WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.659 --> 00:00:03.260 A young woman steps onto her bathroom scale. 00:00:03.260 --> 00:00:07.419 She holds her breath and squeezes her eyes shut, afraid to see the results as she listens 00:00:07.419 --> 00:00:09.139 to the dial spinning. 00:00:09.139 --> 00:00:12.820 When it slows to a stop, she opens her eyes and looks down. 00:00:12.820 --> 00:00:14.190 She balks at the result. 00:00:14.190 --> 00:00:15.589 150 pounds! 00:00:15.589 --> 00:00:18.160 That’s unacceptable in her eyes. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:21.540 She steps off the scale and examines her reflection in the full-length mirror. 00:00:21.540 --> 00:00:26.150 In truth, her weight is far from out of control, but when she looks at herself she can’t 00:00:26.150 --> 00:00:30.619 help but see flaws – the subtle ring of pudge around her middle, the way her butt 00:00:30.619 --> 00:00:35.050 sticks out just a little too far for her liking, the very faint thickness around her cheeks 00:00:35.050 --> 00:00:38.100 and chin that hint at her history of snacking. 00:00:38.100 --> 00:00:40.480 As she leaves the bathroom, she reflects on her situation. 00:00:40.480 --> 00:00:42.590 Of course, she’s gaining weight. 00:00:42.590 --> 00:00:43.840 How could it be any other way? 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:48.020 For the last two years, she’s been in lock-down during a pandemic and she’s barely left 00:00:48.020 --> 00:00:49.170 her apartment. 00:00:49.170 --> 00:00:53.250 She let her gym membership lapse and instead of cycling to work, she’s instead taken 00:00:53.250 --> 00:00:55.010 the easy way out by just driving. 00:00:55.010 --> 00:00:59.140 And it’s not like she gets much exercise in her free time either. 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:03.260 During these last two years of isolation, she’s mostly stayed in and watched television. 00:01:03.260 --> 00:01:07.970 She’s discovered a particular love for trashy daytime talk shows and court dramas. 00:01:07.970 --> 00:01:11.320 Intellectually, she knows that they’re the equivalent of junk food, but, at the same 00:01:11.320 --> 00:01:14.760 time, there is a certain mindless charm to them. 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:18.800 She would be embarrassed to admit it to any of her friends, but she does enjoy just turning 00:01:18.800 --> 00:01:23.860 off her brain and absorbing some silly talk show about professional stunt dwarves or Satan-worshipping 00:01:23.860 --> 00:01:25.500 furry juggalos. 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:28.700 That sort of entertainment has been a boon to get her through the tough times. 00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:31.500 Nevertheless, it’s time to make a change. 00:01:31.500 --> 00:01:34.320 She promises herself that she’s going to get into shape. 00:01:34.320 --> 00:01:37.900 Today, instead of vegging on the couch, she’s going to make an effort. 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:42.250 She’s going to go out and get some exercise and, she tells herself, she’s going to watch 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:45.430 those extra pounds melt away right before her eyes. 00:01:45.430 --> 00:01:47.890 She hopes that her old gym clothes will still fit her. 00:01:47.890 --> 00:01:52.210 After all, she’s definitely put on some extra weight since her last trip to the gym. 00:01:52.210 --> 00:01:56.010 After rummaging through her drawers, she finds what she’s looking for – her spandex gym 00:01:56.010 --> 00:01:57.710 shorts and sports bra. 00:01:57.710 --> 00:02:01.220 She quickly changes her clothes and is relieved to see that, although they might be a little 00:02:01.220 --> 00:02:03.540 snugger than she would like, they still fit her pretty well. 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:05.250 That’s a good sign! 00:02:05.250 --> 00:02:08.970 She probably won’t even have to work very hard to get herself down to her ideal weight. 00:02:08.970 --> 00:02:11.790 “It’s all a matter of willpower,” she tells herself. 00:02:11.790 --> 00:02:15.380 “I was fit before, so that means I should be able to do it again. 00:02:15.380 --> 00:02:17.110 All I have to do is avoid temptation. 