Chapter 137: SCP-2000, Deus Ex Machina

The night is heavy, and the darkness draws near.

On the streets of Belobog, the light of the Geo-Essence dispels the darkness and brings warmth.

On the surface of Jarilo-VI, pedestrians grow sparse; citizens who have been busy all day return to their homes, and the mischievous children on the streets are led back inside.

Piercing through the thick, impenetrable clouds above the city of Belobog, one reaches the firmament of Jarilo-VI.

At this moment.

The massive light screen belonging to the Foundation lights up once again.

[Foundation Top 100 Containment Archives Revealed!]

[Rank 96: SCP-2000, Deus Ex Machina.]

[Archive Name: Resurrexit]

……

Herta Space Station.

Asta saves the edited document, exits, and looks at the giant light screen outside the space station with a puzzled expression, raising an eyebrow.

"Deus Ex Machina?"

This term is not obscure.

The so-called "Deus Ex Machina" originally refers to a situation where, when a plot is deadlocked and the dilemma is difficult to resolve, a god with powerful abilities suddenly appears to solve the problem, allowing the story to be wrapped up.

Since the Foundation has bestowed this name upon "SCP-2000," it at least indicates that "SCP-2000" can, in certain aspects, act like a god to resolve dilemmas.

Holding a "let's try it out" mentality, Asta searches for "Deus Ex Machina" online.

The results remain unchanged; nothing related to the Foundation appears.

"Still as mysterious as ever~ Foundation~"

Asta shifts her gaze to the file name, "To the New World."

Where there is a "New World," there is also an "Old World."

This naming convention is not rare.

In the galaxy, many civilizations, after leaving the cradle of their home planet, refer to colonies outside the home planet as the "New World" and the home planet as the "Old World."

It seems to be an attempt to distinguish the two from a semantic level.

Asta does not know how the Foundation defines "New" and "Old," nor what these two worlds specifically refer to.

But she has a vague feeling that the two worlds mentioned by the Foundation are not simply divided on this level.

Beneath it, there must be a more profound meaning, pointing directly to its essence.

……

Herta slowly opens her purple eyes and glances at the screen reserved for the Foundation.

"……Deus Ex Machina?"

"An interesting and bold name."

Herta has been waiting for Aha to continue playing tricks, yet nothing unusual has happened until now; it seems that what she encountered in the "Simulated Universe" was not the true body of the "Elation" Aeon, and she was not being watched by Aha.

If that is truly the case, then that would be for the best.

It is a pity, though……

Herta only feels the lingering palpitations and aftereffects in her body, awakening her memories of that time again and again, reminding her of the helplessness and weakness she felt when facing an Aeon.

It even reminds her of the surreal unreality of Aha being toyed with by that figure.

"Don't think about these things."

She shakes her head, stands up, and spins around a few times, wanting to be like a washing machine and spin away all the bad thoughts.

After regaining her peace, Herta looks at the screen again.

Compared to Asta, she has some more radical guesses.

"It could be a device that achieves supernatural phenomena through mechanical means, or a device that intervenes in reality using mechanical means."

——The original meaning of "Deus Ex Machina" refers to using a crane or hoist mechanism to lower an actor playing a god onto the stage.

"No, why should I make such a conservative guess?"

Herta's thoughts take flight.

She seems to see a civilization encountering natural disasters again and again, facing destruction.

The Foundation, time and again, plays the role of a deity, resolving difficulties at the most critical moments of the civilization.

"I feel like this conjecture is also not bad."

Saying this, she tosses the Zhao Zhao Zhao Zena version of the "Simulated Universe" aside and focuses her entire attention on the screen.

……

The scene continues, and the file content replaces the initial title.

[Object: Deus Ex Machina]

[Item #: SCP-2000]

[Object Class: Thaumiel]

[Description: SCP-2000 is a subterranean Foundation facility designed to reconstruct civilization in the event that a K-Class end-of-the-world scenario cannot be averted in time, thereby preventing the extinction or near-extinction of humanity.]

