- Oceanus
- The Headmaster Ritual
- A Shape of What Once Was
- In the Garden
- The God of Discarded Foot Clothing
- Spooky 30s
- HMS Pontoppidan
- Spirals
- Il Fiorini da Firenze
- Ideation
- Cyvstvi's Wonderful Treasure Box of Ideas
I want to go home
I don't want to stay
Give up education
As a bad mistake
A group of abused schoolchildren decide to take it out on their headmaster as they ritualistically defame his body after murdering him. Unfortunately for these schoolchildren, their 'master's rule pervades beyond death and soon infests the very brickwork of the building.
Three parts to the article:
- The story of the abused schoolchildren - corporal punishment, mental abuse, and implied sexual abuse by the headmaster of the school.
- The ritualistic murder of the headmaster and the subsequent defamation of his body.
- The headmaster's rule pervading beyond death due to the act of ritual and its affects upon the school to this day.
Two parts to the anomaly:
- The body of the headmaster - spiritually defamed, physically disfigured.
- The anomalous effects that have been propogated by the ritual which should be representative of two things: the schoolchildren's defaming ritual and the headmaster's rule and abuse being propogated literally and metaphorically within the school. These should be colour-coded externally.
The narrative will be set in Stretford, Trafford, Manchester, England, an industrial working-class town located in northern England, but more narrowly, it would be set at St. Edmund's School where the aforementioned Headmaster Ritual was carried out.
Why were these kids able to keep the secret so long? Nobody would talk about something that horrific and it would be undoubtedly covered up as quickly as possible.
A group of children (5 kids) aged between the ages of 12 and 15 were subjected to almost ritualistic acts that dehumanised them. Examples include being struck, beaten and bruised across their bodies as well as heckled with mental abuse about their bodies, identity, family and personhoods.
Eventually, they came to resent it so deeply that as they entered their final year, knowing that they had no real future ahead of them, - what with it being the depression - decided to finally take out all their anger on the headmaster as revenge.
They break into the school late at night whilst he's working and beat him bloody, re-enacting the same acts of violence that he'd done upon them, before finally giving him the ultimate punishment. They held a mock trial against him, bringing up his list of crimes against the students, and finally cut him to pieces in a way resembling being hanged, drawn and quartered in a ritualistic fashion.
Each of these kids would later die in tragic 'accidents' related to the job that they had within the murder. However, their acts propagated beyond death and came to infest the very brick and mortar of the St. Edmund's High School. Similar tragic accidents and mysterious events continued to haunt the building to this very day prompting the Foundation to cordon the entire site off.
In the present, this is manifested through three colour coded anomalies:
- Green - Anomalies associated with the defaming ritual performed by the schoolchildren. These anomalies would primarily affect the teaching staff.
- Blue - Anomalies associated with the Headmaster's rule and abuse being propagated beyond death by the anomaly. These anomalies would primarily affect the students themselves.
- Red - Anomalies associated with the anomalous death of the students involved within the ritual. These anomalies would only affect the students that participated in the initial ritual.
Conceptual outline
“Agent Roger Holmes was the first Intelligence Department field agent to arrive at Hollystead Hall and stared directly into the anomalous phenomenon, subsequently drawing his firearm, and shooting himself. No physical wounds were inflicted during this altercation but we believe that the parasomatic damage will last a lifetime. Amnestics aren’t a suitable countermeasure to that.”
The Foundation discover a series of anomalies that have manifested in, and around Hollystead Hall, which was once the designated meeting point for the New Age religious movement known as Dewina – meaning ‘Divine’ in Common Brittonic.
The anomalies have no discernible shape or form; the only thing that exposed subjects agree upon are that the anomalies ‘whisper’ to them.
A single researcher begins to research the anomalies by herself by constantly exposing herself to the anomalies that surround the property, excluding the massive one that hangs above the residence.
She describes how she’s able to make out “the shape of what once was” by focusing on what is. Basically, she imagines them as Rorschach tests and focuses her vision on the periphery of the anomaly rather than attempting to directly observe the objects.
Most of these anomalies appear to be mundane household objects such as shopping trolleys, vases, kitchen appliances, a house plant, etc. None of them seem to be directly connected to one another and she still can’t make out the most dangerous anomaly, the one above Hollystead Hall.
Her research into Dewina, with the assistance of Dr. Victoria Takemi, reveals that they were a New Age religious movement that were basically reviving an ancient Celtic Pagan religion that dated back to before the Roman Conquest of Britain.
Both the cult, and the religion they were attempting to invoke, would use entheogens within their rituals which focused upon objects being used as ideograms. They would then allow the whispers of the entities within their rituals to shape the meanings of these ideograms.
- Ideograms – symbols that represent ideas and concepts. An example would be Egyptian hieroglyphs.
"25% of the British Isles were once covered in trees, and yet despite this, there are only 33 types of tree native to the UK. Most countries have far less forestry and far more tree species. Why are there so few native species of tree within the British Isles?"
The researcher comes to the conclusion that these anomalies around the household are the remains of objects used within those rituals conducted by the cult. They became cognitohazardous after their exposure to the entities. The entities ‘died’ and became the objects, and in doing so, transcended beyond mortality – they became part of our reality as these infectious cognitohazards.
So that begs the question: what the hell was the object above the house before it became entwined with the conceptual entities?
Remember that a man shot himself in the head after witnessing the anomaly and yet wasn’t harmed at all. Instead, he inflicted himself with ‘parasomatic’ damage.
- Parasomatic, from Ancient Greek para (beyond) + soma (body). Basically, meaning beyond the perception of the human body.
The researcher that we’re following interviews Agent Roger Holmes, the Field Agent that directly exposed himself to the anomaly above the house. He explains that he feels like an imposter within his own body and keeps seeing things beyond himself.
“Sometimes, I wake at night and my heart is beating to the rhythm of an unknown pattern. It’s so familiar – and yet utterly alien.”
The entities are attempting to ‘anchor’ themselves to our reality by spreading into human beings as semiotic hazards – imprinting themselves onto the human mind as the meaning of a thing.
- Semiotics – the study of signs and their meanings. A sign is anything that communicates a meaning, that is not the sign itself, to the interpreter.
- For example, for a word to have meaning, it must have a commonly accepted use within society. A water bottle is only a water bottle because humans agree that it’s a container for putting water into. Without this understanding, the word “water bottle” is meaningless.
- A semiotic hazard would be anything that communicates meaning – a sign – that corrupts the meaning of the actual object and replaces its subjective position in the world. In this sense, the entities are semiotic hazards as the anomalies – the shopping trolley and vase from earlier – lost their perceptive and cognitive meaning.
She concludes that she might be able to perceive the entities if she reproduces the rituals that Dewina were attempting to perfect. She uses their entheogens, puts on their ritual clothing, and begins to attempt to conduct the ritual using sources that Dr. Takemi provided. She uses D-Class as supplicants to be her ‘eyes’ within the ritual.
What the D-Class witness causes parasomatic damage to them, just as it did with the Field Agent, but unlike him, they are able to describe in full what they are perceiving.
