practical research

>having just arrived in a shuttle along a tightly monitored roadway, today seemed as good a day could be for one involved in the study of matters so wondrous and yet so horrifying.
>you had just been transferred to a new facility of the SCP Foundation, and several years of in-depth research had numbed you to the wonder of such experiences regarding the paranormal and preternatural.
>it seemed just yesterday you had recieved a mysterious letter from a company known as Spearcross Private Solutions.
>they contacted you regarding your talents in researching biological phenomena, you had become quite well known in the academic community for your breakthroughs concering the sensecence of jellyfish and other cnidarians.
>for this reason they claimed your assistance would be greatly appreciated with regards to their projects in development.
>you gladly took the offer, you were finally being given the respect you deserve.
>it always seemed like achievements in biological sciences never got the same acclaim as the more physical ones.
>when you met with your employers, they came clean, it turns out the spearcross was merely a front to a more clandestine operation, known as the SCP Foundation, a highly secretive organization aimed at containing and studying various phenomena deemed to be a threat to normalcy.
>at first, you did not believe them, thinking it was all an elaborate prank, but you were warned that if you turned away from them, they would take drastic action.
>and so you decided to become an associate of the Foundation, against your inner conscience that suggested that this was a dire mistake.
>over the years, you were put to work studying various anomalies pertaining to the life sciences.
>one of your more memorable experiences was the study of a sapient creature that resembled a bovine heart on spider legs, it was quite dangerous, and had murdered numerous personnel, but luckily for you, there had been no such incidents while you were observing it.
>another regarded a what appeared to be a bipedal goat equipped with a sort of proboscis with a range of prodigious abilities.
>your chief duty regarding these entities was to determine the origin and purpose of their strange abilities and your expertise in anatomy and biology made you well suited for such tasks.
>after many months of stressful research and close calls, this demanding line of work had begun to take it's toll on you.
>you found it difficult to sleep, on several occasions you awoke rather violently, from recurring nightmares that revolved around the nefarious organisms you studied, several of them were noted to have psionic abilities, so this was to be expected.
>you were relieved when your overseer had informed you that you were to be moved to a facility dealing with more mundane and less harmful specimens. being a c-class researcher, on several occasions you were allowed direct contact with anomalies.
>while exciting and momentuous, this was not so appealing with your more recent studies, in hindsight you wish you had taken the offer and allowed the d-class personnel to fully handle the situation, but you just had to be bold. in any case you were lucky to get out of there alive.
>you exited the shuttle, walking into a large, nondescript building that seemed far too small to host the necessary arrays of biological labs that you were told about, you reasoned that the majority of the structure must be located underground.
>entering the building, you were met with a lobby occupied by a handful of workers behind a service counter and a pair of armed guards at each end of the room.
>one of the workers, a blonde man in either his late 30s or early 40s, exited the counter to speak with you.
>"Right this way sir, the elevator will take you to floor u-7, where the chief researcher is located" he explained with an accent you couldn't exactly place.
"Thanks for the help"
>you responded in your typical fashion, a small wave and an honest smile. despite all you've been through you always made an effort to keep an upbeat demeanor to improve morale with your fellow researchers.
>you stepped into the claustrophobic chamber, and watched the doors close.
>a low pitched hum lingered for a few seconds before the elevator car rudely jolted downwards. you expected this. elevators at the Foundation were designed in such a manner for the sake of efficiency, or so you were told. frankly you could not see the point of such a feature, it only seemed to make personnel more stressed out.
after 30 seconds in the elevator, the car slowed to a stop and the doors finally opened.
>you were met with a number of stiff-necked researchers of various ages who briefly looked towards you before continuing with their tasks.
>you continued forward towards the office of dr. Kenneth Ziegler, the chief researcher you were assigned to. he would brief you on your current assignment of which you currently knew little about. the only information you could recover indicated that the anomaly had something to do with transfiguration, you were eager to know more.
>after a few more turns you opened the door to the good doctor's office.
>he sat there on his chair with his hands clasped together. and a slight grin on his face. he was an older man, in his late 60s, with his brownish hair graying towards the fringes. he wore thick circular glasses that complemented his grandfatherly demeanor.
>"Ah, I've been eagerly awaiting your arrival, Dr. Meer is it? Yornay Meer. Now that you've made it, I'd like to brief you on your assignment.
