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A surreal number tree visualization. Epsilon ($\epsilon$ or $ε$)¹ represents infinitesimal numbers, and omega ($\omega$)² represents infinite numbers. Click to enlarge.

Item #: SCP-3380

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Foundation implants in various academic groups and organizations will continually monitor supporters of STEM for potential SCP-3380 influence. Foundation web bots will monitor internet sites for mentions of these supporters paired with transfinite numbers, self-harm, and deceased logician Kurt Gödel. If an SCP-3380-A instance is identified, the subject will be retrieved by Foundation agents in the surrounding area, and will be brought to the nearest containment facility. Standard missing persons protocols will be used for disinformation on the subject's retrieval. Members of the Society of the Atheist Partisans of Progress for the Halt of the Irrational and Religious Enemy (SAPPHIRE)³ are to be monitored as well due to suspected involvement.

Instances will be contained in safety-proofed humanoid containment chambers. No objects with the potential for usage in self-harm are allowed in the chamber. If the subject repeats self-harm attempts utilizing their body parts (examples include teeth and nails) the part may be modified, removed, or safety-proofed.

Interviewers are suggested to stay outside of the containment chamber during interviews. Journals, writing utensils, and other items that follow safety regulations may be provided to instances.

Description: SCP-3380 is a phenomenon affecting various advocators of STEM (Science, technology, engineering, mathematics) academic fields. All advocators vulnerable to SCP-3380 support full funding for STEM fields and classes, and often believe that fields outside of STEM should receive little to no support or emphasis. In addition, advocators often profess strong atheistic beliefs, and often harbour negative judgements concerning members of organized religions. The personal background and location of the SCP-3380-A instances are not known to change the likelihood of being affected, though a majority of SCP-3380 cases have occurred in North America and Western Europe. Whether SCP-3380 is the result of another anomaly is unknown.

Individuals affected by SCP-3380 will become an SCP-3380-A instance. The instance will carve a diagram resembling the surreal number system⁴ tree onto their body, using any available methods to do so. After five minutes the subject inscribes $\sqrt{\omega}$ and $\omega^2$ at the bottom of the tree, and ceases carving. The subject will then undergo psychological changes, which include a fixation on transfinite numbers⁵ and Austrian-American logician Kurt Gödel, who is usually assigned deity-like qualities despite commonly held atheistic beliefs. Further details are in Addendum.3. 46% of instances will continue to carve mathematical expressions and symbols following initial carving. Beliefs will often morph into what appears to be expression of religious nature.

Based on cognitohazardous interrogation of SCP-3380-A, no cognitohazardous, memetic, or infohazardous anomalies are suspected to be involved in SCP-3380. All instances have complete control over their behavior and actions and are cooperative in explaining the rational logic behind their actions. No instances have been known to interact with each other prior to being affected by SCP-3380, and several had not known of the surreal number system before being affected. Usage of amnestics to remove the effects of SCP-3380 has failed. The possibility of anomalous psionic or neural changes are under investigation.

As of 1-November-2017, 91 SCP-3380-A instances are in containment.

Addendum.1 - SCP-3380-A034 Interview Log:

Interviewed: SCP-3380-A034, formerly known as Laurence Andry, a 50 year old professor of mathematics.

Interviewer: Dr. Seung Young, Experimental Mathematician and a member of SCP-3380's containment team.

<Begin Log>:

Dr. Young: A surreal number sequence is nothing special, you understand? It's just another way of representing data.

SCP-3380-A034: Haven't you read the proofs? Haven't you seen the perfections that line each sentence and orbit the symbols?

Dr. Young: I have read them many times before and after joining this research team. There is no hidden text.

SCP-3380-A034: And how long have you been in mathematics for?

Dr. Young: Is it important? I know how long you've been in the field for, but myself and others have been analyzing these "perfect proofs". We have seen nothing.

SCP-3380-A034: Again, how long-

Dr. Young: A coworker of mine who is older and has been in the field for longer has read this. He saw nothing.

SCP-3380-A034: What?

Dr. Young: Dr. Jude Gatsby, you've probably read his papers. Maybe even met him. He works with us on some theoretical stuff. A brilliant thinker and one of the smartest friends I know. After several days of careful analysis of the proofs you submitted, he found nothing to explain your behavior or what you claim.

SCP-3380-A034: But, no, he'd never lie to us.

Dr. Young: Who? Dr. Gatsby?

SCP-3380-A034: These don't denote infinite collections of objects, these are battle cries to a better future. Right? Yeah, see that lines up with the coldness of the universe.

Dr. Young: Sir, are you feeling alright?

(SCP-3380-A034 is silent for ten seconds. The scar tissue on his surreal number tree carving begins to bleed. Dr. Young presses a button under her desk to alert medical staff.)

