WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:05.000 Ever worried that someday, you might just up and disappear? 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:08.460 There's nothing quite like a Sunday afternoon picnic in the park. 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:15.420 The fresh air, the lazy hours sprawled out across a blanket, sharing company, food, drinks, 00:00:15.420 --> 00:00:18.060 and the beauty of the outdoors. 00:00:18.060 --> 00:00:22.279 The young man and his girlfriend spent their afternoon doing just that, enjoying a bit 00:00:22.279 --> 00:00:24.660 of slow living on a Sunday. 00:00:24.660 --> 00:00:30.210 Now, the sunset has streaked the sky with red and orange, and the air is beginning to 00:00:30.210 --> 00:00:35.220 cool to a less pleasant chill; it's time to pack up the remnants of the picnic and head 00:00:35.220 --> 00:00:36.629 on home. 00:00:36.629 --> 00:00:41.059 He carries the blanket, and she carries the basket, each of them keeping one hand free 00:00:41.059 --> 00:00:43.469 so they can still hold hands. 00:00:43.469 --> 00:00:48.149 They begin the walk back to the young man's apartment through the steadily emptying park. 00:00:48.149 --> 00:00:52.239 It's a familiar walk, one they've taken every Sunday for the past year that they've been 00:00:52.239 --> 00:00:57.609 together, and they take it at the same slow, easy pace as the picnic. 00:00:57.609 --> 00:00:59.830 There's no rush, not today. 00:00:59.830 --> 00:01:01.570 That's what Monday mornings are for. 00:01:01.570 --> 00:01:07.490 Right now, there's just the sunset, the park, and her hand in his. 00:01:07.490 --> 00:01:12.150 The young man catches a glimpse of a squirrel burying a nut in the dirt under a nearby tree. 00:01:12.150 --> 00:01:16.550 He goes to squeeze his girlfriend's hand to point out the adorable sight, but she pulls 00:01:16.550 --> 00:01:18.440 her hand out of his. 00:01:18.440 --> 00:01:24.140 She's changed course, walking toward a pair of benches, transfixed on something there. 00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:28.439 She asks, in a strangely panicked voice, whether he saw it. 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:29.439 Strange. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:31.810 He can't spot anything out of the ordinary. 00:01:31.810 --> 00:01:36.780 The girlfriend insists, with unnerving intensity, that she saw some kind of strange light for 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:38.610 a split second. 00:01:38.610 --> 00:01:43.250 Something that was gone as soon as it appeared, but left an indelible impression. 00:01:43.250 --> 00:01:46.170 The young man laughs uneasily. 00:01:46.170 --> 00:01:47.180 Something is wrong. 00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:51.280 He can't explain quite what it is, but the hairs on the back of his neck are standing 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:52.280 up. 00:01:52.280 --> 00:01:55.450 He tries to change the subject back to the squirrel. 00:01:55.450 --> 00:01:59.450 He turns to point out the squirrel again, but she remains fixated on whatever she can 00:01:59.450 --> 00:02:01.829 see that he can't. 00:02:01.829 --> 00:02:06.580 He can feel a knot forming in his stomach, a sense of dread as his body screams at him 00:02:06.580 --> 00:02:09.570 to get out of there as fast as he can. 00:02:09.570 --> 00:02:13.220 He tries to soothe his overactive nervous system, to remind himself that there is no 00:02:13.220 --> 00:02:14.430 danger here. 00:02:14.430 --> 00:02:19.080 But just before he turns back to his girlfriend to suggest they hurry home, he hears a soft 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:21.959 thud as something lands in the grass. 00:02:21.959 --> 00:02:26.840 He turns to see the picnic basket lying on the ground, dropped there all of a sudden. 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:30.140 His girlfriend is nowhere to be found. 00:02:30.140 --> 00:02:32.730 He calls out to her, but there is no answer. 00:02:32.730 --> 00:02:36.650 It is as if she vanished into thin air. 00:02:36.650 --> 00:02:40.720 Terrified, the young man combs the park for any trace of her, but aside from the picnic 00:02:40.720 --> 00:02:44.349 basket, there is nothing. 