Do not edit other writers' sandboxes without permission.
17:41 Sirens That's the thing, I think that keeps getting watered down when we cut content. Granted, I'm my harshest critic usually, but there are some valid points being raised against this. Things I think we could change to make this better. I'll write 'em out. (Before that though, I'm just going to say that getting this posted today is really not a priority for me anymore. If need be, I can ask for…
17:41 Sirens …the template for the first image and change it if the number gets taken. I think addressing these concerns and making this /even better/ are more important.)
17:41 Roget yee
17:42 Sirens Sorry if I'm being stubborn about not wanting to post, but like…now I'm not 100 percent happy with this.
17:42 Roget we're almost there we're just not as close as we thought we were
17:42 Sirens lol
17:42 Roget Naw I have 120 SCPs I give no fucks
17:42 Sirens Hahahaha
17:43 Sirens You're the best. Anyway, I'll spitball some ideas here:
17:43 Roget kk
17:44 Sirens 1.) They don't get raptured, they do go extinct, or near extinct, but there's some consequence of that (that would need to be determined) and the Foundation has to find a way to remedy the situation
17:44 Sirens 2.) They do have a motive and it's not just being attracted to the speed at which we travel. Honestly, this could become a good horror article, me thinks. We've got the ingredients for one, but it's just not there with the direction we're currently taking this.
17:45 Roget nodnod
17:45 Sirens 3.) They find some way to communicate. We give them some characterization, invoke some emotions in the reader, then crush them. lmao.
17:45 Sirens 4.) This article kills me because I'm out of ideas off the top of my head.
17:46 Roget I like and agree with those suggestions. Perhaps the consequence could be the rising rates of depression in the world and the lack of enthusiasm for space travel, like we had discussed previously?
17:46 Sirens Honestly, option 2 is my favorite of the bunch. Combining that with the other options would also work. Really, we could sandwich all of these together.
17:47 Roget I think we should keep that they find faster movement fascinating, but I think fleshing them out further would be a good idea
17:47 Roget I think characterizing them through giving them more actions they can do rather than speech would be better
17:47 Roget more than just inhabiting the same space and messing with your brain
17:49 Sirens I think the space travel thing is a bit restrictive. Something that encompasses and affects all means of transport would be more impactful, maybe? I also agree with keeping the "they think movement is fascinating" thing, but I don't think it should stop there, I think there should be some sort of motivation or purpose for them aside from that. It just so happens that they liked the way that…
17:49 Sirens …humans traveled and picked us for whatever reason, or something. If that makes sense.
17:50 Sirens I agree with actions over speech, though.
17:51 Roget Retooling plan: Beef up the description with more actions they can do, maybe they mostly run alongside but sometimes they lay along the road, vehicles going along that road have faster wear on all their moving parts, they feed on the acceleration and velocity?
17:51 Roget that could just be some of their behaviors?
17:52 Roget we should answer in some form why they eat velocity and such
17:52 Sirens nods
17:54 Roget the logs we can probably try to add more characterization to for what we remove from the previous iterations
17:54 Sirens Right, I'd also like have some sections focused on the imminent extinction of these entities if we go that route. Honestly, pity might be a good route to take this. Like they're just trying to survive and they get excited and follow us everywhere we go but by doing that, it's also killing them off. They can't keep up anymore, leaving isn't an option for them, they're basically just starving…
17:54 Sirens …and hurting themselves trying to keep up with us or something to that affect.
17:56 Roget yeah I think that was the original thrust, I don't think it'll be too hard to retool it and get there
17:56 Sirens But for the Foundation, they're a huge security risk because if you notice them once, you're gonna see them again. The possibility that millions of people already know about them exists. They don't have much of a choice.
17:57 Roget Maybe go more into the Multi-U angle, how they straddle dimensions and that's why they're so intangible
17:57 Sirens Right right.
17:57 Sirens So long as we avoid becoming repetitious, I think this would be a great way to go.
17:58 Sirens It was the original thrust of this, but there's just so much going on here that it kind of got diluted. I think if we rework it and focus on keeping that aspect of it at the forefront, it would be better off for it.
17:58 Sirens This is an ambitious article, ihp got that right. There's just a lot of ground to cover. As long as we can convey the things we want to and keep interest up for the readers, I don't foresee us hitting any other roadblocks.
17:58 Sirens shrugs
17:59 Roget righto. Maybe we can conclude this with them going up, and us seeing where they go on the other side in like, mass dreaming or something
17:59 Roget end more climactically
18:00 Sirens I like that, yeah. Everything about this article screams "dream-like", playing on that surreal feeling would be nice.
