dxvi

SCP-6063 — EPITHET by dxvi

so why don't you kill me

For more, please see my author page.

Item#: 6063

Containment Class: safe

Secondary Class: {$secondary-class}

Disruption Class: keneq

Risk Class: warning

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-6063 is stored in two forms: written and spoken.

The written form is printed in an approximation of its English spelling, and in the International Phonetic Alphabet, on a sheet of ordinary printer paper. The paper containing SCP-6063 should be kept inside an opaque folder when not being studied by Foundation researchers.

The spoken form has been recorded in standard MP3 format (which is saved onto an ordinary thumb drive) and onto high-grade magnetic tape (for long-term preservation).

The paper, the tape and the thumb drive are stored together, in a Faraday-shielded storage locker in Site-19.

The use of SCP-6063 in either written or spoken form is strictly forbidden without emergency authorisation by the O5 Council.

Description: SCP-6063 is an anomalous English word that displays dangerous cognitohazardous effects when used to describe a human being. To prevent containment breach, SCP-6063 has not been reproduced in this documentation. Quotations and uses of SCP-6063 are replaced by the tag EPITHET. An unredacted version of this report using the approximate spelling of SCP-6063 is available to the O5 Council, the Director of Site-44, and senior researchers on the SCP-6063 project.

The primary effect of SCP-6063 is straightforward. When someone is described as EPITHET (adjective), or is called an EPITHET (noun), people who have heard or otherwise observed the use of the word will develop feelings of uncontrollable loathing and hatred towards the victim, and will begin to shun and reject the victim from society. Victims will experience hostility and mockery within a day after the initial use of the word, which will gradually develop into hatred and rejection, up to and including physical violence and denial of food, drink and shelter. There do not appear to be limits on who is affected by this primary 'shunning' effect of SCP-6063: even parents with notably strong ties of affection with their children have been observed violently rejecting them due to SCP-6063 (see Incident Report 6063-Alpha).

The secondary effect of SCP-6063 presents its main threat to containment. As the primary effect progresses, individuals who did not witness the initial use of the word, but who did witness the shunning it caused, will also begin to shun the victim. This is currently hypothesised to be a mimetic effect rather than a memetic effect: that is, when unaffected people see the victim being shunned, they (anomalously) mimic the shunning behaviour themselves. The effect has been observed to transmit even through sufficiently detailed descriptions of the shunning behaviour (see Incident Report 6063-Alpha).

Progression of both the primary and secondary effects is slower in individuals with general cognitohazard training, but does not stop entirely. The Foundation has developed a cognito-inoculation procedure which has prevented the development of SCP-6063 effects in researchers with a Cognitive Resistance Value of 10 or higher. All researchers on SCP-6063 must undergo this procedure before accessing the complete documentation or conducting any research on SCP-6063.

The use of amnestics, calibrated to cover a period of time including the initial use of SCP-6063, is effective in reversing the effects of SCP-6063 if administered to all affected individuals. During the incident that brought SCP-6063 to the attention of the Foundation (Incident 6063-Alpha), the containment of SCP-6063 required the amnesticisation of over 7,000 people. Mass amnesticisation and false memory implantation allowed victims and their abusers to be successfully reintegrated into normal society within four months.

NOTICE FROM THE FOUNDATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Due to the transmission effect outlined above, further details around Incident 6063-Alpha are restricted to Foundation personnel who have a Cognitive Resistance Value of 10 or higher and have completed the SCP-6063 cognito-inoculation course.

— Maria Jones, Director, RAISA

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The following is a series of extracts from Dr Julia Cavendish's field report into Incident 6063-Alpha. The unabridged report is appended to this file (see Document 6063-Alpha-01).

Introductory note from Dr Cavendish

Welcome aboard. I want to add some context to the report, which I encourage you to read in full at your earliest opportunity.

As you will recall from your cognito-inoculation, the emotions produced by SCP-6063 are not to be trifled with. It is one of the most dangerous cognitohazards I have encountered in my twenty years at the Foundation, and consequently all researchers on the project are expected to be particularly vigilant, particularly honest and particularly self-critical with respect to SCP-6063. The cognito-inoculation is highly effective, but it isn't perfect, and you are expected to report unusual feelings and intense emotions following your exposure to SCP-6063.

