Alright, just put that there. And, uhh… might as well get started.

I've probably done this before.

Attention

Automated restriction of this document is not possible. If you do not have Level 4-5497 clearance do not continue reading.

Item Number: SCP-5497

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Any personnel that view this document without Level-4-5497 clearance are to immediately visit their site's local amnestisicist and have their memory of viewing this document removed. This is not necessarily an urgent matter, as SCP-5497 is considered benign. However, unauthorized duplication of this document and/or any sharing of information regarding SCP-5497 will result in disciplinary action.

Research Lab 127 at Site 17 is to remain locked whenever SCP-5497 is not being tested. Keys to unlock it are found in Dr. Ziegler's office.

SCP-5497-1 may be entered either to conduct testing or to edit this document. The procedures for thorough testing or editing are detailed below.

A paper copy of this document is to be printed. Any text deemed extraneous is to be whited out and the copy may be additionally modified to accommodate any desired edits.

The copy is to be given to the test subject. The test subject is to read through it several times.

The test subject is to enter SCP-5497-1 and the door sealed behind them.

The subject is to immediately reread the entirety of the document given to them.

If further testing has been planned, testing may now begin, if not, the subject must immediately exit SCP-5497-1.

Only one test subject may enter SCP-5497-1 at a time. Staff should be present when the test subject exits SCP-5497. If utmost care is not taken in enacting these procedures, The Foundation's documentation on SCP-5497 may be corrupted or completely lost.

Description: SCP-5497 refers to any document or means of information storage that relates to SCP-5497. This includes not only physical and digital documentation, but also the portions of a person's memories dedicated to SCP-5497.

SCP-5497-1 refers to a room at Research Lab 127 of Site-17. Physically, SCP-5497-1 is 3x3x2 meter room constructed of plywood, and painted white, with one entrance and wooden supports on its exterior. The interior walls are lined with an interconnected grid of wires, conduit, receptacles, switches, LED lights, and logic controllers. Portions of this grid are arranged into glyphs, most of which are known to be memory inducing in nature. Interfering with this grid or with the switches on the gird is strictly forbidden, even for testing purposes.

When a person enters SCP-5497-1 their entire conscious stream of thought starting from moment the door to SCP-5497-1 closes is recorded and interpreted as text. When the door is reopened, this recording overwrites all existing copies of SCP-5497. This is what necessitates this entire document being read by anyone who enters SCP-5497-1, as their thoughts overwrite all information pertaining to SCP-5497.

There is evidence that this document has been nearly wiped clean before, necessitating most of our information about SCP-5497 being rediscovered through testing. Enough information survived the most recent wipe to convey that the wipe was caused by changing the state of one of the switches in SCP-5497-1, and that memories were not previously affected by SCP-5497. Attempts to undo the wipe resulted in SCP-5497 replacing the code that restricts access to this document with the text form of this document.

The origin of SCP-5497-1 is assume to have been deleted by one of these wipes.

The following are conclusions from previous testing with SCP-5497. All future edits to this document are to be added to this section.

There is no way to record anything other than basic text into SCP-5497.

Allowing more than one person to enter SCP-5497-1 at a time will cause their thoughts to be transcribed on top of each other, rendering the resulting text illegible. Following this test SCP-5497 had to be thoroughly analyzed to rediscover its meaning.

Paper or digital documents will expand to encompass new text added upon generating a larger version of SCP-5497.

Overwrite will occur on a person's memories if they have knowledge that an overwrite will occur.

Overwrite will occur on any digital files related to SCP-5497, but the name of said files will not be overwritten.

Memories of previous versions of this document cannot be recovered with mnestics.

Listing of specifics is to be avoided where possible. Dates in particular are subject to being misread and have caused problems in the past.

Breaks in consciousness, such as sleeping without dreaming, are not recorded by SCP-5497.

Addendum: Okay, that's it… Now it's testing time.

Well we got, uuhh, we're going to try to test REM sleep. It seems that during that, uh last test the guy was asleep but he didn't dream.

