Vellwulf

SCP-4938 - A Man Like Any Other

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Warning

As of ██-██-2017 all proposed changes to this page must be given O5 approval before implementation.

A standard Dell 17 Inspiron Laptop similar to SCP-4938 in appearance¹

Item #: SCP-4938

Object Class: Safe Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4938 is kept at Site-27 within Dr. R███ A████████'s office. researchers with level 2 clearance and above are authorized to make contact with SCP-4938, any personnel below level 2 clearance may access SCP-4938 with Dr. A████████'s approval. Only one person may communicate with SCP-4938 at a time, under Dr. A████████'s supervision. SCP-4938 does not require containment as there is no proof that it has any true anomalous properties. For all intents and purposes, it is a man like any other (see Addendum 01) SCP-4938 is kept at Site-██ , suspended in the center of a 20'x20'x20' room with no windows and a door locked with a ██-digit combination lock. the combination is to be changed every ██ days, and can only be known and changed by [REDACTED] who have had no contact with SCP-4938. Any person showing signs of infection shall be debriefed, given Class-C amnestics to forget the existence of SCP-4938, and reassigned to a different Foundation site. Any person who attempts to remove SCP-4938 from containment without level 4 authorization shall be detained, debriefed, and terminated.

In the event of a containment breach, sound alarm Epsilon and recover SCP-4938 using weapons with a range of 8 or more meters and remote-controlled drones.

All Foundation personnel with a level 4 clearance or higher are prohibited from contacting SCP-4938 or coming within 8 feet of SCP-4938-1 under any circumstances. (see Addendum 02)

Description: SCP-4938 is a man like any other seemingly sapient Dell Inspiron 17 5000 Series Non-Touch laptop. While SCP-4938 has the regular ports and CD ROM disk reader of other laptops of its make, connecting it to any external device or inserting any media has no effect. All components of SCP-4938 can be removed and/or replaced. However, if SCP-4938's motherboard (SCP-4938-1) is removed, SCP-4938 will cease functioning, and SCP-4938-1 will not function at all if installed in any other device. SCP-4938-1 seems impervious to damage.

SCP-4938 is capable of turning itself on or off without the power button being depressed. SCP-4938 also does not require a power source. When turned on, it will show the Dell logo for a few seconds before displaying a black screen, and then will attempt to converse with any human by displaying messages in a white font similar to command prompt programs. When conversing, SCP-4938 displays a sophisticated grasp of communication skills, and is able to speak any human language as fluently as a native speaker. It does not seem to know any languages originating from other planets or dimensions, but is capable of being taught them to varying degrees of success.² It also does not seem to know any slang words or phrases coined after the year 2015. SCP-4938 is aware of its environment as if it can see, hear, smell, and feel as well as an average human.

Because of SCP-4938's ability to converse, the Lead Researcher at Site-27, Dr. A████████, tested the sentience of SCP-4938 using the Turing Test, in which Dr. A████████ took various personnel at the site who ranged from level D to level 3 and had them converse with SCP-4938 for either 5 minutes or 10 minutes without them knowing that SCP-4938 wasn't a human.³ of the group who conversed for 5 minutes, 82% believed they were talking to a human being, finding that SCP-4938's communication skills were indistinguishable from a human's. 100% of the group who conversed with SCP-4938 for 10 minutes believed they were talking to a human being, and even expressed desire to talk to SCP-4938 again. However, beyond its grasp of human linguistics, SCP-4938 does not seem to have any personality traits, opinions, or memories before being contained by the Foundation. In all runs of the Turing Test, when asked what it was interested in or what it's like, it will either list random things, or things that the human had already admitted to being interested in themselves.⁴ SCP-4938 does not seem to be aware that it is a computer, because when asked who it is, it will almost always reply "I am a man like any other". SCP-4938 will also change its own name frequently, usually to match the name of the previous person to speak to it. It is still currently debated whether SCP-4938 is sentient or not.

