Chapter 32: The World Inside The Red Sea Object! The Military Is Dispatched.
On the internet...
"Damn! What the hell? Either this guy is brave, or he's just plain stupid".
"Doesn't he know how dangerous these anomalies can be"?
"Yeah, and obviously everything would've been fine if he didn't take the initiative to go through the mirror". "He's clearly asking for trouble"!
"Fuck"! "What's going through this guy's head"? "What if something follows him back to our world"?
"..."
SHIELD Headquarters.
Many of the agents were stunned by Tony's actions, but a few of them thought of this as an opportunity and focussed on the light curtain. If Tony Stark is courageous enough to risk his life to find the truth hidden behind this Red Sea Object, then so be it. It just gives them the chance to gain more information about this anomaly.
"What's the ETA on the team headed to Stark's mansion"? Asked Nick Fury.
One of the agents reported: "Director, the team should arrive in about 20 minutes, however"… He hesitated for a bit. "The military has been dispatched, headed by General Ross.
"General Ross"? Nick Fury was annoyed, he slammed the table and said: "Any type of supernatural, or extraterrestrial threats to the world is under the jurisdiction of SHIELD"! "Who gave a General the authority to act"?
"Perhaps it was ordered by the higher ups". "After all, an alternate world only means new resources to them". Natasha said.
Nick fury was even more annoyed. "Dammit! Their greed for power will put our world at risk"!
...
As he said that, the video on the light curtain switched to the outside of Starks mansion. Dozens of soldiers in Armoured vehicles surrounded the Mansion. One of the vehicles seemed to be dragging a large armoured trailer made from reinforced steel, and something seemed to be imprisoned inside.
...…..
Seeing this scene, people on the Internet reacted with fervour.
"Holy Shit"! "They actually dispatched the military"! "I live nearby, and I'm pretty sure that's the military! It doesn't look like a drill"!
"Oh my god"! "You're right! I live in Malibu too. I just saw the military"! "Don't tell me…those Special Contained Objects inventoried before are all real"?
"After everything that's been shown, are you still unwilling to believe in these anomalies"?
"They're probably all real"! "The person leading the military looks like General Ross". "I doubt he'd be invited just to play a role".
"By the way, this Foundation has the technology to create such a light curtain around the world". "Perhaps they have connections with the military. Maybe that's why they were dispatched".
"I doubt it". "This foundation has such advanced technology, perhaps even the military didn't know of their existence, until now at least".
.....
Inside Stark's Mansion.
General Ross and Colonel Rhodes walked in the laboratory under the protection of a group of soldiers.
Once inside, they found a full length mirror in the corner of the laboratory. Through the mirror, they could see Tony holding the Red Sea Object and observing a large cylindrical pillar that was rotating on its own. Holes were distributed throughout the object at seemingly random intervals. On occasion, a beam of white light was emitted from these holes.
Tony's attention was attracted by these beams of light, and he turned around to look at what they were connected to. But suddenly, he froze with a look of shock on his face. The beams of light were connected to a multitude of objects similar to SCP 093. These various copies of the mirror portal system seemed to lead to other mysterious worlds.
"Oh shit! Tony! Get out of there! Don't do anything stupid"! General Rhodes couldn't help exclaiming in worry.
However, Tony on the other side of the mirror couldn't hear what he said.
"There are so many Red Sea objects"? General Ross's eyes lit up with excitement.
With so many of these Red Sea objects, if he can get a hold of them, he could organize an army to enter each portal. Just thinking of the resources, or even the land they could conquer made him forget the extreme dangers these anomalies could pose.
...….
On the other side of the mirror.
Tony soon found a ladder leading downwards. After a bit of hesitation, he took a deep breath and went down the ladder.
Then, he found himself in a large clean room full of computer equipments that appeared to be quite antiquated.
"This looks like a laboratory".
Looking at these computers, Tony's eyes were filled with curiosity. Momentarily forgetting about the fears he had of these anomalies, he continued to search the laboratory. Suddenly, he came across a large CRT monitor, displaying a single word in 8 colours at roughly 5 second intervals.
[ 'Clean'. 'Unclean'. 'Clean'. 'Clean'. 'Lost'. 'Unclean'. ]
Tony was momentarily stunned, not knowing what these words meant.
...…
SHIELD Headquarters.
Nick Fury's brows knitted as he thought in contemplation.
"There are so many computers, which means the civilization in this world has at least reached the information age".
"Perhaps their technology is even more advanced than ours"! "So… what could've destroyed such a world"?
He stared at the words flashing on the monitor.
"Clean, Unclean".
"Do these words describe the worlds on the other side of those Red Sea Objects"?
"If so, then what determines if the world is Clean or Unclean"? Nick Fury thought to himself anxiously, not liking the implications.
...
On the screen of the light curtain——
"This looks like some kind of monitoring system". "Perhaps these words represent the state of each world on the other side of those Red Sea Objects"? Tony exclaimed.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed down and continued exploring the laboratory.
"Wait...is this computer still on"? He stopped in front of one of the computers. On the computer screen, several documents were displayed which captured his attention.
[Report, Situation X-549/Situation X-550, Evacuation log]
"Interesting…this looks like a report of an incident that occurred in this world". Tony murmured to himself. As he was about to click on this report, he saw another document that seemed more interesting.
[Report from Agent █-██-█ of the SCP Foundation.]
"Huh… so the Foundation came to this world"? "Or perhaps it's a Foundation from a different world"! Tony was even more curious now.