Tutorial-01 - SCP Object Classes
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Welcome Level 3 personnel. Please select a topic.
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A Briefing on SCP Object Classes
All anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena requiring Special Containment Procedures are assigned an Object Class. Object Classes are for the purposes of identifying containment needs, research priority, budgeting, and other considerations. An SCP’s Object Class is determined by a number of factors, but the most important factors are the difficulty and purpose of its containment.
The primary Object Classes are as follows:
Safe
Safe-class SCPs are anomalies that are easily and safely contained. This is often due to the fact that the Foundation has researched the SCP well enough that containment does not require significant resources or that the anomalies require a specific and conscious activation or trigger. Classifying an SCP as Safe, however, does not mean that handling or activating it does not pose a threat.
Euclid
Euclid-class SCPs are anomalies that require more resources to contain completely or where containment is not always reliable. Usually this is because the SCP is insufficiently understood or inherently unpredictable.
Euclid is the Object Class with the greatest scope, and it can be generally stated that an SCP will fall into this class if it does not easily fall into any other primary Object Class.
As a note, any SCP that is autonomous, sentient and/or sapient is generally classified as Euclid, due to the inherent unpredictability of an object that can act or think on its own.
Keter
Keter-class SCPs are anomalies that are exceedingly difficult to contain consistently or reliably, with containment procedures often being extensive and complex. The Foundation often cannot contain these SCPs well due to not having a solid understanding of the anomaly, or lacking the technology to properly contain or counter it.
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Neutralized
Neutralized SCPs are anomalies that are no longer anomalous, either through having been intentionally or accidentally destroyed, or disabled.
An informal guideline for determining an object’s most appropriate Object Class is known as the Locked Box Test. An object is put to the test using the following thought experiment:
If the object is locked in a box, left alone, and nothing bad happens, then the object can probably be classed as Safe.
If it is locked in a box, left alone, and it is not clear what might happen, then it can probably be classed as Euclid.
If it is locked in a box, left alone, and it easily escapes, then it can probably be classed as Keter.
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The Locked Box Test does not apply to Neutralized SCP objects, as there would no longer be need for a box.
Note that as a special consideration, something that is autonomous, alive, and/or sapient is almost always at least Euclid-class. That is, if a living thing is locked in a box and forgotten about, it may eventually suffocate or starve to death, which may be considered a poor outcome. Something that is intelligent could also be smart enough to outwit its containment procedures and/or stop cooperating with the Foundation’s attempts to contain it, making it more dangerous than it otherwise might be.
Please also note that an item’s Object Class is more based on the difficulty of its containment than on the danger it otherwise poses. For example, a button that could destroy the universe when pressed would be classed Safe, as it requires a specific and deliberate act to trigger; whereas a house cat with the ability to randomly switch places with another house cat anywhere on earth would be considered Keter, as it could easily escape containment at any time.
This concludes the tutorial.
