Artist rendering of HD-85512B, designated post-3426-14.

Item #: SCP-3426

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Until the nature of SCP-3426 can be definitively ascertained, containment should focus on preventing as many of the theorized conditions for its occurrence as possible. As such, scientific progress into a unified physics hypothesis1 and the creation of infinitely sustainable energy should be heavily impeded. Other areas of social and technological progress that could potentially result in an occurrence of SCP-3426 on Earth must be prevented by any reasonable means currently available. Additional measures may be taken in the event that the collective human race approaches attainment of Type I civilization status (as defined on the Kardeshev scale)2.

Investigation of phenomena related to SCP-3426 will take place under Operation GREY VOICES. Mechanical probe surveys to a maximum range of 100 light years will attempt to ascertain the commonality and range of SCP-3426, and manned excursions of post-3426 planets are currently in the planning process. Operation GREY VOICES will centralize the relevant collected data, and collaborate with other Foundation internal research divisions, including the Memetics and Infohazards Division, Temporal Anomalies Department, Thaumatological Department, and Biological Containment and Research Division, for the purpose of attaining a greater understanding of SCP-3426.

Civilian surveys of exoplanets and cosmological imaging projects will be strictly monitored for images or data that show evidence of SCP-3426. Upon discovery, data of SCP-3426 is to be erased or edited as necessary, and amnestics administered to persons involved.

Description: SCP-3426 is a phenomenon that is responsible for the total extinction of a technologically and socially advanced planetary civilization. SCP-3426 may be an event, entity, process, object, or concept; to date there exists no definitive hypothesis on the attributes of the anomaly. However, it is known that the conditions for the manifestation of SCP-3426 are self-consistent and follow an established pattern. It is believed that SCP-3426 manifestation is widespread and possibly universal.

A planet that has been affected by SCP-3426 is termed "post-3426." Post-3426 planets and civilizations share a number of common characteristics.

The civilization must have achieved a relative degree of global sociopolitical stability3.

A limitless or indefinitely sustainable source of worldwide energy is in use (e.g. nuclear fusion, hydrogen mining, orbital solar collection, or enhanced geothermal systems).

This energy must be widespread and plentiful enough for the civilization to qualify as a Type I civilization or higher on the Kardeshev scale.

A unified scientific theory/model of the universe must have been developed.

Space travel is commonplace, and is advanced enough to allow for detailed exploration of the local solar system.

There exists an organization whose purpose is to catalogue and contain as many anomalous phenomena as possible.

Post-3426 planets display widespread anomalous material corrosion, reality distortion, complete or near-complete corruption of information and information media, and the pervasive presence of visual cognitohazards and abnormalities. Sapient lifeforms on a post-3426 planet appear in two stages based on time since SCP-3426 took place. If it has been 1 year or less since the occurrence of SCP-3426, such organisms appear suspended or frozen in place, lack any consciousness, and display total cell death. In some cases, they may appear translucent or blurred to cameras and to the eye. Afterwards, intelligent life is apparently completely spatially erased; while possessions, information, and structures created as a result of the species remain present, if highly deviated, no physical remains of the species itself exist.

Data, items, and artifacts were collected primarily through the mass usage of drones, orbital probes, and imaging sensors deployed onto post-3426 planets. Further information on the exact properties or effects of SCP-3426 has been difficult to recover. Probes that enter the atmosphere of a post-3426 planet quickly deteriorate within 24 hours, becoming affected by the spacetime distortion and material corrosion permeating the planet's surface and surroundings. As a result, recovered data on post-3426 planets is extremely limited.

Based on data and related analysis from Operation GREY VOICES, it is believed that SCP-3426 induces a slow collapse of the consistency of universal constants and stable states within the planet. This collapse weakens force interactions between elementary particles, creates extreme planetwide ontokinetic and material distortion effects, and gradually prevents any information or conscious thought from being distributed. This process culminates in all matter on the planet reaching a state of catastrophic incoherence, theoretically resulting in the slow erasure of objects, concepts, and lifeforms originating from it. This phenomenon has been provisionally classed as a ZK-λ-Class Cosmic Fragmentation Scenario.

