Secure. Contain. Protect.
Prologue: Dr. Maynard
In his office, Doctor Maynard started setting pages of strange-looking creatures and objects with words depicting said beings into his briefcase. He slammed it shut, clicking the notches at the ends. He had everything prepared. No one was going to stop him. Nopony would get in his way.
Maynard had olive-green eyes that were covered with tiny-lens glasses, and his hairline had receded to the point in which his hair was just a few curling strands in the back, but he was well smarter than the average being. His ability to systematically find patterns quickly earned him his place in the Foundation.
He turned around, ready to leave his office when a thought came to his mind. With a sadistic smile, he turned around and grabbed a blank sheet of white paper and pen before inscribing some words in a large font on the parchment. He wrote, ‘You made it so easy. Nice going, Foundation.’ Satisfied, he turned away, locking the door behind him. Near his chest, he kept a page that stated the weekly pass code that only he and a select few would ever know before it too would be deleted and replaced with another code.
He entered the hallway that only Dr. Gears, Dr. Harp and he occupied. A smile crept over his face as he knew that this would be the last time he'd have to deal with such fools. Maynard continued on to an area with a giant sign stating 'E-Class'.
A wide hallway filled with individual cells opened before him. Two guards were in the area, but only one of the guards watched him carefully as he walked up to a door with the inscription E-8568 and opened it.
“Hello Dr. Maynard,” the nearest guard stated, walking closer. “Can we help you?”
“Ah, yes, my good sir,” Maynard said in a charming voice. “I require a specimen in an experiment I’m conducting, and this one is the exact one I need.”
Inside, a pony slowly stirred from a light nap he’d just been taking. The pony’s orange fur was the same of the prisoner’s jumpsuit he wore. The pony had no mane and only two long strands for a tail. His big, green eyes stared to the stranger entering his room.
“Dr. Maynard,” the guard from before stated, standing right next to the doctor. “I cannot release this E-Class to you without identification by someone else with a Level-4 access.”
“I beg your pardon!” Maynard lost his charm and became a bit hostile. “Each time before when I required a subject, I merely needed an accompanying sentry, but now I am to have another scientist?” He stood tall. “Preposterous.”
“I’m aware of your experiments, sir,” the guard began, careful as he was treading on thin ice, “but I cannot allow E-8568 into your custody.”
“Just because he is cloned of my body does not induce any evidence against me.” Doctor Maynard’s face began to beam red. “My experiments…”
“I’m sorry, doctor,” the guard stated in a concluding tone. “You are not authorized.” He pressed the button, shutting the door to the confused pony inside.
The guard at the other end of the hallway walked up to the quarrel. “What’s going on here?”
The first guard looked to the newcomer. Stepping forward, he replied, “Dr. Maynard needed a specimen, but he wants one that he is restricted from.”
The new guard looked to him and to Maynard.
Suddenly, Maynard pulled out a pistol with a silencer at the tip and shot at first guard’s head. His hands pulled to his face, but he tumbled over regardless, blood spewing from a gaping hole the back of his helmet.
“You should have done that before,” the second guard stated, unfazed by the doctor’s attitude.
“I rather not get my hands dirty…” Maynard stated before opening the door. Inside, the pony sat dumbfounded. “My name is Dr. Maynard, and you are a clone of me.” The pony-clone looked to his hooves. “No, not an exact clone, but in the body of an equine.” He backed up, the guard watching him. “Now then, shall we go?”
The pony hesitantly stepped out looking at the guard and back at Maynard.
“Not to worry, we’re just going for a nice little stroll.”
The pony followed Doctor Maynard. The guard stayed close behind, making it seem as if they were leading another subject to an experiment.
They came to a stop by a door that had a sign nearby. “I won’t be long,” Doctor Maynard said, walking up a flight of stairs. “I simply need to correct a few things.” With that, Maynard disappeared into a room whirring with huge machines and countless buttons.
He looked to a large machine, its face holding a monitor, eight red levers, and collection of green, blue, and red buttons nearest the bottom. The monitor glowed several lines of numbers and text by each, either stating ‘Testing in Progress’ or ‘Being Monitored’. Maynard carefully thought over which switches to use. He then flipped all but one of the red levers and pressed several of the buttons below.
With a few pressed buttons here and some pulled levers there, the monitor kept the numbers from before, but next to them, the words ‘Unlock Successful’ flashed in a dark-red font. Doctor Maynard walked away from the room satisfied with himself. The lights dimmed and a ‘Red Alert’ was issued over the intercom, but Maynard didn’t mind, he just walked up to the other’s he’d been walking with previously.
He looked at the guard and his pony clone. “To Gate A, my friends!” They all began walking when suddenly, a black, decaying hand shot through the wall and clutched Maynard’s suit. The guard and Maynard’s clone both screamed in horror and ran past, careful not to be touched by the SCP. “NOOO!!! Come back, you cowards!” Maynard struggled to free his suit from the monster’s grasp.
In his panicked state, he grasped the hand. He realized his mistake as he pulled his hand away, but it had already become burnt and decayed in a similar fashion.
More of the body walked from behind the wall, becoming a large form of a human. Panic shot through Maynard’s eyes as a tall man stood above him. The man’s face glared a dark and sinister smile that had few teeth left.
A haunting laugh echoed from the being as its dark, soulless eyes stared down at the scientist. It raised its other hand and, against Maynard’s screams, placed it on his face.