captainmeta4

Item #: SCP-4739

Object Class: Neutralized

Special Containment Procedures: As SCP-4739 was not contained prior to its neutralization, no formal special containment procedures were ever developed.

Informal attempts at containment were made by SCP-4739's victims. These are detailed in the original version of this file, now found in Appendix A.

As a precautionary measure against the possibility of other instances of SCP-4739 arising, all SCP research sites shall implement the following:

• Three 1TB hard drives, each filled to capacity with digits of pi, shall be added to one existing computer laboratory. Each hard drive shall be attached to a one-meter length of chain, such that the hard drive can be swung as a weapon.
• One printed copy of this document shall be stored with the hard drives.
• All memetics researchers shall be br

Description: SCP-4739 is a slow-acting, antimemetic dataphage that targets knowledgable Foundation staff at Site 41 and consumes their memories. It manifests as a well-dressed, middle-aged Caucasian male calling itself "Alastair Grey".

Upon selecting a victim, SCP-4739 begins to feed off the victim's memories in a process described by victims as "like Alzheimer's disease in fast-forward". This SCP-4739 generally begins with extraneous memories like extra languages and childhood events. It progresses towards increasingly important memories, eventually leaving the victim to die in a vegetative state.

During consumption, SCP-4739 envelopes its victims in an antimemetic field, rendering the victim and their actions imperceptible to others. This antimemetic effect extended to the original version of this file, which was developed by successive victims using crude asynchronous research techniques.

Eventually, SCP-4739 targeted antimemetics researcher Paul Kim, who was able to neutralize SCP-4739 with an improvised weapon made of a hard drive containing densely stored digital information.

Following SCP-4739's neutralization, the antimemetic cloaking effect over its victims lifted. 283 corpses, in varying states of decomposition, were discovered around Site 41 on the same day. The corpses were matched by dental records to Foundation staff, most of whom held junior or senior researcher positions.

It is not known if other instances of SCP-4739 exist.

+ Appendix A: Original SCP-4739 Document

SCP-4739

Object class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: I'm disregarding the format, because time is a factor. If you're reading this, you've already been isolated from the Foundation at large. Attempts to signal for help are futile. You are now inside 4739's gullet, after ingestion and prior to digestion. You need to get to lab S041-B08-053 as soon as possible and continue the research until you find a way to stop or kill Grey, before it kills you. Don't read the rest until you're in the elevator.

Description: SCP-4739 is a powerful, slow-acting antimemetic kill agent taking the appearance of a male Caucasian business executive calling itself "Alastair Grey". SCP-4739 is attracted to dense clusters of organically-stored information - essentially, extremely knowledgeable, complicated, interesting people. SCP-4739 isolates its victim from the outside world by enveloping them in an antimemetic field which makes it impossible for the victim, or anything done by the victim, to be perceived or remembered. SCP-4739 then consumes the victim's memories and knowledge until they become vegetative and die. This process takes between 15 minutes and 2 hours and is described as being "like Alzheimer's disease in fast-forward".

SCP-4739 is not believed to be sentient, although it imitates the behaviour of a sentient being to the extent that it can appear sentient to the inattentive. Its victims are able to move and act freely, since it is impossible to escape once caught, or to signal for help. Communications such as written notes, graffiti and electronic mail do get sent, and persist in reality, but SCP-4739's effect spreads with each message, making it impossible for an external observer to perceive the message until such time as SCP-4739 catches them too.

SCP-4739 has consumed ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| |||| Foundation researchers since we started counting on August 3, 2013. (If you are reading this entry for the first time, please add a mark.) We estimate at least 50% of victims never make it as far as this database entry, so the true victim count is more than twice this figure.