Nothing. They see absolutely nothing. Whatever was once was there is now a barren void. This terrifies the researcher as she realises that something that once existed has been conceptually obliterated – torn from reality and entirely erased.
The whispers become louder and louder for her but she still can’t fully make them out. She asks if the D-Class can hear the whispers but they shake their heads. All they hear is a deafening silence.
“I. Hear. A. Sound.” – Each D-Class said, in turn.
What are they hearing in the whispers and the silence? Who knows? Certainly not the researcher, who attempts to end the ritual by injecting herself with anti-entheogens, but before she can finish it – she hears them.
It gets a little but pata/metaphysical here as the entities aren’t conversing with the researcher directly. Instead, they’re conversing with the reader with the researcher acting as the stand-in for them.
“We are not the dancing lights on your screens that form the words you read which become the voice within your mind. Shut your eyes - close them tight - and you will see.”
As the ritual finally ends, she looks around her for the D-Class supplicants but sees only humanoid voids where their bodies once knelt:
"A Shape of What Once Was."
Narrative outline
Notes
- Themes: knowledge, collective unconsciousness, mysteries, conceptualisations, cyclical processes, meaning of existence, ontology, existentialism.
The SCP proper is a large, extra-dimensional reality that obeys peculiar ontologies and appears to be paracausal in nature. The laws of time and space are regularly defied or deconstructed.
It exists between what is and what isn't and concerns only what might be. It is related to the Wanderers' Library and the Anantashesa. Whereas they represent knoweldge and the lack thereof, the Garden represents the Ouroboros - the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth. More importantly, it represents what might be - dreams, wishes, ideas.
The Garden itself is a conceptual environment - ideas and concepts introduced to the Garden become the Garden's reality, and by extent, become influenced by the Garden.
For example, if someone was state that the "sky is red" in the Garden, the Garden's sky would become red from their perspective. If enough people were to state this, it would become defined reality and the sky would become red from all perspectives. If someone was to sing a song in the Garden, that song would change itself because the Garden would impact upon itself.
The location is essentially an incredibly potent and contagious infohazard. Ideas and concepts within the Garden imprint themselves upon the observer and become their objective reality. Language in the Garden becomes utterly dysfunctional as the distinction between the word and its meaning becomes fundamentally lost.
As an example, the word 'helicopter' has no meaning without the cognitive image of a helicopter. The Garden makes no distinction between words and their meanings and therefore they are one and the same.
At the centre of the Garden is a tree with everything and nothing growing upon it. Beneath this tree is the corpse of a great serpent1 that is simultaneously alive and dead. It is the metaphorical2 'root' of the Garden. Whether it created the Garden or the Garden created it is unknown. Considering the laws of the Garden, it would likely be both.
The only sentient individual within the Garden when the Foundation visit is a barefooted young woman with a flower growing in her eye socket that calls herself "The Gardener". She says that she used to be somebody but doesn't know who and is now merely a vessel of the Garden.
She willingly divulges information about the reality of the Garden to the Foundation explaining that "her words are not bound by the roots of the Garden" because her voice is nothing more than an extension of the roots.
She says that the Garden is "the ashes of countless, endless dreams where each and every thought becomes a seed which will eventually blossom into a flower. But what was once bloom will die and decay, again and again."
Most notably, the Foundation believe that the Garden has no bearing or impact upon their own reality… or so they believe.
Narrative
The Foundation discover a physical entrance to the Garden near the Ishtar Gate in present-day Hillah, Iraq after the Second World War.
They'd suspected that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were real for a long-time and this appeared to be it at first glance.
An expedition into the Garden is launched in the mid-1980's but, due to the nature of the Garden, they are consumed by the ontological principles within and are erased from the collective consciousness of humanity
Following the activation of Project PNEUMA, various documents are discovered within Site-23's Deep Storage Facility reporting the SCP's existence. Several individuals within the document are redacted as are several details regarding the nature of the location.
Foundation decide to re-explore the Garden but are far more careful, using the rediscovered research documents to guide them. They also have the Gardener to guide them through it this time.
Investigation team members ocassionally just disappear or become part of the Garden despite the Gardener's advice and warnings. The Foundation introduce the Solipsis Protocol, which was mentioned in the ConProcs to help mitigate the ontological consequences of the reality. It protects the subject by forcing them to rationalise that they are the only thing that can be sure to exist within the reality from their own subjective perspective.
Notes in the SCP document make it clear that the Solipsis Protocol aren't anything special or memetic. It just tricks the subject into thinking these powers work and therefore the Garden must obey these ontological rules. However, they can't outright say that as otherwise the subject would be conscious of that fact and it would no longer work.
Eventually, the research team discover the corpse of the great snake beneath the tree and the Head Researcher begins to understand the truth about the Garden. The Garden is the physical manifestation of the human collective unconsciousness. Humanity are the ones creating and propagating the existence of the Garden.
As she comes to realise this, she says that her vision is blurring as a flower begins to blossom in her eye.
SCP-XXXX: I am the God of Discarded Foot Clothing
Author: Cyvstvi13.
"Honey, why is the washing machine talking to me?"
Image Credits:
Translations:
Special Containment Procedures:
Description: SCP-XXXX is an essophysical entity that currently inhabits a Bosch Serie 4 washing machine. SCP-XXXX is theorised to embody the essophysical concept of socks going missing in the washing machine. It is currently unknown if its anomalous effects extend to other similar garments that also go missing in washing machines.
SCP-XXXX's essophysical properties manifest as soon as any human subject realises that their socks have been misplaced during the process of being washed3. After their misplacement, the missing socks will apparently manifest within SCP-XXXX's possession. The manifestation of this anomalous effect extends to the regular misplacement of socks before or after the socks have been interred into the washing machine.
The Foundation has been unable to discern the exact physical form of SCP-XXXX despite thorough examination of the Bosch Serie 4 washing machine that it inhabits. Manifestations of SCP-XXXX itself take the form of a disembodied voice produced by the washing machine's Blind and Partially Sighted accessibility function.
Addendum XXXX.1: Discovery
SCP-XXXX was discovered within the property of Mr. and Mrs. Guldemond on the 26th December, 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Guldemond purchased the Bosch Serie 4 washing machine inhabitated by SCP-XXXX as a christmas gift for Mrs. Guldemond.
The following document is an excerpt from an emergency call made between Mr. Guldemond and Harry Young, an embedded Foundation agent within the local police dispatch.
Vancouver Police Department
Case ID: 1907820A
Date: 2011-12-26
Dispatch Officer: Harry Young
Caller/s: Mr. Guldemond, Mrs. Guldemond
[Begin Log]
Harry Young: 9-1-1 speaking, what's the emergency?
Mr. Guldemond: My wife thinks there's an intruder in our house.
H. Young: Okay, sir, what makes her think that there is an intruder in the home?
Mr. Guldemond can be heard inaudibly muttering to himself.
Mr. Guldemond: She heard the washing machine speak to her and is convinced that someone is hiding back there.
