The Quantum Quarter

Summary:

A quarter that when flipped causes reality to split into two (or three) separate branches, and then forces them back together.

The Quantum Quarter

Agent CG 27 Sep 2020 03:12

Seeking Greenlights: Yes

Page Type: SCP Article

Genre (Optional): Not quite sure, probably mystery genre, but aren't most SCPs meant to be mysterious?

Page Layout (Optional): Standard SCP Article Layout, with a few more categories such as Properties, outside of the normal description.

Elevator Pitch: A Standard US quarter dollar, that when observed to be in either heads or tails, splits reality into the two most likely scenarios for the next action the flipper takes. If the coin is uninterrupted in its fall, it will also land on its side (the skinny edge between heads and tails) and that split of reality will cause the least likely outcome of a scenario to occur. After the scenario has ended or the interaction's effects have ceased, the coin will collapse all the realities back into a single one, the effects being either averaged out (in a two split scenario) or the more common effect being shown fully (the three split scenario). All people involved with the splitting will remember everything that happened, and all digital records will be preserved separately. Any written records appear to have two to three sets of writing layered on top of each other on the paper.

Central Narrative: A narrative including the sequence of tests, revision of containment procedures, and fears that we are living in one of the split realities where the effects of the split haven't been fully seen through yet.

Hook/Attention-Grabber: The coin splits reality, and while there are other reality bending or breaking SCPs out there, this one creates and destroys separations in reality, as well as can spontaneously move when there is a chance it will be moved in the future.

Last edited on 18 Oct 2020 16:13 by Agent CG Show more

Re: The Quantum Quarter

Agent CG 04 Oct 2020 18:05

I decided to add some psychological effects of the SCP related to what happens when the branch realities merge. Just a note: everyone involved in the branch realities remembers everything from each reality, with the effects being worse the longer the branch realities exist for.
What do you think?

Re: The Quantum Quarter

Agent CG 16 Oct 2020 00:57

I've added some scenarios that would be associated with the SCP, including the pre-existing scenario: DT-class Split Timeline Scenario, and two new scenarios: DT-Class Timeline Trio Scenario, and TC-Class Timeline Convergence Scenario.
The DT-Class Split Timeline Scenario, for those who don't know, is when an SCP created dual timelines, which is often non-destructive. This scenario will occur whenever Quantum Quarter is spun and forced flat.
The Dt-Class Timeline Trio Scenario is when an SCP created three split timelines of any kind. This scenario will occur whenever the Quantum Quarter is spun or flipped and not forced flat against a surface.
The TC-Class Timeline Convergence Scenario is when two or more timelines collide. This scenario will occur after the Quantum Quarter has split the timeline, and the events in the timeline immediately caused by the split have ceased. To see the effects of how the convergence of timelines works see the main post Edit 1 and Edit 2.

Forum Criticism Team - Junior Staff Post

Truc Linh 16 Oct 2020 01:27

Agent CG, per the required forum guidelines found here: http://www.scp-wiki.net/forum/t-13282684/required-reading:how-to-use-this-forum-ideas

The combined text of the last four sections¹of the template may not exceed 400 words.

What you currently have is about 200 words over the limit. For future reference, you can check wordcount using this site: https://wordcounter.net/

Please edit and trim your post accordingly rather than creating a new thread, and if you are having trouble editing, click the "edit" function under the "options" tab to the lower right of your post. Please feel free to then reach out to a reviewer for your concept: http://www.scp-wiki.net/forum/t-13282692/how-to-get-more-reviews

Footnotes

1. Elevator Pitch, Central Narrative, Hook/Attention-Grabber, and Additional Notes.

Re: The Quantum Quarter

Agent CG 18 Oct 2020 16:14

Additional Notes:

+ Edit 1

The SCP's effects as previously stated, split reality. There are two scenarios where this can happen, a two split scenario, and a three split scenario.

The two split scenario would work in the following way:
The SCP is flipped and caught or forced flat against a table. The subject who flipped the coin is instructed to observe the coin and press a button, which has a 50% chance to detonate an explosive charge in a box with a cat (similar to the Schrodinger's cat experiment). When the coin is observed, reality was split into two instances, where the two most likely outcomes of the flipper's next interaction will occur. The subject presses the button, and in one reality nothing happens, while in the other, the bomb goes off. After the effects of the two interactions are complete the realities are merged back into one, where the effects of the interaction are both present. In this case, the bomb will have visibly exploded, but still be intact, and the cat will have no vitals, but still move around and act as if it was still alive.

The three split scenario will work similarly, except the subject lets the coin fall onto the table or floor, and in one of the splits it will land on it's side, in between the heads and tails. In this branch of reality, the least likely outcome will occur, so the cat will be alive, but the bomb exploded. When the three branches of reality are merged together, anything similar between two or more of the three branches is kept. So the cat is alive, with vitals, and the bomb exploded and is no longer there.

+ Edit 2 Psychological Effects

I thought it would be interesting to add some mental effects of this SCP after the branch realities re-merge. It would be caused by people remembering everything from each branch, and would start out as mild confusion and migraines, but would progress over the course of weeks into more serious issues such as anxiety, depression, paranoia, psychosis, schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, and suicidal and homicidal tenancies. However these effects could be negated after amnestic application.

Any thoughts on this?

Re: The Quantum Quarter

Pedagon 27 Sep 2020 04:16

Hey!

Pedagon here from the Team of the Oinks! I'm here to be your critter!!

My own first article was based on quantum mechanics so I hope I can help and would love to discuss your idea beyond this first round :)

+ Round 1 Critique

Not quite sure, probably mystery genre, but aren't most SCPs meant to be mysterious?

Not all! It tends to be a popular style but there are lots of ways to write an article. Many are mysteries, many are horror, many are based around wonder, many are humourous, etc. It can be anything really as long as it fits the style of the site.

A Standard US quarter dollar, that when observed to be in either heads or tails, splits reality into the two most likely scenarios for the next action the flipper takes.

The many worlds interpretation is a nice and simple concepts to write an article about and the flip of a coin is an easy way to approach the concept. However, it is hard to write simply while telling a narrative. Can you tell me more about how you will be putting this in your narrative? How will you explain this effect to your readers and show them the effect that you have described in the 3 possibilities? What will you have happen in the 3 realities that will keep the reader interested in reading all three?

+ Advice of Readings

I recommend reading a few other quantum-based articles on the site like SCP-5027 or [[[SCP-5367|SCP-5367]] (mine) But there are others out there that I cannot remember the numbers for.

To summarize, you have described the effect well, but now I want to know how you will write the rest of the article and make it interesting for a reader that doesn’t know the physics.

Welcome to the site! I'm looking forward to hearing back from you! :)

-Brian

Re: The Quantum Quarter

Agent CG 28 Sep 2020 15:36

Thank you for your feedback. I've edited the post under "Edit 1" detailing how the tests will operate, and an example of how the effects of this SCP would work with a Schrodinger's cat style experiment. I am planning to add some tests in the sandbox article, which will go into greater detail and show how the documentation during the tests would work. If you want to see them, I can put a link the sandbox article in this discussion.
Thanks again for your feedback.
- Agent CG