SCP-5811 — SCP-5811 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-5811 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-5811

Expected annual

$3.4M

One-time setup

$2.2M

Annual recurring

$3.4M

Personnel

One-time startup is approximately $2.22M driven by secure containment fit-out, specialized lab instrumentation and contingency; annual recurring operations are ~ $3.35M/yr driven primarily by personnel, medical/security staffing, and overhead.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $2.2M

Facilities $900K

[#1] Dedicated secure containment chamber fit-out (BSL-2+ finishes, reinforced doors, biometric access, Faraday cage/EM shielding).

Initial Research And Lab Setup $550K

[#3, #4, #7, #22] Laboratory instrumentation (microscopes, micro-manipulation, perfusion rigs), imaging/data capture/offline storage/workstations, initial specialty surface media formulation costs, specialized fabrication equipment (bioprinter/soft-robotics).

Contingency Fund $300K

[#23] Reserved contingency for unexpected effects, rapid scale-up or anomalous developments.

Equipment $290K

[#2, #5, #14] HVAC/UPS/generator installation and redundancy; tissue storage systems (incubators/LN2 dewars/perfusion rigs); secure transport containers.

Amnestics Stockpile Initial $60K

[#13] Initial stockpile procurement of amnestics and memetic countermeasures.

Legal And Cover Initial $60K

[#19] Initial setup for cover story, shell entities, legal retainer and external-facing concealment measures.

Initial Training And Vetting $30K

[#10] Initial background checks, psychological screening, memetic-awareness training and clearance processing.

Communications Blackout Install $30K

[#24] Installation costs for signal-jamming, badge logs, and physical anti-recording measures in containment areas.

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $3.4M/yr

Staff Wages $1.5M/yr

[#8, #9] Salaries for research/scientific staff, clinical oversight, lab technicians, lab manager, security rota and memetics/legal/admin support.

Insurance And Overhead $773K/yr

[#25] Institutional overhead, benefits, insurance and administrative fees estimated at ~30% of personnel and direct operating costs.

Research And Monitoring $215K/yr

[#4, #16] Imaging/storage maintenance and license fees plus core research budget for assays, experiments, consultants.

Subject Program $180K/yr

[#11] D-class or volunteer subject program costs (estimated here as 6 D-class at ~$30k/subject/yr).

Clinical Medical Support $150K/yr

[#12] On-call physicians, emergency response readiness, medical monitoring and liability.

Cover Story And Legal $100K/yr

[#19] Ongoing cover-story maintenance, PR/legal retainer and payouts for external-facing concealment.

Supplies And Consumables $60K/yr

[#6] Sterile culture media, PPE, disposables, replacement tubing/seals, lens/optics cleaning and general bench supplies.

Research Redundancy And Spare Parts $60K/yr

[#17] Spare pumps, cameras, controllers and equipment refresh budget (10–20% annualized capital replacement).

Long Term Archival Storage $40K/yr

[#18] Continuous monitoring and archival storage costs for retained specimens and metadata.

Logistics And Transport $35K/yr

[#14] Secure couriers, temperature-controlled shippers, chain-of-custody transport operations.

Amnestics Replenishment $30K/yr

[#13] Replenishment, administration and controlled distribution of amnestics/memetic measures.

Biohazard Waste Management $30K/yr

[#15] Incineration/autoclave services, regulated disposal and paperwork.

Ethics And Compliance $30K/yr

[#20] Internal review panels, external audits, documentation and compliance budgets.

Fabrication Materials $30K/yr

[#22] Consumables and materials for 3D bioprinting and fabrication suites.

Surface Media Materials $30K/yr

[#7] Ongoing procurement and iterative formulation of hydrogels, scaffolds and engineered substrates for hosting detached eyes.

Training And Vetting $25K/yr

[#10] Annual refresher courses, memetic-awareness drills and ongoing vetting.

Facilities Maintenance $15K/yr

[#2] HVAC, climate control energy and routine maintenance; UPS/generator servicing.

Tissue Storage Maintenance $15K/yr

[#5] LN2, perfusion monitoring, consumables and routine servicing for incubators/cryostorage/perfusion rigs.

Psychological Support $12K/yr

[#21] Counseling and trauma support for staff exposed to disturbing material.

Communications Blackout Maintenance $10K/yr

[#24] Maintenance and enforcement costs for anti-recording and signal control systems.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $3.4M/yr

92.0% probability / year

Normal operational year with routine research and containment activities and no major incidents.

routine_experiments regular_staffing no containment incidents

🚨 Minor Incident $3.5M/yr

5.0% probability / year +$150K vs baseline

Localized equipment failure, small-scale contamination or single-subject adverse event requiring emergency response and limited replacements.

equipment_failure small_contamination_event limited_medical_intervention

🚨 Major Breach $4.9M/yr

1.0% probability / year +$1.5M vs baseline

Significant containment breach or disclosure event requiring large-scale amnesticization, legal action, rebuilding and PR containment.

security_breach public_exposure large_scale_amnestic_deployment

🚨 Research Breakthrough Requiring Scale Up $4.4M/yr

2.0% probability / year +$1.0M vs baseline

Discovery indicates easier replication or autonomous viability, triggering rapid scale-up of containment capacity, additional staffing and equipment purchases.

autonomous_viability ease_of_replication need_for_additional_facilities

👥 Personnel 15 total

Role	Count	Notes
Research Scientist	2	2 senior researchers (~$160,000 each) responsible for protocol design and oversight. [#8]
Ophthalmic Surgeon / Clinician	2	2 clinicians for medical oversight (~$200,000 each). [#8]
Lab Technician / Microfluidic Technician	3	3 lab technicians (~$60,000 each) for daily operations and perfusion maintenance. [#8]
Lab Manager	1	1 lab manager (~$90,000) overseeing operations and scheduling. [#8]
Security Officer / MTF Agent	4	4 on-site guards in a 24/7 rota (~$55,000 each). [#9]
Memetics / Containment Officer	1	1 memetics/containment specialist (~part of memetics/admin pool). [#9]
Legal / Cover-up Liaison	1	1 legal/cover story liaison (retainer/consulting budget included in recurring legal). [#9, #19]
Administrative Staff / HR	1	1 administrative/HR support for personnel and clearance logistics. [#9]

📋 Confidence Notes

Analyst notes provide detailed line-item ranges allowing a reasoned budget; uncertainty remains in long-term behavior of the anomaly (scale/risk), subject program approach (D-class vs volunteers) and contingency sizing, so estimates are medium confidence.

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