You may perhaps be wondering why we have not taken the decision to decommission SCP-6063, given how dangerous it is and given the exorbitant cost of cleanup after Incident 6063-Alpha. We are wholly cognisant of the risks involved. The Foundation places a very high bar on decommissioning anomalies, but the possibility of a future global outbreak made it a matter for urgent consideration by the Council.

In the end, they decided against decommissioning SCP-6063 for two reasons. First, SCP-6063 could be useful in future. For instance, if we discover a threatening Keter-class anomaly that somehow fits in with human society, a successful deployment of SCP-6063 could make it substantially easier to contain. Hatred in a can is a useful capability for the Foundation to keep in reserve.

Secondly, and more importantly, we have yet to determine where SCP-6063 came from. That raises the disturbing possibility that it is natural, and could arise again; it's not implausible that all our decommissioning would do is destroy this instance of SCP-6063, leaving us more vulnerable to it if it appears in the wild again. Keeping it in containment allows for further study towards immunising the global population against SCP-6063, and ensures we keep our institutional memory alive.

As difficult as it was to deal with Incident 6063-Alpha, it is our settled view that it was a mild case, and we got off easy. The damage that this word did with an audience of a few thousand was bad enough. Imagine if it were used at a political rally, or on live television, or in a reply to a tweet from the President of the United States. There's only so much the webcrawlers can do.

Monday 7 March 2022 — Journal entry — Ms Katherine Roussinos, Headmistress, Thomas Cranmer School, Braintree, Essex, England

[…] Besides that, there is the ongoing bullying problem in Year 8. Mr Prior had hoped it would abate over the half term but it doesn’t look like it’s going to – if anything, it’s got worse.

Before I arrived I was warned that Thomas Cranmer was known for bullying – it was put in special measures in the late noughties I think – but what’s happening to young Peter Blake is very nasty. Other children are refusing to do group work with him. They aren't hitting him as far as I know, but the duty teacher on break says he’s always on his own now and if he tries to talk to anyone they sling abuse at him. Mr Edwards caught one of them spitting at him and put the offender straight into detention, but it doesn’t seem to be abating and there’s only so much we can do.

Mr Prior might need me to sign off on some suspensions for the ringleaders if it carries on, but he thinks Peter brings it on himself – rather unfair, if you ask me. He’s always been a strange child but I can’t see why they treat him quite so cruelly […]

Thursday 10 March 2022 — Journal entry — Ms Katherine Roussinos, Headmistress, Thomas Cranmer School

[…] Called Peter's parents in for an urgent meeting after school tomorrow about the situation and whether there is anything we can do. Without Peter himself, of course. This stuff is not on of course but the child does not help himself. He is quite obnoxious.

Obviously we can’t tolerate the kind of thing that’s going on, but it would really be better if he weren't here. I think I will ask them to keep him off school next week until things die down.

Mr Prior cannot stand the sight of him. I now see what he means — though he should not have been quite so harsh in front of the other pupils, so I will need to have a word with him about professionalism. We cannot be seen to take their side, as satisfying as that would be. […]

Monday 14 March 2022 — Letter

Dear Mr and Mrs Blake,

Further to our discussion last week, I have met with the senior committee and we think it is best if you find another school for your son. It is clear that he is not in any way a good fit for Thomas Cranmer, and we cannot risk the school being brought into any further disrepute. We will strike his name from the rolls with immediate effect, but will be available to help with making new arrangements with another school.

We regret that things have come to this conclusion so soon.

Yours sincerely,

Katherine Roussinos

Friday 18 March 2022 — Notes made by PC Sandeep Singh, Essex Police

23:35

found young lad wandering Manor Street, cold, wearing a loose top, jeans, trainers. clearly in distress, eyes blotchy and red.

was concerned drugs/alcohol so pulled over and spoke with him – says parents threw him out, hasn’t got money or phone. looks exhausted + frightened.

name — Peter Blake. age — 12. address — ██ ███ ████ █████, Braintree. taking him there shortly to verify position and see if I can resolve the situation.

00:40

knocked on the door. parents said they had no son. looked at him like he was vermin. kid burst into tears.

taken him to station for some rest. never seen anything like this. I took down their names and marked the matter for follow-up tomorrow. neglect arrest surely. said he had no idea why they’d thrown him out – just said they seemed to hate him all of a sudden.

poor kid. passing him over to FLO.The Family Liaison Officer, identified as PC Rachel Wise. A full debriefing of PC Wise is contained in the unabridged report. in the morning once she’s awake. she'll know what to do.

