SCP-1898 — SCP-1898 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-1898 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-1898

Expected annual

$3.0M

One-time setup

$1.9M

Annual recurring

$3.0M

Personnel

Initial program setup is moderately capital-intensive (~$1.68M one-time) for containment build-outs and specialized equipment; annual operating costs are substantial (~$2.98M/yr) driven by staffing, MTF readiness, secure storage/logistics, and specialist research.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $1.9M

Facilities $1.1M

[#1, #9] Room-1898 secure build-out (reinforced walls, cabinetry, access control) plus option to construct a dedicated hangar for Large-set storage (aggregate midpoint of provided ranges).

Equipment $430K

[#2, #3, #5, #6, #11, #15, #23] Initial purchase and fabrication: custom crates and packing solutions, inventory/barcode hardware and software, CCTV/access-control install, initial MTF kit/equipment, 3D scanning hardware, PPE initial kit, and secure IT/server hardware.

Mtf Initial Kit $200K

[#6] One-time specialized MTF rapid-response kit, vehicles and deployment equipment (initial provisioning distinct from annual readiness).

Initial Research And Lab Setup $100K

[#10] Laboratory testing and observation suite build-out (workbenches, observation cameras, soundproofing and controlled-test fixtures).

It Initial Deployment $40K

[#3, #23] Secure servers, encrypted backups and initial IT infrastructure for archival and experimental data.

Ppe Initial Purchase $20K

[#15] Initial PPE, harnesses, signage and worker-safety equipment for construction/tests.

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $3.0M/yr

Staff Wages $980K/yr

[#4, #12, #14] Security staffing for 24/7 coverage and specialist research/medical salaries (guards, mathematicians/topologists/engineers, on-call medic).

Mtf Readiness $500K/yr

[#6] Annual MTF PI-31 readiness: training, exercises, replacement equipment and standing operational capability.

Cover Story And Legal $165K/yr

[#17, #18, #25] Public-relations/cover-up actions, legal liaison, property acquisition budgets and amnestic program allocations aggregated.

Logistics And Transport $160K/yr

[#7, #8, #16, #26] Routine retrievals, transport containers, and average annualized cost of occasional heavy-equipment mobilizations and controlled reassembly events.

Contingency Reserve $150K/yr

[#27] Program reserve for anomalous escalation, emergency containment upgrades or unexpected medical crises (10-25% suggested reserve).

External Storage Rent $125K/yr

[#9] If external warehouse is used rather than constructing a hangar: climate- and pest-controlled storage rental averaged annually.

Research And Monitoring $100K/yr

[#10, #11, #13] Lab operations, per-test staffing/observation costs and baseline imaging/testing operations (does not double-count listed specialist salaries).

Controlled Test Construction $100K/yr

[#16] Average annual spend on controlled reconstruction tests of Large sets (scaffolding, operators, temporary structures) averaged over time.

Facilities Maintenance $75K/yr

[#1, #9] Ongoing maintenance, utilities and upkeep for Containment Room-1898 and any dedicated hangar/storage.

Insurance And Contingency $75K/yr

[#22] Insurance premiums and contingency fund (estimated as a percent of program operating budget).

Retrievals Small Medium $60K/yr

[#7] Expected annual cost of domestic small/medium recoveries (travel, local security, containers averaged over year).

Large Set Retrievals Avg Annual $50K/yr

[#8] Annualized budget for occasional large-set heavy-equipment retrievals (averaged per year).

Pr Coverup And Legal Liaison $50K/yr

[#17] Liaison with local authorities, PR and legal costs for managing discovered public structures and witnesses.

Demolition And Remediation $50K/yr

[#20] Budget for property seizure, demolition permitting and remediation averaged across years (per-incident costs are much higher when they occur).

Long Term Archival Storage $50K/yr

[#21] Conservation, climate control and specialist archival care for high-priority objects.

Acquisitions Budget $50K/yr

[#25] Budget to acquire discovered artworks/properties or compensate owners to avoid exposure.

Demobilization And Reassembly $50K/yr

[#26] Skilled crew costs for careful disassembly/re-boxing of Large-set components and periodic re-inspection.

Structural Engineering Monitoring $30K/yr

[#13] Ongoing structural review budget and occasional per-structure certification monitoring.

Medical Monitoring And Personnel Safety $25K/yr

[#14] Per-test medical screening/monitoring, psychological screening consumables and on-site medic consumables (salary accounted in staff_wages).

Supplies And Consumables $20K/yr

[#15, #19] Consumables including PPE replenishment, small maintenance supplies and per-artifact consumables for evidence processing.

Evidence Processing $20K/yr

[#19] Forensic cataloging, labelling and archival/destruction processing per-item averaged across expected throughput.

Training And Certification $20K/yr

[#24] Regular staff training, tabletop exercises and certification maintenance.

Electronic Security Maintenance $15K/yr

[#5] CCTV, access control and intrusion-detection service/monitoring costs.

Amnestic Operations $15K/yr

[#18] Class-B amnestic procurement, administration and small-scale operations averaged per year.

Packing Crates Replacements $10K/yr

[#2] Ongoing replacement and fabrication of tamper-evident and oversized crates for deconstructed components.

It Storage And Maintenance $10K/yr

[#23] Ongoing secure backups, encrypted storage and IT operations for large 3D model datasets and logs.

Research Archive Publication $10K/yr

[#28] Staff time for secure test logs, redacted publications and archival documentation.

Inventory System Maintenance $5K/yr

[#3] Software maintenance, RFID/barcode tag replacements and handheld scanner upkeep.

Ppe Replenishment $5K/yr

[#15] Annual replenishment of PPE and safety gear.

Imaging Software Licenses $3K/yr

[#11] Licenses and software maintenance for LiDAR/photogrammetry and post-processing tools.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $3.0M/yr

88.0% probability / year

Normal uneventful year with routine retrievals, scheduled testing, and no major large-set incidents.

routine_retrievals scheduled_testing no_large_set_incidents

🚨 Minor Incident $3.1M/yr

10.0% probability / year +$75K vs baseline

One or more small/medium retrievals requiring additional PR/amnestic action, minor legal costs, or unplanned engineering reviews.

public_witnesses small_retrievals_with_media additional_engineering_review

🚨 Major Large Set Retrieval $4.1M/yr

2.0% probability / year +$1.1M vs baseline

Recovery and controlled testing or demolition of a Large-set (SCP-1898-C) requiring heavy equipment, major structural engineering, legal/acquisition and possible remediation.

large_set_discovery urban_heavy_lift_and_permits controlled_construction_and_testing

👥 Personnel 12 total

Role	Count	Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent	8	Dedicated guards for Site-1898 area providing 24/7 coverage and access control; salary estimates included in staff_wages. [#4]
Research Scientist	3	Mathematicians/topologists/engineers responsible for analysis, testing oversight and design of safe experiments; senior specialist salaries included in staff_wages. [#12]
Medical Officer	1	On-call medic for experiments and participant monitoring; salary included in staff_wages and medical consumables in recurring expenses. [#14]

📋 Confidence Notes

Ranges in the analyst notes are broad for many line items (especially large-set operations and MTF readiness), requiring assumptions about frequency and scale; allocations use mid-range estimates and conservative annualization but uncertainties remain.

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