Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

Summary:

A choose your own SCP Article!

Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

NullnNow 05 Jun 2020 05:52

Seeking Greenlights: Yes

Page Type: SCP Article

Genre (Optional): Other - Choose Your Own Adventure

Page Layout (Optional): It starts off as a normal SCP Article, but branching decisions start to show up in the exploration logs.

Elevator Pitch: There is a door that, when entered, one becomes stuck in a superposed state until someone reads the SCP article.

+ The Science

This article is heavily inspired by 2 scientific phenomenons found in quantum physics, superposition and the no clone theorem.

Superposition is when two states become one. For example, lets say we superposed A and B, and that said superposed value is C. C would equal both A and B. However, when one looks at C's value it would become either A or B. This is due to the no clone theorem, which states that it is impossible to recreate an unknown quantum state (which in this case would be either A or B).

I just simplified like a metric ton of books and I apologize profusely for any and all quantum physicists reading this.

Central Narrative: There will be multiple branching existences of this SCP. However, when one takes a look at said SCP as a whole it becomes clear that what exactly it is changes whenever the SCP article is read. Below is a list of several topics I would like to cover in the various endings/journies to said endings.

+ Various Topics

• A discussion as to how a researcher at the SCP Foundation got involved in the Foundation (after all, its not like most people know about them)
• A discussion of what it is like for the average Joe in a world full of SCPs and amnetisations
• Various monsters trapped inside their reality, waiting to be freed
• The story of a D-class who comes to grips with his disposable nature
• The story of a researcher who has to struggle with the Foundations grey morals

Hook/Attention-Grabber: The initial hook would come from the choose your own adventure aspect of the article, however the secondary hook would come from the end of the article. At the end of the article a small piece of a puzzle is 'revealed'. When these pieces are put together an SCP that controls the very fabric of the universe is implied.

Additional Notes: Ideally there would be around 16 different endings to the SCP article, but I doubt I will have enough time or energy to do so. Chances are the number of endings will be closer to 4.

Re: Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

Truc Linh 05 Jun 2020 17:36

T.L. at your service!

+ Here lies crit crit

I really like that you're taking this "multi endings" approach like in an RPG game. However, I am not an expert on quantum physics, and I doubt that I would be able to provide adequate insight for this concept, as I will most likely not understand most of the answers you have for my questions.

Due to my lack of knowledge on this topic, I recommend reaching out to a different reviewer more suited for your concept. They can help you way more than I can. I deeply apologize for not being of much help, and I wish you best of luck.

If you have any questions regarding my critique, please let me know. You are welcome to PM me for another look, or you may follow up with someone from the Butterfly Squad Roster or IRC Chat rooms.

Last edited on 06 Jun 2020 19:43 by Truc Linh Show more

Re: Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

Dr Sage Evergreen 07 Jun 2020 20:14

Summoned Via PM
This is complicated.
A good kind of complicated.

+ show block

Your concept is nothing short of fascinating…I'm not exactly the most educated on Quantum Mechanics, but I guess I think I can understand you idea well enough from the explanation you offer. Rarely do SCP writers go so in-depth to root their articles into an actual scientific phenomenon, and I commend you for doing that. Although, I don't think you need to explain everything about the SCP's anomalous property. It's okay to leave things to the reader's understanding, or allow them to guess what causes an SCP's anomalous ability.

That being said, I also really like your story's concept. It reminds me of Pedantique's SCP-001 Proposal, which I highly recommend you go check out if writing an article like this. I'm not exactly the most talented or intuitive writer when it comes to creating SCPs like this, but I think that you can pull it off, especially since your SCP is rooted into actual science. It may be hard to pull off such a complex SCP as your first concept, but I think you may be able to do it. Here's a greenlight, and good luck with your SCP! Please PM me once you have the Draft, because I really want to see where you go with it!

