¢ Artificial over-saturation of the video game market 
via Foundation-owned companies and undercover 
elements in several existing companies. 

¢ Use of Foundation elements in existing game 
publishers to encourage poor business decisions 
and practices. 

¢ Industrial sabotage of several upcoming projects. 


The crash brought about via these factors was sufficient 
to achieve majority containment of SCP-3843. 
Containment of remaining SCP-3843-1 instances is 
ongoing. However, due to the nature of SCP-3843, such 
an operation is considered to be indefinite in length. 


Description: SCP-3843 is a non-player character present in an as- 
of-yet unknown number of video games which is capable of 
physically and mentally altering players. A game inhabited by 
SCP-3843, hereafter referred to as SCP-3843-1, is capable of 
passing SCP-3843 onto other games in its physical vicinity2. 
Infection of an SCP-3843-1 instance by SCP-3843 does not appear 
to be permanent, as SCP-3843 has been observed to disappear 
from instances of SCP-3843-1 after a period of five to ten years. 


The range necessary for infection to occur is inconsistent, with some 
games becoming infected even while in neighboring buildings, while 
others require direct physical contact. SCP-3843 does not appear to 
be able to infect games that are solely multiplayer by means of an 
online connection. It will also not appear in an SCP-3843-1 instance 
with both multiplayer and single-player aspects if that instance is 
connected to the internet. 


SCP-3843 will appear in an SCP-3843-1 instance as a non-player 
character suited to the game's setting, almost always identified as 


‘Sam’, 'Sammy', or some other variation of the name. While 
SCP-3843 will adapt its appearance and basic gameplay role to suit 
the game it is inhabiting, its dialogue (in the cases where it has any) 
is usually either unsuited to the game setting entirely or wholly 
incoherent. 


The primary anomalous effects of SCP-3843 become activated 
when either, in-game, the player character interacts with it or it 
interacts with the player character. At this point, the player will begin 
to undergo permanent alterations in order to reflect the character 
they are controlling. No alterations will occur if the player simply 
ignores SCP-3843. 


SCP-3843's mental alterations usually manifest as the player 
receiving skills and knowledge their player character would feasibly 
possess. Testing has shown examples of players, for example, 
receiving knowledge regarding the proper use of firearms while 
playing action games where they are prominent. Although physical 
alterations made to a player by SCP-3843 are usually relatively 
minor and not especially dangerous, this is not the case if the 
instance of SCP-3843-1 features a non-human player character. In 
that event, the alterations made to the player to cause them to 
resemble said character are physically traumatic and often result in 
death during or shortly after the process. 


SCP-3843 appears to have a significant effect on the perceptions of 
its victims while the instance of SCP-3843-1 is being played in that 
victims of SCP-3843 are unable to register the alterations they are 
going through until they stop playing the game. 


SCP-3843 is believed to be the creation of Indigo Games, a small 
anomalous games company which was active from the years 1980 
to 1983. (See Interview 3843-1.) 


Addendum 3843-1 (Retrieved Instances Log): 


The following is a list and summary of SCP-3843 containment 
breaches which have occurred since its classification as an SCP on 
10/04/1983. In all cases, Agents were dispatched, successfully 
retrieved the instance of SCP-3843-1 and administered amnestics to 
witnesses as appropriate. All possible infected games in the vicinity 


of the recovered instance were safely disposed of. 


Game: Super Mario Bros (1985), Nintendo 
Entertainment System 

Date: 12/21/1985 

SCP-3843 Role:3 SCP-3843 appears as a ‘koopa’ 
enemy with a white shell in World 1-1. Alterations begin 
when the player kills this enemy. 


Incident Summary: Andrew Calhoun, 22, writes to 
tabloid Weekly World News, claiming that he had 
instantly grown a substantial mustache after playing the 
game Super Mario Bros. A reporter sent by the paper, 
while investigating the game, also instantly grows a 
mustache reminiscent of the game's titular character. 
Foundation elements within Weekly World News report 
anomalous activity at this point and a dispatched Agent 
retrieves the SCP-3843-1 instance. Both Calhoun and 
the reporter are thoroughly shaved and dosed with a 
Class-B amnestic. 


Game: Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990), MSX2 

Date: 12/20/1990 

SCP-3843 Role: SCP-3843 appears as a boss character 
encountered halfway through the game, identified as 
‘Salty Sam’, a pirate-themed former KGB agent who 
uses a water cutter as a weapon. Before fighting the 
player character, he engages in a lengthy monologue 
regarding 'Salt and Meats [sic]' and food shortages in the 
enemy base. Alterations begin when the boss fight is 
initiated. 


Dialogue Sample 


SCP-3843: So...you're the guy that's called 
Sold [sic] Snake by everyone, huh! Well that's 
just good for me because I'm looking out to try 
and find some salts and meats in this base of 
ours ZANZIBAR LAND. And well...1 used to be 
inside the KGB Snake, until | got caught and 
betrayed by those KGB people. It really made 


me angry when that happened Solid Snake, 
and when later BIG BOSS invited me with salt 
and meats to his house in ZANZIBAR LAND 
that really got my stomach hungering...but all 
of the bullets you have shooting at us. Well, 
needless to say, there are not many salt and 
meats in ZANZIBAR LAND at this. Time. 