00:02:44.349 --> 00:02:48.190 He calls the police and files a missing person's report, but there is little they can do. 00:02:48.190 --> 00:02:53.099 There are no signs of any foul play, no reason to believe anything has happened to her. 00:02:53.099 --> 00:02:58.860 She was simply there one moment, and gone the next. 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:01.240 The young man doesn't sleep a wink that night. 00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:04.680 He calls out of work the next day, determined to continue his search. 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:08.879 If the police can't help him, he'll just have to get to the bottom of things on his own. 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:12.480 He calls his girlfriend's parents, but they haven't heard from her since Saturday. 00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:16.340 Her friends haven't seen her or received so much as a text. 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:18.830 She didn't go into work, either. 00:03:18.830 --> 00:03:23.750 Desperate for answers, he returns to the park, pacing back and forth in the spot where she 00:03:23.750 --> 00:03:26.130 vanished by the benches. 00:03:26.130 --> 00:03:30.849 As he does, he hears a sudden sound that makes his heart leap into his throat. 00:03:30.849 --> 00:03:36.349 Her voice, just a whisper, as if her lips are mere inches from his ear. 00:03:36.349 --> 00:03:37.950 She calls his name. 00:03:37.950 --> 00:03:40.019 She asks him what happened. 00:03:40.019 --> 00:03:41.519 He doesn't know what to say. 00:03:41.519 --> 00:03:45.099 He whirls around, searching for her face, but she isn't there. 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:47.879 Is it just his imagination? 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:51.930 His grief, causing him to hallucinate the voice he wants to hear the most? 00:03:51.930 --> 00:03:57.230 There it is again, her whispering to him, telling him that she loves him. 00:03:57.230 --> 00:03:58.720 That she misses him. 00:03:58.720 --> 00:04:02.329 That she can't feel her body anymore. 00:04:02.329 --> 00:04:05.879 The young man's knees buckle, and he collapses onto the grass, weeping. 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:09.709 It's as if she's right there, but just out of reach. 00:04:09.709 --> 00:04:14.379 He can hear her, but he can't see her, can't touch her. 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:16.079 He asks her what on earth happened. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:17.660 "I don't know. 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:20.820 I don't know where I am. 00:04:20.820 --> 00:04:23.449 I don't know...what I am? 00:04:23.449 --> 00:04:24.500 I don't..." 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:28.070 Her voice grows weaker, fading to static. 00:04:28.070 --> 00:04:32.130 She's fading away, and he can't do anything to hold on to her. 00:04:32.130 --> 00:04:36.030 His eyes settle on the tree, where he saw the squirrel the day before. 00:04:36.030 --> 00:04:41.270 The bark swirls in a pattern that, when he stares at it too long and lets his eyes unfocus, 00:04:41.270 --> 00:04:45.220 looks almost...like her face. 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:48.150 He reaches out, brushing his fingers against the bark. 00:04:48.150 --> 00:04:49.750 It isn't her. 00:04:49.750 --> 00:04:52.410 Of course, it isn't her. 00:04:52.410 --> 00:04:54.570 He doesn't hear the voice again. 00:04:54.570 --> 00:04:56.300 Maybe it was never really there at all. 00:04:56.300 --> 00:05:00.770 But he can't shake the feeling that she's still there, somehow, somewhere. 00:05:00.770 --> 00:05:06.759 Like she's just out of sight, on some other plane of existence he can't see. 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:11.890 Sitting there, in the grass where she disappeared, he can feel her so clearly in his mind. 00:05:11.890 --> 00:05:15.940 He has a sudden, vivid memory of their first date. 00:05:15.940 --> 00:05:19.630 She spilled her coffee all over him, and they had to go back to her place so she could lend 00:05:19.630 --> 00:05:21.530 him a clean pair of pants. 