SCP-2577 / Discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page SCP-2577.

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Petrograd 25 Dec 2015 09:43

Happy 25th everyone! New one up, kinda wanted to get this one out of my system.

Thanks to MrWrong, Psul, SirPudding, Hercules Rockefeller, and DreamwalkerFae for solid feedback and sticking with me through rewrites.

Initially based on a dream, and then it kind dove through spycraft and folklore.

Thesis statement(?)...

If it was real enough to make money for them, it's real enough to keep making.

The items, per DreamwalkerFae's suggestion, are references to Russian folklore. Mostly Sadko, but the missile is all Koschei the Deathless.

If I've missed anything linguistically or culturally about Russia, I apologize, and can alter things.

EDIT: In case it helps, here's some background of what I was trying to get across. It doesn't have all the answers, but hey:

+ show block

- The documentary is the Foundation's only source of knowledge about SCP-2577-A. The only evidence they have for -A's existence is the documentary footage (even though there's no record of it being made) and the objects (which they can't trace).

- GRU-P in the old days had revenue sources for secret projects (acquiring anomalies, bribes, equipment) that the Foundation just couldn't figure out. The Foundation¹ uses multi-universal trade through MUTA transit arrays for cash and goods, but they couldn't figure out anything about the GRU's equivalent methods other than it involving a book of folklore.²

- The facts that 2577A 1) has superficial similarity to Russian folklore, 2) is in a remote location inside Russia and 3) apparently produces valuable physical objects dredged up the old GRU-P investigation.

- Unfortunately, with the GRU-P long disbanded/reduced as your canon allows, that trail's pretty darn cold.

Footnotes

1. in my headcanon

2. Note that the Foundation's intelligence serves the Foundation's goals, whereas GRU-P are a sub-set of a dedicated and brutal military intelligence group. Foundation may have more resources, but GRU would have a tradecraft advantage.

Last edited on 27 Dec 2015 12:57 by Petrograd Show more

MrWrong 25 Dec 2015 16:07

There's not much of a wow factor in this article, but all the elements mesh well together and work out.

END SELECTED PORTIONS. Full report available from RAISA pending GREAT GAME clearance.

I'm not sure why you had included this bit though…

Petrograd 25 Dec 2015 18:23

Rewritten slightly now. I just wanted to indicate that the full document is available while making a historical reference. I figure GREAT GAME in this context covers intelligence operations against GRU-P back when the report was originally published.

Also, since redaction for containment reasons is so common, I thought it would be fun to try out redaction for counterintelligence.

(account deleted) 25 Dec 2015 21:14

I love the mental image of ships falling from the sky on a tundra runway. +1

Abettik 25 Dec 2015 23:14

+1

To be honest, I'm kinda lost with the backstory here. I have no idea why this exists. I'm too tired from Christmas dinner to fully comprehend.

However, the base idea of a documentary about Russian vessels impacting a "landing strip" every few minutes is just awesome and creative.

augmentedspartan 26 Dec 2015 14:32

There is a good base for an SCP here, but it feels like it's building up for something, and then….nothing. Maybe I'm missing something subtle, but the way it is now, it needs more content for it to feel complete.

Zmax15 26 Dec 2015 22:05

Great procedures and description, but it falls off for me with the last part, just due to my own cultural deafness. I think that these "weird media" SCPs (1989, 1756, 2614) are probably my favorite type of article, and while this doesn't quite match up, it's at least unique.

I also want to point out the Foundations's speculation on what the book meant. It's pretty funny what they think it could be, just based on what they've actually seen. Otherwise C+, with B-.

Petrograd 27 Dec 2015 00:04

So, I'm not sure if you were criticizing or enjoying the IA's speculation. If it came across as wild mass guessing (if that's what you meant), I more wanted to give the impression that despite their best efforts and continued investigation, the Foundation just doesn't know what's going on with either the finances or the book.

If that's problematic, would it help if I marked some of them disconfirmed, to give some evidence of activity?

Last edited on 27 Dec 2015 00:07 by Petrograd Show more

Zmax15 28 Dec 2015 06:01

I just thought that it was amusing the variety of things they had. It could probably be changed to make more sense, but that's just the difference between a "good" article (canonically sound, reasonable) and an entertaining article. For a documentary about ballistic ship decommissioning, I personally enjoy it as-is.

Petrograd 29 Dec 2015 22:13

:)

TL333s 26 Dec 2015 22:43

I can't help but think that I would absolutely watch reality television about people under threat of annihilation by derelict warships fired at them at over 500 mph. +1

Taktuk 29 Dec 2015 08:51

I caught the edge of the Deathless reference but the others passed over my head. Then again, I'm Inupiaq, not Russian.

Decibelles 02 Jan 2016 00:08

The initial premise seems intriguing, but I'm not fully sold on how it is presented. It feels like you're using this to present two different ideas with barely connected threads in one article; a documentary series that's somewhat anomalous in nature, and GRU-P happenings. In fact, I almost didn't really understand how the final addendum connected with the rest of the article, and even now, it just feels like it's there only to be there. Despite the fact that it's interesting, I can't say I'm really sold on the article as a whole.

Here are my tastes in entertainment speaking: I think stopping where you did with presenting Frozen Steel isn't enough. I'd love to know more about this show, where the Foundation could realistically and reasonably know more. I think there's a lot going on you barely touch on or imply that would be entertaining in its own right. Though you risk dragging the article on more, it'd be more of an engaging read as a result. Maybe it could even help establish a stronger connection with what GRU-P is up to and make the second addendum seem less… there.

Jacob Conwell 02 Jan 2016 21:37

So there is a lot to like in this article for me. The contents of the show remind me of a much more anomalous version of the reality shows that have taken over the History and Discovery channel here in the US, but unlike those shows this one has a concept that is both more terrifying and more entertaining. The statistics that you provided (massive wr ships slamming into the cost line at 900km/h, at least 100 ships arriving every day, etc) made me do a double take as the area in the documentary becomes less of a ship yard and more of a shooting gallery with the world’s largest railgun. Additionally, I though the name of the MTF was pretty clever.

If I did have one nitpick, it would be that the last addenda begins to lose me a bit. What I gathered from that, was that the ships in this documentary are those ships being “smashed upon the sea” by the Tsar’s wild dancing, but I’m not sure. It’s not enough for me to dislike this article, but it left me scratching my head.

Overall +1.

One final question though. Why Ron Perlmen. I’m just curious.

Displaced_Alienist 02 Jan 2016 23:25

I suspect it's because Ron Perlman played Hellboy, who had a lengthy fight with The Deathless one…

Petrograd 03 Jan 2016 01:37

Oh wow, yeah, he did! I didn't even think of that!

Maybe not satisfying, but honestly the whole initial image started as a dream. Why I was dreaming about Ron Perlman and broken ships, I really couldn't say.

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