Procedure review

Site-17, Beta Zone office.

The golden retriever sprawled on the blanket scratched furiously at his side with a hind leg, his movements comical and urgent.

Then he caught sight of the golden hairs scattered across the floor out of the corner of his eye, and his eyes immediately widened.

"Oh my God, Dai, I think I'm shedding..."

Kane stared worriedly at the clumps of fur stirring in the draft on the floor. "Am I sick?"

"That's very concerning, but I'm sorry to say I'm not a vet."

Dai Yong'an spoke without looking up, his pen flying across the papers on his desk.

"Do you even hear yourself? That's downright heartless."

The golden retriever bared his teeth at his old friend, then settled back onto the blanket and drawled, "Still, I can't blame you. The experiment you've spent so long preparing for is today, after all. Let's hope everything goes smoothly."

At that, Dai Yong'an abruptly stopped writing and looked up. He stared at the golden retriever and asked in an odd tone, "Let's hope everything goes smoothly?"

The golden retriever froze for a moment. "What's wrong?"

"A few days ago, you were all worry and gloom. Why are you suddenly so optimistic?"

"What else am I supposed to do? It's already set in stone. Surely you don't expect me to curse you with failure?" Kane looked bewildered.

"No... that doesn't sound like something you'd normally say." Dai Yong'an frowned slightly. "You should be more sarcastic..."

"If you want me to insult you, just say so. No need to be so roundabout." The golden retriever snorted.

A sudden sense of unease flickered through Dai Yong'an's mind, but it vanished as quickly as it had come. When he tried to examine it, it was already gone without a trace.

He set down his fountain pen, picked up his insulated mug, and took a sip.

Only after a long pause did he speak, his tone somewhat grave. "Kane, something suddenly feels wrong... like knowing a cockroach got into the room but never being able to find it. It's unsettling... when did we last get vaccinated against cognitive distortion?"

"Four months ago. So what's wrong, exactly?"

"I can't explain it... but for a moment, I actually felt that conducting this experiment was a mistake."

"That is pretty unbelievable..." The golden retriever raised his brows. "You're Dai Yong'an, the famous research maniac. How could you have a delusion like that?"

Dai Yong'an closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then opened them and adjusted his glasses. "Let's go through the procedure again."

This was a habit the two had developed over years of working together. Whenever they were uncertain about an experiment's results or disagreed over the procedure, they would review all the project's documentation to ensure nothing could go wrong.

At those words, Kane dropped his casual demeanor. After a moment's consideration, he began speaking carefully.

"Item designation SCP-239, the 'Witch Child,' has been successfully contained for eight years. Her current physiological age is approximately nine. During that period, she has spent most of her time in a drug-induced deep coma.

As a level-eight reality-bending entity, she possesses supernatural abilities that can make almost anything she wishes come true. Unlike other reality benders, the range of her influence is virtually unrestricted by distance and is limited only by her thoughts.

Her nature as an Apex-Class Multi-Functional Reality-Bending Entity also renders Scranton Reality Anchors almost completely ineffective against her.

The project lead at the time could only exploit her immature mind to devise highly controversial suppression measures. Those measures prompted extensive debate over their ethics and the risk of losing control, ultimately leaving no choice but to keep her asleep year-round.

A month ago, you received approval to conduct experiments on SCP-239 and successfully awakened her using the same suppression approach..."

"No, we improved upon the original suppression measures. We no longer use intimidation or similar methods to try to make her lose her anomalous properties through self-denial. Of course, that approach was proven ineffective long ago..."

Dai Yong'an interrupted Kane, then added, "I've always believed that keeping a little girl in a constant state of fear is simply too cruel..."

"Yes... that's also why they had no choice but to put her to sleep."

"Controlling her through negative emotions is clearly inhumane and dangerous. It's like a time bomb. So after she awakened, we gave her the care appropriate for a girl her age... of course, someone always has to play the bad guy..."

At this point, Dai Yong'an frowned again, as though pondering something.

"The purpose of this experiment is to explore the possibility of using her anomalous properties to contain other anomalous entities... the process must be gradual, with appropriate guidance and restrictions.

And we absolutely cannot have someone who understands her abilities conduct this experiment. Otherwise, there will be a foreseeable risk of losing control, including manipulating her for the experimenter's personal gain or revealing the truth under her influence..."

"I see... and since contact with 239 poses an objective danger, we should choose a member of Class-D Personnel to carry out this task..." Kane nodded as though he had just grasped the point.

"And that member of Class-D Personnel should be emotionally stable and easy to control. D-87465, who came to our attention during the last incident, is undoubtedly the perfect choice..." Dai Yong'an added.

"It sounds like... there aren't any problems."

Kane delivered his conclusion.

But when he saw his old friend frowning in silence, he asked, "What about D-87465's assessment report?"

Dai Yong'an said slowly, "The report consists of two parts. One was completed independently by Supervisor Wang Lei. Her assessment of D-87465 was:

'D-87465 demonstrates exceptional psychological resilience and adaptability. When faced with high-pressure and dangerous environments, he maintains a relatively stable emotional state and a clear capacity for thought. This trait is extremely rare among Class-D Personnel.

However, the subject also displays a degree of wariness and skepticism, which may stem from uncertainty regarding his present circumstances. Even so, he has shown no overt hostility or inclination to resist...'

She identified D-87465 in her report as the ideal candidate for the SCP-239 interaction experiment. But you know this woman has always been one of the Conservatives. I don't entirely trust her..."

"So you went to Major Lu Fei as well?"

"Yes. Also because Major Lu Fei's presence can give D-87465 some measure of hope, minimizing the possibility of him taking extreme action because of his circumstances..."

"What did Major Lu Fei say?" the golden retriever asked.

"His assessment was exactly the same as Wang Lei's, so there's no doubt..." Dai Yong'an's deeply furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

Kane paused. "No doubt?"

"No doubt that this is a perfect experimental plan." Dai Yong'an adjusted his glasses and said calmly, "If everything goes smoothly, it will resolve the most difficult problem the containment facility currently faces."

"You change your tune pretty quickly yourself..."

"No, this is a rational judgment."