(Monologue continues for a further fifteen 
minutes of clicking through dialogue.) 


SCP-3843: Snake...I'm going to kill you and 
the KGB now and get all my salt and meats at 
ZANZIBAR LAND! Have at me! 


Incident Summary: Daryl McKenzie, 24, is shot and 
killed while attempting to break into a secure military 
installation near his hometown of . Analysis of 
security footage from the incident shows Mr. McKenzie 
using both advanced stealth tactics and firearms which 
he had never received any training in. Subsequent 
search of his home by the UIU revealed the presence of 
the SCP-3843-1 instance, which was recovered during 
transit by Agent Cobb and brought into Foundation 
custody. 


Game: Pac-Man (1990), Game Boy 

Date: 04/11/1995 

SCP-3843 Role: SCP-3843 appears as a fifth ‘ghost’ 
enemy, identified as 'Sammy', which chases the player 
character through the map. Alterations begin when either 
SCP-3843 kills the player character or the player 
character eats SCP-3843. 


Incident Summary: Alan Carver, 35, is arrested by 
police and taken to a local hospital after a passerby 
witnesses him eating a neighborhood cat in his 
backyard. Victim dies shortly before arriving at hospital. 
Later analysis of the body shows the cause of death to 
be apparent starvation. Victim had suffered significant 
yellowing of the skin and expansion of the skull, causing 


damage to their neck due to increased weight. 
Additionally, skin had grown over both ears, both nostrils 
and one eye. 


Agents dispatched to deal with the situation recover the 
SCP-3843-1 instance at the victims home. 


Game: Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (2002), 
GameCube 

Date: 07/06/2003 

SCP-3843 Role: SCP-3843 appears as a non-playable 
boss character identified as 'Samutenshi', a colossal 
white avian monster. Notably, the original GoaZilla: 
Destroy All Monsters Melee did not feature any non- 
playable boss characters. Alterations begin either when 
the player first attacks SCP-3843, or SCP-3843 first 
attacks the player. 


Incident Summary: Foundation Agents in the city of 
are dispatched to the site of an apartment building which 
spontaneously collapsed with no apparent cause. 
Inspection of the debris reveals the corpse of Aarav 
Kapoor, 20, which had expanded to fill an entire floor of 
the apartment building and caused the collapse in the 
process. Notably, while Mr. Kapoor's skin and muscles 
expanded during alteration, his skeleton and other 
internal organs did not. 


All witnesses and survivors were dosed with Class-A 
amnestics and a cover story centered around sub- 
standard construction was produced to account for the 
building's collapse. The remains of the SCP-3843-1 
instance were recovered on site and its nature as 
formerly containing SCP-3843 was confirmed through 
analysis of its reconstructed code. 


Game: Mass Effect 2 (2010), PlayStation 3 

Date: 02/04/2010 

SCP-3843 Role: SCP-3843 appears as a blind supply 
officer named Samuel Belkira aboard the player 
character's ship. When interacted with, SCP-3843 rants 


at length regarding food shortages above the ship, 
especially regarding ‘salt and meats [sic]', before giving 
the player a quest to solve said food shortages?4. 
Alterations begin upon initiation of dialogue. 


Dialogue Sample 


SCP-3843: Commander, I'm going to talk on 
you now. Okay. 


Commander Shepard?: I've always got time 
for the crew of the Normandy. What do you 
need? 


SCP-3843: Now listen at this. Okay. The ship 
Normandy's hasn't got enough salt and meats, 
Commander Shepard. If we don't get more, 
we're all going to starve to death out here in. 
(ten second pause) Deep space. Okay. | really 
need my salt and meats, Commander, and I've 
got a hankering for some of those things. My 
name's Samuel Belkira. I'm a supply officer 
just looking for some of you know what, just 
doing what comes natural. Haha. Also I'm 
blind. By the way, Commander, have you seen 
some salt and meats on the Normandy? 
Sometimes they climb up into the vents and 
that's just a big bag of worms. That's way too 
much for any one man to eat at one time, 
Commander, and I'm even blind. So it's 
something that we've got to deal with. Are you 
feeling okay? 


Commander Shepard: That does sound like a 
problem. But what can | do about it? 


SCP-3843: Salt and meats. 


Incident Summary: Foundation is alerted when the 
home of Catherine Herrera, 32, violently explodes ina 
flash of blue light. Agents investigating the debris recover 


An experiment was conducted to ascertain the effect of SCP-501 on 
individuals who are successful in obtaining it. D-class member 
D-501 was chained to the wall of the containment cell, and all other 
personnel were evacuated from the cell. The security monitors were 
briefly switched off as a programmed robotic arm opened the safe 
containing SCP-501, allowing D-501 to view it briefly. The arm then 
proceeded to move SCP-501 onto a machine in the cell that 
hermetically sealed SCP-501 in an opaque, jet black steel case. 
Researchers then re-entered the cell and unchained D-501 from the 
wall, allowing him to obtain the sealed SCP-501, at which point the 
researchers moved to a safe viewing location to observe the actions 
of D-501. A speaker was placed on the ceiling, and researchers 
were instructed to grant all requests made by D-501 that would not 
involve releasing him from the cell, would not result in possible 
visual exposure of the researchers to SCP-501, and would not 
violate safety or security protocols. The test began at 1:43 PM. 