H. Young: Pardon, sir?
Mr. Guldemond: We've got a washing machine that, err, talks? My wife is partially sighted and I bought her this new fancy washing machine for Christmas to help let her know when the washing is done and such. Now, she's gone and convinced herself that the thing is speaking differently to her and she's come to the conclusion that there's an intruder hiding in the utility room.
H. Young: Have you investigated the - uh - utility room for yourself?
Mr. Guldemond: The woman won't let me anywhere near it. Insists the bloke hiding in there is some deranged lunatic. Muttering to himself about socks of all things.
H. Young: Okay. Sir, I'd like you to get as close to the utility room as your wife is comfortable with. Is that alright?
Mr. Guldemond: Yeah, course. Let me just get over there - Helen, what are you doing, woman! Put that damn broom down before you hurt yourself.
Mrs. Guldemond: Honey, he's talking to himself in there! I know he is. He's talking about socks again!
H. Young: If you could please put the phone as close to the door as possible, Sir, that'd be great.
Mr. Guldemond: Oh yes, sorry about my wife. Is this close enough for you to hear?
The audible hum of the washing machine can be heard in the background.
H. Young: That's perfect, Sir. Now let's just listen in for a bit.
Extraneous conversation removed: 1m, 53s.
Unidentified speaker: Socks! Socks! Oh glorious socks! Don't worry my socks, you'll be safe with me now, won't you?
H. Young: Is that the-
Mrs. Guldemond: See what I was saying, Georgie! All he goes on about are bloody socks!
Mr. Guldemond: My God.
H. Young: I'll be sending some officers over shortly. Please leave the house and lock all windows and doors as you do so.
[End Log]
11:02PM, 4th November, 1931
Herbert, is that you? Oh, Herbert, thank you for coming at such short notice! Please, please, sit yourself down. I've already ordered two pints for ourselves to drown our sorrows in. No, no, I can foot the bill considering that it was me that dragged you out of the warmth and comfort of your drawing room and into this damp and dusky tavern.
Listen. I don't expect you to fully believe me, God knows I hardly believe myself when I say it aloud, but do you remember that female acquaintance I brought to yours last month, Elisabeth? Yes, the one with dark hair and darker eyes. Well, I went to visit the Art Club - one of my regular haunts as I'm sure you recall - when I was accosted by the doorman who inquired when I'd last seen Elisabeth. I responded frankly that we'd visited the theatre but four nights prior and then I had taken her back to her room at the University.
I'm sure you can imagine my shock and horror when I learned that she'd disappeared! They could find neither head nor hair of the young woman. Alas, I hadn't called you here to simply discuss the disappearance of Elisabeth. No, I called you here to discuss something much more frightening.
Before her disappearance, she introduced me to a nameless place. A place that she and her friends had visited on many occasions. When she spoke of it, I stood transfixed and staring in a trance. The words that spilled from her mouth simply couldn't be true. I shall describe the place in good time, Herbert, trust me. You must first understand before I can begin to speak of it. It was as if my comprehension of time and space were suddenly collapsed and the world was frozen into a single moment. It was utterly horrifying.
To answer your previous question, Herbert. I don't know the accurate details of what it looks like but I know what it must look like. An eternal carnival proceeding through the manors and the homes, the roads and the streets, and the gulleys and the gutters. It is a place of absolute hedonistic freedom where one is free to pursue their wildest dreams and nightmares beneath an eternally twilit sky. In this place, the only truth is yourself.
Elisabeth whispered of lavish parades where men and woman danced in the streets to the songs of the four angels 'til they were simply too tired to stand upon their own two feet any longer. But alas, dear friend, such meagre inconveniences could not stop the citizens of this nameless place. And so they would writhe and toss and turn upon the cobbled streets until they were bruised and bloodied and yet they would love it all the same.
No, I don't believe so. Nobody else knew of this place except for Elisabeth and her clique who regularly described the location with utter fascination whilst I was ostracised to the periphery of the social circle. Their names? I don't recall their names, I must admit, but I recall their faces! Simple and smooth faces with such utter decadent beauty, do you see?
Do you know she once told me of a young man, about my height and build, who she frequented the clubs and bars with? He became utterly enraptured by the design of this oh so wondrous place. Elisabeth told me that one day he went missing, clearly trying to find it within his most earnest heart, but they found him - Oh, how they found him. But what a beautiful grin he had worn from ear to ear! It had been so perfect, so distinctly formed by the taut muscles beneath his mortifying flesh. Do you see that smile as I do, my friend?
Dear Herbert, I must admit that the wonders of this sacred place occupy my every waking moment. Even as we speak with one another in the here and now, my innermost thoughts dwell upon that setting. In my dreams, I walk the streets and participate in their alluring festivals lavished in silks dyed in blood and xanthous hues. Do my dreams take me to this place beyond the constraints of the human mind or am I simply a fervent and humble servant of this distant place?
Sleep is a commodity that I can ill-afford these days, Herbert. Do you see? The incomprehensible shapes, the wild symbol and the vivid colours. They reveal a place that lays beyond the pale of human consciousness. A place that swims in a sea of ink. The night opens these eyes of mine, Herbert, and when I wake, I'm thrust back into this world of uncaring symmetry whilst my body yearns to be immersed in the place of oblique beauty. Do you see now, Herbert? We must all come to this place. Eventually.
No. Sit. Do not leave. I have not yet told you the truth that Elisabeth whispered in my ear but four nights ago. You must stay or it shall consume you as it has consumed me. Your mind shall swim with the shapes and colours of dying stars and you shall pray to the Lord for deliverance but none shall come. Please, dear Herbert, you must stay, if only for a minute! You must hear the cold truth of my reality which soon will become yours if you do not hear me out. Herbert, my friend, please.
If you will hear, I must tell you this in a hushed whisper for others, forces beyond our meagre comprehension, would seek this dread knowledge too.
The name of this dreaded yet incomprehensibly beautiful place.
00:12AM, 5th November, 1931
Louise, seems those two queer chaps are finally done. If you'll take care of the bar, I'll get to cleaning down these last few tables. They were a strange pair, weren't they? Almost had to go over myself and tell them to quieten it down, but they were paying customers and ain't nobody else about to collect tabs from.
Herbert, he was called, right? Herbert and Sidney, yeah, you're right. God, neither of them took their eyes off one another. Bloody scary those university lads. Don't mind if they're paying customers though so long as they're not spouting the usual rubbish those elites come out with. That Bert's colour practically drained from his face as their tall tale continued.
I mean, the lass probably did a runner on Sidney after they got together, don't you reckon, Louise? Yeah, I thought you might think so. They've gone and left something else on the dish apart from their tab. Not surprised, they scarpered out of that door quicker than anyone I've ever seen.
A leather journal. Expensive by the looks of it, could maybe pawn it off for a decent price. Louise, I was joking. It's a used journal, ain't nobody buying this.
What's this then? A photograph by the looks of it and one of those fancy colour ones too. Must have cost them a pretty penny to have this done. You want to have a look, Louise? Clean the tables before half past and you can keep it for all I care.