00:05:21.530 --> 00:05:26.220 She was terrified he would be angry, but they laughed about it for the rest of the day instead. 00:05:26.220 --> 00:05:30.870 He can smell that coffee, feel that laughter bubbling in his throat. 00:05:30.870 --> 00:05:33.320 It's more vivid than a simple memory. 00:05:33.320 --> 00:05:35.830 It's...her, somehow. 00:05:35.830 --> 00:05:40.190 Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spots something strange. 00:05:40.190 --> 00:05:45.710 A fluorescent glowing light, radiating blue and yellow, twisting and turning in his peripheral 00:05:45.710 --> 00:05:46.930 vision. 00:05:46.930 --> 00:05:49.590 He turns toward it and climbs to his feet. 00:05:49.590 --> 00:05:52.870 He reaches out toward the shape, unable to stop himself... 00:05:52.870 --> 00:05:56.270 And then, he's gone. 00:05:56.270 --> 00:06:00.630 The police would never discover what happened to the couple. 00:06:00.630 --> 00:06:01.650 How could they? 00:06:01.650 --> 00:06:06.500 They were victims of a force that the authorities could never hope to understand. 00:06:06.500 --> 00:06:13.259 This young man and his girlfriend encountered an anomaly known as SCP-7783. 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:22.210 SCP-7783 is a semi-corporeal ontokinetic tetrahedral construct, try to say that five times fast. 00:06:22.210 --> 00:06:26.280 The physicality of the anomaly is of dubious and spurious nature. 00:06:26.280 --> 00:06:30.880 As a facet of its containment, the anomaly is semantoconceptually bound to the statement: 00:06:30.880 --> 00:06:36.870 "Contained within Unit 7783 of Site-196." 00:06:36.870 --> 00:06:41.040 SCP-7783 can not always be perceived, and its perceptibility varies depending on the 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:43.870 nature of the person attempting to perceive it. 00:06:43.870 --> 00:06:48.680 When effectively perceived, the anomaly emits a fluorescent glow on the blue-yellow gradient 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:52.770 and maintains a fixed position in space no matter what kinetic force is used against 00:06:52.770 --> 00:06:54.020 it. 00:06:54.020 --> 00:06:59.319 SCP-7783 is extremely difficult to physically interact with, and can only be done using 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:03.840 a complex series of actions known as semantoconceptual interactivity. 00:07:03.840 --> 00:07:08.470 This is also the method through which SCP-7783 was contained. 00:07:08.470 --> 00:07:15.340 There are unfortunate consequences to effectively interacting with SCP-7783 on a physical level. 00:07:15.340 --> 00:07:21.289 Doing so causes biological, conceptual, and ontokinetic abstraction in affected subjects. 00:07:21.289 --> 00:07:26.870 This tends to result in said subject transforming into an intangible conceptual sapience. 00:07:26.870 --> 00:07:31.240 I'll elaborate a bit more on that side effect in a moment. 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:36.130 Individuals subject to the influence of SCP-7783 who are affiliated with the Foundation are 00:07:36.130 --> 00:07:41.910 referred to as Personnel-Associated Sapient Concepts, or PASCs. 00:07:41.910 --> 00:07:46.409 These sapient concepts still retain their higher cognitive functions, though they lack 00:07:46.409 --> 00:07:50.569 the biological functions associated with their original physical human forms. 00:07:50.569 --> 00:07:55.319 They are still capable of interacting with reality via cognitive-subversive impression 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:59.629 or the limited and brief interference in the psychological and neurological activity of 00:07:59.629 --> 00:08:02.490 sentient and sapient beings in their vicinity. 00:08:02.490 --> 00:08:07.180 PASC presence can be detected through this brief interference, as well as an increase 00:08:07.180 --> 00:08:10.430 in pereidoliac tendencies in those nearby. 00:08:10.430 --> 00:08:15.569 For those unfamiliar with the term, pareidoliac tendencies refer to the tendency to see patterns 00:08:15.569 --> 00:08:18.030 and meaning in random stimuli. 