Project Heimdall

FROM: O5-7, on behalf of O5 Council
TO: General William Pendergast (Deputy Director of Foundation Contingency Planning Operations)
RE: Proposed CPO 83910301

Contingency Planning Operation approved. Codename designation "Project Heimdall". Research potential means by which extraterrestrial intelligence displaying vigorous, active hostility to human life and/or civilization might attempt to conquer, enslave, or exterminate humanity. Analyze likely outcomes. Develop countermeasures and contingency plans. Report findings to O5 Council when complete.

Project Executive Summary

Contingency Planning Operation #: 83910301
Codename Designation: Project Heimdall
Project Lead: General William Pendergast
Overseer-in-Charge: O5-7
Date Authorized: ██/██/████
Involved Facilities:

Overwatch HQ
Research Sector-15
Site-11
Site-19
Armed Research Site-45

Involved Task Forces:

Mobile Task Force Gamma-5
Mobile Task Force Iota-10
Mobile Task Force Kappa-6
Mobile Task Force Omega-4

Project Mission: Project Heimdall is a cross-disciplinary High-Impact, Low-Probability contingency analysis with three primary objectives:

Research potential means by which extraterrestrial intelligence displaying vigorous, active hostility to human life and/or civilization might attempt to conquer, enslave, or exterminate humanity.
Analyze likely outcomes.
Develop countermeasures and contingency plans.

Key Assumptions:

Extraterrestrial intelligence will display vigorous, active hostility to human life and/or civilization.
Hostile Extraterrestrials (HEs) will possess no technology forbidden by the laws of physics. (While numerous SCPs exist which operate in manners that are forbidden by the laws of physics, these are less-than-completely-understood exceptions, and have accordingly not supplanted the generally accepted laws of physics, even among Foundation researchers. Speculations of impossible technologies make for entertaining "soft" science fiction, not good analysis grounded in scientific fact.)
Unless their goal is simply to destroy civilization and/or life (human or otherwise) on Earth, any attempt by HEs to attack the planet will necessarily be limited in the level of damage that it will cause to the biosphere.
Attempts by HEs to conquer, enslave, or exterminate humanity can be either overt (exempli gratia armed invasion) or covert (exempli gratia infiltration).
Knowledge of any overt attempt by HEs to conquer, enslave, or exterminate humanity will be impossible to contain from the world at large.
"Simple" solutions to attempts by HEs to conquer, enslave, or exterminate humanity will prove insufficient.

FROM: General William Pendergast (Deputy Director of Foundation Contingency Planning Operations)
TO: O5 Council
RE: CPO 83910301 ("Project Heimdall")

Attached, please find my team's compilation of materials related to Project Heimdall (CPO 83910301). It is my hope that this report will prove sufficient should the high-impact, low-probability event described herein occur.

Project Documents

More Information

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So what is this anyway?
"Project Heimdall" is a collaborative writing project.

Okay, got that. …What about?
Ah, yes, right. The Foundation would have contingency plans for just about everything - after all, it's all about maintaining normalcy for humanity in general. In contingency planning, there are events which are considered low-probability, high-impact (sometimes colloquially called "wild card events"). In other words, events which are not very likely, but would be a really big deal if they happened. Historically speaking, if you'd considered the reunification of Germany or the breakup of the Soviet Union prior to their actually happening, they'd have been considered low-probability, high-impact.

Project Heimdall is the Foundation's planning for one of the major wild cards of speculative fiction - an invasion of Earth by hostile extraterrestrials.

Uh, hold on - an alien invasion is science fiction, not horror.
That comes down to a difference of execution. There's a big difference between the titular Alien and the Vulcans in Star Trek. Some scifi is light and optimistic - scifi/horror tends to be a lot heavier on humans losing (often bloodily) than on aliens coming in peace.

What are the rules?
Of course all the usual site rules apply. That said, Project Heimdall has a number of key assumptions, listed above.

Okay, those are in bureaucratese. Care to put them in English?
Sure.

Extraterrestrial intelligence will display vigorous, active hostility to human life and/or civilization.

The aliens do not come in peace. At least, that's what we're assuming. Why? Well, first, the Foundation would probably assume hostility first and shake hands in friendship later. Second, this wiki is for scary things. Friendly aliens who drop by for tea (probably) aren't scary. (Of course, if you want to write a dissenting opinion, arguing to the Foundation highers-up that Heimdall is misguided fear-mongering which fails to consider a reasonable possible occurrence, I'd personally upvote that if you did it well.)

Hostile Extraterrestrials (HEs) will possess no technology forbidden by the laws of physics. (While numerous SCPs exist which operate in manners that are forbidden by the laws of physics, these are less-than-completely-understood exceptions, and have accordingly not supplanted the generally accepted laws of physics, even among Foundation researchers. Speculations of impossible technologies make for entertaining "soft" science fiction, not good analysis grounded in scientific fact.)

Basically, this means we're aiming for "hard" science fiction. Why? (Especially when so much of this wiki is "soft" science fiction?)

