Item #: SCP-5613
Level 3/5613

Object Class: Euclid
Classified

The border of Containment Site-5613, near the SCP-5613-C filtration system.

Special Containment Procedures: All aspects of SCP-5613 are to be contained in situ within Containment Site-5613 and regularly patrolled for intruders. Any non-Foundation personnel who approach are to be dissuaded through Standard Cover Story 25-Tsevaoth (Military Drill). If they continue, they are to be taken offsite, questioned regarding SCP-5613, and amnesticized. Personnel are not to be questioned onsite.

On the grounds of Containment Site-5613 it is forbidden to engage in any form of spoken argument. Theoretical debates, for instance, debates as to the nature of SCP-5613, are to be conducted solely using an online server Following the Akhnai Event of Post-Containment Incident B, all debate or discussion, written or spoken, is forbidden on the grounds of Containment Site-5613. An offsite location has been installed for any and all theoretical debates, and staff are forbidden from engaging in any conversation excluding objective note-taking and containment-related orders.

SCP-5613-A is to be regularly monitored for erosion damage. If an Akhnai Event occurs, the Containment Site-5613 Assistant Director is to shake his or her fist in its direction and recite Ritual Phrases 5613-A #1—3 in Tiberian Hebrew, Western Aramaic, and Koine Greek respectively.

Show Ritual Phrases 5613-A #1—3

Hide Ritual Phrases 5613-A #1—3

RP-5613-A #
Language
Text
Transcription

1
Tiberian Hebrew
מַה טִּיבְכֶם
Mah ṭivkhem?1

2
Western Aramaic
לְמָא סְלֵיקְתּוּן לְוָתַנָא
Lᵊma sᵊleiqtun lᵊwathāna?2

3
Koine Greek
μὴ συγκοινωνεῖτε
Mḗ synkoinōneite!3

SCP-5613-B is to be pruned, watered and harvested as appropriate for a non-anomalous Ceratonia siliqua tree of its size. Its fruits are non-anomalous and staff are permitted to consume them for personal use. If an Akhnai Event occurs, containment staff are to immediately ensure that its new location is surrounded by Containment Site-5613 land for more than more that 200 meters in any direction.

A filtration system is to be installed just past the western end of SCP-5613-C to catch and dispose of any dead free-swimming complex organisms. As per the Haifa Accords of 1962 the Israeli government is to tacitly increase the liquid sewage flow into the Wadi Sorek, so as to make it inhospitable for free-swimming complex organisms. Swimming in SCP-5613-C is expressly forbidden.4

When an Akhnai Event occurs, holders of the minority opinion are to be immediately removed from the grounds of Containment Site-5613, and staff members are to follow Procedure 5613-Yovel in its entirety.

Show Procedure 5613-Yovel

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Procedure 5613-Yovel

STEP 1: Three shofarot5 are to be blown one hundred times each.

STEP 2: Physical copies of all research done by majority are to be burned in a large onsite bonfire.

STEP 3: All holders of the majority opinion are to place the ash of the bonfire on their head.

STEP 4: All holders of the majority opinion are to cut off any contact with holders of the minority opinion, and are to remain at a distance of at least 2 meters away from holders of the minority opinion at all times for the next eleven months.

STEP 5: After eleven months have passed, social connections with holders of the minority opinion may be re-established, although holders of the minority opinion are forbidden from being assigned to SCP-5613 again.

Description: SCP-5613 is the collective term used for a series of three related anomalies found in a field just north of Yavneh in the Central District of Israel.

SCP-5613-A

SCP-5613-B

SCP-5613-C

A close-up of the texture of SCP-5613-A

SCP-5613-A is an unhewn, unmortared stone wall approximately 45 meters in length, 20 centimeters in width, and 3.5 meters in height. SCP-5613-A is, as of 29-9-2019, tilted at a 43° angle. This is substantially greater than the critical angle of repose for unmortared stones, yet SCP-5613-A holds its form without collapsing.

During Akhnai Events, SCP-5613-A steadily increases its tilt until an assistant director or equivalent position of authority recites RP-5613-A #1—3 in Tiberian Hebrew, Western Aramaic, and Koine Greek.

SCP-5613-B in its former location, prior to the most recent Akhnai Event.

SCP-5613-B is a carob or locust tree Ceratonia siliqua, 13.5 meters in height, of a genetic variety commonly found in the southern Levant. Its flowering and fruiting seasons are standard and its produce is unanomalous. Notably, it has not been shown to age or grow any larger since testing began, and although genetic-drift testing testing suggests it is approximately 2000 years old (approximately 1000 years older than the oldest known carob tree), its size would suggest it is only approximately 150 years old.

At the onset of an Akhnai Event, SCP-5613-B disappears from its location, and at its conclusion it reappears anywhere between 40 and 200 meters's distance from its previous location. SCP-5613-B's former location has consistently shown signs of a minor cave-in consistent with a substantial quantity of root matter disappearing, but its new location has never shown any sign of rupture or breach, and soil analysis has shown no movement of soil from one location to another.

