Matthew Barbour's Sandbox

Amnemonic Devices

Graffiti containing SCP-XXXX found in █████████, Ukraine. Anomalous quantities redacted for viewer safety.

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Radio frequencies, active internet networks, cellular communications, and public broadcasts are to be monitored for discussion or presence of SCP-XXXX. Mobile Task Force Rho-9 ('Technical Support") are to perform routine sweeps of Foundation Databases for the presence of SCP-XXXX. Specialized Foundation operatives are to investigate suspected instances of SCP-XXXX, and in the event that the presence of SCP-XXXX has been confirmed, Mobile Task Force Unit Eta-10 ("See No Evil") will spearhead the containment and cleanup operation. As of ██/██/201█, █ total GoIs are aware of the existence of SCP-XXXX, including the Serpent's Hand, AWCY, ORIA, and [DATA EXPUNGED].

Information regarding the specifics of SCP-XXXX is considered Level 5/XXXX¹. Obtaining, or retaining information regarding the specifics of SCP-XXXX without proper clearance is considered a breach of containment, and amnesticization or termination will be enacted upon O5 discretion.

As total containment or neutralization of SCP-XXXX is currently impossible, primary containment efforts consist of preventing the spread of knowledge of SCP-XXXX. Secondary containment efforts consist of the erasure of information pertaining to SCP-XXXX within groups which are aware of its existence. Usage of Experimental Class-█² amnestics, as well as the distribution of Class-VII Complex counter-memes has been authorized by O5 Command for this purpose.

Individuals found to be infected are to be amnesticized, or terminated at agent discretion. Infected civilians represent low priority during containment and cleanup operations. Persons of interest possessing knowledge of SCP-XXXX are to be detained and interrogated, before undergoing dosage of Experimental Class-█ amnestics.

Description: SCP-XXXX is an anomalous amnemonic informational and conceptual device. SCP-XXXX, when comprehended by an individual, causes an immediate reversal of learned information. Affected individuals procedurally forget information, initiated by the loss of information directly correlated with the comprehension of SCP-XXXX, followed by an exponentially accelerated loss of memory, and in ██% of cases, terminating with the loss of information required for the brain to regulate vital functions. Immediate application of Class-A amnestics has been successful in preventing long term memory loss. Delayed application of amnestics has shown a drastic decrease in effectiveness, with 65% of cases resulting in failure, and ██% of cases resulting in permanent, traumatic brain damage. In a majority of scenarios, this results in severe identity alteration, as well as an inability to retain information.

It is theorized that SCP-XXXX was originally synthesized as a form of localized remote amnestic agent, with the purpose of removing information directly paired with it. However, SCP-XXXX removes information pairing it with its intended target, and saturates into unrelated memories, causing an unintended cascade effect. Further Foundation investigations into the origin of SCP-XXXX have yielded broad and inconsistent evidence; analysts currently attribute the synthesis of SCP-XXXX to [REDACTED], and discard contradictory evidence under the belief of purposeful misdirection.

SCP-XXXX is broadcast in radio frequencies between ███ kHz and ███ kHz, and is perceived visually in the ███ nm to ███ nm³ range. SCP-XXXX is capable of manifesting visually, I.E as a pattern or image, as well as audibly, particularly as white or black noise. In most cases, SCP-XXXX is un-observable to the unassisted human sensitorium, broadcasting or reflecting in bands either above or below conventional perception; however, anomalous effects persist regardless of conscious recognition.

If SCP-XXXX was to be broadcast over international frequencies, it is predicted that a VK-Class Collapse-of-Civilization scenario would occur within █ hours without Foundation intervention.

+ Incident XXXX.1

On ██/██/19██, personnel located at Foundation Listening Post Romeo-Delta 37 discovered traces of SCP-XXXX being broadcast on local frequencies. Mobile Task Force Unit Eta-10 ("See No Evil") later confirmed the validity of the traces, pinpointing the origin as ███████, Germany⁴. The following are excerpts taken from a routine report filed post operation.

…we landed around 18:00, in some small town German town in the middle of nowhere. From a distance, it seemed almost tranquil. Something felt off to me the moment I stepped off the railing of the chopper; I couldn’t tell then, but I eventually realized that it must of been the tranquility. In this line of work, calm sticks out like a sore thumb among the danger one deals with. The only source of movement and energy was a light breeze.

…signs of a conflict were apparent: different localized messes, in seemingly every space. Cars, long destitute, were run off in ditches, or some simply ran into nearby buildings. It wasn't long before we caught the first glimpse of a corpse. Old man, in his 70s, maybe 80s, lying in a wooden chair set outside on the porch, eyes set straight, yet unfocused, and mouth agape as if he had forgotten how to breath.

…by this point, anomalous activity had triggered our SCRAMBLEs⁵. Graffiti littered every wall, paint still fresh, as if it were done amidst the chaos. The patterns were setting off my visor; thinking about it in retrospect, they must have been the anomaly we were there to investigate. Perhaps not the source, but a byproduct: scrawled along the walls by the dying, the only pattern sticking out in a haze of de-comprehension.

…the corpses weren't what surprised me, you see plenty of dead people in the job; it was those still alive. Some women, had to be in her 30s, sprawled in a corner; mumbling to herself, holding on to the last threads of sanity left. She didn't register our presence, maybe she had forgotten how. A man, couldn't be older than 21, ranting about "The Patterns", and "The Noises". Each second, it seemed he lost more of himself. I tried to approach him, but in a frenzy, he drew a concealed firearm from his belt, and discharged a round into his skull before I could react.

…it was clear what had happened here. Somehow, someway, SCP-XXXX got unleashed upon these people, and with it, hell itself. As the first began to go, they spread the pattern through whatever means possible; through graffiti, or through the radios. It acted as a veritable echo-chamber of bad memes, and the whole town got fried.

…we found one survivor, a kid around 16, who hadn't yet lost his mind to SCP-XXXX. I administered the Class-A dosage, and we brought him aboard. We are going to bring him back. We can save this one.

- MTF Eta-10 Commander ████ ████████

Following cleanup procedure, one survivor not yet suffering from advanced memory degradation was located: a male adolescent believed to have remained stable due to a low density of stored information. No further survivors were located, and it is believed that all other residents of ███████, Germany either expired, advanced to an un-salvageable state of memory degradation, or entered into a comatose.

Footnotes

1. Knowledge of the specifics of SCP-XXXX is limited to the entirety of O5 Command, Antimemetics Site Director ██████ ███████, and [REDACTED].

2. Declassification pending O5 approval.

3. ██% of this band resides below the visible spectrum.

4. A rural village with a population of ████, located in a densely wooded region northwest of Berlin.

5. Standard equipment among all MTF Eta-10 operatives. Integrates directly into the visor, and automatically detects and censors memetic and cognitohazardous visuals in live time.