SCP-3041 │ The Red Artifact │ Safe │ Antimemetic SCP

[@TheVolgun]

"Safe class scp's aren't dangerous" .... sure.

[@sechran]

So many go in circles around the idea of Keter meaning ultra-dangerous, but I think the "Safe" class contributes to the confusion. The terminology inherently suggests that it isn't hazardous, when the containment category is independent of those factors. And if "safe" means, "this can't hurt me" then obviously the other end of the spectrum has to mean that it's as deadly as a polonium milkshake. That said, while more explicit, clear classes would clarify things, I think the dissonance is part of what makes SCP work. Sure, something like, "Sealed, Caged, and Precarious" might spell things out clearer than Safe, Euclid, and Keter, but ... where's the fun in that?

[@pedroff_1]

@@sechran There has been the new system for classifying on many aspects, including containability and lethality, but it is optional and many SCPs decide to stick to the old system anyway

[@mattylewin1684]

Of course not. That’s what they tell themselves anyway. Lol

[@Secret_Takodachi]

I can appreciate that in "your role at the SCP" you may personally disagree with describing a "Safe" class SCP as safe but in keeping with Foundation protocols and in order to maintain professional standards you stick to details as stated on the record. 🫡❤👍

[@ArDeeMee]

@@pedroff_1 Probably because the new system of fancy fantasy words is completely disorienting after a decade of the old system.

[@rogershaftly6976]

Volgun always reminding us that "safe" refers to how easy it is to contain and not how dangerous or terrifying it is

[@AmataTai]

And as it also mentions, given enough review the class can be updated - A knife that can delete existences so well that an entire site's Dclass population is decimated, it's a wonder that it hasn't breached containment. Definitely Keter when the review goes through a memetic filtering

[@nehpets216]

@@AmataTai No, it's still safe. As long as it sits in a box it won't get free, try to get free, or remind people that it's in the box.

[@davethompson3326]

@@nehpets216 Probably., possibly, maybe, hopefully?

[@Matthew_Y]

@@AmataTai it doesn't seem to delete a person from existance, just curse them with a passive presence erasing effect that persists in to death. the tramatic memories remain as nightmares, the smell of rotting flesh lingers and the mass of the consumed hearts remains after consumtion, but the memory of the victim is erased. it's labled as safe since physical contact is required to activate it and it can be safely stored in a regular container. if it was discoved to radiate an aura that spread its influence, than a euclid rating may be needed. if the aura was found to be slowely increasing in radius, than a keter rating miiiiiight be needed.

[@FromMyBrain]

@@nehpets216 or turn the box into sand, or generate infinite heat when in a box, or make everyone hear screaming when its in a box, or turn the research compound into a box, or erase the concept of boxes from human conciousness... or spread its effects to all boxes...

[@Mark-S_Boyd]

Interesting...so anything that is killed with the blade is suddenly erased completely from the minds of any and everyone that knew them. Even going so far as to cause the bodies to become unnoticeable afterwards. If it wasn't for the fact that it seemingly can't erase the smell, and that the users of the knife have traumatic dreams afterwards, it would be the perfect murder weapon.

[@conradlorgar5508]

Accept that you cant choose who you kill and are forced to eat parts of the bodies and may cause you to over eat to death

[@basimaziz]

That is a... VERY interesting theory. I think you're right. Holy Toledo, that's a spooky SCP.

[@paul.9828]

Perfect, assuming that you don't intend to stop.

[@jwalster9412]

I have a theory that the dreams are the memories of the event showing back through their subconscious mind. possibly related to PTSD, as in some cases memories that affect people with PTSD tend to "repeat" even years later when nothing else from that time can be remembered, And PTSD can affect dreams as well... To simply, It's not the actual event they see I'm there dreams, it. the trauma/PTSD of the event repeating in their mind, and not the actual event taking place.

[@TheWujuStyle]

well except for the part where it forces you do the killing/heart consuming... the D-class committing suicide by overeating human hearts could be explained by the memory loss, but what about the reported intense guilt consistent among both the D class subject and the original owner?

[@chickenman6334]

That guy at the end "ive lived a long and LONELY life" except he didn't, he had a family and at least one child. Dude had his entire lifes memories written over. At least, that's what im gathering.

[@TraustiGeir]

Oh...oh, no. All those vacant rooms...and that crib.

[@The_Keeper]

@@TraustiGeir Yup. Killed 'em, ate their hearts... and then promptly forgot they ever existed. Pretty dark.

[@TraustiGeir]

@@The_Keeper And not just him, everybody that ever knew of their existence forgot. Makes you wonder how many people have been basically erased from time by that blade.

[@zombieranger3410]

@@TraustiGeir "there was nothing in the basement besides the overpowering smell of rotting meat" "The nightmares began a year ago" "the facility smelled like rancid meat ever since testing started" "there was a *shortage of D-Class personnel* site-wide" "there was no junior researcher assigned" "her stomach erupted but nothing was inside" I'd estimate in this story about 1-2k people were erased.

[@afswan]

@@TraustiGeir well, in just the video there's 1: The researcher who found the link between the knife and the suicide note killed (at least) one person. 2, 3, 5, & 23(24): The first was the D-Class killed in the second test, the second was the assistant lead researcher on the third test, the next two were two D-Class in the fourth test, and the last 18 were killed all in the fifth test, as there were 9 attempts to place 2 D-Class each. Technically one more, as eating 18 hearts caused D-85373 to die as well. 29(31): The last 6 were killed by Daniel Crenshall, a man, a woman, 3 girls, and a baby boy. Technically *another* extra one, since Crenshall ended up committing s****de due to his PTSD. But remember, D-85373 was part of the fifth series of tests, so the actual number is going to be higher, probably not 5x as high, considering it never raised any suspicion before, but I'd say at least 50 would be a good estimate, at least from what the foundation knows. So ultimately, at least 29 directly, 31 indirectly, and likely more from unlisted testing and whatever it's history would be from before Daniel.

