Take various stories related to Thrive’s community/development/historical periods and interpret them as if they were stories from fantasy
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Item #: SCP-√354
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: All observed instances of SCP-√354-1 are to be apprehended and contained. MTF teams must be equipped with anti-memetic headgear to defend against SCP-√354-2. If instances of SCP-√354-1 cannot be safely contained, then they must be neutralized. Once instances of SCP-√354-1 have been removed, all individuals they were in communication with must be identified and screened for early symptoms of SCP-√354.
Due to the infeasibility of surveilling all speech for SCP-√354-2, the Foundation’s ability to contain its dissemination is limited to online discussion spaces. All electronic communication circles that exhibit SCP-√354-2 are to have discussions locked and the relevant SCP-√354-1 instances identified and apprehended. All physical media on which SCP-√354-2 is physically written or encoded are to be destroyed.
Description: SCP-√354 manifests as a psychological phenomenon. Individuals in the early stages of SCP-√354 will fixate on astrobiology and the technological development of intelligent species, particularly those that are fully aquatic. Afflicted individuals will express the belief that aquatic civilizations will progress along a similar path as occurred on Earth, eventually achieving spaceflight. When informed that such a civilization would be incapable of performing metallurgy, afflicted individuals will become agitated and refuse to acknowledge this barrier.
Individuals exhibiting SCP-√354 will invariably conclude that aquatic civilizations could perform metallurgy using hydrothermal vents in the depths of their planets’ oceans. Individuals who have reached this advanced stage of SCP-√354 affliction become instances of SCP-√354-1. Instances of SCP-√354-1 are outspoken on their new beliefs to the point of ideological fanaticism. At this point, they will congregate with other instances of SCP-√354-1 through available communication channels, primarily the Internet. Once instances of SCP-√354-1 are able to converse with each other and affirm each other’s beliefs, they will eventually communicate a memetically-hazardous phrase termed SCP-√354-2.
SCP-√354-2 is a gross misspelling of [DATA EXPUNGED]. It accords to SCP-√354-1 instances’ belief that underwater civilizations could use sources of extreme heat to engage in metallurgy with unrefined ores existing in their environment. Unafflicted individuals being exposed to SCP-√354-2 inevitably become instances of SCP-√354-1 without immediate application of amnestics.
The majority of SCP-√354 cases have been attributed to SCP-√354-2 exposure. It is believed that SCP-√354 relies entirely on SCP-√354-2 as a transmission vector and is not a spontaneous phenomenon.
Addendum √354-1: Foundation archaeologists have traced SCP-√354 outbreaks to the end of the Bronze Age. Due to the early spread of SCP-√354 going unchecked, the heads of state in numerous polities surrounding the Mediterranean Sea became instances of SCP-√354-1. In the advanced stages of SCP-√354 affliction, these heads of state became insistent that they were under threat by “sea peoples” that did not actually exist. To combat this imagined threat, the heads of state increased military spending and taxation to unsustainable levels. Eventually, they were unable to pay their soldiers, leaving no one willing to police their overtaxed subjects. The empires of this time were ultimately overthrown by military coups and popular revolts.
Along with this, the Foundation has recovered an archaic instance of SCP-√354-2. Due to linguistic drift, its memetic effect is much easier to suppress by conventional means. As such, it has been deemed appropriate to preserve this instance for further study. However, as a precaution, only high-ranking personnel are permitted to expose themselves to it.
WARNING: MEMETIC HAZARD - ACCESS EXCLUSIVE TO LEVEL 3 CLEARANCE OR HIGHER
Smeltalus the meltalus
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