danielsm
rating: 0+x

Item #: SCP-XXX

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Roadblocks are to be placed to prevent automobile travel into regions predicted to experience SCP-XXX activity under the guise of roadwork. These roadblocks should be removed no earlier than the sunrise of the day after they were erected.

Police communications are to be monitored for any unexplained disappearances that appear to have been caused by SCP-XXX. In case of such a disappearance, amnestics are to be administered to all involved and a non-anomalous explanation of the disappearance is to be given. The time and location of each such disappearance is to be recorded in Database SCP-XXX-1 to allow for further optimization of the current computer model predicting SCP-XXX activity.

Current research is focused on developing GPS systems which are immune to SCP-XXX's influence. Any prototypes developed under this program are to be introduced into circulation after basic safety testing. Data on the rate at which the owners of different prototypes appear to be affected by SCP-XXX (as compared to owners of standard GPS systems) is to be recorded and stored in Database SCP-XXX-2. In addition, a disinformation campaign overemphasizing the faultiness of GPS systems is currently being conducted.

Description: SCP-XXX is a phenomenon which causes some individuals driving automobiles after sunset to vanish. The automobiles such individuals were driving will be found the next day in the same general geographic area where the affected individual was driving. Automobiles will be in the same condition they were when the individuals were last seen driving them, although they will invariably have no gasoline left in their fuel tanks. SCP-XXX activity has been recorded on all continents except for Africa and Antarctica.

The only common feature that the vanished individuals shared is that they had all made use of a GPS system on their final drive. Foundation monitoring confirmed a statistically significant upswing in the number of consumer complaints regarding GPS systems in the time after SCP-XXX began. Based on the information gathered from this monitoring, it appears that SCP-XXX causes GPS systems to give incorrect directions. If an individual switches off a GPS system affected by SCP-XXX and attempts to retrace their route without the aid of any GPS system before they travel a certain distance, they will not experience SCP-XXX's primary effect. Individuals which do not shut off their GPS systems before reaching a certain point (the exact distance is currently unknown) presumably do experience SCP-XXX's primary effect.

On 05/22/███████ , Researcher Stevens determined that instances of SCP-XXX activity appeared to correlate quite strongly to the geographic hunting patterns of large, solitary predators, especially those of the Great White Shark (Carcharodon Carcharias). This led to the development of the initial version of the current computer model used to predict SCP-XXX activity. The effectiveness of this computer model was tested by having numerous D-class personnel drive automobiles through regions predicted to experience SCP-XXX activity after roadblocks were erected to keep civilians out of the test area. This model achieved a success rate ranging form 70% to 93% depending on the specific geographic region.

After this initial model came into use to contain SCP-XXX, its mean success rate rapidly declined to 54% with a 28% margin of error. Extensive testing confirmed that this decline was due to SCP-XXX activity altering in response to the containment efforts of the Foundation. This led to the current containment procedures being enacted.