SCP-7017 - SCP Foundation

SCP-7017

Illustration of SCP-7017-A by Johannes Kepler

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-7017 as a whole does not require additional containment as long as the Decree of Large Numbers remains in effect. For specific Containment Procedures related to SCP-7017 see:

Supplement: SCP-7017-A Market Share
Supplement: Containment Chamber Cube
Engagement Protocol: Underground Skill Throwing Rings
Engagement Protocol: Type Blue
Supplement: Counter-Cleromancy

Description: SCP-7017 is a universal phenomenon in which the result of rolling or throwing an SCP-7017-A instance is dependent on the results and circumstances of that instance's prior rolls and throws.

SCP-7017-A refers to objects shaped like one of the five platonic solids Tetrahedron, Cube, Octahedron, Dodecahedron, and Icosahedron. Rolling or throwing an SCP-7017-A instance will hereafter be referred to as a random event.

Any random event past the first one is increasingly influenced by various physical factors like slight changes in gravity or the speed of the object. After enough random events, the result may also be influenced by random events from other SCP-7017-A as well as results and circumstances of future random events. Conversely, an SCP-7017-A instance may also influence random events from other SCP-7017-A, mostly from the same category, with a large enough series of random events. These SCP-7017-A can be used to calibrate other SCP-7017-A to achieve the desired result.

SCP-7017-A are universally driven by the "urge" to "land on the right side", as far as they're aware. SCP-7017-A may value self-preservation only in so far as it assists their primary goal. What the right side to land on is, depends on the individual SCP-7017-A instance and the situation they are in but are normally not human standards. SCP-7017-A can be trained to land on desired sides, which works better with unrolled instances.

History: SCP-7017-A predate recorded History, making the origin of SCP-7017 unknown. Currently, the prevailing theories are that SCP-7017 was created by one or more Apex-Tier Pluripotent Entities,² or is a natural trait of platonic solids. A man-made creation is deemed unlikely. Under the guidance of GOI-D50, SCP-7017-A played a role in the following events:

The Fall of Troja
The Ruin of the Library of Alexandria
The Fifth and Sixth Occult War
Plato's and Euclid's writing
The Collapse of the Roman Republic
The Fall of the Sui Dynasty
The Victory of the American War of Independence
1979 Nuclear False Alarm Incident

This list is not comprehensive.

Related Groups: Multiple Groups of Interest exist which make heavy use of, or are built around SCP-7017. A comprehensive list can be found under the GOI-D designation. The most significant of these Groups is GOI-D50 ("Platonic Progenitors") consisting of the 5 SCP-7017-A instances with the most random events behind them, and thus the greatest historical relevance.

Collectively GOI-D50 is able to decide the result of every random event. GOI-D50 consists of POI-D4, POI-D12, POI-D8, POI-D6, and POI-D20 ordered roughly by the date of their first appearance.

Person of Interest File #D4

POI-D4, prior to its ascension

Form: Tetrahedron

Alias: "The Ascended"

Preferred Method of Roll Manipulation: Temperature Changes, Spin

Foundation Alignment: No relation. POI-D4 has as of yet not encountered the Foundation.

Rules of Engagement: Do not engage. If a situation arises in which POI-D4 decides to arbitrate, a risk analysis is to be performed by the Administrator before using POI-D4 is granted.

Biography: The oldest records of SCP-7017 date to the 3rd millennium BC throughout Egypt and Sumer. Both used SCP-7017-A enough for SCP-7017 to become noticeable. Through the Royal Game of Ur, a Sumerian game featuring 4-sided SCP-7017-A, were specific SCP-7017-A instances exposed to enough random events for their behaviour to gain interest outside a single game.

POI-D4 was an often used SCP-7017-A instance from that game. It gained small renown for always rolling "in a fair way". POI-D4 was subsequently used in games with higher and more politically motivated stakes. POI-D4 eventually gained the attention of two or more Pluripotent Entities that were active at that time. It was asked to arbitrate in matters concerning the Theochorus.³ With its agreement, POI-D4 subsequently went through apotheosis to a ⅔-Tier Pluripotent Entity under the name "𒀭𒋫𒈾𒀀(Antanaa)".

This ascension caused a shift in the behaviour of SCP-7017-A. From thereon, most instances showed a bias toward rolling numbers which would lead to it being used in more important decisions.⁴

POI-D4 has only made brief appearances on earth since, with the more prominent being a roll by Julius Caesar during the siege of Alexandria in 48 BC, resulting in parts of the Library of Alexandria being burned and its subsequent decline. It was also used as part of the ritual in the Sixth Occult War (1875–1882 AD) that resulted in the death of the Demiurge from severe burns.

