Item #: SCP-838
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: The object is to be confined in a glass case in a spacious room. Sufficient warnings must be present. No real-time security cameras may be present to prevent security personnel from being affected by the object or affected individuals.
Visual access is allowed for all personnel. Exposing other SCPs in order to test for susceptibility indicating human origin may be done only with level 5 clearance. Any physical or recorded communication from affected individuals must be destroyed to prevent uncontrolled outbreaks.
Level 3 personnel are authorized to expose lower level personnel for disciplinary purposes. Exposed personnel may not leave the room in which the SCP is stored until the effect is terminated or wears off.
Description: This meme is thought to originate from modern human metropolitan culture. Upon exposure, test subjects immediately start to move according to an imaginary rhythm which has been determined to be musical. Witnesses and subjects usually recognize the movements as "dance". When an exposed subject tries to communicate, the meme spreads to any witnesses provided they are receptive to the form of communication. Language barriers, for instance, cannot be broken. However, any means of communication tried so far exposes any understanding bystanders, including manual sign language, speech, lip-reading, written language, and even facial expressions.
Currently the phenomenon is stored in the form of a written notation on a regular yellow post-it paper.
For obvious reasons, the exact message cannot be duplicated here.
People previously infected tend to maintain an increased sensitivity to the meme for up to a month. Relapses have been observed after merely mentioning the phenomenon.
This object's safety rating was changed to "Euclid" following incident 838|974-A. Please see addendum and incident report.
Addendum: Those with Level 2 Security Clearance should see document #838-1
Document #838-1: How to act upon outbreak
An outbreak means no direct danger except unnecessary waste of personnel working hours, medication, security resources, and the disturbance of ongoing operations. Personnel have been seen voluntarily exposing themselves to the phenomena after losing bets or out of curiosity.
Personnel causing outbreaks outside the designated room will be held accountable for all direct and indirect consequences.
Exposed people tend to lose the phenomenon after losing consciousness which mostly happens after several hours due to exhaustion. Ending the phenomenon sooner may be achieved by administering benzodiazepines or high dosages of opiates. Force is usually not necessary.
Addendum 838-2: Following incident 838|974-A, those additional precautions must be taken:
- No person previously exposed to a memetic or thought-based SCP may be exposed to SCP-838.
- No person previously exposed to SCP-838 may be exposed to a memetic or thought-based SCP.
- If a "mutation" is suspected, all infected personnel must be terminated immediately.
- Use of SCP-838 must have a valid reason.
Incident report: 838|974-A On April ██,2008, Test Subject ██████████, hereafter referred to as Subject 5Y, was exposed to SCP-838 and subsequently given ██ of LSD as part of an experiment. Full report is available at ███████████. After a recovery period of seven (7) days, Subject 5Y was exposed to SCP-974 as part of a trial for a new treatment for exposure. Immediately after being exposed, Subject 5Y reported feeling dizzy and seeing bursts of color, which were not symptoms of SCP-974 exposure. After 5 minutes, he began dancing in a manner similar to but different from that of someone exposed to SCP-838. He spoke something to the scientists supervising him, who began to dance in the same way that Subject 5Y did. In the resulting confusion, the meme spread past the SCP containment area and into the SCP-974 research labs. Security personnel initiated a lock down of the SCP-974 branch and disabled all network connections. After thirty (30) minutes, at which time everybody in the SCP-974 branch was infected, 3-methylfentanyl was released into the ventilation system, rendering everybody inside unconscious. A scientist was taken out and taken to a research lab, where, after one (1) hour, the research personnel confirmed that the new meme is a combination of SCP-974 and SCP-838. Scientists were taken out of the area one by one and treated with L-12, a class A amnesiac (a general treatment for SCP-974 infection). After that, they were awakened in isolation rooms watched with CCTV cameras to see if the treatment was successful. Fourteen (14) scientists did not recover, and were terminated. Nine (9) scientists died from 3-methylfentanyl overdose.
Incident report: 838|974-B On May ██,2008, a Level 2 personnel described the visual appearance of SCP-974 to other personnel. A Level 1 person within hearing range resorted to dancing. Both individuals had been victims of incident 838|974-A. The individual screamed something which spread the outbreak throughout the area immediately. After screaming something unintelligible the individual fell into a coma which was afterward confirmed to be a relapse to the last state of exposure to SCP-974. The SCP-974 branch was locked down, and a scientist was tranquilized and removed by a guard wearing ear protection. After that, nerve agent N-03 was introduced into the ventilation system, terminating everybody inside. The scientist was awakened in Isolation Room ██, with a pen and a piece of paper. After he finished writing, he was terminated. The piece of paper, containing the hybrid meme was stored and named SCP-████.