[@Thegr8MC]

Yet another reason why I think memetic and antimemetic SCP's are more terrifying then any number of mass murdering monsters.

[@navybluegacha2119]

Simply the idea of forgor The terrifying side of forgor

[@MrSaber]

@@navybluegacha2119 we all forgor 💀

[@dantekinkade8765]

I mean you kill and eat your whole family and then forget that you had a family in the first place is horrifying.

[@justinsmith5870]

This is the golden zone of scp. Dark but you're curiosity is peaked throughout. Dangerous but not cataclysmic, although it escalates and you're not 100% sure if it's even stopped.

[@RelativelyBest]

Well, they did figure out that they needed to lock it up and not touch it. And since they suspected it messed with your memories, the Antimemetics department would presumably get notified. (Assuming anyone remembers that they exist, anyway.)

[@justinsmith5870]

@@RelativelyBest assuming this isn't something thats happened to the ani-memtic department. It's implied that they occasionally do discover the department, only for it be empty.

[@zedbags]

A very easily contained item, that has cataclysmic powers. Always a good time

[@aceystar1478]

Also the reader can realize what is actually happening without too much brainwork thus making the reader feel smarter and avoiding too much handholding

[@jtf5223]

Except, if the effect continues even after the knife has been relocated then there could be people that held the knife elsewhere that only know of bad dreams and weird smells They even said amnestics can SOMETIMES erase the effects So there could be an unknown # of afflicted still out there killing with no idea

[@gawbe]

My favorite part is the awkward moment where the article tells you that something unexplicable came up, and then explains to you how it is impossible. I'm glad they caught up that the previous reports didn't add up.

[@sipi2009]

Fr! That's terrifying, I had two theories about half way. 1. That these people really did never exist, and the smell is just a memetic hazard created by the knife. Or. 2. That these people did exist, and were murdered by the knife or erased from existence. It seems that the knife forces the holder to kill these people, and simultaneously erases any memory of their existence from the minds of people, people who know them their past, present and possibly even future and people who didn't their present, and possibly future. There is a good chance the bodies are there, and have started rotting because the memetic hazard is so strong it prevent the victims from being perceived. They should definetly have put 2 and 2 together from the last note and sent only fully antimemetically trained and equipped personel. It also seems to have an aversion to more than one person being in close contact with it, and can use their cognitohazard wether interionally or not, to force only one person to be able to be in close contact with them. I'm not sure I agree with no furthwr testing, I can definetly see the reasoning, and it seems the cognitohazard might be so strong it prevents people from using antimemetic protection against it, but it hasn't been noted and it's just my observation. But if it isn't the case, they would surely get much better results if they were to use the full antimeeric might. But eh.

[@abydosianchulac2]

​@@sipi2009Well it seems the order for no further testing was issued before they brought the antimemetics team in. Presumably they'll begin testing again once they do their mnestic thing and discover the corpses in order to learn if they have methods of fighting the scip's effects in the moment

[@mischake]

Oh man this one was stellar! I love how the reality of the situation slowly sinks in

[@IckyNeko]

"and why do I own a crib?". .. I shuddered.

[@RenTully]

for those who still don't get it (which, how do you not get it)[and, in that note, how do the scp researchers not realize this sooner is beyond me]: the knife is a powerful cognito-hazard. wielding the knife makes someone want to cut open people around them and eat their hearts. Once that person's heart is eaten, all info about that person becomes anti-memetic, including their body. basically the idea cannot be comprehended by the mind, thus the mind believes there's nothing there, and makes up excuses (which it loves doing) for why things seem wrong. The D-class' stomach ruptured because of the sheer amount of hearts (which weren't capable of being comprehended by the medical staff when they cut 'em open). And since the Lead Researcher was in the room overseeing the experiment, they were also eaten and made undetectable. Thus to fill in this logic gap, the Lead Research assistant made the split second excuse "Oh, I must just be the Lead Researcher then" which is why the assistant doesn't remember making any requests for experiments with D-class, even if they are in the logs. it's because the Lead did them, not them. Another tell of the knife's effect is that the second mentioned test literally has the same set-up as the first mentioned test. This makes no sense, as they already knew what happens when one person holds the knife for 10 minutes, thus it would make no sense to try out the very same experiment twice. (unless they were trying to see if the effect was cumulative, but I feel this is instead just the excuse their minds came up with to explain doing the same test again.) In reality, I believe the second test was when they were experimenting to see if adding another D-class would activate the nightmares rather than having the test subject alone (as this was not the first series of tests they've been conducting on the anomaly, thus they must have already had records of the nightmares). But since the D-class was forgotten by everyone, no one remembered that's what they were testing for, thus their mind made up those excuses. post data, The rancid smell is of the decaying bodies that no one can comprehend just laying on the floor.

[@TheDeathMare]

I'm in the opposite camp with the belief on the researchers should have caught it. Antimemtic hazards are damn near impossible to comprehend or establish. Imagine how astronomically hard you would have to peace together the idea that someone just stopped existing. 0 records paper digital or even real PHYSICAL evidence of their existence can even be perceived. Now your brain forces you to fill in gaps and literally rewrite your history. I'm sure the case of the researcher dying might have been him realizing the situation but immediately falling victim to its affects. It can erase you just as fast as you notice it

[@RenTully]

@@TheDeathMare well to be fair, it's not too hard to comprehend that someone just stopped existing. Specially in a field of work where that happens every other Tuesday. Heck, if us as outside readers can figure it out without as much as a simple passage of their records, how could they themselves that have all the data in front of them not realize? I mean, I get not being able to comprehend some thing's existance, but that doesn't mean you are unable to comprehend it's inexistence. Heck even they themselves are able to comprehend its inexistance, given they can notice the lack of an assistant researcher, or the low levels of d class.

