999?]
[Researcher Talloran's colleagues must be executed, one by one.]
[Cafeteria staff are to poison meals with arsenic, targeting all individuals who interacted with Talloranâincluding members of the O5 Council.]
[[SCP-3999 cannot be contained.]]
[SCP-3999 and Researcher Talloran are to be delivered as gifts to the Serpent's Hand.]
[Talloran will be given amnestics and assigned a new identity as a high-ranking member of the Fifth Church.]
By now, the live chat was utter chaos.
"What the hell is this? None of it makes sense anymore!"
"Is this containment procedure or psychological warfare?"
"It just keeps contradicting itself!"
Onscreen, James squinted slightly. "Interesting..."
"Interesting?!" Lois nearly shouted. "I'm losing my mind here and you think it's interesting?!"
Zyn shot him a look. "Let him finish."
James tapped the printed pages. "These paragraphs share a common trait. Haven't you noticed?"
Everyone, both onscreen and off, paused.
James continued, "The author is desperate to define SCP-3999. But that definition constantly shifts. Each rewrite isn't just a correctionâit's an act of self-destruction."
Zyn leaned forward. "And?"
"Each revision increases the torment directed at Talloran. This isn't just about the anomalyâit's about punishing someone."
He closed his eyes and spoke with finality. "I no longer believe the author was schizophrenic. I think... SCP-3999 and Talloran are the same."
That revelation sent the live chat into an uproar.
"WHAT? SCP-3999 IS TALLORAN?!"
"No way. That's insane. Or... is it?"
"Wait, two entities in one file... That explains the contradictions!"
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Natasha gasped. "That's... that's too wild to believe."
Nick Fury didn't dismiss the idea. Instead, he mentally replayed the earlier parts of the fileâseparating lines with and without strikethroughs. The contradictions, the attempted definitions, the horrifying punishments...
Suddenly, it all clicked.
James might be right.
Then the next wave of data hit:
[RESEARCHER TALLORAN [FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM SCP-3999]]
[RESEARCHER TALLORAN [SHALL BE KEPT ALIVE BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY]]
[RESEARCHER TALLORAN [IS NOT SCP-3999]]
[THERE IS A DEEP CONNECTION BETWEEN TALLORAN AND SCP-3999]
Everyone froze.
Lois read aloud, "There's no strikethrough on that last one..."
He turned to James. "So... that part's true?"
"Yes," James confirmed calmly. "The connection is real."
Gasps echoed through the livestream.
S.H.I.E.L.D Command Center
"If everything without strikethroughs is true..." Natasha began.
Nick Fury clenched his jaw. "Then Talloran's friends and family... they're really dead."
Just then, Zyn jumped in with a logical counterpoint. "Hold on! If they died... why do later sections still mention them?"
She pointed to a segment of the file:
[Talloran's mission is to accompany SCP-3999 for life, living a happy life surrounded by loved ones.]
"How does that make sense?" Zyn asked. "If they're dead, how can they reappear later?"
James didn't answer right away.
Instead, Loisâusually the loud oneâspoke quietly.
"What if... SCP-3999 is a reality bender? Like SCP-239?"
Zyn froze.
The realization slowly dawned on her. She turned back to the file, rereading the disturbing passages.
[All of Talloran's colleagues [are to have their hands cut off and eyes gouged out in front of him.]]
[SCP-3999 is allowed to visit Talloran's sister. It will brutally tear her apart... then reverse the damage. Then take her out for ice cream.]
No one could speak.
The grotesque cruelty was overwhelming. It wasn't hypothetical. It was described in detailâlike a memory replayed, not a theory.
The horror was unbearable.
Then, the cafeteria scene shifted.
Several new figures entered. Dr. Kondraki stood among them, eyeing James with a mixture of exasperation and aweâas if to say, "You always find a way to surprise me."
But all attention was drawn to the woman in the lead.
She radiated power. Authority. Control.
Then she spoke:
"Please continue."
The live audience recognized the voice instantly.
An Overseer of the O5 Council.
Even Zyn and Lois, still processing the horrors of the file, stood at full attention.
The woman raised her hand to calm them and turned to James again. "Please, go on."
Instead, James asked a simple question:
"Does the Foundation have any personnel records of Researcher Talloran?"
That one sentence stunned everyone.
It was such a basic ideaâbut no one had thought of it until now.
Of course! If they could check the files, they could verify the truth. If Talloran existed, the Foundation would have records.
Everyone leaned forward.
The Overseer hesitated.
"I... forgot."
"Forgot?" Zyn echoed in disbelief. "How can you forget something like that?!"
Lois looked equally baffled. "Isn't it a simple yes or no?!"
But James remained calm.
"You forgot... that kind of 'forgot,' huh?"
The chat exploded.
"What kind of answer is that?!"
"There are different types of forgetfulness now???"
S.H.I.E.L.D
"This is driving me crazy," Natasha muttered. "Are these people just messing with us?"
Nick Fury's expression suddenly darkened. "No. This reminds me of something..."
Everyone turned to him.
"The Yellowstone incident. Remember the TK-level reconstruction scenario? Everyone forgot about the 'cosmic flower' afterward."
"Wait, you mean...?"
"Yes," he said gravely. "This might be reality-bending-induced amnesia."
The screen focused again on James and the Overseer.
She didn't speak for a long time.
Finally, her voice returnedâbut now it was strained, heavy with emotion.
"My instinct tells me... I once interviewed Talloran."
She paused, scanning James's face.
"But I forgot everything. Who he was. What we talked about. When it happened. Where it happened. I have no concept of him at all. If you hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't even have known he existed."
The silence afterward was complete.
Then James spoke softly.
"ZK-Class end-of-reality scenario."
The Overseer didn't argue. She instead reached into her pocket, retrieved a device, and pressed a hidden switch.
Her voice was quiet but absolute.
"This is O5-[DATA EXPUNGED]. We are in big trouble."
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