The SCP Foundation is the most
powerful organization on planet Earth. Thanks to their cooperation with all world
governments as well as private organizations, front businesses, and wealthy benefactors, they
have truly unlimited funds. Their ranks include the best and brightest humanity has to offer,
and even some minds outside the human race. They have access to advanced and anomalous
technology from powerful weapons to memory wiping amnestics to state-of-the-art equipment
that even Elon Musk could only dream of. And this is a good thing, too, since we rely on
them to contain thousands of anomalies and stay vigilant for thousands or even millions more.
Everything from immortal lizards to supernatural Sarkic flesh viruses to bonafide, reality-warping
demigods like the Deer, the Gate Guardian, and the legendary Scarlet King. And who sits at
the tip of this mighty pyramid, delegating to everyone below and keeping the wheels turning
on this impossibly large behemoth of a group? Of course, it’s the O5 Council! A group
of thirteen humans with so much money and institutional power, they’re the closest a
non-anomalous figure can come to being a God. Also commonly known as O5 Command,
The Overseers, and the Overwatch, people below Level 2 clearance at the
Foundation have no idea who they are, or if they even actually exist. Those at Levels
3 and 4 know just enough to be terrified of them, and little else. Between them, they know every
single secret kept by a Foundation known for utmost confidentiality. They are the hungry
spider at the center of this web of monsters, magic, backstabbing, and espionage, noticing even
the tiniest of vibrations on their silk strings. Nothing about the O5 Council is simple or
straightforward. Of the information out there and available about them, there’s really no
way to know just how much of it is intentional misinformation put out there to protect their
secrets. It’s said that they use complex layers of pseudonyms and body doubles. Some say that
each number in the Council actually represents several different people using the title. Some
say there are far fewer members than thirteen and these are just a series of smokescreens to avoid
detection. Some even say, to avoid total capture or assassination, at least one member remains in
a space station orbiting the earth at all times. Today, we’re going to tell you
what we know. Perhaps it’s true, perhaps it isn’t, but as with all things regarding
the O5 Council, it’s certain to be fascinating either way. We’re going to look at the Council’s
role in the Foundation, the kind of staff and the Mobile Task Force that works around them, and some
of the scattered and often contradictory theories about the identities of each of the thirteen
members of this exclusive Foundation cabal. We hope you have your Level 5 clearance too, or
we both might not make it to the end of the video. This is the SCP Foundation’s O5 Council. Like a lot of secret organizations, the
Foundation goes to great lengths to make sure their forbidden knowledge remains secret.
That’s why low level junior researchers, guards, and janitorial staff aren’t privy
to where all the bodies are buried - both literally and metaphorically speaking. The
Foundation has five levels of security clearance, and the O5 Council and their select staff are
the only ones who are at security Level 5 - also known as Thaumiel Clearance. O5 Council members
are also considered Class A Foundation Staff, meaning they are of critical value
to the operations of the Foundation. As such, they’re not permitted to interact
with any anomalies for fear of corruption, alteration, or death. Though of course, seeing
as they’re the most powerful people on earth, they don’t always follow their own rules
on this one. In the event of an emergency, their evacuation and transportation to a
designated Safe Zone becomes a top priority to all Foundation underlings. They rarely, if
ever, interact with the majority of the Foundation instead favoring to use a vast network of
messengers and go-betweens for security purposes. Much like the US Supreme Court, being a member
of the O5 Council is supposed to be a lifetime appointment, and the death and or replacement
of a member of the O5 Council is considered a truly extraordinary event. On occasion, there
have been rumors of the O5 members performing power moves and killing their own colleagues
to consolidate control. This type of event is thought to have been the ultimate fate of Dr.
Jack Bright’s father, who supposedly ascended to the position of O5 in hopes of freeing his
anomalous daughter from containment. Rumor has it that he was assassinated by his fellow
Council members and replaced for his trouble. While the O5 Council aren’t meant to interact
with any anomalies, this isn’t always the case in practice. It’s possible that members of the
O5 Council make regular use of their access to SCP-006, a small well whose water has the ability
to cure disease and imbue vitality, health, and longevity in anyone who drinks it. It’s believed
by some that, as a precaution against potential attacks from powerful reality warpers and CK Class
reality restructuring events, each member of O5 carries a small charm made from the flesh of a
deceased but immensely strong reality warper. This supposedly creates a pocket of dimensional
stability around them wherever they go. While it’s believed that all members
of O5 Council are fundamentally human, it’s possible or even likely that many of them
have experienced anomalous alterations during their ascent to ultimate power. They’re also said
to surround themselves with a number of powerful, anomalous individuals for protection.
Which leads us nicely to our next point: Who works directly with the notoriously private
and inaccessible O5 Council? Let’s take a look. First, the O5 Council’s muscle,
Mobile Task Force Alpha-01, appropriately nicknamed the Red Right
Hand. These are the best of the best, handpicked for both skill and absolute loyalty
to the Council. They work with an extra layer of secrecy and accept their orders directly from O5.
