Item #: SCP-3432

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3432 is at this time not considered directly containable, and containment effort is directed at suppressing public knowledge of SCP-3432 events, and limiting the impact of such events.

Upon discovery of an SCP-3432-A instance, the area should be evacuated and a perimeter established to control access until dissipation of the instance. Civilians affected by or witness to an SCP-3432 manifestation are to be interviewed and administered amnestics.

Access to the area covered by an SCP-3432-A instance is strictly forbidden to any Foundation personnel, and should only be entered by D-class personnel for approved testing.

Upon dissipation of the SCP-3432-A instance, the area is to be searched for traces of SCP-3432 influence. Recovered objects are to be either destroyed or kept for further research, at the discretion of the researcher in charge of SCP-3432 (currently Senior Researcher Kyle Peterson). Once the area has been cleared, it is to be considered non-anomalous and returned its previous state.

Description: SCP-3432 is the given designation of an infophage entity currently theorized to exist outside of baseline reality. Interaction between SCP-3432 and any kind of information will result in the complete and irreversible loss of that information. It should be noted that this phenomenon will only affect the particular information SCP-3432 was in contact with, and notably any copy of this information will not be affected.

Because of this property, an SCP-3432 manifestation will degrade the quantum information of the medium supporting the instance causing immediate cessation of existence. For this reason it had been thought that the existence of an entity similar to SCP-3432 was implausible or that such an entity would not be able to interact with baseline reality, prior to the discovery of SCP-3432-A.

SCP-3432-A is the designation for areas of low Humes levels where the lessened effects of the laws of physics allow for stable manifestations of SCP-3432 to occur. SCP-3432-A instances themselves appear impermanent, only existing for a period determined to be around a few days for most instances. The size of SCP-3432-A instances have been measured between one to two meters up to a few hundred meters in radius, with one notable exception (see Incident-3432-05). Upon disappearance of SCP-3432-A, remaining SCP-3432 manifestations will immediately collapse because of its primary effect.

The mechanism behind the creation of SCP-3432-A instances is currently unclear, and it is not known if SCP-3432 is directly responsible for their creation or if they are an unrelated phenomenon that incidentally allows for manifestations to occur.

Observations of SCP-3432 manifestations inside SCP-3432-A instances suggest that the primary effect of SCP-3432 is lessened in two major ways. First information destruction is not instantaneous, but takes a time measured from a few minutes to several hours; and second is not complete, with more complex information generally being preferred. Particularly, devices capable of information manipulation, such as computers and brains, seem to attract SCP-3432 manifestations. Based on this and further observation conducted on SCP-3432-instances (see Addendum A) it is currently believed that SCP-3432 is not sapient, but possess a degree of sentience in the way that it targets information and adapts to computation mediums. As such, caution is to be taken when testing with devices capable of complex computations, including humans.

Incident-3432-03: On ██/██/████ an instance of SCP-3432-A was discovered in ████████ Germany, with a radius much larger than previously observed SCP-3432-A instances, covering an area encompassing several small towns. The instance was discovered by the GOC several days prior, and its existence obscured from the public and other groups of interest, including the Foundation. After confirmation that the instance had lasted for more than a week (much longer than any previously observed instances) dialog was opened to gain access to the instance. After several days of fruitless negotiations the area was the target of an aerial strike by the GOC, destroying the towns affected by the anomaly. Three hours later several observations were made of incidents consistent with an SCP-3432-A dissipation and the area was reclassified as non-anomalous. It is theorized that the destruction of most sources of complex information by the strike was the cause of this dissipation, but this has not been confirmed.

Addendum A: After the discovery of the first SCP-3432-A instance, it was initially thought to be an isolated anomalous event, and it was only after several other instances were discovered and the existence of SCP-3432 was theorized that the anomaly was given an official SCP designation. Below are the research notes from Senior Researcher Kyle Peterson who was assigned to the initial investigation of the phenomenon.

This anomaly is truly fascinating. Anything brought within the active area containing any kind of complex information will see that information erased. I find it quite interesting that there seems to be a limit to what information it will consume: for example the many plants in the active zone seem to fine, even though I would have expected an anomaly targeting all information to destroy their genetic information. There is much research needed on the exact limits and target selection.

[redacted for brevity]

It disappeared! The anomaly vanished in seconds, with a flash of light and a loud thundering sound. The entire area has reverted to being non-anomalous, although there are numerous patches of plants that seems to have suffered something resembling acute radiation poisoning. My working hypothesis right now is that whatever limits there were to this anomaly, they suddenly ceased to be effective and it consumed all the available information to the point of self-destruction. Well, I guess this one will stay a mystery on the anomalous event log.

They found another one! It’s the exact same kind of information-eating anomaly as last time in █████. This time I even got the approval to send a D-class in the active area, which I hope will give us information on the speed and pattern of progression of the anomaly.

