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SCP-3163 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-3163
Expected annual
$142K
One-time setup
$63K
Annual recurring
$115K
Personnel
3
One-time setup and archival/equipment purchases ~ $62.8k; baseline recurring annual costs ~ $114.8k driven by staff wages, long-term research, legal/cover budgets, and contingency reserves. Major cost drivers (MTF deployments, casualties, large-scale intervention) are contingency scenarios with multi-hundred-thousand to multi-million exposure.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $63K
Equipment $28K
[#2, #3, #4, #5, #8, #16] Dehumidifier/environmental controller, conservation-grade scanner, software/server dev & integration, dedicated CCTV & intrusion sensors, weather station/portable telescope, and hardened/air-gapped IT hardware.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $21K
[#10, #11, #12] Forensic analyses (ink/paper/DNA/radiocarbon), BSL-2 processing/lab time for biological stains, and archival conservation treatment/stabilization.
Personnel Clearance Initial $5K
[#14] Initial background investigations / psychological screening for routine-access personnel (assumes ~3 personnel at midpoint per-person cost).
Facilities $5K
[#1] Secure archival enclosure and locker modification (custom fireproof/lockable locker, cradle, tamper seals) estimated midpoint.
Training And Sop Dev $3K
[#15] Initial development of SOPs and staff training for handling, monitoring and unusual-event protocols.
Enhanced Security Upgrades Contingency $0
[#18] Contingency: one-time upgrades for enhanced security (armored doors, wing upgrades). Set to 0 in baseline; actual costs applied in escalation scenario.
Field Recon Deployment Contingency $0
[#19] Contingent per-deployment MTF field reconnaissance cost (highly variable). Baseline set to 0; per-deployment costs modeled in scenarios.
Casualty Reserve Contingency $0
[#20] Contingent reserve for medical, disability, replacement and investigation costs following casualties. Baseline set to 0; modeled in severe scenarios.
Full Scale Intervention Capital Contingency $0
[#25] Worst-case capital for full-scale intervention/occupation/cleanup; contingent, not included in baseline one-time totals.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $115K/yr
Cover Story And Legal $35K/yr
[#21, #22, #23] Coordination/liaison budgets, legal/cover-up/misinformation reserves, and public affairs/crisis communications emergency reserve (baseline modest allocations; large-scale events modeled separately).
Long Term Research Program Budget $30K/yr
[#24] Ongoing archaeological/historical research program investigating provenance, New Northton, and related inquiries.
Staff Wages $19K/yr
[#6, #7] Daily visual check (guard/archives tech ~0.02-0.05 FTE) and monthly full-text recording & correlation duty (~0.1-0.2 FTE). Includes wages + admin overhead.
Rapid Response Reserve $15K/yr
[#17] Small standing reserve for immediate investigative reaction (overtime, quick consults, emergency containerization).
Research And Monitoring $8K/yr
[#9, #26] Specialist consultant time (astronomy, meteorology, linguistics, history) and ongoing record-keeping / audit costs.
It Security Maintenance $1K/yr
[#16] Ongoing maintenance for hardened/auditable IT systems and forensic logging capability.
Training Refresher $1K/yr
[#15] Annual refresher training and SOP updates.
Personnel Clearance Refresh $1K/yr
[#14] Periodic re-screening and refresh costs for personnel with routine access (assumes ~3 personnel at midpoint refresh cost).
Logistics And Transport $1K/yr
[#13] Secure transport / courier costs averaged per year for occasional off-site analysis moves.
Astronomical Data Subscription $1K/yr
[#8] Subscriptions / access fees or minimal maintenance for ground-truth observation systems.
Supplies And Consumables $700/yr
[#2, #11] Silica gel, consumables and PPE/waste disposal for occasional biohazard handling.
It Storage And Updates $600/yr
[#4] Server/storage backups, software updates and retention costs for automated text-monitoring system.
Facilities Maintenance $550/yr
[#2, #5] Energy/consumables for environmental controls and CCTV/intrusion system maintenance.
Archival Reassessment Fund $400/yr
[#12] Periodic archival re-assessment / maintenance budget (annualized from 3-5 year service estimates).
Enhanced Security Additional Guard Salaries $0/yr
[#18] Recurring additional guard salaries if escalation occurs. Set to 0 in baseline; applied in escalation scenario where guards are added.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $115K/yr
83.0% probability / year
Normal uneventful year: regular monitoring, conservation, routine research and modest reserves.
monthly_update_monitoring routine_conservation scheduled_research_activity
🚨 Minor Incident $135K/yr
10.0% probability / year +$20K vs baseline
Unexpected/edit anomaly requiring rapid response, emergency forensic tests, short consultant engagements and small operational overtime.
unexpected_text_edit threatening_entry detected short forensic follow-up
🚨 Mtf Deployment $465K/yr
5.0% probability / year +$350K vs baseline
Field reconnaissance / MTF deployment to locate/investigate New Northton (single short expedition).
confirmed coordinates proactive reconnaissance order loss-of-contact triggers escalation
🚨 Major Escalation $515K/yr
2.0% probability / year +$400K vs baseline
Text becomes actively dangerous / coordinated threat requiring upgraded security posture with one-time upgrades and additional full-time guards.
threatening/coordinating text armed response required sustained public risk
👥 Personnel 3 total
Role Count Notes
Research Scientist 1 [#7, #9, #24] Performs monthly full-text recording, correlation, research, and coordinates consultants (typically ~0.1-0.2 FTE dedicated to SCP-3163).
Archives Technician 1 [#1, #2, #6, #12] Manages locker, performs daily visual checks (~0.02-0.05 FTE), conservation liaison and packaging for off-site analysis.
Security Officer / MTF Agent 1 [#6, #18, #19] Site security officer covering daily accountability and intrusion logging; additional full-time guards would be added only during escalation scenarios.
📋 Confidence Notes
Baseline archival and monitoring costs are well-defined from the notes; contingency and field-operation items have wide ranges and depend on operational decisions, so overall confidence is medium.
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