[@TheDeathMare]

@@RenTully but that is after the fact. Looking into records normally not needed to be. And while normally they can handle memetic effects that is still specific teams. Your average research tech is still an average person susceptible just as the next person.

[@jwalster9412]

I think the actual event is forgotten by the Test subject, but shows back up later as PTSD is in the form of dreams, which then turn into memories of dream (which are inaccurate to the original memory) for some reason this SCP does not effect dreams of the event, or the PTSD related to itself..

[@jwalster9412]

@@RenTully I find that a lot of SCP articles tend avoid theory and guess work, stick to what is proven.

[@decentm678]

Holy crap this is a terrifying one, it makes you do gruesome murders and then wipes your memory. I'd guess it's faulty because the memories live inside the dreams, I'd expect the foundation to have developed anti-cognito methods by now

[@ItCameFromTheSkyBeLo]

It doesn't just wipe your memory, it alters reality so you are incapable of having memories of the event, AND you are incapable of experiencing anything substantive other than the odor of the rotting bodies. It wipes them off the face of reality, except for a few lingering rotted dregs of experience.

[@TheRealSpiderMew]

The knife itself is a powerful reality bender, defentally was enchanted by one. I suspect its an artifact from the city of Alagada.

[@NolanRyanVA]

@@ItCameFromTheSkyBeLo It's a perfect recipe for making you believe you've gone insane, as not only are you not sure if you've actually murdered and eaten people or not, the anomaly prevents anyone from seeing any evidence and therefore not believe you.

[@borttorbbq2556]

Also just say that standard Cognito hazards can be very difficult to identify preemptively so it can be very hard to prevent cognitohazard from working. All you can really do is try and have people who are resistant to cognitohazard. To identify cognitohazard

[@conradlorgar5508]

@@borttorbbq2556 sometimes they have ai to detect cognitohazards but that can only really apply to language

[@SolidifiedHoney]

Whoever wrote this story is amazing. Because it is in what they don't tell you where the whole story exists. It's so wonderfully written.

[@HypnoBeams]

Almost read the title as antisemitic scp and had to do a double take

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Me too

[@shipmcgree6367]

It's not a J class scp lol

[@Seltaeb_]

I read "anti-metric" and was understandably confused.

[@vallisdaemonumofficial]

Oy vey, same here! 😂 Volgun isn't gonna read about the robo-turtle, they go to that page too much!

[@steveharrison76]

Same

[@YaBoiKiryu]

Saw the notification and for a second I thought "Red Sea Object" but I remembered Dr. Millar already has a lecture on that one. 😂

[@TheMeanMongoose]

Agent Ya Boi Kiryu, you have missed a dose of mnestics and therefore suffering lapses in memory, due to antimemetic hazards. Please report to Director Marion Wheeler at the Antimemetics Division of Site 41 and get a new perscription. DON'T FORGET IT THIS TIME.

[@jaythehuman2552]

@@TheMeanMongoose they gone forget. I forgot what the comment was about.

[@Pasci234]

I wait for the day an O5, pumped to the brim with mnestics, inspecting a site full of skeletons nobody can see or even comprahend. The SCP universe is just hillarious.

[@aformofmatter8913]

*mnestics It has a silent m in the front

[@Pasci234]

ah i see.

[@RelativelyBest]

I'm imagining someone at the Antimemetics Department hearing about this knife and all the weird stuff going on with it, and being like: "Oh, for crying out loud! Why didn't you guys tell us about this?" And then the other guy is like: "Wait, who are you? Do you work here?"

[@ThePigKnight]

07: “Hey guys just taking a peak for the annual inspec-WHAT THE FUCK!?”

[@concept5631]

​@@RelativelyBest The Antimemetics Department works so differently from the rest of the Foundation its more like a (very) loose collection of people then a centralized organization.

[@Imperial_Squid]

"why do I have a crib" FUUUUUUCK that's a brutal line when you figure out what this thing does...

[@KawaiiUsagi2]

So the holder's victims vanish from existence? And the only proof of life they have are the nightmares that the holder have? Creepy

[@cambiata]

"Vanish" isn't exactly correct. They're still there as rotting corpses. But no one can perceive them aside from the smell.

[@dinocz3301]

I think their bodies basicly become scp-055. you notice them, but the moment you look away, you forget they exist. and it obviously affects records too. the reason the smell is so strong if probably because the bodies are still there, just, un-noticable

[@TwilitbeingReboot]

Nope - the bodies are still there, still rotting and stinking up the rooms, and their hearts are in the holder's stomach (as shown by the final D-class test). They're just impossible for anyone to perceive or remember that the person ever existed, except in the dreams of the holder.

[@KawaiiUsagi2]

Oh that's even sadder if the bodies are still there.

[@AshSunscyer]

that and the smell, yeah...

[@byronius7012]

I am honestly always amazed by the creativity of SCP writers.

[@VVen0m]

I love how his voice is so reassuring when he says "safe"; it's like he's saying "Don't worry, it _probably_ won't kill you, everything is fine" EDIT: Yes guys, I know what "safe" means, I know that such a thing could still snap half the population out of existence, but an object that's safe would not leave its containment unless removed by someone, therefore it would _probably_ not kill you. *Please* read the existing replies before replying yourself, I'm tired of answering the same thing to the same comment for the 5th time... Now I had to edit the comment and will lose the heart... T-T

[@sneakiestsnek3150]

Always important to remember that "Safe" SCPs are just the ones that didn't escape the basic cells.