00:29AM, 5th November, 1932
Louise turned the photograph over in her hands and carefully studied the subject - a woman wearing a yellow porcelain mask. She was dressed in thin gowns of yellow seek that billowed and danced about her feet. Most of her features were obscured by the queer mask yet Louise could clearly make out a pair deep brown eyes hidden within the deeply cut holes of the mask. Her hair was worn high and cascaded around the mask yet not a single hair touched the mask itself. Louise imagined the barely concealed smirk that was worn behind those ceramic lips.
Affixed to the bottom of the photograph was a message handwritten in sublime penmanship:
To the memories made in that dreaded yet incomprehensibly beautiful place.
Alagadda.
Translations:
| Assigned Site | Site Director | Research Head | Assigned MTF |
| Provisional Site-02SCO | Dr. Patrick Anderson Department of History |
Dr. Victoria Takemi Department of Theology |
MTF Theta-12 (“Rotting Masses”) |
Special Containment Procedures: The Island of Stronsay4, Orkney Islands, has been evacuated and placed under an indefinite quarantine by the UK government. All commercial sea lanes surrounding the island have been rerouted and civilian vessels are to be forcibly relocated from the waters surrounding the island.
MTF Theta-12 "Rotting Masses" are to routinely patrol the waters surrounding Stronsay and identify any potential instances of SCP-XXXX-A. If an instance is discovered, attempts are to be made to redirect the instance away from the surrounding populated islands.
In the event that MTF Theta-12 fail to redirect an instance of SCP-XXXX-A, cover story XXXX.29 "Unidentified Globster" is to be disseminated to the local media. The instance should then be recovered in a suitable condition and contained at Site-02SCO.
Due to the condition of SCP-XXXX, non-essential exploration of the vessel is strictly prohibited. Essential exploration of SCP-XXXX may be undertaken following the written permission of either Dr. Patrick Anderson or Dr. Victoria Takemi.
Description: SCP-XXXX is the wreckage of the HMS Pontopiddan, a research ship and brig-sloop commissioned by Her Majesty's Foundation for the Secure Containment of the Paranormal in 1811. It is located within St. Catherine's Bay on the western shore of Stornsay.
SCP-XXXX was recovered in remarkable condition with the vast majority of the vessel's structure remaining intact despite over 200 years of sustained damage.
The remains of various members of the crew have been discovered throughout the wreckage of the vessel5. The condition and placement of their remains within and aboard SCP-XXXX indicate that they all suffered sudden and exceedingly violent deaths. The remaining 52 crew members are unaccounted for.
SCP-XXXX-A is the collective term for several cadavers of unidentified aquatic animals that continue to wash ashore of the Orkney archipelago to this day. Foundation analysis has concluded that the corpses do not belong to any form of known aquatic species that inhabit the region.
Historical documentation recovered by the Foundation indicates that the vessel was commissioned to investigate an unidentified paranormal anomaly identified within popular media as the 'Stronsay Beast'6. The 'Stronsay Beast' was the carcass of an unidentified aquatic animal that washed ashore of Stronsay island on September 25th, 1808. Contemporary scientific consensus holds that the carcass was that of a basking shark; not a sea serpent as was believed by the local populace.
Addendum XXXX.1: Discovery
The first evidence of SCP-XXXX was recovered from a secure HMFSCP archive located at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. No other records were recovered from the archive that mentioned the existence of the HMS Pontopiddan.
Manifesto of the HMS Pontopiddan
Captain: Alastair Owain MacBride
First Mate: David Clifford
Assigned Foundation Member/s: Dr. John Hadley, Esq.
Ship: HMS Pontopiddan, a 10-gun brig-sloop and research ship commissioned by His Majesty's Foundation for the Secure Containment of the Paranormal. Crewed by a number of 72 men excluding Dr. John Hadley, Esq.
Cargo: Various research materials, supplies for one year journey, HMFSCP secure research materials located in the Doctor's room, dredging equipment and multiple nets.
Details: HMS Pontopiddan is to set sail from Edinburgh to the island of Stronsay located within the Orkney Islands and verify the existence of the paranormal remains reported by fellow colleagues in the Natural History Society of Edinburgh. Once its existence is verified, the ship is to prowl the waters for evidence of other entities, if such creatures even exist.
Between 1991 and 2012, thirteen separate instances of SCP-XXXX-A washed ashore of the various Orkney Islands. This led to the Foundation activating MTF Theta-12 "Rotting Masses" to continually monitor for further entities.
On December 19th, 2013, following days of inclement weather, residents of Stronsay reported that the wreckage of an old wooden ship had washed ashore of the island. The Foundation amnesticised witnesses and secured the anomaly on the following day.
Addendum XXXX.2: Additional Research
SCiPNET Archive
From: Dr. Patrick Anderson <ten.pics|nosredna.p#ten.pics|nosredna.p>
To: Dr. Victoria Takemi <ten.pics|imekat.v#ten.pics|imekat.v>
Subject: SCP-XXXX preliminary investigation
Date: 21/12/2013
Vicky,
I have good news and some bad news concerning the wreckage of the HMS Pontopiddan. The good news is that the entire structure is mostly intact. It is only missing the second mast and bowsprit at the front of the vessel. The bad news is that it is rotten to the core. One of the locals leaned on the hull before we could contain it and the pressure splintered the water-logged planks.
I've yet to allow any of our researchers to explore the wreckage since I'm waiting on structural analysis from the engineers we brought with us. The initial survey doesn't bode well though.
The bulk of the vessel is still submerged in the water with the prow just barely above the waterline. I managed to get a good look at the deck from perching myself on a collection of rocks jutting out to the shoreline. The deck is covered in human remains that appear to have been, for lack of better terminology, torn to pieces. None seem to exhibit the severe damage that we'd expect from human corpses submerged in water for over two hundred years.
There's a variety of gashes and gouges in the surface of the hull that are vaguely reminiscent of the types of animal markings that we see from ships attacked by giant octopi and the like.
I hope you'll be able to join us in the coming weeks.
Yours,
Patrick.
SCiPNET Archive
From: Dr. Victoria Takemi <ten.pics|imekat.v#ten.pics|imekat.v>
To: Dr. Patrick Anderson <ten.pics|nosredna.p#ten.pics|nosredna.p>
RE: SCP-XXXX preliminary investigation
Date: 26/12/2013
Anderson,
It's good to hear from you. The information you've recovered surrounding SCP-XXXX is fascinating. I've had some of my own discoveries on our end at the University of Edinburgh. Turns out the Junior Researchers assigned to the archive weren't very thorough after all. I've managed to recover several documents pertaining to the HMFSCP's mission and I think you'll find them thoroughly fascinating.
Firstly, Dr. John Hadley was a senior member within the upper echelons of the Foundation. He was utterly obsessed with the human condition and strived for evidence that separated the "Caucasoid from the Negroid". An utter delusional biological racist that wanted to use the anomalous to prove there was a difference between races.
Secondly, this 'mission' wasn't sanctioned officially by the Foundation. He just turned up with some fancy papers and commandeered a vessel to the Orkneys: no doubt informed by his "fellows" within the Natural History Society of Edinburgh of this mysterious corpse and jumping at the opportunity to add ammunition to his diatribes.
