FordStopping

^{25 days before Incident XXXX-LUNA}

^{11 days after Incident XXXX-LUNA}

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Containment of SCP-XXXX is to be achieved by maintaining public belief in the existence of the Moon.

Foundation personnel assigned to the containment of SCP-XXXX are divided into two Containment Task Forces: XXXX-Alpha and XXXX-Iota.

CTF XXXX-Alpha's primary goals are:

• to ensure that lunar exploration missions are proposed and discussed at designated space agencies with at least bi-monthly frequency; and
• to ensure that any such missions are regularly announced via press release, network broadcast, and the internet; and
• to ensure the failure or abortion of any such missions.

CTF XXXX-Iota's primary goals are:

• to ensure that the Moon remains a part of global consensus reality; and
• to ensure that any mention of SCP-XXXX is rendered non-credible to members of the public.

CTF XXXX-Alpha operatives are to be inserted into key administrative roles within major space agencies worldwide. At least two members of CTF XXXX-Alpha should at all times be placed in the national space agencies of China (CNSA), Russia (ROSCOSMOS), and the USA (NASA).

CTF XXXX-Iota operatives are to make use of social networks, news websites, scientific interest websites, and esoteric discussion forums to actively encourage online discussion of the Moon's history and continued existence. Topics of discussion may include the appearance of the Moon, phases of the Moon, eclipses (lunar and solar), and lunar exploration missions.¹

Individuals or groups found to be disseminating SCP-XXXX are to be tracked, detained, and amnesticized. In such cases, CTF XXXX-Iota should attempt to render the instance of SCP-XXXX non-credible to other parties in the discussion via counterargument, ridicule, character assassination, blackmail, or any other method deemed necessary to prevent the spread of SCP-XXXX.

Foundation personnel who have been exposed to SCP-XXXX should refrain from discussing, mentioning, or alluding to SCP-XXXX with anyone outside of CTF XXXX-Alpha and CTF XXXX-Iota, regardless of clearance level.

Description: SCP-XXXX is the knowledge that the Moon has ceased to exist.

The Moon was an astronomical body and a natural satellite of the Earth for approximately 4.51 billion years. Following the events of Incident XXXX-LUNA, and contrary to public perception, it no longer exists.

Exposure to SCP-XXXX has been shown in both controlled and uncontrolled environments to result in full perception of the nonexistence of the Moon and its secondary effects. This change is permanent and retroactively applies from the time of Incident XXXX-LUNA onwards.

Perception of secondary effects of the Moon's existence (including, but not limited to, oceanic tides; the Moon's gravitational effect on Earth's orbit; and its reflected illuminance from the Sun) are consistent with exposure to SCP-XXXX. That is, individuals who have not yet been exposed to SCP-XXXX are observed to perceive and interact with the world in a manner consistent with a reality in which the Moon continued to exist past the point of its actual cessation of existence.

Addendum XXXX-01: Incident XXXX-LUNA

On or before ██/██/201█, an as-yet unidentified event resulted in a fundamental alteration to the Moon's underlying ontological structure. At that time, the Moon ceased to exist. Because Incident XXXX-LUNA affected only the Moon's ontological structure, the Moon remains physically perceptible to anyone unexposed to SCP-XXXX.

Addendum XXXX-02: Discovery

SCP-XXXX was brought to the Foundation's attention when the following note appeared on a secure hard drive located at Site-██, belonging to Researcher ████████:²

Access document: scpf::euclid/XXXX/02/weaccidentallythewholemoon.txt

This document has been scanned for cognitohazardous content.

Upon noticing SCP-XXXX's primary effect, Researcher ████████ activated standard counter-infohazard procedures. Full containment was achieved within four hours. 17 Foundation personnel were exposed to SCP-XXXX during this time, 14 of whom have since been assigned to CTF XXXX-Iota.

Addendum XXXX-03: Limits of SCP-XXXX

+ Open Addendum XXXX-03: Limits of SCP-XXXX

Class-B amnestic treatment has been shown to successfully reverse the primary effect of SCP-XXXX. However, 12% of subjects reported a sense of unease or suspicion when viewing the Moon after amnesticization, and one subject was later observed to spontaneously re-activate SCP-XXXX's effects without any further external exposure to SCP-XXXX. Accordingly, subjects who have been amnesticized are not to be released from Foundation custody until a more effective treatment have been developed.

In all documented cases, successful exposure to SCP-XXXX has required the individual to consider SCP-XXXX to be a genuine possibility. When the individual believes that the source of SCP-XXXX is lying or joking, their perception of the Moon remains unaffected. Immediately upon contemplation of SCP-XXXX as a bona fide possibility (however remote), SCP-XXXX's primary effect is triggered.

It is currently unknown whether individuals whose knowledge of the Moon began after Incident XXXX-LUNA are able to perceive the Moon as a real entity, regardless of exposure to SCP-XXXX.

Note:
Testing on subjects born after ██/██/201█ has been suspended pending approval from the Ethics Committee.
-Dr. Kelly Pham, SCP-XXXX Project Lead

Addendum XXXX-04: Ongoing Management of SCP-XXXX

+ Open Addendum XXXX-04: Ongoing Management of SCP-XXXX

As the topography of baseline reality continues to diverge from reality as perceived by individuals not yet exposed to SCP-XXXX, the SCP-XXXX Project Lead should revise containment procedures as necessary.

For now, the Foundation's priority is to maintain a consensus reality in which the Moon is believed to exist. Should SCP-XXXX's transmission vectors increase in either efficacy or speed, or should SCP-XXXX reach a distribution spread of greater than 2% of the global uncontained population, adjusting consensus reality to one in which the Moon is known not to exist remains an option.

Sociological projections indicate that a split global consensus regarding the Moon's state of existence remains the least desirable outcome.

Note:
Exposing the general public to SCP-XXXX in order to maintain a consistent consensus reality is considered a measure of last resort, due to the masquerade-breaking consequences of such an event and the accompanying risk of classified information leakage. As such, it should not be undertaken without O5 clearance.
-KP

Addendum XXXX-05: Alternative Explanations of SCP-XXXX

+ Open Addendum XXXX-05: Alternative Explanations of SCP-XXXX

SCP-XXXX was initially theorized to be a memetic or cognitohazardous effect. Kant analysis of the Moon's projected orbital path, however, indicates that significant alterations to reality have indeed occurred in that region of spacetime.

Note:
It has been noted that a sufficiently thorough cognitohazard could go as far as to affect the perception of tests measuring the Moon's level of existence. A nonzero probability remains that the Moon does continue to exist, and that SCP-XXXX's primary effect is purely perceptual.

It is my opinion that SCP-XXXX should be treated as the ontological anomaly it appears to be. Current containment procedures are sufficient to contain either an ontological or a purely memetic SCP-XXXX, and the risks to Foundation secrecy in the event of a breach are high enough that I would rather err on the side of caution.
-KP

image rights

Images from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gfp-wisconsin-blue-mound-state-park-moon-between-trees.jpg (Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication) and https://www.maxpixel.net/Full-Moonlight-Sky-Nature-Moon-Light-Trees-2134363 (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0))

Footnotes

1. Discussing the veracity of such missions has proven a particularly effective means to promote discussion of, and therefore belief in, the physical presence of the Moon.

2. The hard drive was connected to the internet using standard Foundation security protocols. How access was obtained by the note's author(s) is the subject of an ongoing investigation.