00:02:17.110 --> 00:02:21.740 I’ll just have to make sure I stay active instead of watching trash TV all day. 00:02:21.740 --> 00:02:24.110 After all, I don’t want to rot my brain too much.” 00:02:24.110 --> 00:02:28.220 On the first day, she actually does an admirable job of sticking to her plan. 00:02:28.220 --> 00:02:31.950 She cycles to work, enjoying the fresh air and the reassuring post-workout burn in her 00:02:31.950 --> 00:02:35.370 legs that let her know that she’s making progress. 00:02:35.370 --> 00:02:41.050 She throws away all the junk food in her refrigerator and goes shopping for healthy fruits and vegetables. 00:02:41.050 --> 00:02:44.610 And, most important of all, she limits her television time. 00:02:44.610 --> 00:02:49.230 She knows that trashy TV is probably her biggest addiction, even more than junk food, so she 00:02:49.230 --> 00:02:51.370 needs to be careful of that. 00:02:51.370 --> 00:02:54.650 On the second day, though, she notices something strange. 00:02:54.650 --> 00:02:58.900 She starts off with a simple, healthy breakfast – just some granola and a glass of juice. 00:02:58.900 --> 00:03:02.930 It’s barely enough to satisfy her, but she knows that she has to make sacrifices if she 00:03:02.930 --> 00:03:05.620 expects to actually lose any weight. 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:08.400 After breakfast, she decides to go out for a jog. 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:11.560 As she’s out on the street, she’s overcome with sudden hunger. 00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:13.750 Of course, that’s to be expected. 00:03:13.750 --> 00:03:17.460 She’s on a diet now, so it’s going to take some time to adjust to these smaller 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:18.690 meals. 00:03:18.690 --> 00:03:21.260 She puts her hand to her rumbling stomach and grimaces. 00:03:21.260 --> 00:03:23.460 She’s never felt THIS hungry before! 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:26.880 If she didn’t know better, she would think that she hadn’t eaten for a week with the 00:03:26.880 --> 00:03:28.459 amount of pain that she’s feeling. 00:03:28.459 --> 00:03:32.750 In fact, she’s actually starting to feel a little woozy and she has to lean against 00:03:32.750 --> 00:03:34.800 a light post to keep from fainting. 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:36.720 She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. 00:03:36.720 --> 00:03:41.750 Okay, she thinks, I must have misjudged how many calories I need to get me through a morning. 00:03:41.750 --> 00:03:43.790 Her eyes stray to a nearby coffee shop. 00:03:43.790 --> 00:03:45.220 She sighs in relief. 00:03:45.220 --> 00:03:48.870 She thinks to herself: I’ll just pop in there and get myself a small snack, just a 00:03:48.870 --> 00:03:51.180 little something to keep my blood sugar up. 00:03:51.180 --> 00:03:54.290 She walks into the café and gets in line. 00:03:54.290 --> 00:03:59.000 As she waits, she can’t help but stare at the rows of pastries on display under the 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:00.000 glass. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:03.120 They all look delicious and she is REALLY hungry. 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.810 She fully intends to only get a bagel with a little smear of cream cheese, but when she 00:04:06.810 --> 00:04:10.370 gets to the counter she finds herself ordering way too much food. 00:04:10.370 --> 00:04:14.080 “I’d like two scones, three danishes, and a bear claw,” she says. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:17.560 “Also a large super raspberry Frappuccino with extra syrup and whip cream!” 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:21.660 The words just tumble out of her mouth almost as if it’s not her saying them, but rather 00:04:21.660 --> 00:04:23.610 some other voice speaking through her mouth… 00:04:23.610 --> 00:04:24.610 “What the!? 00:04:24.610 --> 00:04:26.020 I didn’t say that!” 00:04:26.020 --> 00:04:27.400 she stammers. 00:04:27.400 --> 00:04:31.210 The clerk behind the counter eyes her strangely and the young woman feels too embarrassed 00:04:31.210 --> 00:04:32.990 to protest further. 00:04:32.990 --> 00:04:36.900 She steps aside and waits for her order, pondering the strange event that just happened. 00:04:36.900 --> 00:04:38.040 Is she possessed? 