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SCP-4774: The Ninth Planet [citation needed]

Author: MaliceAforethought

Canon: Ad Astra Per Aspera

Image Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Planet_nine_artistic_plain.png/1024px-Planet_nine_artistic_plain.png

Artist's impression of SCP-4774

Item №: SCP-4774

Anomaly Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: No human being is to come within 50 AU1 of the supposed location of SCP-4774. As well as the (possible) natural SEP concealment field present, the Foundation has erected a mobile antimemetic sensory filter to block SCP-4774 from view (if it does, indeed, exist) — no persons, Foundation personnel or otherwise, are to attempt to bypass these measures or otherwise discern the nature of SCP-4774, under penalty of termination.

Acquiring evidence sufficient to confirm or deny SCP-4774's existence will be considered tantamount to genocide, and handled accordingly.

Description: SCP-4774 is the hypothetical "Planet Nine", a trans-Neptunian gas giant potentially orbiting the sun at a distance of around 700 AU. If it exists, SCP-4774 would be two to four times the diameter of Earth, and approximately ten times the mass.

SCP-4774's anomalous properties become apparent whenever any subject attempts to consider the possibility of the planet's existence. Subjects will universally arrive (even when not previously informed of the natures of space, planets in general, or the universe beyond the Earth) at the following conclusions:

That if SCP-4774 existed, it would account for a number of irregularities in the motions of various astronomical bodies.

That if SCP-4774 didn't exist, it would account for the lack of any human interaction with the planet at any point in history.

That the possibility of life existing on the planet cannot be ruled out.

That the possibility of sapient life existing on the planet cannot be ruled out.

That the lack of evidence for the planet's existence could be accounted for by a natural Sensory Extrapolation (SEP) concealment field encompassing the region.

That the evidence for the planet's existence could be accounted for by a number of other minor sources, anomalous and non-anomalous.

The current theory among research staff is that the effects of SCP-4774 represent either an anomalous memetic hypothesis masking the state of the planet, or an ontological anomaly surrounding its potential existence. Research Team 44-Lacaille have been assigned to the anomaly to attempt to solve the question one way or another. Research Team 44-Lacaille has been disbanded. See addendum for more details.

Addendum | Incident 4774-1: On 06/06/2021, a group of 5 human subjects were selected to undertake the first voyage to the predicted location of SCP-4774, on board the Semiautonomous Exploration Vessel Messier-002.

While the initial stage of the voyage passed without incident, complications arose when SEV M-002 began to draw close to the destination — rather than simply landing on the planet, or passing through the empty space, cameras reported a large area of visual distortion, followed by a bright flash of light. The ship's internal systems malfunctioned, jump-starting the Lang Distortion Drive and propelling the vessel far beyond the edge of the solar system. The crew were eventually recovered 34 days later than planned, but were unable to recall any aspect of the voyage prior to their recovery. As the visual distortion and light are explainable by equipment malfunction, and the memory-loss by a slow leak of the LDD coolant system, SCP-4774's status remains uncertain.

After extensive questioning, it has been revealed that SCP-4774-affected subjects now arrive at the following additional hypotheses:

That, if it existed, SCP-4774 would be incapable of supporting intelligent life.

That any such lifeforms as developed on the planet would necessarily be forced to adopt a method of partial nonexistence due to the planet's natural inhospitability.

That, if the planet was found not to exist, the inhabiting lifeforms would clearly not be capable of existence.

That since SCP-4774 is hypothetical, the lifeforms native to the planet must also be hypothetical.

That investigating SCP-4774 further would reveal more details about the planet, and therefore render it either proven or disproven, eliminating the possibility of any hypothetical native entities existing.

That, if the SCP Foundation truly exists for the greater good and considers sapient life (hypothetical or not) to be to some degree human, the preservation of such a hypothetical race would be worth the cost of not exploring the true nature of the planet. Therefore, if such a claim to ethical standing is taken as true, the SCP Foundation and related organisations should prevent any such exploration and allow the native entities to continue subsisting in a state of ontological superposition.

Current Containment Procedures were enacted shortly following the incident. Requests to classify the potential inhabitants of SCP-4774 as an anomalous phenomenon in their own right have been denied, as no evidence for their existence (or lack thereof) has been or will be found. Further information on the anomaly can be obtained by considering SCP-4774.

Footnotes

1. One Astronomical Unit = the average distance between the planet Earth and the Sun.