… would be no world at
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Info
SCP-8706 — A World Without Angels
◇ A Classic Con entry, by
Uncannyon ◇
35th Place In Classic Con
Classic Con Achievements
THE BLIND
Write an article without any images.THE AMNESIAC
Write an article that uses no pre-existing lore or background elements besides the existence of the SCP Foundation.THE NEGATIVE
Write an article that never directly describes the anomaly.THE SKEPTIC
Write an article where the object or phenomenon isn't actually anomalous.THE ECHO
Write an article that's primarily about a statue or a sculpture.PERFECTION
Write an article that meets the following criteria:
1. No images.
2. No addenda or additional sections after the description.
3. No formatting besides the standard format (such as the bolded section names; Item #, Object Class, etc) and any out-of-universe elements.
Content Warning: This article contains some references to suicide and gore.
Item #: SCP-8706
Object Class: Uncontained
Special Containment Procedures: There are presently no known methods of curing or inoculating against SCP-8706. Foundation efforts are therefore to be focused on limiting the spread of infections as much as possible and minimising the risk of potential outbreaks.
Individuals affected by SCP-8706, hereafter referred to as SCP-8706-A instances, are to be monitored, assessed for risk of transmission, and, if deemed necessary, taken into Foundation custody.
All materials attempting to promote the dissemination of SCP-8706 are to be supressed, discredited, and if possible destroyed, so long as such actions would not draw greater attention to SCP-8706.
Due to the inverted relationship between resistance to typical memetic hazards and vulnerability to SCP-8706, Foundation staff members who have a CRI1 score of 6 or above are not permitted to have any form of contact with SCP-8706-A instances or to view any potentially compromised material created by an SCP-8706-A instance.
Following the discovery of Dr. Merryweather's infection,2 staff assigned to SCP-8706 are to be subject to regular assessment interviews, random spot checks, and enhanced surveillance. Personnel are advised to report any behaviour from colleagues that might indicate SCP-8706 contamination.
Whenever possible, the suicides of SCP-8706-A instances should be officially recorded as deaths by accident or natural causes. All references to SCP-8706 in their publicly available data should be erased.
Description: SCP-8706 is a Class IV contagious memetic hazard. It comprises a set of communicable delusions and compulsions centred around The Glorious Angelic, the globe-spanning collection of beautiful humanoid statues commonly referred to individually as Angels.
The following is a list of currently known symptoms and behaviours associated with SCP-8706 infection:
• SCP-8706-A instances will experience a form of targeted amnesia, rapidly losing all memory of The Glorious Angelic prior to 6ᵗʰ July 2025. They will subsequently become pathologically convinced that the Angels did not exist before that date. No amount of reasoning or evidence will dissuade an SCP-8706-A instance of this belief once it has taken hold.
• Once contaminated, SCP-8706-A instances will feel compelled to spread their belief to others. While the pseudo-arguments they present are invariably nonsensical, incoherent, or easy to disprove, they contain a mild memetic component capable of transmitting SCP-8706 to individuals who hear or read them.3 SCP-8706-A instances are capable of displaying extreme intelligence, cunning, and deceptiveness in their attempts to disseminate SCP-8706, including concealing their infection for prolonged periods.4
• SCP-8706-A instances may struggle to feel a sense of comfort and tranquillity around Angels. Individuals affected by SCP-8706 have instead reported experiencing unease, discomfort, and fear, and have in some cases described the appearance of the statues as "disturbing".
• SCP-8706-A instances may look directly at Angels for extended periods of time, despite the universal cultural taboo against such behaviour.
• SCP-8706-A instances may attempt to photograph or visually record Angels, despite the universal cultural taboo against such behaviour.
• SCP-8706-A instances may attempt to vandalise or damage Angels, despite both the universal cultural taboo against such behaviour and its objective futility. Angels should not and cannot be harmed.5
• SCP-8706-A instances may believe that they can remember Angels being in different locations than the ones that they currently occupy. This is self-evidently not true. Angels have always been exactly where they are.
• SCP-8706-A instances may claim to have seen Angels turning to look at them out of the corners of their eyes. This is known to be impossible.
• SCP-8706-A instances may claim to have heard Angels whispering their name. This is known to be impossible.
• SCP-8706-A instances may attempt to barricade or otherwise fortify their homes, rooms, or dwelling places in order to prevent Angels from entering. This is known to be impossible.
• An indeterminate amount of time after initial infection, SCP-8706-A instances will attempt to end their own lives. In the majority of cases, their methods of self-termination are excessively painful and destructive, and would likely not be possible to carry out without anomalous compulsion. SCP-8706-A instance suicides have to date included self-strangulation, self-bludgeoning, self-disembowelment, and self-abacination.6 All efforts to prevent SCP-8706-A instances from harming themselves, including Foundation safeguarding procedures, have met with consistent failure. While fully restrained and awaiting interview in Foundation custody, junior researcher Dr. Jan Merryweather managed to break her neck so violently that it became partially severed. The method she employed is currently unknown.7