[@VVen0m]

@@sneakiestsnek3150 Yeah, that's why it _probably_ won't kill you

[@borttorbbq2556]

Sticking in a box and it should be fine it's safe. Even if one mistake with said scp could destroy planet. (The claw i dont remember its number but it could destroy the moon by accident if missued)

[@CodeguruX]

As per usual saying, an object is classified safe if you can put it in a box and be 100% sure it will be there when you open it. Though, if you take it outside of the box, all bets are off.

[@Love2Destroy]

The rule of thumb is that a nuclear warhead is "safe", because as long as it's left alone, it's fine. Despite the potential to flatten a city.

[@maxy1172]

TheVolgun single handedly makes my work more entertaining as i can listen to SCP stuff while welding

[@connordavies1138]

In the same boat big man

[@janakakumara3836]

Your welding gun is a SCP.

[@Shidyk]

Even when the SCP is labeled Safe, you know there's more to the story. Great job as always, TheVolgun

[@zachariahkindle8926]

Always remember, classification refers to how easy it is to contain, not to how dangerous it is

[@Shidyk]

@@zachariahkindle8926 Oh, I know that. I was just saying that there's more the story even with Safe class anomalies, not that it was difficult to contain.

[@JerichoDeath]

This is excellent writing. By the time you finish the article, you understand the real effect without it ever having to describe exactly what is happening. I could feel myself getting vaguely sick from imagining what all would have / could have happened from this knife just sitting around getting picked up by people who didn't realize what it would do.

[@ethnicjojostani8013]

Oooooh, I love it. I have a great appreciation for antimemetic SCPs and this article implements that idea BEAUTIFULLY.

[@theroadstopshere]

Ah man, I love SCP entries like this one-- not that the sprawling 'verse entries aren't fantastic, or the special short story entries and world-ending entries we see more frequently now, but it's great fun to see more entries like this that are a simple exploration of an unsettling concept for an entity/item. Especially when they're the kind of SCP which makes even perceiving or understanding the effects difficult-- it captures the feeling of fumbling in the dark of reality which makes for excellent sci-fi and horror, and the very real-world frustration and fear of trying to and understand a universe which is completely beyond the grasp of beings as small and limited as us.

[@samfowler2073]

"Critical shortage of D-class personnel" they finally learned to take sick days...

[@jwalster9412]

"the only thing to note was the overpowering smell of rancid meat.." Oh wait..

[@salicaguillotines]

@@jwalster9412 ....dude

[@thekillerhjkhjk]

after several hours in the final '10 minute' test, her stomach ruptured, and autopsy revealed the stomach was bloated but filled with 'nothing at all'...

[@ProfessorDoctorC]

I like how the foundation is portrayed in this one. A lot of SCP items depict the foundation as this infallible, basically omniscient entity that knows eveything there is is to know about the supernatural. Others depict the foundation as completely idiotic or ineffectual to emphasize the importance and danger of the anomaly. This article succeeds for me because it shows an organization that is very much vulnerable and capable of error, but smart enough to recognize it. Even though the researchers are still affected by the antimeme, they do take note of inconsistencies and side effects to the point of realizing that the knife is both anomalous and dangerous.

[@noyokisamuran2815]

A blade that erases existence IS pretty scary. I would LOVE to do a voice over for you guys. Keep up the good work

[@DireSloth]

ooh this was a good one. i like the ones where you gradually figure out what's actually going on. "why do i own a crib?" such a powerful line

[@Sebboebbo]

Da king is back baby he neva miss

[@TheUbiouS]

I lost my shit when I read "And why do I own a crib?" Awesome writing! Also, great narration, Volgun, as always.

[@SentientMeatloaf1]

This is a goooood SCP. I honestly kind of stopped paying attention to newer SCPs because every other one is some sort of extra dimensional city beyond the realm of of space and time that doubles as an allegory for the human condition and takes a hundred thousand word epic of an article to explain, or it’s some chained god that the foundation can’t hope to comprehend and it just gets TIRING. Not that those kinds of SCPS don’t have their place but there is only so much space on the wiki for things like that before they stop being taken seriously. It’s stuff like this that I really find fascinating. An object that is amazingly terrifying, creepy, dangerous, and definitely supernatural, but it doesn’t need to be the next big world ending threat. It’s well within the foundations power to contain, and hence the foundation actually feels like it has a purpose instead of being a helpless bystander.

[@thebmachine3125]

Nice timing, I was just revisiting 3125 and the entire There Is No Antimemetics Division series!

[@Kair1]

I think I understand this one, this knife makes you forget the faces and memories of the people you know or even just those around you when you grabbed the knife, it forces you to kill them and eat their hearts in a dream like trance. No one can perceive the corpses of those killed with the knife or actions done by the perpatrators due to its cognito hazard, not even in videos, explaining why the d class amount decreased despite none of the being reported of existing, and why the whole family was killed, the man killing them beign the father and having no memory of them in his life because the knife altered those around it to percieve of them never existing, but their still their, as unseeable corpses, giving off the smell of rotting meat

[@conradlorgar5508]

Dont forget the vivid nightmares you have of killing these people you "dont know"

[@Kair1]

@@conradlorgar5508 mhmmm

[@NottherealLucifer]

"...but *they're still *there..." and yes, you've more or less described the SCP as it was described on the page.

