fenderson

Item #: XXXX

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: An "SCP-████-11 Containment Group" has been set up, composed entirely of HABER2 personnel. This group is permitted to act autonomously in their "containment" and "research" efforts provided these efforts do not interfere with overall containment of SCP-████. In support of their efforts, the group is allowed a reasonable monthly budget (subject to approval by the designated SCP-XXXX Observer), as well as command authority in Humanoid Containment Zone 2. At present this group is led by Dr. Grassman.

By order of the Area-448 Director, research of SCP-XXXX itself on-base is forbidden, other than through passive observation and non-coercive interviews. Information on SCP-XXXX, including this document, is not to be made available to any personnel on-base other than the Director and to the SCP-XXXX Observer. At no time should any information on SCP-XXXX containment efforts be made available to personnel engaged in SCP-████ containment, directly or indirectly, other than the Director; in support of this, the SCP-XXXX Observer is to be referred to on-site with their primary job title, "Special Community Liason".

Research on SCP-XXXX takes place primarily off-base in the HABER2 Production Zone at Site █. In support of this, the SCP-XXXX Observer shall file weekly reports, to be transported off the base as conditions permit.

Description: SCP-XXXX is a cognitohazard causing HABER2 personnel to believe that Humanoid Containment Cell 2-34, in Armed Reliquary Area-4481, contains an anomalous entity. All HABER2 personnel tested report the visual and auditory (testing of other senses is underway) presence of an entity when exposed to live or recorded footage of the cell's interior dating after 1997-██-██ (when the anomaly was discovered), or upon physical entry to the cell. This occurs regardless of their level of contact with other HABER2 personnel, indicating that the anomaly is not memetic.

HABER2 personnel engaged in containment of SCP-████ tend to conclude, apparently independently, that it represents an "offshoot", "projection", or "reflection" of the primary SCP-████-5 device, warranting containment and Euclid classification. They have designated this entity "SCP-████-11" (the next sub-designation available).

Affected personnel familiar with SCP-████ refuse to provide detailed information on the entity, claiming that it cannot be processed by baseline humans. While this would be consistent with the extreme infohazards surrounding SCP-████, current consensus (see Addendum 1) is that SCP-XXXX instead represents an unusually stable cognitive flaw in HABER2 psychology, unrelated to SCP-████. Research is now primarily aimed at developing a "HABER3" process able to produce personnel that can adequately conceptualize SCP-████ while remaining unaffected by SCP-XXXX.

Extensive testing with live and recorded camera footage, conventional and anomalous sensors, and in-person inspection have consistently indicated to all baseline personnel that nothing unusual is present in the cell.

Due to the extreme sensitivity of SCP-████ containment efforts, and comparatively low requirements of "SCP-████-11" "containment and research", containment of SCP-XXXX at Area-448 is focused on maintaining the cooperation of HABER2 personnel. To this end, all baseline personnel on-base other than the Director and designated SCP-XXXX Observer have been informed that SCP-████-11 is an actual entity, invisible to normal perception due to an undetermined antimemetic property, similar to the actual nature of SCP-████-4, -5, and -7.

Addendum 1: Entity Research Summary, 2000-04-04

Director ████████:

We've completed interviews with HABER2 subjects produced from D-Class off-base, with no knowledge of SCP-████. We showed them the SCP-XXXX footage provided in your last package. In addition to the things that are actually in the cell (books, symbology, etc, as in the provided manifest) we managed to extract a few mostly consistent facts:

  • The center of the cell is occupied by a "pillar" or "stone". A humanoid is chained to the pillar.
  • Descriptions of the pillar vary wildly, but in a way that is similar to attempted descriptions of SCP-████-5, especially in the existence of recessed characters from the SCP-████-4 syllabary. Three subjects independently described it having one of those weird "antenna" shapes on top.
  • The chain is Foundation-standard for dangerous humanoid prisoners, catalog item #23, long enough that the humanoid can use the toilet etc. comfortably. Took us a while to work this out and it doesn't make any sense. Do you have those chains on base? Actually don't tell me that, but check your inventory records. Why the hell wouldn't we be able to see a normal chain, though? Maybe ask the guys there that one.
  • The humanoid is in good health. Obviously the habers can't tell me much more about its appearance, but I did get a sketch artist, and based on that… it might, and I emphasize "might", be an Asian man in his twenties.
  • It is, though, wearing a D-Class jumpsuit with identification stripped. The documentation I have here says you haven't had any D-Class on base since HABER1 started in the 70s, so there's another stumper. It also says most of the personnel records archives were destroyed in the 1986 breach, so I don't know if I'll be able to do any identification.
  • The humanoid spends most of its time sitting and reading the provided books. It sleeps between about 1200 and 2100. It doesn't eat, unsurprisingly. I've got a few minutes of footage where all the interviewees say it's curled up in the fetal position, but other than that it has a pretty constant routine.

