 Welcome back to the Versus series. I asked for suggestions the last time I did one of these kinds of videos, and one that stuck out to me was a philosopher versus SCP-343. Now poorly written, though I think SCP-343 is, a philosopher arguing with God is not really the kind of story I could see myself passing up, so I decided to write that. This is one of those situations where I just kind of started with a premise and wrote a story and saw where it took me, and it kind of ended up surprised at the end. This happens a lot, where I really only have a vague idea of what the story is going to be when I start, and I just write what feels natural in the scene I'm building as I'm writing it. This is definitely one of those cases. And I will warn you, this one's a bit heavy, so let's get started. Dr. Voss groaned as he turned the corner. His hip was aching again. He stopped at the door and nodded to the guard. Then Voss waved a keycard over the door lock. The lock flashed green, and Voss listened to the loud click of the mechanism. The interview room was much better lit than the outside hall with eggshell-colored walls and white marble-tiled floors. Moving from the carpet of the hall into the tiled floor, he could feel the hum of the reality anchors underneath become more noticeable. The man sitting in the center of the room was SCP-343. 343 had dark brown hair that was graying light skin, blue eyes. His beard was very short and neatly capped. Dr. Voss laid his clipboard and pinned down on the table between them and sat down. My name is Dr. 343 leaned in. Voss, I know. This will go much faster if you let me get the preliminary information out of the way. Most of this is for the benefit of the people who listen to the logs later. 343 nodded and leaned back in his seat. My name is Dr. Victor Voss. This is the first interview of SCP-343. It is being conducted on July 25th, 2008. Subject of the interview is SCP-343. SCP-343 cocked his head to the side and smirked. You know you can just call me God. I'm sorry, but I can't do that. If you have a real name, we could just use that. SCP-343 shook his head. Yahweh, Elohim, Brahma, Allah. Take your pick. So it's your contention that you are, let's say, God with a capital G. Well that's just the truth. I am that I am. Alright, well if that's the case, how long did it take to create the universe? SCP-343 chuckled. You may be a philosopher, but you've got a rudimentary understanding of physics. You can't measure time before time exists. Space-time just is. Dr. Voss shifted in his seat. Okay then. What color was Moses' hair? Brown, then gray. And how many innocent people have you killed? I don't kill people, Vic. Sodom and Gomorrah would indicate otherwise. Those are stories, written by men, trying to understand the universe. That was just a meteor shower, not me. But you allowed it to happen. I don't allow things to happen. I granted you free will. Then why do SCP-343 raised a hand and Voss stopped in place? Why don't you ask me what you came in here to ask me? Dr. Voss's eyes went wide as soon as he could move again. How did you do that? SCP-343 shrugged and rolled his eyes. Dr. Voss nodded. Alright. What happened to my sister? SCP-343 sighed and closed his eyes. You were ten years old, but she was eight. A minivan stopped by your house. A man asked if you wanted to go to the park. Your mother was just inside the house, but out of sight. You said no, your sister jumped into the open van, and he left. And? And you never saw her again. The funeral was closed casket. And why did you let it happen? SCP-343 was no longer sitting, instead was standing behind Dr. Voss. 343 reached a handout and placed it on the doctor's shoulder. Son. I didn't. You did. You could have stopped it from happening. You... And what about you? Why didn't you stop it? I was only ten. Events shaped people in unexpected ways. Not having a father made you not want to have kids of your own. Your mother's suicide put you into the system and made you want to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. And your sister made you unafraid to speak up when you know something bad is about to happen. So last year, when the Scarlet King almost escaped, speaking your mind saved the world, you wouldn't have that, otherwise. Dr. Voss was shaking as he turned to face SCP-343. That's a lie. You could have done something. It is a lie. But it's a comforting one. Dr. Voss sneered. He pulled a small reality anchor from his coat pocket and placed it on the table. A blue flash bathed the room as a strong vibration shook the table. Voss pulled a shard of dull grey metal from his other pocket and turned to lunge at SCP-343. 343 knew this was coming and was out of the way immediately. He sighed and then he snapped his fingers. And Dr. Voss could no longer see anything except for himself. Even though there was no wind, his senses told him he was falling. The endless black stretched in all directions and then he saw it. He saw himself walking backwards from SCP-343's room. He saw himself getting back into his car, driving backwards towards the house, showering, going back to bed, sleeping, getting up at night. All of it played in the distance, but on a screen so large he couldn't conceive of it. But still, he could see it all happening at once. After what seemed like an eternity, the falling stopped. And he landed on his childhood front lawn. And there she was, his sister, smiling and laughing. His mama just went into the house to grab something for them to drink because it was very hot outside. A dark, grey mini-van rolled up. The man inside opened the passenger side door. Hey, you guys want to go to the park? Victor Voss shook his head no, but he watched his sister run out towards the road. For a split second, he was paralyzed with fear. Then he surged forward and stood between his sister and the van. She acted like it was a game, trying to get around him. And then, out of nowhere, Victor felt a pull in the back of his collar as he just dragged up into the van. He kicked, he screamed, and his sister stood frozen in place. The world shifted again. The black void spun around the scene. Everything reversed again. The little girl yelled for her mom. She talked to the police. She attended a funeral. And eventually, Dr. Valerie Voss set at a table with SCP-343 and asked him the question she'd wanted to know ever since she was a child. If you're all powerful, why do you allow bad things to happen? SCP-343 sat in silence. Okay, so I don't think anyone won that, at least of all me. If you guys have any other kinds of story prompts in the vein of a future versus episode, let me know in the comments below. If you see something in the comments that you like, hit the like button on it, and I'll know that that's the thing you want to see next. If you suggest anything, any kind of competitions, they don't have to be deathmatches, but hey, if you wanted to suggest that, you could. And of course, if you want to support my content, you can join my Patreon at patreon.com. I look forward to seeing you join these fine folk. Thank you, and I'll see you on Tuesday.