Documenting Doomsday
Nonhazardous sample of Trilisect-A created by Dr R████ during testing. 76% accurate as determined by AOCRS.
Item # : SCP-3600
Object Class: Thaumiel
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3600 is an Epsilon Class Cognitohazard, and should not be directly viewed by Foundation personnel under any circumstances. Suspected or unconfirmed instances of SCP-3600 are not to be viewed until proper testing can be performed to determine their status. SCP-3600 can be temporarily contained by covering it in an opaque material until proper containment can be established.
Limited exposure of D-Class personnel to SCP-3600 is permitted for testing purposes with approval from the Site Director. No personnel should be exposed to more than 3 characters of SCP-3600 during these tests, unless occurring as a part of Project Theia.
SCP-3600-1 is to be stored in a custom-fitted steel case, sealed via welding to ensure it cannot be accessed.
Any suspected or confirmed instances of SCP-3600-2 are to be recovered pending analysis, and then either destroyed or contained as appropriate.
Description: SCP-3600 is a previously undocumented language, believed to originate in Mesopotamia, circa 3000BC, that when accurately rendered on a static surface produces a cognitohazardous effect. The language, designated Trilisect-A, superficially resembles Cuneiform, though with significantly more variety and complexity. SCP-3600-1 is a stone tablet measuring 3.7m x 1.8m x 0.25m, containing over 10,000 unique individual characters of SCP-3600 on its "front" face. When viewed directly by a conscious, sapient entity, SCP-3600 transfers to the viewer a detailed knowledge of potential K-Class scenarios. The viewer will become aware of this knowledge over the course of approximately 48 hours.
Each individual character in SCP-3600 imparts knowledge of a single scenario, though this effect has been shown to be multiplicative; if an individual is exposed to multiple characters, the number of scenarios of which they have knowledge will be greater than the number of characters they have seen. In order to count as an instance of SCP-3600 and thus possess cognitohazardous properties, a character must match the original (as seen on SCP-3600-1) with an accuracy of at least 91%, as determined by the Advanced Optical Character Recognition System (AOCRS). Characters below 91% accuracy will possess no anomalous properties. Additionally, digital photographs and video recordings of SCP-3600 have been determined to be safe for viewing.
Scenarios imparted by SCP-3600 range from the natural or man-made (asteroid impacts, nuclear war, global pandemics, etc.) to the anomalous, with these scenarios typically being the result of a failure to contain (or the improper handling of) anomalous phenomena. Along with the knowledge of the scenario itself, viewers of SCP-3600 also gain any knowledge that would be required to bring that scenario to actuality.
Knowledge gained from SCP-3600 typically manifests as the ability to construct anomalous devices possessing the required functionality to trigger the specific scenario. Devices constructed in this way are designated SCP-3600-2. In cases where an SCP object is involved they might instead gain an awareness of how to breach containment on the object or, in cases of currently uncontained anomalies, where that object might be found. If the scenario can be brought about without the use of anomalous technology, knowledge of how to use available resources to create mundane technology is granted. For a list of recovered SCP-3600-2 instances, see attached document 3600-2 Recovery Log.
Incident Report 3600-01: On ██/██/201█, Senior Researcher Dr R████ was inadvertently exposed to 27 characters of SCP-3600 while performing tests to determine if cognitohazardous effects could be produced by mechanical replication of SCP-3600. Six hours after this exposure, he entered a coma-like state and remained non-responsive for 86 hours. Following a mandatory four week evaluation period, during which time Dr R████ provided documentation on 37 different K-Class scenarios, he was allowed to return to active duty.
Summary of informationally relevant tests involving SCP-3600. All SCP-3600 characters involved in tests confirmed to be cognitohazardous beforehand unless otherwise noted. For a full log contact the Senior Researcher.
Experiment 005
Subject: D-5674-3
Test: Exposure to 3600-72-K2
Result: D-5674-3 provided detailed knowledge on an anomalous plant species that consumes oxygen and produces carbon dioxide which would rapidly spread across the Earth, quickly out-competing most extant plant species and resulting in the removal of oxygen from Earth's atmosphere, triggering an RK-Class restructuring scenario. According to D-5674-3 the anomalous plant species can easily be created by [DATA EXPUNGED]
Experiment 006
Subject: D-5674-3
Test: Exposure to 3600-102-B1
Result: D-5674-3 gained detailed knowledge on the progress and long-term effects of a nuclear-war induced Nuclear Winter scenario. Additionally, he was able to provide detailed designs for 3 different types of nuclear device of which one was a previously unconsidered design estimated to have an explosive yield of ███Mt.