Last edited on 07 Jun 2020 20:15 by Dr Sage Evergreen Show more

Re: Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

NullnNow 08 Jun 2020 21:44

Thank you so much for your critiques! I definitely think that I need to trim down the explanation of the SCP in order to make it less complicated. I will be sure to PM you once I have a draft. Thank you once again for your time!

Re: Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

Zoobeeny 11 Jun 2020 03:25

Summoned via PM.

I like the choose-your-own adventure aspect, but I’m not quite sold on the SCP itself or the narrative. How does the superposing door have to do with the rest of the narrative? Not only that, I’m not quite sure how the various endings to your narrative will tie together.

Until more is explained, I’m afraid my crit will remain as vague as it is.

Re: Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

NullnNow 11 Jun 2020 18:53

First and foremost, I would like to thank you for critiques. With that said, here are the answers to your questions:

+ How does the superposing door have to do with the rest of the narrative?

The superposition aspect does two things in terms of the narrative. The first (and most important) thing that it does is it justifies the choose-your-own adventure approach. You see, there is a thought experiment called "Schrodinger's Cat" that is often used to introduce people to the idea of superposition. This thought experiment states that "if a cat is in a closed box, until said box is open the cat is both dead and alive. Once the box is opened one of these states of being will collapse, and the cat will either be dead or alive".

What my article will essentially be doing is giving the reader this box, and will present them with an opportunity to either explore the reality wherein the cat is dead, or to explore the reality wherein the cat is alive.

The second thing superposition does (in terms of the overall narrative) is that it makes the 'monster' feel more dangerous. This is because the No Clone Theorem and superposition are both things that exist in our world. The idea that there is an entity that consists of all the superposed states that haven't happened is mind boggling, and I find there to be at least a little bit of primordial fear at the thought of such an entity, especially if said entity had some sort of role in which superposed state we collapse into.

By giving the reader the option to choose which superposed state the characters of the article will experience the reader will become the monster in a sense. They are the one who is choosing the fate that these people will experience.

+ How the various endings will tie together.

The different endings won't be directly connected. Instead, each of the different endings will contain pieces of a puzzle. This puzzle, when put together, describes the true nature of the SCP (which is where superposition starts coming in). The true nature of the SCP is that it is the culmination of all the superposed states that didn't happen. For example, lets say that you opened a box that had a cat in it. Upon opening it the cat is alive (yay!), well the SCP would be all the realities wherein the cat is dead.

In one of the endings, this entity can describe what it is. In another ending it could describe its motives, attitude towards humanity, etc., etc.,.

And just a cool thing

Also, the choose-your-own adventure aspect enables me to do a pretty cool (or at least in my opinion) WTF moment. At the start of each expedition log there is statement. A snippet of this can be seen below.

was originally supposed to be performed by Dr. ███████, while Ms. Grey observed and helped when necessary. However, due to a last minute familial issue, Dr. ███████ was unable to perform this experiment

However, I can retroactively change this snippet. In one of the endings I am working on the statement above becomes

was originally supposed to be performed by Dr. I AM YOUR, while Ms. Grey observed and helped when necessary. However, due to a last minute familial issue, Dr. LIFE, YOUR was unable to perform this experiment

The hidden text (when coupled with some other hidden text throughout the rest of the article) serves as an introduction to a statement from the SCP. Without the hidden text this statement is something along the lines of

Everywhere, and nowhere; the fabric that makes up your reality. You are not in control. You are what I say you are. You eat what I tell you to eat. You breath when I tell you to breath.

but, with the hidden text, this statement becomes

I am your life, your existence, as we are that which you are not. Your god. Without me, you are nothing, and I am everything, everywhere, and nowhere; the fabric that makes up your reality. You are not in control. You are what I say you are. You eat what I tell you to eat. You breath when I tell you to breath.

