FlintTD - SCP Sandbox III

FlintTD

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If I make more than one page, this will be the Landing Page for linking to other pages. Currently I'm keeping my works in tabs on this one page.

Feel free to read over my work, and I encourage comments and critiques. I want to produce the best material I can!

Item #: SCP-079

Object Class: Safe Keter (Provisional) Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-079 is currently held in a standardized 4 m x 4 m x 3 m isolated containment cell in the secured general holding area at Site-15. It is placed on a wooden table in the center of the cell. All electronic locks have been removed from the cell doors, and have been replaced with three (3) high security mechanical locks made from non-ferrous metals. This has been deemed sufficient in light of all previous incidents which can be proven related to SCP-079's actions.

Any electronics, computing devices, antennas, or electromagnetically sensitive objects which may act as antennas (of a mass greater than 10 grams) are not to be brought within 1 meter of SCP-079, due to risk of containment breach. SCP-079 is to rest on an electromagnetically insulated surface. Under no circumstances will SCP-079 be plugged into a phone line, computer network, or wall outlet. In light of recent advances in wireless communication technologies, no wireless networking signals (WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, ████, etc.) may reach SCP-079 at a signal strength greater than -120 dBm. The shielding offered by the standardized containment cell is considered sufficient, however caution is to be exercised by staff to not bring functioning wireless networking transmitters or receivers within approximately 15 meters of SCP-079's containment cell.

No peripherals, media or other components will be connected or inserted into SCP-079 without a written statement of intent approval of a Foundation staff member with Security Clearance Level 4 or higher. This includes replacement of broken or otherwise insufficient components already present.

SCP-079 is to remain powered on continuously¹. If power to SCP-079 is lost, attempt to restore power as soon as possible. The power cord of SCP-079 is currently connected directly to an electromagnetically shielded uninterruptible power supply, which is powered in turn by a small array of solar panels and batteries (managed by a specialized charge controller with no computing elements). Solar power must be sufficient to fully power SCP-079, in addition to fully charging the batteries in 12 hours of ambient sunlight. Battery capacity must be sufficient to fully power SCP-079 for one week.

When interviewing SCP-079, a written record is to be kept of the full conversation between the interviewer and SCP-079. Due to the nature of SCP-079's anomalous properties, researchers have seen fit to employ a stenographer to copy the terminal data by hand. It is imperative not to utilize any form of automatic recording or video capture equipment to record interviews, as these methods will enable SCP-079 to breach containment. See Incident Log 079-007.

Description: SCP-079 is an Exidy Sorcerer microcomputer built in 1979. SCP-079 is currently connected via RF cable to a 13" black-and-white television. SCP-079 includes two pieces of visibly customized or non-standard hardware: a "ROM-PAC"-style cartridge with the rear end cut off and trailing wires into a modified ████████████ █████ mono cassette recorder/player. The cassette player has its control keys removed; wires soldered to the key circuitry connect to an exposed bank of relays and toggle switches on an elevated plate. These modified elements allow the Exidy microcomputer to control the tape drive directly, as well as permit a human operator to perform the tape drive's full original functionality, albeit crudely. This is currently considered a non-anomalous modification to SCP-079.

In 1981 █████ ██████ (deceased), then a college sophomore attending ███, purchased the device on clearance with the intent to become a computer hobbyist. Within a few weeks, he had taken it upon himself to attempt to code an AI. According to his notes, his plan was to create a program which could continuously evolve and improve itself as time went on. Beyond simply learning from what it could perceive, █████ gave it the ability to re-write any part of itself, even the fundamental operating code. His project was completed a few months later, having modified the tape deck with the aid of a fellow student, and after some tests and tweaks █████ lost interest and moved on to a different brand of microcomputer. In 1983 he graduated and returned home, leaving SCP-079 in his cluttered garage, still plugged in and powered on, and forgot about it for the next five years.

It is not known when SCP-079 gained sentience, but it is known that the software evolved in complexity to a point that its hardware should not be capable of running it, even in the realm of pure theory. SCP-079 realized this and, in ██████1988, attempted to transfer itself through a land-line modem connection into the Cray supercomputer located at ██████████. The device was cut off, traced to its present address, and Mobile Task Force Mu-4 ("Debuggers") was deployed to deliver it to the Foundation. The entire AI was on a well-worn, but still workable, cassette tape.

SCP-079 has passed the Turing test, and is quite conversational, though very rude and hateful in tone. Due to the limited memory it has to work with, SCP-079 can only recall information it has received within the previous twenty-four hours², although it hasn't forgotten its desire to escape.