18:00 Roget Oneiroi?
18:00 Sirens …why didn't we think of that.
18:01 Sirens lmao
18:01 Sirens I mean, this idea is born from imagination, things we imagined as kids. Why not channel that feeling in here.
18:03 Roget Maybe play into that angle more, the Foundation can't find what dimension these belong in because they could literally be borne of imaginatino
18:03 Sirens nods
18:06 Sirens As an aside: Is this considered unfinished work? http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-3147 There's no edit lock on it, hasn't been touched in an hour.
18:08 Roget I don't think so, that's technically finished I think
18:09 Sirens Gotcha.
18:11 Roget So then we retool this to be a more explicity dreamspace entity, with more detail in its behaviors, go all-in on the extinction angle, the remaining ones gather in Austrailia and go into something unknown after which millions of people report similar dreams or somesuch thing?
18:13 Sirens That sounds good to me, yes.
18:13 Sirens :)
18:13 Roget Swell. I'll try and do another pass today or tomorrow then. I've got a few ideas of things to adjust
18:14 Sirens Right on, I'll be around to work on it as well.
18:14 Roget awright
18:15 Sirens I'm disappointed that it isn't gonna go up today, but I think this new inspiration and direction we have for it will make it even better, which is far more important me thinks.
18:16 Roget Same here. I think this has too much potential to throw away posting too early
18:18 Sirens Agreed. I'm all in on this anyway, I've got other stuff to work on but I can multitask. This is my primary concern and I don't want it to be wasted potential and all that just because I got impatient to post. lol.
18:20 Roget Alright I'm going to post these logs in the discussion page on the SCP, so we don't forget stuff and have this to reference later
Other notes:
Organize coherently so it doesn't feel like so much under the collapsible?
Make the Multi-U connection more concrete
Dreams things?
People thought it felt too long so some way to get those tiered collapsibles or even moving things to sub-pages might help?
Still frame from civilian "Renmar Footage"
Item #: SCP-3799
Object Class: Keter Euclid Safe (Possibly endangered/Potential Neutralization imminent) Keter
Special Containment Procedures: REVISION IV: Social media, internet traffic, physical mail, and telephone conversations are to be monitored by Foundation AIAD for certain keywords. When isolated, instances of SCP-3799 are to be monitored via Foundation multidimensional measuring tools, such as SCP-2799.
Disinformation campaigns to plant the idea of viewing SCP-3799 instances as normal mental exercise has been successful in preventing general panic over the existence of the anomaly. Any subjects expressing suspicion at this narrative are to be issued Class-C amnestics should they begin to take action to question the cover story.
Thaddeus Xyank has been selected as liaison with the Multi-U department to assist in enacting these containment procedures.
Any attempts at communication by SCP-3799 instances is to be immediately reported to O5 Command.
REVISION V: As of 08/01/2015, all satellite images of Earth are to be digitally reconstructed in order to ensure that SCP-3799, and the unknown entity that SCP-3799 is attached to, are not visible. All commercial and governmental space exploration within Foundation purview has been suspended until further research can be conducted.
Description: SCP-3799 designates specific anomalous humanoids existing in a spectrum between human perception and observable reality. Their bodies appear to be somewhat polymorphic.
Mental faculties of subjects who contact SCP-3799 directly can be interrupted, such as a sudden inability to judge distance. Tinnitus and colorblindness can be inflicted as well. Subjects may describe a desire for exploration not previously present. The most common effect is for subjects to cease remembering dreams.
Observation of SCP-3799 is only possible when the entities and subjects are moving. Subjects unaware of SCP-3799's existence will initially dismiss direct sightings as imaginary if they acknowledge them at all. Once an individual is made aware of SCP-3799's existence it is possible to observe them more normally.
SCP-3799 congregates around facilities with continuous vehicle traffoc or that otherwise have a perpetual fluid motion, such as a factory or a power plant. They will attempt to place themselves as close to objects in motion as possible. This manifests in methods such as lying in streets, running alongside vehicles, standing inside stationary objects such as vending machines or power stations, and various human social settings.
Machinery which comes into contact with SCP-3799 will degrade at a significantly increased rate, with more than a few seconds in contact with a complex machine being enough to induce malfunction. Testing has shown that affected components appeared to show signs of severe wear equivalent to hat would be expected at the end of their natural lifespan. It has been noted that most SCP-3799 appears to prefer observation of motion rather than directly contacting machinery.
