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Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Given its nature SCP-XXXX cannot be physically contained, as such containment is to be focused on the treatment of SCP-XXXX-X instances and the concealment of its properties. SCP-XXXX is to be identified from civilian populations based on the screening of psychological reports for symptoms matching its description. SCP-XXXX-X instances are to be brought to Foundation facilities under the pretense of specialized treatment.

SCP-XXXX-1 instances are to be provided psychological treatment based around post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative identity disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Unresponsive instances are to be placed under life support. Development of SCP-XXXX specialized treatment methodology is ongoing, however the given the complexity of the phenomenon and the highly variable experiences of SCP-XXXX-X instances this has proven difficult.

Targeted amnestics have prove partially effective at treating SCP-XXXX symptoms, however the high toxicity of amnestic dosages renders their routine application unsustainable. In addition the erasure of memories induced by SCP-XXXX does not affect the internal progression of the phenomenon.

Euthanasia options have been approved by the Ethics Committee given the incurable and incorporeal nature of the condition. The consent forms for euthanization are to be provided based on the progression of symptoms, or at the discretion of the attending psychological professional. Euthanization of unresponsive SCP-XXXX-X instances without their consent is currently under deliberation.

Description: SCP-XXXX is an anomalous sleep-state affecting an indeterminate subset of the global human population. SCP-XXXX appears to occur at random with no correlation to any discernible demographic or apparent causative factors. Once afflicted a person under the effects of SCP-XXXX¹ is subject to it whenever loss of consciousness occurs.

Externally the SCP-XXXX-X instance is within a state of unconsciousness wherein they can not react to any form of stimuli. Physiologically SCP-XXXX-X do not exhibit any behaviors associated with the baseline human sleep-cycle². Once SCP-XXXX occurs no unconscious movements are made beyond the functions of vital organs, and neurological activity decreases³ similarly to that of a deep comatose state. The SCP-XXXX-X will be within this state for a variable period of 7-9 hours after which consciousness is regained gradually. The neurological processes from awakening are still under research but are related to the subjective experiences of SCP-XXXX; SCP-XXXX-X instances appear to be able to memorize and recall their experiences with a great degree of clarity, although their ability to recall other any information does not measurably improve.

While under the effects of an SCP-XXXX state the SCP-XXXX-X instance will undergo a further subjective phenomenon. According to testimony proved by SCP-XXXX instances each occurrence of SCP-XXXX causes the afflicted to enter a delusional state in which they'll believe themselves to live out an entire human lifespan. The internal perception of time is distorted while under the effect of SCP-XXXX with each event being experienced having no correlation to the external progression of time; the mean time of experiences is approximately 68.3 years, although some have reported experiences lasting over a century. While the SCP-XXXX-X instance is lucid while under the effects of the anomaly they are unable to consciously affect the circumstances of their delusions. It is currently unknown if the subconscious plays a role in shaping the delusions or if the events are subject to any outside factors whatsoever.

The specifics of each delusion vary greatly and the level of detail ascertained from even a single event is extreme in scope. According to testimonies from SCP-XXXX-X each event is believed to be an entirely novel world complete with alternative geographies, biodiversity, technology, histories, languages, cultures, and geopolitical paradigms⁴ all of which is interlinked. While the extent of the anomaly's ability to produce novel concepts is not fully known constants surrounding each event have been documented:

• The physical framework within each delusion mirrors that of baseline reality as far as can be determined.
• All delusions take place on a planetary body with near identical astronomical specifications to baseline Earth.
• The biosphere conditions within each delusion are similar to that of baseline Earth with some minor divergences attributed to geographical conditions and human action.
• Each delusion has Homo Sapiens as the dominant and presumably only sapient life-form
• Some form of human civilization is established most often in the form of disparate nation states.
• Human conflict is always present to some degree generally attributed to conflicting national, cultural, religious, and political factions.

The SCP-XXXX-X instance will always believe themselves to be born within the context of a delusion as a non-anomalous individual; real world bodily traits such as race, sex, or physical features have no bearing on the identities assumed by SCP-XXXX-X, as such SCP-XXXX-X often develop issues associating to their actual physical bodies. While within their assumed identity the SCP-XXXX-X instance recalls nothing of their real world existence, leading some researchers to theorized that the SCP-XXXX phenomenon may be caused by memetic contamination from other realities through an unknown vector, however SCP-XXXX-X generally maintain that they are able to make conscious decisions and actions that affect the delusions to the extent they would affect a real world environment. Those afflicted by the anomaly are prone to psychological detachment from the actual world⁵ which can manifest in a number of ways such as identity dissociation or schizophrenic symptoms. Additional diagnoses of clinical depression, post traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety are common in SCP-XXXX-X, and such disorders are further exacerbated by the progression of the anomaly.

