SCP-2188

SCP-2188 is a medical procedure known as "Amnesthesiologic Conceptual Overload", one of the six ethically-approved amnestization methods.

Item #: SCP-2188

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: Knowledge of SCP-2188 is available to all personnel aware of amnestics. Personnel seeking authorization to utilize SCP-2188 must meet a set of criteria for certification. These criteria are:

• Successful completion of a knowledge test regarding the process of SCP-2188, scoring above 80%.
• Successful completion of a knowledge test regarding how to avoid misusage of SCP-2188, scoring above 80%.
• Having witnessed SCP-2188 being performed on at least 10 separate occasions.
• Possessing an Advanced Amnesthesiology¹ Degree.
• Approval of certification from the Amnesthesiological Medical Committee
• At least 1 successful mock-A.C.O. procedure performed on a mannequin, witnessed by an Advanced Amnesthesiologist.

Personnel awaiting certification may request to perform a practice A.C.O. procedure. These procedures may occur when an Advanced Amnesthesiologist is present.²

Personnel who improperly perform an A.C.O. procedure are to be judged on a case-by-case basis by the Amnesthesiological Medical Committee, with a special Ethics Committee liaison. If found guilty of misconduct, personnel are to be stripped of their certification and compelled to retake the certification procedure. A person may only have certification stripped a maximum of 3 times prior to permanently being barred from certification.

A.C.O. procedures may only be carried out at Foundation facilities with proper equipment available. There must be a minimum 12-hour notice prior to commencement.

Description: SCP-2188 is a medical procedure known as "Amnesthesiologic Conceptual Overload", one of the six ethically-approved amnestization methods. SCP-2188 serves two purposes as a procedure: both to coerce and destroy concepts within a person's mind.

SCP-2188 is the most precise known method of amnestization. Wherein traditional amnestization methods rely on the exterior isolation of select concepts, SCP-2188 works via introducing an abundance of concepts into the brain during a state of induced mental paralysis.³ The subsequent autocognitive response within a person's brain will trigger autoconceptual destruction, causing the intrinsic destruction of concepts rather than extrinsic. Intrinsic destruction poses a much lower risk of incidentally destroying unintended concepts when performed correctly than extrinsic procedures.

Research on a modified version of the Amnesthesiologic Conceptual Overload procedure known as Long-Term Amnesthesiologic Destruction is ongoing. Long-Term Amnesthesiologic Destruction is a state reliant on the development of permanent conceptual implants⁴ within a subject to alter their limbic system.⁵ In this state, persons will automatically enter autoconceptual destruction upon re-learning select concepts which had previously been destroyed.

The Ethics Committee is currently slated to vote on ethically approving the Long-Term Amnesthesiologic Destruction procedure on 06/NOV/2026. If approved, it would be the first procedure that would permanently prevent a person from re-learning destroyed concepts.

Discovery: SCP-2188 was discovered on 05/NOV/1954 during a standard Intravenous Amnestization Procedure. During the procedure, an accompanying researcher placed a recording of themself stating random words near the subject. The process caused the subject to enter a rudimentary state of Amnesthesiologic Conceptual Overload; and they expired during the procedure, after the concept of "respiration" was permanently removed from their procedural memory.

Starting 02/JAN/1956, further development saw Amnesthesiologic Conceptual Overload procedures being used as a humane termination tool for D-Class personnel. The majority of research regarding SCP-2188 was conducted during this period.

Following an Ethics Committee ban on termination via A.C.O., the procedure fell out of usage. The procedure would only begin seeing usage again following the application of major breakthroughs discovered while working on SCP-061.⁶ Subsequent analysis by the Ethics Committee ruled it ethical to use as an Amnestization tool on 19/APR/2004, at which point it was designated as SCP-2188.

Procedure: Amnesthesiologic Conceptual Overload procedures must be performed in a designated Bernheim Room. Bernheim Rooms must be made with specially designed walls at least 1m thick — with alternating 10cm thick layers of steel and concrete. Inside the room, walls must be lined with fiberglass wedges. The entrance must consist of a double-door airlock, each made of at least 30cm thick steel. Additionally, a fiberglass curtain should be available inside the room which can be lowered to complete an airtight seal. Only lights, medical equipment, and a noiseless air-circulation unit are permitted inside of the room during procedures. The temperature inside the room must be maintained at 13°C.

PROCEDURE

AMNESTHESIOLOGIC CONCEPTUAL OVERLOAD

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Preparation — Amnesthesiologists are to gather requisite materials. Should preparation begin within forty-eight hours of when a procedure is scheduled, the target must be administered a stomach irritant and laxative to induce vomiting/excretion. Checks on the digestive tract of the target must occur at least four-hours before procedure onset. The target may instead go on a restrictive diet with laxatives if the procedure is given adequate notice. Ear cavities, nasal cavities, mouth, and throat must be flushed and cleaned thirty minutes in advance of onset. All hair on the target's head will be shaved.

Pre-Administration — A hypnotic will be administered to the target to induce sleep, followed by the subsequent injection of the stimulant upon the target entering the REM phase of sleep. The stimulant will work to dually awaken the target and prevent loss of consciousness during the procedure. After the stimulant is applied, the target must be relocated to an available Bernheim Room and stripped of all clothing/piercings. Multiple straps are required to be applied to the target, including arm, leg, waist, and head straps. Noise-cancelling headphones, nasal plugs, and strobe goggles will be attached to the target, as well as a catheter and fecal bag.

Unique Sensory Manipulation — Memetic phrases will be sent through the headphones in random intervals, and the strobe goggles will begin flashing a Naberezhnye Memetic Sequence into the target's eyes.⁷ Targets may behave erratically during this phase. As a safety protocol, amnesthesiologists must not physically contact the target until the phase ends. When the target enters a state of induced mental paralysis, the phase ends and an anti-exploratory agent will be administered to lock the target in the state.