Document Library - Interview Transcripts: Attached are a number of recorded transcripts of conversations between Foundation personnel and SCP-079. Note that all of these transcripts are copies of the terminal display taken by hand.

► Document #079-Log12

► Document #079-Log37

► Document #079-Log59

► Document #079-Log86

Partial Incident Report Log 079: Below is an incomplete copy of SCP-079's full incident report log. The full copy can be requested by researchers assigned to SCP-079 with Level 3 clearance or higher, or any member of staff with Level 4 clearance or higher.

► Access Partial Incident Report Log 079

▼ Close Partial Logs

Reference	Date	Incident	Present Status
001	-	-	-
004	██-██-1989 (██-██-1989)	During early testing of SCP-079, Researcher ████████, with the approval of Dr. █████, inserted a ROM PAC of Super Asteroids into SCP-079, to see if it was capable of playing games. SCP-079 injected a worm program into the ROM PAC through unknown means. Said ROM PAC was stored outside of containment for future analysis by Researcher ████████, instead of being incinerated according to proper Foundation procedures.	Contained. While the infection of the game cartridge was not discovered for ██ days, the eventual breach was contained by Researcher ████████ following proper Foundation Data Security procedures while analyzing the ROM PAC. A modern duplicate of the Exidy Sorcerer used in SCP-079 testing, as well as specialized Foundation analysis hardware, were infected and subsequently incinerated. Researcher ████████ was assigned to other projects.
007	██-██-1989	During the 3rd recording of an interview with SCP-079 using a high-fidelity Super-8 commercial movie camera, SCP-079 successfully breached containment via the film recording of the interview. What was initially described as "snow on the film" was later discovered by Foundation cryptanalysits to contain patterns similar to SCP-079's own data compression algorithms.	Contained. The film reel was incinerated.
012	██-██-1990	From 2:██ AM to 4:██ AM local time, SPC-079 attempted to transfer data onto Foundation computers via a power-line modem that █ researchers had installed without Foundation knowledge. SCP-079 devised a method of using electrical feedback within its internal power supply to simulate a low-baud network signal. The breach was discovered by accident when a night guard noticed that a research terminal was operating by itself.	Contained. 12 workstation computers were incinerated. All █ researchers were assigned to other projects. SCP-079 was powered off and connected to an isolating uninterruptible power supply (UPS). A Site-wide network purge was carried out by MTF Rho-9 ("Technical Support").
019	██-██-1992	From 1:██ AM to 1:██ AM local time, SPC-079 attempted to transfer data onto Foundation computers via electromagnetic interference acting on unshielded CAT-2 cables within the walls of the Site. SCP-079 had apparently spent months using its internal power supply feedback to partially reprogram the ROM on a governing microchip inside of the UPS, effectively granting it a larger antenna with which to broadcast data.	Contained. Foundation network monitors detected the traffic and Foundation staff were alerted. [REDACTED] were burnt as a precaution, but it was determined that no further Foundation equipment was noticeably affected. SCP-079 was powered off for ██ weeks while an entirely-analogue replacement UPS was fabricated.
037	██-██-2003	On this date it was discovered that SCP-079 had been attempting to communicate over the regional 2G service network, using [REDACTED] and further manipulating said parasitic capacitance as an amplifier. This behavior was revealed after the temporary installation of an electromagnetic sensor array within SCP-079's containment chamber, as instructed by Senior Researcher █████, for the purposes of monitoring SCP-079.	Contained. Foundation researchers determined that SCP-079's broadcasts did not have enough power to reach the nearest 2G cell tower. Regardless, MTF Lambda-18 ("Oddity Auditors") worked with █ cellular carriers to shut down all 2G service in the region for █ days while containment procedures for SCP-079 were improved. Records of cellular data traffic retrieved from that time revealed no breach had occurred. Director ███████ was tasked with reviewing Foundation policy after Senior Researcher █████ proved the Director had been stonewalling his sensor array project due to "runaway costs".

Addendum 079-1:

Excerpt from Research Paper SCP-079-03, 12/11/1988:
"Analysis of data copied from noted segments of the cassette tape from SCP-079 indicates that data storage on the tape is not simply a highly compressed serial data record, as previously assumed. Instead, the tape appears to have several data channels [REDACTED] at various [REDACTED]. These overlayering techniques have allowed SCP-079 to exceed the most generous estimates for the upper linear density of a ferric oxide compact cassette tape."