While research into SCP-3426 has yielded a vast variety of information regarding its nature and end results, the mechanism by which SCP-3426 acts remains unknown.

Addendum 3426.1: Incomplete List of Post-3426 Planets

At present, Operation GREY VOICES has examined all exoplanets within a 75-light year radius of Earth. From this current exploration area, 16 planets have met the hypothesized conditions required for the occurrence of SCP-3426. All 16 were affected by SCP-3426 either upon discovery or within 5 years of detection.

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A partial list of post-3426 exoplanets and their characteristics is shown below.

Gliese 1214b (Post-3426-2)

Traits
Ocean planet, hydrogen and helium atmosphere. Dominant lifeforms were aquatic non-humanoids with primary settlements underneath the ocean. Technologically advanced society organized into strict unified social hierarchies. Outposts existed both in the atmosphere and in space, used for the purpose of research into the local star system. The civilization had no clear leader of governmental system; rather, computers dispensed resources distributed according to caste.

Post-3426 Characteristics
After SCP-3426, post-3426-2 had approximately half of its water transmuted to deuterium and tritium oxide. Consciousness in all sapient lifeforms spontaneously stopped. Computers and other data storage devices underwent apparent global information corruption, with only 15% of the civilization's information remaining readable. Water molecules no longer "flow"; the substance acts as a single, rigid, continuous solid.

Notes
None

Kepler-443b (Post-3426-5)

Traits
Thick atmosphere, strong gravitational field, and cold average temperatures. Dominant lifeforms had mammalian characteristics such as body hair and live birth, but possessed ectothermic circulation in the same fashion as reptiles. Dominant religion involved the worship of an entity ascribed to the planet's star, which was said to be responsible for continually rebuilding and moving the universe.

Post-3426 Characteristics
Post-3426-5 experienced a form of catastrophic reality degradation in which the formation of chemical compounds became impossible due to weakening of the electrostatic force. An additional anomalous effect causes all native living organisms to be perceived as a two-dimensional shimmering, gray film. This effect is both present in photographs and video from the planet and physical artifacts collected from it.

Notes
None

Luyten b (Post-3426-10)

Traits
Rocky planet with Earth-like composition, orbiting a red dwarf. Mild (292 K) temperatures and nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. Dominant intelligent life was humanoid. The planet had recently survived the effects of a catastrophic nuclear war which subsequently led to a current period of utopian peace and social stability. Primary energy source was obtained through large-scale drilling into the planet's mantle.

Post-3426 Characteristics
All events taking place on post-3426-10 occur in apparent disjointed slow motion. Movement, interaction, and even thought are anomalously decelerated; this deceleration is inconsistent among the surface, with some regions being "slower" than others. This effect can also manifest as a complete and total stopping of time, with all particle movement in an affected region ceasing. Analysis of the mantle of the planet revealed that it had been transformed to a perfectly smooth, transparent layer of pink glass. Interaction with this glass results in malfunction of any nearby electrically-powered devices and an intense feeling of vertigo.

Notes
The dominant lifeforms inhabiting post-3426-10 appear to communicate in an undocumented Indo-European language with significant similarities to Hittite4. The status of this phenomenon as an anomaly is currently under review.

TRAPPIST-1f (Post-3426-13)

Traits
Orbits ultracool dwarf star; rocky Earth-like composition with large high-pressure water vapor envelope covering planet. Similarly to Earth, planetary society consisted of a multitude of separated geopolitical states coexisting in a roughly capitalist system. Analogue of the SCP Foundation, notably, was a peacekeeping organization that traded anomalies and used them strategically to prevent wars, research medical and scientific advances, or expose social and economic injustices.

