Shadow - the antithesis of luminosity.
The absence of light.
The form that is cast when everything else is snuffed out - when darkness descends.
But - what if that same darkness was a creature in and of itself?
An entity that had the motivation to consume all that surrounds it, to wrap it beneath
it’s black curtain - unless light held it under control.
How would humanity deal with such a threat?
How would our civilization control such a cosmic force?
Well, as is the same with many things - the SCP Foundation has got us covered, and deep
within it’s secret vaults - exists a creature of pure shadow.
Let us introduce you to SCP-017.
Hello internet - and once again, welcome back to the most inquisitive channel on YouTube
- Life’s Biggest Questions.
As per usual, I’ll be your disembodied floating voice Jack Finch - as today we peer back into
the dusty archives of the SCP Foundation - slip on our hypothetical hats - and curiously ask
the question, What If SCP-017 Was Real?
Ah - everyone loves Vin Diesel as Riddick, right?
But - I hate to break it to you, not even he would be safe if SCP-017 got it’s shadowy
tendrils around him.
Poof, he’d be dead.
As would the rest of us, unless we could ensure that humanity had a way to bathe themselves
entirely in bright light.
Which, would lead to a much, much different way of life for you and I - and everyone else
on the planet fortunate enough to not be consumed by the shadow.
Or - unfortunate enough, it depends which side of the pessimistic fence you’re sitting
on.
Well, strap on your hypothetical thinking caps - because we’re about to fall through
a literal black hole of how to survive in a post SCP-017 world.
In the moment that we’ve all been waiting for.
The beacons are lit.
As the record states, SCP-017 - otherwise known as Shadow Person - is a keter class
anomalous entity that very much wants to get out of it’s box.
It is a humanoid figure approximately 80 centimeters in height, anatomically similar to a small
child, but with no discernible identifying features.
This anomalous entity seems composed of a shadowy, smoke-like shroud - and yet, while
no attempt has been successful - it remains unknown as to whether there’s anything actually
beneath it’s shadowy shroud - or if it’s completely comprised of darkness.
I mean, I wouldn’t really want to be the one to find out, right?
If I’ve learned anything - it’s don’t go poking a finger at an abyssal cosmic void.
There’s a life lesson in that I think.
To keep it under wraps, the Foundation goes to great lengths.
Well, actually - it doesn’t really, it’s kind of the lowest maintenance skip when you
boil it all down - and all it takes is a few well placed flashlights.
Let me explain.
SCP-017 is contained in an acrylic glass cage, centrally suspended in a concrete room.
Attached to the walls, ceiling and floor of the room are high-intensity arc lamp spotlights
pointed directly at the acrylic cage, to ensure that SCP-017 is constantly exposed to light
from every angle.
Personnel assigned to the SCP-017 control room are to monitor the functionality of the
spotlights and the emergency generator system, and call for maintenance immediately upon
knowledge of a burnt-out lamp or an issue with the generator.
The only circumstance under which personnel are allowed entrance is to replace lamps.
When entering the skips containment room - they’re required to wear a designated fully-body reflective
suit - and under no circumstance can step in front of a spotlight.
Because - of course, they’d cast a shadow - and to SCP-017, that’s a high-speed highway
to take over the planet.
Keep that suit in mind for a minute, because it’s important - and possibly our only line
of defence in a post-apocalyptic SCP-017 world.
The only way to answer this question is to envisage a scenario where SCP-017 had enough
darkness to break out from it’s containment.
A power cut, which - granted - would take an absolutely catastrophic cock up on the
Foundation’s behalf - but hey, we’ve got to get this ball rolling some how, right?
And let’s make it happen at the worst time imaginable - during the dead of night.
Within seconds - the spotlights would cut out - and before we know it, the entire containment
area for SCP-017 is engulfed in it’s shadow.
Poof.
Gone.
Now, we don’t know for certain how quickly this skip would spread - but let’s give
the Foundation the benefit of the doubt and say that they had the foresight to put this
particular containment site in a remote location - and so - within minutes, SCP-017 has consumed
the entire isolated area.
Also - it’s the dead of night, so let’s say this area is in Washington state - falling
under the Pacific Time Zone, where a dark evening lasts between 9 PM until roughly 4
AM.
So for the vast majority of people in the Pacific states there’s a good chance they’re
tucked up in bed, in a nice - dark room - ripe for the picking by SCP-017.
Poof - millions of people gone - without anyone even realising - becoming part of the darkness,
back to whence they came.
Woah, sorry - got a bit archaic there - but you get the jist, right?
The real answer to this question is - SCP-017 would spread as quickly across the planet
as it takes for one full rotation of the Earth - and if the supporting document SCP-017-1
is anything to go by, pretty much the entire population of Earth would be wiped from existence.
Not even dead - they’d, just cease to BE.
Gone.
The slate wiped clean.
But - what about the survivors?
Of course, the Earth takes 24 hours to fully rotate across it’s time zones - so depending
on how lucky you are geographically, that’s potentially 24 hours to prepare for the shadow.
Remember that reflective suit?
Yep.
Get yourself one of those.
And then stand in a large concrete bunker with enough artificial light to make the cosmetic
aisle in Macy’s look dim.
But what then?
Build yourself a suit full of heat lamps and roam the wasteland looking for supplies?
What about a power source?
What do you do when your suit runs out of battery?
The world’s population has been consumed by shadow, and you’ve got 24 hours to make
sure your body never crosses a shadow again.
Utilizing infrastructure is going to be pretty low on your list of priorities.
Ah - I hate to be the pessimist in this one, but SCP-017 really is the final goodbye.
Eventually, inevitably, we’d all succumb to the void.
But hey - you know what my girl Joni Mitchell said - you don’t know what you’ve got
till it’s gone.
Well - sorry to leave that on such a bum note, but not everything has a happy resolution
in the SCP Foundation.
Unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got time for in today’s video - but before we depart,
let’s take a look at some of your more creative comments from over the past few days.
Digital Glitch says - What will happen if you read this comment but i have one question
what if bagel have no hole.
-- Hold on a hot minute, what if bagel have no hole?
I can’t even comprehend that one.
I’m still hung up on why do bagel have hole.
Why DO bagel have hole?
Aesthetic memes says - To be honest you are the best dude, sometimes are ur vids i imagine
a movie about the scp.
Well aesthetic memes - you’re the best dude, and I’m glad you’re enjoying our SCP movie.
As so far as the SCP movie goes - I’m sure you’re not alone in that one.
I’ll see what I can do.
Someone get me Guillermo del Toro on the line.
Well - there we have it questioneers, cheers for sticking around all the way to the end.
If you were a fan of this video make sure to hit that thumbs up button - as well as
that subscribe bell, and we’ll be seeing you in the next one.
As always, I’ve been your disembodied floating voice Jack Finch, and until next time - you
take it easy.