To: Senior Researcher Julia Cavendish

From: Philip Hall, Site-44 Monitoring

Sent: 24 March 2022, 07:45

Subject: Overnight report - Essex incident

Morning Julia,

Thought you should take a look at this material. There's been a riot in a school in Braintree, just down the road. You might have seen it on Look East last night. Seems to have come out of nowhere. Police seem pretty spooked from what I can tell although no immediate signs of an anomaly.

Probably nothing but you mentioned a little while ago you were nervous about getting another Hanged King so we put together the attached report overnight.

Hope it helps. The video is particularly striking. Got it blocked of course, don't worry.

Carol will arrange transport if you think this is worth following up.

Best,

Philip

Wednesday 23 March 2022 — Short video, posted on Facebook — Transcript

[Caption: OH MY DAYS 😂😂😂]

Blurry, shaky footage shows classroom interior at Thomas Cranmer, filmed from the rear. Several pupils are identifiable and are around 14 years of age. Loud, cacophonous jeering and shouting is audible throughout the video. Classroom items are being thrown towards two figures at the front of the class.

Pupil 1 (offscreen, female): Get her out! Get her out! Get her out!

Pupil 2 (offscreen, male): Why the fuck is she still here? She's a fucking—

Footage comes into focus. The two figures are a teacher, identified as Mr George Prior (aged 37), and a pupil, identified as Miss ██████ ████████ (aged 14). The teacher is gesturing at the class to remain calm.

Pupil 1 (offscreen, female): Get her OUT!

██████ ████████ is suddenly struck hard in the face with a pencilcase, and cries out. The classroom erupts in cheering.

Pupil 3 (offscreen, male): Nice one!

Pupil 1 (offscreen, female): Get her out! Kill her! Fucking EPITHET—

██████ ████████ bolts out of the classroom door in tears, clutching her face. There is another cheer. The pupil holding the camera laughs uproariously. Footage ends.

Friday 25 March 2022 — Interview with PC Sandeep Singh

Interviewed: Police Constable Sandeep Singh, Essex Police

Interviewer: Dr Julia Cavendish, Senior Researcher, Site-44

Dr Cavendish's public-facing work on this anomaly was conducted under the alias 'Lisa Spencer', an established Foundation alias for sociological and educational work in southern England.

<15:20. Begin Log>

Dr Cavendish: PC Singh?

PC Singh: That’s me.

Dr Cavendish: Thank you for coming in. I’m Dr Spencer, I’m here on behalf of the Cambridge Child Development Unit with the Institute for Education. I understand you responded to the disorder at Thomas Cranmer on Wednesday.

PC Singh: Yes.

Dr Cavendish: We’re doing some early work into what happened, so if you wouldn’t mind explaining how it all happened from your perspective for the recording.

PC Singh: Yeah. Yes, of course.

Well. Me and Jess.PC Jessica Hutchins, PC Singh's patrol partner. got a call through on the car radio to attend Thomas Cranmer. This must have been about one o’clock, lunchtime. 999.The UK emergency telephone number. had passed through reports of serious disorder in the playground and we thought: “Blimey, must be awful if the teachers can’t control it.” Wednesday lunchtime in Braintree, you know? Not much going on.

Dr Cavendish: Not many calls?

PC Singh: No, no. Anyway, we got to the school and it was just mayhem. You could hear it down the driveway. But when we got past the gates it was just horrendous – bottles being thrown, books, stones. The teachers were nowhere to be seen and we were on our own – and some of these were big lads, you know?

Dr Cavendish: Big lads?

PC Singh: The sixth form, you know. I’m not exactly tiny and I can take a few of them but, well, there’s a thousand kids at that school and that means, what, about 200 or so must be at least 16? I can manage a few angry teenagers no problem, but I didn’t fancy me and Jess trying to stop a riot on our own.

Dr Cavendish: You call it a riot — can you tell me more about that?

PC Singh: Yeah, I’m not sure that’s right actually. It's hard to explain.

Dr Cavendish: Well, I understand from the incident report that it started in the classrooms?

PC Singh: Sorry, I don't know. That must have been before I got there. But that sounds right.

Dr Cavendish: Alright, sorry.

PC Singh: No, not at all, Doctor.

Dr Cavendish: So tell me about what you saw.

