All dreams now feature SCP-8518.
Artist's rendition of SCP-8518.
Item #: SCP-8518
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Suppressing public knowledge of SCP-8518 has proven futile; thus, the current containment strategy entails adjusting popular conceptions of normalcy to account for SCP-8518. To this end, the Foundation is to fund civilian-run research into SCP-8518, with the aim of providing a scientific explanation of SCP-8518 that can be released to the public. In conjunction with this research, a variety of public relations initiatives have been launched to reaffirm the population's belief in science.
Description: SCP-8518 is an idea that abruptly appeared in the noosphere on April 23, 2021 and has remained there since. It is a static view of a brick tower several stories tall, lit from the upper left. SCP-8518 is present in the psyche of every human; the average person recalls SCP-8518 once every two minutes of their own volition. It has proven impossible to dispel even with the use of amnestics and targeted countermemes.
Apart from its omnipresence and unusual persistence in the mental landscape, SCP-8518 appears to possess no unusual properties. It does not cause distress or impairment more than any other mild distraction and has a MICDI1 score of 0.12. SCP-8518 has no connotations beyond those ascribed to it by observers.
SCP-8518's manifestation has caused several worldwide changes in culture and cognition, including:
- All individuals can form a detailed mental image of SCP-8518 at will, including those who normally lack the ability to form mental images.
- SCP-8518 now routinely appears in media, art, and discussion.
- Memetics and noetics have become publicly recognized fields of study.
- Public faith in science, as an institution, has declined by 5-20%.2
- New religious movements and cults have been formed around SCP-8518.3
- All dreams now feature SCP-8518.
A full study of SCP-8518's impact on society is being conducted.
While no physical match for SCP-8518 has been found, it is most reminiscent of British water towers built in the 1930s. The single closest match to SCP-8518 is a set of blueprints produced in 1931 by architect Laurence Chambers (deceased), intended for construction in Cambridgeshire. Ultimately, a different design was used, and Chambers' blueprints were archived. No conclusive connection to SCP-8518 was established.
Addendum: Research proposals
The following table summarizes potential avenues of research that cannot be conducted through civilian proxies.
| Proposal | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Survey human-like intelligences in Foundation custody to determine SCP-8518's interactions with anomalies. | Approved | Indicates that SCP-8518 affects near-human entities in a similar fashion to baseline humans. Full report is available to personnel with 5/8518 clearance. |
| Develop and spread a memetic agent that suppresses discussion or depiction of SCP-8518. | Denied | This fails to advance understanding of SCP-8518, which is currently the containment directive. |
| Reverse-engineer SCP-8518's anomalous properties and use them to enhance SCP-████'s primary function. | Approved | Research is underway. Assuming success, the remainder of the proposal will be enacted if and when SCP-████-α complies. |
| Suggest to SCP-946-1 and -2 that SCP-8518 be discussed. | Approved | SCP-946-1 and -2 declined, citing a lack of insight into SCP-8518. |
| Perform a noonautic induction and explore SCP-8518 directly. | Denied | Approaching SCP-8518 would take place in full view of the world's entire population, causing an unacceptable breach of secrecy. |