10-20-09, 1:43 PM: Subject acquires the sealed 
SCP-501. Subject stares at it without blinking for 10 
minutes. Some researchers believe that the subject is 
still able to see SCP-501 even through its sealed case. 


10-20-09, 1:53 PM: Subject suddenly stops staring and 
begins to strip all of his clothing. Researchers hear him 
muttering “I must remove the contamination” repeatedly 
as he does this. 


10-20-09, 1:55 PM: Subject throws all the removed 
clothing into the corner of the room, after which he looks 
into the speaker and requests a razor. Request 
tentatively granted. The razor is carried in by an armed 
security guard. Subject takes the item and the guard 
leaves. Subject immediately and violently shaves off all 
the hair on his body and discards it in the same corner 
as his clothes. Subject cuts himself several times in the 
process, but does not seem to react or notice. As he 
shaves, he is heard over the speaker repeatedly 
muttering “Begone, unwanted possessions.” Subject 
discards the razor in a similar fashion to his hair and 
clothes after he finishes using it. 


both Ms. Herrera's charred corpse and the remains of 
the SCP-3843-1 instance. A suitable cover story 
involving a gas explosion is provided to the public. 


Due to the fact that Ms. Herrera maintained an active 
blog in which she detailed her playthroughs of various 
games, researchers have been able to build a theory 
regarding exactly what caused the explosion during the 
alteration process. In-game, Ms. Herrera was playing as 
an 'Adept' character class, centered around using 'mass 
effect fields’ to fling enemies and objects via an implant 
in the player character's body. When SCP-3843 
attempted to translate these fictional scientific concepts, 
and the implant that utilizes them, into the real world, the 
resulting incompatibility with standard reality caused a 
violent rejection of its container - which, in this case, was 
Ms. Herrera's body. 


Game: Nier: Automata (2017), PlayStation 4 

Date: 09/22/2017 

SCP-3843 Role: SCP-3843 appears as a merchant 
character within the game's factory area, identified as 
7H8. As a merchant, SCP-3843 has two-hundred of an 
item called 'Meats [sic]' in stock. Said item is non- 
functional. SCP-3843's dialogue consists of a lengthy 
speech primarily centered around how, as an android, it 
is unable to eat meat, and the distress this causes it. 


Dialogue Sample 


SCP-3843: Hey kid, come on over here and let 
my words in you. 


9S7: We should go see what he wants, 2B. 


SCP-3843: Now listen you people, okay. I'm 
an android now. I've seen a lot of things on the 
planet Earth, okay. But | haven't see [sic] any 
meats. Only salt. I'm an android now so | don't 
find any salt or meats here. There's a lot of 
existentialism and I'm just looking for meats 


right now. The aliens and the machine 
lifeforms killed all the meats and destroyed all 
the meats crop so it's not good anymore. I'll 
sell you some meats if you're interested, okay. 


Incident Summary: Sightings of a 'robot' in Moscow, 
Russia attract Foundation attention due to the 
consistency between reports and photographic evidence 
of the entity. Foundation Agents track the entity to an 
apartment shared by Alexander Teterev, 18, Vadim 
Fokim, 20, and Timur Chuprin, 21, where it escapes 
initial pursuit. The bodies of Vadim Fokim and Timur 
Chuprin are found at the scene. Autopsy reveals the 
cause of death to be the sudden appearance of various 
mechanical implants within their bodies, causing severe 
internal bleeding. 


The robotic entity, currently believed to be Alexander 
Teterev, has not yet been located. Writings found in the 
shared apartment suggests that the three were aware of 
SCP-3843's effects, and hoped to utilize them in order to 
improve their physical capabilities. 


Interview 3843-1 


On 12/10/2012, Matthew Hendricks, a former employee 
of Indigo Games, contacted the Foundation via use of 
SCP-3843-related keywords during a 911 call. He was 
subsequently taken into custody and interviewed. 
Hendricks cooperated fully during this process. 


Interviewer: Dr McCall 
Interviewed: Matthew Hendricks 


<Begin Interview> 


Dr. McCall: Well, Mr. Hendricks, I'd like to 
begin by saying we're all very grateful for you 
stepping forward in this matter. 


Hendricks: No problem. 


Dr. McCall: Is there anything you'd like before 
we begin? Glass of water, a coffee maybe? 


Hendricks: Just...just a water, thanks. 
Dr. McCall: Water, please. 


(Research Assistant Bryant leaves and returns 
several moments later with a glass of water, 
which she gives to Hendricks.)