Item #: SCP-3541

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Current research indicates that it is impossible to counteract or prevent SCP-3541. Due to this, containment of SCP-3541 consists of ensuring all SCP-3541-1 instances have a safe, consistent place in which to conduct their work.

MTF Omega-13 has been created for the purpose of discovering as many instances of SCP-3541-1 as possible. This task force is to be composed of members of the Foundation who are confirmed to be SCP-3541-1 instances. Membership in MTF Omega-13 is voluntary, and staff may continue their own research and work if they so choose. They are to be informed of the effects of SCP-3541 upon confirmation of status as an SCP-3541-1 instance.

If MTF Omega-13 discovers an SCP-3541-1 instance within the civilian populace, they are to inform the current director responsible for SCP-3541 containment. The director will then construct a workplace where the instance may work in peace as well as counseling and psycho-therapeutic services for the affected person. Staff should not actively inform an SCP-3541-1 instance of SCP-3541, but may disclose the information when asked.

All work created by SCP-3541-1 instances must be used for the benefit of Humanity. Provided the works do not critically harm the Foundation's operational secrecy, they should be declassified and disseminated to the public as quickly as possible.

Description: SCP-3541 is a randomly occurring phenomenon that results in the creation and eventual death of an SCP-3541-1 instance. SCP-3541 has been recorded occurring in all fields of work and education. To date, there are no known signifiers that allow for the prediction of when an SCP-3541 event will occur, or who will become an SCP-3541-1 instance. There has been an increase in SCP-3541 events since the Foundation first became aware of the phenomenon, at a rate of 4% per year.

An SCP-3541-1 instance is a person who has been affected by SCP-3541 and is considered a master of their particular career, field, or focus. Once a person becomes an instance, they will quickly rise to notoriety, due to producing extremely high quality work that advances their field. The work of SCP-3541-1 instances in science and technology fields is highly regarded and often instrumental in creating new discoveries. Work within artistic fields is critically successful and praised for its depth and emotional weight.

All SCP-3541-1 instances have an ethereal, golden crown that floats above their heads. These crowns are only visible to other SCP-3541-1 instances. Other than the crown, there are no easily identifiable physiological, intellectual, or emotional differences between an SCP-3541-1 instance and a normal person, and collected data shows that there are no differences before or after a person becomes affected.

Within five years of a person becoming an SCP-3541-1 instance, they will die. All attempts to prevent these deaths have failed. The means of death varies from instance to instance, but deaths are typically through traumatic or chemical means, often self-inflicted. When an SCP-3541-1 instance dies, their nervous system will immediately enter a state of heightened thermal activity, causing significant damage to their brain and other key organs.

Addendum: The following poem was the last work written by Samuel Friedrich, a known anartist and informant for the Foundation. Friedrich was the first person to inform the Foundation of SCP-3541.

I see in myself

A golden flame, bright.

but the mirror is dark

And my pale eyes see naught

I stand above all,

on blackest of cliffs.

Below, hungry eyes watch.

Voraciously gnashing.

Do they hunger for me?

Or my words do they thirst?

I cannot create

What it is they seek

I find myself falling

Hoping it will suffice.

And I see in myself

A golden flame, burnt out.