A small section of SCP-5613-C.

SCP-5613-C is an approximately 50-meter stretch of the Wadi Sorek, an intermittent stream that flows through central Israel. This stretch "flows backwards" from the rest of the wadi — whereas most of the Wadi Sorek flows downstream from east to west, water within SCP-5613-C flows from west to east. Any loose debris that enter SCP-5613-C from the upstream end will be instantly teleported inside the western end of SCP-5613-C, and any loose debris that exit SCP-5613-C downstream will instantly be instantly teleported outside the western end of SCP-5613-C.

Free-swimming complex organisms appear to be unable to survive the passage through SCP-5613-C, and their corpses are deposited outside the western end. The effect of SCP-5613-C only applies to that which is in contact with the water of the wadi itself, and those on its banks or suspended above it are immune to its effects.

Unlike SCP-5613-A and SCP-5613-B, SCP-5613-C goes through no changes during Akhnai Events. It is grouped alongside them because of geographical proximity and certain historical factors.

Akhnai Events are triggered on certain occasions when a debate occurs in the region demarcated by Containment Site-5613. Requirements for an Akhnai Event occurence include:

that the debate features a majority opinion and a minority opinion

that holders of the minority opinion believe themselves to be "put upon" or "targeted" by the majority

that holders of the majority opinion consider appeal to authority to be a logical fallacy

that the debate has an objectively correct answer6

the debate grows heated7

Alongside the previously listed effects of an Akhnai Event, the triggering debate will continue and increase in vitriol until every holder of the minority opinion is removed from the site. Attempted mediators will without exception be drawn into the debate, in all recorded cases joining the side of the majority opinion. When an Akhnai Event lasts longer than three solar hours8, the likelihood of violence increases dramatically, as holders of the minority opinion sometimes develop anomalous abilities. This stage is to be avoided at all costs.

Discovery:

SCP-5613 was first contained in 1863 by the Sihirlerin Taburi9. After the First World War, the Sihirlerin Taburi was disbanded and all of its holdings in the Mandate of Palestine came under the auspices of Her Majesty's Foundation for the Secure Containment of the Paranormal (HMFSCP), which was incorporated in its entirety into the modern Foundation. The records of the Sihirlerin Taburi were largely lost during the turmoil of World War I, so it is unclear how they first came across SCP-5613, but it is known to have existed substantially longer than than according to ancient records (see Historical Incidents A and B).

Incidents:

Historical Incident A

Historical Incident B

Post-Containment Incident A

Post-Containment Incident B

Incident Date: Approx. 12th century BCE

Incident Description: This incident is the earliest known Akhnai Event, found in only one record. According to the account10, a local Danite warrior by the name of Shimshon fell in love with a woman by the name of Delilah in the Wadi Sorek region, and the woman betrayed him to the Philistine officials in the region. The Philistines then proceeded to mock and abuse Shimshon for hours, up to the point where he grew enraged, acquired anomalous strength, and singlehandedly destroyed their place of worship.

Conclusions: Little can be concluded from this incident due to the lack of direct sources, but it does demonstrate that SCP-5613 long predates what was previously thought to be its origin.

Incident Date: Approx. 100 CE

Incident Description: Until relatively recently it was assumed that this incident was related to the origin of SCP-5613. It is told in the most detail and is the most important source for the Foundation's containment procedures. According to the account found in the Babylonian Talmud tractate Bava Metzia 59b, Rabbi Eliezer engaged in a debate with the majority of the Sanhedrin11 about the ritual purity of a certain type of layered oven. Even when overruled, Rabbi Eliezer refused to admit defeat, claiming his opinion to be the correct one. According to legend, he called upon the carob tree to jump, the river to flow backwards, the walls of the study hall to collapse, and the voice of God himself to come down from heaven, but the Sanhedrin accepted none of his miracles as evidence. Rabbi Eliezer was then excommunicated, and remained separated from the Sanhedrin until the death of Rabban Gamliel.

Conclusions: The parallels to SCP-5613 are beyond coincidence. Many of the Foundation's containment procedures are directly derived from here. RP-5613-A #1 was derived from Rabbi Yehoshua's reaction to the collapsing walls of the study hall, and Procedure 5613-Yovel was derived from rabbinic rites of excommunication. Even so, this telling of the story was likely exaggerated over the years, and Historical Incident-A shows that the incident of the oven was not the first Akhnai Event.

Incident Date: 16-5-1977

Incident Description: During the run-up to the 1977 ████████, a political argument broke out between Senior Researcher Menachem Levin and Junior Researcher Yosef Shriki. An Akhnai Event was triggered and Senior Researcher Levin was transfered to another project and Procedure 5613-Yovel was performed.

