 Sewing Circle Formal Ethics Committee Roundtable 2017, 11am Participants Danielle Elliott Luke Tennyson Julio Borges Slike Sinclair Chuck Strauss Elliott We are recording. I have not been provided an SAP numeric classification as of yet so we will be referring to the subject matter in question as the Sewing Circle which is the English translation of the local account This is thus the formal ethics committee for the Sewing Circle on its proposed use and ramifications I am head of the committee, Danielle Elliott Going clockwise around the table Could you introduce yourselves for the recording please? Tennyson Former researcher Luke Tennyson Borges Former researcher Julio Borges Sinclair Former researcher Skye Sinclair Strauss Active agent Chuck Strauss And it's a pleasure to be here Elliott You have read the dossier on the Sewing Circle? Strauss Yes ma'am, I did Elliott Then you will understand my hesitation at this being a pleasure for you Strauss Ma'am, with all due respect I was previously assigned to task forces responsible for abducting newborns from maternity wards in Eastern Europe Elliott I see Which is why you are on this committee? Strauss I have a bit of personal stake in anything that means I don't have to hold a clipboard and look a young mother in the eye and lie about why her kid died because the stag needed feeding again Elliott I thank you for your services, Agent Strauss While I ask you to keep personal feelings out of this your experience with current procedure might do well to contrast with the alternatives we have forced to oppose here today Strauss Stay objective, stay professional Wouldn't be here if I couldn't Borges I thought we had moles in major hospitals for that Strauss When it comes to babies Too risky to ask There's the trust we have in their loyalty And then there's trusting them to be complicit in stealing kids We can't put that on them Sinclair Instead of spreading the psychological distress on a lot of individuals We put all of it on the shoulders of a very few Strauss Welcome to SCP Ethics We're a bit beyond the Troy problems here Borges Need must Tennyson I'm sorry I thought this meeting was just going to be a formality That we'd shut this down as soon as it was proposed Lock this thing away in a concrete bunker And never speak of it again We're seriously considering using this? Borges I thought it was open and shut that we'd be utilizing it I thought we'd be discussing best use Sinclair There are enough character class threats that need to be fed babies The innocent, the blood of the pure hearted The terminology is different But the meaning is the same Human Infants Nobody here is saying this isn't Personally, no matter what comes out of today I'm going to be having nightmares over this But if we decide this is more humane than random abductions Borges Or more effective Sinclair Then we really need to be open to considering it Elliot First on the agenda A quick recap of the dossier as it stands Paperwork at this time is very informal And I would like to make it clear on the recording What the information we are working with is at this present time After which we will hold a vote on whether to discuss the matter further Or as Tennyson has requested To close the matter as too extreme a solution for the problem Any objections? Elliot Very well The sewing circle was found in southern Mongolia And its anomalous effects remain after transportation The sewing circle consists of an unknown mummified human Who has approximately 3 meter diameter intestines Formed into a ritual circle The genitalia, specifically the testes Has seed pod-like vegetation growing The intestinal tract must be kept coated by wet, o-positive blood at all times For the seeds to regrow after harvest The intestines exit the mummified man Form the loop, then return With no apparent breakage or restitching Does this visual description match the images provided in your dossier And your understanding of the circle so far? Elliot This will be a recording They can't hear you nod Yeah, I'll go ahead Elliot Good The effects of the circle are as follows If a child-bearing female ingests the harvest seeds First, she will be racked with intestines In voluntary orgasms for an hour This is the process of insemination After which, there is a 7 hour pregnancy period During which time, 8 to 12 human infants The paternal half, the DNA being Mongolian Will be brought to term This is analogous to the number expected of a litter of piglets Sinclair Disgusting Elliot Which is where the circle is believed to have received its name? Sinclair Sinclair Sorry, I just made the sowing connection for the first time I was reading it like sowing to sow seeds Elliot It's not pleasant No Borges I will admit, my first reaction to that was Ah yes, the other other white meat Tennyson Borges Haha Strauss Sorry, that caught me off guard Tennyson I really don't see the humor in this Elliot Norai May