Video recording of SCP-3214
Item #: SCP-3214
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: A specialized Foundation webcrawler will monitor digital advertising exchanges for new copies of SCP-3214. Blocking or deleting SCP-3214 from its current exchange may temporarily prevent new SCP-3214 from being served.
If any clickthroughs are detected, a containment team must be dispatched to contain all individuals affected by the anomaly and assess the severity of the outbreak. Local news reports, psychiatric hospital records and social media sites must be monitored for accounts or images of a person disassembling and/or fabricating electronic devices as part of an attempt to send a message to outer space. Any device with a screen or speaker must be disconnected from power in the vicinity of individuals experiencing a retargeting event. No cellphone or other susceptible device is allowed within 30 meters of an instance of SCP-3214-1 except during approved tests.
Description: SCP-3214 is a 30-second digital video advertisement which displays anomalous retargeting and personalization. When it is viewed or listened to by a person, any other susceptible device within approximately 30 meters will be served an SCP-3214 impression. This can result in the rapid and potentially exponential spread of SCP-3214. Any individual targeted by the anomaly may be subject to various cognitohazardous effects, with more severe effects if the individual clicks on the ad and views or listens to it.
If an individual to whom an SCP-3214 impression has been served does not click through to view or listen to it, the person is not infected, although they will continue to be retargeted by the anomaly for up to five days. Individuals who experience a complete retargeting event and successfully avoid infection may experience minor cognitohazardous effects, but are not targeted by the anomaly again. Such effects typically fade within 3 to 6 weeks.
Retargeting timeline: Retargeting events follow a predictable pattern, recorded below.
Time elapsed
Effect
Example(s)
0-24 hours
Impressions begin to be delivered outside of normal ad frames on devices used by the subject.
Subject entered the web address of a major search engine. When attempting to click on the search bar, a popup of SCP-3214 slid down from the top of the screen and intercepted their cursor.
1-2 days
Impressions occur at maximum frequency. Titles adopt a confrontational tone, including detailed information about the subject's life.
"What Have You Got To Lose, D-20993?"
"Mom Was Right: You're Good For Nothing (But We Can Help)"
2-3 days
Impressions begin to be delivered to any device screen or speaker in the subject's vicinity. This can include devices which are not susceptible to SCP-3214 delivery under other circumstances, and need not be connected to the internet.
A subject being escorted from the testing chamber passed by a closed-circuit television showing live feed from a security camera. SCP-3214 began to play in a corner of the screen.
3-4 days
Impressions may be separated by two to three hours, and target the subject in moments of emotional vulnerability.
A subject had recently learned of their cellmate's death in an unrelated test on SCP-████. When security personnel arrived to escort the subject to the testing chamber, SCP-3214 began to play from the security officers' walkie-talkies.
4-5 days
Impressions revert to appearing only in normal ad frames. Titles become openly threatening.
"CLICK OR EVENTUALLY DIE
"you will be JUDGED" (the word "JUDGED" gradually expands to fill the text line, as the letters of the word "you" crack and break apart).
Device damaged by an instance of SCP-3214-1
Symptoms: Approximately 80% of individuals who view or listen to the anomaly become SCP-3214-1. Information about the other 20% is restricted to personnel of level 2 and above, researchers directly involved in SCP-3214 experimentation, and agents deployed in response to SCP-3214 outbreaks (see Document SCP-3214-2A below).
Once infected, SCP-3214-1 develop an obsessive fixation on space travel and interstellar communication. If given access to communications hardware, SCP-3214-1 will frequently disassemble them in an attempt to build a communications device capable of contacting the celebrity characters they saw or heard in SCP-3214. Subjects will describe their motivation as a desire to "call them back for one more chance" or "make them understand." These attempts may be highly energetic; some subjects have been observed working to the point of malnutrition or sleep deprivation in order to continually modify their devices. Reactions to the obsession vary considerably from one subject to another. One recovered SCP-3214-1, now in Foundation custody, continued to go to work each day, and would spend their evenings constructing a device in their condominium's basement storage area. Another, currently in long-term psychiatric confinement in a ███████ County facility, broke into a Radio Shack by smashing a window with a rock, and had destroyed a considerable amount of the store's stock by the time local law enforcement agents apprehended them.