Last edited on 11 Jun 2020 19:05 by NullnNow Show more

Re: Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

Zoobeeny 11 Jun 2020 23:42

So, while I understand the concept of superpositions, I still don't quite understand how reading the article directly affects the door. Are you saying that the reading of this SCP is directly observing the system? How would anyone figure this out, since the article wouldn't have existed prior to its discovery? Basically, why does the reading of the article influence this door, when the Foundation would've assumed that the SCP simply traps things that walk through it.

From this, you state that the door traps things that go through it. How does this happen? Where is this door?

How do you plan on exploring the many themes? When I said "How do the various endings tie together?" I also want to know how the reader of the article will end up exploring these various topics. Assuming the reader influences the entity that's trapped within the door, how are you narratively going to show the various stories you have planned?

I also don't quite agree with the idea that the No Clone Theorem makes this SCP any more scarier since, as far as I know, readers on the site generally are familiar with the multiple universe theory which would comprise the infinite other possibilities.

Finally, I'm a bit confused as to how the other superposed states of reality seemingly commands over this reality.

Re: Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

NullnNow 19 Jun 2020 06:26

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the long wait. I've been a bit busy with some IRL junk.

How does reading the article affect the door?
So let's say a person enters the door, we (the reader) don't know where that person now is until we read more of the article. By doing so, we are essentially opening Schrodingers Box.

How would people figure out that this is what is happening?
…Well, the short answer is quantum physics… The longer answer is that through the use of special sensors one can gather data about a superposed particle. Before it collapses one can learn the weight is has of collapsing into value A and value B. I know that this sounds super vague, my original answer went into the mathematics about it, but without prior experience with Bohr Models and Bra-Ket notation all of said math is meaningless.

+ show block

With that said, I could just write off the Foundation's knowledge of this SCP as part of its anomalous effects. For most readers I doubt it would make too big of a difference.

Trapping People
I will admit, my statement of the door 'trapping' those who enter it was a poorly phrased oversimplification on my part. What it would essentially do is superpose an individual with an endless amount of realities, wherein (in theory) the SCP could become entangled with said individual. This quantum entanglement would (sorta) enable a creature to directly effect our reality… This is a very roundabout way of saying 'an individual inside this SCP gets trapped in an infinite amount of realities, and said individual now serves as a conduit between the SCP and our world'.

That is probably the simplest way I can describe the quantum entanglement of various superposed variables without a lot of math.

How are these narratives going to be shown?
Well, whenever someone enters the door said person has to state what there surroundings are like. I can then provide the reader with 2 options to choose from, for example:

D-3903: Alright, I'm about to enter the door.

D-3903: I see a tree… | I see an igloo…

In theory "I see a tree…" and "I see an igloo…" would be links child pages that progress the narrative.

How the other superposed states change our reality
Well, the scientific answer would be quantum entanglement. However, the answer that I will most likely give to readers will be something involving reality bending. There are many fundamental differences between these two concepts, but trying to explain the basics of quantum entanglement get very complicated very fast. It is one of the few times where 5+2 may not equal 7 (there is more to that property, but trying to explain them and how they work is very hard to do… especially since quantum physicists still aren't entirely sure how quantum entanglement works. It is akin to trying to solve a physics problem without knowing what gravity is.)

I was then going to go on a very long diatribe about the Space Time Continuum, String Theory, and various other junk outlining the 'science' of this type of reality bending. The issue was that it ended up being around 3 pages long, and quiet honestly, it isn't necessary to know in order to read the article.

Thank you once again for your time (sorry for my inane ramblings, it has been a very long and very sleepless past couple of days.)

As a courtesy to our readers on mobile devices, please collapse long posts. ~Zyn

Last edited on 19 Jun 2020 06:43 by Zyn Show more

Re: Seeking Greenlight: A Superposed Door

sirpudding 19 Jun 2020 08:11

This is a very clever take on observer effect, information, and the Copenhagen Interpretation. I'm especially impressed by the use of a CYOA format to support the concept. Greenlight.

Last edited on 19 Jun 2020 08:12 by sirpudding Show more