[@jwalster9412]

My theory, is that dreams are a result of PTSD, the brain can just barely recognize what happened over the cognito hazardous effect, and when you wake up from the nightmare the memory has changed enough to where it can't be erased by the anomaly.

[@labrandonscales7881]

When did the researcher touch the knife?

[@Myahster]

Ooh, so all the victims were real. They were being removed from reality, records, and memories. And the test subject's stomach ruptured from eating hearts that were (effectively) invisible.

[@jwalster9412]

Also the smell and PTSD (or, technically nightmares) effects stay.

[@BookwormFUT]

So, this is the SCP equivalent of the False Hydra from D&D? I LOVE IT!!

[@borttorbbq2556]

Kinda sorta yeah

[@Marcharound]

Antimemetic SCPs will always be similar to the False Hydra, but I think this is the closest one.

[@MrJking012]

@@Marcharound reminds me of "Weeping Angels" from Dr Who, I'm sure they've been compared before. Antimemetic effects are terrifying... like a shadow of a person in the corner of your eye.

[@valettashepard909]

The fact that the only remaining means of detecting the effects of the SCP being the sense of smell is a nice touch. The olfactory nerves are linked very closely to the part of the brain that processes, stores, and recalls memory

[@kingcobra2858]

I like it when the article makes Volgun's listener second guess themselves or make them rewind and pay more close attention because the pov in the article isnt sure what actually ia happening.

[@Rossweise]

This hits the perfect balance between "not explaining anything" and "giving you enough so you get it", its very very good!

[@ajmeyers5661]

wow this was very well written, and brilliantly read as usual

[@KennyMatthewsMonster]

I like this one, nice simple creepy concept that you’re able to catch on to before it’s explicitly explained

[@OGMandala]

I only understood how the SCP functions at the end, and my mind was blown.

[@thanotosomega]

This is neat one, love these creepy smaller scale scps

[@Nanamowa]

This is one of the few really good scps that forces the reader to figure out details that the foundation couldn't. It's pretty obvious that the effects of the knife are that it 1. Induces the holder to kill and eat the hearts of someone near it. 2. Removes all cognition and evidence of said action and victims from the minds and records of those exposed to the event or victims save for the ptsd(and vague associated memories) of the perpetrator and smell of the rotting corpses so far as to make the hearts themselves undetectable within the stomaches of the people eating the hearts. It would be hard to figure out in first person, but we have the privilege of being exposed from the outside for greater context. It's a great scp.

[@qazerquoi435]

Sometimes, the foundation seems to lack basic critical thinking skills. I imagine it is so the reader of the scp can easily figure out what’s going on (the object makes one disappear from existence) while the text itself, and the foundation, is none the wiser. But it is often so obvious as to make the foundation appear very stupid. (Still a great video!)

[@jacobfreeman5444]

You are not wrong to an extent. But remember we do not see the world as it is. We see it as our values allow us to see it. So what if there was an object that altered your perception such that won't ever acknowledge something. It is locked away permanently. This doesn't make sense, does it? Your mind knows that and so alters its narrative of what is reality to compensate for it. Your mind would rather tell itself a lie than realize there is a definite discrepancy with how it is perceiving reality. That is why this object is terrifying. It hides reality from you in a way that your mind does its little self-deception song and dance to keep your beliefs on reality intact. But there is still a record of what happened because it can't erase it. Just hide it. Keep your conscious mind from ever recognizing it.

[@VVen0m]

Remember that as readers who are outside the universe of SCP, we are immune to all of the objects' effects. Could be some SCPs have an effect that prevents people from realizing what's really going on. On top of that more often than not the Foundation refrains from making assumptions about how an object works in their reports, could be they do realize what's going on, but they want to keep the reports unbiased towards any hypotheses. Or they just simply want to only include cold facts in their reports, and the cold facts, according to what they have to work with, is that there's a knife that makes people dream of eating hearts of people who don't exist. Also the footage of the tests seems corrupted or something. Also also there was this one person who's stomach seemingly blew up for no reason after testing the knife. Also also also there seems to be a stench of rotten flesh in the testing room. And it loops back to the fact that we as the viewers from the outside can deduce that the knife most likely makes people go berserk, kill a buncha people, eat their hearts, then wipe memories of everyone involved and make the hearts and bodies impossible to be seen or detected, with the person holding the knife only being able to recall what they did in their dreams, but the SCP Foundation either physically can't or doesn't have enough cold evidence to post a hypothesis in their report.

[@saint23thomas]

Critical thinking skills don't really help when the object actively erases knowledge that the murder was anything other than a dream. You could spend all day examining the room, but the dagger just keeps deleting the presence of the corpse from your mind, even while you're looking at the body. Every time someone does figure out what's going on, through some indirect means, that information gets wiped out, along with whatever knowledge finally caused them to understand the truth.

[@KarlRosner]

Well you can assume that the anti-memetic applies to the document too, so every one reading it is effected by the memory gaps.

[@NottherealLucifer]

Would you consider a fictional detective stupid just because you can Google who the murderer is at the start of the story? You're saying people are stupid for not knowing an answer they can't possibly know because what is essentially magic has made it impossible for them to know it. The lab this took place in isn't an isolated building, its a site with dozens if not hundreds of other SCP objects in it, any one of them could be changing reality or causing memory discrepancies. The Foundation isn't aware of this objects anomalous properties, they're figuring it out through testing, you just have the advantage of reading what you know is a fictional story with all of the information given all at once. These characters spent at least a month with an object they thought just gave people nightmares while it was actively fucking with their minds, them finding out it did more than that is the entire point of this story.