Infected individuals' knowledge does not appear to be anomalously enhanced in any way, and the devices they assemble are almost universally non-functional. SCP-3214-1 are not dissuaded by this, and will rebuff any attempts on the part of researchers to critique their construction. Those who already possessed knowledge of engineering or information systems may create devices consistent with non-anomalous functions such as generating radio or wireless signals. Research into these is ongoing, but to date has not produced new insight into the anomaly.
Video description: Recordings of SCP-3214 show a blank screen with a circular "loading" image, and a sound similar to a dial-up modem connecting to the internet. Thus a more detailed description of SCP-3214 has been summarized from interviews with individuals infected by the anomaly.
Close video description
- The narrator's appearance is perceived by the subject as an idealized version of themselves. Dialogue and/or captions in the video employ the viewer's first language.
- A group of characters in the video will appear to describe the wonders of their new home. Characters have the appearance of celebrities admired by the viewer. They may be shown engaging in space travel, public musical performances, sexual activity and/or [REDACTED]. During this section, the narrator's eyes begin to glow with green light as they deliver enthusiastic commentary on depicted scenes. Subjects are unable to recall this narration in detail.
- In the next segment, the narrator describes the viewer's history to the other characters. They are shown seated in a casual setting, and individually introduced as a panel of experts. The narrator attempts to convince them of the talent or desirability of the viewer, in the form of a "highlight reel" of notable events in the viewer's life.
- The other characters will briefly debate whether the viewer possesses "the right stuff" or "star quality" and whether the group should "take [name] with us." At the end of the debate, each member of the panel will render a "final answer" of either yes or no, turning to make eye contact with the viewer. Subjects report feeling compelled to view this portion, and felt they were being "measured" or "judged", even if they were unable to view the screen.
- The narrator moves in front of the camera and smiles at the viewer, saying, "We'll see you there."
Although SCP-3214 has lasted exactly 30 seconds in each tested instance, the videos described by test subjects were of significantly longer duration. Researchers estimate that the longest described video would have taken up to an hour in real time. It is theorized that the anomaly functions in part by implanting information directly into a subject's mind, which the mind then reconstitutes as memory.
- Credentials accepted
An estimated 20% of individuals infected by SCP-3214 outside of containment go missing. These individuals are designated SCP-3214-2. SCP-3214-2 do not exhibit any compulsion to assemble electronic communication devices. Individuals infected while in containment have a lower probability of becoming SCP-3214-2 (approximately 5%). Civilians who have observed SCP-3214-2 report that instances will immediately depart, offering vague and contradictory excuses when questioned. SCP-3214-2 who are prevented from departing will express dismay, citing an urgent appointment. They will refuse to specify the nature or location of this appointment. SCP-3214-2 who remain in Foundation custody exhibit signs of increasing psychological distress and agitation as time progresses. Individual responses vary. They may withdraw and become unresponsive, demonstrate hostility and aggression towards Foundation personnel, or attempt self-harming behaviors.
After review by the Ethics Committee, authorization was given to release some SCP-3214-2 under close surveillance, after equipping them with subcutaneous tracking devices. Each SCP-3214-2 instance will obtain a small quantity of luggage and fill it with various items of clothing and forms of personal entertainment. SCP-3214-2 will often purchase or steal such items in an opportunistic manner.
All SCP-3214-2 to date have vanished within 24 hours of release while under the open sky. Observation teams report a flash of green light at each disappearance, which is not visible in video recordings. Tracking devices lose contact at this time. Tracking devices frequently lose contact at this time. Signals from tracking devices attached to some instances were later detected at the outer edge of the heliosphere, accelerating towards Alpha Centauri A at speeds which gradually increased to a maximum of .5c.