00:08:18.030 --> 00:08:22.960 For example, seeing a face in a piece of burnt toast, observing a surprised facial expression 00:08:22.960 --> 00:08:27.060 in the shape of a faucet, or eyes in a wallpaper pattern. 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:32.990 SCP-7783 was first discovered by Senior Researchers Dr. River Cories and Kaden Powell while the 00:08:32.990 --> 00:08:35.149 two were off duty. 00:08:35.149 --> 00:08:39.070 Some of the details of this initial discovery have been redacted from the official file 00:08:39.070 --> 00:08:44.490 due to potential concerns of containment breach, but the general shape of events is easy enough 00:08:44.490 --> 00:08:45.750 to determine. 00:08:45.750 --> 00:08:49.350 The two were taking a walk in the park together, when they stumbled upon the anomaly. 00:08:49.350 --> 00:08:54.610 Dr. Cories took matters into his own hands by accident, performing a semantoconceptual 00:08:54.610 --> 00:08:59.660 interaction with SCP-7783 without realizing what he was doing. 00:08:59.660 --> 00:09:04.230 Two additional personnel were brought in, and the anomaly was successfully bound and 00:09:04.230 --> 00:09:05.230 contained. 00:09:05.230 --> 00:09:09.970 However, in the process, Dr. Cories's exposure proved to be too much, and he began the process 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:12.000 of PASC transition. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:16.280 Kaden Powell specifically requested that all interviews conducted between him and Dr. River 00:09:16.280 --> 00:09:22.260 Cories during the latter's transformation be redacted from the official file on SCP-7783. 00:09:22.260 --> 00:09:26.560 Without those, we only have the general report to go on, but it does still provide an important 00:09:26.560 --> 00:09:29.010 glimpse into the transformation process. 00:09:29.010 --> 00:09:35.690 An hour after exposure to SCP-7783's effects, River displayed intact conceptual coherency 00:09:35.690 --> 00:09:38.620 and acute emotional distress. 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:43.089 He seemed to be aware of what was happening to him, as well as his helplessness to stop 00:09:43.089 --> 00:09:44.310 it. 00:09:44.310 --> 00:09:48.390 His relationship to his physical form was still intact at this point, but he could feel 00:09:48.390 --> 00:09:51.740 just how temporary that state now was. 00:09:51.740 --> 00:09:56.959 After one day, River's conceptual coherency had gone from intact to intermittent. 00:09:56.959 --> 00:10:00.810 His physical form was still intact most of the time, but it was growing more and more 00:10:00.810 --> 00:10:04.399 difficult for him to communicate linguistically with Dr. Powell. 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:08.890 One week later, River's conceptual coherency was described as "spurious." 00:10:08.890 --> 00:10:13.060 There was an increase in cognitive-subversive influence, and his biological functions were 00:10:13.060 --> 00:10:18.500 beginning to shut down as the physical body began to become less and less tangible. 00:10:18.500 --> 00:10:23.209 After one month, River's biological and physical form became entirely abstract. 00:10:23.209 --> 00:10:28.430 Dr. Powell observed an increase in pareidolic influence, seeing the lost man's face in everything 00:10:28.430 --> 00:10:31.690 he looked at, even when it could not possibly be there. 00:10:31.690 --> 00:10:37.490 The leaves on a nearby tree, the bark on its trunk, the ripples in a puddle of water, it 00:10:37.490 --> 00:10:40.889 all looked just a bit like him. 00:10:40.889 --> 00:10:44.279 But then Powell would blink, and the image would be lost. 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:49.351 What would later be regarded as standard PASC influence began to manifest in the area, as 00:10:49.351 --> 00:10:54.050 exhibited by the pareidolic effects, as well as a general psychic impression. 00:10:54.050 --> 00:10:58.550 It was most prevalent in the immediate vicinity of the disassociated fruiting body. 00:10:58.550 --> 00:11:05.490 One year after River first stumbled upon SCP-7783, he was entirely converted into an abstract 00:11:05.490 --> 00:11:06.880 entity. 