SCP-3031 / Discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page SCP-3031.

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JUST DO IT!

Weryllium 11 Apr 2017 04:00

As with everything I do… waited till the last minute. Oh well. Deadlines are a great motivator.

Special thanks to Soulless and DrBleep for giving me the motivation and self-confidence to actually do this, Zyn and sirpudding on the forums, and everyone who took a look in chat (Oboe, Bluemorpho, and Westrin, I think).

Very special thanks to The Administrator, whose classic note I repurposed/remixed/reinterpreted/reimagined.

Photo is public domain, sourced from here.

And since sirpudding brought it up, no, this has nothing to do with the Daevites.

The Contest begins, my friends.

Last edited on 11 Apr 2017 05:47 by Weryllium Show more

Raggabrash 11 Apr 2017 04:06

I'm not 100% sure I get this. Are you saying that fear itself was created by some guys in a lab to provide a defense against some entity? If so, how would the people in the future even know what fear was, let alone how to create it? It might just be because I' m tired right now, but this doesn't make much sense to me.

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Situation normal, Cap'n! Spiraling out of control!

Weryllium 11 Apr 2017 04:14

No no, fear definitely did exist in the previous reality ("the fear of the survivors…"). It just wasn't expressed as strongly, nor was it as tightly bound to the human psyche.

Raggabrash 11 Apr 2017 04:16

Hmmm…alright, you know what? I personally didn't find it scary, but it's interesting enough that I'm willing to upvote. One quibble though- the phrase "passed off" in the Containment Procedures seems to casual for an SCP.

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Situation normal, Cap'n! Spiraling out of control!

Weryllium 11 Apr 2017 04:29

Thanks for the upvote!

About "passed off", you might be right, but it's probably too late to change that :/

Shaggydredlocks 11 Apr 2017 05:41

I hope it's not too late for this to win. This struck me in a way none of the other contest entries have had. Its not the scariest, I think; but it is, thematically, the most appropriate. I would love to see this get the spot.

Weryllium 11 Apr 2017 05:52

Knowing you've read so many of the other great entries in this contest, it really means a lot to me to hear you say that. I'm touched, I really am.

sirpudding 11 Apr 2017 05:58

As I said about the draft, I think this is a great meta-horror, but isn't actually scary. I will withhold my vote for ten days.

Weryllium 11 Apr 2017 06:07

That's fair, and I don't want you to think I ignored you by posting anyway. I just wanted to get this out there and participate in the contest.

sirpudding 11 Apr 2017 06:08

Oh yeah, you totally should've posted it!

Buttfranklin 12 Apr 2017 12:01

I was about to make a comment identical to this. I was then going to expand a bit so my post wasn't just "ye i agree", but then I scrolled down and saw psul had explained perfectly why I didn't find it scary. In particular, let me shine a spotlight on their line saying that "this boogeyman doesn't cast a shadow on the text".

Last edited on 12 Apr 2017 12:03 by Buttfranklin Show more

Weryllium 12 Apr 2017 16:30

That's fair. I assume you've read my detailed reply to psul below too. After the contest I'll have to decide whether to expand on the boogeyman's importance, or to leave it be since it won't need to be scary after the 20th.

Shaggydredlocks 12 Apr 2017 16:38

I don't think it has much to do with 'scariness'. I believe the concern is that it's not introduced anywhere in the narrative or foreshadowed, so it seems tacked into the end.

psul 11 Apr 2017 12:39

I can see the thematic point, but I'm afraid this wasn't scary of itself - not least because if the Foundation has science sufficiently worked out to allow time-travel for the infection of early humans with an engineered brain parasite that won't affect cognition other than activating fear (and the unintended consequence risks of that are immense), then to be honest I don't think they need to be scared of anything. Particularly when this boogeyman doesn't even cast a shadow on the text.

It's all a little too pat and convenient for me, and the final note (again, the final note trope) keeps circling around the same points like it's trying to find a killer finishing metaphor, rather than just explaining what's going on in a clearly understandable way. I'm afraid my suspension of belief was destroyed.

Weryllium 11 Apr 2017 16:23

I will address your points individually.

• On the convenience of the time travel: I knew that would be a sticking point for some when I started this, as the acclaimed Tim Duncan skip received the same criticism. For all we know, Reality 1 already had an EXPERTISE collecting dust, with no real reason to use it. They are several centuries ahead, after all.
• On the precise targeting of 3000: I did a lot of research into neurology when writing this, but I can only fudge so much science. I'm gonna have to leave that as plot convenience, though I tried my best to at least make it somewhat plausible.
• On the world-ender: I don't think my writing skills are developed enough to write the next 2317. I knew if I focused on the entity itself, it would likely fall flat as "yet another boring all-devouring entity", which we already have. The "affected by our perception" bit is me trying to customize it, as well as tie it into the narrative. It's not described much, as I was attempting to use the indirect horror as seen in Kalinin's 2798.
• On the note: Yes, I'm very aware that final notes are a controversial plot device. I am not used to writing prose like this. I started out by repurposing the Note from the Administrator, and by the end had added several other allegories and threads. Esperanza is meant to sound somewhat flowery, but that's fair if it's not your taste. If I had had more time, I might have tried overhauling the note to arrange the threads better, because I can see your point that it's kind of Frankenstein'd together. And out of universe, I was trying to find a killer finishing metaphor.
• On the explanatory power of the note: Esperanza has now realized that even if the rewritten reality can beat the entity, there will be so much more they have to stand up to. Therefore, best to describe the general mission, and the weakness of the entity. I don't feel that "by the way, it's a mile-tall smoke monster with tentacles for eyes" would help as much.