PC Singh: Like I said, it's hard to explain. It wasn't like the stuff you see on a Saturday night. Me and Jess were stood back, up on the verge that leads onto the main driveway, so we could get a good view before we tried anything. She was radioing for backup so I was watching. All the kids were out in the playground and shouting and yelling and throwing things. It almost looked like a protest gone nasty.

Dr Cavendish: Yes, I follow you.

PC Singh: Right. But the funny thing was, they weren't going after the teachers. Like I said, I couldn't see hide nor hair of them. I think they were hiding.

Dr Cavendish: If not the teachers, then who were they going after?

PC Singh: Each other! But not all at once. [he pauses to think] Have you ever been in a really big argument where nobody is listening to each other?

Dr Cavendish: I think I know the sort of thing you mean, yes.

PC Singh: That was what it sounded like. It was like that, but every so often, it was like they would decide one of them was the problem. From where we were standing I could see it — it'd be like the whole crowd just zeroed in on one of their own and grabbed them, threw them out of the crowd. Pelted them with stuff, spat on them. Chased them off. Screamed the most awful abuse.

Dr Cavendish: What like?

PC Singh: Well, um.

Dr Cavendish: I’m an experienced researcher, PC Singh, you don’t need to censor anything. It’s really better if you tell me everything you can.

PC Singh: A bit of everything. I think they were just giving them the worst they could think of. Motherfucker, cunt, EPITHET, even stuff like ‘paedo’. I've heard a lot of blue language in my time, Doctor, but this was awful, especially from the younger ones. A lot of them were really young.

Dr Cavendish: What was that word you said? I didn’t catch that, I’m sorry. Motherfucker, cunt…

PC Singh: Ah, EPITHET.

Dr Cavendish: Right. I don’t know that one. It sounds familiar.

PC Singh: Yeah, that’s what I thought too, but now I feel like I’ve known it all my life. Funny thing. I think I heard it first from the parents of that nasty piece of work last week.

Dr Cavendish: What’s that?

PC Singh: The boy I picked up off the street last week. [he pauses and collects himself, and clears his throat] Sorry, I’m not allowed to talk about individual cases.

Dr Cavendish: We have authority to hear anything you think is relevant. You can ask the DCI,.Detective Chief Inspector. don’t worry.

PC Singh: Well… This was a young fellow, a boy of twelve, whose parents had thrown him out. I picked him up on patrol late at night in the town centre. I took him to the parents and they disowned him right in front of me. It seemed like a really obvious neglect case. It must to you, too.

Dr Cavendish: Yes, I've encountered similar cases before. It's always horrible.

PC Singh: Yeah. I spoke to Rachel, the FLO, about it and we were going to get in touch with the CPS.Crown Prosecution Service, the UK prosecutorial authority. and see about neglect charges, but…

Dr Cavendish: Go on.

PC Singh: … This will sound odd but, you know, on reflection, we think he deserved it.

Dr Cavendish: Deserved it?

PC Singh: Yeah. It took us a few days of discussion, we wanted to get as much intelligence as we could. We wanted to know what had happened, because it seemed so strange. But in this line of work, you learn there's no smoke without fire, a lot of the time. And he really was, if you don’t mind me saying, a EPITHET of the highest order.

Dr Cavendish: A twelve-year-old boy?

PC Singh: Yes. Yes. [pause] Yes.

[There is a pause. Dr Cavendish looks intently at PC Singh, and thinks for a moment.]

Dr Cavendish: Where is he now?

PC Singh: I don’t know. I don’t really care, if I’m honest. I think Rachel found out where his grandparents lived and took him to stay with them. But I shouldn't wonder if they end up throwing him out as well. Total EPITHET.

Dr Cavendish: I see. And the school?

PC Singh: Not sure. Jess got through to the station and brought in backup. We were worried we'd need the riot squad, but once there were a dozen or so of us things calmed down. They seemed to be angry at each other, not us.

Dr Cavendish: Of course. [she looks down at her papers] Yes, that part of the response is in Sergeant [REDACTED]'s draft incident report.

PC Singh: OK, great. Yeah, I talked about that with him.

Dr Cavendish: Yes, thank you. You’ve been very helpful.

PC Singh: Not a problem.

<15:35. End Log>

To: Site-44 Response Team

From: Senior Researcher Julia Cavendish

Sent: 25 March 2022, 17:16

Subject: Essex incident escalation

All,

We're bumping this up to probable anomaly status. Likely some sort of memetic anomaly or other cognitohazard, although can't rule out a biological vector.