The anomaly has an additional component that becomes apparent after an unspecified number of occurrences⁶ in each SCP-XXXX-X instance. While no physical effects are readily apparent the individual delusions experienced by SCP-XXXX-X begin to become increasingly more detrimental as the anomaly continues. No clear consensus exists with regards to this effect however some commonalities exist. These conditions will be imagined as lower socioeconomic statuses, increased difficulty acquiring vital resources, greater connection to human conflicts, poorer physical and mental⁷ well-being, congenital or acquired disabilities, substance abuse issues, and fewer meaningful relationships with those around them. SCP-XXXX-X will often believe themselves to be the victims of persecution, discrimination, human trafficking⁸, torture, inhumane conditions, and acts of extreme violence. In spite of these believed occurrences no SCP-XXXX-X has ever recalled being killed by an external force in any delusion before the age of 60, although this is a rough estimate due to unreliable testimony and differences in chronological systems. An SCP-XXXX-X may commit suicide⁹ within the delusion but doing so does not end the delusion prematurely, should an instance terminate their own imagined life by any means they will remain in an SCP-XXXX state and experience time as they would within but be unable to perceive or interact with their delusion any further.

+ Recorded Interview Log  ███0213

Attending psychologist Dr. Shannon Menlo conducted this interview with SCP-XXXX-26201 who is one of longest afflicted instances who had retained their lucidity.

<Begin>

Dr. Menlo: Hello 26201¹⁰, as you know today's session will be recorded for future review if that's still agreeable for you.

[SCP-XXXX-26201 is silent for several seconds then nods in agreement]

Dr. Menlo: Now last session we were discussing your growing inability to associate with the real world. Did you want to continue with that?

SCP-XXXX-26201: Yeah… I guess that's alright. We were talking about the brain in the jar thing weren't we?

Dr. Menlo: You mentioned that, but you have to understand our organization maintains that what's happening to you is just that, a false experience. The fact most people live with is that this is the baseline real-

SCP-XXXX-26201: What I'm trying to say is that there isn't a real anything, at least not in a way anyone understands it. The thing is no one lives in "reality" or whatever.

Dr. Menlo: Care to clarify? Look I know you're under a lot of stress, but those sorts of statements are part of why we're worried about you.

SCP-XXXX-26201: Alright, alright look I've been giving it a lot of thought, probably more thought than you can imagine. But basically everything comes to us from somewhere right? Our senses are just receptors for whatever is thrown at us, but we never know if any of that's real or whatever. We just know that stuff is coming from somewhere and we're just there to pick it up. So we just go around blindly following bullshit without ever knowing if any of it is ever actually there, and then you get into stuff you just read, or watch, or hear and-

[Dr. Menlo coughs]

Dr. Menlo: We've talked about this, you're starting to ramble and I'm not sure if it's a good idea to let you continue. Are you willing to calm down?

[SCP-XXXX-26201 takes a deep breath]

SCP-XXXX-26201: Basically all I'm saying is that these dreams or whatever the fuck you call them, they're real. At least for me, I don't care about physical evidence or any of that bullshit, for me at least all of this is actually happening and it's happening over and over again. I keep getting born into Hell, where the only thing I know is Hell, then I wind up back here.

Dr. Menlo: Go on.

[SCP-XXXX-26201 gesticulates]

SCP-XXXX-26201: None of this feels any more or less real than what I've been dreaming and if they're not real than what makes this real? I don't care if it's Earth, Zolum, Caargh, Jwo-Esf-Kei, or fucking Glaableglorp the only difference those shitholes and this one is that I keep ending up here. Maybe that makes it special, but it doesn't feel any different and in the end all we have to go on is feeling.

Dr. Menlo: So, let's just assume that there's something more to this than reoccurring nightmares. Where does that leave you? You still exist in this reality, you said it yourself that this reality is as real as any other. Why not try to keep hold of this one if you can?

SCP-XXXX-26201: There's a sense of dullness that sets in whenever something happens enough times; tastes, sounds, even ideas. Everything becomes a painful grinding sensation, any pleasure becomes a temporary release that shrinks into mindless nothing until it's just more of the same dullness. I've done everything and I've had everything else do to me, I've gotten bored being flayed alive, I've done horrible things for drugs that make crystal meth look like table salt, it all just becomes a mindless drone in the back of my head. The droning is a horrific sensation too, but I'm even getting bored of that. What'll happen then? What happens below the bottom of the bottomless pit?

Dr. Menlo: Oh, okay… As the far as we're aware you're the longest suffering person with your uh… disorder whose manage to stay responsive. We'd just like to know how you've managed to keep yourself together given your well… nihilistic outlook?

[SCP-XXXX-26201 is silent for several seconds]

SCP-XXXX-26201: It's actually obvious if you think about it, the only thing I really know is real is me, so there's only knowable two things in existence me and the rest of reality.

Dr. Menlo: How exactly does that help you?