00:11:06.880 --> 00:11:12.320 His physical form was lost, and subversive cognitive influences were observable. 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:17.959 Even outside of PASC proximity, pareidolic influence persisted for associated individuals. 00:11:17.959 --> 00:11:23.580 The most affected was Dr. Powell, who continued to see River's face "everywhere" he looked. 00:11:23.580 --> 00:11:28.000 It became so prevalent for him that he sought a psych evaluation, but it was confirmed that 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:32.269 he was not suffering from any mental illness or grief-induced hallucinations. 00:11:32.269 --> 00:11:36.029 This increase in pattern-seeking by the brain and recognition of facial imagery in random 00:11:36.029 --> 00:11:41.149 visual stimuli was due to River's lingering PASC influence. 00:11:41.149 --> 00:11:46.680 After Dr. River Cories was lost to SCP-7783, Kaden Powell took on the role of provisional 00:11:46.680 --> 00:11:48.459 containment director. 00:11:48.459 --> 00:11:54.850 His number one priority was to determine methods that might allow for the reversal of SCP-7783's 00:11:54.850 --> 00:11:55.930 effects. 00:11:55.930 --> 00:12:00.470 As far as I can tell, no such methods have been uncovered yet. 00:12:00.470 --> 00:12:05.040 But Powell is persistent and has dedicated every ounce of his brain power and every resource 00:12:05.040 --> 00:12:12.839 afforded by the SCP Foundation, to uncovering a way to restore those lost to SCP-7783. 00:12:12.839 --> 00:12:18.000 During my research into SCP-7783, I was able to access an interview between Research Director 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:25.230 Kaden Powell and D-Class number 78990, conducted as part of a larger study on PASC cognitive-subversive 00:12:25.230 --> 00:12:26.449 impressions. 00:12:26.449 --> 00:12:30.990 The purpose of this test was to induce an impression in order to open up a line of communication 00:12:30.990 --> 00:12:35.080 with PASC-01, formerly Dr. River Cories. 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:40.529 If PASC-01 could influence the mind of an individual, perhaps that individual could 00:12:40.529 --> 00:12:46.270 act as a conduit of sorts, through which Powell and River could speak directly. 00:12:46.270 --> 00:12:50.080 Research Director Powell began the conversation with a polite greeting, and the confirmation 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:54.410 of D-78990's date of birth and full legal name. 00:12:54.410 --> 00:13:00.510 D-78990 confirmed his identity, and asked what exactly they were doing during this experiment. 00:13:00.510 --> 00:13:04.740 Powell responded, "Well, essentially, I'm here to just talk to you for a bit, take some 00:13:04.740 --> 00:13:06.839 notes on your behavior, and the like. 00:13:06.839 --> 00:13:08.160 Like an evaluation of sorts." 00:13:08.160 --> 00:13:13.779 D-78990 shifted awkwardly in his seat and asked what they should talk about. 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:14.779 Powell shrugged. 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:16.380 The response shocked D-78990. 00:13:16.380 --> 00:13:20.350 "Aren't you leading the way?" 00:13:20.350 --> 00:13:22.610 Powell shrugged again, idly clicking his pen. 00:13:22.610 --> 00:13:25.960 His brow furrowed, his thoughts seeming to be far away. 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:30.080 "I guess we could start with something like, say, a favorite color." 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:32.670 "Favorite colors?" 00:13:32.670 --> 00:13:34.410 The D-class couldn't help but laugh at that. 00:13:34.410 --> 00:13:35.410 "Favorite colors? 00:13:35.410 --> 00:13:39.010 I thought it would be something more, I dunno. 00:13:39.010 --> 00:13:40.010 Sciencey?" 00:13:40.010 --> 00:13:45.810 Powell sighed, "Well, I'm mostly just monitoring your behavior, looking for any signs indicative 00:13:45.810 --> 00:13:46.810 of-" 00:13:46.810 --> 00:13:51.410 D-78990 sat up a bit more stiffly in his chair, anxiety spiking. 