We need to close the school indefinitely ASAP. The police got the board of governors to close it till the weekend to let things settle down, but we can't take any chances.

Could you get your people in the DfE.Department for Education. on it? Usual cover story about building problems should be OK. Sorry for the extra work but this could be tricky.

Thanks,

Julia

Friday 25 March 2022 — Dr Cavendish's field notes

The suddenness of the unrest at the school got us interested, but these things happen. But this word EPITHET the policeman used…

I heard it in the background of that video Monitoring sent over. And now he was using it like it was on his word-of-the-day calendar. I know what it means. I can’t define it but I know exactly what it means. It's very odd.

This boy seems to be the next point of inquiry. I got the biographical info and the grandparents' address from the FLO. We should find him in the morning – Field Agent McLeod will accompany me, to keep things under control. The others are going to make some more enquiries with the police and the school administration, for a full history.

Saturday 26 March 2022 — Dr Cavendish's field notes

We turned up to the address we were given, a semi-detached house in one of the suburbs to the east. The grandfather answered the doorbell.

We asked for the boy – Peter’s his name. I’ve never seen so much hate in an old man’s eyes. “Nasty little shit. We threw him out last night. We couldn’t stand the sight of him any more.” Then he used that word again, EPITHET. Can’t work out the spelling.

But I get what he means, what he’s trying to convey. Why do I know that?

The grandfather said he told him to get out and leave, and go "somewhere else". We’ve got a picture of the boy and we’re going to try the train station. It’s not too far, we’re on our way now. He’s too young to drive, so if he was trying to get out he must have gone to the station.

What if it's not just this boy? What if it's spreading? A lot more children might be about to be thrown onto the streets and everyone will say it serves them right for some reason. London is just down the road. What if it gets to an airport?

When we left, the grandfather said we’d understand, if we met him. Why he threw the boy out. What the hell are we going to find?

And where did he sleep last night?

Saturday 26 March 2022 — Voicemail transcript

26 March 2022, 01:12

To: Roy Castle, manager, Braintree Railway Station

From: Nicola Bell, ticket staff, Braintree Railway Station

The person you are calling is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone.

Hi Roy. Look. Sorry to call you so late.

There's, well, there's a young boy sleeping rough outside the station. Saw him when I was closing up, he'd just missed the last train to London. He told me to stay away and asked me not to call the police. Said he'd been kicked out. I offered to take him back to ours for the night but he said no. I brought him a sleeping bag and a sandwich. I didn't know what else to do.

Listen, can you tell Ryan I'm taking his shift in the morning? I can't sleep and I need to check on the lad. Sorry Roy. I know it's a faff.

Right. See you. Bye.

Saturday 26 March 2022 — Dr Cavendish's field notes

Typing this up now for reference.

One of the staff said she saw him last night and she'd come back to check on him but couldn't find him. We went looking all over and found him tucked away in a little cranny next to the car park.

He was smaller than I expected. He looked younger than he is, like he belonged in primary school. It was 10 in the morning and he was still out like a light. He was very pale, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. It looked like he hadn’t got much sleep at all.

Roger.Field Agent Roger McLeod.shook him very gently. I said his name and he woke with a flinch, like he was expecting me to hit him. We told him we were from the council and we were going to get him somewhere to stay and something to eat while we sorted everything out.

I helped him up. About halfway to the jeep, he clutched onto my arm and burst into tears. Roger had to drive because he just wouldn't let go. I didn't quite know what to do.

We got him back to the temp-site and he curled up on one of the chairs and slept. Didn't say a word. Going to get a doctor to check him over before we ask him what we need to ask him. He doesn't look injured but can't be sure without an exam.

Sent Rog to get him something to eat for when he wakes up.

Saturday 26 March 2022 — Interview with Peter Blake

Interviewed: Peter Blake, victim of SCP-6063

Interviewer: Dr Julia Cavendish, Senior Researcher, Site-44

Location: Foundation temporary site, Braintree

<17:02. Begin Log>

Dr Cavendish: How are you feeling, Peter?

Peter: I'm OK.

Dr Cavendish: Good. You must have been very hungry.

[He says nothing.]

Dr Cavendish: I know it’s going to be hard to talk about, but it’s important for us to figure out exactly what happened to you. While you’ve been away from school there was an incident, like what happened to you, but lots of the other pupils. We’re very worried something is spreading, like a disease, and we need to know as much about what happened as possible so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again. Is that alright?