SCP-3380-A034: No, that's bullshit.

Dr. Young: What is-

SCP-3380-A034: (Shouting) Knuth and Conway⁶ threw their flesh into the damned, uh, "hackathon" of blood and brought home a treasure for those like me! Like me, damnit! They didn't put it in just so everyone could reach out of the finite and stroke the infinities like the metaphorical angels or demons or whatever you say! They put it in for us and us alone! My tribute to put in to put in to [sic] their mental strength is a sign of righteous intellect that no sacks of misplaced knowledge deserve! This is the way to prove the nonexistence of meaning!

Dr. Young: I-

SCP-3380-A034: They put it in us and all's right with us.

Dr. Young: …Can you elaborate? Are you calm enough to proceed with the interview?

SCP-3380-A034: I won't repeat myself. I followed their instructions to the last digit and put it in and all's right with us. Not like someone your age would understand, ma'am.

(Subject's wounds begin to leak pus and appear inflamed. Medical personnel enter the interview room.)

Closing Statement: This is the first time I've seen an SCP-3380-A instance begin to fully doubt themselves during an interview. If it wasn't for their sudden outburst and bleeding I'd say debates could "cure" the anomaly, though their sudden outburst suggests that this only strengthens their beliefs. That or something stopped them from doubting themselves.

Addendum.2 - SCP-3380-A057 Note:

SCP-3380-A057 was Jason Pavolonis, a 25 year old engineer with an internet addiction, who notably posted on several forums and subreddits concerning atheism and men's rights. This note was recovered from a blog kept before capture.

january 16, the year.

Religion is a virus, a disease wiping through and polluting the mind of every fucking idiot who can't see that we need to keep science. Keep it like the noisy fuckers keep their faith.
I had found the peak of the number tree and the heavens above it. God I cant sit still.

Epsilon Nought is dancing and burning at the end of the number line. The muslims and the christians and the jews and the hindus and the buddhists and the shintos and the bahai and the others will dance too in that burning place. It is all for nought. God im worried about everything, I keep hyperventilating. Females dont compare to math.

Ladies and gentlemen, the transfinites.

This letter is notable for being the first instance of the phrase "Epsilon Nought"⁷ in relation to the object of worship in SCP-3380.

Addendum.3 - SCP-3380-A077 Interview Log:

Interviewed: SCP-3380-A077, formerly known as Brian Harmon, an unemployed 37 year old former statistical biologist.

Interviewer: Dr. Mariana Ascariado, Psychological Disorder Specialist and a member of SCP-3380's containment team.

<Begin Log>:

Dr. Ascariado: You held a position as a biostatician at, uh, Campbell Biology Labs in Pittsburgh, is that correct?

SCP-3380-A077: Yes, that's correct. I was fired recently because of downsizing. They didn't have money to support me. It's fine. I wanted to quit. They weren't focused enough on the scientfic process. Rushing to meet deadlines and that. Real science takes years of peer review before it can be released to the undeducated rubes, but surely you as a scientist understand that, correct?

Dr. Ascariado: That's beside the point. When did you first become exposed to SCP-3380?

SCP-3380-A077: Exposed? Oh no, no, no, Doctor. This isn't some disease you can get infected with. This is simply an extension of what every logical rational person believes. In this cold, meaningless universe the only thing you can truly trust is the math. Mathematic thought lies at the basis of everything real and provable.

Dr. Ascariado: So you naturally developed these beliefs on your own?

SCP-3380-A077: Yes, as many others have done before. You see, when a system of logical axioms is consistent, it cannot be complete, and the consistency of logical axioms cannot be proved. We must seek solace in trying to prove this. To apply our intellects and our sincerity and sanctimony of reason to find a proof. Do you understand me, at all? Do you understand why it's so important for children to learn to program Python and C++ as young as three? For everyone no matter age or background to have a thorough understanding of cetacean biology? I envision a world where we turn away from our churches and hate and towards the microscope. Away from Kronecker and Wittgenstein. Towards Cantor and the infinite beauty of the transfinites. Towards Epsilon Nought.

Dr. Ascariado: You identify as an atheist, I believe.

SCP-3380-A077: I am of the belief that belief itself is a disease, yes. Read a lot of Dawkins. As a logical thinker we must discount out these sorts of rituals immediately before the mental illness takes us all.

Dr. Ascariado: Okay, as logical thinkers, let's think logically. A lot of what you have just told me seems an awful lot like doctrine of some kind, no? Or the ravings of someone who is not stable, right?

SCP-3380-A077: (scoffs) This is obvious and logical to anyone with a brain. Any sane person can see what I can see.