[@plasmodesta]

Man your vocal performances have only skyrocketed, accent work is amazing and so varied. Serious talent. Been amazing to watch you progress from my introduction to your content with SCP-1000

[@NapppleDahAppple]

I like how the safe class, Euclid class, and keter class, the colours do you use to describe them it's quite unique, it may be safe but you have it at yellow and then there's Euclid class being Orange or yellow or red. I like those designations you give it. Just because it's safe doesn't mean it's not dangerous or just because it's keter class doesn't mean it's dangerous. Like the word keter but coloured green

[@fivestarguy100]

So, the classifications are to denote how easy the anomaly is to contain, not how dangerous it is. I forget the exact saying, but it's something like "Safe, you can put it in a box and it will stay in the box. Euclid, the anomaly isn't entirely understood yet. Keter, you can put it in a box, but it will most likely escape." Or something like that. There is also the Thaumiel class, which is to denote anomalies that can be used to contain other anomalies, it IS the box essentially. The colors are to denote the danger they pose, their risk class if you will.

[@salicaguillotines]

SCP-343 could be classified in any category and it would be correct. Safe because He's omnipresent and has no desire to leave the premises. Keter because He's God and could do any number of things, but He doesn't pose any risk to SCP personal, but since they don't follow any particular religion, they can't classify God as thaumiel as these religious undertones would definitely shape the SCP world building (at least to some degree). Euclid implies mystery, since God works in mysterious ways, Euclid works but as mentioned above, there's no desire to leave the box, ergo the safe classification.

[@NapppleDahAppple]

@@fivestarguy100 yeah but there's also designations besides safe Euclid and keter. I don't know what they're called but he did say them before you see how the worksafe is in yellow that denotes that it's safe to store but dangerous to have in a way. You are correcting the way safe Euclid and keter are

[@BlazingOwnager]

God I loved the twist on this one. I was like "Huh.. that is an odd one.. maybe it's another dimension or.." Then the horror of what it actually does locks into place.

[@sinisterthoughts2896]

This is my preferred style of SCP, innocuous and sinister, a mind bender. SCPs like this is what peaked my interest in the subject.

[@daniell1483]

Safe SCPs are always so good. "Safe" means it can't hurt you, right? Wrong! Dead wrong, in fact.

[@RollerdinoGaming]

it doesn't mean that, it means that jf you put it in a box it will remain in that box without requiring any supervision it's a containment class, not a designation of how dangerous something is

[@daniell1483]

@@RollerdinoGaming Yes, I knew that already. I was poking fun at how "Safe" SCPs are often just as dangerous as other SCP classes. Safe is not safe when it comes to SCPs.

[@AppletreeChild]

I find it quite intrigung how this scp even effects the "rational thinking" of the researchers... like. "hm, truely abnormal thing, this smell..." "oh, we can't percieve parts of this footage" but no "might our memories of what happend been modified by this scp?" or "could there be a connection?" two things happening and influencing each other might be a coincident, but 3 or more? terrifying...

[@fluffywolfo3663]

I love this SCP. Even if you’ve figured out by the first test log exactly what it’s deal is…. It still manages to shock and horrify.

[@suitov]

I absolutely loved this one. Especially because it didn't succumb to the urge to explain the joke at the end.

[@nibblrrr7124]

00:26 *Special Containment Procedures* 00:55 *Description* · 1:39 · 2:33 03:00 ► tests/series_5.log · 3:40 · 4:29 · 5:14 · 6:06 07:16 ► tests/admin_memo.log - 09:14 ► files/███████_note.log - 00:00 Title screen 00:11 *INTRODUCTION* 00:26 *SPECIAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES* 00:55 *DESCRIPTION* 01:39 _dream_ 02:33 _discovery_ 03:00 ► *ACCESS SCP:/3041/tests/series_5.log* 03:16 _Test 1_ 03:40 _Test 2_ 04:29 _Test 3_ 05:14 _Test 4_ 06:06 _Test 5_ 07:16 ► *ACCESS SCP:/3041/tests/admin_memo.log* 09:14 ► *ACCESS SCP:/3041/files/███████_note.log* 09:26 _note_ 11:06 _investigation results_ 11:17 *OUTRO* 11:30 Credits & Special Thank You 12:43 End screen

[@PineappleLiar]

I feel like this SCP would make for a great example case in spotting the warning signs of a cognitohazard SCP. After testing, make sure to check the following: -There are no anomalous holes in researcher staffing: every job is accounted for and appropriately staffed. -There are no sharp increases/decreases in D Class personnel, that can’t be explained through an outside source. -Researcher observations and video recording data are in congruence with each other. -Check the previous testing history for excessive repetition of the same test, or a continued failure to problem a seemingly obvious test.

[@Wet_Deer]

Best scp I’ve seen in a long time. Another favorite of mine is the one with the 3D glasses

[@TheSleeplyone]

If you think about it, the knife smells because no one cleans it. After all, why would they? The blood and flesh stuck on it are of a victim that can no longer be acknowledged, so it looks clean to everyone who sees it.

[@shipmcgree6367]

The last time I was this latearly, I still had my job at the Temporal Anomalies Department.

[@tragnemalm]

I absolutely love these types of well-written SCPs where the realization of how horrible it is dawns on you around the half-way point, and you can do nothing but listen/read as you understand the hidden horror of it.

[@SixShooterBlue]

I have watched every single one of your videos, I get so excited when I see a new one come out thank you Volgun

[@fellowhuman8830]

5 minutes in, I think I know the twist. I fucking love this scp

[@DruuzilTechGames]

No D Class were harmed during the making of this video.

[@Lectrikfro]

one did die, we just don't know why

[@jwalster9412]

Wait, there was a D class in this video? I thought we were researching an abandoned SCP site.