Notes: D-5674-3 possesses an education level analogous to that of an American high school graduate. Supplied plans for the aforementioned devices suggest a education equivalent to advanced degrees in physics, chemistry, and mechanical engineering.
Experiment 007
Subject: D-5674-3
Test: Exposure to 3600-14-X1
Result: After 48 hours, D-5674-3 possessed knowledge of 3 additional scenarios:
- An XK-Class end-of-the-world scenario triggered by the impact of asteroid ███-█ with the Earth, along with details for the construction of a device he described as a "Gravity Lance", which would pull the asteroid into Earth's orbital path.
- An NK-Class self-replicating material scenario caused by the uncontrolled release of SCP-███. Additionally, he claimed to have knowledge of how to break SCP-███ out of its containment in Site-██ as well as a method by which SCP-███'s effects could be duplicated.
- A CK-Class restructuring scenario that would result in every civilisation that emerged outside of the African continent prior to 1801 being erased from history. Information supplied by D-5674-3 resulted [DATA EXPUNGED], which has now been contained as SCP-████.
Notes: D-5674-3 is currently working with Foundation scientists on a modified version of his proposed "Gravity Lance", for potential use in deflecting Earth-hazardous asteroids.
Experiment 015
Subject: D-7466-7
Test: Exposure to a random selection of 50 SCP-3600 characters.
Result: D-7466-7 immediately began seizing, and soon after entered a coma-like state. MRI scans show significant neurological trauma. D-7466-7 did not recover and was terminated after 2 months of observation.
Experiment 017
Subject: D-6752-1
Test: Exposure to a random selection of 50 SCP-3600 characters, one per day, over the course of 50 days.
Result: Following the third day, D-6752-1 reported an awareness of an exponentially increasing number of scenarios. D-6752-1 began to display signs of depression following the 11th exposure. After the 22nd exposure, suggestions of a desire to construct an instance of SCP-3600-2 were noted by research staff. Following exposure of the 35th character in the test set, D-6752-1 displayed signs of significant mental degradation and, following exposure to the 40th character, entered a catatonic state in which she recited details on various scenarios in a monotone voice without pause for 325 hours, before expiring from exhaustion.
Experiment 027
Subject: D-3453-9
Test: Exposure to 3600-81-C3, with intention to allow partial construction of any anomalous technology.
Result: See Recovery Log entry SCP-3600-2-B
Experiment 037
Subject: D-5768-4
Test: Exposure to 3600-1-A1 through 3600-20-A1 sequentially, with 2 days between each exposure.
Result: Following exposure to 3600-15-A1, D-5768-4 began to show symptoms of anxiety and depression. He claimed to have knowledge of 68 separate K-Class scenarios. Following the conclusion of the test, D-5768-4 claimed knowledge of 93 separate K-Class scenarios, and was additionally showing symptoms of emotional detachment and disassociation.
Addendum: 2 weeks after the conclusion of Experiment 037, D-5768-4 was caught attempting to steal a quartz crystal, used as a paper weight, from the office of █████ ███████. A search of his cell revealed multiple stolen items to which D-5768-4 later confessed were to be components in an instance of SCP-3600-2. Based on his description it is unlikely that he would have been able to complete the device with the resources available to him. A restriction on the number of characters a single individual can be exposed to has been implemented.
Update: Results submitted to Project Theia.
Discovery Notes
SCP-3600 was discovered during an archaeological dig ██km outside of ████. The Foundation became aware of SCP-3600 after the loss of contact with the archaeological team and subsequent civilian investigation; of the 14 original team members, 11 were dead, two were in a coma and severely dehydrated, and one was missing. A further █ Foundation personnel were lost as casualties before the nature of SCP-3600 became known.
The missing team member from the dig was tracked and found six weeks later, along with a partially constructed instance of SCP-3600-2. He was terminated by Foundation personnel when he became violent during apprehension.
Archaeological digs in sites potentially pertaining to ████████ culture are to be monitored by Foundation assets for potential instances of SCP-3600-1.
Addendum: 6 months following Incident 3600-01, Senior Researcher R████ was apprehended trying to remove SCP-████ from containment. An investigation revealed a warehouse rented by Dr R████ under a pseudonym in which a large, complex device was found. Psychological analysis of Dr R████ revealed signs of severe depression and disassociation, which failed to show up in post-incident checkups. See Interview Transcript 04353-A for Interview and Incident 3600-02 transcript.
Date: November ██, 201█
Interviewee: Former Researcher Dr ████████ R████
Interviewer: Site Director ████ C█████████
[BEGIN LOG]
Director C█████████: Tell me about the device, ████████. Why… why would you build something like that?