Post-3426 Characteristics
Extreme spatial distortion. Entire regions are "displaced" from the rest of the surface, while a low static blur is visible across most of the planet. It is unknown whether this is a visual or an ontokinetic effect. On occasion, a sudden tear in the spacetime continuum within the planet's atmosphere is detected, followed by the appearance of black mist. This mist will usually move towards an unconscious sentient lifeform or data storage device and enter it. Once this has been completed, it becomes impossible for any being to comprehend any concepts related to or contained in the affected object. This has made data gathering from post-3426-13 extremely difficult.

Notes
All containment sites operated by post-3426-13's SCP Foundation analogue have been replaced by large spheres of total darkness. Mechanical probes entering these regions of total darkness experience an unusual form of breakdown (see Addendum 3426.3).

Addendum 3426.2: Recovered Data and Artifacts List

Rough translations of recovered data were provided by the Linguistics Department under request by Operation GREY VOICES. Translations are not guaranteed to be accurate.

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Item Source: Computer terminal drive on space station orbiting post-3426-2.

We are on the verge of finally discovering it - [CORRUPTED] equation of everything. The mathematics is working perfectly; too perfectly, perhaps, for me to remain comfortable with this experiment much longer. [CORRUPTED] natural laws, behaviors, and forces?

I cannot help but fear at what these findings imply. I cannot keep this secret. This conclusion is something that affects everything. Not just on the planet, everywhere. [CORRUPTED] that exists. We are n[CORRUPTED] and as I stare further and further into the sandgrains that make this world, I am further convinced that they are built out of mist and magic.

Item Source: Emergency message found playing on repeat in all structures in post-3426-2.

Attention! [CORRUPTED] worldwide informational, physical, and chemical hazards. Please remain calm and take note of the following precautions to ensure your safety.

Once this message completes, shut off all electric devices you currently possess. Close all openings or viewings from outside the building you are currently in. If you are not currently inside an enclosed building, seek shelter in one immediately.

Cover up or illuminate all sources of darkness in your location of shelter. Destroy any reflective surfaces in your location of shelter. Destroy any transparent surfaces in your location of shelter. If you begin witnessing bizarre, disturbing, or unsettling effects occuring in your location of shelter, do not report or point them out to any other person. Doing so will allow [CORRUPTED] to spread.

When you begin to hear the screaming in your mind, move to a room or place where you can be alone. Darken the room completely. This will allow the fading to happen most quickly. Bring any possessions of sentimental value with you. The screams will become overpowering. Do not panic. Focus on a memory of great intensity to you, and be silent until you do not exist.

If at any point you feel that you cannot continue, remember that a Society-issued weapon should be available in every facility. Your death will be quick and painless.

This message will continue until nothing is left to hear it. This message [CORRUPTED] it. This message will continue until nothing is left to hear it.

Item Source: A native plant from post-3426-5.

As far as can be ascertained, the plant is approximately 0.75 meters tall and is most likely a flowering plant. This plant was common across post-3426-5’s ground and was pollinated by many native fauna on post-3426-5.

Within the first fifteen minutes of viewing, the object is perceived by all intelligent life as a plant-shaped mass of static. This static appears two-dimensional from all sides despite existing in a three-dimensional space. Extended observation of the static tends to cause discomfort in all observers. After fifteen minutes have passed, the plant is no longer able to be perceived by the observer. The observer’s memories of the plant are immediately retained, but physical viewing of the plant’s location presents itself as if the object itself was not present. Testers could describe an unknown object perfectly even if it was presumably obscured by the plant.

This effect changes after an additional two to three days have passed. All people who are affected by the property that prevents perception of the plant begin to see the plant as a miscellaneous flower that the observer attaches emotional value or meaning to. The flower type that is perceived varies greatly from person to person.

Foundation AICs, upon being presented with the plant, appear to perceive it as a random pattern of shapes and colors. The reason for this effect is undetermined.