[@hellothisismufin]

After reading the "We Who Poke With Sticks" comic, I feel like this SCP was particularly irksome to identify

[@vvsPlatinum]

A damn good article. I swear Safe and Euclid SCP’s are some of my favorites because the writer needs to make a real effort to make them matter, rather than just being huge world enders or something.

[@grayfiresoul]

I've always really liked this entry - a great one! What's weird is that I don't remember the word 'suicide' being censored like it is in this presentation... Is that a new addition or is my memory failing? I don't have any idea why it'd be censored in the first place.

[@dearcastiel4667]

It's a big no-no word on this site now, automitic demonetization of the video if you say it.

[@conorandkanohi]

This is the first scp to make me physically drop my jaw in a while. Holy shit, MAJOR props to The Great Hippo

[@sbraypaynt]

The test chamber for D-85373 is pilled high with invisible and intangible corpses of the assistant lead researcher and 19 D-Class personnel. D-85373 consumed 20 raw human hearts and died of septic shock. I get what this article is going for but it seems like the foundation would be intelligent enough to pick up that the knife is erasing people from memory and that should be the afterword.

[@OFS_Razgriz]

There was a definite "Oh shit" moment for me with this one, damn. Probably the first time in a while that I've gone to +1 the original article after listening.

[@TraustiGeir]

This was hair-raising! Superbly written!

[@Reach42a]

My stomach sunk with that last entry damn

[@dicyanoacetylene6220]

Ok, so based on the apparent lack of D-class personnel, as well as the lack of an assistant lead researcher, and the notes that there were multiple attempts to put D-class personnel in the chamber with the main one being observed during that final test, and the inexplicable stench of rotting meat. But absolutely no one recalls anyone going missing. This knife not only cuts flesh, but cuts its victims from reality nearly completely, only leaving the memories of the actions in dreams, and a corpse that can't be noticed, except for the smell as it decays. Why was there only one lead researcher? The D-class killed and ate their heart during the second test. The dagger did its thing, and everyone forgot about them, but they could still smell them. That third test? There were additional D-class personnel in the room, at least 1, perhaps 2. Not that you can remember, but you can still smell them. The final test? Every time the -remaining- only lead researcher noticed there wasn't a second D-class in the room (as the last one was killed and heart consumed), they just had another one tossed in. Allowing the main D-class to gorge themselves on the hearts of others, at least till their stomach burst.

[@skug9bob]

The most horrifying thing about this, IMHO, is the way everyone involved seems to be unable to draw the obvious conclusion from the evidence.

[@alexkibbe2792]

to me the orders to vacate the lab and sanitize it very very throughly imply that someone above them may have figured it out.

[@skug9bob]

@@alexkibbe2792 They sanitized it because the stink of rotten flesh was becoming unbearable. If they actually figured out the problem was a load of rotting corpses they couldn't perceive, they really pussyfooted around the issue. Note when they went to check out the cellar, they reported "nothing but a smell of rotten meat", or whatever the exact wording was. If they already _knew_ what the situation was, that report really needs an "as expected" appended.

[@skug9bob]

@@alexkibbe2792 Personally, I wonder how that lack of perception would work. Did they trip over the corpses and edited out the memory of tripping, or did they unconsciously walk around and over the dead bodies and thought they were walking in a straight line over a level surface?

[@alexkibbe2792]

@@skug9bob could be more the writing style not wanting to spell it out too much. At minimum it shows that they know the smell isn't commign from the knife itself.

[@skug9bob]

@@alexkibbe2792 Maybe part of it is, if it's covered with crusty old blood they can't see. And yes, I could be mistaken in my interpretation. I suppose we'd have to talk to the original creator of that entry to be sure.

[@thomasmitchell4372]

I really like these ones where there's something unspoken going on underneath the surface. They're creative and well thought out and some of my favorite entries. And I don't mean this as a critique, because I don't want to discourage people from writing these types of entries, because I really do enjoy them so much. But every once in a while, I'm just... like... "are these guys thick?"

[@salicaguillotines]

This entry is very inspiring, and makes me really want to build onto the lore. Perhaps these entries all have secondary effects if presented in a way that appeals to the audience!

[@gbjsyzftbcacjyfubjygkgcjae3182]

i find it cool how the d class couldn't even notice her stomach was on the verge of rupturing from the number of hearts she'd swallowed in a few days

[@abydosianchulac2]

Oh, friend, that wasn't over a few days. She died from eating 18 hearts within a few hours.

[@angelischiel]

A knife, one that makes some pretty screwed up dreams, yeah like that's something I'll pick up. This is the sort of antique that should just get 'lost' somewhere never to be accessed again. Safe doesn't mean dangerous, and nightmares of ritualistic murder are not something I would find to be benign in any way - especially when those nightmares are actually a memetic manipulation... I always detest things that can mess with my memories xD

[@cjboyo]

What a cool SCP. I love the ones where you know the truth but the researchers don’t

[@zombieranger3410]

Considering the fact that the Foundation deals with memetic and anti-memetic agents on a daily basis it is a little hard for me to picture something this big going undetected but it was still very entertaining. Perhaps it was because it was labeled "safe", but nobody questioned the link between the smell, all the victims being unidentifiable, the note, staff count being low, and the videos being both 10 minutes and 5 hours. I would imagine there is just a guy at every site who's sole job is to continually check the memory of its researchers, staff count, records, esc and when someone says multiple times "I don't remember that" or "weren't we supposed to have a junior researcher?" the guy goes *"HOLD UP, WAIT A MINUTE, SOMETHING AIN'T RIGHT".*

[@JackEverfree]

Now I’m just imagining an audit and the person doing the audit having a memetics agent with him. “Don’t read the names just read the badge ID numbers” “Okay, 1,2,3,5,9,10,11,26,27,29,...” “Aren’t Badge IDs wiped and reused on employee transfer or firing?” “Yes, why do you ask?”