Dr R████: What do you want me to say, ████? That I did it for the good of the Foundation? Scientific curiosity, that I was compelled?
Director C█████████: Come on, R████! You know what happens next! Ten minutes from now they're going to stick you in a box and you'll probably never see the outside of it again! I just… I need to know why.
Dr R████: Why? You know the kinds of shit we deal with every day. The things we've seen, the things we've supposedly contained, they don't even scratch the surface! Do you know how many of these… these… these K-Class scenarios I've got in my head? Dozens, maybe hundreds!
Director C█████████: Why didn't you say something? We could have helped you.
Dr R████ laughs sharply
Dr R████: How? The amnestics didn't work. And that's basically the only tool we have here isn't it. Lock it up or make everyone forget it was there in the first place. The Foundation, the grand arbiters of what should and shouldn't be known.
Director C█████████: We keep people safe, dammit! You know that! You used to believe that!
Dr R████ speaks quietly.
Dr R████: Now I know better…
Dr R████: Do you know how many of these scenarios will trigger, within a year, if we just wait? No fancy devices, no breached containment. We just sit here and the end will come. And when it does, you'll wish you'd let me finish that thing! I bet you've already got it locked up in some room downstairs, desperately trying to work out what it does. Who's working on it? █████████, █████? The world will have ended three times over before they learn anything.
Director C█████████: My God, ████████, have you lost your mind?! The reason we do what we do, the reason the Foundation exists is to stop the things you're describing! The world continues because we don't just sit here and wait! Tell us what these things are, and we'll stop them!
Dr R████: You can't stop what's coming. Not all of it. And when it happens, in those last moments, you'll understand why I built the device. It would have been quick, painless. What's coming won't be.
Dr R████ pauses briefly, and sighs.
Dr R████: I didn't want to have to do it this way. It's not as clean or simple as I would have liked. But you've left me little choice. I'm sorry, ████.
Director C█████████: What? What are you ta-
Dr R████ stands up.
[WARNING, ACTIVE MEMETIC HAZARD DETECTED. PURGING AFFECTED CONTENT]
Director C█████████ collapses to the ground and begins seizing.
Dr R████: This won't be pretty. Certainly not for anyone nearby. But it will get the job done, and it's still better than the alternatives.
Dr R████ takes a pen from Director C█████████'s jacket and begins forcefully scoring symbols into the skin of the Director's arm. A few seconds later the door is kicked open by response teams.
Agent ██████: Stop what you're doing! Down the grou-
[WARNING, ACTIVE MEMETIC HAZARD DETECTED. PURGING AFFECTED CONTENT]
Response team members collapse and begin seizing.
Dr R████ is silent for the remainder of the log, while he continues to mark symbols on various parts of Director C█████████'s body. 47 seconds later an incendiary device can be seen rolling through the door. Recording equipment is destroyed.
[END LOG]
Director C█████████ and Dr R████ were both pronounced dead following the incident. Research into the origin of the memetic agent used by Dr R████ is ongoing. The symbols being carved into the Directors skin were consistent with those found on SCP-███. Effects of inscribing them onto the skin of a living subject is unknown. Research ongoing.
Following this incident all subjects exposed to SCP-3600 for tests, including those conducted as part of Project Theia, are to remain in Class 3 memetic quarantine until the nature of the knowledge granted to them can be confirmed to contain no memetic, infohazardous or cognitohazard dangers.
Project Theia
Foreword
Following the incidents involving Former Researcher Dr ████████ R████ and after analysing the data acquired from test subjects after exposure to SCP-3600, it has been decided by the O5 Council that the value of the information that can be extracted from 3600 far outweighs the risk associated with the process.
To that end, Project Theia has been formed with the following goals:
- To document individually each scenario of which exposure to SCP-3600 confers knowledge.
- To map each scenario to its corresponding character or characters in SCP-3600.
- To research the origins of SCP-3600 and SCP-3600-1 in an attempt to determine if more examples of SCP-3600 exist undiscovered.
This will undoubtedly take time; conservative estimates based on the multiplicative nature of SCP-3600 exposure put the number of potential scenarios to be documented in the millions. By necessity, progress will be slow. But the information to be gained here may mean the difference between the continuation of human life and the extinction of everything we strive to protect.
- O5-4
Test Brief
As documented in early test cases and Incident 3600-01, there are certain risks associated with SCP-3600 exposure. In order to mitigate those risks, the following restrictions are placed on subjects being exposed to SCP-3600.
- Under no circumstances are test subjects to be exposed to more than 25 individual characters of SCP-3600, until such time as the risk of severe neurological trauma and significant psychological issues can be mitigated or avoided entirely.