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:42.110 She’s not a superstitious person, but she can’t think of any other explanation for 00:04:42.110 --> 00:04:43.400 what just happened. 00:04:43.400 --> 00:04:47.300 She can admit to herself that she has broken down and lost to temptation over a tasty snack 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:49.150 in the past, but this? 00:04:49.150 --> 00:04:50.310 This is ridiculous. 00:04:50.310 --> 00:04:54.870 Eventually, when the clerk hands her the order, she rationalizes the whole thing away. 00:04:54.870 --> 00:04:58.280 “I must just be having a hunger hallucination,” she says to herself. 00:04:58.280 --> 00:05:02.560 “Obviously, I need to be a little more careful about not being so strict about my diet. 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:06.870 I’m sure if I just eat sensibly, I won’t have an experience like that again.” 00:05:06.870 --> 00:05:10.540 Her stomach grumbles again, reminding her of the original reason why she stepped into 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:11.889 this coffee shop. 00:05:11.889 --> 00:05:15.139 She retreats to a table in the corner and tears open the bag. 00:05:15.139 --> 00:05:19.060 She wolves down her pastries with gusto and slurps at her rich, creamy drink. 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:22.020 When she’s finished, she sighs in satisfaction… 00:05:22.020 --> 00:05:26.460 although the uncomfortable full feeling in her belly reminds her of her predicament. 00:05:26.460 --> 00:05:30.660 She only meant to eat enough to keep her from fainting, but instead, she’s eating herself 00:05:30.660 --> 00:05:31.660 silly. 00:05:31.660 --> 00:05:33.460 And it’s only day two of the diet! 00:05:33.460 --> 00:05:35.200 This does not bode well. 00:05:35.200 --> 00:05:36.780 “Okay,” she tells herself. 00:05:36.780 --> 00:05:38.190 “This is my last cheat! 00:05:38.190 --> 00:05:41.630 From now on, I’m going to be serious about this diet.” 00:05:41.630 --> 00:05:45.340 She stands up and leaves the café, ready to complete the rest of her jog. 00:05:45.340 --> 00:05:48.590 But then something even stranger happens… 00:05:48.590 --> 00:05:51.570 On the television, the matriarch of the family is furious. 00:05:51.570 --> 00:05:54.870 She has forbidden her daughter from marrying the gardener because she believes that he 00:05:54.870 --> 00:05:57.250 is too low class for her high-borne daughter. 00:05:57.250 --> 00:06:00.950 But what she doesn’t realize is that her daughter is in love and that she is determined 00:06:00.950 --> 00:06:02.230 to make it work. 00:06:02.230 --> 00:06:05.880 The daughter and the gardener have eloped and the matriarch is hiring a private detective 00:06:05.880 --> 00:06:07.000 to track them down. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:10.860 Meanwhile, the matriarch’s long-lost twin brother, whom she thought died in a plane 00:06:10.860 --> 00:06:14.150 crash in the tropics, has actually been alive the entire time. 00:06:14.150 --> 00:06:18.280 He has been in a South American hospital, recovering from amnesia, but now he returns 00:06:18.280 --> 00:06:22.320 to the family estate, ready to claim his share of the inheritance. 00:06:22.320 --> 00:06:26.290 These events are all noted by the family’s shady lawyer, who has big plans to usurp the 00:06:26.290 --> 00:06:28.050 family fortune himself. 00:06:28.050 --> 00:06:31.770 Unbeknownst to the family, he is actually secretly working for their mortal enemies 00:06:31.770 --> 00:06:33.230 and business rivals to destroy them! 00:06:33.230 --> 00:06:37.180 The young woman laughs, shoving a handful of potato chips into her mouth. 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:39.949 “Oh man, I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes now! 00:06:39.949 --> 00:06:42.210 That lawyer is playing them all like fiddles!” 00:06:42.210 --> 00:06:45.340 Suddenly, she startles, as if she’s just waking up. 00:06:45.340 --> 00:06:46.600 Where is she? 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:48.750 Wasn’t she just in that coffee shop? 00:06:48.750 --> 00:06:49.760 How is it that she’s at home? 00:06:49.760 --> 00:06:52.500 And why is she eating potato chips? 