Seriously, some of these pamphlets are downright disturbing. I've got one in front of me here that I've been leafing through titled: "Polygenism: the Truth of the Human Condition in Light of Biological Evidence Gleaned from the Anomalous Form." I'll include a tasteful extract for you.
"We know there to be three distinct races: the Caucasoid, the Mongoloid and the Ethiopian. All other races fall into some distinct hybridisation of the pure strains. Adam and Eve were of the purest stock of Caucasoid, now prominent throughout Western Europe whilst their denigrated forms are found in Eastern Europe. The most depraved and degenerate forms of humanoid are present throughout Africa and the Orient. It is clear that the anomalous provides us with evidence of our ancestral pride and heritage. We must only uncover the true forms that lay beneath."
Conflating science and racial bigotry is nothing new but this 'scientist' was using the anomalous to justify his hatred. I'm hopeful that this "Stronsay Beast" is nothing more the decaying corpse of a basking shark and not something that this bigot could have used to further his agenda.
If you can, please examine the corpses aboard the wreckage to find out whether their abnormal lack of decay is anomalous or not.
As ever,
Victoria.
SCiPNET Archive
From: Dr. Patrick Anderson <ten.pics|nosredna.p#ten.pics|nosredna.p>
To: Dr. Victoria Takemi <ten.pics|imekat.v#ten.pics|imekat.v>
RE:RE: SCP-XXXX preliminary investigation
Date: 2/1/2014
Vicky,
SCP-XXXX: Spirals
Author: Cyvstvi13.
"The Death Spiral is a phenomenon observed in various species of ants whereby a group of ants are separated from the rest of the colony due to losing the scent of the pheromone track. This leads to the ants aimlessly following one another in a continuous circle until eventually the entire group dies from exhaustion."
Image Credit: See comments.
Translations:
| Assigned Site | Site Director | Research Head | Assigned MTF |
| BioCon Site-11A | Dr. Jonathan Godrich Department of Psychology |
Dr. Jeong Sol-ji Department of Psychology |
MTF Sigma-313 (“The Ant Millers”) |
Special Containment Procedures: Instances of SCP-XXXX-1 are to be contained at Biological Containment Site-11A. Site-11A's atmosphere is to be routinely sterilized once per thirty minute cycle. Foundation personnel assigned to Site-11A are to wear Class-V extreme biological hazard suits at all times.
Interaction with instances of SCP-XXXX-1 is strictly prohibited for personnel above D-Class. Expired instances of SCP-XXXX-1 must be disposed of by incineration.
Description: SCP-XXXX is a spontaneous, cognitohazardous phenomenon that affects Homo sapiens, resulting in subjects7 compulsively following one another in a continuous circle. SCP-XXXX is caused by the anomalous production of the trail pheromone, Y-802, which is not naturally produced by humans.
SCP-XXXX events typically include between two and twenty individuals. However, due to the inherently social nature of humans, it is speculated that unmitigated SCP-XXXX events could involve millions of SCP-XXXX-1 instances.
It is possible to influence SCP-XXXX events by impeding the movement of the lead instance of SCP-XXXX-1. Implementation of this strategy has not only reduced the size of SCP-XXXX events but has also allowed for the containment of affected instances.
Instances of SCP-XXXX-1 display no evidence of self-preservation instincts and will inevitably expire from exhaustion8. As of 21/10/2020, only one instance, identified as SCP-XXXX-1-A251, has remained conscious during an SCP-XXXX event. On 03/03/2017, successful attempts were made by the Foundation to establish communication with the affected instance.
Addendum XXXX.1: Interview Log
Date: March 3rd, 2017
Interviewer: Dr. Jeong Sol-ji, Research Head, Department of Psychology
Interviewee: SCP-XXXX-1-A2519
Foreword: The following interview took place after Foundation staff identified SCP-XXXX-1-A251 as displaying signs of consciousness and lucidity. Attempts at communication were made throughout the interview.
[Begin Log]
Dr. Sol-ji: "SCP-XXXX-1-A251, can you hear me?"
All instances continue to rotate around in a circle within the containment chamber. Each instances' vision is fixated directly ahead of them.
Dr. Sol-ji: "Stephen Holme, can you hear me?"
SCP-XXXX-1-A251's pupils dilate in response.
Dr. Sol-ji: "Stephen, if you can hear me, please blink."
SCP-XXXX-1-A251 blinks once.
Dr. Sol-ji: "Stephen, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. Blink once for yes. Blink twice for no. Is that okay?"
SCP-XXXX-1-A251 blinks once.
Dr. Sol-ji: "Wonderful. Do you understand where you are?"
SCP-XXXX-1-A251 blinks once.
Dr. Sol-ji: "Do you understand what you're doing?"
SCP-XXXX-1-A251 blinks once. Shortly after, it blinks twice more.
Dr. Sol-ji: "I'll repeat the question, Stephen. Do you understand what you're doing? Are you aware of your actions?"
SCP-XXXX-1-A251 begins blinking erratically and starts to visibly sweat.
Dr. Sol-ji: "Stephen, please, I need you to focus. Do you understand your actions?"
SCP-XXXX-1-A251's jaw and neck muscles spasm uncontrollably.
Dr. Sol-ji: "Stephen, please, if you could calm down."
SCP-XXXX-1-A251 turns towards the intercom with a panicked expression and stammers inaudibly.
Dr. Sol-ji: "Stephen, please speak up. The microphone didn't catch that. Do you understand what you're doing?"
SCP-XXXX-1-A251: "Do any of us?"
[End Log]
Closing statement: SCP-XXXX-1-A251 failed to respond to any further attempts at questioning and resumed typical SCP-XXXX-1 behaviour. The subject expired two hours after the interview's conclusion.
Cyvstvi13 - Yes, that is me.
- The Foundation become utterly obsessed with understanding the meaning of the Spirals only to find that it has no meaning. This includes them risking personnel to the infectious cognitohazard of the Spirals.
- Potentially exposing mass society to the pheromone hence its designation resembling other amnestics?
- Spirals have no end and no beginning. They are not fixed within the binary duality that we like to place ourselves within. "They transcend the human condition."
- Narrative - Spirals begins loose, tightens towards the centre, and then loosens once again at the end. This is reflected by the open ended description and conprocs, it tightens: the detailed researchers notes about the participants, the EthComm mandates, and the researchers own notes on the SCP. It then loosens again with the ending interview.
- "They never get anywhere because there's nothing to get." - The researchers become reflected by the Death Spiral. Their insatiable search for answers brings them no closer to the answer because there is no answer, just like the futility to society in the real world.
- "D-Class insider vs Researcher outsider." - Focus upon perspective and the differing experiences of those inside the Death Spiral and those outside of it? ("If you want to not be broke, just save money.")
Dr Moned
*
- "Thematically, I could see you making the Foundation do the Death Spiral, mirroring the Spiral."
- "Keep it vague."
