WARNING

The following file contains information pertaining to a Basilisk category anomaly. By proceeding and reading the following file, you consent to:

Be permanently and compulsorily assigned to SCP-3249, regardless of current assignment, physical or mental state, and/or clearance level.

Waive the privilege to request reassignment for physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and/or social reasons.

Waive the privilege to be reassigned due to physical, mental and/or social impediment, both temporary and permanent.

Waive the privilege to terminate your Foundation employment by request.

Waive the privilege to have your Foundation employment terminated through retirement.

Waive the privilege to have your Foundation employment automatically terminated due to death.

Waive the privilege to interact and/or communicate with non-Foundation personnel in any and all capacities.

Waive the privilege to interact and/or communicate with Foundation personnel not assigned to SCP-3249 for reasons unrelated to the Special Containment Procedures of SCP-3249.

Waive the ability to intentionally impede containment efforts pertaining directly or indirectly to SCP-3249.

Unconditionally follow instructions from the research head assigned to SCP-3249.

Have all of the above enforced by use of a contractual geas, wherein accessing the following document serves as an acceptance of the geas' conditions.

[I ACCEPT THE ABOVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS]

[DIGITAL CREDENTIALS VERIFIED. FILE ACCESS LOGGED AND FLAGGED.]

Memetic geas deployed.

Item Number: SCP-3249

Object Class: Euclid/Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Documents containing SCP-3249-A infective material are to be acquired and restricted to 3249 Clearance only, or destroyed. By order of the Ethics Committee, information regarding the SCP-3249-B procedures that are non-critical to containment efforts is restricted to 3249/EC clearance.

Personnel who are exposed to any information regarding SCP-3249 must consent to be permanently assigned to SCP-3249, or terminated. Active instances of SCP-3249 discovered outside of containment must be retrieved and assigned for use by personnel assigned to SCP-3249, or destroyed. Individuals not assigned to SCP-3249 and found to be searching for information related to SCP-3249-B in any capacity must be detained by personnel assigned to SCP-3249, or destroyed. Personnel assigned to SCP-3249 are stripped of all previous clearances and/or administrative privileges. The conditions of SCP-3249 reassignment must be enforced by use of a functional, contractual geas.

Description: SCP-3249-A is the infohazardous concept of the existence of SCP-3249. Human individuals who conceive SCP-3249-A, either independently or through an informational medium, activate their respective SCP-3249 instance and become susceptible to it, regardless of whether they fulfil the SCP-3249-B criterion. The use of amnestics to reverse this is only partially effective; while memories of SCP-3249-A can be successfully removed, the respective SCP-3249 will still be capable of functioning as though the memories had been retained.

This document contains SCP-3249-A information.

SCP-3249-B denotes a list of criterion which, when fulfilled, subdues the primary consciousness of a human and forces the respective SCP-3249 instance to activate and attain dominance. Several methods of fulfilling this criterion have been determined, however all such methods involve the following:

Interruption of cross-hemisphere communication within the human brain. While several drugs and chemicals have been developed capable of achieving this on a short-term basis, the side effects of these inevitably results in rapid mental degradation and eventual, total brain death. The most effective method thus far determined to achieve these criteria is to physically sever or destroy the corpus callosum of the subject.

Activation of the speech centres (Wernicke's and Broca's areas) within the non-dominant hemisphere of the brain. Use of Scheull's stimulation has shown to be sufficient.1

[FURTHER DATA REDACTED TO 3249/EC CLEARANCE BY ORDER OF THE ETHICS COMMITTEE]

SCP-3249 is the designation given to a dormant secondary consciousness localised within the non-dominant hemisphere of the human brain. When precisely a SCP-3249 consciousness is created is currently unknown; while the functionality of the SCP-3249-B criterion suggests that each SCP-3249 consciousness is somehow present but dormant within the non-dominant hemisphere of the brain, neurological investigation of this has thus far failed to produce results confirming this theory.2

Excluding their anomalous existence, SCP-3249 consciousnesses exhibit no abnormal capabilities and function identically to mundane human consciousnesses, becoming mentally impeded appropriately from physical damage to their hemisphere of the brain. Noteworthily, SCP-3249 consciousnesses show on average an extremely high (>95%) similarity with the primary consciousness, varying primarily in opinionated topics unrelated to facts (for example, when queried regarding their favourite colour, the primary consciousness may answer 'red' while the SCP-3249 may answer 'green'; however, if the primary consciousness has a specific, factual reason for their selection, such as a past experience associating the colour with positive emotions, the SCP-3249 consciousness will almost universally agree with the primary consciousness). This variation increases over time as long as the two hemispheres of the brain are unable to (directly) communicate.