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:55.840 She was sure that she threw out all the junk food in the house; she must have bought a 00:06:55.840 --> 00:06:59.540 bag on her way back home from jogging, but she literally cannot remember it! 00:06:59.540 --> 00:07:02.940 And what is she doing now, watching television and eating junk food? 00:07:02.940 --> 00:07:06.490 In disgust, she grabs the remote and shuts off the TV. 00:07:06.490 --> 00:07:10.310 She was supposed to be jogging and instead she’s sitting at home and watching stupid 00:07:10.310 --> 00:07:11.800 soap operas! 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:14.169 The thing that worries her the most is her apparent black-out. 00:07:14.169 --> 00:07:17.950 She remembers nothing about her trip home from the coffee shop, although the evidence 00:07:17.950 --> 00:07:21.830 of the potato chip bag indicates that she must have stopped at a convenience store or 00:07:21.830 --> 00:07:23.650 supermarket on the way home. 00:07:23.650 --> 00:07:25.630 How could she forget something like that? 00:07:25.630 --> 00:07:30.470 “I really must be having a blood sugar issue,” she tells herself reassuringly, even though 00:07:30.470 --> 00:07:33.360 deep down she knows that can’t be the case. 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:37.330 She had the blackout AFTER eating the pastries at the coffee shop, so that can’t be the 00:07:37.330 --> 00:07:38.330 cause. 00:07:38.330 --> 00:07:41.180 But she really doesn’t want to think about that, so she puts it out of her head with 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:44.380 a renewed promise to commit to her exercise and fitness program. 00:07:44.380 --> 00:07:48.390 Over the next few days, she makes a valiant effort to keep her promise. 00:07:48.390 --> 00:07:51.350 She cycles when she can, she jogs when she remembers. 00:07:51.350 --> 00:07:53.340 And yet, the blackouts continue. 00:07:53.340 --> 00:07:57.580 And no matter where she is when she loses her memory, she always recovers in the same 00:07:57.580 --> 00:08:02.139 place: back home on her couch, always in the middle of eating some fatty junk food, always 00:08:02.139 --> 00:08:03.800 staring at the television set. 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:08.120 Sure, she’s always had an unhealthy television habit and she knows that trashy talk shows 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:10.780 and silly soap operas are her biggest weakness…. 00:08:10.780 --> 00:08:13.820 But it doesn’t make any sense that she would be seeking them out when she’s in some kind 00:08:13.820 --> 00:08:15.639 of fugue state, right? 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:19.080 As the weeks roll by, the young woman finds that her weight keeps rising. 00:08:19.080 --> 00:08:23.760 When she steps onto the bathroom scale, she’s shocked to see that the dial points to 200 00:08:23.760 --> 00:08:24.760 pounds. 00:08:24.760 --> 00:08:27.169 She’s doing everything right, she thinks, how is that possible? 00:08:27.169 --> 00:08:30.870 How is it possible that she’s ballooned up an extra 50 pounds since deciding to slim 00:08:30.870 --> 00:08:31.870 down? 00:08:31.870 --> 00:08:33.749 She can’t fit into her old gym clothes anymore. 00:08:33.749 --> 00:08:37.599 She can barely tug the spandex shorts up her thighs and, even if she could, she’s afraid 00:08:37.599 --> 00:08:39.389 that they’re going to split apart. 00:08:39.389 --> 00:08:42.729 In desperation, she switches to an old stretchy sweatsuit. 00:08:42.729 --> 00:08:45.410 It’s the only thing that she owns that still fits her. 00:08:45.410 --> 00:08:49.230 “This is just a temporary set-back,” she tells herself as she stares at her bloated 00:08:49.230 --> 00:08:50.750 reflection in the bathroom mirror. 00:08:50.750 --> 00:08:52.629 “I just have to work harder.” 00:08:52.629 --> 00:08:54.300 And she does. 00:08:54.300 --> 00:08:55.640 Or does she? 00:08:55.640 --> 00:08:59.240 When she goes to ride her bike, she finds that it’s no longer strong enough to support 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:00.240 her weight. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:03.319 She can’t perch on the seat comfortably and the steel body frame starts to creak when 00:09:03.319 --> 00:09:05.339 she rests her full weight upon it. 00:09:05.339 --> 00:09:06.499 She steels her resolve. 