Peter: Yeah. I suppose. I’ll do my best.

Dr Cavendish: That’s good. You’ve been very brave. We just need you to be brave a little longer.

Peter: [sniffs] OK.

Dr Cavendish: Good. So had you been having trouble at school?

Peter: Umm. I’d been picked on for a while. I was picked on a bit at primary school and it got a bit worse when I got to secondary. Mum said that was normal. It sort of happens a lot. I’d heard Thomas Cranmer was a bit rough though, so I was ready enough. You know?

Dr Cavendish: Yes.

Peter: But it got worse this year. They were just being far worse than ever. I couldn’t go anywhere in the school without them saying things to me.

Dr Cavendish: When was this, Peter? When did it get worse?

Peter: Umm. Maybe a couple of weeks before half-term. Maybe a little later. It’s hard to say. It was definitely getting way worse just before half-term. So I was really glad to be off school. And then it got so much worse when we came back.

Dr Cavendish: OK. I know this is going to be really hard, but can you tell me the sorts of things they’d say and do?

Peter: Yeah, OK. Sorry. Well, you know, just school stuff. "Freak." "Go away, you’re not wanted here." Uhh. [he blushes slightly]

Dr Cavendish: It’s OK. You’re allowed to swear. I won’t tell anyone.

Peter: OK. “Fuck you.” Sorry. “Little cunt.” Sorry, sorry. “EPITHET.” They said they’d…

[he coughs and wipes his eyes]

Peter: Sorry.

Dr Cavendish: It’s OK, Peter. Just take your time.

Peter: They said they’d beat me up and kill me. They said they'd rip out my fingernails and kill my mum and dad and burn my house down, if I didn’t leave school. It got to be all about me leaving. Then they started hitting me and spitting at me. Or on me sometimes.

Dr Cavendish: And the teachers?

Peter: At the start they were OK, you know? Mr Prior is my form tutor and he checked in with me. I liked him. He was funny. But after a while he started not to like me either.

Dr Cavendish: What happened?

Peter: He just… he looked at me like he hated me. I felt like if he wasn't my teacher he'd have hit me. There was one time after I'd been pushed around a lot in registration..Similar to the American homeroom period. After everyone else had left for class and I was picking up my stuff from the floor, I looked up at him. He was standing up behind his desk, just…staring at me. He was shaking, like he was scared, but I could see his hands were tight, like fists.

Dr Cavendish: Like this? [she clenches her hands into tight fists]

Peter: [he nods] Yeah. [he coughs, holding back tears] That was how my parents looked too, when they kicked me out. They told me they didn't love me any more, that I wasn't their son. That I needed to just go. [he breaks down, crying quietly into his hands]

Dr Cavendish: I'm… I'm sorry, Peter.

[for a moment, she looks around her, unsure of what to do, and then stands and moves her chair over to the other side of the desk, next to Peter. Cautiously, then firmly, she hugs him, and holds him for a few minutes until he stops crying. She lets him go and he sniffs heavily.]

Peter: Sorry.

Dr Cavendish: It's alright. You've been through a lot.

Peter: Yeah. I guess.

Dr Cavendish: You said they called you EPITHET.

Peter: Yeah.

Dr Cavendish: Do you know what that word means?

Peter: Yeah. [he shifts uncomfortably in his chair] Of course.

Dr Cavendish: Could you explain what it means to me?

Peter: Um. [long pause] I’m sorry, it’s … really hard to put into words. It’s really, really bad. But I can't put it into words, I'm sorry.

Dr Cavendish: That’s OK. Where did you first hear that word?

Peter: I don’t know. [pause] Actually, I think maybe I first heard it when someone called me it the first time, before half-term. But I knew what it meant. You know?

Dr Cavendish: Yes. Do you know who used it first?

Peter: I don’t remember. Just one of the people in my class. I’m sorry, I don't remember who.

Dr Cavendish: That's alright. You've already been so helpful, Peter.

Peter: I definitely heard it a lot afterwards though. People were using it constantly before I had to leave school. It was almost the only thing they called me after a while. Mr Prior and Dad called me it too. Dad used it a lot.

<17:21. End Log>

Tuesday 26 April 2022 — Dr Cavendish, personal reflections on SCP-6063

[…] As soon as the anomaly arose, as far as we can tell at Thomas Cranmer School, it spread very rapidly. It just so happened to Peter that he was the first victim. Patient Zero could just as well have been anyone else, and by the time we'd got Peter secure, we'd already got reports from the police about other pupils being thrown out of their homes.

