Item #: SCP-CN-3146
Object Class: Keter
Special Containement Procedures: As SCP-CN-3146 has not displayed any obvious predictable potential for harm, required containment work consists solely of coverup protocols; i.e. the editing or removal of online messages relating to SCP-CN-3146's exact process and their responses in the name of "reducing feudal superstitions".
Description: SCP-CN-3146 is an anomalous thaumaturgical ritual consisting of a variant of the urban legend game "the four-corner game". Its exact process is as follows:
- Preparation: The ritual involves five people, including the host, and is to be performed between 11:30 pm and 12:30 am in a completely empty rectangular or square room. Prior to the ritual, the host places an incense urn at the center of the room, places the fermented head of an arthropod within the urn, and lights it, before removing or switching off all other light sources in the room.
- The four other participants each walk towards one corner of the room and stand facing the corner. The host then walks to one of the corners and taps the person there on the shoulder to indicate that they are to walk towards a different corner.
- When any participant walks towards a corner that is already occupied, they tap the person there on the shoulder to indicate that they are to move to another corner, while remaining at their new position. This continues until one participant reaches an unoccupied corner, at which point they face the corner and stand still.
- If the ritual is carried out correctly, after a variable period of time, the participants will discover that the sound of footsteps has stopped — at this point, the ritual is considered to already be active. The participants then close their eyes and count 60 seconds, after which the participants follow the smell of incense until they gather at the incense urn. At this point, the lights in the room are turned on, and the five participants confirm that they are all present, concluding the ritual.
If SCP-CN-3146 is successfully performed, a thaumaturgical pulse lasting approximately 6 seconds will be sent out from the location of the ritual; its eigenvalue is incompatible with those of all other typical thaumaturgical rituals. As the Foundation has not detected any additional "effect" accompanying this pulse, the research team is inclined to believe that this ritual's abnormal result itself is the anomalous property of SCP-CN-3146.
Discovery: Prior to the discovery of SCP-CN-3146, Site-CN-97 had recorded several thaumaturgical pulses matching the abovementioned ritual's thaumaturgical eigenvalue in Tianhai City. However, due to the innate instability of Tianhai City's thaumaturgical environment, these pulses were incorrectly assumed to be background EVE radiation noise peaks.
In June 2024, a post claiming that SCP-CN-3146 was "highly effective" came to the attention of the Foundation; the post was determined to originate from Tianhai City No. 1 Middle School, which was also the origin of a thaumaturgical pulse five minutes prior to the post. After the students involved were admonished and told that the host stopped in the middle of the route to fake the ritual's success, the object was archived and recorded.
The Foundation has currently completed investigation into the sources of the thaumaturgical pulses. The structures in which the ritual took place were constructed in varying eras between the 1930s and 2010s, but all contained a room that was pentagonal in shape. It is unknown whether this phenomenon is related to SCP-CN-3146.
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