00:09:06.499 --> 00:09:10.110 Sure, it might be embarrassing to go out in public wearing an ill-fitting sweatsuit and 00:09:10.110 --> 00:09:14.050 riding a bike groaning under her bulk, but she really has no choice. 00:09:14.050 --> 00:09:16.560 This time, she’s going to do it! 00:09:16.560 --> 00:09:18.699 And she probably did ride her bike to work, right? 00:09:18.699 --> 00:09:19.999 She’s not sure. 00:09:19.999 --> 00:09:24.170 The next thing that she knows, she’s back at home, spread across the couch, basking 00:09:24.170 --> 00:09:26.959 in the comforting glow of the television. 00:09:26.959 --> 00:09:31.370 The floor is covered in empty bags and cartons, and her face is slathered with crumbs and 00:09:31.370 --> 00:09:32.370 sauce. 00:09:32.370 --> 00:09:35.860 The last thing that she remembers is that she was just about to go for a bike ride… 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:39.740 but now she’s back at home and it looks like she just completely ruined her diet! 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:43.000 She lifts her arm with some effort and stares at her watch. 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:44.959 She’s lost almost a whole day… 00:09:44.959 --> 00:09:47.300 That’s the longest blackout yet! 00:09:47.300 --> 00:09:50.790 She must have gone out cycling and made her way home, where she decided to reward herself 00:09:50.790 --> 00:09:52.560 for her strenuous efforts with a little snack. 00:09:52.560 --> 00:09:55.179 That’s the only logical explanation. 00:09:55.179 --> 00:09:59.220 She tries to reassure herself that maybe she’s past the worst of it, but she finds that these 00:09:59.220 --> 00:10:00.981 mysterious black-outs keep happening. 00:10:00.981 --> 00:10:05.720 They happen while she’s at work, while she’s at the gym, while she’s out cycling… but 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:11.029 she always comes to in the same place: sitting on her sofa at home, in front of the TV, surrounded 00:10:11.029 --> 00:10:12.809 by the debris of a massive meal. 00:10:12.809 --> 00:10:17.070 Again, she wonders if maybe she’s having some sort of reaction to her new low calorie 00:10:17.070 --> 00:10:18.070 diet? 00:10:18.070 --> 00:10:20.749 Maybe she’s been cutting back so far on her food intake that she’s starting to have 00:10:20.749 --> 00:10:22.069 fainting spells? 00:10:22.069 --> 00:10:24.439 Maybe her diet food is tainted in some way? 00:10:24.439 --> 00:10:27.079 But that doesn’t explain why she keeps gaining weight. 00:10:27.079 --> 00:10:28.769 The scale in her bathroom doesn’t lie. 00:10:28.769 --> 00:10:33.379 It keeps reporting higher and higher numbers and as much as she tries to reassure herself 00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:37.540 that it must just be broken, her ever-tightening clothes and ever-widening reflection tell 00:10:37.540 --> 00:10:38.540 her otherwise. 00:10:38.540 --> 00:10:42.389 Her trips to the gym become less and less frequent, as she finds that other patrons 00:10:42.389 --> 00:10:44.329 have started to stare and whisper about her. 00:10:44.329 --> 00:10:47.179 Are they laughing at her for not being able to control her weight? 00:10:47.179 --> 00:10:50.670 Are they whispering about how her new flab is spilling from the confines of her sweat 00:10:50.670 --> 00:10:51.670 suit? 00:10:51.670 --> 00:10:54.220 She can’t even run on the treadmill for more than a few minutes without being completely 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:57.639 winded and she’s too wide to balance on her bike now. 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:01.399 The young woman has grown absolutely massive to the point that she completely fills the 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:02.540 whole couch. 00:11:02.540 --> 00:11:05.249 She chews her way through yet another bag of potato chips. 00:11:05.249 --> 00:11:08.339 Her eyes never straying from the ever-chattering television set. 00:11:08.339 --> 00:11:12.149 She barely moves from this spot, her tremendous girth sinking into a permanent groove in the 00:11:12.149 --> 00:11:15.149 cushions as the couch springs groan. 00:11:15.149 --> 00:11:19.100 She barely notices, however, because she’s much too intent on enjoying herself. 00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:24.420 She loves to eat and every bite brings her untold joy, her taste buds tingling with delight. 