 Welcome, new recruits, and welcome to the SCP Foundation. My name is Agent Steven Osbrin, and I will be your instructor for the series of lectures about the SCP Foundation and its functions. We will begin with an introduction from the Administrator. Mankind in its present state has only been around for a quarter of a million years, yet only the last 4,000 have been of any significance. So, what did we do for nearly 250,000 years? We huddled in caves and around small fires, fearful of the things that we didn't understand. It was more than explaining why the sun came up. It was the mystery of enormous birds with heads of men and rocks that came to life. So we called them gods and demons, begged them to spare us, and prayed for salvation. In time, their numbers dwindled and ours rose. The world began to make more sense when there were fewer things to fear, yet the unexplained can never truly go away, as if the universe demands the absurd and impossible. Mankind must not go back to hiding in fear. No one else will protect us, and we must stand up for ourselves. 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. We secure, we contain, we protect, the Administrator. Mission statement, operating clandestine and worldwide, the Foundation operates beyond jurisdiction, empowered and entrusted by every major national government with the task of containing anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena. These anomalies pose a significant threat to global security, by threatening either physical or psychological harm. The Foundation operates to maintain normalcy, so that the worldwide civilian population can live and go on with their daily lives without fear, mistrust, or doubt in their personal beliefs, and to maintain human independence from extraterrestrial, extra-dimensional, and other extra-normal influence. Our mission is threefold. Secure The Foundation secures anomalies with the goal of preventing them from falling into the hands of civilian or rival agencies, through extensive observation and surveillance, and by acting to intercept such anomalies at the earliest opportunity. Contain The Foundation contains anomalies with the goal of preventing their influence or effects from spreading, by either relocating, concealing, or dismantling such anomalies, or by suppressing or preventing public dissemination of knowledge thereof. Protect The Foundation protects humanity from the effects of such anomalies, as well as the anomalies themselves until such time they are either fully understood or new theories of science can be devised based on their properties and behavior. The Foundation may also neutralize or destroy anomalies as an option of last resort, if they are determined to be too dangerous to be contained. Foundation Operations Foundation COBER and clandestine operations are undertaken across the globe, in pursuit of our primary missions. Special Containment Procedures The Foundation maintains an extensive database of information regarding anomalies requiring special containment procedures, commonly referred to as SCPs. The Primary Foundation database contains summaries of such anomalies and emergency procedures for maintaining or re-establishing safe containment in the case of a containment breach or other event. Anomalies may take many forms, be it an object, an entity, a location, or a freestanding phenomenon. These anomalies are categorized into one of several object classes and are either contained at one of the Foundation's Married and Secured facilities, or contained on site of relocation as deemed unfeasible. Operational Security The Foundation operates with the utmost secrecy. All Foundation personnel must observe the security clearance levels, as well as need to know and compartmentalization of information. Personnel found in violation of Foundation security protocols will be identified, detained, and subject to disciplinary action. Rival Agencies and Groups of Interest The Foundation is not the only organization with knowledge of and capability to interact with or utilize anomalies. While some of these groups of interest have similar goals and may cooperate with and issue to global security, many more are opportunistic and profit-oriented, seeking to adapt or use anomalies to their own ends. Foundation personnel are instructed to treat individuals from such groups with suspicion at all times, and collaboration with such groups without the explicit prior consent of Foundation leadership will be cause for termination or other disciplinary action.