"This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense… it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."
Welcome to my 4000 contest entry. The NATO logo and signature are in the public domain.
Thanks to Jacob Conwell Jacob Conwell and not_a_seagull does not match any existing user name for reading the draft.
Great read. Despite being about military bureaucracy, it connected with me, a high school teacher, a lot. We have so much bloated bureaucracy stuffed with buzzwords that literally makes it harder to do our jobs, and I'm sure the same is true for most fields.
I'm definitely gonna start sneaking in the F M-M C phrase into as many of the pointless reports with 3-letter acronym names that administration gives us as much as possible. I guarantee no one will notice
Hey hey, glad to see this got posted.
There is a lot to like in a Gru-P memetic hazard designed to make the West spend itself to death to incorporate said hazard. The fact that the Soviets incidentally end up infected themselves is a bit predictable, but I feel the interview with Morozov helps with that turn of events from being totally cliche, and the implications that the Foundation is now infected as well is also a nice touch, as you do that rather subtly in the O5 Council statement.
Overall this is a solid addition to the contest line up, and seems to be rather underrated in my opinion.
+1 MMG.
I figured I would find some discussion of the mystery phrase in the comments, but was amused to notice that it seems to appear uncensored in the document itself. Is that bit of jargon real-world buzzword fodder, or is it an invention of the author?
I was wondering how long it would take to be noticed. The phrase is a combination of real buzzwords but it's not something I've seen as a whole, though it wouldn't surprise me.
Damn, it shows up twice! +1
I found it a bit strange that the GRU cited the Gulf War as the reason for the project's cancellation. 4000 gave me the impression that it was meant to be a strategic weapon for a total war, but wasn't the Gulf War a bit too short, and lacking in industrial mobilization on the US side, for the GRU to use as an example to judge 4000's effect?
I was thinking more that the Gulf War demonstrated that the US military had maintained a high level of readiness and power (given that commentators at the time were surprised at how fast Iraq folded) despite having had SCP-4000 circulating for several years at the time.
The collapse of the USSR was probably a bigger reason for the cancellation in any case.
The bureaucrat in me was salivating the whole read. I love the simplicity of a weaponized memetic hazard that sneakily attacks the bottom line, and not overtly the front one, of a war effort…one that has overtones of current events no less. The forms and graph feel delightfully authentic. This would definitely be NPR’s vote to win. It all falls under the sort of realism that is unfortunately overlooked on the site in favor of more glamorous modes of creative writing.
I gotta say, censoring it all article and leaving it bare in the O5 note…fantastic subtextual storytelling. I didn’t catch it myself but that I didn’t makes it all the more impressive now that I’m aware of it…makes me identify with those susceptible to it. That is my favorite single stroke of story-telling of all the entries I’ve read.
Given the subtle nature of SCP-4000, this was not detected by either the Foundation or Western intelligence agencies unti
Ooo this line has so much replay value.
Thanks! The realistic, low-key bureaucracy of the Foundation is something I like writing and I'm glad you thought it came across well. If you enjoy that I will shamelessly plug my other stuff, as much of it deals with similar themes.
I was expecting more of a follow-up to this line, which I'm not sure ever really materialised:
MOROZOV: In our line of work, Mr Erhardt, we are prone to believe things beyond comprehension hold fearful power. That we are helpless before them. But the most fearful powers are earthly.
I was expecting some big development following this, but the only thing that seemed to happen was the reveal that basically everyone is infected with this thing.
It's an interesting idea and well written, but I felt like not much really happened? The soviets developed a weapon, deployed it, and ultimately it's going to work as intended, just on everyone and on a longer time-table? I think maybe the punch of "the Foundation is infected" has been done just enough that it wasn't a particularly huge reveal to me.
In my opinion this is the most important line in the SCP. I'm glad you posted this so I can bring up the main thrust of what I was trying to say - since it hasn't yet been mentioned I think I haven't expressed this as well as I would like.
It doesn't work as intended. This is basically a thing which increases military spending (for which it does work) but the end goal of destroying the military-industrial complex doesn't happen.
This is the 'earthly power' in question, and that's why Morozov, as a pacifist, later realises he has made a big mistake. The graph and its implications are the follow-up to that (and where the title comes in).
Also, I agree 'surprise, the Foundation is also corrupted' is a pretty common SCP trope, but the anomaly isn't the only thing the Foundation is corrupted by here.
Hmm, you know that's actually a good point and one that I hadn't really considered much. Kind of a subtle distinction but it does change the way I see the article.
Going to upvote this, because you're right; now that I get where you're coming from that is a very good line.
You sick bastard, the true horror isn’t even the anomaly. Really great job, the depiction of military-industrial bureaucracy made me feel a bit sick to my stomach.
Enthusiastic upvote with F M-M C.