I really like this one, the idea that people might one day willingly move down there. Because, well, it could end up being the safest place around.
The original image has been replaced with a new one graciously created by user VolgunStrife. The new image is a modified version of this image of a Victorian Constable, which was licensed under cc 3.0.
Posting as a reply to the top comment for user visibility.
Posting here for clarity.
The second image originates from here. Staff had contacted the creator five years ago, and as far as we know, we never got a response back. As part of Licensing Staff, I will assume the author does not give permission to use this image, as they own all images under a copyright, and thus assume it is not compliant with CC 3.0. As such, the second image will most likely be removed/replaced.
Edit: due to being extremely overdue, Licensing Staff has decided to remove the second image. A replacement may be provided after staff discussion.
This appeals to me a lot. The works of Gaiman and Mieville spring to mind.
Edit: One thing I just noticed on second reading. You refer to UnLondon in the transcripts - China Mieville has a novel about a secret London which resides in a parallel dimension to our own, called 'Un Lun Dun', I would recommend changing that to avoid it looking like direct plagiarism.
Both pictures are watermarked, just a bit of cropping should do it.
Thanks for pointing that out. I'll get to fixing it.
Looks alright now. I think you should put a space between "~" and "The" in the caption of the street view.
That photograph of -A is actually by a school mate of mine, kinda odd seeing it here, but you've done it justice.
Bored until the mention of the buildings with no windows and doors. I immediately wondered what would the Foundation find if they'd explore such buildings, figuring there are living humans in them.
But boy, the audio recordings. This really looks like some foundation project, judging from the terms the Foundation uses (memetics, etc.) Somehow, I feel I already saw " Cortex Leech" arond.
And the origin (and look) of the bobbies, coming from a home for the poor where who knows might be happening sent chills down my spine.
This overally looks beautifuly Orwell-esque and is a example of good writing. At first, I thought this is going to be one of those "Boring, yet original, so lets upvote" SCPs, but it really did keep my attention till the end. A tale, please!
+1
It does resemble Orwell's vision of London-and seems to have a steam-punk root. I can't help thinking of Down and out in Paris and London.
What does happen when one is captured by the bobbies?
Who knows?
Although my less annoying answer as the writer would be 'dragged screaming back to Bryson's Home For the Poor, brutally hacked to peices and converted into a Bobby.' But that's just my opinion.
Ungh. I can't quite figure out what's bothering me about this. It's not bad, but it's bothering me.
Edit: I think I figured it out. It reminds me a lot of the underground Victorian city that Sinister recently made and runs in the X-men comics.
Giving bearhugs to the unsuspecting since 1872.
Love this!
Really creepy idea, write-up and pictures. And as Kingreaper said, that someday this might be the only safe place left….
Also, "Pattern Screamers" are mentioned in SCP-1795. Not what they are, but that something called a "pattern screamer" exists in the foundation-world.
And now I'm wondering what Lord Blackwood would make of this…. parody of his beloved London…..
Are you sure Lord Blackwood didn't COME from UnLondon? Perhaps all the inhabitants of UnLondon are intelligent sea slugs which the Foundation agents overlooked, and Blackwood is the only one that escaped. His mind was shattered by all the horrors he has seen in the city, therefore his fragile mind constructed an imaginary life to let him forget about it……….. and that's why the Foundation never found any of those places he mentioned……….
Except that the Foundation found his cabinet of curiosities with enough in it to corroborate at least SOME of his stories, and a caretaker who said she was keeping it for Lord Blackwood.
Giving bearhugs to the unsuspecting since 1872.
I think this is by the same author as 1795…
This is one of the plot points of Batman: Arkham City, turned into an SCP. No thanks!
What? How? I've played Arkam City and I see no resemblance whatsoever.What exactly is the plot point you're talking about?
You don't remember the part where you go into an abandoned, underground city in miniature designed with Victorian period architecture? With it's crude robotic protectors still in tact? With the recorded voice lamenting about how humanity is doomed and then sells you propaganda about how this city will be it's salvation?