Closing Statement: Based on similar results with other SCP-3380 instances, it seems these sorts of delusions are common. I'm also noticing unusual upticks in Generalized Anxiety Disorder and depression when instances are given therapy to help them ease out of their delusions. Unusally for extremism, these bouts of anxiety occur after exposure, not before. In fact, no SCP-3380 subject displayed symptoms consistent with the development of religious zeal prior to exposure. - Dr Ascariado.

Addendum.4 - SCP-3380-A034 Diary Excerpt:

SCP-3380-A034 was permitted a diary and blunt writing implement after consistent good behavior, in order to understand the extent and progression of his 3380 infection. This note was delivered to both Dr. Ascariado and Dr. Jones, the onsite psychologist on September 22, 2017

Last night I had a glorious dream. I dreamed about a man who has always held a very special place in my heart, Kurt Gödel, except he wasn't a man, oh he was a godbeast of a thing, GÖDEL. I had always admired his work but now he appeared before me and I felt my heart swell with pride and joy at carrying on his work. He appeared as a quadratic function from my youth, all cut up and rearranged and full of variables oozing pus from every cut and blood dribbling from his infected derivative of a mouth. I was so scared but he hushed me and his form no longer disgusted me but filled me with beauty.

GÖDEL stared into my soul and I saw his eyes dancing with Epsilon Noughts, just pouring out of there, and within his soul there danced a number just as great, that of f^-1(7), equal to, if you calculate the infinities surrounding it, the Epsilon Nought. The void around us was black as ink and beautiful as night.

He was naked, and offered himself to me. I could see his back, and it branched into a surreal number tree. He told me he loved us, and loved what we are doing. I could see the logic, A to B, as he spoke it and I saw that it was true. He offered himself to me and I entered within him. His penis was not a penis but a TI-84 and I fell to my knees weak at it. I melted into a factorization, and I sucked off the alephs until the sperm filled my mouth and dribbled down the smooth continous curve of the graph until it hit the limit and could go no further. The genetics within the sperm possessed divine instructions encoded in base-4. No sorry it wasn't divine it was not divine it was just sperm. It melded into our thoughts and I could see where STEM will be in the immediate future. The sperm is the life and we must preserve it. As we danced I watched fire catch the Dedekind hallows at the end of the number line, and Epsilon Nought stood there, dancing and singing f^-1 (7) infinities onwards. He whispered something in my ear, gently, and I saw what I must do, what we all must do to achieve this forever. We calculated a child together.

It was a wonderful dream, I would have liked to continue sleeping to continue dreaming it. Every child should be forced from birth to turn away from all else and find that same black void and howling orgasm inside the basis of a covalent bond.

Following this, all recorded SCP-3380-A instances in custody reported identical dreams, and kept attempting self harm to further carve surreal number trees on their skin. When questioned, instances would universally say they were "putting it in" and refused to elaborate. This applied to all instances not previously determined to continue carving. Notably, all instances showed extreme hostility towards female personnel, regardless of previous levels of sociability.

Addendum.5 - Incident 3380-Bet:

On 8-November-2017, 10:21 AM, five SCP-3380-A instances broke into Princeton Cemetery and exhumed the corpse of Kurt Gödel. Based on reports, instances erratically shouted at the corpse for several minutes and intermittently asked for mathematical proofs that would "solve educational heretics." Following this, the instances repeatedly carved surreal number trees onto the skeleton and tombstone until apprehended by police officers. Officers describe instances "sobbing" as they were brought into custody.

Amnestic regimens to witnesses and social media disinformation procedures are underway.

Addendum.6 - SCP-3380-A034 Note:

The following was written by SCP-3380-A034 on 8-November-2017.

He came back to me last night. The void was pink and GÖDEL was smiling at me. I shouted at him, I demanded answers for why he had lied to us. I cried and grabbed onto him and shouted and sobbed. GÖDEL didn't answer. GÖDEL smiled. I kept asking as I clawed and teared teared teared and gazed into his eyes. The number line was burning and the ordinals were the crucifix. The eyes pushed inwards with Epsilon Nought gushing over my thumbs. Dedekind cuts segmented his essence. I asked one last time and no matter how much of its head was left it just kept smiling at me.

I scraped the last dried seed from my mind and saw a part of the spine that wasn't eaten, minute and curled around zero. The inverse of the inverse of the inverse of the inverse of 7. The real 7. The 7 that slinks with theta and adds up to zero no matter what you do. The fetus should've been strangled but we knew it was too cute for that. It was a grand forest of epsilons (positive and negative and squared and rooted and $i$) but we knew the heart wasn't that big. The infintesimals at the end of infinity lock my heart. I went down its spiral to the smallest abyss, and I ended up below. I looked below, and it smiled.

Addendum.7 - SCP-3380 Update: SCP-3380-A instances have begun carving the Greek letter theta (ϑ) onto their body, often over existing carvings of omega. Questioning of this yields no response, though instances appear to silently mouth random syllables in response.