That's right, it's that wonderful time of year again… The leaves are turning wonderful shades of red and orange, it's getting colder, and the marmots are beginning their long, wintry slumber. You guessed it: We're having another contest! The theme of this one is dystopia. For reference, dystopia is defined by Google as "an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one."

Cool, what kind of tales can we write?

Your story must take place in a universe in which the Foundation

Existed as seen in the non-canon at one point (exhibiting the characteristics of the SCP Foundation as we know and love it) Currently exists, but having changed significantly

The world itself must be

Dystopian in some way — for reference, that means "a place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one" The "main" world (as opposed to SCP-093's mirror universe, or inside SCP-108, etc. unless there's a reason for that to qualify as the "main" world)

Other than that, go wild!

Could you maybe give us some examples?

Sure. Hopefully these ideas will help you brainstorm.

In a world where the Daeva founded and run the Foundation, a researcher discovers a Scranton box with a copy of SCP-140's documentation

Due to the sheer number of SCPs, the Foundation has become a totalitarian regime in order to contain them all efficiently

After the recreation of the Broken God, the remnants of the Foundation are trying to quarantine the few remaining unindoctrinated civilians from the plague of SCP-217

Tensions between the Foundation and the GOC have come to a head, and the two organizations are engulfing the whole world in an all-out war

Here are some questions for you to keep in mind as you write.

What caused the world to be this way?

How long has it been this way?

How has the Foundation changed, and why?

What happened to all the SCPs?

How have the GoIs changed, if at all?

Are things going to get better, worse, or stay the same?

What about the boring rules?

One entry per author. Collaborations are allowed but neither author will be allowed to submit another tale.

No significant edits after the tale has been posted. If you wouldn't do it to someone else's tale, don't do it to your own until the contest ends.

Once your entry is in, it's in. Tales will be subject to the normal deletion process, and authors with failed entries will not get another chance. Make sure your entry is as good as possible before submitting it!

Entries must be new. No sequels either — you must write an original tale that is not part of an existing canon.

All entries must be tagged with "dc2014" (Dystopia Contest 2014) in order to be counted. Otherwise we'll all think, "Wow, you should submit this tale to the contest!"

Do not post before November 21st or after November 30th.

No malicious downvoting. This is always a rule, but I mention it here again because contests can get competitive. If you do this, not only will you be disqualified, you may also be banned from the site.

The tale with the highest vote count wins!

If you have any other questions, PM me ( Rejekyll

Peanut Gallery Hall of Fame

Is there a suggestion/limit for length?

No. Just keep in mind that you're writing a tale, so if your entry is too long people might get bored and stop reading partway through, and if your entry is too short it probably doesn't have enough material.

Why can't we use canons or write sequels?

This contest exists so that users write original tales. If you just continue an arc or lift from a canon that's already on the site, you're not really doing that.

Can we use SCPs then?

Of course. Use whatever you want on the site as inspiration as long as you're not writing a sequel to a tale or an installment in an existing canon.

What's the prize for the winner?

The winning tale will be linked from the front page and the author will feel good about themselves.

Where should I submit my tale?

You shouldn't. The contest is over. Sorry.