we continue, please Borges It's just so much, though Isn't it? It's excessive We might not be using it for Sugary reasons I don't know a good English expression But the only reason I can think of for creating this anomaly Is for the mass production of genetically similar children Sinclair From character women Borges Oh, yeah They were absolutely not asking for volunteers for this From what I've read This seemed like it was made to be taken on long campaigns For repopulation purposes Light Compact And it still worked after we transported it here Tennyson We tested it here I don't see anything in here about authorizing that Elliot Seed growth continued after the intestines were relubricated Males that eat the seeds experienced an hour of incredible gastric distress And spasms of the pellet muscles But otherwise, no fertilization From what I believe was a very constipated declassive volunteer The seeds are still active Tennyson Right Strauss How's the constipation? Elliot Treated And the declass was rewarded for services with double cafeteria credits for the week Strauss Worse ways to spend a day in declass Borges Beats having to feed the Baba Yaga Sinclair I feel like we're getting a little off topic here The next question should be Should we be using this? How do we minimize harm? Borges How do we get maximum utility? Tennyson And is this really better than any alternative we can think of? Strauss At the end of the day, the foundations gotta eat some babies to save the world That's just the facts Tennyson He who fights monsters Borges Saves the goddamn world from monsters Yeah Sinclair Personally, I think we should discuss harm minimization first Tennyson Shouldn't we vote on whether we should be doing this at all Before we spend time discussing the nitty gritty of it? Elliot Then we run the risk of dismissing it out of hand Based on its broadest possible interpretation Or possibly worse, agree on it Before stumbling upon details that make this far worse than current methods I agree it's better to discuss how we could proceed Before deciding whether or not we should Tennyson Ah, the shut up and calculate school of ethics then? Borges Yeah So shut up and calculate Tennyson Actually, allow me to play devil's advocate, if you will Can we all unanimously agree that the current methodology is awful? Truly awful? Strauss Sure? Tennyson When was the last time it was reviewed or refined? Seriously Strauss 1975 When Franco of Spain died Nearly a thousand babies stolen in Spain per year since 1939 We could hide in the margins Tennyson Jesus Christ Strauss Dictatorships don't usually get ethics committees No Tennyson Wouldn't it be better to refine current methods to a more Comparative standard? If we're truly going to vote between the devil and the deep blue sea Borges I guess that makes me the deep blue sea advocate then Tennyson Sure I'll try to work that out while you discuss The implications of your proposed use of the sewing circle Elliot I'm in favor of this proposal Tennyson You can work on that then Borges You seem to have volunteered to champion the argument for the anomaly Borges Alright So for us over here in open ocean That leaves us with Well What does that leave us with? Sinclair When we should use it Under what circumstances How do we select? Mothers? Donors? Subjects? Elliot I know you'll hate to hear this But we're really going to have to argue over semantics Uhhhhh Strauss I'm with Borges You're going to have to walk me through this one Elliot If we decide on this It will have to be written as a procedural report Do we use dehumanizing language or not Is that insulting to the women we subject this to If we rely on volunteers Does it propagate unwanted misogynistic thought processes Or does it just make the job harder On the people who have to monitor an enforced procedure What balance do we strike? Borges Jesus Strauss We're really going to have to argue semantics And it's actually going to matter, isn't it? Sinclair Welcome to SCP Ethics Where it's necessary to be politically correct about baby culling Strauss Goddamn We're really going to have to be careful about misogyny How's that played into this? Borges People have strange ideas in their heads about women's right to their reproductive organs And the role for breathing Which we might reinforce by using dehumanizing language I just laughed about a guy volunteering for this too Because it's... I agree with Elliot We need to be careful when we write this Sinclair I want to pick up on the misogynism, actually Or follow on from that There's already a language in here I'd like to protest Borges Just in the dossier? What do you mean? Sinclair Right here it says Racked with intense involuntary orgasms for an hour Do we really need to include this? Do we need to say this? It's beyond pure and unnecessary Elliot It's going to have to go into the formal report So whoever has to follow this procedure knows what to