[@zombieranger3410]

@@JackEverfree “why would we skip 4?” “I dunno, maybe its like how some hotels skip the 13th floor for bad luck?” “What about the dozens of other numbers?” “They forgot to turn their badges in?” “All 217 of them?” “…yes?”

[@agrimmon]

I imagine anti meme scps would be interesting. Shame I can’t think of any.

[@nadirmuhammad9357]

Heh

[@jwalster9412]

Weird. I could have sworn there was a narration on this channel. Oh well. Good read anyways.

[@locustofchiron]

A well executed Antimemetic. Would have been nice if the video title didn't spoil that it was one though, makes makes the slow revelation of what's happening a lot less impactful

[@Ferretic]

Even when I figured out what was going on, the line in the note that is just *CHILLING* to me has got to be "Why do I own a crib?!"

[@Pattyrick666]

Not sure if I enjoy su*c*de being redacted in the same way as redactions in the audio. A little immersion breaking if that makes sense. If you can't use a replace term, like self-termination, or autohomicide (maybe not the latter,) I think I might prefer it being a different audio byte like a classic beep tone, or a silent gap. The garbles just perfectly audibly represent redactions to me, and I don't think the foundation would redact the term su*c*de. Just my two cents, loved the video as always, good job Volgun!

[@pneumonoultramicroscopicsili]

Add that to the list of SCPs that scared the shit out of me

[@mandrac2]

Broken record here to remind you that safe SCP are the best SCPs

[@toastghost9145]

Wow, that's absolutely horrifying. Anything that tampers with memories, especially on such a scale, gets one heck of a nope from me.

[@Lambda3141]

Such a simple yet terrifying SCP!

[@Lunar994]

This one is probably my favorite entry The Great Hippo had written, and it really comes down to execution. The anomaly itself, had it been played straight, would be an interesting if maybe not too remarkable entry not out of place from Series 1. But the article instead does a bit of misdirection by presenting one of the side effects as the main anomaly, hiding the main anomaly between the lines, but keeping it just obvious enough that, even on first read, you start to realize or at least have a good idea of what is actually going on. And that makes it all the more horrifying and what makes the final note all the more unsettling as we see a man realize he can no longer trust his own memory or his own senses, along with the possibility that's he's either crazy or committed familicide, the former somehow being preferable but also incorrect.

[@ancient-lemon]

I really want to read "There is no Antimemetics Division". I don't even know how long it's been sitting on my shelf for. I think I must have bought it used, because it looks super worn out..

[@bilbo_gamers6417]

6:15 An amazing detail here. "D-85373 was placed alone in a room with SCP-3041 and asked to hold it for ten minutes. Several hours into the test-" Bam. Instantly know something Bizarre is going on here. Clearly what happened is that they kept putting more and more D-class into the room and just let her kill and eat them for hours and hours until there was nobody left in the room, and she stopped of her own accord. You can see in the test logs how many people they killed, by their dreams. In the first test, she had no dreams because she didn't kill anyone. In the second test, they sent one D-class in with her, and she killed them and then everyone forgot about them. And this goes on with a researcher, and then several more D-class until they stop testing. This writing is absolutely brilliant.

[@RayAkuma]

2:40 Man commited a massacre. Obviously with his antique weaponry.

[@utuberaptor]

Oooh, another one to add to my mental bank of SCPs I could make MTG cards for: CMC: I dunno, have’d to think about it, but just generic mana. Probably expensive Artifact- Equipment Equipped creature gets +1/0 and must attack each turn if able. Whenever a creature dealt combat damage by equipped creature this turn would die, while it instead

[@MrMementoMori]

I see the word antimemetic I listen or read with great interest.

[@427Arbok]

On the one hand, this is a brilliantly haunting, if simple, idea. On the other hand, this is also absolutely one of those, "How the eff did the Foundation not have safeguards against this sort of thing?" SCPs. Erasure from existence is not something The Foundation is unfamiliar with. Also, what possessed them to go this far with testing the thing in the first place? Still, good SCP.

[@xBaconator9000x]

This thing is definitely part of (or belongs to) SCP GREY/4739 from "Introductory Antimemetics" (Tale from the INCREDIBLE "Antimemetics division").

[@scales78]

This is one of my favorite SCPs

[@JAM_564]

So the body vanishes from human sight, but bacteria and other such stuff that causes rot and smells as byproducts of their work don't? Could it extend to larger creatures like cats and dogs as well?

[@borttorbbq2556]

It could be the person own microbiome.

[@CampaignerSC]

Yes the SCP cannot control bacteria because there would be no rotting otherwise. Considering how there were no reports of flies being all over that collector's house I have to assume that insects and anything with neural circuits is affected by the SCP.

[@borttorbbq2556]

@@CampaignerSC it could be that or I think mine is also possible census their microbiome are part of their body if they would be affected just like the rest of the body you. your idea is interesting

[@Davet1187]

Love the SCPs where the Foundation is clueless to what's really going on.

[@DetrimenttoSociety]

Calling it now (I’m at 4:39) The SCP does not induce nightmares, but rather just straight up removes a person from causal reality and history, retroactively erasing them. The activation requirements is that there needs to be another person near them. In the second test there was another D-class that is now Expunged from existance.

[@aaronwalter1549]

having the threat of something screwing with your head like that is way scarier than the threat of some unstoppable monster

[@nedeleavitt]

Well, who's ready for lunch? This one was good, took twists i didn't expect.