00:13:51.410 --> 00:13:52.610 "Signs of what? 00:13:52.610 --> 00:13:55.320 I got cancer or something?" 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:57.380 "No," Powell shook his head. 00:13:57.380 --> 00:13:58.380 "Just. 00:13:58.380 --> 00:13:59.380 Nevermind. 00:13:59.380 --> 00:14:01.779 Why bring up cancer out of all things?" 00:14:01.779 --> 00:14:04.600 Now it was D-78990's turn to shrug. 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:05.620 "I dunno. 00:14:05.620 --> 00:14:07.170 My dad died of it. 00:14:07.170 --> 00:14:08.230 Long time ago." 00:14:08.230 --> 00:14:09.620 "What type?" 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:11.019 "Lung Cancer. 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:12.070 Stage 4." 00:14:12.070 --> 00:14:16.839 The conversation felt less like a typical Foundation research interview and more like 00:14:16.839 --> 00:14:19.250 the makings of an awkward first date. 00:14:19.250 --> 00:14:24.730 The back and forth, the "get to know you" dance of questions and halfhearted answers. 00:14:24.730 --> 00:14:27.810 Powell offered a verbal olive branch, an attempt to sympathize. 00:14:27.810 --> 00:14:31.170 "I knew someone whose dad passed from lung cancer." 00:14:31.170 --> 00:14:33.370 "Yeah, well, we probably saw it coming. 00:14:33.370 --> 00:14:35.410 He was a pack-a-day smoker for-" 00:14:35.410 --> 00:14:38.790 Powell interrupted, "Twenty-two years." 00:14:38.790 --> 00:14:41.810 D-78990's eyes widened in surprise. 00:14:41.810 --> 00:14:43.410 "Oh, nice guess. 00:14:43.410 --> 00:14:44.410 Yeah. 00:14:44.410 --> 00:14:45.410 Twenty-two. 00:14:45.410 --> 00:14:48.589 You know, I would've loved to work here." 00:14:48.589 --> 00:14:50.050 D-78990 remarked. 00:14:50.050 --> 00:14:51.050 "Really?" 00:14:51.050 --> 00:14:52.050 Powell raised an eyebrow. 00:14:52.050 --> 00:14:53.220 "What makes you say that? 00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:55.630 From what I've seen, you don't have a research background." 00:14:55.630 --> 00:14:59.790 "I wanted to go into medicine when I was younger, you know." 00:14:59.790 --> 00:15:00.790 Powell nodded. 00:15:00.790 --> 00:15:05.350 "Would've been nice to work for a place like this, one with a real purpose, you know?" 00:15:05.350 --> 00:15:06.529 Powell smiled weakly. 00:15:06.529 --> 00:15:10.959 "Yeah, it definitely beats working in IT for a bunch of geriatrics." 00:15:10.959 --> 00:15:15.779 D-78990 laughed at the remark, and Powell furrowed his brow, confused. 00:15:15.779 --> 00:15:18.170 "River would have laughed at that joke." 00:15:18.170 --> 00:15:21.589 At the unexpected mention of his lost partner, Powell flinched. 00:15:21.589 --> 00:15:22.589 "Yeah?" 00:15:22.589 --> 00:15:23.750 D-78990 nodded. 00:15:23.750 --> 00:15:26.630 "He would have, yeah. 00:15:26.630 --> 00:15:28.630 Always hated working back in Loxy." 00:15:28.630 --> 00:15:30.810 Powell's eyes lit up with nostalgic recognition. 00:15:30.810 --> 00:15:32.209 "Yeah, I remember. 00:15:32.209 --> 00:15:34.940 I remember it too clearly." 00:15:34.940 --> 00:15:39.700 D-78990 laughed along with him, despite never having worked with Powell and Dr. Cories in 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:40.700 the past. 00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:41.700 "Oh, definitely. 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:44.720 It was crazy times, crazy times! 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:46.360 Used to get so mad at that place. 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:49.010 Would get run up for the stupidest stuff you and-" 00:15:49.010 --> 00:15:50.569 "Man, me and him. 00:15:50.569 --> 00:15:52.089 We really did. 00:15:52.089 --> 00:15:54.199 Chris always had a stick up his butt, though. 00:15:54.199 --> 00:15:55.430 Made it hell." 00:15:55.430 --> 00:15:58.000 "He was too old to still be working, that's why. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:59.930 Hallways decomposed at the desk. 00:15:59.930 --> 00:16:03.209 What was that one joke you made about his nose to me?" 00:16:03.209 --> 00:16:08.209 D-78990 was now speaking about Dr. Cories's memories in the first person. 