- No test subject shall be exposed to more than one character of SCP-3600 per week, and not until all scenarios of which they currently have knowledge have been documented.
- Following the 10th exposure (and completion of subsequent documentation), test subjects may request to be transferred out of Project Theia. Those wishing to continue their participation in the project must submit to rigorous psychological analysis following each exposure to in order to screen for potential psychological issues that might arise as a result. Additionally, the time between each exposure is increased to a minimum of 2 weeks.
- Should a test subject begin displaying any psychological changes as a result of SCP-3600 exposure, or should they reach the allotted limit of 25 exposures, they are to be transferred out of Project Theia following the completion of relevant documentation.
These steps are intended to reduce the risk of neurological trauma to subjects, and to prevent any significant personality changes in subjects that might cause them to try and put their acquired knowledge to use. To that end, the following restrictions are additionally placed upon potential test subjects:
- The subject must have no history of significantly traumatic events, and must display no signs of depression, suicidal ideation, sociopathy, psychopathy, or any other psychological condition that might disqualify them from participation as determined by Project Theia psychologists.
- The subject must possess a level of education no higher than that of a typical graduate of the American high school system.
- The subject must score at least an 8.5 on the Reinmann-Klashkoff Emotional Stability Test.
- Foundation personnel are automatically disqualified at this time.
Due to the obvious limitations imposed by these restrictions on the number of viable candidates to be found within the D-Class personnel pool, proposals for subjects from alternate sources are currently being considered.
Progress Report
As of ██/██/201█, individual exposure of 2.7% of the characters on SCP-3600-1 has been completed. When factoring in Compound Scenarios, Project Theia has documented over 5,000 potential K-Class scenarios. In addition, information provided by Project Theia has resulted in the containment of █ SCP objects, and the development of █ new pieces of technology currently being tested for potential defensive use.
Further access restricted. For full access to Project Theia documentation, please contact your Site Administrator.
To date, the construction of 3 instances of SCP-3600-2 have been documented.
SCP-3600-2-A: Recovered ██/██/200█
Design Notes: Four identical devices in similar stages of construction designed to accept large amounts of input material, connected to large chimney structures, and one device superficially resembling a jet engine oriented with its exhaust pointed upwards.
Functionality: The four devices with chimneys, through an anomalous process currently under investigation, are able to break down input material and convert it into a currently unidentified gaseous substance which is then vented into the atmosphere. The turbine-like device appears to be some form of plasma generator designed to fire a continuous stream of plasma into the atmosphere. It is theorised that activating the turbine would cause significant damage to itself and the surrounding area, meaning its operation time would be short.
Notes: Testing of the gaseous substance revealed it to be highly explosive when exposed to high-energy plasma particles, though it showed no reaction when in contact with flame or electrical charges. It is theorised that if enough of the gas was pumped into the atmosphere the plasma from the turbine would be sufficient to cause a chain reaction, functionally igniting the atmosphere of the planet and resulting in an XK-Class end-of-the-world scenario.
Current Status: Disassembled. Parts stored in the Secure Containment Vault at Site-██ pending further analysis of anomalous properties.
SCP-3600-2-B: Constructed in Foundation custody.
Design Notes: 12 interlocking rings assembled in an 8-meter diameter spherical formation, connected to a mechanical system designed to allow each ring to rotate freely on each axis. A number of similar electronic components attached at various points around each ring.
Functionality: Based on the design and description of intended effect, this is an apparent attempt to recreate SCP-319.
Notes: Construction and subsequent activation of this device would have resulted in a ZK-Class reality failure scenario, assuming it functioned as intended. Of note is that D-3453-9 made no mention of the anomalous mineral samples found in SCP-319 at any point during construction.
Status: Disassembled. Parts sent to Site-319 for analysis.
SCP-3600-2-C: Recovered ██/██/201█
Design Notes: A highly complex device combining a variety of purely theoretical and previously unknown technologies. Operation and functionality impossible to determine from visual analysis alone.
Functionality: Apparently designed to neutralise, invert, or otherwise interfere with the force of gravity on a per-atom basis throughout local space, to an estimated range of 1.6AU.
Notes: All knowledge on the functionality of SCP-3600-2-C was gained from logs and documents recovered from the scene. Unable to theorise on the exact results of activating the device, though it would almost certainly end in a CK-Class restructuring of reality in which the Earth and the Sun no longer exist as physical objects. Of particular concern is that the device was apparently complete at the time of recovery, with the exception of an empty slot obviously designed to contain SCP-████.
Status: Disassembled piece by piece and documented over the course of 2 years. Each piece individually destroyed.