[SCP-XXXX-26201 appears agitated]

SCP-XXXX-26201: The only thing I have left to lose is myself because that's the only thing there is, and despite everything that's been thrown at me I've never lost my own sense of being. As long as everything is transient, I'm the only truth there is. Pain, suffering, degradation all of that is tangential compared to my obsession with myself. Memory might not carry over but my sense of being does, I don't know how to describe it other than an instinct that leads me down the same line of thought over and over again. I don't know if you'd even consider it sanity or functional insanity because nowhere I've been thinks like this, people are so obsessed with everything other than themselves they can't survive unless their lives go in a specific pattern. Not me, I exist just to exist, that's why I'm still holding myself together. If suffering is a condition of existence than it's a condition I accept, because the alternative is incomprehensible. The only thing have left to fear is the incomprehensible, because I've had everything else. I am the only reality that needs to exist, the only-

Dr. Menlo: Stop, please for God's sake you're doing it again. We've discussed this, it's just not productive. These discussions always boil down to rants about nothing. It's not healthy to let you continue, and I think we're done for today.

SCP-XXXX-26201: I-I'm sorry, I'm getting carried away, maybe none of this is right and it's all just dumb luck. All I know is that I've lived over a hundred thousand years and you people tell me I'm forty three.

SCP-XXXX-26201 became unresponsive on ██/██/████. Dr. Menlo has continued to request reassignment.

+ Recorded Interview Log  ███1034

Attending psychologist Dr. Howard Zhang conducted this interview with SCP-XXXX-39077. SCP-XXXX-39077 had repeatedly expressed extreme aversion to human contact, they requested this interview be performed through a partition.

Dr. Zhang: Are you feeling able to talk today 39077?

SCP-XXXX-39077: I-that- Yes, we can continue. Sorry.

Dr. Zhang: This session will be recorded to aid with treatment.

SCP-XXXX-39077: Okay.

Dr. Zhang: I know it's been a difficult time for you, we'd like to do everything we can to help. If it's alright could you talk a bit about what you've been going through? As much as you're comfortable with.

SCP-XXXX-39077: T-That is going to be a lot, I think it all comes down to h-humanity. The problems all come from something wrong inside of them, I mean us- inside of us. Them and I- everyone.

Dr. Zhang: Are you referring to your disorder? What would that have to do with us? With humanity?

SCP-XXXX-39077: N-no, no, no I'm not talking about that , or not just about that. I mean s-something in us, something wrong. I mean what we do to one another.

Dr. Zhang: What does that have to do with the disorder? I want to help, I really do, but we need to know more about your problem not everybody else's.

SCP-XXXX-39077: That's just it, the dreams, t-the lives I've lived they show me that there's something horrible inside of all of us. Please just let me explain, just let me talk.

Dr. Zhang: Okay, if it'll help I'm willing to listen.

SCP-XXXX-39077: I lived in a village once, we were poor and work was hard. The land never grew much more than we could use, but for a while it was enough. Then a war started somewhere far away. The young men were forced to leave, and no one ever returned. The harvests were tough and winter came quickly, a few died from the cold alone. The war kept going though and soldiers came to take what little we could give and all the animals too, we gave it willingly because we were loyal and proud. Then the war went on, soldiers came again and we had to give more. There was barely anything left for us. The soldiers asked for more and we gave it, then they asked for more and some complained. The soldiers hanged them and whipped anyone who tried to cut them down, their bodies filled the air with rot. The drought came and the fields died, some fled but there was nowhere left to go. The starving began, people clawed out the fields to the last weeds but even those withered beneath the searing sun. They hunted rats and mice and birds, dug through the dirt for anything that slithered or crawled, but there was never enough. We grew too tired and then vermin died too. The earth kept getting drier, soon the wells became mud and the mud became dust. W-we began to eat each other, not to live, but because it hurt too much to starve. The children went first, they were so small and were nothing but bones, they never would have lived anyways. The parents, the ones who cried were next, they barely fought back. The old, then the sick and weak, then anyone at all because rules had stopped mattering; it still wasn't enough. There were too few of us, we were too weak and thin as the dried grass. We gnawed through our cheeks and tongues just to slow the hunger, or maybe just to speed death along. Then the invaders came, because the soldiers had all died. But there was nothing left for them to take, no one for them to fight, so all they did was laugh.

SCP-XXXX-39077: In another time, I was a child of no more than ten. The speakers of God came and said to the people I'd lived among that the color of my eyes showed I was not one of God's chosen people

Footnotes

1. Hereby designated SCP-XXXX-X.

2. Near-REM stages do not occur beyond extremely minor synaptic processes, REM does not occur at any point.

3. Almost no activity is apparent beyond parts of the medulla, brain stem, and cerebrum.

4. Many of the humanistic features of the delusions are often reminiscent of real world anthrodynamics even if the afflicted has no prior knowledge of such events.

5. This is not believed to be a feature of the anomaly but rather a mundane reaction to the duress of the condition.

6. Discernible from as low as 26 occurrences up to 83, although testimonies may be unreliable.

7. The afflicted will often give accounts of a range of psychological disorders affecting them within delusions, but most of these symptoms do not carry over to their real persons.

8. One SCP-XXXX-X instance has claimed to have been [REDACTED] over ██████ times across several lifetimes, a figure in line with accounts of real-world human trafficking survivors.

9. As memories do not enter into the delusion an SCP-XXXX-X instance cannot consistently choose this course of action.

10. SCP-XXXX-X instances often have difficulties associating with their given names, as such instance number is used for simplicity.