Long term effects of SCP-3799 exposure are still being studied and are not fully understood.
Note from Overseer Council
SCP-3799 does not match any known entity in the Multi-U database. It is possible migratory patterns being exhibited by SCP-3799 instances may be a reaction to Foundation and human activity. There is a clear correlation between global social trends regarding exploration/dreaming and a reduction in SCP-3799 activity. Mobile Task Force Gamma-5 ("Red Herrings") is responsible for responding to incidents involving civilians encountering remaining SCP-3799 and identifying SCP-3799 hot spots.
The broad use of aerosol amnestics therapy has now been authorized by O5 Command until such a time that a new disinformation campaign can be devised. Due to the number of documented SCP-3799 instances appearing, SCP-3799's neutralization may no longer imminent. They could be waiting now. A motion to restore SCP-3799's Keter classification has been since been approved.
The Adelaide-Darwin railway line, site of SCP-3799 testing.
Analysis and Observation
Statistical analysis showed SCP-3799 activity concentration in areas surrounding established land and coastal borders. These had more documented SCP-3799 activity than other, more densely populated areas. Based on supporting evidence it has been hypothesized that this correlates with transit development and/or testing occurring in those specific regions or areas with high traffic rates.
This postulation is supported by specific statistical analysis of Perth, Australia's SCP-3799 activity through 1879-1880. In 1881 the Western Australian Government Railways opened a line from Fremantle to Perth and Guildford. Surviving records show a vast majority of the railway testing had been conducted in Perth during the summer of 1879. Following this pattern, Foundation analysts were able to make correlations between all spikes in SCP-3799 activity during the year of 1879-1880 and transit operations and testing being conducted in said regions.
Foundation agents located in Darwin, Australia boarded a commercial train car bound to Adelaide and began continuously monitoring the actions of SCP-3799 instances over the course of the 47 hour transit time. The following transcript is a condensed version of the original documentation.
SCP-3799 OBSERVATION LOG
Date: 07/14/2015
Foreword: Shortly after departing from Darwin, Australia, as the train picked up speed, SCP-3799 instances began appearing alongside the track. Four researchers from Australian Site-84 were positioned within the last train car, rear facing, documenting the following events that occurred over the course of the 47 hour transit time.
<Begin Log>
Day 1 - 08:15:36: 27 SCP-3799 instances appeared outside of Darwin, Australia, attempting to pursue the train down the railway. As the train continued to pick up speed, the SCP-3799 instances attempted to keep pace alongside it by any means necessary. This included stretching their appendages to approximately 20 times their usual size, reaching upwards of approximately 30 meters, and attempting to run after the train car, or, in some cases, grab onto it. All attempts thus far have resulted in failure.
Day 1 - 08:55:25: The train has now reached its maximum speed.
SCP-3799 instances are no longer able to keep pace with the speed at which the train is traveling and have begun to steadily decrease in number over the course of the past 40 minutes.
Of note, as of 09:35:52, no new instances of SCP-3799 have appeared. 12 instances of SCP-3799 remain in pursuit of the train car and occupants.
Day 1 - 11:12:36: Remaining SCP-3799 instances have begun to show an increase in apparent agitation, often retaliating by attacking other SCP-3799 instances or attempting to attack nearby structures and the railway itself. Observation of these acts indicated that while SCP-3799 instances are capable of inflicting physical damage on one another, they are not capable of physically affecting man made structures.
Day 1 - 13:01:56: The last remaining SCP-3799 instance has collapsed onto the railway after using its severed extremities in an attempt to gain leverage on the moving locomotive. Prior to disappearing from view, it was noted that the last SCP-3799 instance appeared to no longer be moving.
Day 1 - 20:45:51: No new instances of SCP-3799 have become visible since the last remaining instance collapsed. Command has been contacted in order to report this abnormality.
Note of first night, passengers seemed to feel a sense of unease and murmuring could be heard well into the early morning. When the morning rounds were done it was remarked on that every compartment had its window-shades drawn. A restless night for all.
Day 2 - 19:00:00: Upon arrival to the outskirts of Adelaide, a large group of SCP-3799 instances were observed migrating. All instances disregarded the train and instead walked in the direction opposite of which we were traveling.