There are a surprising dearth of alien invasion stories which have any sort of grounding in real-world science.
The goal here is not to worldbuild anomalous science fiction aliens and technology or claim alien origin of existing SCPs. Do NOT use SCPs as the hypothetical aliens or alien tech. No, not even especially not 682.
Who knows what sort of aliens might exist, and how they might better understand the universe and its natural laws than humanity? But don't sell humans too short. The Foundation is one of the world's foremost scientific entities and has access to entities which defy conventional understanding of scientific laws. And yet the Foundation still operates under the basic assumption that the scientific laws known by the non-affiliated scientific community are correct (or at minimum less wrong than any other known alternative) except in a tiny handful of cases. The point is, SCPs are anomalies which may be impossible to replicate, no matter what galaxy you're from.
There's plenty of reason to be downright terrified of scientifically plausible extraterrestrial threats; from a pragmatic standpoint, it makes more sense to develop plans for fighting the devil that you know first.
Perhaps most significantly, assuming hard science for aliens and their technology keeps all collaborators on the same page.

Unless their goal is simply to destroy civilization and/or life (human or otherwise) on Earth, any attempt by HEs to attack the planet will necessarily be limited in the level of damage that it will cause to the biosphere.

Earth is, to date, the only planet known to mankind that is capable of sustaining life in any recognizable form. That carrying capacity is delicate, and takes years (or decades, or centuries, or millennia) to recover from major shocks to the system. If aliens care about living here and reaping the benefits of their successful conquest, they can't render the planet uninhabitable. If they're interested in Earth, their physiology may well be dependent upon an ecosystem not dissimilar to our own (else they'd go invade some planet where the natives would cause fewer problems).

Attempts by HEs to conquer, enslave, or exterminate humanity can be either overt (exempli gratia armed invasion) or covert (exempli gratia infiltration).

So, we could be looking at either War of the Worlds or Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Different threats, different Foundation responses.

Knowledge of any overt attempt by HEs to conquer, enslave, or exterminate humanity will be impossible to contain from the world at large.

Even the Foundation does not have the resources to hide a fleet of ships appearing in orbit. It is possible, given a clear night and a lack of light pollution, to see orbiting satellites with the naked eye. If you can see something the size of a bus as bright moving light with no magnification, anyone with simple binoculars or telescopes would be able to see some reasonable detail on spacecraft the size of buildings. And any serious attempt to conquer, enslave, or exterminate humanity would require transporting sufficient military forces to defeat the combined military-industrial power of the planet.

"Simple" solutions to attempts by HEs to conquer, enslave, or exterminate humanity will prove insufficient.

Could we simply point SCP-682 or SCP-076-2 at the invaders, or asking SCP-343 to "make the aliens go away"? Yes, we could. This would probably also be either ineffectual or boring, so exercise some creativity and try something else. Also, it seems unlikely the Foundation would risk exposing dangerous and sapient SCPs to the aliens lest we find ourselves fighting two enemies rather than one. In the course of writing this, you're sure to come across "spoilers" that would instantly solve everything. Why it doesn't work, I'll leave up to you to explain.

Who can participate in Project Heimdall?
Anyone! If something strikes your fancy, write it up. This is supposed to be cross-disciplinary, so documents could range from theories on world political and military reaction (political science, military science, economics, etc.) to potential technological countermeasures (physics, engineering, etc.) to what our attackers are like (biology, psychology, etc.) There's a list of suggestions below that people are free to add to or use.

Is this official canon?
Everything involved in Project Heimdall is officially canon within Project Heimdall. Beyond that, it's up to you.

Who is running this project, out of universe?
Well, Hornby came up with the idea and got the ball rolling, but he isn't Senior Staff. While he's up for helping to herd cats coordinate things related to Project Heimdall, he's not "running" things in any sort of formal, moderating, or administrative way. In many ways, there isn't really one particular person "running" this - it is, after all, a collaborative exercise.

How do I get involved?
Go. Write something. Link it here when done under the "Project Documents" heading. Tag it with "heimdall". Hopefully, it'll stick, else it will be downvoted into deletion like any other work on the site. But hopefully it will stick.

My reaction to this project is "Meh."
That's fine; nothing on the wiki is for everyone.

-Hide Information

Requested Documentation

FROM: General William Pendergast (Deputy Director of Foundation Contingency Planning Operations)
TO: All Staff working on Project Heimdall
RE: Requested Documentation

The O5 Council has requested further documentation related to Project Heimdall (CPO 83910301). All staff should feel free to pursue any of these or other topics of research at their leisure.

This is a list of ideas for tales, reports, etc. that might be drawn up in relation to Project Heimdall. Feel free to add to it if you have ideas you think might be interesting to see someone write on, or to remove topics if you write them up.