If the Council decides it doesn’t care for you, then the red laser dot that appears on your head
an hour later is attached to the rifle of a Red Right Hand operative. This is a group with a
checkered past though. Many of their members are believed to have splintered from the group to form
the Chaos Insurgency, a group in direct opposition to the Foundation. Though if you ever bring this
up within earshot of a member of the O5 Council, your likelihood of going mysteriously
missing shortly after is extremely high. But it takes more than just guns to keep
the Foundation’s mission moving forward. The figure who represents the interests of the O5 Council on the world stage is
known simply as The Administrator. This mysterious, eccentric, and likely anomalous
figure is the powerful mouthpiece of the Council, and it’s a role that’s been held by a number of
people since the Foundation was first founded. The other staff assigned to the O5 Council
are sometimes referred to as the Factotum, and these are some of the only people outside
of the O5 Council occasionally afforded Level 5 clearances. These bodyguards and personal
assistants are often immensely powerful, both in the sense that they wield a great deal
of institutional strength, and that they’re often powerful anomalies themselves. Don’t expect
just anyone to get elected to these positions, after all. Only the very best get to work
in close proximity to the O5 Council. So, this leaves us with the big question: Who
exactly are the O5 Council? The short answer is that we don’t know for sure, and the information
we do have about the thirteen most powerful people in the world is often contradictory and strange.
First, we have O5-1, often considered the most powerful of the entire Council. Many believe
that O5-1 is one of the occult holdovers from the member organizations that first
started the Foundation, and if that’s true, O5-1 is likely to be at least 200 years old.
They’ve been able to survive to this age thanks to magical or anomalous intervention. The
race and gender of O5-1 varies between accounts. O5-2 Is considered to be one of the more
actively anomalous of the O5 Council members. While accounts are split on whether they are male
or female, consistent elements in stories about them paint the picture of an elderly person
with clues to a mysterious past, like having crucifixion scars, or consistent ties to Dr.
Sophia Light, a holdover from an erased timeline. O5-3 is consistently seen as male, and largely
seen as being of European descent, regardless of the other details shared. He’s generally
considered to be extremely intelligent, as well as one of the nicer members of the Council,
acting as a kind of conscience for the others. O5-4 is another figure considered to be most
likely male, and the circumstances of their entrance into the Council are generally
considered to be rather spectacular… whether you believe the story that they
got in by killing the previous O5-4 during a hostile takeover situation or that
they were the first to collect the entire Little Mister series from Dr. Wondertainment.
O5-5 Is also most likely male, and some accounts consider him to be one of the more front-facing
members of the Council. He’s more likely to interact with the public than the others, and
it’s speculated that he’s the one who runs the vast network of front businesses regularly
used for cover by the Foundation at large. O5-6 is most likely male, and probably of
European descent. His reputation is mixed though. Some speculate that he was formally the
Foundation’s top field agent, while others believe he’s a puppet of the Global Occult Coalition,
one of the Foundation’s rival organizations. To some, he’s known as “The Cowboy.”
Some believe that O5-7 is a woman of South Asian descent. She’s said
to be a charismatic master tactician, and plays a crucial role in selecting and hiring
the elite staff that work around the O5 Council. O5-8 is one of the more mysterious figures, even
among the already extremely secretive O5 Council. Some speculate that they may have been
assassinated, as they haven’t been seen in public for quite some time, though this may
just be a ruse to fool would-be backstabbers. O5-9 is another somewhat controversial figure
within the Council. Some believe that O5-9 is a woman hired to join the Council directly
from the public sector after a scandal. Others believe that O5-9 is merely the
informal title for whomever is the acting head of the Foundation Intelligence Agency.
O5-10 is widely believed to have vast combat experience of one form or another.
Some refer to them as The Assassin, a female former Foundation hitman who’s
likely the most proficient killer alive. Others call them The Veteran or The Mad General,
a former high level member of the US military. It’s speculated by some that O5-11 is a
high level politician placed by Council on the United States Senate to maintain Foundation
control over political questions and dealings. Others believe he’s an eighty year old Japanese
bureaucrat with self-esteem issues. Yet another rumor states that this person is actually the
Foundation’s chief disinformation officer, so maybe both of these rumors are just
lies meant to lead us off the track. O5-12 is believed by many to have once been Adam
Bright, father of famous Foundation researcher and anomaly Dr. Jack Bright. He worked his way
onto the Council to try to free his own daughter, SCP - 321, from containment, and was assassinated
by his fellow Council members in the process. Or O5-12 might be the accountant for the Overseer
Council. Maybe one day we’ll know whether O5-12 is best known for being someone who climbed
the ranks of the most powerful organization in the world to save his daughter or
if he just really likes spreadsheets. Whether O5-13 ever actually existed is
hotly debated. Many speculate that there were originally only 12 members, and that 13
was added as a tiebreaker in Council votes. Others say 13 was only added due to the
modern occult significance of the number 13. Some believe there is no 13, and it’s
merely another attempt to keep everyone on their toes. Or there’s a rumor that all of
the members of the council are O5-13, taking turns to act as the tie breaking thirteenth vote.
Whatever the case is with any of the particular members of the group, the O5 Council is one of
the smallest and yet, most important groups of people in the SCP Foundation Universe.
They’re the ones behind everything, hearing every whisper and pulling every
string. And if you know anything about them, even the facts you just saw in this video,
it’s probably only because they want you to. Now go check out “SCP Chaos Insurgency
Explained” and “SCP - 001 - Which Is The Real 001?” for more explorations into
the lore of the SCP Foundation universe.
