You haven't actually uploaded your photos yet. You uploaded your photos while I was commenting.
That being said, I love this. +1
SCP-1121 / Discussion
Forum
» Per Page Discussions / Per page discussions
» SCP-1121
This is the discussion related to the wiki page SCP-1121.
Thanks man, it was the input you and bbaztek gave me that set this one on the right track. :)
That said, I'm unsure if this should be Euclid or Keter. Any thoughts?
Okay, first of all, JESUS. This is absolute delightful awesomeness. Plus, you gave your horrible squicky microorganism earwig DNA. Second, I'd… probably vote Keter. If it gets out of containment we're looking at something potentially even more infectious than Ebola Zaire, and we'd be administering Class A amnesiacs for YEARS trying to restore the public's belief in normalcy. Yes, it's currently very well contained, but so are a lot of nasty horrible diseases that would wreck everyone's day if there was even a minute breach at a hot lab.
I would like to see a -little- more expansion though. What happens after stage 3? They're just… transformed into these skinless wriggling dudes and walk around like nothing happened, barring their desire to attack and thereby infect anyone who isn't a skinless wriggling monstrosity? Or does something further happen after a while into stage 3?
By the way, that first test log interview is absolutely fantastic.
First off, thanks.
The reason I didn't go with Keter is that (and Smapti clued me into this) non-airborne pathogens are relatively easily contained (and I use the word 'lightly' quite lightly here). However, since it's stated that infection has spread without skin-to-skin contact being observed too, it MIGHT qualify for Keter.
I'm on the fence on that.
As for what happens after stage 3…I think keeping that in the dark is the point. If we allow a specimen to fully form, what then? Does it telepathically sound a call for something across the great dark void? Does it explode like those tankbugs in Starship Troopers? I'm thinking the Foundation doesn't really care to find out.
Aha, fair enough. So even in the original outbreak, the specimens were contained before progressing past stage 3? That makes a bit more sense then…
Also, I see your point about non-airborne pathogens, but most pathogens don't make people actively infect anyone who isn't already. To put it another way, imagine if Ebola wasn't airborne, but it actively caused its carriers to walk into the most crowded areas they can find and stand around until they crash and bleed out. So my vote's still for Keter. Even if it doesn't go airborne, it's still incredibly virulent. One little nick in a researcher's glove, and there's at LEAST one major population center gone. And like I said, it's a very potent threat to people's sense of normalcy.
Oh, one more thing… kudos for making this thing work by mutating one of the most common benign pathogens in the human body. That stuff's literally on almost everyone's skin, just chilling out.
……. I just realized something. The peeling off of their skin and seeing nothing wrong with it? They're molting. MAJOR Fridge Horror moment for me there.
This, I like this, a lot.
Amazing work, not too scary or squicky but most certainly interesting.
+1
i like this - it reads pretty well - but i have a number of comments:
a: Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus is abbreviated SCBA. SBCA is the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association.
b: lose the reference to SCP-500. it's obvious, it doesn't add anything, and cross-scp references are bad to start with.
c: there are two different bugs here - the protozoan, and the mutant staph. the article would be easier to read if they were 1121-1 and 1121-2, rather than 1121 and 1121-1.
d: the protozoan doesn't reproduce in any way, but if it finds staph (somehow), it creates a transmissible, self sustaining infection? this ecology doesn't make much sense.
e: the blackouts are fine, but none of the redactions and expungements seem necessary. they aren't adding anything.
f: the actual effects are a bit lacking. you rip off your skin and turn into a zombie. and then…? you've got some vague hints about hive activity (and maybe a reason). expand on that.
g: the tone and quality drop off after the first addendum.
h: firebombing the discovery site seems really clumsy, and overspecific.
a: Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus is abbreviated SCBA. SBCA is the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association.
Noted, will fix.
b: lose the reference to SCP-500. it's obvious, it doesn't add anything, and cross-scp references are bad to start with.
If I lose the reference, there's the risk of someone popping in to say: "dude, SCP-500 cures everything!" Also, I put it in specifically to show that this apparently isn't worthy enough to test SCP-500 on. As in: the Foundation really doesn't care about possibly curing infected civilians. Firebomb the fuck out of those wretches and be done with it.
c: there are two different bugs here - the protozoan, and the mutant staph. the article would be easier to read if they were 1121-1 and 1121-2, rather than 1121 and 1121-1.