We gave a few interviewees the SCP-████-2 mythological information and they became extremely distressed about what they'd already told us. With some coaxing, though, we worked out that nothing in the texts involved any humans. No surprise there. Between that and the "imprisonment" hallucinations habers regularly get, I think you're right that this isn't a genuine manifestation. The "pillar" is probably there because habers see it everywhere anyway. It's possible the D-Class uniform is just something our subjects are imagining based on their own situations- I'd love to test with non-D-Class but that's probably not on the table for now. Maybe once we figure out how to amnesticize these guys maybe we can try it on new recruits.

Addendum 2: Area-448 Orientation Pamphlet (excerpt)

We know this isn't your first "Keter duty". Nonetheless, you might find some of the foregoing information to be alarming, either because world-ending horrors aren't something you can really get used to, or because you've heard the rumors. They are true. We did have to destroy an old iteration of the Area with most of the personnel still inside, more than once. We did lose over a third of everyone who ever served here - before 1970, anyway.

But things have improved greatly. [SCP-████-5] is still dangerous, but we haven't had a fatality in two years, and that was a mundane fall from a ladder. We haven't had to activate the EXTERIOR LATITUDE HARPSICHORD contingency you've just read about since 1997, and when we did it was due to an invasion (boy, did they regret that one).

The reason for the change is the Haber procedures. It's likely that in the course of your assignment you will never see or hear any of the skip, or be within a hundred meters of any component. That's the Habers' job.

We couldn't contain [SCP-████-5] effectively because we didn't - can't - know what it is, not really. The [SCP-████-2] that used to live here could, but that didn't help us much, given that they've been extinct for hundreds of millions of years. But Dr. Otfrid Haber devised a way we could make people who can. They look the same as you or I, but through (obviously classified) psycho- and mnemo-surgical procedures, can think just a little bit more like those [SCP-████-2] could in their heyday. The HABER2 personnel - "Habers" - are the ones who deal with the skip directly. They carry out research and containment efforts on the skips. You're just here to keep them safe and otherwise provide support.

The downside is that due to their unique point of view, they can be hard to get along with for us baseline (the term is preferred to "normal") humans. Here are some answers to common questions asked by baseline personnel on base:

Q: I'm being given a lot of orders that seem nonsensical or dangerous. Do I really have to obey them?
A: While they're overseen by the Director (that's me!) and the O5 Council, Haber personnel are mostly in charge here. You are required to obey orders of any personnel that outrank you, especially during emergencies, regardless of whether their midbrains have been partially disconnected.
That said, to err is human. If you're being told to do something that you have reason to believe will result in actual injury, and you don't hear the sirens blaring, try asking other personnel for clarification.

Q: How can I learn more about the skips? The descriptions of SCP-████-4, -5, 7, and -11 are too heavily redacted to be of any real use.
A: While we're working on methods to allow Habers to convey substantial coherent information on the objects to unmodified humans without causing confusion and/or permanent damage, they're not yet ready for prime-time. Rest assured that the Habers know what they are doing.

Q: I'm having trouble getting along with my colleagues. Do you have any advice?
A: Yes! Here are some basic points to keep in mind:

  • Habers use and understand gestures and facial expressions in ways you may find unusual (most obviously, smiling is considered hostile). Try to maintain a neutral expression and keep your hands by your sides until you get the hang of it, and don't be alarmed if they act in ways you don't expect.
  • Due to several incidents and high tensions, romantic and/or sexual relationships are strongly discouraged as a discussion topic. Habers have adopted [SCP-████-2] social structures not extant in baseline cultures.
  • Habers are generally very gregarious and will attempt to establish a rapport with new personnel. They will usually understand if you are unable to reciprocate, however.
  • Habers have difficulty with numbers and are incapable of subitizing. Be patient. They have many capabilities in turn that you don't understand.
  • Do not be alarmed if Habers react to or communicate with things you can't see.
  • If you must play music, use headphones.

Some fruitful conversation topics include: Non-reaction-time-based video games. Architecture, physics2, and biology. The nature of water. Acupuncture. Some action movies. Politics (be polite).
And if you feel you can't resolve an interpersonal issue well yourself, remember that the door of the Special Community Liason, our expert in the subject, is always open.

Footnotes