Evan Cook - The Crumple Zone

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX is to be kept in a locked, soundproof room. No audio channels are to be established between SCP-XXXX's containtment and any other location, except without clearance from O5.
When interviewing SCP-XXXX, the interview must likewise be conducted in a locked, soundproof room. The interviewer must wear an EEG cap, the readings from which will be monitored by personnel in an adjacent observation chamber. Additionally, these personnel will listen in to the interview by way of a speech recognition device which automatically censors SCP-XXXX's speech, allowing only the interviewer to be heard by personnel in the observation chamber. Upon conclusion of an interview, the interviewer is to undergo psychological assessment and - if deemed necessary - subsequent therapy.

Description: SCP-XXXX is a humanoid approximately 1.8 meters in height and of a slim build. When speaking, SCP-XXXX guides conversations towards topics of existence and theories of the mind. Test subjects left alone with SCP-XXXX will undergo dramatic shifts in mental state, leaving several subjects in significant emotional distress.

Audio log from Interview XXXX-1:
Interviewer: Dr. ████████
Interviewed: SCP-XXXX

Foreword: Dr. ████████, along with an armed guard, enter the interview room in which SCP-XXXX had already been waiting for some time. SCP-XXXX greets both Dr. ████████ and the guard warmly, approaching them to shake their hands. The guard raises his weapon and commands SCP-XXXX to stand down. SCP-XXXX's facial expression barely changes as he calmly takes a seat at the table in the room. After a brief pause, Dr. ████████ also takes a seat.
<Begin Log>

Dr. ████████: Please state your name for the record.

SCP-XXXX: But of course, my name is SCP-XXXX.

Dr. ████████: Wha- how did you know that?

SCP-XXXX: [SCP-XXXX grins] How do I know my own name? What an odd question!

Dr. ████████: [sighs resignedly] Do you have any other names?

SCP-XXXX: Well, now, of course I have many names, like yourself. But if, as I suspect, you seek to better understand my purpose here, I am the voice of reason and of madness.

Dr. ████████: [flatly] How interesting. May I ask who gave you this title?

SCP-XXXX: Gave? My dear sir, you misunderstand. I am what I am. You might as well ask who gave me to the title! [SCP-XXXX laughs at his inversion]

Dr. ████████: I see. [conversation pauses as Dr. ████████ extricates a file from his briefcase] I have read the police report concerning your activities several days ago, and I would like to ask you some questions.

SCP-XXXX: And I would like to give you some answers.

Dr. ████████: Good to hear it. The report says local police received multiple complaints claiming that you were disturbing the peace. How do you respond to that?

SCP-XXXX: [SCP-XXXX is taken slightly aback, and looks rather hurt by the accusation] Disturbing the peace? I have raised neither my voice nor my finger against any man! You might as well say a doctor disturbs the peace by inducing a poisoned man to vomit!

Dr. ████████: [addresses SCP-XXXX with an arched brow for a few seconds before returning to the report] According to the report, you were taken into custody. After only two days in confinement, you escaped. Can you te-

SCP-XXXX: "Escaped" is such a dramatic word. A guard let me out, as I'm sure it says in that report in your hand. It would appear he thought I was innocent. Such an amicable fellow.

Dr. ████████: He has been relieved of his post, thanks to you.

SCP-XXXX: [slightly irritated] And thanks to you, I have been relieved of my freedom.

Dr. ████████: Well I suppose you'll just have to forgive us for that. What did you offer him to make him help you?

SCP-XXXX: "Make him"? Honestly, your questions. [SCP-XXXX shakes his head as if disappointed] He opened my cell of his own volition. As for what I offered him, I offered him nothing more than what I offer every man.

Dr. ████████: And what is that?

SCP-XXXX: Why, I've told you! Reason and Madness.

Dr. ████████: Yes, how could I forget? [Dr. ████████ stands] Thank you for your time, I'm afraid my schedule contains enough madness as it is. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do than indulge in your derangements. [addresses the guard] Get him back to his cell.

<End Log>

Closing Statement: After the interview concluded, Dr. ████████ ordered a full psychological evaluation of SCP XXXX. (See subsequent incident report, SCP-XXXX-A.)

Addendum XXXX-A: Incident Report

Incident XXXX-A

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Addendum XXXX-B: Interview

Interview XXXX-2

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Addendum XXXX-C: Experiment

Experiment XXXX-1

Transcription of audio log

D-class Dumbass: So here's where I'm confused. How can you be reason and madness at the same time?

SCP-XXXX: How could I not? Reason and Madness are two sides of the same coin. They are both necessary. If you have one without the other, humanity is lost.

D-class Dumbass: Yeah I'm already lost. You're gonna have to explain.

SCP-XXXX: Consider sex.

D-class Dumbass: Done.

SCP-XXXX: If humans never surrendered to the madness of their primal passions, there would be no reproduction, no continuation of the human race.

D-class Dumbass: Well, I mean, I guess s- wait a minute. Couldn't reasonable people understand that they need to reproduce in order for people to survive? So then isn't sex just necessary?

SCP-XXXX: It's not that simple. First off, you just wrote the driest romance novel in history. If you never surrender to madness, you will never experience beauty.

Second, sex is only a logical necessity if your goal is the continuation of the human race. But this goal is itself illogical and primarily driven by your passions and animal instincts. If anything, science tells us that this planet might be better off without humans.

Reason alone spells doom for humanity. Madness is your only hope.

D-class Dumbass: I'm really not in the mood for the whole frailty and futility of humanity in the face of some kind of superior force speech. I can't remember the last time I haven't come across that in some Marvel movie or some shit.

SCP-XXXX: [laughing] No no no, to the contrary! Humans are strong, very strong indeed! Key among their strengths is the ability to break.

D-class Dumbass: I'm sorry, what now?

SCP-XXXX: Let me rephrase that. One of humanity's greatest advantages is the ability to break without being destroyed. You are one of the few sentient species I have encountered with that ability.

D-class Dumbass: Wait, how many sentient spe- nevermind. My head really hurts now.

SCP-XXXX: Oh you poor child. [places one hand on either side of D-class Dumbass's head]

[Upon contact, D-class Dumbass noticeably relaxes. His shoulders slump. The armed guard is about to enter the room, but Dr. ████████ stops him.]

SCP-XXXX: You know how a circuit breaker works, right? A truly wondrous human invention, made in the very image of man! If too much current is flowing through a circuit, the circuit breaker will break without being destroyed. In so doing, it saves the whole house from burning to the ground.

Or a crumple zone on a car. Ahh, marvelous marvelous! The crumple zone absorbs the impact of collision, sacrificing itself to save the rest of the car and the passengers.

The mind is humanity's crumple zone.

Any day now, there could be a massive containment breach. It's only a matter of time. What will you do - I wonder - when faced with terrors beyond your worst imaginings. The illimitable horrors of the deep. Abominations around every bend. What will you do? Powerful though it is, reason cannot save you.

You must break. Allow your mind to crumple.

There is salvation in sacrifice and strength in surrender. Surrender, child, surrender. Put aside reason and take shelter in madness.

[The soothing tenor of SCP XXXX's voice, the earnestness of its exhortation, its firm but tender touch, they all prove too much for D-class Dumbass as he erupts in tears. Two armed guards enter the room, escorting SCP XXXX back to his cell and practically dragging D-class Dumbass to the therapy wing.]

Addendum XXXX-D: Experiment

Experiment XXXX-2

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