SCP-1855 — SCP-1855 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-1855 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-1855

Expected annual

$2.6M

One-time setup

$2.4M

Annual recurring

$2.6M

Personnel

Initial setup costs are approximately $2,400,000 (one-time) driven primarily by property acquisitions, a containment reserve, vehicles and site buildout; ongoing annual operations are about $2,580,000/yr, driven by research staff salaries, perimeter security, and legal/cover-story/community costs.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $2.4M

Facilities $1.1M

[#8, #12, #7, #13, #18] Includes property buyouts/easements (~$1,000,000), modular secure office ($50,000), gates/fencing/signage ($25,000), quarantine room buildout ($20,000), and evidence storage/locker fit-out ($25,000).

Containment Reserve One Time $500K

[#25] Reserve fund for emergency capital upgrades, rapid buyouts, or immediate escalation (~$500k set aside initially).

Equipment $430K

[#3, #4, #5, #6, #17, #23] Cameras & sensor installation ($35,000), grid-tie + UPS/generator/transfer switch/fuel tanks ($45,000), NVR/NAS + cellular/satellite failover setup ($25,000), drone fleet & spares ($60,000), vehicle fleet ($240,000), cybersecurity setup ($25,000).

Escrow Liability One Time $100K

[#9] One-time escrow/reserve to cover immediate liability or damage claims (estimated).

Legal And Regulatory One Time $75K

[#10] Legal fees and permit negotiation to establish road closures, eminent domain negotiations, and initial counsel.

Personnel Screening One Time $70K

[#16] Initial psychological screening and vetting for ~20 personnel (background checks, polygraphs) (~$70k).

Initial Research And Lab Setup $60K

[#15] Specialized recording and experimental gear, Faraday cages, multispectral imaging and ruggedized research instruments (~$60,000).

Environmental Assessment One Time $30K

[#21] Environmental impact assessments and permitting associated with site modifications (~$30k).

Public Relations One Time $15K

[#11] Initial public-relations/cover-story creation, signage and contractor livery setup.

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $2.6M/yr

Staff Wages $1.9M/yr

[#1, #2, #14, #19, #20] Security guards (roving/static) and supervisors (~$420k), plainclothes liaison agents + travel (~$252k), research staff and field teams (~$900k), contingency/standby roster (~$200k), and data/monitoring analyst salaries (~$125k included in the above mix).

Cover Story And Legal $181K/yr

[#9, #10, #11, #24, #27] Annual liability/insurance reserve (~$75k), ongoing legal counsel (~$30k), PR/incident response (~$6k), community compensation/goodwill (~$50k), and archival/cover maintenance (~$20k).

Research And Monitoring $120K/yr

[#14, #20, #15] Per-expedition mission costs and ongoing monitoring analysis (estimated ~$120k/yr for field missions and operational monitoring costs).

Contingency Topup $100K/yr

[#25] Annual top-up to the containment/emergency reserve fund (~$100k/yr assumed).

Logistics And Transport $80K/yr

[#17, #6] Vehicle fuel, insurance, and maintenance for patrol/research fleet (~$80k/yr).

Quarantine Contracts $40K/yr

[#13] Contracts with medical specialists and readiness costs for isolation/quarantine (~$40k/yr).

Cybersecurity Ongoing $30K/yr

[#23] Ongoing cybersecurity, audits, intrusion detection and IT security training (~$30k/yr).

Personnel Vetting And Counseling $20K/yr

[#16] Ongoing mental health support, counseling, and vetting refreshes (~$20k/yr).

Environmental Compliance Annual $15K/yr

[#21] Annual compliance, monitoring and remediation reserve (~$15k/yr).

Training And Drills $15K/yr

[#26] Annual drills, instructor fees and simulated incident training (~$15k/yr).

Facilities Maintenance $13K/yr

[#7, #12] Annual maintenance for gates/fencing and site office utilities/maintenance (~$13k/yr).

Supplies And Consumables $12K/yr

[#15, #22] Consumables, PPE, drone batteries, and minor consumable replacements (~$12k/yr).

Specialized Equipment Replacement $12K/yr

[#15] Replacement parts, spares, and consumables for experimental gear (~$12k/yr).

Monitoring Replacement $12K/yr

[#22] Periodic recalibration, replacement and spare parts for cameras/sensors (~$12k/yr).

Power Fuel And Maintenance $10K/yr

[#4] Annual fuel and generator maintenance costs (~$10k/yr).

Drone Maintenance And Training $10K/yr

[#6] Drone operator training, maintenance and spares (~$10k/yr).

Bandwidth And Comms $7K/yr

[#5] Cellular/satellite failover and monthly bandwidth for remote monitoring (~$7k/yr).

Evidence Storage Annual $6K/yr

[#18] Climate control, chain-of-custody management and archival storage costs (~$6k/yr).

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $2.6M/yr

90.0% probability / year

Normal uneventful year with regular operations, monitoring, research missions, and no major incidents.

routine_operations scheduled_research_missions

🚨 Minor Incident $2.7M/yr

8.0% probability / year +$150K vs baseline

Small breaches/tampering or weather damage requiring emergency response, short-term repairs, overtime, and minor legal/PR costs.

camera_tampering storm_damage small_breach_or_escape_attempt

🚨 Major Breach $4.1M/yr

1.0% probability / year +$1.5M vs baseline

Significant containment escalation: behavior change in SCP-1855-1, large repairs, urgent buyouts or site upgrades, and heavy research mobilization.

behavior_change large_scale_tampering structural_damage

🚨 Political Exposure $4.6M/yr

1.0% probability / year +$2.0M vs baseline

Public/political discovery necessitating extensive legal defense, large-scale buyouts, heavy PR, and long-term mitigation.

public_exposure FOIA_or_media_investigation

👥 Personnel 25 total

Role	Count	Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent	8	[#1] Roving and static guards to cover 24/7 perimeter, roadblocks, and patrols (6–10 estimated; 8 used here).
Plainclothes Liaison Agent	3	[#2] Agents to intercept civilian vehicles and liaise with local law enforcement (2–4 estimated; 3 used).
Research Scientist	4	[#14] Scientists (physicists/geographers/cognitive) assigned to ongoing study of SCP-1855/SCP-1855-2 (2–6 estimated; 4 used).
Field Agent (Research Support)	5	[#14] Field team members for controlled entries and expeditions (4–6 estimated; 5 used).
Data Analyst	1	[#20] Long-term monitoring, data analysis and archival research support (included in monitoring budget).
Medical Officer	1	[#13] Medical/quarantine readiness and contracts for returned subjects.
Engineer / Maintenance	2	[#4, #17] Maintenance for generators, vehicles, sensors and site infrastructure.
Administrative Staff	1	[#10, #11] Administrative support for legal coordination, PR, and record-keeping.

📋 Confidence Notes

Estimates are order-of-magnitude based on analyst ranges. Many line items are ranges dependent on policy decisions (e.g., whether to buy out residents), so totals have moderate uncertainty.

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