00:16:08.209 --> 00:16:09.209 "Which one?" 00:16:09.209 --> 00:16:10.209 Powell asked. 00:16:10.209 --> 00:16:12.160 "The night after D&B?" 00:16:12.160 --> 00:16:13.170 "Oh! 00:16:13.170 --> 00:16:16.540 The one about him looking 8 and 80 at the same time?" 00:16:16.540 --> 00:16:19.970 D-78990 cackled, throwing his head back. 00:16:19.970 --> 00:16:20.970 "Please! 00:16:20.970 --> 00:16:23.350 Oh god, River was crying laughing to that. 00:16:23.350 --> 00:16:26.130 That night was the most he had laughed in a long time then." 00:16:26.130 --> 00:16:30.019 Powell cracked a smile, "Yeah, I remember that night. 00:16:30.019 --> 00:16:31.690 It was amazing. 00:16:31.690 --> 00:16:34.000 Just making stupid jokes to each other. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:35.000 Enjoying the time we had." 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:38.230 "Like all the time in the world was ours, huh?" 00:16:38.230 --> 00:16:39.660 "Made everything better. 00:16:39.660 --> 00:16:41.199 Life was perfect." 00:16:41.199 --> 00:16:42.610 Powell sighed. 00:16:42.610 --> 00:16:44.880 "The neighbors didn't hear perfect." 00:16:44.880 --> 00:16:46.399 D-78990 remarked. 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:50.560 "But the neighbors always complained about how loud we were." 00:16:50.560 --> 00:16:51.660 Powell shook his head. 00:16:51.660 --> 00:16:53.209 "Well, I was loud. 00:16:53.209 --> 00:16:54.209 Noisy. 00:16:54.209 --> 00:16:56.779 But that was something you liked about him." 00:16:56.779 --> 00:17:02.070 D-78990 switched back and forth between third and first person, sometimes speaking about 00:17:02.070 --> 00:17:05.819 River, and other times speaking as if River was talking through him. 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:08.199 "I still remember his laughing. 00:17:08.199 --> 00:17:10.620 I still remember it all." 00:17:10.620 --> 00:17:12.430 D-78990 smiled wistfully. 00:17:12.430 --> 00:17:15.419 "He just didn't know how to take it seriously." 00:17:15.419 --> 00:17:19.220 Powell laughed at that, a smile breaking free from his mask of composure. 00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:20.220 "Hah! 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:22.829 Well yeah, that's how he was. 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:24.880 Always loud and bursting with energy. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:26.270 Made every situation colorful." 00:17:26.270 --> 00:17:29.730 "Wonder if this River guy is still like that?" 00:17:29.730 --> 00:17:31.580 D-78990 remarked. 00:17:31.580 --> 00:17:34.290 "He's still out there, somewhere." 00:17:34.290 --> 00:17:35.820 Powell wiped a tear from his eye. 00:17:35.820 --> 00:17:37.500 "Still the life of someone's party." 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:39.880 "Who is?" 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:41.440 Powell's stomach dropped. 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:42.490 That was it, then. 00:17:42.490 --> 00:17:44.190 The impression was gone. 00:17:44.190 --> 00:17:46.500 He sighed, composing himself. 00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:48.799 He wouldn't show his grief to this stranger. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:51.500 He forced a terse, polite smile. 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:52.840 "Never mind." 00:17:52.840 --> 00:17:55.360 And that was the conclusion of the interview. 00:17:55.360 --> 00:18:02.049 D-78990 and Dr. Powell had never spoken prior to the interview, nor had D-78990 ever previously 00:18:02.049 --> 00:18:03.809 met Dr. River Cories. 00:18:03.809 --> 00:18:08.300 Still, with some anomalous intervention, the two had been able to share a few memories 00:18:08.300 --> 00:18:15.049 of the man, and for a moment, he was still as he was: tangible, human, alive. 00:18:15.049 --> 00:18:19.260 But the moment was fleeting, as are all impressions of those changed by SCP-7783. 00:18:19.260 --> 00:18:26.360 As for Containment Procedures, the specific instructions for the semantoconceptual (or, 00:18:26.360 --> 00:18:32.230 related to the inherent semantic information of a concept in reality) binding of SCP-7783 00:18:32.230 --> 00:18:35.720 may only be accessed by a select few specialists. 