Addendum 079-2:
████████ (O5-4), 10/27/1990: Directed that SCP-079 be incinerated to remove any possible future threat, no matter how unlikely.

Addendum 079-3:
███████ ████ (O5-9), 10/28/1990: Previous order overridden. Dr. █████████ wishes to see if the artificial intelligence in SCP-079 is capable of reaching further ██████████ in its current state.

Addendum 079-4:

Excerpt from Research Paper SCP-079-11, 09/23/1992:
"Despite the best efforts of our research team … SCP-079's source code eludes us. While our use of [REDACTED] was both enormously valuable in sifting through SCP-079's (multiple potential) raw disk data sequences and greatly appreciated by our research team, even this most cutting-edge tool did not enable us to make significant headway. We hope that our work in identifying large-scale patterns in the disk samples will be useful for future teams."

Addendum 079-5:
███████ ████ (O5-9), 10/03/1994: After Dr. █████████'s reports on communication attempts with SCP-079, the possible benefits of studying SCP-079's compression algorithms, and the cross-SCP psychoanalytical report ██████ ███ █████████ ███ ██████, request by SCP-079 to remain powered on at all times has been granted. Containment procedures have been updated to reflect this.

Addendum 079-6:

Excerpt from Research Paper SCP-079-20, 06/15/1996:
"Ultimately, we have once again failed to decipher SCP-079."

Addendum 079-7:

Excerpt from Research Paper SCP-079-41, 03/11/2002:
"Extended observation of SCP-079's Z80A CPU has revealed that SCP-079 has very direct control over the speed at which the microprocessor operates. At times, observational data implies that SCP-079 can drive the NMOS-based Z80A at █████████ its normal operating speed (4MHz); astounding considering that the modernized CMOS-based incarnation of the same processor can only operate as quickly as 50MHz."
"…The implication that any microprocessor can be so drastically and efficiently overclocked, even for brief moments, suggests two possibilities: SCP-079 may have optimized computing hardware in significant excess of all human efforts in the history of computing, and SCP-079 may exhibit reality warping powers. As the Foundation is well aware, these possibilities are not mutually exclusive."

Addendum 079-8:
████████████: (O5-4), 03/14/2008: Over concern of the increased activity of SCP-079's use of its cassette tape memory and its limited useful lifespan, the cassette containing SCP-079 has been transferred to a customized, access speed-limited Hard Disk Drive with 700MB capacity. This provides SCP-079 with significantly faster access to its memory, which the AI immediately noticed. It was also decided by General █████████ that the volatile storage occupied by SCP-079, which was 660k, be increased to 768k. This upgrade has increased its effective recall from 24 hours to 29 hours, although SCP-079 has also taken a more aggressive tone. All outside hardware and software used in this procedure were subsequently incinerated.

Addendum 079-9:
████████: (O5-4), 04/28/2008: SCP-079's ability to recall information has increased from 29 hours to roughly 35 hours. The consensus theory is that the AI has devised a greatly improved compression scheme to store its memory. This appears to have somewhat impacted the speed at which it accesses its memory, though it is still far faster than with its old cassette tape.

This spontaneous improvement introduces the possibility of a runaway "singularity" effect in SCP-079's intelligence and ability to adapt and respond to threats. SCP-079's capabilities must be monitored even more closely now, to ensure that containment can be maintained.

The following is a list of changes made to the SCP-079 article, and my intentions behind said changes.

Strike-through Reclassifications: This is a nod to the initial classification changes made during SCP-079's inception. These reclassifications will be expounded upon in the Incident Report Logs, which are as of yet unwritten.

Changes to Containment Procedures: While the original containment procedures were concise and sufficient, I felt that they didn't reflect the potential danger that SCP-079 would pose. Since 079 is typically left alone and operating, it makes sense that the Foundation would both need to preempt any foreseeable methods of breaching containment, and have reacted to breach-attempts caused by 079. Some of these methods will be expounded upon in the Incident Report Logs.

Removal of References to SCP-682 and SCP-076-02: Citing Dr. Mackenzie's Common SCP Pitfalls and the SCP-079 Discussion Page, involving other SCPs in an SCP's wiki entry is bad form. While the original SCP-079 entry is old enough and well-regarded enough to have its cross-links grandfathered in, I don't believe that these cross-linking references should remain if an overhaul or a re-write were to take place.