Conclusions: Prior to Post-Containment Incident A it was thought that Akhnai Events could only be triggered by debates with an objectively correct answer as opposed to value judgements, matters of taste, or competing desires.

Incident Date: 3-7-2014

Incident Description: Junior Researcher Shai Harkabi, assigned to SCP-5613-A, and Research Assistant Yusuf bin Sa‘id, assigned to SCP-5613-C, became engaged in an online argument in response to the ██████████ ██ █████ █████████ on 12 June 2014. Their argument thread grew to over eight hundred replies until an Akhnai Event was triggered. Since the argument was silent, it took over four hours to determine the holders of the minority and majority opinions, by which point Research Assistant bin Sa‘id's cell phone had increased in temperature to over seven hundred degrees Celsius. This led Research Assistant bin Sa‘id to be identified as the holder of the minority opinion, upon which he was transferred to another project and Procedure 5613-Yovel was performed.

Conclusions: Since the holders of minority and majority opinions instances were assigned to different areas, bin Sa‘id's anomalous ability was directed at his phone instead of at Harkabi. The current policy forbidding any and all debate, written or spoken, on the grounds of Containment Site-5613 was put in place in response to this incident.

+ Open Note from Site Director Leib — 3-5613 EYES ONLY

- Note opened. Your access has been logged.

Welcome to the valley.

When I was young, my parents sent me to yeshiva for a month. My father was a Soviet refugee, and my mother was a daughter of Auschwitz survivors. Both were avowed atheists. But when I was young, my parents sent me to yeshiva for a month. My father once told me that any god who let the Shoah happen was either dead or not worth worshiping. But when I was young, my parents sent me to yeshiva for a month.

I used to wonder why they did that. What could they possibly have wanted me to see there? What could I get there that I couldn’t get at Herzliya Gymnasium? I sat there for a month, watching people as alien to me as I would be to the King of Jordan debate the meaning of obscure Aramaic clauses, slowly stewing in my own anger and confusion. I was an outsider there.

My parents were proud Jews. Yes, as I said before, they were avowed atheists. They were also proud Jews. Americans don’t seem to understand this, but the divisions you make between religion, culture, heritage, ethnicity? They’re all narishkeit. You have one identity — multifaceted but singular nonetheless. And that’s how I realized what my parents wanted me to learn from yeshiva students.

All of the students at Yeshivat Beit Yeshurun agreed about that. Yet just what divine truth was, ah, that was a different question. I would see these kids — kids I, in my self-righteous ḥiloni way, had assumed thought the same, acted the same, just as they dressed the same — argue passionately, confidently, and loudly about their area of study. But what amazed me most of all was that when the session was over, they would line up and pray the afternoon service together. The debates in the study hall remained in the study hall — even ardent opposition would be left behind in pursuit of unity.

Traditional Jewish practice says that God is the utmost unity, the utmost truth. There is no unity like Divine unity, no truth like Divine truth. But Divine truth is not unity. No, on the contrary, it is as multifaceted a thing there is. As the old expression goes, “the Torah has seventy faces.” Science as a philosophical field is founded on the idea of finding the capital-T Truth, the one correct fact from a muddle of guesswork and disagreement. The Foundation certainly works that way — we argue to determine the truth, and wholeheartedly believe that we will stop arguing when we determine the truth. But that’s not how people act, and I’m frankly not so sure if it’s even what we should aspire to.

This valley is a place where arguments lead to fights, and fights lead to deaths. So what? That happens everywhere — in abusive homes, online, at high schools, in war zones. What’s different here is just the visibility of it. What we have to remember, what this tilting wall, this hopping tree, remind us, is that we are struggling for the same goal. We have to remember that we are struggling for the same goal.

May the One who brings peace on high bring peace upon us as well. I’ll see you Sunday.

—Director Aharon Leib

Footnotes

1. lit: What is your nature?

2. lit: Why do you rise against us?

3. lit: Do not involve yourselves!

4. "It's 70% sewage, so who would want to swim in it anyway?"

–Junior Researcher Harkabi.

5. A shofar (plural: shofarot) is a hollowed-out ram's horn used in Jewish ritual practice. In modern Jewish practice it is strictly used to announce the onset of the new year, but in ancient Judean culture it was used as an all-purpose alarm.

6. See Post-Containment Incident A

7. SCP-5613's definition of "heated" is unclear.

8. A solar hour is defined as one twelfth of the time between sunrise and sunset. Thus, in summer a solar hour is substantially longer than in winter.

9. literally: the Battalion of Magics. The Sihirlerin Taburi was the official paranormal agency of the late Ottoman Empire, founded by Sultan Mahmud II in 1828.

10. which can be found in ██████ 16

11. The highest court of rabbinic authority, at the time centered in Yavneh and headed by Rabban Gamliel the Younger, along with his second-in-command Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananiah.