Leviathan34

WELCOME TO THE LAND OF HALF-BAKED IDEAS AND UNFINISHED WORK

Somebody Else's Problem

rating: 0+x

NOTICE FROM THE SCP FOUNDATION ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION

Parts of this document contain low-level antimemetic cognitohazards. These hazards do not pose a significant risk to personnel and have not been expunged or censored. You will forget parts of this document. Do not be alarmed.

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Euclid (Uncontained)

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX-1 and SCP-XXXX-2 are not currently contained, and are likely uncontainable. MTF Zeta-12 ("Good Samaritans") is assigned to monitor the area of manifestation on commercial GPS-map applications for the appearance of SCP-XXXX-1. Once SCP-XXXX-1 appears, SCP-XXXX-2 must be located and transported to SCP-XXXX-1 before SCP-XXXX-2 expires from its injuries. Failure to complete containment procedures within this time-frame will result in civilian casualties. Evidence from related civilian casualties is to be inspected for any information possibly regarding SCP-XXXX.

Members of MTF Zeta-12 shall be administered semi-daily doses of Class-W mnestics.

Description: SCP-XXXX-1 is an anomalous hospital by the name of “Genovese Hospital for the Criminally Ignored” which manifests in the area of █████████████. The appearance of SCP-XXXX-1 is highly irregular1 and the location of appearance is also pseudo-random within the city limits. SCP-XXXX-1 appears on city streets between previously existing buildings. How it is able to do this is currently unknown, but current hypotheses suggest that the hospital is able to warp space-time to create space for itself where there previously was none.

The name of SCP-XXXX-1 and signs on the sides of SCP-XXXX-1 contain low-potency antimemetic messages. This fact has prevented the hospital from becoming public knowledge. While SCP-XXXX-1 is manifested, internet searches for hospitals in █████████████ will yield results showing its location. This information will also appear on commercial GPS applications and in hard-copy directories.

SCP-XXXX-2 is a female humanoid entity. SCP-XXXX-2 appears in conjunction with SCP-XXXX-1 such that SCP-XXXX-1 is the nearest hospital to it. SCP-XXXX-2 manifests with multiple lacerations and contusions as well as signs of sexual assault. The origins of these injuries are unknown. The facial structure and clothing of SCP-XXXX-2 contain low-potency antimemetic messages.

The area in which SCP-XXXX-2 appears is always a populated public space. Upon manifestation, SCP-XXXX-2 will cry out to those around it, asking for help. Bystanders are fully able to observe and interact with SCP-XXXX-2 and will often express the desire for someone to assist, but will not provide assistance, unless directed to do so. SCP-XXXX-2 will die of its injuries unless it receives treatment from SCP-XXXX-1. Testing has shown emergency field treatment to be effective increasing the time before death, but no treatments have been able to prevent SCP-XXXX-1 from dying.

Additionally, not transporting SCP-XXXX-2 to SCP-XXXX-1 has been positively linked to the deaths of non-anomalous inhabitants of █████████████. These deaths occur in similar fashion to the death of SCP-XXXX-2; Victims are fatally assaulted while in close proximity to those who possess the ability to help. Witnesses will only report the incident to authorities after the victim has died.

Discovery log: Due to the antimemetic nature of SCP-XXXX, it is currently unknown when exactly when SCP-XXXX first began manifesting, though it is hypothesized to have begun shortly after the murder of █████ ████████ on ██/██/1964. The Foundation became aware of an anomaly through embedded agents in multiple news outlets. Workers at these news outlets began drafting a report showing multiple reports from the city morgue with extremely high similarities. Specifically, multiple reports appeared to be about the same person. The story was suppressed and eventually forgotten. SCP Foundation personnel were assigned to investigation of the anomaly.

Management of SCP-XXXX was delegated to the SCP Antimemetics Division after an investigation of assigned personnel revealed widespread incompetence and a general lack of desire to research the event.

Incident Log XXXX-1: On ██/██/2001, after a failure to transport SCP-XXXX-2 to SCP-XXXX-1 before expiry, MTF Zeta-12 encountered an unknown entity fleeing from a scene of a murder. This murder was later determined to be related to SCP-XXXX. The agents investigated the scene and found the victim's cellular device unlocked with the screen on. The device was running a text application, in which was written the following message:

They waTch but They don'T see
The evenTs They leave be
We Teach the effects 'Til
From Themselves They be redeemed

On the backburner

Questions that need answers:
- What happens if you enter the hospital?

- How do these people die? Who kills them? What's is the story here?

- Why does the girl keep appearing?

Notes:
- Art by SunnyClockwork
- MOAR STORY
- Hospital moves around
- Antimemetic signage. Foundation began using mnestics for the signage so the MTF can remember the hospital.
- Hospital creates space for itself where there wasn't space before by warping spacetime
- While extant, the hospital appears on internet searches and GPS-map applications.
- Somebody Else's Problem field(?) —> antimemetic signage
- Started occuring in 1964 after the murder of Kitty Genovese.
- phone number!!!
- These people helped meeeeee: Pareidolia911, wafflepath, themadstork, minmin, BeardedPotato,

- Communal guilt: measurable effect on economy?

Outline:
-it's a hospital
-it appears randomly in randomly location
-it appears on streets
warps space-time to make room for itself
also appears on maps and gps applications
-antimemetic title and signage
—nobody notices it

Some feedback:
mimmin
-it feels more cohesive than most ideas, my gripe is that said punishment essentially being "beating a random person to death" is the dissonant part
-or rather, the odd piece out
-I guess it's poetically justified
-but the core of the bystander effect… apathy, morbid curiosity, everyone being complicit in a crime
-I'm sure something can come from there
-maybe since, well, no one person is culpable for being a bystander
-said "consequence" (I like that word better than punishment, since it reflects a lack of intent, a kind of bleed effect of the crime) could affect local communities?
-instead of individuals?
-guilt manifest, yaknow
-collective, communal, guilt
-and not a phantom agent of the hospital beating up innocents in a rather clumsy application of eye for an eye
Leviathan34
-Hmmm I'm not sure how I would write something about communal guilt without, as you said, "skips inducing feelings, compulsions, etc"
minmin
-that is true, hm
-well inducing guilt here isn't the job of a compulsion effect - people not stopping to help -1 already does that
-i don't know, man
-a communal punishment for bystanders is itself a pretty good starting point
-centering around a forgotten hospital