expect We don't want this to be a surprise And we don't want that information to be spread by rumors Sinclair It's repulsive And there's the legitimate concern to me that Including in the report will cause some unwanted rationalizations Dare I utter? It's okay, she'll enjoy it at first Strauss We can lie on the report about the nature of the physical response Call them seizures They're not going to be doing this under an MRI Elliot We could lie I'm not convinced yet that we should Tennyson There'll be consequences if we include it unnecessarily Are you willing to hear an internal investigation report Accusing us of fetishizing documentation? Elliot Let the record show that I am willing to take the entirety of that responsibility On my own shoulders If you still have legitimate reasons for wanting to admit that detail on the report Without the bias of being reprimanded for doing so Do so But we are discussing an abhorrent occult fertility right Tennyson Let the record show I still hate this Strauss Agree Tennyson Just stay focused and this will be over quicker Tennyson Lie back and think of England Orcus Every innocent child we no longer have to abduct Just to throw into the meat grinder Tennyson Instead, we're just forcing women to mass produce them Sinclair Let the record show I also hate this Elliot That brings us to the next issue Are we forcing women into this? Considering the risks involved Would it be fair to offer female D-class amnesty For voluntary participation? Sinclair There's implicit coercion there Considering what D-class are It wouldn't be meaningful consent Strauss Wouldn't fly D-class aren't all idiots If you don't show them the volunteer at the end of the procedure They're going to think it's a discreet execution That the amnesty is a lie To get them to walk into the proverbial gas chamber Tennyson Christ They wouldn't be wrong either Strauss The alternative Is that we have the surviving volunteers do a victory lap of the facility On their way to their hard-won freedom So there are enough witnesses in their peer group to cooperate We'd have to be honest about it too Have to be the same people who went in I'm sorry to do this to you folks But I got a slide of what the best-case scenario of aftermath can look like Full gestation of up to 12 In an eight-hour pregnancy It looks like this at best Ugh Strauss At worst Another click Tennyson audibly gags Sound of Sinclair's head hitting the table And pained whimper Borges wheezes loudly Strauss This isn't open casket material Volunteer methods out Tennyson Jesus Christ This is going to happen to people We're going to make this happen to people Elliot We can't give sedatives during the pregnancy We can give epidurals for delivery And most of the damage heals over time Borges We can't give sedatives Strauss It's in the dossier The rapid pregnancy is also very susceptible to miscarriages from chemical influence Everyone subjected to this will have to do it stone sober Borges There goes the plan Sinclair What do you mean by most damage heals? Elliot The words fourth degree perennial tear come to mind Ugh Strauss Excuse me Borges The internal tissue between the genitals and anus Strauss Yeah, I don't think I need to bring the slide back up to see what fourth degree means then Ugh Ugh Elliot For God's sake Tennyson, show some more decor and a little less lunch Sinclair I'd like to request a 15 minute recess or I'm going to be doing the same Elliot Borges Strauss Borges I'm good to keep going But I'd love another coffee Strauss Actually, coffee and a sandwich sounds pretty perfect now you mentioned it Tennyson How can you still have any appetite? Strauss Need to keep the blood sugar up This is a marathon, not a sprint Borges I really don't want a caffeine headache on top of all this Sinclair Tea Lots of tea Milk and sugar, I think Tennyson Yeah Yeah, alright Does the vending machine still stock Gatorade? Borges Need to rehydrate, huh? Tennyson F*** you Strauss Give us a chance to calm down and come into this with fresh heads Sinclair And permission to bring the kettle back with me? Elliot All granted 15 minutes recess then Sound of people filtering out Scraping of chairs being pulled out from the table Or leave Elliot returns after 12 minutes Borges and Strauss return together after 14 minutes Sinclair and Tennyson return after 17 minutes Transcription continues Tennyson Sorry, Sinclair and I were talking over lunch about my proposed alternative Elliot Off the record? Sinclair Sorry Elliot Well, might as well get it on record now Tennyson Twins, triplets We scream for parents with multiple children Tell them it's one fewer than expected from delivery And have an agent smuggle it out Mostly the same plan as we're using currently Just that parents are never made aware of the loss Borges Look at you Stealing babies and fighting monsters Tennyson You said it Needs must Sinclair I talked him up to it He's putting