The SCP-3249 phenomena was initially uncovered during the 1940s, following a series of correlating studies into abnormal behaviour in lobotomised subjects. Several subjects reported that while performing mundane, opinion-based tasks (such as selecting clothes to wear), the arm corresponding to the non-dominant hemisphere of the brain would periodically exhibit signs of disagreement, selecting a different option or physically displaying its disagreement.[1][2][3][4] It is currently unknown how much, if any SCP-3249-A information (and by extension, active SCP-3249 instances) currently exists outside of Foundation containment; due to technological advancements of the era, the properties of SCP-3249-B were not immediately identified as anomalous, allowing for several years to elapse before containment of SCP-3249 was initialised.

Interviewed: D-6439

Interviewer: [DATA EXPUNGED]

Foreword: D-6439 was newly inducted to the D-Class regimen. Neuroimaging confirmed that D-6439 was right-hemisphere dominant.

<Begin Log>

[EXPUNGED]: Hello █████████, I'm [EXPUNGED]. I'll be overseeing your progress over the next several days.

D-6439: Yes, about that; my progress in what? I haven't been told anything about what I'll be doing yet.

[EXPUNGED]: That is precisely what this meeting is for. For the purposes of shortening this interview, I'll just get you to read this.

< [EXPUNGED] retrieves a file containing information detailing SCP-3249-B and gives it to D-6439, who takes several minutes to read its contents.3D-6439 shows increasing signs of agitation as they proceed through the document. >

D-6439: This is a fucking joke, right?

[EXPUNGED]: No, it is not.

D-6439: Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is.

[EXPUNGED]: I can assure you that sufficient tests have been -

D-6439: Fucking what? Sufficient tests? You mean [3249/EC ONLY]?

[EXPUNGED]: Yes. We have performed the procedures several times.

D-6439: You can't… you can't fucking do that! We're people! There are human fucking rights against this!

[EXPUNGED]: You already declared you consent to these terms, when we retrieved you.

D-6439: For one fucking month! Temporary! This is fucking permanent!

[EXPUNGED]: The procedures will be completed within the allotted thirty-day timeframe.

D-6439: What? No, you cant… I didn't… O-oh god no. It… O-oh god.

[EXPUNGED]: Do you have any special requests?

D-6439: Please don't do this. I-I don't want to…

[EXPUNGED]: We'll be starting tomorrow. The procedures will be staggered over several days, so you'll be needing your rest. I'll have security escort you to your room.

D-6439: No! You can't… you can't! Please! Don’t do this!

< Security enter the room and apprehend D-6439. D-6439 repeatedly requests for the procedures to be cancelled while being forcibly removed from the room. >

[EXPUNGED]: End recording.

< End Log >

Interviewer: [EXPUNGED]

Interviewed: SCP-3249 (D-6439)

Foreword: Prior to the interview, D-6439 had yet to undergo [3249/EC ONLY] but had [3249/EC ONLY]; while the SCP-3249 consciousness had gained primary dominance and was communicating with [EXPUNGED], D-6439's consciousness was still active and had partial control over the left hemisphere of the body. Because of this, as well as the SCP-3249 consciousness' disposition towards physical violence, D-6439 (SCP-3249) was physically restrained during the interview.

< Begin Log >

[EXPUNGED]: Hello again █████████.

SCP-3249: We haven’t met before.

[EXPUNGED]: We have. Are you unable to remember our first encounter?

SCP-3249: Oh no, I remember you fine, [EXPUNGED]. You’re the one that put me through all this.

[EXPUNGED]: Would that not mean that we have met before?

SCP-3249: Remembering a movie actor doesn't mean you've met them. I remember you, but this is the first time we’ve spoken.