Day 2 - 19:36:05: Arrived at Adelaide's train station. The train car crushed an SCP-3799 instance that was present on the track upon arrival. Instantly, all other individuals present within the locomotive reported sharp head pain, with several fainting or suffering spells of dizziness. Upon exiting the train, no remains were visible on the track. However, a viscous oil covered the rails where its body had been.
No other instances have left corporeal evidence thus far. Formally submitted a request to command in order to pursue the large quantity of SCP-3799 instances that were congregating on the opposite site of Adelaide. This request was subsequently approved.
Day 2 - 20:30:45: After securing transit via car, SCP-3799 instances began appearing in massive quantities inside the city of Adelaide. Approximately 100 instances were congregated outside of Adelaide airport, attempting to engage the planes arriving and departing off of the runway.
Requests were issued to passengers to report any dreams or nocturnal activity they may experience, none was reported. Follow-up testing confirmed these results. No subjects reported usage of railroad or other mass passenger transit during this time.
Of note, outside of the airport was approximately 300 instances of SCP-3799, actively moving away from the location and converging with the group that was observed upon arriving to Adelaide. Officially requesting to follow the mass of SCP-3799 instances.
<End Log>
World map depicting the number of incidents attributable to SCP-3799 instances during the year of 1879-1880. Click to enlarge.
World map depicting the number of incidents attributable to SCP-3799 instances during the year of 2011-2012. Click to enlarge.
History
Following the Foundation's discovery of SCP-3799, Foundation analysts began locating and compiling information and documented cases of SCP-3799 incidents. Utilizing eye witness testimonies, local police records, several pieces of artwork, award winning literature, and public newspapers, the analysts were successfully able to compile raw data that depicted a specific number of documented instances that occurred world wide in the year of 1879-1880. Information regarding the gaps during this year and the current year are available through the Department of Analysis and Statistics located at Site-77 upon request.
It was noted that as the development of automobiles, trains, airplanes, and other vehicles accelerated, the number of incidents involving SCP-3799 had begun declining. Frequent mechanical failures appeared to be the primary mitigating factor to this decline. The O5 Council supported businesses and industry attempting to bring public transportation to the forefront of every major country in the world. This was successful in cutting the number of incidents involving SCP-3799 instances by almost half within the first fifteen years.
A disinformation campaign begun in July of 1899 led the general populace to believe that the idea of viewing SCP-3799 instances was a normal mental exercise. This was achieved by through writings in parenting handbooks, psychology books, and by educating healthcare professionals in order to inform the general populace.
As automobiles, trains, airplanes, and other methods of transit became more readily available for public use, it was originally speculated that SCP-3799 instances became incapable of keeping up with the speed at which individuals were moving at, subsequently leading to the decline in documented occurrences. Although SCP-3799
This information was supported by the statistical analysis conducted during the years following the campaign led by the Foundation to promote public transport, and has officially been confirmed as of 2011-2012, in which the total number of individuals utilizing methods of transit is at all an all time high, and documented occurrences involving SCP-3799 was noted as being at an all time low.
The development of transportation means that exceed what is currently available at the commercial level is currently underway and being headed by the Foundation in an attempt to ensure that the declining SCP-3799 population becomes extinct prior to adapting to match the speeds of current transit vehicles. Any documented cases of a SCP-3799 instance matching a current transport vehicle in speed is to be reported directly to the O5 Council. To date, no such cases have been reported.
Addendum: Researcher Notes
[0:0:2:9]: Something that has existed alongside us for 200,000 years, the whole time, gone. Disappearing. Practically extinct.
I thought part of our mission was to contain and protect.
Maybe they were meant to be. I hope that this is not an end, but a change. I don't want to find out we can't live without them. — Researcher Forsberg
[4:9:5:5]: It is possible this can be researched through 3966. It may occupy a similar space as 870. If we understood them better we could analyze these trends properly. — Dr. Grymes
[8:8:0:1]: Some of the research staff have been reporting troubling dreams. It's happened with a standard rotation now. Requesting reclassification review? — Researcher Sunderwood
ATTACHMENT - DREAM LOG
I remember seeing out into the blackness past the copula. We had just landed and it was black and white out there, like something out of a television set. It was stark and barren and beautiful. I think that all of us, suiting up, it was a giddy happy thing.
The spacewalk, moving so slowly as you bounced across this landscape etched in dust. I remember standing in the middle of the sea of tranquility and feeling peace. When I looked back to the ship all that snapped up to my throat. I thought they might be aliens. Some foreign creatures that had grabbed hold of our ship and were ready to make us the last men on the moon.
