SCP-4018

Item #: SCP-4018

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4018 is kept in Site-57's low-risk anomalous object storage vault. No imagery of SCP-4018 may be distributed to any media outlet. Any photographs or videos of SCP-4018 found outside of containment must be destroyed.

Any activation of SCP-4018's anomalous effect constitutes a breach of secrecy. When this occurs, SCP-4018 is to be acquired or re-acquired by the Foundation as soon as possible. To this end, both conventional retrieval methods and sabotage of SCP-4018-A are permitted. SCP-4018-A's power over the Foundation, if any, must be negated.

Containment operations are considered finished once SCP-4018-A is no longer active. Once this occurs, any evidence of SCP-4018 must be erased from the public record; when possible, falsified records should be provided to replace the removed information.

Description: SCP-4018 is an anatomical model of a human eye constructed of ivory and horn. Its design is consistent with similar models constructed in Europe in the 17th century. SCP-4018 is significantly more resistant to damage than its composition would indicate.

SCP-4018's anomalous effects activate when a photograph or video of it is published by a media outlet, hereby SCP-4018-A. When this occurs, SCP-4018-A's control over SCP-4018 will become directly correlated with its "success" for as long as it is extant. Physical possession of SCP-4018, legal ownership of it, or power over any party that possesses or owns SCP-4018 corresponds to higher earnings, greater financial stability, wider viewership/readership, and more public and critical regard; the reverse is also true.

Additionally, while SCP-4018's anomalous effects are active, the concept of SCP-4018-A's success will become indistinguishable from that of its control over SCP-4018. Subjects will use the two concepts interchangeably in all situations without any discernible loss of meaning. Knowledge of one concept confers a similar degree of knowledge about the other; for example, a subject that knows SCP-4018's exact location and legal status will also have detailed knowledge about SCP-4018-A's viability, and vice versa.

This effect makes it difficult to ascertain the exact nature of the correlation between SCP-4018-A's control over SCP-4018 and its success, as subjects who consider the two concepts identical will fail to make the distinctions necessary to properly trace cause and effect.1 Relevant records made while SCP-4018 is active have not been interpreted usefully after the fact, and are often barely legible.

It has been hypothesized that SCP-4018's effects are ontological, i.e. that SCP-4018-A's success and its control over SCP-4018 become truly identical for the duration of the effect, rather than merely impossible for humans to discern. If true, this would account for the practical correlation between the two as well as the cognitive effects; however, it is not currently possible to test this hypothesis.

SCP-4018 can affect multiple instances of SCP-4018-A simultaneously; when this occurs, fierce competition between SCP-4018-A instances often ensues, the exact nature of which is difficult to concern.

Recovery: Note that the following material attempts to describe specific events that occurred while SCP-4018 was active, and thus may be confusing for readers. Attempts to obtain a clearer understanding of these events are ongoing.

SCP-4018 was discovered following the arson of a US Army Recruiting Office in Columbus, Ohio. ████-████, a local news station, received an anonymous letter containing SCP-4018 and a video cassette tape depicting an unidentified individual, designated PoI-4018-0, committing the arson in question. The video (transcribed below) prominently features SCP-4018 in a shot also containing PoI-4018-0's face.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This section may require a rewrite to comply with quality standards.

REASON: Other (unspecified)

With the approval of the local police department, ████-████ broadcast the image of PoI-4018-0's face in an attempt to identify the individual, thus subjecting ████-████ to its effects. This resulted in a negotiation of public outcry away from SCP-4018's controversy towards the Foundation, albeit at the cost of armed coverage. Ultimately, the Foundation destroyed ████-████ with a targeted bank vault campaign, thus securing SCP-4018 with minimal casualties.

Addendum: Transcript of Video Log 4018-0. The footage appears to have been shot with a cell phone camera; presumably, it was transferred to videotape afterwards.

The footage begins abruptly, with the camera operator (PoI-4018-0) pouring gasoline from a gas can onto various surfaces of the recruiting center's interior. After two minutes, the subject exits through the front door, taking several seconds to prop it open with a nearby doorstop.

PoI-4018-0: Okay, yeah, fuck that. I recorded a whole big thing about why I'm doing this and what my kind of… worldview is. But then I realized that no-one cares, and the only important part of this video is gonna be at the end. So you get the short version.

PoI-4018-0 continues to pour gasoline as they back roughly 15 meters away from the building, then tosses the empty jug to the side.

PoI-4018-0: I do just wanna say, real quick, that I'm sorry. Sorry that I can't do anything except mess with the media while the planet's burning, obviously, but also I'm sorry for forcing the issue.

The sound of a lighter being activated offscreen is heard.

PoI-4018-0: I know how easy it is to pretend that the old pretenses and euphemisms still hold up, and that people take the easy route when confronting things head on is hard. So I'm sorry for making things that much harder to cope with. But really, you know I had to do it to them.

PoI-4018-0 tosses a lit lighter onto the ground, igniting the gasoline. The fire spreads towards the recruitment center; shortly after it reaches the interior, the building goes up in flames.

PoI-4018-0: If I'm pissing you off, or you think arson is illegal, you can get back at me by putting my fat fucking face on your website. I'm a gay satanist who loves ISIS and hates small businesses.

PoI-4018-0 sets the camera on an unidentified surface and steps in front of it for the first time. Due to the abnormal lighting conditions and low quality of the video, the subject's demographic information cannot be discerned. SCP-4018 is located in the subject's left eye socket.

PoI-4018-0: Take a good look at your future.

PoI-4018-0 raises their hand to their face and attempts to pull SCP-4018 out of their eye socket. The recording ends abruptly after several seconds.

<End Log>

Footnotes

1. Generally, this is considered a trivial or nonsensical problem, akin to considering the correlation between a phenomenon and itself.