SCP Idea - Neurological Mycelium

SCP Idea - Neurological Mycelium

methylpropene 29 Nov 2019 11:23

The general idea is that this SCP is a type of fungi that on closer inspection, appears to be constructed of human nerve cells (specific biology is still to be ironed out). It is a species of fungi all on its own, and has different sexes; it is able to reproduce. It is also able to be cloned like regular mycelium. Spores are found to enclose some type of amniotic fluid.

This SCP is dangerous due to what it does when its spores are inhaled by immunocompromised animals. It effectively destroys peripheral nervous tissue in its host causing allodynia and symptoms associated with Guillain-Barré Syndrome. As this nervous tissue is destroyed, it builds up its own nervous tissue, effectively re-purposing the body when it reaches the brain and creating a completely new individual with new perceptions of the world. At a point, the original individual's brain may still be conscious of everything that is happening, but is unable to move their body from the neck-down. However, their body would still be working (due to the SCP's neural matter taking over functions) and would then be taken over painstakingly. I believe that's where the horror could lie if it is written correctly.

The first instance of the SCP was discovered after a terminal patient (who happened to forage mushrooms, knowledge given by the family of the patient) eventually woke up, with the identity of a completely different person. I don't know if this new individual will be anomalous in terms of their behavior, but they may want to keep spreading the spores…? I'm still figuring that one out.

I also am unsure if this SCP is either Safe or Keter, due to the fact spores are the hardest to get rid of due to their micrometer scale and hardiness. It's Safe in containment, but there are too many instances of it to know if it truly has been contained completely. Perhaps the containment procedures regard a certain area of land it is known to grow in?

This SCP was brainstormed with reference to how a human's nervous system bears resemblance to dead branches; and how mycelium also happens to be similar to them as well.

Re: SCP Idea - Neurological Mycelium

Zyn 30 Nov 2019 21:23

Took a quick look at this since it fell to page 4 with no replies. Okay, here we go.

The general idea is that this SCP is a type of fungi […]

General note, we already have a fair number of weird fungal SCPs. Here's a quick list: http://www.scp-wiki.net/system:page-tags/tag/fungus#pages (you can also use the Tag Search tool to generate a list that includes title, author, and rating). Also, why does this thing mimic human brains when there are tons of other animals in the world with brains?

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it builds up its own nervous tissue, effectively re-purposing the body when it reaches the brain and creating a completely new individual with new perceptions of the world.

This seems kind of reminiscent of cordyceps IRL, as well as a bunch of fungus-related characters/entities/monsters/etc. from popular franchise material (relevant trope listing and examples here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FesteringFungus). Also, why does it do this? How does it benefit the fungus to engage in this behavior in the first pace (since it takes a lot more nutrients and upkeep to keep a mammalian body alive and healthy than a fungus, which can happily hang out underground with some tree roots)?

At a point, the original individual's brain may still be conscious of everything that is happening, but is unable to move their body from the neck-down. However, their body would still be working (due to the SCP's neural matter taking over functions) and would then be taken over painstakingly. I believe that's where the horror could lie if it is written correctly.

This is a pretty common effect so far as horror writing goes, especially given that scarier things exist in real life (like the aforementioned cordyceps). We see mushroom-induced horror in lots of places, like the Looking Glass Wars book series where pink mushrooms are used as murder weapons (they feed on saliva and will grow down a person's windpipe and strangle their heart).

The first instance of the SCP was discovered after a terminal patient (who happened to forage mushrooms, knowledge given by the family of the patient) eventually woke up, with the identity of a completely different person.

I'm not sure if people would necessarily immediately think "this person has a new identity" as opposed to "this person is mentally unsound/hallucinating super hard". Unless it's just standard alien-like mental takeover and the fungus is speaking through the human, in which case… how did it learn to talk human speak? (Although… again, parasitic takeover of someone's mind to puppet them into speaking when the parasite can't is also a pretty common setup for horror writing: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PuppeteerParasite)

I don't know if this new individual will be anomalous in terms of their behavior, but they may want to keep spreading the spores…? I'm still figuring that one out.

