The newly constructed Foundation site was still unfinished in several places. Workers moved through corridors carrying equipment, researchers were setting up laboratories, and D-Class personnel were busy constructing additional containment areas under heavy supervision. Outside, several Foundation agents disguised as local police officers maintained a perimeter around the abandoned copper mine.
The Foundation had become very good at hiding things.
Especially when nobody knew what they were looking for.
I stood near the containment zone with Darius while several researchers finished calibrating monitoring equipment. Above my hand floated a holographic projector displaying the images of several Overseers attending remotely.
Alex appeared particularly interested.
Julius looked curious.
Lincoln looked mildly concerned.
The Ancient One was silently observing.
I finished reading the SCP file before closing it.
"This might be one of the most valuable anomalies we've discovered in years."
Nobody disagreed.
SCP-028 appeared simple.
A small invisible area.
No monsters.
No eldritch horrors.
No reality collapse.
No apocalyptic danger.
Just knowledge.
Potentially unlimited knowledge.
The problem was that nobody could predict what knowledge they would receive.
Alex immediately leaned forward in his holographic projection.
"Administrator, if this works the way the report suggests, this could be revolutionary."
"It could," I agreed.
"Or dangerous," Lincoln added.
"Also true."
The Foundation had learned long ago that information itself could be dangerous.
Some SCPs were literally ideas.
Others were equations.
Some were words.
A few were pieces of information capable of ending civilizations.
Knowledge was power.
But power could be lethal.
Darius folded his arms.
"The man who discovered this area gained enough technical understanding to revolutionize an entire industry."
I nodded.
"And then several corporations had him killed."
"Which means whatever he learned was valuable."
"Very valuable."
Alex's eyes practically glowed.
"We need to start testing immediately."
"Safely," Lincoln interrupted.
Alex looked offended.
"I was going to say safely."
"No, you weren't."
"I was thinking it."
"That's not the same thing."
The Scientist and the Ambassador immediately began arguing.
I ignored them.
Researchers had already prepared the first test subject.
A D-Class wearing monitoring equipment approached the marked area.
The invisible cube itself appeared completely ordinary.
No lights.
No energy signatures.
No distortions.
Nothing.
The D-Class stepped forward.
Three seconds passed.
Four.
Five.
Then his eyes widened.
The researchers immediately moved toward him.
"What did you learn?" one asked.
The D-Class blinked.
"I know how to manufacture superconductors."
The researchers froze.
The man continued.
"Specifically a production method that reduces costs by eighty-seven percent."
Everyone became quiet.
Alex nearly fell out of his chair.
"What?"
The D-Class started rapidly explaining manufacturing processes.
Complex equations.
Material compositions.
Engineering techniques.
Half the researchers began recording everything.
The other half looked confused.
Alex was no longer confused.
He was excited.
Very excited.
"Administrator."
"Yes?"
"I want fifty more test subjects."
"No."
"Twenty?"
"No."
"Ten?"
"No."
Alex sighed dramatically.
"You're no fun."
"We're not turning random D-Class personnel into experimental information storage devices until we understand the anomaly better."
The Ancient One finally spoke.
"May I ask a question?"
Everyone immediately turned toward her.
"Of course."
She looked toward the containment zone.
"What happens if someone learns information they were never meant to know?"
The room became silent.
Nobody had a good answer.
Because that was exactly what worried me.
A few moments later, a second D-Class entered the anomaly.
Again, only a few seconds passed.
This time the result was different.
The man staggered backward.
Blood trickled from his nose.
His eyes were wide with terror.
"What did you see?" a researcher asked.
The D-Class looked horrified.
"I know what happened to Atlantis."
Everyone froze.
The researcher slowly spoke.
"Explain."
The man shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
His breathing became rapid.
"Because if I tell you, you'll start looking for it."
The room became significantly more uncomfortable.
Even Alex stopped smiling.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
And potentially dangerous.
I exchanged a glance with Darius.
Darius immediately understood.
"We need information classification procedures."
"Agreed."
This anomaly wasn't simply generating useful knowledge.
It was generating unknown knowledge.
There was a huge difference.
The first could advance civilization.
The second could accidentally destroy it.
The next several hours were spent conducting carefully controlled tests.
Some subjects learned advanced chemistry.
Others learned ancient history.
One learned an entire extinct language.
Another gained complete understanding of a species that apparently no longer existed.
Each result only increased the mystery.
By the end of the day, the Foundation's scientific divisions were already preparing long-term research plans.
Alex had personally volunteered three entire departments.
I wasn't surprised.
As the sun began setting over the abandoned mine, I looked once more toward the invisible anomaly.
A cube of knowledge.
A source of information that seemingly had no limit.
If properly utilized, it could accelerate Foundation technology by centuries.
If misused...
I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
And that alone made SCP-028 valuable.