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Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Due to the nature of SCP-XXXX-1 it is especially difficult to contain. Attempts to intercept calls to the number listed by SCP-XXXX-1 have been met with failure.
Security Office-XXXX (SO-XXXX) has been formed for the examination of pertinent data to compile lists and profiles for potential instances of SCP-XXXX-1 and SCP-XXXX-3. Appropriate surveillance should be assigned to each potential instance according to likelihood of infection1.
When Stage 2 - 3 instances are confirmed a retrieval team should be sent to contain them and all related instances of SCP-XXXX-2. Field Agents are permitted to use any interrogation technique deemed necessary to recover SCP-XXXX-2.
All instances of SCP-XXXX-3 and SCP-XXXX-3A should be contained for the extent of withdrawal symptoms and then referred to the Behavioral Retraining Office. Instances of SCP-XXXX-2 should be sent to the Chemical Analysis Lab.
Description: SCP-XXXX is comprised of three different object groups and a manifestation event, which are defined as follows:
SCP-XXXX-1 manifests as a TV infomercial that plays non-stop for eight (8) hours on a previously unavailable channel. The channel is available only to a small locale and the target location is always different. Attempts to track the broadcast during transmission have revealed that it is being sent from the device that is receiving it.
In old analog televisions the transmission seemed to be generated in the receiver through it "picking up" input from seemingly non-existent signals. In modern digital boxes the input seems to be written directly by the digital interpretation software without any signal sent through the receiving line. DVR recordings of SCP-XXXX-1 have demonstrated that all concurrent instances are duplicate files regardless of their seemingly divergent sources.2
Recordings of several instances of SCP-XXXX-1 are available in the Media Library of Site 18. Those viewing the recordings should be alerted to their cognitohazardous effects and kept away from phones for the entirety of the viewing. Observation of the subject should be maintained and Level 1 psyche evaluations are required at weekly intervals for the next month.
SCP-XXXX-2 is a pill that is the featured advertisement of SCP-XXXX-1. It comes in a bottle containing thirty (30) instances which advertises its contents as "Phakitol - 30mg".
The contents of each pill have been measured to be the listed weight, though chemical analysis has revealed them to be salt in a standard pill capsule. When viewed through a microscope each grain of salt is shown to have a different note written in the surface of it. Read File-XXXX-2 for a sampling of some of the notes and APPENDIX-X-X-XXXX-2[[footnote]] Available on request at the Media Library of Site 18.[[footnote]] for the full bulk of all notes recovered thus far.
When consumed Phakitol has been found to increase the confidence and self-esteem of the subject exponentially over time. The effect is also apparent on those who come in contact with the subject, finding them a more appealing and authoritative figure in relation to the subject's own self-esteem.
Phakitol has been found to be highly addictive and should not be consumed outside of approved testing. The effects of Phakitol are more apperant in those who already exhibit higher-than-average confidence. Phakitol should never be administered to test subjects who have exhibited symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, as the combination theoretically presents a dangerous cognitohazard to any who come in contact with the subject.
SCP-XXXX-3 is the consumer of SCP-XXXX-2. SCP-XXXX-3 will manifest three levels of symptoms over the following months, following the path described in file-XXXX-3a.
During the manifestation event SCP-XXXX-1 appears. Those who have found and viewed the channel reported feeling inexplicably positive toward the infomercial host. They are invariably described as "friendly", "charismatic", and "authoritative" by all subjects. The host is described differently on each iteration.
At least a few of the recorded hosts have been people previously addicted to the drug and thought dead. Whether this is a soul trap, a shape-shifter, or some kind of postmortem recruitment is yet unknown.
Subjects who view the channel and have access to a phone invariably call the number listed on the screen. The number is to a computerized ordering service which completes a rather standard order. Tracing the call reveals the phone in use to be the source of the call in a similar manner to the television. It has been found that phones used by the subject for this purpose do not have to have a live connection. A valid credit card is required to complete the transaction.