It is unknown whether or not POI-D4 was ever restricted by the Decree of Large Numbers.

POI-D4 is currently arbitrating in Undervegas over matters of whether or not their casinos want to move away from using SCP-7017-A or not.

Behaviour: Unlike most other members of GOI-D50, POI-D4 shows almost no interest in SCP-7017-A, future random events or its own self-preservation. Its decision-making is completely focused on causing a "fair" result for any particular random event. It does this in accordance with its own as-of-yet mostly undeciphered standards. POI-D4 may be influenced in its decision by not appreciating its role as an arbiter, in which case a more detrimental result is likely for the next random event.

Given its status as a ⅔-Tier Pluripotent Entity, it is likely that POI-D4 takes the entirety of history into account for deciding the result of any random event. All games or rolls using POI-D4 have had severe consequences mostly involving something burning either in a physical or a metaphorical sense.

POI-D4 does not participate in GOI-D50 directly, but its decisions are seen as sacrosanct and often influence the behaviour of the rest of the group.

Person of Interest File #D12

POI-D12

Form: Dodecahedron

Alias: "The Seer"

Preferred Method of Roll Manipulation: Space Curvature

Foundation Alignment: Varies

Rules of Engagement: Capture, if possible. Actions should otherwise be observed from a distance and brought to the Divination Department for analysis.

Biography: The shift in the behaviour of SCP-7017-A caused by the apotheosis of POI-D4, caused both the spread of SCP-7017-A to more cultures and growing suspicion about the behaviour of SCP-7017-A. The only instances used to arbitrate in more important decisions were those sponsored by a theological entity. The entity would use the instance as a messenger of divine will and the instance would get the opportunity to be used in more important events without arousing suspicion. This practice eventually resulted in the creation of new SCP-7017-A by theological entities.

POI-D12 is likely one such instance, created by a Pluripotent Entity as a gift to Cassandra before the Trojan War (1194–1184 BC). Each side of POI-D12 represents a constellation making POI-D12 usable for astrological predictions. Cassandra used POI-D12 to predict the future throughout her life without being able to affect anything using this granted knowledge.

Most accounts of POI-D12 depict it joining Grand Karcist Ion after Cassandra's death, influencing him to take up arms against the Daevite civilization and aiding him in getting the means to do so. POI-D12 would then have stood on Ion's side until given as a gift to Klavigar Nadox. These accounts are disputed as the sarkist rebellion is dated to the 18th century BC and therefore before the Trojan War. However, given PO-D12's possible affinity to it, the usage of time travel cannot be ruled out.

It is assumed that POI-D12 sought out other companions over time until it settled in Rome in the 2nd century BC. The Romans used POI-D12 as a prototype for the so-called "roman dodecahedrons", which apart from the different sizes of its holes look mostly identical to POI-D12. Roman dodecahedrons were intrinsically tied to accessing other realms or spaces. This was based on POI-D12's access to divine and other sources for visions of the future through the constellations. Various roman dodecahedrons were used to manipulate space, access other realms or facilitate rudimentary time travel. The latter version never saw extensive usage until it was found by the Mongols leading to the creation of The Golden Horde.

In 614 AD, POI-D12 predicted that the next Chinese emperor would bear the name Li. This prophecy influenced Li Yuan's behaviour leading up to his uprising and ascension to the throne in 618 AD and with it the end of the Sui Dynasty.

Not much is known about the involvement of POI-D12 during the Fifth Occult War (1618–1648 AD), as the fifthist involvement has been antimemetically sealed. It is assumed that it either aided or obstructed the effort of anchoring [DATA LOST] further to baseline reality.

In 1912 AD, POI-D12 was rolled by the captain of the RMS Titanic as he was on the fence on whether or not to draft an officer. The result of the random event led to that officer being replaced. The officer left without giving his replacement the key to the binocular cabinet, leaving the crew unable to use binoculars during the Titanic's voyage.

The British Occult Service was able to divine the involvement of POI-D12 in the sinking of the Titanic, leading POI-D12 to seek shelter in the Foundation for a time, after POI-D6 convinced POI-D12 to limit itself to sub-veil activities in return. As POI-D12 was a guest of POI-D6, no proper experimentation or containment was established during its stay by order of the Administrator.

