SCP-8980: Ergophobia, Without Regards
October 30, 2024 9:55 AM   Subscribe

The following file is undergoing active Ethics Committee investigation for violation of the SCP Foundation's Code of Conduct. Information contained therein may not accurately reflect reality and this document should not be considered a reliable source.

Content warnings can be accessed by clicking the “i” in the upper right corner (after choosing a display version and proceeding.)
posted by Why Is The World In Love Again? (12 comments total) 17 users marked this as a favorite
 
If you’ve read that and are looking for a story with some similar themes but a much more hopeful ending, i suggest SCP-8000-EX

if you’re not looking for hope, SCP-7918 might be more your speed
posted by Why Is The World In Love Again? at 9:58 AM on October 30 [1 favorite]


Your mileage may vary but thinking it was the link to an article that was the meat of the post, I clicked first on Why Is The World In Love Again? To be sure, I did do so thinking '...Well, that's not the first title I would expect to see in an SCP related post.'
posted by y2karl at 10:28 AM on October 30 [1 favorite]


Thanks for the link and for the instructions on the content warnings! Wrenching, and the hover text on the annotations adds a layer of horror.
posted by brainwane at 10:45 AM on October 30 [1 favorite]


Sorry, I don't know how to do spoiler tags (and couldn't find out how on the FAQ) so I'll ROT-13 it: Of the many layers of horror present, the most crushing one is that the Ethics Committee never figured out gung 8980 jnfa'g rire na nabznyl ng nyy.
posted by ejs at 1:28 PM on October 30 [5 favorites]


for me, it's the out-of-focus parallel arc of Dr. McPharrell, who pops up a few times in the story and is ultimately the whistleblower, albeit after 20 years and a nice promotion. what did he know? what could he have known, if he'd cared enough to question what was going on around him?
posted by Why Is The World In Love Again? at 2:05 PM on October 30 [4 favorites]


I couldn't even make it the whole way because I was picking up enough signal as to what was going on that I couldn't keep reading.
posted by notoriety public at 2:52 PM on October 30


Yeah, that was a tough one to get through
posted by eruonna at 3:01 PM on October 30


I’m about halfway through and had to stop for work. Now I’m worried about what’s in store for me when I get back to it.
posted by slogger at 3:41 PM on October 30


Sorry, I don't know how to do spoiler tags

You can use the details tag.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 3:45 PM on October 30 [1 favorite]


[For inflatablekiwi]Thank you!!

posted by ejs at 4:06 PM on October 30 [1 favorite]


I want to preface this with, this is not the point of this story
Click for spoilersThis story is about inescapable horror for which there is no justice


If you were in a Caelum Ruat sort of mood however, there is a loophole.The Ethics Committee could make a (who knows, maybe free) deal with an Honorable Third Party to restore Byrne's memory and make him quite sanctionable by the institution at large. Double fun being that Byrne's would remember losing his memory and why and know that he was extremely fucked the very instant it all came back to him. Would make for a good Special Circumstances plot.

posted by Slackermagee at 7:18 PM on October 30 [5 favorites]


Harrowing. I've read some pretty good SCPs, this one is one of the better ones. The true horror of gaslighting and misogyny. Dr. Nadine's role was the most heartbreaking of all.

If anyone's got any other well written SCPs (aside from the usual endless stairways and monster ikeas) to share I'd be grateful. It's been quite awhile since I had a look around the site.
posted by signsofrain at 7:52 PM on October 30 [1 favorite]


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