Istimor

The Unmower Draft 1:
Outline of Basic Concept, Brainstorming for Different Sections.

Outline: What I have so far

Copy/Pasted From Idea Critique Forum Template:

Seeking Greenlights: Yes

Page Type: SCP Article

Elevator Pitch: SCP-xxxx is a standard red motorized lawnmower which, when turned on, creates a space-time anomaly that causes solid matter (touching the blades) which was in a location previously to return to that location in its prior form.

In other words, if you take this "mower" and pass it over a mowed lawn, the grass will grow back. However, if the mower is passed over an unmowed lawn, then it will instead bring back the grass that was there after the previous mowing, causing the two sets of grass to combine, occupying the same space and increasing the mass and density of the grass. The matter required for this is not being created, but rather transported from wherever it was taken after being removed from that area. If it was taken to a compost pile, the grass in that compost pile will disappear. If an animal ate the grass, the required matter will be taken from the animal.

This effect extends to materials other than grass but it would take too many words to thoroughly explain it here.
NOTE: The unmower can, to a limited extent, bring back the parts and/or body of a human, but it cannot bring a dead person back to life.

Central Narrative: The Foundation discovers the mower after a neighbour of the previous owner borrows it. This neighbour happens to be the caretaker of the local graveyard… which is what he needs the mower for. To mow grass in the graveyard.

Hook/Attention-Grabber: The concept of something being able to remove specific bits of matter from one location and transport it to another… Is just terrifying, honestly. Imagine if this mower was used on a tree which contained cinnamon that you ate! I also just like the idea of being able to unmow grass. Not sure why, but this is hilarious to me.

Additional Notes: I think this idea could be a lot of fun if I did it right, but I'm kind of worried about presentation. Admittedly, a lawn mower might not seem like the most exciting thing to read about at first glance, and I do recognize that.

Copy/Pasted From Conversation With Brother:

"so… the three things to keep in mind that you mentioned were:
1. containment procedures
2. interesting properties/cool stuff about the scp
3. story
and you asked a question about the how the mower is affecting things, whether it had some sort of field projection or whether it affected whatever the blades touched"

"I was thinking
Contact with the blades when the motor is running is what initiates the effects, but constant contact is not required.
So, sort of a mixture between the two; the time-matter-exchange effect starts upon contact with the blades, but once the anomalous effect has been activated, it remains so throughout the period during which the mower remains above that patch of ground.

There are multiple blade-height settings— including "close-cropped" in which the blades may as well be flush with the ground, which means if you have the blades low-down enough, and you keep the unmower running in one spot, you could easily have a whole bunch of grass all stuffed into that one spot, or even wind up with an entire tree sprouting in front of you. The larger the object, the longer it takes the unmower to bring it back.

The interior of the unmower is not affected by the material suddenly reappearing around it; everything within the motor compartment will pass through everything it's bringing back. Caution is advised; when testing is conducted, it is advised that personnel who are handling the unmower move backwards rather than forwards if they have left the mower running in one spot for a time period of 30 seconds or more. There has been at least one instance where a tester has found themselves catapulted into the air via a suddenly-appearing tree or bush.

The unmower only brings back organic things. it has affects on plants, animals, and humans… but is only successful in truly "bringing back" plants and animals. And even then it's down to chance, because of the matter-combining effect that occurs within the motor compartment. There have, in the process of testing, been accidental occurrences of animal-plant hybrids, and all of these ended gruesomely.

Any attempts to use the unmower for reanimating a human have been unsuccessful. Even in instances where the entire body was properly reformed, the lawn unmower is not capable of restoring the mind or soul of the person, and the body simply reanimated into a vegetative state.
However, in most instances the body was incapable of reforming completely because it was unable to fit beneath the square outline of the mower's motor-compartment. The reason it works with trees is because they stand upright, rather than lying in repose."

"Containment procedures include but may not be limited to:

-SCP Personnel must ensure that the blade is cleaned as thoroughly as possible with some form of fluid both before and after testing is performed. Solid particles with a (as yet unspecified) certain size mass may be large enough to trigger the reaction once the motor is started again. Therefore, particles of that size or larger must be removed once testing has concluded.

-Any ultra-dense matter-conglomeration that has been brought back by the unmower will be sent to the departments that deal with quantum physics and biological anomalies for further research, whatever those happen to be called in foundation records.

-After testing has concluded, an attempt must be made to account for the matter that was displaced through the unmowing process. While it is not usually a cause for concern if the unmower is used for a short-term project, such as unmowing a lawn, the longer-running research testing sessions can have drastic results if the displaced matter had been ingested or incorporated into a building.

-Because of this particular trait, researchers are required to do a check-up on the history of the patch of ground they plan to use for testing. Any plot of land which is known to have been used within the last 20 years for farming, ranching, logging, or any other profession which lends itself to the provision of essential materials for use in human enterprises is off-limits for testing. Testing is permitted with strict protocols upon any plot of land which has been knowingly used for any of the above more than 20 but fewer than 100 years ago."

END DISCORD RECORD; BEGIN ACTUAL BRAINSTORMING FROM NOW.