SCP-5647

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From the desk of the Ethics Committee.

Following events brought to our attention surrounding SCP-5647 and Procedure 5647-Ω, we have determined it necessary to review and amend our current rulings regarding said anomaly.

Our inquiry highlighted the following:

+Procedure 5647-Ω's problematic qualities

To begin with, Procedure 5647-Ω effectively destroys all life in the universe. We simply cannot approve of any procedure that does so, hence why we initially approved of it only as a last resort. That is, Procedure 5647-Ω was initially approved of only for use during an in-progress K-class scenario, solely because the outcome of a K-class would be an equivalent or worse situation than Procedure 5647-Ω. This is an outlier case wherein "ends justify the means" was deemed acceptable only because the ends is to prevent the otherwise certain onset of worse consequences.

Note that in this section, we give consideration only to the actions that comprise Procedure 5647-Ω and not to its anomalous effect of time reversal. Considerations of the moral implications of Procedure 5647-Ω's effects on the procedure itself and indeed the world have been made in the final section of this report.

+Potential problems with repeated use of Procedure 5647-Ω

We believe there are two main issues with repeated use of Procedure 5647-Ω.

Firstly, Procedure 5647-Ω necessarily takes away our control in its early stages, leaving much of its execution to the Site-1 mainframe. Given this, any system failure during Procedure 5647-Ω will result in a ZK-class Reality Failure event. This is a risk we abide by in the knowledge that Procedure 5647-Ω is a last resort, but continued use may prove to damage overall Foundation capabilities and create a reliance on it.

Secondly, while it is true that there appears to be great care and respect for Procedure 5647-Ω at this moment in time, repeated uses would likely result in eventual frivolous and malicious use, particularly due to the way in which Procedure 5647-Ω raises objections to the very idea of morality, which is covered in more detail in the final section of this report. It is also important to note here that barring the direct experience of whomever enacts Procedure 5647-Ω, there remains no evidence of its use after it is completed. Hence, any misuse of Procedure 5647-Ω is completely untraceable and could present a sizeable threat to the Foundation.

+The implications of time travel

In the knowledge that Procedure 5647-Ω is indeed effective in reversing time, we were forced to finally confront a situation which has been on the horizon for many decades now. Procedure 5647-Ω, in so far as it eliminates all consequences to our actions, raises the question of whether or not ethics are relevant to this discussion.

The objection that has been raised is as follows: "If no actions are of any consequence, then why should we give any moral consideration for anything?"

To refute this, we will begin by providing a specific defence relating to Procedure 5647-Ω and will then provide a more general case for morality.

To begin our specific case, we would like to draw attention to the following scenario: the Foundation carries out several otherwise unsafe and immoral tests under the impression that time will later be reversed, but Site-1 is destroyed due to unforeseen anomalous activity and the Foundation loses its ability to turn back time.

Now what happens? We cannot simply assume that the prospect of undoing our actions makes them any more acceptable than they would be if permanent. This applies because there is always the possibility that time may not be reversed as planned, however, it applies also because those actions still have consequences, albeit temporarily.

What is done cannot be undone in a moral sense because undoing the action merely removes the potential for it to cause further pleasure or pain, not the pleasure or pain it has already caused. This is the general reason for morality. Consider how we already act with relation to our amnestics: the Foundation is already in possession of several cheaper and quicker methods of interrogation than our current approved methods. Several of these would leave no impact on subjects after amnestics are administered, however we do not use them because they are inhumane and immoral. They still cause suffering, even though they would leave no long-term side effects, therefore they are still immoral and we cannot approve of them.

So, time travel, despite seemingly removing consequences, has almost no bearing on moral judgement. Thus, we will not make any rash changes to existing rulings on the basis of our newfound capabilities.

Our findings as detailed above have led us to defer to the Foundation's prime directive: we maintain normalcy. Whilst the flow of time is an anomaly, it is so integral to our experience as humans that it ought not to be interfered with.

Rulings

1. Procedure 5647-Ω is hereby decommissioned. Although it has the potential to avert catastrophe, Procedure 5647-Ω has too much potential to be misused, which is only further compounded by its completely untraceable nature.
2. SCP-5647 is to be reclassified as Archon.¹

Regards,
The Ethics Committee.

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Access SCiPNET

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To: The Ethics Committee
From: O5-6
Subject: Procedure 5647-Ω appeal

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Ethics Committee,

I don't mean in this appeal to overstep into your jurisdiction, nor do I mean to request that you blatantly ignore the points you made in your inquiry. What I mean to do here, is to establish the case for Procedure 5647-Ω which I believe wasn't given the proper light of day.

Procedure 5647-Ω has not just the capability to avert catastrophe, but it has already done so. Whilst I can tell this was considered, I think it was brushed aside too quickly. Let me be clear, I fully agree that reliance on, or misuse of, Procedure 5647-Ω would be horrible. I also agree that it does not negate moral consequences as some have suggested.

However, the reason we commissioned Procedure 5647-Ω in the first place was because it was necessary. We can't foresee every danger, nor secure every anomaly, nor keep everyone safe. We have always been in a position where the best we can do is make it unlikely that the worst might happen. Procedure 5647-Ω changes this. With it, we could avert any catastrophe, contain any anomaly, keep anyone safe.

I understand that the Foundation's prime directive is to maintain normalcy, but the Ethics Committee is different. Your job is not the same as ours. Yours is to be empathetic, to be moral, to be human. And so here I give you this choice: you can maintain normalcy, or you can strive to create something better.

Regards,
-O5-6

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Footnotes

1. Archon class anomalies could theoretically be contained, but ought not to be.

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