Item #: SCP-017-JP
Object Class: Euclid
The gesture used when playing SCP-017-JP
Special Containment Procedures: Due to SCP-017-JP's nature, containment is enacted with the aim of preventing knowledge of SCP-017-JP from spreading. Foundation webcrawlers are actively searching for and removing information on SCP-017-JP from the internet. All civilians residing in or known to have resided in ████████████ District, ██████ Prefecture have been administered preventive Class-C amnestics, and are to be administered Class-B amnestics if the need arises. Currently, 99.9% of the target population has been processed, and the remaining 0.1% is currently being identified and processed. Items bet in experiments involving SCP-017-JP are to be no larger than 10 cm on a side.
Description: SCP-017-JP is an anomalous hand gesture used in the game of rock-paper-scissors in and around ████████████ District, ██████ Prefecture. People participating in games of rock-paper-scissors in which SCP-017-JP is used become instances of SCP-017-JP-1, and become aware of the name of SCP-017-JP and how to use it by an unknown mechanism. SCP-017-JP-1 are invariably capable of quickly forming the gesture used to play SCP-017-JP despite its complexity. These effects can be completely removed with the application of Class-C amnestics. Standard rock-paper-scissors consists of three gestures, "rock", "paper", and "scissors". SCP-017-JP is known as "nah", "nan", or "nam" and is an additional gesture to the standard three. SCP-017-JP's usage consists of the following.
- If there was only one player who played SCP-017-JP, that player wins
- If there were two or more players who played SCP-017-JP, all players who played SCP-017-JP lose
- SCP-017-JP takes precedence over the standard gestures when deciding the outcome
The above rules cause winning with SCP-017-JP to be increasingly difficult as the number of players who are aware of SCP-017-JP increases. Thus, SCP-017-JP-1 are inclined to play SCP-017-JP in games with more players who do not know of its existence, thereby increasing the spread of SCP-017-JP-1.
Of note is that if all participants in the game use SCP-017-JP, then all participants lose in accordance to rule 2, and any items bet on the outcome of the game are lost or transferred to an unknown location (henceforth known as an SCP-017-JP-Transferral event). SCP-017-JP-Transferral events are currently under investigation. For further information, please refer to the experiment logs below.
Experiment Log 017-JP-1: Confirmation of Preliminary Investigation Results - 1976/██/██
Objective: Confirm the effects of additional rules relating to SCP-017-JP in an actual game of rock-paper-scissors
Details: Six Class D personnel (designated D-017-JP-1 through D-017-JP-6), instances of SCP-017-JP-1, were instructed to freely play a game of rock-paper-scissors to confirm the anomalous effects.
Result: In the first round, D-017-JP-1 and D-017-JP-5 played SCP-017-JP and lost by additional rule 2. Of the remaining 4 players, D-017-JP-2 played rock and the rest played paper. By additional rule 3, D-017-JP-2 lost as in a standard game of rock-paper-scissors. In the second round, only D-017-JP-4 played SCP-017-JP and won by additional rule 1.
Conclusion: Results of preliminary investigation of the anomaly were proven to be correct. As there was no confusion over SCP-017-JP during the course of play, it is assumed that all participants understood the how to form SCP-017-JP and the rules surrounding it.
Experiment Log 017-JP-2: Confirmation of Other Patterns - 1976/██/██
Objective: Confirm common patterns in play involving SCP-017-JP by repeated play.
Details: Repeat the experiment detailed in Experiment Log 017-JP-1 several times and record the results of each game.
Notable Events: On the second round of the third game, the remaining two players, D-017-JP-4 and D-017-JP-6, both played SCP-017-JP. Following this, both players ended the game.
Addendum: When asked which of the two had won, both players claimed that they were not the winner, and when asked who the winner was, both players silently pointed directly upward and did not respond further.
Conclusion: Additional rule 2 seems to apply even when there are only two players. In this case, although it was thought that both players would play another round, in reality the game ended at that point. Further investigation into the behavior of the players when asked about the winner is required.
Experiment Log 017-JP-3: Experiment with Wagered Items - 1976/██/██
Objective: Attempt a game with a wagered item, such that the players have more motivation to win. Determine what happens when a situation similar to that detailed in Experiment Log 017-JP-2 occurs with a wagered item.
Details: D-017-JP-1 and D-017-JP-2 played a game of rock-paper-scissors, with surplus orange-flavored jelly (a popular part of D-class rations) offered to the winner. Both players were encouraged to use SCP-017-JP in order for researchers to confirm the effects of both remaining players using SCP-017-JP.
Result: At the start of the game, both players played SCP-017-JP. At this point, the orange-flavored jelly in Researcher Tomioka's hands disappeared by an unknown mechanism. When D-017-JP-1 and D-017-JP-2 were asked where the prize had gone, both players silently pointed directly upward and did not respond further.
Conclusion: We appear to have discovered a previously unknown effect. We need to find out where the wagered items go.
Experiment Log 017-JP-4: Experiment with a Portable Improved Loran-C Unit as Wagered Item - 1976/██/██
Objective: Use a portable Loran-C unit as the prize and cause it to disappear as in Experiment Log 017-JP-3, then track the location of the unit.
Details: A portable Loran-C unit used to determine the location of Foundation exploration teams was offered as the prize for winning. D-017-JP-1 and D-017-JP-2 were instructed to play SCP-017-JP. Following that, the new location of the Loran-C unit was determined.
Result: At the start of the game, both players played SCP-017-JP. Following that, the portable Loran-C unit in Researcher Tomioka's hands disappeared by an unknown mechanism. The new location of the Loran-C unit could not be determined.
Conclusion: It is possible that the unit was transferred to a place outside the range of the Loran-C system. We need to try this again with a longer-range device.
Experiment Log 017-JP-5: Experiment with a Extreme Long-Range Communication Beacon as Wagered Item - 1976/██/██
Objective: Use a long-range communication beacon as the prize and cause it to disappear as in Experiment Log 017-JP-4, then determine the location of the beacon.
Details: A beacon used for communication over extreme distances was offered as the prize for winning. D-017-JP-1 and D-017-JP-2 were instructed to play SCP-017-JP. Following that, the new location of the beacon was determined.
Result: At the start of the game, both players played SCP-017-JP. Following that, the long-range communication beacon in Researcher Tomioka's hands disappeared by an unknown mechanism. Initially, the beacon's location could not be determined, but approximately 5.5 hours later, a signal was detected from the beacon. The beacon appeared to be transmitting from approximately 6 billion kilometers away, and was determined to be in the Kuiper belt.
Conclusion: So that's where the "winner" is…
Addendum 1: 1976/██/██: Researcher Tomioka's proposal for an "exploration of outer space to determine the endpoint of SCP-017-JP-Transferral events" was rejected due to being infeasible.
Addendum 2: 1977/██/██: Calculations based on the beacon's position have determined that objects involved in SCP-017-JP-Transferral events take on an orbit similar to short-period comets and eventually collide with Earth or pass through a point extremely close to Earth. Due to this, containment procedures have been revised to specify that all experiments with SCP-017-JP may not involve items larger than 10 cm on a side. The items transferred in previous experiments are estimated to reach their apogee in approximately 40 years.
Addendum 3: 2018/██/██: The items involved in Experiment Logs 017-JP-3~5 approached their apogee near the Earth. The following image was taken from the Earth's surface.
Taken from the roof of Site-81██ - Photographer: Site Director Tomioka