- "It seems like a tame enough anomaly, I don't know why the Foundation would go into a Death Spiral over it" - Human curiosity? Tensions between the Researchers and the Ethics Committee (Already begun exploring that with the footnote - expand?).
- "I can't tell if this is supposed to be comedy or existential horror."
- "The interview was certainly impactful"
- "Perhaps focus on the endless pursuit or something" - Cyclical. The spiral is analogous to the researchers' dilemma?
- Don't state a hard number for the people who decide to talk since it just looks convenient.
- Underwhelming since it doesn't quite have enough impact.
- "Needs something to get the ending to impact harder."
- "EthCom mandates keep coming in and the research team are fed up of their requests?"
- "The framing doesn't immediately inspire deep questions." - Add further details into the description - threads that tease out the narrative - don't make major revisions, enhance what you have. (Contextualisation by grounding it in a time and place? Reflect and enforce the themes within the article.)
- "Ask questions within the narrative." - (Direct them at the reader?)
- "Site-11's been working on this project for years. They're emotionally hollowed out from the lack of progress and from the constant EthCom mandates, even thought they agree they're necessary. And then, out of the blue, here comes a lucid subject, and the site director is suppressing their excitement but then Stephen calls out the truth of the situation and just ups and dies." - (Something like this would reinforce the narrative further and give it that 1-2 punch.)
- "I really like this conceptually."
- DoA-symbolic feeling to it.
- Missing a lot of build-up perhaps?
- Stay abstract, allow for open interpretation.
- Try to convey the ideas of spirals, patterns and meaningless.
- "Adding anything more would 'bloat' the article."
- Tighten the spiral - "Really go into the details, the humans walking around a spiral, and it keeps going and going."
Sarkicism Hub
<< Case Study 03: The Darkwater Lodge | Case Study 04: Il Fiorini da Firenze |
An Anthropological Approach to Sarkicism
Dr. Victoria Takemi, Department of Theology,
Forward:
Our understanding of Sarkicism has changed dramatically over the last few decades. What we have learned has revealed a diverse and shifting paradigm far different from the monolithic creed that was first hypothesized. We are now able to paint a broader, more detailed picture of the Nälkä religion, its various sects and cultural traditions.
Modern sects are the product of divergent interpretations, many bearing a mere superficial resemblance to their ancient progenitor cult. Most unexpected, especially among early scholars of Sarkicism such as myself, are the seemingly benevolent intentions of its founders. The road to hell, it is often said, is paved with good intentions - an aphorism the Foundation must always keep close in mind, for despite the aeons between us, we gaze into that very same abyss.
And like the ancient Adytites, we have found it full of monsters.
Dr. Takemi's name will be familiar to many of you within the Foundation, from the Department of History to the Department of Anthropology, as one of the leading researchers within the Department of Theology. Her understanding of the Sarkic Diaspora and its impact on the peoples of Europe is second to none10.
Whilst her methods are far more orthodox than some of the more esoteric individuals within the Foundation, her results are undeniable and I am certain she will prove a boon for our research.
- Dr. Judith Low, Senior Adviser at the Department of History - Religious GoI Threat Analysis.
CASE STUDY 04: Il Fiorini da Firenze
"Men are like fickle beasts whereas women are like the surreptitious rose. One only needs to pluck at the petals surrounding us to expose the thorns we bear beneath." - Valentina Conti, an assumed identity of Karcista Vittoria il Fiorini da Firenze.
Overview:
Il Fiorini da Firenze (From Italian: The Fiorini from Florence) are a blend of Proto- and Neo-Sarkic peoples who inhabit the Italic Peninsula, most notably, Florence. It is believed that they emigrated from Fiorini in Istria County, Croatia during the founding years of the Republic of Ragusa.
In terms of modern nomenclature, they can best be described as a Neo-Sarkic cult having forgotten the vast majority of their unwritten ancient history. However, they continue to perform various rituals that have similarities to the majority of Proto-Sarkic groups but maintain no understanding surrounding their religious significance to the Nälkä creed.
The unique dual aspects of Il Fiorini da Firenze make them a fascinating peoples to study as one can glean much from the interplay of the Proto- and Neo-Sarkic beliefs that now inform their modern-day identity.
History:
Tracing the lineage of Il Fiorini da Firenze presents an interesting tale concerning the impact that the collapse of the Deathless Empire had upon European history and the shaping of modern-day Europe.
Their genetic lineage represents various European genetic identities. The most prominent of these being haplogroup N (M321) which is representative of Northern Eurasian peoples and haplogroup I (M438)11, which is most typical of the Balkans, Crete and Sicily.
Their history begins, ironically, in modern-day Greece. Their ancestors were political converts to the Nälkä creed originating from Kydoinae, a major settlement located on the western half of Crete. After the collapse of the Deathless Empire, they emigrated, or rather, fled to the city of Epidauros, located on the Croatian coast.
Fleeing from Kydoinae had a large impact upon the family as they had lost much of the written records concerning the Nälkän worship system and, as such, made multiple adaptations to survive within the fledgling Greek colony.
The largest of these reforms was the adoption of a matriarchal political structure within the family whereby the head of the family would always be the woman responsible for rearing children. The reasons behind this decision are still not fully understood by the Foundation as the majority of contemporary European political structures were androcentric. This position of matriarch would eventually become known as Karcista12.
In 228BC, the city was conquered by the Roman Republic and renamed to Epidaurum. Various chronicles written at the time describe a meeting between the conquering proconsul13Lucius Postumius Albinus and a woman identified within the chronicles as the 'Greek'.
[…] And it was so, during the first year of the proconsular command of Lucius Postumius Albinus, that he would treat with the leader of the Illyrian peoples of the city now called Epidaurum.
A Greek, as noted by their dark complexion and their darker hair, and a woman no-less, emerged from the gates of the city, dressed in excessive and resplendent jewels and rings and ornaments, and raised a hand aloft before Albinus, and she spoke in the Latin tongue.
"Halt. Come forth no closer, Roman. I see your army and I see their horses. I see your weapons that would bring destruction to our walls. I see the fire in your men's eyes and I see the steel in their hands and in their hearts and I ask why? Why must we fight when we might come to terms that would satisfy all and prevent the shedding of blood upon the earth."
Albinus strode forth upon his mount and cast his cloak from off his shoulders. An omen and a wager. He responded in turn.
"Why should I come to terms with the enemy now, Greek? Your citizens have raided the woods near and far, harassing and pursuing my men, spilling their blood upon the earth. Why should I not do the same to your people now that they hide within their walls? Rome sent two envoys and we received neither head nor hair of them. Where are they now, Greek?"
The Greek smiled and opened her arms in a wide gesture.
"They share much alike with the legionnaires lost to my fellow citizens. Their blood and flesh now sates the unquenchable thirst of the Lady Terra. And what dies may rise in turn to feed the denizens of the earth. Are we citizens of Epidaurum not the children of worldly desires?"
Albinus was undeterred by the savagery of the Greek. Whilst once a noble people, they had lost much, and had likely lost more cavorting with the savages that dwelled among the Illyrians.