Item Source: Official internal statement from the SCP Foundation equivalent from post-3426-10.

To All That Remain:

We, the Conclave of Six, reveal our words to you today because Celcigng5 will soon cease to exist. And it must come to pass because of our doing. We delved too far, knew too much. We wanted to know secrets which were not meant for the mortals to know; questions of gods and creators, questions of the elementary makeup of everything. Now we face the apocalypse. Divine punishment for our transgressions.

We have little left to say. In the coming days, you will find that the domain of physical meaning will shatter into a billion pieces. Specifically, this planet will be ravaged: both by a massive upheaval in universal laws that is roughly equivalent to the entire planet becoming a high-intensity hostile matter-affecting anomaly (or, as you also know it, a Segment-M/Threat-RH phenomenon); and by a vast number of incorporeal entities (we believe they're entities, but we're not sure) that will attempt to slowly erase and corrupt all sources of information and knowledge originating from Celcigng. Yes, this includes you.

You have two choices.

If you stay on Celcigng, your consciousness will be ripped apart from you and leave only a pale image of anything you were. Time and space will blend their twisted forms into each other until everything and nothing happens at once; every second squished together and lengthened into eternity. Communication and thought will die a slow death. Eventually, everything that originates from our world will collapse into itself, and be erased from the universe. The only fragments of our legacy will be warped to be unrecognizable.

Alternatively, you can take the preliminary space shuttle we have made out of all the anomalous material we still have left. It will get you far, but not much farther; from what we understand, it is the very fabric of the multiverse itself that is coming to blot us out.

Long live Celcigng. May its death not be in vain.

Item Source: Handwritten note scrawled into the inside back cover of a book on post-3426-13.

The world is on slow fire. Swarms of bitter void break apart from the sky and attack. I don't think there's time left to escape. I think, even if we did, they would follow.

I looked upwards and in a moment the sky was suddenly black and the sun was even darker, all filaments and strands of infectious shadows. I don't even know how they got here, why they chose us, why why why; they sent

sent — the flying things, signals — I can't recall the names

but as it hit the black barrier they simply disappeared. We're going away, too. Everything I know is fading. I look at the world, and half of the words I use for things have been blocked out by my memory.

The computers don't work anymore. When I open this book, the words are replaced by bars of white and black and. That's what they're doing, don't you see? They are v? nothing but nothing and they want to make us unreal and time and space unreal

As I look out of this window, the top half of the building next to me is disjointed from the bottom half. The people in the window across are frozen. Then they flash and move for an instant, and are frozen once more. Every time they move, the color of everything turns red and blue and green in a strobe of terror.

Reality is coming apart at the seams.

I have

My sister is in the house with me. We are trying to keep out of reach of the unreal darknesses. She has

she has told me that there is a voice in her head. I asked her what the voice was saying; she said it was only a wailing. It is the end for her, then. I will watch as the wailing overpowers her mind, and she forgets everything she is. She will forget she was ever an intelligent being. She will forget all of the world and all of the past and the present and the future, the little of it we have left. She will then become unregisterable to me in my mind or to anyone's mind. Her consciousness and her identity will be severed from the rest of our knowledge, until she dissolves alone in a universe of one, and becomes an object eaten by the all-consuming unreality.

She was too young.

I hear something in my head [CORRUPTED] the light

LEVEL 4/3426/CLASSIFIED

Addendum 3426.3: Post-3426-13 Exploration Log

ENTER LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE

Footnotes

1. Colloquially termed "theories of everything," such as string theory or loop quantum gravity.

2. Defined as being able to store and use all energy that reaches the planet from the parent star.

3. By "relative," it is meant that - as a whole - widespread changes in the world order, upheavals in social norms, and non-localized political unrest are essentially eradicated.

4. An extinct language spoken by the Hittite empire of the 16th-13th centuries BCE.

5. Approximate phonetic recreation of the native name for post-3426-10.

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