SCP-8905 — SCP-8905 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-8905 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-8905

Expected annual

$2.3M

One-time setup

$2.6M

Annual recurring

$2.1M

Personnel

One-time capital costs are dominated by containment upgrades, specialized equipment and contingency reserves (~$2.62M total); recurring annual costs (security, on-call teams, R&D and overhead) are roughly $2.14M/year, driven primarily by staffing and an active research program.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $2.6M

Containment Upgrade Contingency $1.0M

[#12] Contingency allocation for possible Keter-level containment upgrades if contents require extensive specialized facilities.

Equipment $878K

[#4, #5, #6, #10, #15] Remote manipulators/robotic arms (#4), purchase option for non-destructive imaging (#5 one-time purchase), precision cutting/machining gear (#6), initial data storage/hardware (#10 one-time), and initial PPE/safety gear (#15 one-time).

Insurance Contingency $300K

[#19] Internal contingency reserve allocation for catastrophic failure or replacement.

Facilities $220K

[#1, #9, #11, #14] Secure vault/safe-room upgrades (#1), power infrastructure upgrades (#9 one-time), environmental/climate control installation (#11 one-time), and initial emergency/decon setup (#14 one-time).

Specialty Consulting $150K

[#7] Initial fees for locksmithing, materials science, and specialty consultants (one-time initial engagement).

Cover Story Setup $30K

[#17] One-time costs to establish shell companies/PR infrastructure for deniability and cover operations.

Forensic Analysis $20K

[#22] One-time forensic/provenance investigation (shipping records, external contractors).

Records And Archival $18K

[#18] Initial secure records/classification/archival systems setup and access-control hardware/software.

Tamper Proof Measures $6K

[#24] Initial signage, redundancy locks, tamper-evident seals and physical deterrents (one-time purchase/installation).

Initial Research And Lab Setup $0

[]

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $2.1M/yr

Research And Monitoring $800K/yr

[#21] Long-term dedicated R&D program to defeat the anomalous lock (salaries, lab time, equipment amortization) and ongoing monitoring tasks as part of active research.

Staff Wages $705K/yr

[#2, #3] 24/7 armed security complement (6 guards × 3 shifts + supervisory staff) and dedicated on-call containment/response team (2 containment techs, 1 engineer, 1 senior researcher) including salaries, benefits and standby premiums.

Cover Story And Legal $200K/yr

[#17] Annual budget for legal/cover-up/misinformation operations, liaison with suppliers/local authorities, and related clandestine expenses.

Administrative Overhead $200K/yr

[#25] Opportunity cost and administrative overhead (10-25% style allocation) covering senior oversight, site director time, and program management.

Specialty Consulting $60K/yr

[#7] Ongoing follow-up consulting fees for locksmiths, metallurgists, and materials scientists.

Supplies And Consumables $59K/yr

[#8, #15] Experimental consumables and expendables for attempts (#8) and annual PPE replacement/consumables (#15 recurring).

Training And Drills $30K/yr

[#20] Recurring training, instructor fees, and simulated drills specific to SCP-8905 scenarios.

Imaging Contracts $25K/yr

[#5] Recurring contract usage costs for industrial X-ray/micro-CT scans when purchase is not used or for occasional external high-resolution scans.

Public Safety Liaison $15K/yr

[#23] Annual payments/covert cooperation with local police/fire services for cover stories and emergency coordination.

Facilities Maintenance $11K/yr

[#9, #11] Annual maintenance and energy costs for upgraded power/UPS systems (#9 recurring) and environmental/climate control energy/maintenance (#11 recurring).

Waste Disposal $11K/yr

[#16] Annual hazardous waste disposal and contaminated-material handling costs from destructive testing and experiments.

Logistics And Transport $10K/yr

[#13] Secure/armored transport and escort costs per transfer (assumes periodic transfers as needed).

Emergency Medical And Decon $9K/yr

[#14] Replenishment of medical supplies, PPE, decon consumables and annual training exercises.

Data Storage And Monitoring $6K/yr

[#10] Annual costs for redundant storage, classified network operations, and monitoring infrastructure maintenance.

Records And Archival $6K/yr

[#18] Ongoing archival compliance, secure logging, and access audits.

Tamper Proof Replacements $1K/yr

[#24] Annual replacement/refresh of tamper-evident tags and seals.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $2.1M/yr

80.0% probability / year

Normal year with active containment, ongoing monitoring and the regular research program in place; no major incidents or upgrades.

no_major_incident routine_operations ongoing_research

🚨 Minor Incident $2.2M/yr

5.0% probability / year +$96K vs baseline

Small containment incident or failed experiment causing overtime, extra security presence, limited repairs, and short-term investigations.

failed_experiment unauthorized_access localized_equipment_damage

🚨 Research Scale Up $3.0M/yr

12.0% probability / year +$896K vs baseline

Decision to aggressively scale R&D (larger team, extended experiments, additional rented facilities/equipment) to attempt opening/defeating the lock.

funding_approval_for_large_R&D priority_directive_to_open_lock successful_grant_of_special_resources

🚨 Containment Upgrade Required $3.1M/yr

3.0% probability / year +$996K vs baseline

Opening or discovery of hazardous/novel contents forces immediate major containment upgrades (Keter-level chamber, airlocks, negative-pressure systems).

discovery_of_hazardous_contents classification_upgrade_needed external_threats_from_contents

👥 Personnel 11 total

Role	Count	Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent	7	[#2] Six guards (2 per shift × 3 shifts) plus supervisory coverage; included in staff wage estimates.
Containment Technician	2	[#3] Two containment technicians as part of the dedicated on-call containment/response team.
Engineer / Maintenance	1	[#3] One on-call engineer included in the dedicated response team wages.
Research Scientist	1	[#3] One senior researcher on-call (additional researchers for long-term R&D are budgeted under research_and_monitoring, not in staff_wages breakdown).

📋 Confidence Notes

Analyst notes provide detailed line items and ranges for nearly every cost; however several high-variance items (containment upgrades, long-term R&D scale and legal/cover costs) have wide ranges, so totals are moderately uncertain.

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