SCP-2672 / Discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page SCP-2672.

Author post

gishface 07 May 2017 21:10

Image is lightly-photoshopped from here and is public domain originally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Babymonitor.JPG

Thanks to the following people for feedback on this:
Forums: Wildwinni, Tretter, Zyn
Chat: Lackwit, Asaelka, GoldN4, Overandover, probably at least one more person whose name I forgot to write down (sorry!)

This is a loose prequel to SCP-2453, which I co-wrote. I hope you all enjoy.

Gallowglass 07 May 2017 21:34

It's always spooky when babies get involved. Babies are spooky.

In all seriousness, this is an awesome idea executed really well. I like the idea of (what appears to be) a benevolent group of entities trying to stop child abuse through anomalous communications. I can imagine the panic a mother might feel, sitting alone in a room at night with this thing as it threatens to harm her child. There wasn't too much in the article that was explicit to that effect; I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but it did force me to use my imagination.

One thing I was a little confused on: why have that point-of-sale tracking thing? Why wouldn't the Foundation order retailers to stop carrying and selling 2672? I suppose that might raise too much suspicion, but I can't tell for sure from the containment procedures. Anyway, a +1 from me!

Shaggydredlocks 07 May 2017 22:54

Started off strong, with a good buildup of horror - that this was subverted for something actually benevolent (however malicious it seemed) was nice.

My issues lie with the 'second' message being a little too expository (though, as they're literally trying to communicate their intentions, I guess that can't be helped?). Something simpler and less direct would have been preferable.

Second, I may be missing something, but I'm not quite getting the logic of the transmissions/threat message to begin with. How are these mothers supposed to somehow step in and prevent the abuse of another's child if there's no indication they need to take action in the first place? It seems to be an ineffective and obtuse tactic.

gishface 09 May 2017 06:11

+Answers to questions

The idea that the people behind this had was that eventually one of the mothers would recognize something in one of the transmissions that would lead back to the abused baby and maximized their chances of this happening by forcing them to listen carefully to the whole thing. Which actually did end up working at least once; in turn, I'm sure they'd say that this whole thing was worthwhile as saving one child's life justifies everything else (just trying to explain character motivation, not my own personal views etc.)

If you're asking why they didn't just hand the monitors over to the police or someone like the Foundation, it's because they were worried that the monitors would get locked in a room somewhere and ignored. And, well, look what happened.

Finally, if you still think this all sounds a bit obtuse and that there must be a better way to go about this… you're not wrong, but that's intentional. Note that it took the people behind this literally years to realize that they were just scaring mothers for no benefit before they added the creepy recording; note also that this is a purely audio-only device with no visual component whatsoever that's called Watchful Eye. And of course, the overall concept here of terrifying mothers to save babies. These people aren't nearly as clever as they think they are. In turn, I'd argue that this makes their creepy stuff even more awful - being well-intentioned, powerful, and stupid is often worse than simply being malicious.

th4nkyoub3n 17 Jun 2017 19:29

the characters: we're not idiots
the author: they're idiots

i love this meta

Scorpion451 08 May 2017 00:10

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
+1 for making this more disturbing by having it try to help people.

Nice

Aurox 08 May 2017 15:26

I remember seeing this draft, and loving it. Glad it finally got to be an official SCP.

ratking666 08 May 2017 17:52

I love SCPs that are trying to be helpful in the strangest ways.

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pastarasta1 is quick-talking and often scheming

MaliceAforethought 18 May 2017 17:50

Loved it in chat, love it now. +1

Dazric 21 Jun 2017 17:56

They really shouldn't have threatened the Foundation. They do not use what they don't fully understand if they can avoid it, but threatening them makes the artifact hostile. The administrator's opinions on resource allocation could be debated, but not refusing to use an unknown quantity.

We are the Foundation, we Secure, Contain, and Protect. We do not submit, comply and appease. Your demands will not be met, the anomaly will be secured and contained, and if it cannot be, then it will be destroyed to protect humanity from it.

Last edited on 22 Jun 2017 16:06 by Dazric Show more

the-ever-shifting 08 Apr 2020 20:52

And yet wouldn't destroying it be harming humanity? The SCP in question is transmitting the abuse of infants/toddlers in it's immediate vincinity, and should child abuse be considered a threat to humanity? For this reason, instances of SCP-2672 should be deployed around the world and actively monitored, so as to help decrease the amount of child abuse cases world-wide.

GreenRaven 05 Aug 2021 07:31

So these guys made a device that:

• Depends on the person listening to recognize the adult and/or the child.
• Have them acknowledge it as a real event and not some prank by the creators of 2672.
• Decide to call the police instead dismissing it as not their business. (People do that, even with children.)
• And expect the police to be able to do anything with only a weird transmission for evidence. (Even the most competent, responsible, nonbiased police officer can't do crap without legal reason.)

All righty then.

You know what would work better? Wireless rechargeable web cams. Something glitzy and fancy, the must-have of the season. Then use the anomaly to record every time they hurt the child in their care, even if they're in another room, and upload it to All The Sites. Take the known fact criminals can be very stupid about photographs and recordings and run with it.

Doctor Scrappy 09 Jul 2022 11:11

SCP-2672 plays with a simple, yet heavy fear, invoking the instincts in any human - Your baby being in danger.

Although very predictable, it was a fun read, made me feel uncomfortable and the twist at the end was unexpected and effective.

+1'd.

Last edited on 09 Jul 2022 11:11 by Doctor Scrappy Show more