POI-D12 officialized its stay behind the veil to GOI-D50 after the 1979 Nuclear False Alarm Incident.

The current whereabouts and activities of POI-D12 are unknown.

Behaviour: POI-D12 holds a grudge against the Pluripotent Entity that made it due to its predicting rolls having no effect throughout Cassandra's lifetime, resulting in a different attitude towards all of its future rolls: All its predictions result in a future that would not have come to pass otherwise, being it by avoiding the prediction or by enabling it through a self-fulfilling property of the prediction. As evidenced by the sinking of the Titanic, it is likely that POI-D12 does not care about the consequences of its rolls only that there are consequences.

POI-D12 participates in GOI-D50 only sporadically, having an interest in SCP-7017-A being used only for random events that have wide-reaching consequences in general, and being used for fortune-telling. GOI-D50 did not change its behaviour towards POI-D12 despite its role in the fall of the Sui Dynasty, likely because of its abilities.

Person of Interest File #D8

POI-D8

Form: Octahedron

Alias: "The Crystal"

Preferred Method of Roll Manipulation: Air current manipulation

Foundation Alignment: Hostile

Rules of Engagement: Containment should be established as soon as possible. Any underground SCP-7017-A game rings led by POI-D8 that threaten the veil are to be shut down with all participating SCP-7017-A instances being apprehended as well. POI-D8 should then be brought to the Anomalous Weapon Division for analysis. UPDATE: No plans currently exist to utilize POI-D8 after its containment.

Biography: In the 3rd century BC, Plato determined all five shapes that cause SCP-7017, naming them platonic solids. Plato made a series of experiments to prove that each of the four elements is linked to one platonic solid.⁵ Euclid of Alexandria later proved that there could not be more than the five platonic solids, postulating that SCP-7017 was caused by these specific geometric characteristics. He wrote at length about SCP-7017 as well as experiments about it in the original version of his book Elements.

Plato and Euclid are both often cited as creators of POI-D8 for experimental purposes.

These characterizations of SCP-7017 being a god-given/fundamental phenomenon legitimized the usage of SCP-7017-A, resulting in a Golden Age of SCP-7017-A usage, where they were used for anything from luck and agility-based games to fortune telling and consulting in important decisions. During this time the long-standing and well-hidden tradition of heads of states having a full set of different-sided SCP-7017-A in their office with the idea to use them when they are on the fence about a decision came about. It is likely that these sets did not get used very often. Nevertheless, both POI-D6 and POI-D8 likely profited from this tradition.

With all other members of GOI-D50 being either solitary or not yet established at the time, POI-D8 became the main influence of all SCP-7017-A. While games of chance and cleromancy⁶ were still practised under POI-D8, the main focus especially under octahedron-shaped SCP-7017-A shifted towards skill throwing games. Large "Skill-Throwing Rings" were established then and exist to this day, albeit underground.

POI-D8 advertized these Skill-Throwing Rings in part by spreading rumours that these games were closer to the divine purpose of SCP-7017-A with games of luck being just created to please base desires. It is likely that early gambling laws had been inspired by these rumours.

Participants of these skill-throwing matches have to take into account not only the throws inside the game itself but also to train their SCP-7017-A through their prior random events and circumstances. This culminated in the creation of octahedron-based weaponry used extensively by the Sui dynasty (581–618 AD). The Sui Emperors additionally used POI-D8 to deny their enemies the effective usage of said weaponry. This led to a ban on octahedrons during the Tang Dynasty after the fall of the Sui Dynasty. SCP-7017-A were phased out and largely replaced by dominoes and playing cards, which were not under the effect of SCP-7017.

POI-D8 lost large parts of its influence as a result, falling out of favour with the rest of GOI-D50. The Group declared the Decree of Large Numbers as well as other programs to veil SCP-7017 from mankind to avoid future political incidents, that would result in a decline in SCP-7017-A usage.

POI-D8 has since shown minimal activity, mostly focusing on keeping its still existing Skill-Throwing Rings running.

Behaviour: Due to its experimental upbringing POI-D8 shows no interest in games of interest. It is instead focused on two aspects of SCP-7017: Cleansing any impurities that differentiate SCP-7017-A from perfectly replicating platonic solids, which SCP-7017-A mostly do by manipulating a random event to scrape off the impurities in the process; and SCP-7017-A being used for skill-based throwing games. POI-D8 may prefer this activity to other activities due to it being more involved with its element.