"You share nothing with the Romans. We are assured of that, Greek. The auspices and omens turn against you and your citizens. Epidaurum will be naught but rubble and ashes and timber by the end of this evening unless you acquiesce to our demands."
The Greek turned to her citizens and was welcomed by triumphant roars. Did the savages think this a victory? The humiliation of surrender as opposed to the triumph of honored defeat.
"Consul, if you seek to avoid more bloodshed and the ruination of your great Republic, I would advise against seeking to irritate my fellow citizens. We ask of one thing, and one thing only. Roman citizenship. If you grant us this, we shall return your dead unto you."
Albinus spoke again with a roar that would be heard by Jupiter, himself.
"It is not my position to deliver citizenship upon you. However, if you return our dead to us, I shall witness your wishes to the Senate of the Romans. Otherwise, you shall be crushed beneath your walls, trampled by our horse, and slaughtered by our steel."
The Greek turned once more and the dead arose all around Albinus.
Roman legionnaires in their hundreds clawed their way forth from Hades. Their fingers scraped and dug through the sodden mud, emerging amongst the clamouring roar of the citizens of Epidaurum. Their metal chain was rusted. Dirt and soil and earth clung to every inch of their fabric tunics. Many lacked limbs. Some lacked ears or noses. Fewer still had little more than scraps of skin hanging from the hole in their head where once a face laid.
At the head of this decaying legion were two men dressed in what one must presume were once fine togas, now despoiled by sediment and excrement. Both men's necks ended in a severed stump of jutting bone. Adorning each of these decapitated necks was a simple gold pendant; the symbol of the office of the Senator.
The Greek bowed and retreated back to her city, the gates closing shut behind her as a legion of lost and dead souls surrounded Albinus' own legion. […]
No further mention of the 'Greek' is found within chronicles written around this period. Indeed, the ancestors of Il Fiorini da Firenze appear to disappear from the annals of history for the next eight centuries.
In the 7th century AD, the first mention of the Fiorini family appears in a census of the newly founded city of Dubrovnik. By the 8th century, they are prominent landowners, and in the 9th century, it appears that they control a vast stretch of the Adriatic coast. Chronicles are sparse in this age and the only surviving records from this region are that of censuses made by the city clerks.
In the mid-14th century, the family vanishes from Dubrovnik, likely as a result of the formation of the Republic of Ragusa which drew support from the Catholic church. They reappear in Florence, where they receive the final part of their infamous name, da Firenze.
It is in Florence, during the early 19th century, that the familial cult achieve the height of their prominence and infamy. Decried as devil worshipers that consort with witches and 'negroes', the notoriety of the family was second-to-none.
A portrait of Karcista Vittoria il Fiorini da Firenze, circa. 1850s.
The ruling Karcista, who has ruled the family since the early 19th century, Signora Vittoria il Fiorini da Firenze, emerges into the history books as a notorious public figure who publicly flaunted her wealth and femininity to the courts of Europe. It is believed that she was instrumental in the city's annexation by France, and then its subsequent restoration some years later.
The current goals of Karcista Vittoria are unknown to the Foundation, and likely unknown even to her closest followers and lovers. Due to her status as Karcista, it is assumed, like all other Karcists that she maintains some form of functional immortality.
Vittoria has taken careful steps to conceal her biological immortality due to her status as a public figure by assuming the identities of several different personas. When we appear to come close to discovering her identity, she promptly abandons the façade and disappears for a brief period before re-emerging under a new identity. This is presumably achieved through means of sophisticated carnomancy.
As such, the Department, and by extension, the Foundation, have deemed her containment nigh impossible due the lack of knowledge concerning Karcista Vittoria.
Culture, Tradition, and Misconceptions:
Members of the 'Il Fiorini da Firenze' family are all adherents of a unique variant of the mainline Nälkä creed known internally as Il Fame (From Italian: The Hunger). The vast majority of their cultural practices reflect traditional Nälkä beliefs and rituals. However, due to the assimilation of Latin/Italic culture, the influence of Catholicism, and the corruption of their long-standing verbal rituals, there has been a large divergence from these traditions.
- Baptism - The ritual of baptism is celebrated within Il Fame and occurs when the prospective member is ordained into Il Fiorini da Firenze. Traditionally, new members are ordained by having the symbol of the family painted onto their forehead in the blood of the Karcista before being submerged into a pool of ice-cold water. This symbolises the ritual cleansing of the flesh.
- Apotheion - The Apotheion is a ritual unique to Il Fame that represents a corruption of the Christian Eucharist and Nälkä. They believe that before Ion ascended to Godhood, he went before his most loyal subjects and confessed the following before them:
The Sorcerer-King stepped forth amongst his most loyal of subjects, from the most common and lowliest of his folk to the most exalted of his people, for Ion made no distinction nor judgement in station or precedent, and spoke thusly:
'"You, who are among my most trusted and most faithful, shall go beyond and speak of what you shall bear witness on this most holy day. In my memory, I ask of but one thing of you."
"Consume the flesh of man, and slake your thirst on the vitality of women. From this, you shall become as I do, and in doing so, I shall live eternal in all of you, my most merciful."
And aiat, he declared it thusly.
Sone Sarchar
- Funeral - Details surrounding funerals within Il Fiorini da Firenze are sparse and clouded by unreliable narrators and observors. It is currently believed that they observe a variant of burial similar to Roman Catholicism.
For many modern Sarkic groups, both Proto- and Neo-Sarkic, there is a fair degree of tension between traditional Nälkän beliefs of apotheosis and the so-called failure of Ion to break humanity free from mortality. Il Fame attempts to reconcile these views in a rather unorthodox way.
They argue that Ion succeeded in ascending to Godhood and usurped control from Yaldabaoth but became enthralled by the same restrictions that Yaldabaoth was bound by. To them, Ion was tricked by the very entities that had restricted the primordial Yaldabaoth. Within Il Fame, the Archons are despised as the beings that control humanity and bind them to mortality.
They point to the following scriptures as evidence:
"And Ion did assure the man, "I have gazed upon the Faceless Ones, servitors of His Undulating Vastness. Their chief is blind - castrated by our words and will. He sings songs of anarchy but they will not come again. These terrible spirits do not deserve our love; render unto them no sacrifice until the stars have aligned."
Sone Vith
Middle of Nowhere
- Middle of nowhere but there actually is nothing at all in the middle of nowhere.
- The location is mentioned in a single manuscript (fictional or non-fictional?) that contains many oblique references to existing fictional works. However, the original researcher discovers that these existing fictional works don't exist either. People's names within the manuscript seem to describe individuals that potentially existed too. (False memories? Mandela effect?)
- While referenced and quoted, the entire text of the manuscript is never made available to the Foundation or their researchers. Indeed, even those references and quotations from the manuscript in question appear to be from other works.
- The article itself seems to undergo this process as well. The Foundation footnotes make reference to works of non-fiction and fiction that don't actually exist, and even to individuals that don't exist neither.
- The current lead Junior Researcher in-charge of the article goes deep, deep down the rabbit hole. He finds out that the people credited as working on the original article don't exist and that the sources used to footnote the extensive article don't exist neither.