Behind this wall is mankind's chance for survival. A glimpse at a future based on an amazing discovery. A discovery that will allow Gotham to rise like Lazarus, becoming a beacon of hope for this world. Are you intrigued? Then step closer. Witness the future of Gotham City. The heart of Gotham's future beats with Lazarus technology. The power of Lazarus is pumped into every street, every home, providing clean, safe energy. Mechanical Guardians will serve you, watch over you and where necessary, protect you from the worst of mankind's sins. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow us to present to you the future…Wonder City!"
Urgh.
yeah, I see what you mean. I still think there are some important differences- Wonder City was supposed to be a utopia, this is a pretty miserable survival shelter.
This is nothing like Arkham City. You may as well say its like Bioshock 2 or any other number of things. Nothing is truly unique and everything has been used somehow before.
It's also a lot like Bioshock, but not as much as it's like Arkham City, so I have no idea what your point is. The idea that nothing can be original so we should just give up and settle for carbon copies is also a shitty idea and belongs in the toilet.
While it is similar to any number of other fictions, this is not a carbon copy of anything I have ever come across.
Arkham Asylum doesn't have articulated corpses for cops, or an impossibly infinitely high ceiling, as I recall.
Just because it reminds you of something you saw somewhere else is not sufficient reason to pan it as hard as you have. This is at least as original as the zombie virus and pegasus.
an impossibly infinitely high ceiling, as I recall
This doesen't have one of those either, but who cares? Superficial differences don't matter when all of the core elements are the same, right down to the fucking aesthetics. I don't mind someone taking inspiration from a video game or a movie or a book or whatever as a jumping off point, but when nothing new or interesting comes out of that idea then I don't like it.
This is at least as original as the zombie virus and pegasus.
I don't like these either.
The ceiling was anomalously high when I first read, must have been edited out.
By your standards, there is not a single worthy scp on the site. Absolutely everything is derived from something, if nothing else you can say that it is derived from some jungian archetype or the campbellian mono-myth.
If you don't like it or find it boring, that's one thing. Opinions vary and your entitled to yours. But there is a world of difference between, "this is boring" and "this is plagarism."
By your standards, there is not a single worthy scp on the site. Absolutely everything is derived from something, if nothing else you can say that it is derived from some jungian archetype or the campbellian mono-myth.
You're either a disingenuous idiot or have very poor reading comprehension.
I don't mind someone taking inspiration from a video game or a movie or a book or whatever as a jumping off point, but when nothing new or interesting comes out of that idea then I don't like it.
Notice how this is the exact opposite of what you're talking about? I don't care if something is derivative, my problem is when something is deriviative with no unique angle to make it distinct. In the case of this thing, there needs to be more to the concept than "Now it's transposed into the SCP universe! And those robots from before? Well, now they're extra creepy!".
This absurd strawman where I somehow want everything to come out of a vacuum is not relevant to anything I've said.
No, wishun makes some good points which you have ignored. People have pointed out that my SCP shares similarities with many different video games such as Bioshock, as well as some steampunk or alternate history novels. So what we can take away from this is that it is not derivative of one single thing, but shares similarities with lots of things. By the way, there is no need to be offensive to people who think you are wrong.
Noone likes Batman anyway - If it were anything like Batman, I would have downvoted. I didn't.
While this reminds me of a China Mieville book and the plot of a Professor Layton game, it's dissimilar enough to upvote. +1
Edit: Oh yeah, aren't Cortex Leeches a Tyranid organism?
Normally, I'd be inclined to agree, but in this case it's about as obscure as you can get. They were mentioned once in a eight year old issue of White Dwarf, a gaming magazine for Games Workshop, a company whose products are not exactly well-known outside of Europe. Hell, I'm kind of amazed I remember it.
Googling also reveals they had a rare Cortex Leech trading card, in an expansion to a card game that I'm pretty certain they no longer manufacture, based on the same material.
I think it's obscure enough that it can stay. It's not like he's making a Xenomorph reference that anyone could get.
Games Workshop is not obscure, and this is bordering on trademark violation. I really suggest changing it.
Last I checked, they weren't nearly as big in America as they were in Europe. I suppose times change, what with the video games and whatnot. I was pointing out that the Cortex Leech was obscure, and not Games Workshop, but I defer to your judgement in this situation.
Sorry, I didn't realise it would be a problem. I'll fix it at once.
Finally! another Warhammer player on this website! Thankyou Cryokina!