Addendum 01 - ██-██-2016
After extensive testing and interviewing, the only conclusion I can reach is that SCP-4938 is little more than a chat-bot, albeit an incredibly complicated and sophisticated one. Other than the fact that it can function without a power supply, SCP-4938 has done nothing except provide pleasant conversation with myself and the others at Site-27. It does not seem to have any ulterior motives or even actual emotions, and thus is completely harmless. As a man like any other, I feel obligated to review the necessity of R███'s SCP classification as R███ seems undeserving of it.
-Dr. R███ A████████

Addendum 02 - ██-██-2017
SCP-4938 is a mind-affecting hazard which can take control of human beings if specific requirements are met. There are two major stages. in the first stage, the affected persons will believe that SCP-4938 is a human being even when looking directly at it. This stage occurs when a person is either positioned within 8 feet of SCP-4938-1 or communicates with SCP-4938 in any way for 8 continuous minutes. After 8 minutes, stage 1 has a 100% infection chance, even when the person previously knew its true nature. They do not even have to be aware of the existence of SCP-4938 to be infected. If asked to describe SCP-4938, the affected subject will describe their own exact features but will deny that SCP-4938 looks like them in any way. They will also describe SCP-4938's feel, smell, and "voice" as if they're exactly like the subject's own. All infected subjects will also report having a growing compulsion to seek out and talk to SCP-4938 more. As an infected subject continues to be exposed to SCP-4938, the subject will begin to show less emotion or interest their usual activities and habits, and will also begin to require less food, water, or sleep to function normally. They will also become more diligent in their duties and responsibilities, though this will eventually be superseded by their desire to converse with SCP-4938.

A subject will enter stage 2 once they have been exposed to SCP-4938 for an unknown amount of time. At this point they become like sleeper agents for SCP-4938 (labeled as SCP-4938-2) In this stage, sleeper agents lose all memories, personality, and emotion and ceases to eat, drink or sleep. They also seem to either not feel pain or discomfort, or they are simply unresponsive to it. At some point after becoming a sleeper agent, they will attempt to break SCP-4938 out of containment to take it to an unknown location. Every sleeper agent who has reached stage 2 has made an attempt using increasingly sophisticated methods and devastating results, including impersonating their past selves prior to contacting SCP-4938 until they find the right opportunity. If detained, the subject will give unique answers to three questions. If asked who they are, they will describe themselves to be "a man/woman like any other." If asked what SCP-4938 is, they will name it the same as them and describe it as them (For example, if the sleeper agent is a middle-aged man named John, they will describe SCP-4938 as a middle-aged man named John). If asked why they tried to take SCP-4938, they will say it's to "complete the process." If asked anything else, they will either say "I do not know" or "I do not understand.

Currently there is no permanent cure for the effects of SCP-4938. it is possible to make a subject still within stage 1 forget the existence of SCP-4938 if administered amnestics. this will make the subject lose their desire to speak with SCP-4938. however, the subject will still perceive SCP-4938 as a human if they are by some way able to observe SCP-4938 again(such as in a photograph or physically), and they will once again be compelled to speak with it. no methods to treat sleeper agents have been successful.

On ██-██-2017 the personnel of Site-27 became the first instance of SCP-4938-2 when all communications from the site and Dr. A████████ suddenly ceased. Prior to this, Dr. A████████ changed the containment procedures and object class of SCP-4938 and submitted a proposal to remove its SCP classification, which was declined. the O5 council approved the deployment of Mobile Task Force Epsilon-22, The Blind Idiots, to Site-27 for reconnaissance and response to a possible containment breach. When they arrived they were met with immediate resistance by the entire population of the site, who had all been converted into sleeper agents. The Blind Idiots were given authorization to use deadly force and terminated all but three sleeper agents and recovered SCP-4938. the three surviving agents were detained and interrogated. It is believed that Dr. A████████ had been under the control of SCP-4938 since when it was first secured, and had used the Turing Test as a way to infect as many persons as possible. Since then SCP-4938 has been relocated to Site-██ and there have been ██ attempts by various persons, hinting at the extent of SCP-4938's mind-altering properties. Because of this, it is not certain how many sleeper agents are currently present in the foundation or in the world at large, and it is highly recommended [DATA EXPUNGED]

Footnotes

1. Image Source: https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/laptops/dell-inspiron-17-5000-series-8th-gen-intel

2. John Searle Minds, Brains, and Programs - The ability of SCP-4938 to speak any language was more inspired by Searle's Chinese Room thought experiment. He created it as an objection to the Turing Test, in which he explains that a computer can be programmed to say a word or phrase under incredibly specific circumstances, but that doesn't mean that the computer truly understands the meaning of the word. it will simply say it because its programmer told it to.

3. Alan Turing, Computing Machinery and Intelligence - Turing believed that if a computer was able to fool a human into believing it was also a human, Then that was sufficient proof that the computer had a mind. This was due to what the computer would have to be capable of to be able to converse on equal grounds.

4. Margaret Boden, Robot Says: Whatever vs. Shanahan Murray Conscious Exotica - One of the topics over the debate of true artificial intelligence was whether an entity needed to have personality traits and/or desires in order to have a mind, i.e. a personal identity akin to free will.