SCP-964 / Discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page SCP-964.

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Dexanote 18 Oct 2011 14:15

Not sure how to articulate this question, but how does it determine when it has to transform? You say that it changes in relation to known information to its current manifestation; why didn't it change when they saw it as a teddy bear?

If it affects human long term memory too, shouldn't it be changing literally every time someone remembers that it exists? I do see that there's a distance clause, but people at its current site should know that "there's a teddy bear in that room" or something. Like, you say it can become an animal up to 65 tons; If the people at the site hear an elephant in the locked containment room, it should change, right?

Not sure if i'm just confused or if these actually are pertinent questions. However, i actually do like the concept. Unpredictable chameleon machine.

anqxyr 18 Oct 2011 14:53

These are pertinent questions. I didn't go in much detail in description because I thought that it would detract too much from the main concept.

People at the current site don't know what is in the room. All on-site documentation on 964 is fabricated and says that it can walk through walls, bend steel, blow the heads with its thought and is memetic Japanese schoolgirl. So as long as 964 is none of those things everything should be fine.

If they hear an elephant in the containment chamber, it won't trigger reconstruction because this information is not sufficient to describe 964. As long as this elephant can't talk.

"distance clause" is actually quite big. Digital data at 200km mark will trigger reconstruction ~2 weeks after it's created.

Regarding long term-memory, protocol 964Δ6h takes care of that. I imagine it to be a nastier variation of amnesiacs, that not so much 'erases' as 'scrambles' memories, so that 964 will have to spend another month detecting them. Also, human memory is quite complex. Even if you walk into containment chamber and stare directly at 964, it will probably take around a hour before reconstruction starts. For comparison, written text from this distance will trigger it in under a minute.

Furthermore keep in mind that all this containment procedures and protocols a far from perfect. Despite all Foundation efforts new reconstruction occurs at least every two weeks, usually more often.

And it's okay to be confused. I wrote it, and I am still a little confused too.

wishun 18 Oct 2011 14:38

The concept is okay, DoD camouflage device that was uncontrollably succesful. But what I really like is the ingenious transport containment procedures. It changes to something other than what you think it is, so make sure everybody thinks it is dangerous and uncontainable. There's no way to know what form it will take, but it will be by definition something containable.

I agree with Dex. Maybe add a radius of effect limit. It can only detect information about itself within X meters, sort of thing. Alternatively, maybe tweak it so that it shifts when it detects data on its true nature rather than its current form. That way people can be aware of the obvious elephant in the room without necessarily triggering a change.

anqxyr 18 Oct 2011 15:00

I considered radius of effect limit when I written it. I decided that it was an easy way out from the writing standpoint and also nerf 964 too much. Also, this thing has no true form.

I glad that you get the containment thing. This was exactly what I was aiming for, but I wasn't sure I succeeded in getting my point across.

Last edited on 18 Oct 2011 15:02 by anqxyr Show more

wishun 18 Oct 2011 15:20

hmmm, you're right. Radius limit would be a big nerf. I retract the suggestion.

But what I meant by "true nature" was its defining characteristic, that it is not what it appears to be. For example, the gaurd outside the door may know that there is an elephant in the room, but as long as he thinks it is just an elephant, there is no shift. But if he starts to get a clue that it might be something more than just a pacyderm, a shift is triggered. And if he deduces, perhaps by being a long-term gaurd, that 964 is something that changes, shifting would accelerate in direct proportion to his certainty. Which, now that I think about it, implies a positive-feedback loop and a source of constant containment breach threat.

Last edited on 18 Oct 2011 15:20 by wishun Show more

anqxyr 18 Oct 2011 15:35

Then how the first shift occurred? Through shear force of Foundation's paranoia? And containment procedures would be very simple then: just release it into the world. Nobody will ever know that there is anything wrong with it.

This thing is weird like hell. Its core concept can be described in one sentence. But when you try to go into detail and decide how exactly that would work, it makes your head hurt. This is in essence walking paradox. I don't think I can fix anything in the way it works now without rewriting everything from scratch because of plot holes that will start to come out.

And I am actually happy with the way it works now. So I think I leave it as is for now, and see how it goes.

wishun 18 Oct 2011 16:51

It shifts because it's original DoD creators knew about it. From the moment of it's creation, there would always have been someone, somewhere who would know what was going on with this thing.

As for releasing it, The Foundation never lets anything go, no matter how much easier that would be.

But don't mind me, I'm just an incurable tweaker. Can't leave well enough alone. I do like it as-is, and since voting seems to be trending upwards, you're probably right to step away.

DrGuin 18 Oct 2011 18:44

I love the addendum. Saying it exists neutralizes it, saying it's neutralized makes it exist again

Lumancer 18 Oct 2011 20:05

The more I think about this, the more I like it. However…

SCP-964 is currently stored in standard containment chamber at Site-45.

Isn't that self-defeating?

Photosynthetic 18 Oct 2011 19:22

This is mind-twisting and delightful. +1. Do you mind if I go through and fix some little grammar errors, though? (You've dropped some indefinite articles.)

anqxyr 18 Oct 2011 19:42

Feel free to fix any grammar issues you find, I will be only happy. Some parts of this was written late at night, and some were written months ago, and somewhere between those two my already not perfect english may have slipped to unacceptably low level. Sorry for that. I tried.

Photosynthetic 18 Oct 2011 20:03

No worries. Seriously, they're small errors, and easily fixed.

TimCook 06 May 2012 13:25

This one tweaks my interest because of the implication that somewhere on this site, some other SCP might actually be SCP-964 disguised from its own containment site. The SCP entries themselves can be lies.

Rejekyll 10 May 2012 02:28

My brain is full of fuck and this article is full of goodness. Upvoted.

Diogenes of Concord 10 May 2012 04:05

This certainly puts the active into active camouflage. The idea of a two-meter-tall stuffed bear being contained, even if that isn't what it actually is, is priceless.

PsycoJosho 27 Apr 2015 02:40

This sold me when I read the part where it turned into acid. Totally not expecting that.

PsycoJosho 28 Apr 2015 02:23

New theory: this is currently being contained as SCP-579. There is no such thing as a "real" SCP-579. What better way to make people think that SCP-964 is something that it's not than to make people think that they can't know anything about it?

LordSpy 10 Sep 2015 05:12

I always love when I find these gems on Series I. Goes to show that conceptual fuckery has been a part of the site for a long time.

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