The days following my eleventh birthday settled into a new, predictable rhythm. My Level 2 clearance, though mostly just a fancy badge for a kid my age, meant things subtly shifted. My regular education continued, of course, but now it was mixed with longer periods where I could sit at more complex data terminals and dig through specialized research libraries, always supervised, of course.
The new tablet my parents gave me became like an extra part of my mind, its clean screen a window into a constantly growing world of Foundation knowledge. I plunged into anomaly classification systems, basic rules of how memetics and cognitohazards worked, and the weird physics behind some of the less dangerous Safe-class stuff.
I was just so hungry for knowledge, and the way I could just soak up information and connect it all together even impressed my mother, who just figured it was because I had such a great upbringing and was naturally smart.
Weeks just blended into a month. I kept acing everything, and my name started to circulate, quietly, among the younger researchers. They were already calling me a child prodigy.
You could often find me hunched over diagrams, my scarlet eyes completely locked on, sometimes muttering to myself as I pieced together logic puzzles that people twice "my age" struggled with. I still kept up the cheerful, joking act that made the few other kids and junior staff like me, but underneath it all, there was this undeniable, intense focus. A deep, calculating side that only came out when I was alone with my thoughts.
Then, this afternoon, my tables chimed - a direct message from Dad: "Meet me outside Sector 7, Research Wing, 1400 hours. You're getting an introduction."
A flicker of excitement went through me. An "introduction" usually meant meeting a new mentor, some expert in a field I was starting to get good at.
I show up exactly on time, and dad was already there, leaning against a reinforced doorframe. His uniform was perfect, and his silver eyes swept the corridor with that familiar, almost invisible alertness he always had.
"Right on time, Em," Dad says, pushing off the wall, "Today, you'll be meeting someone I consider a very old friend: one of the Foundation's... more unique minds. He's been asking about you after all."
I follow after him, feeling a little bounce in my step. "Unique? Ah, you must mean Dr. Aris?" I ask.
Dad gave a dry chuckle while nodding. "That's one word for him. Brilliant, no doubt. Eccentric, absolutely. He's been with the Foundation almost as long as I have, even before you were born. We... shared an experience. Forged a bond, you might say."
I noticed a subtle tension in dad's jaw, a brief, faraway look in his eyes that I recognized. It was a sign of past danger, something he rarely talked about.
We reach a heavy, unmarked door. It was slightly ajar, and I could hear a faint, almost imperceptible tinkling sound from within, like tiny bells or shattered glass. Dad pushes the door open wider, and I peer into a huge, but incredibly messy, laboratory.
The air hits me with a mix of ozone, something like burnt sugar, and a faint metallic tang. Shelves groan under the weight of bizarre scientific instruments, stacks of overflowing research papers, and what looks like a bunch of random personal trinkets. Data screens flicker with complex equations and diagrams that make even my enhanced brain pause for a second.
In the midst of it all, hunching over a workbench covered in glowing wires and bubbling beakers, is a man whose wild, wiry white hair seems to float, sticking out in every direction like he'd just stuck his finger in a socket. This had to be him... Dr. Aris Thorne!
"Aris!" Dad calls out, confirming my thoughts, his voice surprisingly warm in the chaotic space.
The man jumped, almost knocking over a pile of petri dishes that look like they were just waiting to fall. He spun around, his eyes huge behind really thick glasses, wide and a startling, intelligent blue. This was indeed Dr. Aris Thorne, I realized, taking in his rumpled lab coat and the ink smudges on his cheek.
"Archie! My dear fellow! To what do I owe the... distinct pleasure of an unannounced visit?" Dr. Thorne's voice was high and reedy, with and almost childish excitement in it. He quickly wipes his hands on his lab coat, just adding more smudges.
"Just bringing you some fresh blood, my old friend," Dad said, gesturing to me. "This is my son, Ember. He just turned eleven and passed his Level 2 assessment a month ago. He's got a mind like a steel trap, much like someone else I know." Dad gave Dr. Thorne a meaningful look.
Dr. Thorne squinted at me, his blue eyes turning into huge, curious orbs behind his glasses. "Ember! Ah, yes! The prodigy, I've heard whispers... Your father speaks highly of you. A chip off the old block, perhaps, but with a certain... vibrancy."
Nodding fervently, he continues, "And those eyes! Quite striking, young man, quite striking." He held out a hand, surprisingly firm and warm despite how messy he looks. "Dr. Aris Thorne, at your service. Or rather, the Foundation's. Mostly."
I took his hand. His grip was dry and warm. As our skin briefly touched, I felt a fleeting, almost imperceptible oddity. It wasn't a jolt, or a rush of information, but a subtle shift in the air around me. A strange, metallic tang on my tongue that disappeared as quickly as it came.