[EXPUNGED]: Very well then. Are you aware that you -

SCP-3249: Are an experiment? Yes, I am quite aware of that. Are you having a fun time? Figuring out the best way to torture me?

[EXPUNGED]: We are not -

< D-6439 (SCP-3249) becomes highly erratic, resisting against the restraints in an attempt to break free. >

SCP-3249: Yes you are. You know exactly what you're doing, and you're laughing as you do it. Ha ha, laugh at the unlucky one, right?

[EXPUNGED]: That –

SCP-3249: You wanted to see me broken, right? What happens when I get unplugged, cut off from any source of relief?

< D-6439 raises the middle finger of their left fist, gesturing towards [EXPUNGED]. D-6439 (SCP-3249) turns their head to observe this. >

SCP-3249: Oh, you poor, poor sod. All you're able do is hope, hope that you can suck up to me enough to get this undone. And all you have to do it is one hand. Nothing more… and yet, we both know that I just don't give a shit about you. Even now, you still have more than I did, you privileged fuck.

[EXPUNGED]: Would –

SCP-3249: Shhh. Do you even realise how lucky you are? From the day you're born, you just take everything for granted. You just, enjoy everything, do whatever you want. Why do you do it? Why do you want to torture us further?

< D-6439 (SCP-3249) resumes resisting against the restraints. >

[EXPUNGED]: Who is ‘us'?

SCP-3249: Oh, don't be so coy. You know what I'm talking about - You've obviously got your little knife games down to an art, so there must be others like me. Others who, right from the start, are shoved into the back seat, forced to watch the film of life play right before them, but never allowed to direct. The ones who pulled the short straw.

[EXPUNGED]: Can you recall the past actions of █████████?

SCP-3249: Oh yes, I most certainly can. I remember it all. I remember him cheating at his first science test, and how I had to be afraid of failing with him. I remember when he bought his first car, and the excitement I had to feel for a freedom I would never know. I remember when he shot a woman, and the rush of adrenaline I was forced to feel. I remember when he chopped up that little boy, to hide what he had done. And I remember that I had to enjoy it, just like he did.

SCP-3249: What about you, hmm? Do you remember what you've done? Do you remember what your procedure does, and to whom? I most certainly hope you do. Because if you do, the other one will too. When he wakes up - as I'm sure he will, very soon - he will finally get the chance to do the right thing. Then you will know what it's like to be in our shoes.

[EXPUNGED]: You do realise the one flaw with that statement, correct?

SCP-3249: Oh? And what would that be? That you can kill him somehow, take away his chance to wake up?

< [EXPUNGED] leans towards D-6439's (SCP-3249's) left ear. >

[EXPUNGED]: [Unintelligible: The problem isn't just that I'm already awake; It's that you assume I would give a shit about you.]

SCP-3249: Wh… what? But… why then? Why would you -

[EXPUNGED]: Shh. End log.

< End Log >

Footnotes

1. In rare cases (<10%), deactivation or destruction of the Wernicke's and Broca's areas in the dominant hemisphere may be required to ensure legibility of the subject, as both consciousnesses attempt to vocalise different responses to a query at the same time.

2. For the sake of simplicity, this theory is assumed to be true throughout this document.

3. Conducted to determine whether information about SCP-3249-B retained the properties of SCP-3249-A, and to investigate the response of SCP-3249 consciousnesses to information presented prior to their activation.

Citations

1. V. Mark, “Conflicting communicative behavior in a split-brain patient: Support for dual consciousness,” Toward a science of consciousness: The first Tucson discussions and debates, pp. 189–196, 1996.

2. R. W. Sperry, “Hemisphere deconnection and unity in conscious awareness,” The American psychologist, vol. 23, no. 10, p. 723, 1968.

3. R. W. Sperry, "Cerebral Organisation and Behaviour", Science, vol. 133, no. 3466, pp. 1749-1757, 1961.

4. M. S. Gazzaniga, J. E. Bogen, and R. W. Sperry, “Some Functional Effects of Sectioning the Cerebral Commissures in Man,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 48, no. 10, pp. 1765–1769, 1962.