00:11:24.420 --> 00:11:29.250 She is constantly full, so much so that she feels slightly sick, so bloated that she feels 00:11:29.250 --> 00:11:34.379 like she might just burst, but she’s powerless to resist the siren call of junk food. 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:38.230 She scarfs down entire boxes of cookies and cartons of ice cream without a thought, having 00:11:38.230 --> 00:11:41.379 turned into the very definition of a mindless eater. 00:11:41.379 --> 00:11:45.769 Only occasionally does she rouse herself from this stupor of gorging to reach for her telephone 00:11:45.769 --> 00:11:51.870 to order more take-out or more grocery delivery, always choosing the most calorie-laden options. 00:11:51.870 --> 00:11:56.089 Other than eating, her attention is completely devoted to her television set. 00:11:56.089 --> 00:12:00.170 She watches a constant stream of daytime talk shows, laughing along with the studio audience 00:12:00.170 --> 00:12:04.249 as the hosts parade out an assortment of society’s biggest freaks. 00:12:04.249 --> 00:12:07.769 Sometimes she’ll switch the channel to watch soap operas, becoming so wrapped up in the 00:12:07.769 --> 00:12:12.199 ridiculous plot twists and melodramatic acting that she completely forgets the passage of 00:12:12.199 --> 00:12:13.199 time. 00:12:13.199 --> 00:12:17.829 Her bicycle stands propped against the wall in the hallway, completely forgotten and untouched 00:12:17.829 --> 00:12:19.379 now for months. 00:12:19.379 --> 00:12:23.429 At this point, all thoughts of losing weight have utterly evaporated and all that she cares 00:12:23.429 --> 00:12:28.089 about is satisfying her appetites for junk food and junk television. 00:12:28.089 --> 00:12:32.540 One day, she suddenly shakes her head and looks down at herself in horror, as if seeing 00:12:32.540 --> 00:12:33.939 herself for the first time. 00:12:33.939 --> 00:12:34.959 “What the?!” 00:12:34.959 --> 00:12:36.389 she says in disbelief. 00:12:36.389 --> 00:12:40.290 She drops her half-eaten carton of ice cream and grabs at her fleshy middle with her hands 00:12:40.290 --> 00:12:44.049 as if to make sure that it’s all her and not some kind of crazy dream. 00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:48.509 Her hands sink deep into her new flesh and she realizes to her shock that indeed she 00:12:48.509 --> 00:12:50.449 has eaten herself into morbid obesity. 00:12:50.449 --> 00:12:52.110 “How is this possible? 00:12:52.110 --> 00:12:53.889 I can’t be this big! 00:12:53.889 --> 00:12:55.309 I was only… 00:12:55.309 --> 00:12:56.309 only…” 00:12:56.309 --> 00:13:00.670 Her words trail off as the sound of an organ sting from the soap opera on TV diverts her 00:13:00.670 --> 00:13:01.870 attention. 00:13:01.870 --> 00:13:05.509 Within seconds, her eyes have glazed over and her hands move to pick up the dropped 00:13:05.509 --> 00:13:07.110 carton of ice cream. 00:13:07.110 --> 00:13:11.920 Her worries about her growing size forgotten, she’s now only concerned with watching until 00:13:11.920 --> 00:13:14.230 the next commercial break. 00:13:14.230 --> 00:13:18.459 It might seem unbelievable that someone could undergo such a startling physical and mental 00:13:18.459 --> 00:13:22.630 transformation, but what that young woman experienced has led to her being classified 00:13:22.630 --> 00:13:25.350 by the foundation as SCP-2611. 00:13:25.350 --> 00:13:31.389 SCP-2611 is, as you might have expected, a young woman currently weighing approximately 00:13:31.389 --> 00:13:32.720 500 pounds. 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:36.929 Her mobility is limited due to her weight, although SCP staff encourage her to take light 00:13:36.929 --> 00:13:42.079 exercise whenever possible in hopes of preventing her mobility from deteriorating further. 00:13:42.079 --> 00:13:46.319 She also suffers from several health issues related to her weight and lifestyle, including 00:13:46.319 --> 00:13:49.660 diabetes, for which she is receiving treatment by foundation personnel. 00:13:49.660 --> 00:13:53.600 Her awareness of her situation and surroundings is severely limited, as she spends most of 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:57.809 her time in a stupor, but when she is lucid she believes that she is in a special facility 00:13:57.809 --> 00:14:00.279 receiving treatment for her weight problem. 