Administration — Intravenous administration of amnestics will begin. Select cortexes may experience non-epileptic seizures triggering unconscious physical reactions. Further straps must be applied to the target if a pattern of physical reactions manifests. After amnestic administration concludes, the strobe goggles and nasal plugs will be removed. Ceiling lights must be disabled at this point, and amnesthesiologic personnel must switch to using headlamps for the remainder of the procedure. A nasal cannula will be attached to enable respiration. Personnel must begin the administration of eye lubrication every five minutes at this time. A paralyzing agent will be administered to the throat of the target to prevent unconscious vocalizations from occurring.⁸ The headphones will now begin playing pro-conceptual phrases into the target's ears.

Thoughtscan Navigation — Personnel will attach a Thoughtscan Transcription Device to the target. Intermittent pro-conceptual phrases will be played, enabling amnesthesiologists to search through present concepts within a target's brain. During this period, concepts will be forced to the top of the target's brain and transcribed to the device.⁹ Navigation will end after amnesthesiologists have located and transcribed all conceptual information desired from the target.

Overload — The frequency of pro-conceptual phrases being played will increase from intermittent to constant. Phrases must continue until the target reaches a state of Conceptual Overload, which can take in between 40 minutes to 8 hours. Brain activity within the amygdala¹⁰ will spike. The fecal and catheter bags must be replaced every 10 minutes during this period. The phase will end upon the detection that conceptual implants have developed within the target.

Destruction — All pro-conceptual phrases being played will cease. The target must be held in their current state for 25 minutes to ensure that the conceptual implants will not begin early degradation. If degradation occurs, the target will repeat the Overload phase. If early degradation does not occur, the target will be subjected to transcranial magnetic stimulation¹¹ to initiate autoconceptual destruction.

Secondary Thoughtscan Navigation — The Thoughtscan Transcription Device will be reconnected to the target. Amnesthesiologists must search the target's brain for concepts which were intended to be destroyed. If any intended concepts were not destroyed, the Destruction phase is repeated.¹²

Conclusion — If all concepts have been destroyed, amnestic administration will cease. Anesthetics are administered to the target at this point. The headphones must remain on the target until it is determined they have recovered from the procedure to a thorough extent. The catheter and fecal bag must remain attached. Amnesthesiologists are permitted to leave the Bernheim Room at this point, but must document the target's state every ten minutes.

Aftercare — The catheter and fecal bags will be removed at this time. Two personnel must accompany the target and give them a bath. The personnel must also feed the target and direct them to the facility medical wing to rest. Upon being brought to the medical wing, the fecal bag and catheter must be reattached. Target will be granted a recovery time of 48 hours to allow for all agents administered to naturally dissipate.

One-week following the conclusion of an SCP-2188 procedure, the head amnesthesiologist who conducted the procedure is to follow-up with the target. Symptoms the target is experiencing as a result of the procedure are to be documented. Common symptoms are:

• Frequent Headaches
• Temporary Hearing Loss
• Temporary Prosopagnosia¹³
• Temporary Dysphagia¹⁴
• Bowel Incontinence
• Partial or Complete Asomatognosia¹⁵
• Alien Hand Syndrome¹⁶
• Repeated Bouts of Syncope¹⁷
• Frequent Hypoesthesia¹⁸

All of these symptoms will typically disappear within 2 to 5 weeks following the procedure, though rarely may become permanent. Symptoms are more likely to become permanent following repeat applications of the procedure.

The Ethics Committee is slated to vote on a proposal to decrease the requirements for A.C.O. certification on 30/JAN/2026 in response to an increased demand for A.C.O. procedures in recent years. The Ethics Committee did approve a proposal regarding an increase in funding for Advanced Amnesthesiology Degree programs on 29/NOV/2024.

Footnotes

1. The study of, and authorization to use Amnestics.

2. Said procedures may occur on D-Class personnel who have suffered brain death, been comatose for a period longer than 20 days, been observed as catatonic/near-completely catatonic for more than 30 days, or diagnosed at one point with Antisocial Personality Disorder.

3. An induced state in which a person temporarily suffers complete paraplegia, extreme aphantasia, and bowel incontinence.

4. Concepts present within a person's mind that were not organically developed.

5. Interconnected brain structures which regulate emotion, memory, thought, and motivation.

6. A Foundation-made anomaly developed as a precautionary tool in the event that Foundation assets fall subject to hazardous memetic influence.

7. Research ongoing to discover a sequence which does not trigger an epileptic seizure.

8. These vocalizations are typically loud and pose a risk of permanent conceptual damage to a target if enabled.

9. Following the procedure, any undestroyed concepts/memories within the target will become eidetic. Targets will be able to accurately recall any detail regarding the concept or memory, without intensive thought.

10. Part of the limbic system which regulates aggression, anxiety, and fear.

11. A technique in which a magnetic field is utilized to induce an electric current within a brain, modulating neural activity.

12. Repeated initiations of autoconceptual destruction may cause minor or major conceptual damage across the entirety of a target. An Ethics Committee report found that the risk of occurrence was minor, and suggested the procedure not be altered to factor for it.

13. Inability to recognize faces.

14. Inability to swallow.

15. Inability to feel, recognize, or be conscious of bodily parts.

16. Periodic unconscious movement, inability to control, and difficulty perceiving the movement of the hand.

17. Loss of consciousness.

18. Reduced or completely lost sense of touch or sensation.

‡ Licensing / Citation

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"SCP-2188" by VapidPoem, from the SCP Wiki. Source: https://scpwiki.com/scp-2188. Licensed under CC BY-SA.

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