on a brave face but Tennyson I'm fine Sinclair Sorry Strauss Think about that from an operational perspective though Miscarriage You just sneak a baby out and file paperwork Easy and awful Now? You gotta make sure you lie about every... I can't remember the right word now But that thing where they put the gel in the mother's stomach And you can see the baby Yeah You gotta make sure they only go to foundation doctors Who are willing to help and fake it Then you gotta make sure only foundation personnel Are present for delivery No family And the mother's unconscious Just so you can steal an innocent kid To murder Borges It's less traumatic for the parents, certainly Strauss It's a logistics nightmare Just to justify doing the same goddamn thing Stealing a baby from its parents And you can make it junky teens who never deserve the kid Or only steal from below the poverty line Or justify all you want That it was a baby worth less than other babies But you're still doing the same goddamn thing Elliott Deep breath, Strauss Stay objective Your words Sinclair We'd be minimizing victims Right now the parents are unnecessary casualties Tennyson And the babies the circle... Manufactures Are entirely non-anomalous Which means they're just a normal baby As much as any other Strauss I'll cut you a compromise Standard procedure as it currently stands But only on twins and above So the parents keep their consolation prize Anything more than that's infeasible logistically Tennyson I could be fortunate with that Table it as plan B for now Elliott Sure Borges Strauss and I talked a bit too Elliott Gentlemen, please Strauss Sorry ma'am Borges We have major problems with this ethically We can't justify volunteers Forcing people into this would be even more abhorrent We can't use pain relievers The surgery to get that best case scenario is intensive There's the issue of terminology and dehumanization Strauss What we need are non-people Or as close as we can get Borges The living brain dead Women in deep comas Essentially body donors Elliott I'm listening Sinclair Oh my god Strauss If we're harvesting from hospitals either way Transporting vegetables Telling families they passed It's a much easier process Borges Some families might honestly be relieved In contrast Tennyson I hate that you're not wrong I hate it so much Sinclair You can't count on that though Borges That's only in direct comparison to your plan B Which would be again Stealing babies instead Tennyson Jesus Borges We make it clear they're not people We can use all the dehumanizing language we want in the report To make it as easy as possible On the people who have to follow the procedure The babies that result exist only to be culled And are made for purpose Strauss At a full term of eight hours We've basically made it a nine to five veal farm Tennyson dry heaves Sinclair turns her kettle on Elliott Was that a necessary remark Strauss? Strauss I want there to be no illusions as to what we're suggesting ma'am Borges We agree it sounds absolutely abhorrent Honestly it is Strauss But the foundation eats babies Elliott Informally it seems we've formed two teams Sinclair, Tennyson Can you find any holes in the logic? Sinclair There's is better Tennyson Sky Sinclair It just It just is To me Producing eight to twelve babies from a single brain dead mother Against that many individual kidnappings Eight hour turnaround instead of nine months and abduction It's incomparable Borges A single body donor should survive multiple pregnancies Pain and survival are no longer factors So more like sixteen to thirty per body donor One brain dead woman Against up to thirty individual kidnappings Tennyson Had such shut up and calculate ethics Borges Do you disagree with it? Tennyson No Borges Dr. Elliott Elliott There can be no dispute It is unanimous that this is favored over current alternatives Which just leaves the questions of who will write the report Sinclair I volunteer Elliott I agree The second question is what do we name the procedure? Elliott Do you find the issue laughable Borges? Borges No ma'am but it's that or crying And crying looks unprofessional Elliott So you have a reason to cry then? Borges Yes ma'am I think I might have a good name for this Have you ever read a modest proposal? The foundation eats babies ma'am You've just proposed the modest procedure Sinclair It's honest I'll give it that It's brutally honest Tennyson No Absolutely unacceptable We can joke here but none of that can show up in the official documentation Strauss Joke? I'm sorry I don't get it Elliott Sinclair try to think of a more formal name in the meantime Because I see Borges bringing the article in question upon his laptop to show Agent Strauss I'm going to call this meeting a close And recording And a file To learn more about the SCP Foundation Subscribe to SCP Orientation today And turn the notification bell on So you don't miss any of our videos