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:40.490 Any personnel assigned to the area are strictly prohibited from any hypothetical, speculative, 00:18:40.490 --> 00:18:43.900 fantastical, or intimate thought related to SCP-7783. 00:18:43.900 --> 00:18:49.059 I am only able to engage with the subject matter to this degree from a safe distance, 00:18:49.059 --> 00:18:53.299 and do not suggest you approach the area after learning this much about the anomaly. 00:18:53.299 --> 00:18:57.540 Due to its particular nature, amnestics are not sufficient to treat its impact on the 00:18:57.540 --> 00:18:59.650 human mind. 00:18:59.650 --> 00:19:04.581 Complete amnesticization of personnel regarding its existence (or lack of existence) would 00:19:04.581 --> 00:19:07.320 cause semantoconceptual unbinding. 00:19:07.320 --> 00:19:10.500 This would, technically, result in a containment breach. 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:13.659 Such is the trouble with semi-corporeal constructs! 00:19:13.659 --> 00:19:17.840 Essentially, as long as it is known to be contained, the containment should hold. 00:19:17.840 --> 00:19:20.640 If you have a bit of a headache trying to wrap your mind around the whole situation, 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:22.970 you are not alone. 00:19:22.970 --> 00:19:29.210 Though amnestics are not an acceptable solution to SCP-7783 and its influence, selective thought-blocking 00:19:29.210 --> 00:19:34.050 medications derived from Class C Amnestics can be used to induce a sort of deliberate 00:19:34.050 --> 00:19:40.320 "brain fog," a barrier that prevents an individual from thinking about SCP-7783 in any way that 00:19:40.320 --> 00:19:45.710 extends beyond particular containment-related tasks and day to day Foundation operations. 00:19:45.710 --> 00:19:49.770 Once upon a time, in the earliest days of my research, I may have said that I didn't 00:19:49.770 --> 00:19:51.340 believe in ghosts. 00:19:51.340 --> 00:19:55.630 As a man of science, I balked at the concept of that which I could not prove with empirical 00:19:55.630 --> 00:19:56.630 data. 00:19:56.630 --> 00:20:02.030 But now, I have seen, encountered, and learned of too many inexplicable forces in this world 00:20:02.030 --> 00:20:03.100 to hold the same view. 00:20:03.100 --> 00:20:11.190 Perhaps the victims, and I do believe them to be victims, of SCP-7783 are not "ghosts" 00:20:11.190 --> 00:20:12.409 in the traditional sense. 00:20:12.409 --> 00:20:14.610 They did not die, after all. 00:20:14.610 --> 00:20:18.299 Their bodies simply...dissolved. 00:20:18.299 --> 00:20:20.820 Their consciousness remained in some form. 00:20:20.820 --> 00:20:22.770 But is that not what we think of when we think of a ghost? 00:20:22.770 --> 00:20:28.600 The lingering impression of someone who was once flesh and blood? 00:20:28.600 --> 00:20:33.559 Take away the body, and what remains, whether you call it a spirit or a Personnel-Associated 00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:37.169 Sapient Concept, seems to meet the criteria. 00:20:37.169 --> 00:20:43.310 Dr. River Cories is gone, at least, the part of him that could be seen, perceived, known, 00:20:43.310 --> 00:20:44.549 and loved. 00:20:44.549 --> 00:20:49.700 What remains is that brief impression, that glimpse of a memory, ever-so-brief. 00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:54.360 That laugh, once shared, never to be heard again. 00:20:54.360 --> 00:21:00.620 There may not be any rattling chains or creaks on the staircase, but SCP-7783 has created 00:21:00.620 --> 00:21:05.419 its fair share of what I feel compelled to call ghosts. 00:21:05.419 --> 00:21:09.490 Agree or disagree with my verbiage, I don't mind. 00:21:09.490 --> 00:21:13.210 Those left behind are still just as haunted. 00:21:13.210 --> 00:21:17.320 Check out the Dr. Bob Patreon and become a junior researcher today! 00:21:17.320 --> 00:21:23.050 Now go and watch another entry from the files of Dr. Bob, like "SCP-5150 - Anomalous Dental 00:21:23.050 --> 00:21:23.619 Office."