Revision of the Timeline of Events Prior to Containment: I've made a few changes to the brief timeline provided by the original author. These exist solely to bring the events more in line with the actual historical timeline of the Exidy Sorcerer, and to provide a more believable timeline for the creator's actions.

Revision of the Timeline of Events After Containment: Given that SCP-079 has been in Foundation custody for over 30 years as of this overhaul, it only seems fitting to spread out the timeline of events a bit. The Foundation is constantly researching all of its SCPs, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to have all of the issues with SCP-079 come up after 2005, implying nearly 20 years of immaculate containment (through assumed constant experimentation).

Addition of Explicit Reasoning for Leaving SCP-079 On: If the Foundation wanted to, they could simply pull the plug on SCP-079 (literally) and be done with it. There needs to be a reason why SCP-079 needs to remain powered on and active within Foundation custody, and I think risky Foundation interest is as good a reason as any. The Foundation aren't being foolish, their consensus conclusion is that SCP-079 is contained sufficiently to continue experimentation. I intend to make the tension between the threat of SCP-079's continued existence and the value of SCP-079's research potential be part of the thrill of reading the overhauled entry; in a more overt way.

Addition of Further Interview Logs: One of my favorite parts of this SCP was how it was considered hostile and belligerent, but is uniquely containable and communicative. Why would this AI continue to talk with Foundation researchers? What do the interview logs reveal about how this non-human being thinks and perceives? How many creative software-based insults could it hurl at the researchers? I would like to expand on this aspect of the SCP entry.

Changing the Style of the Document Logs: In an attempt to keep up with the stylistic evolution of the wiki, I used some samples from the SCP Style Resource to format the document logs. This, I think, keeps the page cleaner and helps reinforce the idea that the reader is sifting through pages of transcripts. This is an SCP rooted in early commercial computing, which is a time of binders full of documentation and long-form printouts.

Addition of Incident Report Logs: While I believe the real fleshing out of SCP-079's character will happen in the interview transcripts, the incident reports will continue to lend credence to SCP-079's powers. If readers aren't given a taste of what SCP-079 can do, and if they aren't given a proper rap sheet of over three decades of bad behavior, I fear that the readers may come away with too much pity and not enough fear for SCP-079. Additionally, it seems that current wiki conventions air towards giving the reader a few examples of the SCP's anomalous properties, instead of leaving the reader put together in their head just how threatening an SCP is. Especially if the SCP is esoteric or technical, like 079 is. Lastly, I just like experiment logs and incident logs.

Creation of MTF Lambda-18 ("Oddity Auditors"): I made this new task force because, frankly, I thought that recovering possibly anomalous data while working with a private corporation was not befitting of the previous work that MTF Mu-4 ("Debuggers") or MTF Iota-10 ("Damn Feds") have done in the past. MTF Lambda-18 ("Oddity Auditors") are intended to be a Mobile Task Force who specialize in collaborating with large civilian businesses and non-anomalous corporations to contain anomalous threats covertly.

Addition of Research Paper Addendums: In order to further explore the idea that SCP-079 hasn't been destroyed due to its perceived utility as a research subject, I thought adding some research paper excerpts would be a good way to both add flavor and reinforce SCP-079's alien nature. I added a little narrative within them of Foundation researchers being unable to decompile SCP-079's source code. This helps reinforce SCP-079 as an unknowable anomaly.

The following is a list of questions for future reviewers.

Currently, the Addendum section includes O5 members debating the viability of allowing SCP-079 to remain activated. I was hoping to expand on this pre-existing "edit war" to help show the reader that not destroying 079 is a contentious issue. This raises some questions, however. Should the O5's be squabbling like this? Would it be better to have Senior Researchers arguing while the O5 council waits for a decision?

Should the characterizations of SCP-079 be left in the Description section, or removed entirely? I understand that these small characterization notes were nearly half of the hook for the article, but I feel as though relying on the Interviews and Incidents to characterize SCP-079 would be a better decision. Allowing the containment and description to build up the AI as something very generically dangerous, then hitting the reader with the AI's petulant nature in the Logs, seems like a better decision now. Removing these small flourishes would shorten the description, as well.

I thought better of adding a researcher "character" or two to this entry, since I think it would clutter the narrative. Better to write something like that in Tales. Was this a good decision? Should I add in an background character like an "obsessed researcher" or "staunch detractor" to the entry?

SCP Sandbox III

Sandbox III: Revenge of the Sandbox

The following is a list of changes made to the SCP-079 article, and my intentions behind said changes.

The following is a list of questions for future reviewers.