But they didn't tear us apart. They looked tired. Fading. Maybe like something that had grabbed hold of one hell of a horse and rode it up out of the atmosphere and with us on our journey. I saw them fall apart, dusted like stale saltines intermingling with decades of dust. I don't know if they came back.
[9:7:1:4]: Do we even know that we're seeing what's there? People who don't know it's there don't see it, but there's an awful lot of anecdotal evidence showing that once you see one, you can see all of them if you're looking. I think we ought to be looking into some kind of additional anomalous effect in all of this. I can write up a funding request formally, if necessary. — Dr. Roget
Addendum: Incident SCP-3799-A
Following the request received during observation of SCP-3799 via the the Adelaide-Darwin railway, Agent Joseph Break and Researcher Tom Spencer from Australian Site-53, located in Adelaide, Australia, were tasked with the continued tracking of SCP-3799. Shortly after their departure, and after coming into close range of SCP-3799 instances, all electronics present, with the exception of the vehicle in which they were traveling in, began to fail.
According to Researcher Spencer, both he and Agent Break reportedly followed the SCP-3799 instances for approximately 2,600 kilometers until reaching the Indian Ocean, accessible outside of Busselton, Australia. The following document was recovered upon Researcher Spencer and Agent Break's return to Site-53, four days later.
Communication systems failed a little over a day ago. During this time, the congregation has only continued to grow in size.
As we progressed on our journey it seemed as though they just wanted the desert, head and arms reached out toward the sky, completely mindless. Stragglers didn't react to the passing of our car, only breaking the trance whenever their horde strayed too close to them.
At that point, the only adjective I have for what was happening… exuberance.
From staid stillness to staggering on all fours, slamming their heads into the dirt, acting completely out of it until the horde passed them completely. At that point they'd always do the same thing. Get off the ground, shake for a couple of seconds, join up with the others.
It might not have been as unsettling as it was if there were only one or two of them around, but watching hundreds of these guys writhing on the dirt has made both Tom and I wary of the things to come.
As we approached our final destination, they stopped trying to contain themselves. Started taking off, sprinting and hurling themselves off of a cliff that tapered off into the Indian Ocean. We could still see them below us, piling on top of one another on a small section of land that stood alone beneath the ravine that Tom and I peered off of. We've been doing that ever since we arrived here, two days ago.
Eventually it was obvious we'd be okay moving in a giant circle around them. We're looking to get a glance of what they're all doing down there, or how many have come to join them. I thought it was so odd when we stopped to see nothing, when I knew what was all there. It's so easy to miss so much.
Tom caught it first, screaming something about motion and direction as he staggered apart. Maybe it's more intense when in unison. I could see through their eyes, beyond the outback. Strumming humming engines wove lines of music. That might be what happens when they get in your head. Could be trying to put seeing back in people.
God, planes. So beautiful. I could see one over the tilting desert sands cascading over the horizon. It's a wave of haze falling down to us as it booms overhead, going so fast looking so slow. The metal sparkled as it buckled and bucked the wind. Do you know how thin planes are? If you cut the pieces into strips it would make beautiful music.
The determination these entities have knows no bounds. We saw them jumping from ocean liners and plummeting to the water below just to get a chance to swim to shore and join the others. Hurling themselves off of the cliff we stood on without any kind of regard for their position. It seems so mindless…were they always like this?
I saw masses of entities sprawling from one bottom of the cliff to the other, stacked as high as they can go. Stacked so high in some places that it looks just like a giant ball of limbs, but they don't seem to mind too much. Noise started then, from the bottom and then up top.
That deafening humming, only getting louder and louder as time passes. Silence occasionally reigns, but not for long. They must love singing. They climbed out then, and started up east. We followed. We weren't anywhere near a beach but I could smell salt.
There was a lapping shore in defiance of the natural state around us. It almost looked like a mirage, shifting sands around them. Diving in seemed easy for them. It seemed so impossible to fade through space like that.
I think they might still be down there.
Note: Both Agent Joseph Break and Researcher Tom Spencer successfully arrived at Australian Site-53. The exact cause of equipment failure has yet to be determined. Further sightings of SCP-3799 instances congregation are to be reported directly to the O5 Council.
Shortly after this incident, a widespread shared dream event was detected. It appeared that a common theme was the sudden manifestation of large non-human entity at the bottom of an ocean. Reports of them growing inversely into the ground, failing to see a sky, or melancholy upon waking.
There has been an uptick in sightings of SCP-3799. The cause is currently unknown and under investigation.