[Since its establishment, SCP-2000 has been activated at least twice.]

……

"Thaumiel? A new level after Safe, Keter, and Euclid. What does this represent? Extremely dangerous? I checked many phonetic symbol texts and only found that 'Safe' corresponds to 'safe'; none of the other terms had corresponding meanings."

"Your focus is wrong. What does a K-Class end-of-the-world mean? Can the end of the world even be classified?"

"Obviously it can. Like the Luofu Luofu Xianzhou suffering from the 'Abundance Plague,' or a civilization suffering from an invasion by the 'Antimatter Legion,' or being directly ridden over by a 'Lord Ravager'—these all count as the end of the world, but the intensity is clearly different."

"Thanks for the invite. I'm at the Herta Space Station, just suffered from the 'Antimatter Legion.' I have to admit, there is definitely a clear difference in intensity between the Legion and SCPs: 'Flesh of the Abomination' destroyed a civilization, 'The Unclean' destroyed civilizations across the multiverse. It is very normal for the Foundation to make level classifications and corresponding contingency plans for this."

"Thanks for the popular science, big boss. The kid says it's delicious."

"Asking a question: to be able to make the Foundation activate 'Deus Ex Machina' twice, is the Foundation a bit too disaster-prone? Our civilization hasn't even seen a single Curio to this day."

"You are very lucky, but luck is ultimately just a coincidence. Now, this coincidence has ended. Welcome to facing the real and cruel universe."

……

"Astral Express."

Welt Yang is immersed in the world of giant robots, constantly collecting information about the giant robots on Jarilo-VI online.

He is attempting to piece together its activation conditions, specific uses, materials used, internal structure, and other details.

It is a pity that, like the nearly thousand-year history lost on Jarilo-VI, there is only sparse information available for reference in this regard.

And even that is vague.

After deep thought, he pushes up his glasses and sees the Foundation's program starting again.

What kind of weird thing is written on the screen?

Welt Yang suspects for the first time that he has presbyopia, as he has actually seen such outrageous content.

He takes off his glasses, carefully wipes the lenses, and then places them back on the bridge of his nose.

The file clearly states that "Deus Ex Machina" is used to rebuild civilization and has already been activated at least twice.

Welt Yang discovers for the first time that this world is actually so crazy that even a transcendent force like the Foundation is actually forced to restart civilization.

He does not doubt that the Foundation's methods and procedures for handling SCPs are more professional and meticulous than Herta's.

Their experience in facing and handling dangerous SCPs must also be much richer.

Yet even so, the Foundation has been forced to restart civilization twice.

Welt Yang suddenly feels that this universe is quite dangerous, far exceeding the universe before he traveled, the universe where he spent the vast majority of his time.

He leans back in his chair, lifts his right leg, crosses it over his left, and looks at Himeko, who has appeared behind him.

Himeko brings over a cup of steaming coffee:

"I ground it myself, want to try?"

Welt Yang immediately has no mood to care about those secrets of the Foundation.

Compared to those terrifying existences hidden in the shadows of history, Himeko's hand-drip coffee is more impressive.

"The level has improved." Welt Yang says while wiping away the sweat flowing down, "But the heat is a bit overdone."

Upon learning that the milkshake added to the coffee had a burnt taste, Himeko carries the coffee cup and leaves the room while pondering how to improve her craft.

Welt Yang looks at the frozen planet beneath the train.

"Can the natural disasters caused by the 'Stellaron' and the 'Antimatter Legion' be counted by the Foundation as a K-Class end-of-the-world?"

"And can 'Deus Ex Machina' help other civilizations rebuild?"

Looking at the giant light curtain floating above the planet, Welt Yang suddenly has a more daring hypothesis in his heart.

"Has the Foundation ever restarted the universe?"

This is not wishful thinking.

Since the Foundation can restart civilization, could they possess the technology to restart the universe?

This would also happen to explain why a behemoth like the Foundation would be unknown in the galaxy, and why the name of the Foundation has not circulated on the internet.

……