Thank you for your thoughts, though; I'll certainly take them into account if I polish this up after the contest.

sirpudding 11 Apr 2017 16:36

On the world-ender: I don't think my writing skills are developed enough to write the next 2317. I knew if I focused on the entity itself, it would likely fall flat as "yet another boring all-devouring entity", which we already have. The "affected by our perception" bit is me trying to customize it, as well as tie it into the narrative.

This was related to my fridge logic conclusion that this was the Daeva history. Fear Alone suggests this very mechanism for appeasing the Scarlet King/Devourer. djoric has suggested that the Daeva deliberately triggered their own ontoclysm in order to stop the manifestation of the Scarlet King. I think it would have been a great twist for the Daevite history in the present of their worldline to use time travel to trigger the ontoclysm. This also explains why SCP-140-A (and his predecessors) are trying to use the Chronicles to undo it, because they are from the past and see the ontoclysm as an attack from the future rather than a choice that needed to be made.

Last edited on 11 Apr 2017 16:53 by sirpudding Show more

Qualite 11 Apr 2017 17:08

Strange, I posted something very similar to this on the mainlist two or three years ago. Not accusing you of anything of course, because they're different enough. You did it way better than I did anyway, evidenced by the fact that my article is gone now.

Weryllium 11 Apr 2017 17:41

Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.
-Ecclesiastes 1:10

I seem to have a recurring thing where things I write have already been done similarly. I don't think I ever got the chance to read yours, but I hope you like this.

Petrograd 11 Apr 2017 22:23

I like this a lot. Simple, for what it is, and reliant on a lot of old tropes (escalating clearance, note at the end), but all quite well executed. +1

Weryllium 11 Apr 2017 22:41

Thank you. As I slowly develop my site writing style, I'm realizing that my work here is usually derived from or inspired by existing work.

When I conceived this, I knew it was going to be ambitious and tricky to execute. So it's nice to hear comments like this, especially from experienced writers.

TL333s 12 Apr 2017 00:49

I… I don't get it. I don't think.

+ Is this right?

A Foundation from the future in another dimension sent fear-dulling parasites back in time to integrate them with humanity's nervous system and allow us to fight back against the 'gods' of old so there won't be as many anomalies today? I feel stupid even asking this.

Also, if over 99% of the population is infected with this, wouldn't that make the 60,000-some people who aren't the actual anomaly? I mean, it sounds like we need it to live and function properly.

Weryllium 12 Apr 2017 01:59

Not quite.

Spoilers, I guess

The original future doesn't have a Foundation. Note that different terminology is used, most significantly that Esperanza isn't an O5.

That reality was more complacent, lacking in fear. They sent fear-amplifying parasites back in time to start our timeline, hoping that fear of the unknown would jumpstart our defense against anomalies, create things like the Foundation, and keep the world-ender at bay.

3000 itself is still anomalous and not completely understood, so I figured it would warrant SCP classification even if virtually everyone is infected.

Falling Objects 12 Apr 2017 02:11

Of interest is that I remember the amygdala is responsible for other interesting aspects of sociability and intelligence. I'm not sure if you're allowed to edit it in now (or intended for the relation), but alterations to the amygdala would likely have fundamental impacts on how humanity would behave as as a social species.

If in our present reality our 'normal' amygdala is actually relatively 'enlarged', then a brief purview of individuals with damaged or nonfunctional amygdala would give a better glimpse into the past (past's future?) reality before infection occurred.

I enjoyed this one because it didn't get too hand-wavy with the science, and was actually interesting in the implications.

edit: fixed some missing words

Last edited on 12 Apr 2017 02:13 by Falling Objects Show more

Weryllium 12 Apr 2017 04:02

I did as much research as I could to ensure minimal handwaving and maximum believability, and I did learn that the amygdala is responsible for more than just fear. Memory too, but "Anantashesha" and others have covered that angle far better than I could.

I was originally planning an interview with a 3000-1 victim, but I barely finished this thing in time as it is, and my interview writing skills are not up to par yet.

Falling Objects 12 Apr 2017 23:04

Something that I'm looking forward to seeing in the future though!

sirpudding 12 Apr 2017 23:28

I did as much research as I could to ensure minimal handwaving and maximum believability, and I did learn that the amygdala is responsible for more than just fear.

Emotional awareness in general, which is why sociopaths often have underdeveloped amygdala, and why tumors or amygdala damage often results in psychotic behavior.

A society of sociopaths, undone by an ontoclysm, trying to stop a cosmic horror that can be manipulated by fear…

Khym Chanur 12 Apr 2017 04:17

Due to SCP-3000's tendency to irreversibly integrate itself into neural systems, immunity to the parasite severely inhibits the rate of formation of myelin sheaths in the neurons of the brain, leading to complications.

That's rather confusing. For those who are immune/resistant, does 3000 force its way into their brains, but fails to properly synchronize with the surrounding brain cells, so its effects on surrounding brain cells is random and hence deleterious? Are their brain cells constantly fighting off 3000, and the effort of fighting it off prevents them from working properly?

Weryllium 12 Apr 2017 04:58

A little of both, but more important is the fact that if 3000 isn't 'welcome', so to speak, that's a lot of important connections and myelin formation the brain is missing out on.

I'll use the metaphor of a car driving. For those completely immune, 3000 can't get in at all and the car is missing 3 tires. For those resistant, one tire is spinning normally, and two are spinning backwards and one might be misaligned and wearing on the axle.

Khym Chanur 13 Apr 2017 13:54

So since the introduction of the parasite 100,000 years ago, humans have evolved to become dependant on it? If so, you might want to say that explicitly, it'd make things clearer.

Weryllium 13 Apr 2017 15:26

Mmm, you're right. I'll probably add that in after the contest.

DrDizzy 14 Apr 2017 20:23

Honestly the addition of that idea would make for a much more interesting narrative.

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