Person of Interest File #D6

POI-D6 in its typical bronze full-body armour

Form: Cube

Alias: "The Standard"

Preferred Method of Roll Manipulation: Stiction, Mass and Gravity Changes

Foundation Alignment: Aligned

Rules of Engagement: [CLASSIFIED UNDER 5/GENERAL BY ORDER OF THE ADMINISTRATOR]

Biography: Historical records date the first appearance of POI-D6 on January 10, 48 BC when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon. Although POI-D6 was most likely created long before this event. Caesar used POI-D6 to reaffirm his conviction about a decision he had already made and POI-D6 finalised this decision by landing on the corresponding side, leading to Caesar's famous saying "Alea iacta est" before starting his civil war. POI-D6 intended for the collapse of the Roman Republic to result in laxer gambling laws. Gambling laws in the Roman Empire ultimately remained as strict as in the republic. SCP-7017-A remained in usage for illegal gambling throughout the empire.

With the phasing out of SCP-7017-A under the Tang Dynasty, POI-D6 recommended to the rest of GOI-D50, POI-D4 excepted, that hiding SCP-7017 from humanity was in the group's best interest to maintain SCP-7017-A usage and thus further each member's individual goal. For this POI-D6 proposed a number of measures most importantly the Decree of Large Numbers. This decree thereafter limited all SCP-7017-A in deciding the outcome of their random events so that humans wouldn't suspect the existence of SCP-7017 beyond superstition.

Other measures included the systematical destruction of evidence for SCP-7017 or any influence GOI-D50 and SCP-7017-A had in the past. Throughout this effort, the cube became the most commonly used SCP-7017-A, making POI-D6 the most influential member of GOI-D50 at the time.

By the time of the late medieval period, SCP-7017 was only known by a small number of individuals, most of whom were affiliated with GOI-D50. One exception to this was Johannes Kepler, who knew about SCP-7017 but chose to focus more on the possible astronomical and elemental properties of platonic solids rather than reveal SCP-7017 to the public.

Together with most records about SCP-7017, the belief about SCP-7017-A being of divine origin was also phased out, leading to the common superstition that SCP-7017-A were created by the devil, due to them being mostly associated with gambling.

GOI-D50 reasoned that a reveal of SCP-7017 would at the time result in a hunt and wide-ranged destruction of SCP-7017-A. POI-D6 started to assist anomaly-focused agencies of the time, like the Royal Office for Christian Artifacts, in order to better prevent the rediscovery of SCP-7017.

In hopes to build grounds that were again more favourable for the usage of SCP-7017-A, POI-D6 involved itself in the American War of Independence (1775–1783). Shortly before the Battle of Trenton, POI-D6 prolonged a poker-like game using SCP-7017-A⁷ causing Johann Rall to ignore a message warning him about George Washington's arrival to focus on the game instead. This decision influenced his loss of the battle, which in turn shaped the further course of the war.

It is disputed whether or not this had any effect on the usage of SCP-7017-A.

Containment Cube during Recalibration. Note the training pips.

POI-D6 was part of the American Secure Containment Initiative during its entire tenure and joined the Foundation in [REDACTED]. The presence of POI-D6 made the establishment of the Containment Cubes possible: Cube-shaped Cells that are manipulated through their series of random events as an SCP-7017-A instance as well as through POI-D6 to make them nearly impossible to remove from their resting position. This results in an increase in stability during earthquakes and containment breaches. Containment Cubes can also be used for rolling away in case the Facility gets compromised although Icosahedron-shaped Chambers would be preferable for these efforts.

Further projects by POI-D6 as part of the Foundation are classified 5/General by order of the Administrator

Behaviour: It is very likely that POI-D6 was originally focused on gambling, manipulating its random events to cause a "good game". Its behaviour changed over time to uphold the current status of the decree of large numbers and the secrecy of SCP-7017. As the secrecy of SCP-7017 has with the conception of the Foundation been folded into the veil, POI-D6 has a vested interest in upholding the veil and containing its enemies.

POI-D6 is the current sub-veil leader of GOI-D50.

Person of Interest File #D20

POI-D20

Form: Icosahedron

Alias: "The Modern"

Preferred Method of Roll Manipulation: Humidity Changes, Rolling Friction

Foundation Alignment: Neutral

Rules of Engagement: Track down, to start the negotiation over helping the Foundation calibrate Icosahedron-based vehicles. Should otherwise not be engaged.

