SCP-9839 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-9839
Expected annual
$850K
One-time setup
$633K
Annual recurring
$825K
Personnel
4
Initial one-time setup is moderate (~$633,000) driven by cold-storage equipment, lab outfitting, and development of non-visual monitoring/sanitization tools. Recurring annual costs are dominated by staffing, contingency/reserve for public-exposure response, and ongoing research/monitoring (~$825,000/yr).
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $633K
Equipment $243K
[#1, #2, #4, #6, #7, #8, #19, #20] Purchase of two ULT/refrigeration freezers, generator/UPS branch for freezer circuit, opaque primary/secondary containers, initial PPE and opaque handling gear, off-the-shelf sensors hardware, enterprise CCTV with filtering, hardware HSMs/secure storage, and per-replica freezer hardware for geographically separated backups.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $145K
[#5, #13, #14, #15] Incremental BSL-2+ outfitting (hoods, locks, signage), onsite autoclave purchase, initial sequencing/biochemistry research program budget, and initial neurology/psychophysiology study setup (fMRI/EEG protocols).
Image Sanitization Processing Dev $80K
[#7] Development of secure image-sanitization/processing pipeline for sensor/camera outputs to ensure no raw visual frames reach human observers (processing unit development and integration).
Digital Content Sanitization Dev $75K
[#17] Development of safe-viewer/digital-content sanitization tools to analyze image/text content (ML/heuristics, training data, validation) to prevent anomalous SCP-9839-1 reappearance.
Legal Initial Operations $30K
[#18] Initial legal/cover-up costs: takedown notices, liaison with hosts, potential settlements and record redaction setup.
Investigative Sweep And Takedown $20K
[#16] Initial forensic internet archival sweep, takedown campaign, and contracting a digital-forensics firm to locate and remove extant SCP-9839-1 copies.
Facilities $15K
[#1, #2] Floor reinforcement, dedicated wiring runs, HVAC adjustments and installation-related construction/room preparation for redundant freezer bank and environmental monitoring.
Training Program Development $10K
[#11] Development of specialized psych screening/training program, drills and procedures (not the per-person evals themselves).
Decommissioning Operation Reserve $10K
[#30] One-time budget reserved for a verified destruction/decommissioning operation (witnessing, certificates, multi-site verification).
Documentation Archival Initial $5K
[#25] Secure printing, classified archival media and air-gapped physical backups initial costs.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $825K/yr
Staff Wages $270K/yr
[#9, #10] Two full-time containment technicians (2 × $60k = $120k) plus incremental security coverage (~$50k) and medical/physician retainer (~$100k) allocated for on-call emergency response and clinical oversight.
Contingency Reserve Mass Exposure $250K/yr
[#24] Annual allocation toward a contingency/reserve fund for a large-scale public exposure/mass-response event (quarantine centers, large-scale medical/legal/PR response).
Research And Monitoring $100K/yr
[#14, #15, #16, #29, #11] Ongoing sequencing/biochemistry assays, neurology/psychophysiology study continuation, digital monitoring services, long-term archival/investigative research and periodic psychological monitoring/training follow-ups.
Amortized Site Overhead $50K/yr
[#28] Amortized portion of Site-56 overhead (space rent, centralized security baseline, admin support).
External Consulting $40K/yr
[#26] Retainer/hours for outside cognito/psychiatry, cybersecurity and other specialist consultants.
Medical Remediation And Amnestics $30K/yr
[#12] Budget for amnestic pharmaceuticals, therapy provision and medical remediation for accidental observers (annual contingency allocation).
Replica Storage Overhead $20K/yr
[#20] Ongoing storage/security overhead for geographically separated replica sites (per-site fees and security allocation).
Cover Story And Legal $15K/yr
[#18] Ongoing legal/PR follow-ups, takedown maintenance and record redaction operations.
It And Data Ops $15K/yr
[#19] Operations and maintenance of secure information systems, air-gapped databases, encryption/HSM upkeep and logging/IDS.
Logistics And Transport $10K/yr
[#21] Annual budget for secure courier moves, packaging, escorts, and insurance for occasional inter-site transfers.
Incident Response Drills $10K/yr
[#22] Regular tabletop/field exercises and outside-consultant-driven drills for accidental exposure or unauthorized viewing scenarios.
Supplies And Consumables $6K/yr
[#6, #27] PPE replacement and miscellaneous consumables (disinfectants, labels, chain-of-custody forms).
Facilities Maintenance $4K/yr
[#3, #13] Electricity, preventative maintenance and calibration for ULT/refrigeration freezers and small contract disposal costs (autoclave/contract disposal estimates).
Background Rechecks $3K/yr
[#23] Ongoing rechecks and clearance monitoring for staff with access to SCP-9839 materials.
Documentation And Archival $2K/yr
[#25] Ongoing classified record storage, microfilm/air-gapped backup maintenance and controlled-access logging.
Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $825K/yr
87.5% probability / year
Normal year with routine operations, monitoring, and no major incidents.
no breaches standard research activity routine monitoring
🚨 Minor Incident $875K/yr
10.0% probability / year +$50K vs baseline
Small accidental viewing or localized containment lapse requiring targeted medical, amnestic, and legal response.
single-person accidental exposure localized sample contamination or loss
🚨 Major Breach $1.3M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline
Significant containment failure or deliberate leak requiring broad remediation, investigation, sample replacement and heavier legal costs.
multi-person exposure loss/theft of samples widespread online reappearance of SCP-9839-1
🚨 Catastrophic Breach $2.8M/yr
0.5% probability / year +$2.0M vs baseline
Large-scale public exposure or mass-production event requiring full public-health response, widespread remediation, mass amnestics and major legal/PR operations.
mass online reappearance of SCP-9839-1 uncontrolled mass exposure (tear-induced production)
👥 Personnel 4 total
Role Count Notes
Containment Technician 2 [#9] Two full-time technicians trained in biosafety and non-visual handling protocols.
Security Officer / MTF Agent 1 [#9] Incremental security allocation (overtime/assigned guard hours) for escorts and movement security.
Medical Officer 1 [#10] On-call physician/medical retainer for blood-borne pathogen response and emergency care; also covers psychiatric liaisons.
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide detailed line items and ranges allowing reasonable budget estimates, but many items are range-based, scenario-dependent, and require judgment calls about chosen midpoints and contingency sizing; uncertainty remains around frequency/severity of digital reappearance and research scope.
← SCP-9835 ↑ All SCPs SCP-9841 →