Yeah, you'd need to have some sort of more unique or unpredictable element here. Otherwise this just seems like another episode of The X-Files or the like.

I also am unsure if this SCP is either Safe or Keter, due to the fact spores are the hardest to get rid of due to their micrometer scale and hardiness.

Neither. I would put it as Euclid since it requires a bit more care on the biological hazard handling side than just putting it in a simple locker, but the containment procedures wouldn't necessitate too many Foundation resources either.

It's Safe in containment, but there are too many instances of it to know if it truly has been contained completely.

This is irrelevant, since otherwise technically every anomaly would be considered Keter using the whole "we don't know 100% that all of them are in Foundation custody" logic.

Perhaps the containment procedures regard a certain area of land it is known to grow in?

This seems like a bad idea, especially since spores can travel on the wind. I personally would recommend that they keep a couple samples of various growth stages in stasis/cold storage, and that's it.

Sorry, but I personally wasn't too interested in this. It feels like a mishmash of various common horror-writing tropes, many of which have been done well already in more memorable franchise works. I feel like you'd need to dig more into why this mycelium behaves the way it does and what it hopes to accomplish by changing people's personalities, beyond just acting like human-attacking cordyceps. For some examples of ways you can add more worldbuilding depth to your articles, consider this page: http://www.scp-wiki.net/you-already-know-what-the-fuck-is-going-on

Last edited on 30 Nov 2019 23:32 by Zyn Show more

Re: SCP Idea - Neurological Mycelium

methylpropene 30 Nov 2019 22:18

Thank you so much for taking a look, I thought I did something wrong in the initial process…! Please take your time.

I neglected to post my sandbox page, it has some notes which show a condensed version (if that would be helpful at all). Thank you again.

Re: SCP Idea - Neurological Mycelium

Zyn 30 Nov 2019 22:25

I neglected to post my sandbox page, it has some notes which show a condensed version (if that would be helpful at all).

As per the Ideas Critique forum guidelines: http://www.scp-wiki.net/forum/t-1019200/how-to-use-this-forum-ideas

Please don't just link or excerpt a sandbox draft. Give us a quick explanation of the concept. We don't need to see all the complicated details that would be present in a draft; we're helping out with the core idea. Link a sandbox only as optional reading or if a reviewer asks for it.

I am only reviewing the forum post at this time.

I thought I did something wrong in the initial process…!

As a general note, oftentimes reviewers may prefer to review a different post if a concept summary has too much extraneous text and they don't have the time to commit to going through such a complex setup. Offering a reviewer more text to review doesn't quite encourage others to want to assist; rather, let a reviewer ask their own questions and then provide information when prompted. That way you know which material is of interest to the reader, and you don't overload a reviewer with material they're not interested in.

Last edited on 30 Nov 2019 22:25 by Zyn Show more

Re: SCP Idea - Neurological Mycelium

methylpropene 30 Nov 2019 23:00

Ah, that slipped my mind. I should’ve read around more carefully before posting the link. I apologise.

And I do understand, I get that this concept has a lot to swallow. Thank you for clearing that up…!

Re: SCP Idea - Neurological Mycelium

Zyn 30 Nov 2019 23:33

No worries; getting used to the forums needs a little practice sometimes.

I've posted my review. If you would like to contact other reviewers for a greater range of responses, consider the IRC chatrooms or the Butterfly Squad Roster listing.

Re: SCP Idea - Neurological Mycelium

methylpropene 01 Dec 2019 04:54

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this. I've taken your criticisms on board, and might mess around with the idea a little more, but I am aware now that… it is sort of based off some tired tropes, thank you for being honest.

I'll keep racking my brains for something else. Have a very good day/night.

Re: SCP Idea - Neurological Mycelium

Zyn 01 Dec 2019 04:55

Best of luck!