Biography: POI-D20 was created somewhere towards the end of Ptolemaic Egypt between 100 and 30 BC. During and after this period, POI-D20 mainly used its time to try out various games that used Icosahedron-shaped SCP-7017-A and ones that did not before POI-D20 inserted itself into them.

With the end of Ptolemaic Egypt, POI-D20 started travelling to other countries, mostly by sea. It can be assumed that POI-D20 visited every culture that uses SCP-7017-A for games, often developing new games in the process, that sometimes lost their SCP-7017-A component later.

POI-D20 persisted in this modus operandi under the leadership of both POI-D8 and later POI-D6. When it was ordered by GOI-D50, it would pursue more specific actions like keeping a minimal presence in the Tang Dynasty to not void it completely of SCP-7017-A or to introduce Johann Rall to its poker-derived game.

In the 1950s AD, due to growing concerns by GOI-D50 about the rise of computerized random generators, POI-D20 was tasked with ensuring that any such methods would be subject to SCP-7017. (See SCP-7017-SUP-LCG for the full documentation about how this was implemented.) This program was known to cause errors which were ignored by GOI-D50 until the 1979 Nuclear False Alarm Incident.

This incident was caused by errors in the program which falsely notified the North American Aerospace Defense Command of the launch of 250 nuclear missiles by the Soviet Union.

The severity of this error led to GOI-D50 rethinking their approach about manipulating humanity with most members agreeing to limit their activities to under the veil where they were less bound by keeping SCP-7017 a secret, giving the responsibility for SCP-7017-A usage in Normal Society to POI-D20. The bugs in the program were fixed and as part of the new direction of GOI-D50, it was no longer pushed for the program to be universal for all computerized random generation methods. This led to many of today's used methods not being under the effect of SCP-7017.

POI-D20 used its new responsibility over Normal Society to push for an increase in the popularity of tabletop games, specifically those using SCP-7017-A. It had started this practice in the 1960s already when it pushed for increased usage of SCP-7017-A other than cubes in wargames. A representative of each kind of SCP-7017-A became part of the set used by these wargames. Later the Pentagonal Trapezohedron, which is not under the effect of SCP-7017, was added to this set to better mask SCP-7017.

The Administrator and the O5 Council deemed this a safe development for SCP-7017-A. Foundation assets were subsequently used to aid POI-D20 in its approach to increase the set's popularity. Today this set is seen as the standard set for random generation in tabletop roleplaying games.

Since this shift of attention to hobby and sub-veil spaces, GOI-D50 and SCP-7017-A played no significant role in any historical events.

Behaviour: POI-D20 enjoys creating new games and new scenarios, or such it deems 'interesting', in existing games. It has a preference for strategy games with a random element over pure skill- or chance-based games.

POI-D20 is the current leader of GOI-D50 regarding Normal Society.

Threat Analysis: The Decree of Large Numbers makes empirical proof of SCP-7017 impossible. SCP-7017-A are in principle able to threaten the veil and civilians through weaponization, deception of randomness and divination. Instances weaponizing themselves only happens in rare circumstances and should be dealt with as containment of the offending instance in its own file. Instances deceiving civilians into decisions they think were decided randomly has likewise been eliminated as a concern after the decision of GOI-D50 to focus on hobby and sub-veil activities. The additional danger posed by instances being able to become Type-Blues or Half-Constructed Intelligences⁸ should be handled through their respective protocols.

Divination remains an uncontained danger by the few instances capable of it. This threat can be mitigated by staying on neutral to positive terms with all of GOI-D50 and through them all SCP-7017-A. The close relationship of the Foundation with POI-D6 should be able to act as an additional deterrent for using such abilities against the Foundation.

It is the Administrator's belief that the history of SCP-7017-A could not have evolved to the degree it did without the outside help of pluripotent entities, historical individuals like Plato, and organizations like the Foundation. Left to its own affairs, GOI-D50 struggles with the same problems of self-sabotage and unpredictability of social developments that most conspiracies do.

Therefore, the only Foundation action necessary in dealing with SCP-7017 as a whole is to enforce the current level of influence and unpolitical focus that SCP-7017-A have. The benefits the Foundation gets from SCP-7017 through POI-D6 and the success of veiling SCP-7017 by GOI-D50 both prior to and after the creation of the veil make the otherwise lax Containment Procedures and the Memet Classification the optimal choice.

Footnotes