Item #: SCP-1173

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Knowledge of the existence of the IDAS is to be promulgated into as many databases and reputable sources at earliest convenience. This spread of information is to include online and print sources; containment of SCP-1173 will be considered complete when information regarding the IDAS is present in as many scholarly databases, media outlets, and literature as is possible. Active attempts to contain SCP-1173 are suspended at this time; please consult Addendum SCP-1173-A for details. Three (3) D-class personnel infected with SCP-1173 are to be kept at Site 26 for limited testing purposes; any unauthorized use of the operative phrase for SCP-1173 treatment outside of testing protocols is to result in termination and replacement.

While the current need to contain SCP-1173 is still considered a vital one, under no circumstances are Foundation personnel to directly engage in hostile action against individuals attempting to spread SCP-1173. Efforts to contain SCP-1173 should focus on discovering the nature of SCP-1173 and researching methods of eliminating SCP-1173, regardless of whatever actions may be required to accomplish this. However, all Foundation units are to refrain from attacking one another for any reason, including as a part of an attempt to contain SCP-1173.

Document SCP-1173-1 is to be deleted at earliest opportunity and all affected personnel treated. As per Protocol 1173-Omicron: Until such a time as the nature of SCP-1173 can be more definitively determined and anti-memetic measures can be carried out, direct conflict between affected personnel and standard Foundation personnel is to be avoided. Discussion of SCP-1173 in an unofficial capacity is strictly forbidden to avoid interpersonal conflict among Foundation personnel.

Description: SCP-1173 is a memetic phenomenon associated with the political body known as the Islamic Republic of Eastern Samothrace (Ισλαμική Δημοκρατία της Ανατολικής Σαμοθράκης, or IDAS), currently the recognized government of the area traditionally known as Eastern Samothrace and Associated Island Territories. The Greek-speaking nation, centered on a small mainland enclave on the Anatolian peninsula and a series of islands in the northeastern Aegean Sea, is a resource-poor region previously known for its valuable port cities. The majority population practices Sunni Islam, with a limited number of Shi'a practitioners and a small group of Syriac Orthodox Christians, though the latter group has largely left the country due to religious conflict in the area. The nation is largely known for the semi-constant warfare taking place within its borders, typically centered around religious, ethnic, or political differences.

SCP-1173 has the effect of completely erasing all awareness of the existence of the IDAS from the memory or perception of infected individuals. Infected individuals will not recall the existence of Eastern Samothrace as a region, the IDAS as a government, or of the persistent conflict and privation of the country's populace as newsworthy pieces of information. The persistent spread of SCP-1173 throughout the human population has helped to minimize awareness of the country's difficulties and therefore reduce the amount of assistance its people have received, increasing suffering throughout the region.

The initial vector for infection is unknown; however, SCP-1173 can be countered through use of an operant sentence spoken aloud in the presence of infected individuals by an uninfected individual. Through research, the operant sentence has been determined to be "You hear about that thing down in Samothrace?" Individuals that have heard this sentence frequently express minor interest in the ensuing conversation, which invariably leads to a greater degree of interest in Samothracian affairs and appears to permit individuals to retain awareness and knowledge of the IDAS. This will rapidly lead to the restoration of an individual's memory of the country's present situation and classical contributions to Western culture. An individual able to retain such memories is considered "cured" of SCP-1173.

While most individuals infected with SCP-1173 are able to live otherwise normal lives, recent research has suggested a secondary effect from SCP-1173 infection. This effect has been observed specifically with individuals coming into close proximity with Syriac Christian refugees from Samothrace that have settled in the United States (at least 20,000 Syriac families have done so over the last fifteen years). In at least twenty-one separate instances, individuals with no commonalities other than SCP-1173 infection status have become extremely angry to the point of psychosis when in the presence of Samothracian refugees, leading to acts of violence. Many of these acts were unaccompanied by any explanation for their behavior, and attackers frequently expressed remorse and confusion at their own actions afterward. However, in eight documented instances, attackers were noted to shout "you can't be real" repeatedly and at great volume during the assault.

Addendum 1173-A: After the discovery of SCP-1173, a survey of Foundation personnel revealed extensive SCP-1173 infection at all levels of the chain of command. Attempts to establish and execute containment procedures were complicated due to efforts by other Foundation units to deliberately infect more individuals with SCP-1173. These conflicts developed into sporadic armed fights between Foundation units before Protocol 1173-Omicron was put into place, banning all unofficial communication between personnel regarding 1173 and agreeing to maintain the contemporary equilibrium between infected and uninfected individuals (estimated as groups of approximately equal size).

Addendum 1173-B:

SCP-1173 not present. Please continue.

If you're reading this, the computer has verified you to be uninfected through subtle tests of certain subconscious reactions you have had to keywords placed throughout this document. Congratulations, Researcher, you've been drafted. God help you.

A civil war between Foundation units was unthinkable, so we compromised. Infected and uninfected Foundation personnel agreed to leave one another alone. We weren't sure what caused SCP-1173, but observable trends showed the number of infected was declining as a result of our containment methods; a simple sentence, spread by civilians, would contain SCP-1173 for us. We felt time was on our side.

But they cheated.

The infected are all around us, every day; friends, loved ones, parents, even children. They found a way to spread the infection to more Foundation personnel through a compound known as "Class O Amnestic". They put in a request for it at Foundation Pharmacology, and there are frequently infected personnel there to receive the order. We sabotage the orders as often as possible, but they're still infecting the rest of us.

You are now part of a resistance movement, whether you like it or not; history has placed the responsibility on your shoulders. You cannot be told who is on your side and who isn't, and you will never know in most cases. You will not be contacted at any other time regarding this subject, and you will never be able to prove that you received this message in the first place.

Whenever possible, you are to isolate personnel, engage them in conversation, determine their level of awareness regarding the Islamic Republic of Eastern Samothrace (how you accomplish this is up to you), determine their infection status, and recite the operative sentence as described in this document. The infected don't know that we've found out about them; with a concerted effort, we can eliminate the infection from the Foundation. This must be done; we cannot allow the last line in humanity's defense against the anomalous suffer at the hands of an anomaly.

This message approved by O5-4, O5-5, O5-7, O5-9, O5-11, and O5-12.

This message not to be kept in official records.

This message not to be copied or replicated.