SCP-XXXX-2 appears on the subject's doorstep immediately following the order. Subjects that consume SCP-XXXX-2 are hereafter classified SCP-XXXX-3.
Addendum:
File-XXXX-2a:
"This formula is the sole property of Pharmidance LLC. Attempts to use this formula, the names 'Phakitol', 'Pharmidance', or the phrase 'Confidence-enhancer' without the explicit permission of Pharmidance LLC will leave us sorely disappointed. Disappointed indeed."
Several characters of an unidentifiable language.
"You know Jack, so you get Jack-shit."
"نحن القيام به هنا، هو عمل الله الآن."
"C'est Pharmidance. Payez ou sortir."
"Please, [[REDACTED]]. You don't think this is the real product, do you?" (Person addressed was the researcher viewing the sample. The name did not change when other researchers viewed it.)
File-XXXX-3a:
Stage 1 - 4-7 months: SCP-XXXX-3 reports a general satisfaction with life. They report having more energy, feeling more confident, and being more able to achieve their goals. People coming into contact with SCP-XXXX-3 will report feeling more at ease around them and more receptive to their opinions. A small entourage will form around them which only reinforces the subject's distorted self-image. This entourage is known as SCP-XXXX-3A.
Stage 2 - 1-2 years: SCP-XXXX-3 will begin to show anti-social and self-absorbed behaviors. The entourage will grow over the course of this phase. Members of SCP-XXXX-3A exhibit further and further dependence on SCP-XXXX-3 for direction and guidance.
At this point Pharmidance raises the price SCP-XXXX-2 monthly. Different instances of SCP-XXXX-3A associated with the various localized instances of SCP-XXXX-3 begin to fight each other for the resources necessary to purchase SCP-XXXX-2.
Stage 3 - 2-5 years: An instance of SCP-XXXX-3 eliminates all other instances and converts the locale into a cult-community. SCP-XXXX-3's mental distortions grow further and further from reality until they believe themselves to be a godlike entity.
SCP-XXXX-3 must continue to gather more members into their instance of SCP-XXXX-3A and gain further resources. This causes the cult to grow larger and larger, possibly even going international. The "Moonies" are thought to have been formed by an instance of SCP-XXXX-3, though the continuation of the SCP-XXXX-3A beyond the death of the related instance of SCP-XXXX-3 has lead many to believe that leadership is transferable or that SCP-XXXX-3A retains momentum to some degree after it hits a level of critical mass.
Similarly, it has been theorized that Phakitol is responsible for several historical and modern dictatorships, though this has yet to be substantially supported by evidence.
If the price of SCP-XXXX-2 is raised beyond SCP-XXXX-3's ability to pay one of two events will occur:
1) SCP-XXXX-3 convinces SCP-XXXX-3A to terminate themselves en masse before withdrawal occurs.
or
2) SCP-XXXX-3 enters into withdrawal and is terminated by his community.
Withdrawal causes the opposite effects of Phakitol. At the various stages of Phakitol addiction withdrawal will cause:
W-Stage 1: Withdrawal will lead to interpersonal issues and self-hatred which will fade over the course of three days.
W-Stage 2: SCP-XXXX-3A will turn on SCP-XXXX-3, driving him or her out of the community before restoring the previous norms. SCP-XXXX-3 will remain unpopular in that community for several weeks, but may eventually be forgiven once the effects of the drug fades. SCP-XXXX-3 themselves will feel that the exile was both appropriate and deserved.
W-Stage 3: SCP-XXXX-3A will violently murder and mutilate SCP-XXXX-3. Once SCP-XXXX-3 is dead the behavior of SCP-XXXX-3A is extremely unpredictable. They seem to enter a withdrawal from contact with SCP-XXXX-3 and exhibit a lack of self-direction, increased anxiety and aggression, and features of extreme depression for the following months.
If an instance of SCP-XXXX-3 is contained they must be placed in solitary confinement and fed by autonomous drone until the end of their withdrawal symptoms, as these mental distortion effects are not limited to SCP-XXXX-3A.
