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SCP-2637 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-2637
Expected annual
$3.6M
One-time setup
$9.8M
Annual recurring
$3.5M
Personnel
20
Initial one-time capital and buildout are estimated at approximately $9.76M, with annual operating costs around $3.48M; primary cost drivers are specialized deflection tiling procurement/installation, dedicated research & security payrolls, and ongoing detection R&D and monitoring infrastructure.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $9.8M
Equipment $5.2M
[#4, #5, #7, #8, #10, #11, #13, #20] One-time equipment and installed systems: pumps/active environmental equipment, multipurpose deflection tiling procurement & installation, shielding/Faraday upgrades, high-sensitivity monitoring hardware, isotropic energy transfer hardware, security equipment/training kit, data acquisition cluster hardware, and one-time vehicles/equipment.
Facilities $3.2M
[#1, #2] Structural modification/sector isolation (repurposing sector 34, reinforced walls, isolation) and construction/installation of adjoining tanks (2,000 m3).
Contingency Reserve $1.0M
[#19] One-time contingency pool for emergency capital repairs, destructive-neutralization contingencies, and replacement capability.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $280K
[#3, #15] Initial tank fill and conditioning (water/chemical procurement and conditioning) and clean-room / cryogen infrastructure upgrade/commissioning.
Legal And Cover Setup $50K
[#18] Initial legal/cover-story/setup costs (false-site paperwork, initial counsel).
High Cost Escalation Potential $0
[#25] Potential costs for attempting transmission/scale-up are effectively incalculable and intentionally excluded (avoid).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $3.5M/yr
Staff Wages $1.7M/yr
[#11, #12] Dedicated security payroll and dedicated research staff payroll (security guards, lead supervisor, physicists, cryptographers, postdocs, technicians, program manager).
Research And Monitoring $995K/yr
[#9, #13, #14, #15, #23, #24] Detection R&D program, data acquisition operations (HPC/cluster operations, backups), archival/cold storage management, recurring cryogen and certification costs, controlled external collaborations, and planned non-invasive experiment budget.
Supplies And Consumables $310K/yr
[#6, #8, #16] Monthly maintenance of deflection tiling (labor, spares amortized), calibration/consumables for monitoring hardware, and general spare parts and consumables.
Utilities And Site Overhead $143K/yr
[#10, #22] Dedicated utilities attributable to SCP-2637 (power for isotropic energy transfer, HVAC/cryogenics, waste handling) and site overhead separated from site-19 accounts.
Administrative Overhead $100K/yr
[#17] Dedicated budget/accounting staff, procurement, audits and related administrative overhead.
Logistics And Transport $90K/yr
[#20, #19] Secure transportation and courier services for media/equipment/staff rotations and recurring emergency drills/response logistics costs.
Facilities Maintenance $60K/yr
[#4, #7, #1, #2] Ongoing maintenance for active environmental control (pumps/heat exchangers VFDs), shielding upkeep, structural inspections and tank maintenance.
Cover Story And Legal $60K/yr
[#18] Annual legal, diplomatic liaison, cover-story maintenance, and counsel fees.
Security Vetting $40K/yr
[#21] Ongoing background checks, psychological evaluations, periodic polygraphs and personnel reliability program costs.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $3.5M/yr
84.0% probability / year
Normal, uneventful year with scheduled maintenance, routine R&D, and no containment incidents.
no incidents routine maintenance planned R&D progress
🚨 Minor Incident $3.7M/yr
10.0% probability / year +$200K vs baseline
Localized equipment failure or small containment disturbance requiring repairs, overtime, and temporary operational surge.
localized tank leak or valve failure tiling damage requiring partial replacement short-term instrument failure
🚨 Major Breach $6.0M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$2.5M vs baseline
Significant containment breach or catastrophic equipment failure requiring large repairs, replacement of tiling/tanks, extensive security and possible temporary facility isolation.
structural failure large-scale tile/tiling system replacement major tank or monitoring-system loss
🚨 Research Breakthrough Requiring Scale Up $5.5M/yr
5.0% probability / year +$2.0M vs baseline
Discovery or partial decoding prompts a deliberate scale-up of detection/research resources (expanded R&D, additional instrumentation, accelerated hiring/contracts).
new detectable segments successful proof-of-concept detection method external scientific interest requiring expanded program
👥 Personnel 20 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 10 [#11] Dedicated security staff for 24/7 coverage (8–12 recommended); payroll accounted for in staff_wages.
Research Scientist (Senior Physicist) 3 [#12] Senior physicists focused on message analysis and experimental design; payroll included in staff_wages.
Computational Scientist / Cryptographer 2 [#12] Cryptanalysis and computational staff; payroll included in staff_wages.
Postdoctoral Researcher 2 [#12] Postdocs supporting experiments and analysis; payroll included in staff_wages.
Technician 2 [#12] Technical support for instruments and routine maintenance tasks included in research payroll. (Note: monthly tiling access technicians specifically referenced in #6 are covered via maintenance contracts in supplies_and_consumables.)
Program Manager / PI 1 [#12] Program manager overseeing operations and budget; payroll included in staff_wages.
📋 Confidence Notes
Many line items (deflection tiling complexity, detection R&D scope, cryogenic needs, and potential isotropic power requirements) have wide technical uncertainty; containment and staffing needs are well-described, but R&D and escalation risks produce moderate uncertainty in cost estimates.
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