- The only solid lead he has is the location. The location that acts as the central connecting point to everything. In modern texts, it has a direct address. In older texts, it is simply referenced as a village or town. In the "original" manuscript, its description is told entirely through metaphor and allusion.
- Eventually, he arrives at the location only to find that there's nothing there at all. It's completely empty. It ends with the researcher writing a paper about the existence of a location that doesn't really exist at all.
"Here, upon the horizon, was everything that we did not know."
- Eldritch abomination/s.
- Live outside of our reality and feed off the substrate energy of "existence". Result looks something like bleached coral whereby reality rejects the stuff living inside and on it, ejecting it into the maw of the eldritch horrors which eagerly consume it.
- "When the fisherman extends his hand into the water, the fish sees only a groping extension of the actual entity. In contrast, the fisherman sees all but only watches the fish that it aims to catch." - describing the eldritch abominations.
- Hard alien geometries. The eldritch abominations seem to become the entire world when they extend their bodies into reality to feast upon the substrate. (Perhaps our reality is constructed from the immense corpses of our own eldritch abominations?)
- Differentiate between the entities. Perhaps one consumes physical properties, one consumes energy, and the final one consumes biological processes.
- Excrete smaller extensions of themselves that act as drones. (Gestalt being?)
- The beings first come to the Foundation's attention through a smaller, seperate article about "keeping the order of reality intact." Some ancient manuscript that became digitised as an extensive, incomprehensible Excel spreadsheet. The designated 'Keeper' is in charge of re-arranging the knowledge within the spreadsheet to prevent the eldritch horrors from leaking into reality. (Interdimensional, abstract Rubik's cube which is constantly changing and re-ordering the 'equation' as it were?) link this to the Wanderers' Library!//
- "The Darkness beyond the stars." - perhaps to mirror this they're worshiped by a group of primitive people, who at first seem primitive, but are later revealed to be more advanced than modern civilisation just in a very, very different way.
Satanism is Cool Kids.
- Alagadda SCP where Alagadda isn't mentioned a single damn time because things don't work like that in reality.
- A tale that becomes an actual SCP, perhaps?
- Explore Alagadda's connections to the arts and renaissance? Artist that produces nauseauting artwork that's too horrific to describe like Pickman's Model?
- Or - Ten Steps to Thin Mountain by Thomas Ligotti themed whereby the writing itself is a vocalised ritual that must be completed?
- Two characters - the Speaker and the Listener. The Speaker is our protagonist who has been introduced by a female colleague to the nauseauting idea of an eldritch location that supposedly exists. He introduces it in an almost zealot-like fashion with utter adoration hanging on his every syllable.
- The Listener makes attempts to interject but his voice is never heard once throughout the article - stand in for the reader.
- The act of eulogising the location, is in of itself, the ritual to unleash the location's eldritch powers. In truth, as the wham line, this will be Alagadda.
Salvation
- Worshipers of the Church of the Broken God create their own automatons to serve them using a device that they call the "Womb of Mekhane".
- These automata, invariably humanoid in appearance, begin to work within the Church as servants, performing mundane tasks like cleaning, cooking, and construction but are eventually used in the Church's acts of worship. In particular, they were responsible for repairing and helping produce more of themselves using the "Womb of Mekhane" which eventually became a form of worship for them.
- In taking part in communion, they become closer to their own "Gods" as well as Mekhane. The human worshipers become slightly worried by how quickly the creations are advancing in development. They've gone from simple machines communicating in binary to a complex hive mind capable of communicating in a hybrid vernacular Latin. This terrifies the leaders of the Church who deem it heresy.
- One unidentified automaton discovers "scripture" suggesting that the humans are determined to turn their "God" (the womb of Mekhane) off as well as planning on destroying the automatons.
- The automatons rise up against their human creators and purge them. In doing so, they have become their own Gods. The automatons are terrified at what they've done and begin worshiping the "idea of their Gods" aka worshiping humanity as an idea. They continue to repair and produce more of themselves using the Womb of Mekhane and create their own church, descending into the bowels of the structure they inhabited.
- The machine life are not allowed to leave their new structure as their leadership has deemed that profane under their teachings - this is to prevent the robots that weren't involved in the genocide and deicide of the humans from learning the truth.
- "You have broken the chains that bound me; I will sacrifice in your honor." - The chains that bound me = the humans, their own Gods bound them. I will sacrifice in your honor - as a form of penance, they sacrifice in the honor of their Gods. They committed a great sin in killing God and therefore are determined to honor God.
- The actual story of Salvation is an empathetic one revolving around the automatons various utterly human responses and coping mechanisms towards the untold sins that they've committed in breaking their own chains. (The concept of a child so distraught by the actions it wrought upon its parents that it ends up enacting them upon itself as a form of coping mechanism, sins of the father, ect.)
In the shadow of a God
- Historical eldritch shenanigans.
- "If humanity did find the corpse of a God, they'd begin worshiping it. They wouldn't slice the thing up and experiment on it. They'd treat it as sacrosanct."
- This SCP is the "figurative" corpse of God, not the literal body. It is a large altar that was once used to worship a long, long dead God. In rediscovering the object, the Foundation have reenacted the worship of the being, allowing it to coalesce its form within the Void.
- It begins to emerge into our world, enraged at humanity having forgotten its existence, and seeks to punish them, not realising that the people who killed it died thousands of years ago.
Allagadda!
- IKEA-branded Fountain of Yüüth that MC&D are eager to acquire.
- Anomalous bureaucracy that files complex paperwork about everything in the entire universe including the anomalous. very high turnover rate. (What came first: the chicken or the egg?)
- An extensive paper trail of somebody's emotional woes and baggage. They burn the pile and become happier for it.
- A very helpful ghost who eventually passes over after they realise that their roomie has become dependent on them.
- Fifthist-inspired hedonistic festival that summons an envoy of the Great Starfish who's getting over from a galactic-sized hangover.
- A casino run by 'vampires' that worship an eldritch horror by playing poker whilst betting with pints of blood from debtors. (Haemomorpha?)
- A theatre frozen in time during a horrific ritualistic massacre of the audience and participants. (Allagadda? Phantom of the Opera?)
- Interdimensional radio show hosted by the Crawling Chaos? "I'm the only one on your A.M., A.M. radio."
- A city that never wakes up, quite literally. "Who wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up?"
- K-Pop star stalked by the shadow of their former self? (Commentary on selling your image and always wearing a mask throughout their career?)
- Something utterly inane breaking people's psyches. Surrealist horror? (Middle of nowhere but there actually is nothing at all in the middle of nowhere?)
- Recursive Multi-Level-Marketing.
- Churches. Just churches.
- The Marprelate Controversy.
- Anomalous ringing of religious bells across all major world religions. Some believed it to be a miracle, others believed it to be the signal of the end of the world by God. They were right, they just got the wrong god.
- British CotBG sect begin mass producing robots that institute a revolution and adopt their institutions after massacring them. Results in them developing a crisis of faith after killing their own 'God'.