I understand where you're coming from, but I want it to remain clear that what we refer to as SCP-XXXX is the parent of XXXX-1.
d: the protozoan doesn't reproduce in any way, but if it finds staph (somehow), it creates a transmissible, self sustaining infection? this ecology doesn't make much sense.
It's not supposed to. It's not a natural thing, someone doctored this up in order to life on earth into something…else.
e: the blackouts are fine, but none of the redactions and expungements seem necessary. they aren't adding anything.
Since you're the second person to come up with that, I'll seriously consider either taking them out or reworking their use. I guess I kind of feel it's not a good SCP if I don't expunge SOMETHING. Fucked up, I know.
f: the actual effects are a bit lacking. you rip off your skin and turn into a zombie. and then…? you've got some vague hints about hive activity (and maybe a reason). expand on that.
You rip off your skin, you partially mutate and yes, there's hints about the absence of a hive mind. I'd rather leave it hanging there, with the rest being up to the reader's imagination.
g: the tone and quality drop off after the first addendum.
Can you point me to specific parts where you'd reword?
h: firebombing the discovery site seems really clumsy, and overspecific.
Noted. I wanted to show that they didn't want any personnel in the area after the outbreak and simply sent in airstrikes, but I can see where it might be a bit too specific. I'll leave it in for now. At least until EchoFourDelta has declared it to be complete and utter bullshit. There always the hope he doesn't though. *grins*
(account deleted)with very specific mutagenic qualities. It only reacts
Combine these two, maybe don't refer to the SCP as it, makes it slightly awkward in this case, at least for me.
SCP-1121-1 has proven resistant to all known antibiotics and at this time no known cure for infections with Staphylococcus epidermidis exitiabilis exists, although theoretically the application of SCP-500 should have the expected result. As of yet, authorization of tests to confirm or deny this has not been granted.
This seems unnecessary.
akin to suffering third-degree burns.
akin is used a lot in SCP articles, I don't think it's tonal, not up to me, carry on.
Topics include the test, their various reasons for ending up as D-Class, their spouses and sports. Conversation becomes increasingly erratic as more skin is removed. No hostility towards other test subjects noted.
This doesn't need to be documented.
Addendum 1121-4: Not feeling anything here. The article clarified earlier that this is bio death from space, and this doesn't add to that.
Addendum 1121-3: What you were trying to accomplish with this? I think I see it but it's just way too much of a stretch for me to get behind.
I like the idea of a biological hazard from space, but the concept doesn't flow too well.
Combine these two, maybe don't refer to the SCP as it, makes it slightly awkward in this case, at least for me.
Fixed. You're right on the use of 'it'.
This seems unnecessary.
I know, I explained somewhere else on the page why I'm choosing to keep it. I understand what you're saying though.
akin is used a lot in SCP articles, I don't think it's tonal, not up to me, carry on.
I'm inclined to agree with you there, never really thought about it. Actually the whole remark about it resembling suffering third-degree burns was a bit off, so I simply took it all out. Didn't add anything.
This doesn't need to be documented.
Perhaps you're right. I was thinking it gave the poor D-Class personnel a bit more humanity, but I suppose it could be replaced with a more clinical observation. I'll think about it…
Addendum 1121-4: Not feeling anything here. The article clarified earlier that this is bio death from space, and this doesn't add to that.
Addendum 1121-3: What you were trying to accomplish with this? I think I see it but it's just way too much of a stretch for me to get behind.
I'm kind of fond of those, so I'm going to leave them in. Which isn't to say I don't understand what put you off about them.
In any case, thanks for replying in such detail. This is the kind of criticism that forces me to think about the choices I've made in an article…
He removed his skin with a [REDACTED]?! OH NO
With a pangolin no less.
Very nice, Crayne. Even better than the draft I read. Love the terraforming bit. +1
This is horrible, and playing the old "Replace [REDACTED] with something humorous" only kept making it worse and worse.
Of course, i mean "horrible" and "worse" in the sense that it made me squirm in all the ways a creepy/horrifying SCP is supposed to.
I'm also thoroughly reminded of Peeled.
Oh dear God, the last two lines of that first interview — ! +1 for making me want to curl up into a little ball. Another +1 for the terraforming implications, if I could vote twice.
/forum/t-467466/scp-1121#post-
page revision: 2, last edited: 15 Jan 2023 15:06