I have some pills here, they're for.. sleeping and inducing REM sleep. So that way I'll have a dream. I also have a cot to sleep on and a blindfold since we can't turn off the lights in here. I'm going to set an alarm for 4 hours from now.. Which it's 5:28 now.

6, 7, 8, 9, 9:30

There we go.

And uhh, pills.

Ahhck!

You'd think I'd be better at taking pills with this job.

Well, I got the alarm, pills, cot, and.. and uh that's everything, So I got to sleep.

Try to sleep.

Try to sleep.

It takes a while I guess.

Just a while.

This isn't the first time I've taken any kind of sleeping pills is it?

Huh, I wonder if I was the one who did the last test on this?

So on Monday was when I had to go with Dr. Ziegler to figure out what this document meant.

Just a pre schedule meeting, there were more people there, it took us most of the day.

Tuesday we started to prepare for testing, that was a bit shorter.

Wednesday l was training for this all day.

And today is testing day.

Why was I chosen for testing?

Last Friday. I try to think of it, and this document just fills up my head.

I must have done something with it then.

Was the last test Thursday or Friday?

You know the calendar might have it. I don't think it was overwritten. Must be too simple or something.

There's something going on with that calendar. One week didn't feel like long enough to prepare for this. Especially if we do this every week. What did I do last week? There's a lot of gaps with just this document filling them, so I must have been.

You know, I don't have to think about this now, just cause the last tester did.

Just try to think about nothing, it'll make deciphering this easier next week.

…

nothing

it kinda works

…

There's a presentation room, there are multiple people sat around the center desk. They are formal.

A man is standing at the end of the desk of the room. He is also formal. He is speaking.

You really just need to abandon this idea of you. It's not helpful for this. Look, if I made a copy of your conscious stream of thought and uploaded it to a computer, which would you say is you? OK, now you wake up one day and find out that you've been uploaded to a computer. But this fleshy version of you claims to be more you than you are, and thus you are not entitled to any of your belongings, accounts, or relationships. You'd probably be pretty mad.

But that never has happened to you. Why is there any continuity to your thoughts. You’ve never woken up in a different body than the one you went to bed in. There are infinite continuities out there, which mean there are infinite yous out there. Why is it that every day you wake up to continue this one continuity where there's causality and things make sense.

The thing is… you don't. You dream.

There are murmurs from the crowd.

OH, Don't bring reality into this. From your perspective, which is the only perspective that should matter to you, everything that happens to you feels real. Dreams feel real.

Wherever your stream of thought goes is where you go. And these different continuities, these different lives that you live. What if we could record them. What if we could move to or from them at will. What if we could implant them over the boring reality of thoughts we normally have to deal with?

You, from the crowd, speaks up. "I'm sorry but we are on a tight schedule, and you still haven't given us a realistic way to approach this ."

Realistic? It doesn't need to be realistic!

He approaches you.

After everything I've told you, why would you still assume that!?

Why do you still think things exist outside of your perspective?

Why do you still hold onto some vague concept of you?

Why do you think that this is still real?

Why would you assume this is real?!

Snap out of it!

Wake up!

WAKE UP!

WAKE UP!

BEEP-BEEP!

BEEP-BEEP!

BEEP-BEEP!

Uhh. 9:30. uhh. come on turn off.

I, uhh, ok. Dreams.

Come on wake up.

Uhh.. I. Did I dream?

Maybe, it's very vague…

You know this is useless.

Every day I wake up and go to this stupid job where nothing makes sense. Look sorry I'm tired but, this is the exact same thing that was written on the last document. Why can't we try to record some of it. Just to make sure that we're not stuck testing the same thing every week.

I know the document says to keep it simple to stop misinformation, but what if that just got made up along the way.

Like, are we actually getting anything done with testing this?

Just get all the stuff, I just want to get out of here.

I have the papers, the clock, bed, water, nothing left behind.

We're good to go.

For the record, this is at least the third sleeping test.