Item #: SCP-4721

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4721 is to reside in a Standard Humanoid Containment Cell until further notice. The entity is permitted to attend weekly Greek lessons with the goal of facilitating communication. SCP-4721 is allowed access to mathematical resources and learning materials on request, contingent on good behavior.

Description: SCP-4721 is an anachronistic middle-aged male human who identifies himself as Euclid1. The entity possesses considerable skill in geometry and mathematical construction. SCP-4721 is fluent in Ancient Greek, permitting a rudimentary dialogue to form between the entity and Modern Greek speakers.

SCP-4721 was discovered near the Bibliotheca Alexandria, a national library located in Alexandria, Egypt. Temporal analysis indicates SCP-4721 originated from before the activation of the first Abrahamic eigenweapon, approximately 2,000 years ago. No further anomalous properties have been observed; the investigation into the cause of the entity’s temporal displacement is ongoing. The identity of SCP-4721 was suspected after Dr. Krain, the first researcher to initiate contact, recognized that the entity was attempting to communicate through repeatedly tapping the first four prime numbers.

Footnotes

1. Author of mathematical textbook Elements and considered the father of geometry.

Addendum 4721-1: Following the initial containment of SCP-4721, Dr. Krain requested an interview to assist the entity in adjusting to captivity. A partial transcript is shown below.

Interviewed: SCP-4721

Interviewer: Dr. Connor Krain

Foreword: Interview assisted by a translator in real time; all statements transcribed in English.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Krain: Hello there. My name is Dr. Krain, and I’ll be helping you acclimate to this facility. And you are?

SCP-4721: I’m Euclid, a mathematician from Alexandria… Where am I, exactly? Nothing seems the least bit familiar.

Dr. Krain: It’s… complicated to explain. You’re a long time away from when you last remember. For safety reasons, you’ll be required to stay in this cell.

SCP-4721: What do you mean, “a long time away”?

Dr. Krain: Euclid, you’ve somehow found yourself over two-thousand years in the future.

SCP-4721 remains silent for approximately thirty seconds

SCP-4721: And I can’t get back to my time?

Dr. Krain: No, unfortunately. We don’t know how to do that.

SCP-4721: This… this doesn’t make any sense. I was walking to the library, and, next thing I know, I’m somewhere completely unfamiliar, surrounded by strangers in unusual clothing.

Dr. Krain: We don’t know how this happened either, but you’ll be required to live here from now on.

SCP-4721: I can’t leave? Ever?

Dr. Krain: Well, you see, a lot of things have changed, and you would have trouble fitting in, especially since your native tongue isn’t spoken anymore. As such, we feel it is better for everyone if you stay here.

SCP-4721: And do what? Rot away for the rest of my days?

Dr. Krain: Not quite. You would have access to a variety of different activities. Writing, reading… mathematics.

SCP-4721: Mathematics?

Dr. Krain: Of course. You are in the future, after all. I’m sure you would be interested in seeing where the field has gone after all this time.

SCP-4721: Did… was my life’s work influential? Did anything ever come of it?

Dr. Krain: Euclid, I think you’ll find that your work grew into the backbone of an entire branch of mathematics, which has produced countless results and sprouted new areas of study you couldn’t even imagine.

SCP-4721: And… I’ll be able to work and learn on this from in here?

Dr. Krain: As long as you follow our directions, you would be allowed access to all the mathematics you’d like.

SCP-4721: That’s spectacular! Where do I even start? I can’t fathom the developments that have occurred since my time.

Dr. Krain: I’m glad you’re so excited. First, you should start with understanding what’s changed about the fundamentals. Have you ever heard of the number zero?

<End Log>

After this interview, SCP-4721 proceeded to indulge himself in mathematical literature of varying complexity. In the months afterwards, he eventually settled into a pattern of reading and studying, beginning with learning symbolic representation and its application to arithmetic.

Addendum 4721-2: Following over two years in containment, SCP-4721 grew notably unmotivated and distressed in any form of mathematics, despite having progressed through elementary algebra relatively well. This sudden change in behavior prompted an interview on May 27th, 2019.

Interviewed: SCP-4721

Interviewer: Dr. Connor Krain

Foreword: Interview assisted by a translator in real time; all statements transcribed in English.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Krain: Hello, Euclid. How are you today?

SCP-4721: Greetings, Doctor. I’m… alright.

Dr. Krain: I notice that you haven’t picked up a book all week.

SCP-4721: I’ve been… busy. Why do you ask?

Dr. Krain: Well, ever since you first learnt about all the mathematics that’s been discovered since your time, you’ve constantly had your nose deep in a book. That is, before this year, when your checkout rates slowed to a halt. I was just asking if there was a particular reason why?

SCP-4721 pauses before answering

SCP-4721: I just… I don’t desire to do so, anymore.

Dr. Krain: Do you want to talk about it?

SCP-4721: I suppose it’s inevitable. Might as well.

Dr. Krain: Go ahead.

SCP-4721: Well, I’m growing older. I’m not as agile as I used to be, and ideas don’t come to me as quickly as they used to.

Dr. Krain: You’ve been struggling?

SCP-4721: Not just that. Struggling implies I have a chance. I feel like I’m completely overwhelmed by the amount of mathematics I have yet to and will never learn.

Dr. Krain: It’s a big field, and you have a lot to catch up on. You can’t take that personally.

SCP-4721: It’s just… before, I used to be leading the charge. I was discovering the patterns of prime numbers; I was formalizing the postulates of geometry. And now, I’m struggling with problems even children easily surpass.

Dr. Krain: You have to realize the paradigm shift between your time and ours. So much has been developed over two millennia that the best anyone can hope for nowadays is to specialize in one particular area.

SCP-4721: But that’s the thing: I’m not even good enough to specialize in the field I founded! My work has been built on and expanded upon so much that it has become intertwined and inseparable from areas of math I haven’t even heard of! I’ve been left behind without the tools or ability to get back, nor the time or resilience to acquire such.

Dr. Krain: And this has been upsetting you so much so as to disrupt your daily life?

SCP-4721: It’s… I have nothing to do in this stone prison other than math, and every time I do so I encounter nothing but frustration and disappointment.

Dr. Krain: Well, I could look into other activities that you could-

SCP-4721: No, that wouldn’t solve it. I’m past my prime, and I just wish I could forget all about mathematics. My intellect can serve it no more.

Dr. Krain: You… want to forget it? All of it, even the geometry you discovered?

SCP-4721: I wish I could just forget everything and escape this numerical torment. But alas, it seems I am doomed to spend the rest of my years in this torturous cave.

Dr. Krain: Actually, I may be able to help with that. Let me call in a few favors.

<End Log>

Addendum 4721-3: On June 21st, 2019, after a two-week long deliberation, the O5 Council voted 6-6-1 on the issue of releasing SCP-4721. As a result of this deadlock, the decision advanced to the Ethics Committee, which unanimously passed the motion to fully amnesticize SCP-4721 and release and reintegrate him into society. This was motivated by the lack of additional anomalous properties of SCP-4721 besides his anachronistic nature, and the mental distress brought upon him through containment.

Upon the completion of the procedure, SCP-4721 is to be reclassified as neutralized. To ensure no anomalies develop as a result of the operation, Euclid shall be monitored at all times for the rest of his natural life.