← SCP Cost Explorer Read on SCP Wiki ↗
SCP-3246 Keter ~ medium confidence
SCP-3246
Expected annual
$9.2B
One-time setup
$4.9B
Annual recurring
$8.8B
Personnel
40000
Corrected Foundation-operational estimate: one-time Foundation capital ≈ $4.90 billion; recurring Foundation operational ≈ $8.81 billion/year. The Foundation will fund targeted facilities, equipment, R&D, sensor networks, mobile response units and limited evacuations/shelters. Global-scale 25-mile evacuations and nationwide continuous lighting are not feasible Foundation expenditures and are recorded as systemic (non-Foundation) economic impacts.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $4.9B
Facilities $3.2B
Foundation-controlled capital buildout = $3.20B (itemized): 3 hardened global command hubs ($50M each = $150M); 50 luminous safe zones / permanently-lit secure refuges ($10M each = $500M); pilot perimeter/critical-node lighting installations under direct Foundation control in 100 priority cities/ports ($1.00B); backup power and on-site fuel storage at Foundation sites (1,000 sites × $250k = $250M); secure transport/staging depots and depot improvements = $500M; hardened data-center collocation and comms = $150M; construction contingency/site hardening reserve = $650M. These are limited to Foundation-controlled sites and pilot interventions only; the Foundation does not undertake nationwide municipal grid upgrades.
Equipment $1.4B
One-time equipment procurement = $1.45B (itemized): satellite tasking and dedicated remote sensing capacity and airborne photometric campaigns = $350M; ground photometric sensor grid for priority zones (≈25,000 sensors + comms) = $120M; mobile high-intensity lighting units and light-fence systems (2,000 tower units + 5,000 vehicle/projector kits aggregated procurement) = $400M; containerized generators and power modules for field ops (2,000 units × $150k) = $300M; field issue of 600-Fluoren-equivalent flashlights and spares (40,000 units × $1k) = $40M; specialized imaging/TSS equipment and instrumentation = $40M. These purchases equip Foundation rapid-response and mapping capabilities only.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $250.0M
Initial anomalous optics/photonics R&D and lab setup = $250M: construction/refit of 3 specialized dark-chamber labs ($50M each) plus instrumentation and initial experiment/containment prototyping ($100M). Funds support early neutralization/mitigation experiments and safe test environments.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $8.8B/yr
Staff Wages $6.8B/yr
Fully loaded annual personnel costs ≈ $6.81B/yr. Assumption: ~40,000 Foundation staff directly dedicated to SCP-3246 operations (security/MTF, engineers, logistics, researchers, medical, administrative) at an average loaded cost ~ $170,250/yr (accounts for rotation, hazard pay, and deployment premiums). This centralizes enforcement, operations and specialist staffing under Foundation payroll for feasible, targeted operations.
Logistics And Transport $800.0M/yr
Operational fleet and logistics costs for Foundation transport of personnel and equipment, airlift charters for rapid deployments, warehousing and targeted evacuation/resupply missions. Scoped to Foundation lift capacity (not state-scale mass evacuations).
Facilities Maintenance $700.0M/yr
Ongoing maintenance, site utilities, lease costs, tower upkeep, distribution losses and energy for Foundation-controlled hubs and safe zones. Includes incremental electricity costs for Foundation facilities aggregated here (approx. $175M/yr energy included within this figure) and routine civil works/maintenance amortization.
Research And Monitoring $300.0M/yr
Ongoing mapping, satellite tasking subscriptions, data fusion/modeling, lab experiment runs and multi-site R&D directed at neutralization/containment strategies and forecasting.
Supplies And Consumables $200.0M/yr
Lamp/LED replacements, spare parts, batteries, PPE, consumables for mobile lighting units and general field operations under Foundation control.
Cover Story And Legal $0/yr
Per Rule 3, global concealment/cover-up budget is set to $0 because SCP-3246 manifests and large public phenomena (e.g., mass dark shapes observed over cities) cannot be realistically concealed worldwide. The Foundation focuses on public safety coordination and limited amnesticization where feasible, which are costed elsewhere.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $8.8B/yr
90.0% probability / year
Steady-state Foundation operations: focused mapping/monitoring, maintenance of Foundation-managed luminous safe zones and mobile rapid-response deployments. No full-scale government-enforced 25-mile evacuations; governments manage their own large-scale responses.
localized_outbreaks routine_deployments no_mass_political_evacuations
🚨 Major Breach $10.8B/yr
9.0% probability / year +$2.0B vs baseline
Multiple simultaneous high-concentration outbreaks in population centers requiring emergency scaling of Foundation operations: surge MTF deployments, expanded mobile lighting, emergency medical response and extended safe-zone operations.
concurrent_spread_events infrastructure_failures_near_multiple_sites unexpected_darkness_amplification_in_cities
🚨 Mass Resettlement $28.8B/yr
1.0% probability / year +$20.0B vs baseline
Nation-scale 25-mile evacuations are attempted by states, producing large refugee flows and prolonged displacement; the Foundation must provide substantial humanitarian and technical support beyond baseline operations.
full_scale_government_evacuations widespread_institutional_collapse prolonged_high-concentration_regional_outbreaks
👥 Personnel 40000 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 15000 Front-line enforcement, perimeter protection of Foundation sites and mobile response teams; staffed for targeted rapid deployments.
Engineer / Maintenance Technician 6000 Maintain Foundation lighting installations, generators, mobile units and site civil works.
Logistics & Transport / Fleet Operators 8000 Fleet management, air/sea/ground transport crews, depot staff and logistics planners supporting deployments and resupply.
Research Scientist / Lab Staff 2500 Anomalous optics, photonics, modeling and experimental teams conducting mitigation and neutralization R&D.
Medical & Mental-Health Staff 1500 Clinical staff treating Foundation personnel and priority civilian cases under Foundation care.
Field Technicians / Sensor & Data Operators 3500 Deploy and maintain photometric sensors, process telemetry and operate TSS/sonography scanning gear.
Data/IT / Modeling Personnel 1500 Data fusion, predictive modeling and ops-research staff supporting mapping and forecasting.
Administrative / Command Staff 2000 Command, coordination, legal/PR liaison, finance and administration supporting global operations.
📋 Confidence Notes
Medium confidence for Foundation-operational estimates: numbers are bounded to actions the Foundation can realistically execute (targeted facilities, sensors, mobile units, limited evacuations). High uncertainty remains in outbreak behavior, political cooperation and the amount of government burden requested of the Foundation. Systemic economic impact estimates are order-of-magnitude and low-confidence and are excluded from expected_annual_cost_usd per policy.
← SCP-3245 ↑ All SCPs SCP-3247 →