The experiment had… unexpected results. Much to my dismay it seems that the anomaly wiped her ability to talk first, and by the time we got around to try to get her to write something it seems like that was gone too. The interesting part is that I expected to pull a vegetable out of the active zone, but she seems to be much more functional than I would have thought, and she was able to pass some simple logic and coordination tests, like tying her shoelaces. But her ability to communicate seems to be completely and utterly gone, which makes a more complete assessment of the effects of the anomaly difficult: who knows what is really left of a human being in there? It could be anything from an almost fully-conscious mind trapped within itself to a barely conscious ghost of a person, not even aware of all the things that it cannot remember. To be honest both possibilities send chills down my spine.

Another one of those anomalies was tracked down. They never last long and manifest seemingly at random, but for now haven’t appeared anywhere populated. More to the point, with the few last tests establishing that sending more D-class just yields the same result I’ll be trying again with a few remotely monitored laptops.

The results were pretty interesting, and not what I had expected once again. While the first laptop seemed to get erased pretty haphazardly, suffering random and worsening malfunctions before crashing irrecoverably, the results for the second laptop were the interesting ones: the display got shutdown almost immediately, but the laptop itself kept running, and while parts of the disk did get erased, none of it was necessary for the continued function of the computer. More disturbing still, a lot of the targeted data belonged to caches and buffer that got recreated each time the computer noticed they were missing.

This changes a lot of things about what we thought of this anomaly, the most important and frightening of which being that it seems to have some kind of sentience and ability to learn, fast. But for now, there is only one thing that I can say for sure about this anomaly: further research is required.

The anomaly SCP-3432 keeps creating new questions, but from enough observation I think I finally have a few answers. It is obvious that SCP-3432-A instances are related, but rather than separate occurrences of a similar anomaly, I think that they have a common and unique cause. And from the results of the tests I conducted, I would go so far as to say that this common cause is some kind of sentient entity.

From the violent side effects of an SCP-3432-A dissipation event I hypothesize that the intrinsic nature of SCP-3432 is something fundamentally contrary to the concept of information, an equal and opposite of sorts that annihilate on direct contact. How could something like this be sentient then? My theory is that just as information can be manipulated, this “anti-information” (for lack of a better word) can too, and SCP-3432 is an anti-information based mind, existing someplace outside of our reality where the laws of our universe cannot contradict its existence.

Then, SCP-3432-A instances would be the equivalent of a dimensional spacesuit, something that helps it sustains its presence in our reality, enough to gradually erode information and not purely annihilate it. But that begs the question, why? Does SCP-3432 gains anything from the information it destroys? Is it exploring? Consuming? Impossible to tell for now, and it could even turn out to be something else entirely. Its interaction with human minds is most peculiar too: why does it mostly appear to destroy information linked to communication? Is it on purpose, or does it just not understand? As I have said, there might be some answers, but there are even more questions.

Regardless of what the final answers are, SCP-3432 still seems to have enough difficulties interacting with our reality to not be considered a major threat. But still, seeing how fast it seems to be able to learn and adapt, I would recommend for all tests regarding SCP-3432 to be suspended as a precaution.

Incident-3432-07: After a leak of GOC intelligence, the Foundation became aware of the existence of a GOC project apparently directed at developing a weaponized version of SCP-3432’s effect, based on an incomplete understanding of the anomaly. Foundation intelligence indicates the project to have been cancelled and thus not cause for direct concern, but action might be necessary if related projects were to be revived.

Senior Researcher Peterson’s note:

Despite the official lack of concern, what the GOC accomplished is quite disconcerting. It appears that through the use of anomalous memetic triggers they were able to effectively cause the human mind to generate the same kind of “anti-information” that makes up SCP-3432. Even if their worry of the meme spreading was based on an incomprehension of the nature of SCP-3432-A, the fact that an operation exists that can generate “anti-information” from real information is alarming, because I don’t know what would happen if SCP-3432 itself were to learn of it.

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Well, one of those genius anartists just went and did it. Unsurprisingly, they also got wind of the GOC leak, and one of them figured it was a good idea to make a piece centered around an information-destroying meme. And I guess SCP-3432 thought it was a great idea too. Adapting that meme into art, something that is designed to have you react and think about it, was just as if someone gave SCP-3432 a crash course on communicating with the human mind. And that is how suddenly, SCP-3432 was everywhere. Everyone who had seen the art piece were not just subject to its anomalous properties, they became a part of SCP-3432, pawns in its bigger game. They all became living zombies, trapped in a glass prison of their own minds, silently witnessing as they doom others to the same fate.

Before, SCP-3432 had just been poking at our universe like a curious child, probably unaware of what it was really doing. And then some hipster made it notice us; and humans are now shiny new toys to play with and accidentally break. But now that it knows, I dread to think about what more it could do, of what kind of terrible door we have opened that may not be closed ever again.

Truly, this has been the art piece that made the world speechless. Forever.