>"You have been summoned here to determine the cognitive and physiological abilities of the anomaly known as scp-956, now i'm sure a man like you must have the clearance necessary to know about a euclid class such as that one, but in case i'm mistaken you, shall recieve an information packet shortly." he stated with a certain sense of geniality.
"Well sir, it's an honor to be here, the staff seem a little cold, but I guess that's to be expected. i'm sure they'll serve me well when i assert myself among them" you said with your left fist held towards your chest, for a flair you would soon discover was misplaced.
>"Hmmm, well you see, I have chosen another to be the main overseer of this operation." he noted with slight discomfort.
>you did a double take, but quickly regained your composure.
"I'm sorry, but did i hear you correctly?" you stammered.
"Pretty sure you heard him just fine, don't have a panic attack there bud." a third voice tore into the conversation.
>you turned around to be met by a woman you did not recall seeing earlier.
>she was rather tall, surpassing your height by several inches. her skin was eerily pale, and her eyes a frozen blue. her hair was dyed a bluish green and grew down to her waist. she seemed to be smoking a cigarette, but you didn't think that would be allowed in this facility. she stared at you with a detached glare that was complemented by half-lidded eyes. her white coat, seemed a part of her body, it clung to her so tightly you wondered if she was an anomaly herself.
>you quickly realized you've been staring at her for a good 10 seconds, and shook yourself from your stupor.
"Dr. Meer, this is Dr. Natalie Mondadori, she will be your supervisor for this project"
"sir, you can't be serious! you know i'm at my most effective when i'm in full control of the parameters, I implore you to reconsider!"
>"Young Meer, my mind is set, I am aware that your free reign led to an incident that nearly cost you your life. I think this is the best decision for everyone involved." he stated with impunity.
>"The chief's right, you've gotten too far up your own ass. we'd all appreciate it if you'd just accept his judgment and don't make a scene." she took a step closer to you until she was mere inches from your face. she looked as emotionless as ever, but she still carried a sense of intimidation despite her lack of expression.
>"Now we have some serious work to attend to, and I think that despite your protests, we can make a great unit." she turned around and gestured for you to follow her.
>you reluctantly went ahead and tried to acclimate yourself to the idea of having a supervisor who would closely moderate your experiments.
>after a few turns, you went through a reinforced door and entered the room where you would conduct further research on the anomaly.
>a collection of monitors lined the room, some displaying information about the diminutive creature that would form the basis of the study. and others displaying it within it's chamber from various angles.
"alright, so i've read up about this thing, doesn't it just sit in one place until it comes across a child?" you asked impetuously.
>"it did, until recently, a few days ago it started moving without the required stimulation, became very organic in it's movements, it even started speaking." the tall woman said in her typical manner.
"Alright, so what are your orders?" you stated with mock enthusiasm?
>"you're going to step inside and determine why it's violent." she stated flatly.
"You sure about this? wouldn't this be a task better suited for a d-class?"
>"Nah, we've determined that it has no intentions of harming adults, you should be fine" she stated with a lack of concern.
>with a constrained sigh, you left to ready yourself for the "interview".
>you felt that this would be the beginning of a fruitful relationship, but you had no idea.
>there honestly wasn't much to it, you merely had to wear some nondescript and intentionally bland clothing as to not look too out of place among the grayish walls of the subject's cell. a non-threatening appearance and disposition was deemed necessary for this interrogation.
>having made the proper change of clothes, you were on your way to the containment chamber when you were flagged down by a noticeably short man in a labcoat. he was a young fellow, likely close to your own age. you could tell from his appearance that he had a nervous and unsteady demeanor.
"Uh, Dr. Meer? I'm Dr. Andrew Manzarek, I'd just like to inform you that scp-956 has recently shown a propensity for attempting psychological manipulation and intimidation, with varying degrees of success. You should be sure to not let any of your emotions get the better of you, as it responds quite um, intensely, to any attempts at physical attack." he noted with a hint of worry.
"Duly noted Andy, I'm glad to have you here" you stated while placing a hand on his shoulder.
>"Thank you sir! I'll be in lab c23 If you require any further assistance" he quickly scurried off.
>you briefly wondered how someone with such a skittish and worrisome disposition could function in such a demanding environment, but you cast it aside as you had more important things to think about.