Political / Economic / Social

International Relations and Extraterrestrial Contact: United We Stand or Every One For Themselves?
Selling to the Dead: Economic Ramifications of Extraterrestrial Attack
Panic in the Streets or Keeping Calm and Carrying On: Public Reaction to First Contact
Applied High School History: Lessons from the Conquest of the New World
Public Disclosure Disorder: What Happens When the World's Most Well-kept Secret is Public
At What Cost? Defining Ethics During an Alien Incursion
Do We Have To? Working Alongside Other Secret Institutions and Agencies
#Invasion: Use of Social Media in Damage Assessment, Risk Management and Recovery

Military

The Longest Supply Chain Ever Known: Logistics of A Planetary Invasion
What Happens If We Can't Nuke Them? Planetary Strategic Defense
Earth Needs YOU! Raising an Army in Armageddon
Strategic Division of Labor: Keeping the Super Weapons Secret
The Concerned Citizen: Taking Necessary Action to Circumvent Civilian Objections

Natural Sciences

Our Microscopic Allies, or The Fourth Horseman? Biological Interplanetary Warfare
Know Thy Enemy: Xenopsychology and Planetary Defense
Playing With Fire: Capability for the Reverse Engineering of Alien Technologies and Potential Risks Involved
The Coal and Uranium Would've Lasted Forever: Developing Power Generation Techniques to Empower Future Technologies
NOT THE BEES: Impact of Alien Biology on Livestock and Agriculture

Anomalous Activities

Liability Liquidation: Is "Destroy Destroy Destroy" a Necessary Step?
Asset Mobilization: Identifying and Using Anomalous Artifacts Capable of Assisting in Planetary Defense
████ Physics! Rapid Development in Alternative Sciences
Secure Contain Protect? Rethinking Foundation Priorities Under Fire

Further Research on Extraterrestrial SCPs

This is simply a list of SCPs tagged "extraterrestrial". If you wish to use them, be sure to contact the author first.

SCP File #	Billith's Proposal	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-002-EX	Research Contact	Scientist Lim
SCP File #	SCP-037	Research Contact	(user deleted)
SCP File #	SCP-1050	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1094-EX	Research Contact	Scientist Lim
SCP File #	SCP-1121	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1124	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1162	Research Contact	DesertMoonGW
SCP File #	SCP-1233	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1281	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1396	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-144	Research Contact	(user deleted)
SCP File #	SCP-1514	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1541	Research Contact	TomatointheMirror
SCP File #	SCP-1543-J	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1548	Research Contact	CoolTops2018
SCP File #	SCP-1548-EX	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1574	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-163	Research Contact	DesertMoonGW
SCP File #	SCP-1640	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1682	Research Contact	Agent Jack07
SCP File #	SCP-1683	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1685	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1694	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-179	Research Contact	DesertMoonGW
SCP File #	SCP-1795	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1812	Research Contact	Agent Jack07
SCP File #	SCP-1843	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1935	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1941	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1958	Research Contact	RadicalJester
SCP File #	SCP-1959	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1960	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-1980	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2001	Research Contact	Raggabrash
SCP File #	SCP-2002	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2004	Research Contact	TrocyteV
SCP File #	SCP-2005	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2020	Research Contact	(user deleted)
SCP File #	SCP-2027	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2040	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2063	Research Contact	TomatointheMirror
SCP File #	SCP-2069	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2070	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2088	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2100	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2117	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2154	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2222	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2226	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2237	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2362	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2399	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-240	Research Contact	Agent Sinon
SCP File #	SCP-2460	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2474	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2499	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2525	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-255	Research Contact	Agent Sinon
SCP File #	SCP-2578	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2585	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2651	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2670	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2686	Research Contact	Wogglebug
SCP File #	SCP-2713	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2716	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2721	Research Contact	Tutwater
SCP File #	SCP-2762	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2777	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2798	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-2821	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2824	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-2845	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-2859	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-287	Research Contact	Agent Jack07
SCP File #	SCP-2886	Research Contact	Agent Jack07
SCP File #	SCP-2998	Research Contact	DesertMoonGW
SCP File #	SCP-3003	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-3007	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-3029	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-304	Research Contact	AnotherBubblebath
SCP File #	SCP-3098	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3179	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3200	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-3201	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3230	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3321	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3417	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3473	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3493	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3527	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-366	Research Contact	AnotherBubblebath
SCP File #	SCP-3788	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3841	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3875	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3953	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3965	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-3994	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-4011	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-4012	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4014	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4066	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4106	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4113	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4142	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4148	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4220	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-4262	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-4335	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-435	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4413	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4431	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4444	Research Contact	aismallard
SCP File #	SCP-4475	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4516	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4547	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4548	Research Contact	ADream
SCP File #	SCP-4762	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4774	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4794	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4827	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4845	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-488	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4887	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-4899	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-4936	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5005	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-5052	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5092	Research Contact	FFCa2-76
SCP File #	SCP-5099	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5111	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-515	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5197	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5212	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5300	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5334	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5392	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5607	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5623	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5649	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5651	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5714	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5761	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5775	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-580	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5800	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5808	Research Contact	AnotherBubblebath
SCP File #	SCP-5865	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-5909	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6008	Research Contact	ItsDenali
SCP File #	SCP-6033	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6100	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6108	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6118	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6187	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6240	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6372	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6523	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6614	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6669	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6695	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6812	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6886	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-6983	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7002	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7009	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7020	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7050	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7070	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7091	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7117	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7328	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-736	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7474-EX	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7501	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy
SCP File #	SCP-7999	Research Contact	MultiFandomFanboy