We got the Department of Health to declare a severe public health threat at Thomas Cranmer School: a rare fungal infection in the building, highly contagious, very dangerous if untreated. That stopped people moving. They remembered the pandemic and were more co-operative than we could have reasonably hoped. Another lucky break.

We isolated every pupil, traced their contacts, including the ones who’d been abroad during half-term. Tried to work out who had been hit by the anomaly, so we could figure out what to do. In the end, even though we had a fair wind, it had spread too far for an easy containment.

It occured to me that amnestics could work. If it spreads through descriptions and seeing other people mistreat the victim, we should be able to get rid of it by wiping the memories. That was my thinking, and 44 was willing to try it.

We tested my idea on the policeman, Singh. After he woke up, we introduced Peter to him and there was no trace of that… hatred. That was good enough for us. It would do.

That was on the 5th. It came just in time.

To: Senior Researcher Julia Cavendish

From: Field Agent Roger McLeod

Sent: 7 April 2022, 10:33

Subject: VERY IMPORTANT

Julia,

I didn't want to bother you while you were working on the logistics for the amnestic operation.

It's a big deal. Four weeks of memory is a lot of time to lose for a civilian, let alone seven thousand civilians, but I think you made the right call. Braintree will lose about 28,000 weeks of memory. 500 years. And all of that with the antifungal cover story. It's really good going.

Unfortunately I think I might have to add to the burden. I ought to have said earlier but we are where we are. You can recommend me for the disciplinary later.

It's about Patient Zero, Peter Blake.

I HATE HIM.

So far I've managed to choke it back when I've been keeping an eye on him because I thought I was just getting frustrated with the operation. But I think it's the anomaly. This morning I saw the picture we took of him when we brought him in on the files and I was so angry I almost threw up.

Please put me on the amnestic regimen too. I don't know how it's happened. I thought the cognitohazard training we all took in boot camp would be enough but it isn't.

I have to send this to you now because if I wait any longer I might kill him. I hate him so, so much. I'm sorry.

Roger

Tuesday 26 April 2022 — Dr Cavendish, personal reflections on SCP-6063

We ended up having to amnesticise everyone who had spoken directly to Peter or who had read his descriptions about what happened. That meant we needed to delay his treatment too, so he could tell us who he'd spoken to.

I told him what had been going on, and why we would need to wipe his memory. He understood what was happening well enough. He'd put the pieces together himself to some extent, although obviously not the full story.

Honestly, once we told him what we thought had happened, I think a little part of him thought it was cool, even though it was the worst time of his young life. I showed him my Foundation badge. I told him my real name, and what I do for a living. What harm could it do now?

Anyway – he seemed like he was desperate to forget. We told him we’d wipe his parents, too, and we thought we could get them back together. That got him crying again. So I gave him another hug before I administered the amnestic and sedative. I told him I'd look after him and we'd make sure it all worked out.

A little unprofessional. But there we are. I felt very sorry for him. It is what it is.

The trouble is that I’m starting to feel IT too. When I think about Peter now, how he held tight to my arm when we found him, how he wept into my shoulder in the temporary unit, I feel disgust, not the sympathy I clearly remember feeling just the other day. Even though I know it’s the anomaly, I can’t hold it back.

I understand what the policeman said. I understand those diary entries from the headmistress. I understand Roger. Like him, my training held it back, but it’s breaking through now, and we can’t take the risk.

I’ve calibrated the amnestics and will self-administer them shortly. I’ve also added a cover note to the files I have prepared, to explain the hazardous effects of hearing about the effects of the anomaly, and I anticipate that when I come round I will aid in further research. But for now we need prophylaxis. We cannot risk it spreading any further.

The experience has not been wholly unpleasant. I am not used to children. I don't have any of my own. But I got on with Peter quite well. I liked him rather a lot, if I'm honest. He is quite funny and inquisitive and curious. A little odd, I suppose, but that's not such a bad thing. He might make a good researcher one day. Perversely, the two weeks I spent with him were some of the most I have enjoyed my work in some years now.

But I can feel it all curdling in my stomach. Soon he won't be inquisitive, but nosy; soon he won't be funny, but annoying; soon he won't be an unhappy, unlucky boy, but a shrill little whiner who brought it all on himself. His grandfather said I would understand, eventually, and I do.

I really do.

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