I blink, figuring that it was just the weird smells and atmosphere of the lab. 'I'll get used to it.'
"Nice to meet you, Dr. Thorne." I say, putting on my best polite, bright-kid persona.
"Likewise, young man, likewise!" Aris beams, before waving his free hand around the chaotic lab. "Make yourselves at home, if you can find a spot!" he laughs, turning to my dad, "Archie, I was just about to crack the conceptual resonance of SCP-███, fascinating little fellow, sheds pure thought in crystalline form, quite unlike the snow globes over there, which are merely..." he gestures vaguely towards a cluttered corner of his desk, piled high with books and instruments.
My eyes following his gesture, my attention taken away from their conversation. There they were. Three of them, sitting right in the middle of all the scientific clutter.
A snow globe with an old man constantly murdering snowmen inside... another that was showing a house and a stationary truck while it was snowing, and another that seems to be a village and its... environment. They look like simple trinkets, but my mind instantly knew they were far, far more.
Their unique properties, knowledge from my past life, immediately rose to the surface.
My mind felt a tiny, almost unnoticeable tremor, a faint echo of that metallic tang that I'd felt when I shook Dr. Thorne's hand. I didn't know what it was, but the snow globes suddenly felt... important.
A quiet curiosity, a familiar pull, began to stir deep inside of me.
Without even knowing when, I was already standing next to the corner of Dr. Elias' desk, holding a snow globe in my hand gently and peering within: A house standing tall and elegantly upon a snowy mountain range, even now there was snow falling, landing upon the land. The lights could be seen on through the windows of the house however nothing except snow moved.
I shifted my gaze to the truck that was parked right next to the house, its red paint striped with white on the sides, it wasn't a bad vehicle in my opinion. Growing less interested with this one I place it back on the table a bit too roughly causing it to shake violently for a second before an impossible white light flashes over the entirety of the snow globe- blinding me a bit as my attention was still so focused on it!
Blinking a couple of times to clear my vision, I look back to the snow globe as I can start seeing again and what I see shocks me- The beautiful mountain range, the house, the truck... it was all replaced by a mushroom cloud still remaining in the 'sky'... a nuclear explosion had just occurred within this snow globe!
"Ah! A good eye lad! I see you've already taken an interest in the anomalous item Snow Globes I have- don't worry, that house and environment will repair again by tomorrow and then you can shake it again." Dr. Thorne speaks to me, bringing my attention back to my father and Elias...
'I can't believe I just zoned out that hard, all I could think of were these snow globes...' I smile with interest towards the globes responding, "Yeah, these things are amazing!" pausing, my smile turning into that of a pondering one, "but how is it that you have three anomalies right here on your desk instead of containing them?"
Registering my question, Elias turns toward my father and breaks into a wide grin, who in turn also spreads a wide grin on his face too... and then they break out into laughter.
"Hahh- haha, sorry Em... heheh- It's just that despite your intelligence at your age, that question was just so- pfffft... innocently unexpected that it was funny to us... hahaha- sorry, our bad, my bad- We have only told you a bit about my past. I will brief you later what I can so that you can get a grip on how close my comradery is with here Dr. Elias!" he wraps his arm around Elias' shoulder who is still laughing.
Staring at them blankly, "Sure, ok." I say to them without really understanding why they are laughing.
Still sporting a smirk, "Basically", Dr. Elias Thorne begins to explain, "I have the proper clearance and expertise, along with the permission to safely keep them contained inside of my office, plus they are not dangerous enough to even be categorized fully with an SCP identification number..." he thinks for a bit, "They allow me to keep them here to examine and test it, however I already know everything about them... hm, how about taking one with you to experiment on? It should be fine... with your family's reputation."
"Really!" I ask, "Would that be fine?" I turn to my father with hopeful eyes, 'If I can get a good examination and just understand how this anomaly works... Oh, I can't wait!'
"Hmm, yes it will be fine, however you must keep it in your room and only your room, I will setup a more advanced security measure for your room later." Archie, my amazing father agrees!
"Thank you, thank you!" I say excitedly, even really feeling that way myself... surprising?
"I told you he reminded me of a certain someone." my father smiles in a melancholic manner for a moment- I just barely caught it.
"Yes, he sure does." Dr. Elias agrees in a similar fashion.
'Who? I'd thought earlier that they meant I was similar to Dr. Elias, but this is different...'
Emanating from both of these two men, I could sense a pressure from hard-fought battles and an integrity that would burn in a magnificent blaze of destruction if required... two men who screamed "Danger, do not engage!" to even my past life's senses... earned through a life of reaping lives.
-
'How peculiar.' He thinks to himself, carrying with him a curious smile full of expectations... unaware of these expectations and his smile... The day that everything will come unfurled before him with answers and even more questions... is soon to arrive... and with it, my #R%!3&C# will be also!