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:07.879 In reality, SCP-2611 is under observation because of SCP-2611-1. 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:15.529 SCP-2611-1 is a mass of sentient fat located on SCP-2611’s left side. 00:14:15.529 --> 00:14:21.249 SCP-2611-1 has become integrated with several of SCP-2611’s vital organs, making it too 00:14:21.249 --> 00:14:27.870 dangerous to attempt to remove SCP-2611-1 via liposuction or other means. 00:14:27.870 --> 00:14:33.459 SCP-2611-1 has gradually exerted increasing control over the mind and actions of its host, 00:14:33.459 --> 00:14:39.329 to the point that SCP-2611 is only fully conscious for one to two hours daily. 00:14:39.329 --> 00:14:45.709 The rest of the time, SCP-2611-1 is fully in control of its host’s behavior. 00:14:45.709 --> 00:14:52.089 Prior to coming to the SCP facility, SCP-2611-1 influenced its host to consume massive amounts 00:14:52.089 --> 00:14:56.879 of calories, leading to the mysterious and sudden weight gain that we observed earlier. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:02.530 This was possibly an attempt by SCP-2611-1 to increase its own size and influence, but 00:15:02.530 --> 00:15:08.199 as of yet its reasons – as well as how it exerts control over its host – are unknown. 00:15:08.199 --> 00:15:14.199 When in control, SCP-2611-1 can speak through its host, communicating in standard American 00:15:14.199 --> 00:15:15.369 English. 00:15:15.369 --> 00:15:19.681 SCP-2611’s access to food has been limited since her arrival at the Foundation, so as 00:15:19.681 --> 00:15:23.350 to prevent her weight gain from accelerating to dangerous levels. 00:15:23.350 --> 00:15:29.069 Other than eating, SCP-2611-1’s main interest appears to be daytime television. 00:15:29.069 --> 00:15:34.449 Attempts to communicate with SCP-2611-1 have so far met with little success due to the 00:15:34.449 --> 00:15:38.309 anomaly’s limited attention span for anything other than the minutiae of daytime television. 00:15:38.309 --> 00:15:44.769 In a conversation with one researcher, however, SCP-2611-1 let slip that it preferred daytime 00:15:44.769 --> 00:15:49.749 television to the programming watched by “that other guy,” suggesting that it lived inside 00:15:49.749 --> 00:15:55.230 a different host before it eventually took up residence within the body of SCP-2611. 00:15:55.230 --> 00:16:00.649 At another point, while in the middle of a conversation about a court drama, SCP-2611-1 00:16:00.649 --> 00:16:01.779 suddenly announced “Kill it. 00:16:01.779 --> 00:16:02.779 Kill it now. 00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:05.040 I don’t care if I die!” 00:16:05.040 --> 00:16:09.980 Staff believe that this might not have been SCP-2611-1 at all, but rather the voice of 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:16.130 SCP-2611 trying to break through the hypnotic control of her parasite to call for help. 00:16:16.130 --> 00:16:21.040 At this time, no drastic action is recommended until further observations can be made. 00:16:21.040 --> 00:16:26.870 SCP-2611 -1 does not appear to be contagious and the way that it bonds with a host is unknown, 00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:29.600 so it is currently classified as safe. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:34.410 At the moment, SCP-2611-1 is the only known instance of its kind. 00:16:34.410 --> 00:16:39.310 However, considering rising levels of obesity worldwide, it is not unfathomable to think 00:16:39.310 --> 00:16:43.339 that there could be countless other instances influencing the behavior of other hosts to 00:16:43.339 --> 00:16:46.089 dedicate their lives to consuming food and television. 00:16:46.089 --> 00:16:47.089 Who knows? 00:16:47.089 --> 00:16:50.660 It’s not like most of us would need that much convincing. 00:16:50.660 --> 00:16:55.999 Now go and watch another entry from the files of Dr. Bob, like SCP-002 The “Living” 00:16:55.999 --> 00:16:58.750 Room, for another tale of a large amount of flesh. 00:16:58.750 --> 00:17:02.929 And make sure you subscribe and turn on notifications, so you don’t miss a single anomaly, as we 00:17:02.929 --> 00:17:04.449 delve further and further into the SCP Foundation’s classified archives.