Gerusz

Item #: SCP-XXX

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: Source codes for SCP-XXX-P instances that are deemed worthy of further analysis and binaries of SCP-XXX-C instances are to be kept on Secure Foundation Server XXX at Site-18. A database of SCP-XXX-L features discovered so far is to be kept on the Foundation intranet. Access to the database and Secure Foundation Server XXX might be provided for Foundation employees with sufficient clearance and an experience in programming under the supervision of Dr. ██████.

SCP-XXX-P instances might only be run on devices without any network connectivity or, if connectivity is required by them, a small network simulating the internet using cached copies of webpages.

Due to its effects on computers and other programs running on the computer, cross-testing of SCP-XXX and computer-based SCPs is banned.

SCP-XXX-P and SCP-XXX-C instances in the wild should be secured, if possible with their source codes, then deleted. The programmers who have used SCP-XXX-L are to be detained and interviewed (especially focusing on their knowledge of SCP-XXX-L's creator). They can be released after administration of Class-A amnesiac or, if they show great talent in using SCP-XXX-L and their personality is compatible, a position with L1/XXX clearance could be offered to them in Dr. ██████'s research team under the guise of employment at the Silicium Consultant Programming corporation.

SCP-XXX-L's creator (who, based on the comments in SCP-XXX-L's header file, uses the alias "DoctorSoul19") should be apprehended and interviewed if possible. Foundation personnel embedded into internet service providers and intelligence agencies should monitor internet traffic for any references to SCP-XXX-L and "DoctorSoul19".

Description: SCP-XXX is an anomalous library to be used with the C++ programming language. SCP-XXX-L is the designation of the library itself (called EmC), SCP-XXX-C is the collective designation of the compilers for several devices (including microcontrollers, mobile phones and personal computers) capable of compiling C++ code using SCP-XXX-L correctly (other C++ compilers simply translate SCP-XXX-L instructions into NOOP commands, programs compiled this way don't show any anomalous properties) and SCP-XXX-P is the collective designations for programs written using SCP-XXX-L.

When a C++ program is compiled with SCP-XXX-C without including SCP-XXX-L's header file it shows no anomalous properties. These properties only manifest if SCP-XXX-L's header is included and the compiled binaries of SCP-XXX-L (EmC.dll or EmC.so) can be found on the system.

Functions found in SCP-XXX-L are used to access and alter the "emotional state" of the computer running the program: getMood() returns the name of the computer's current emotional state as a string and setMood(string mood) attempts to change it. As SCP-XXX-L lacks a proper documentation, the complete set of possible emotional states is unknown. Using the source code of recovered SCP-XXX-P instances and trial-and-error method, the Foundation has assembled a partial database of the emotional states and their effects on the computer (see addendum SCP-XXX-A1).

Note, that the majority of the emotional states can not be set directly. The computer's state will change by itself depending on the tasks it does, user inputs, event, etc. A direct change in emotional state issued by invoking the setMood() function can be refused throwing an "Invalid emotional change" exception if the state explicitly can not be set directly or if said change would constitute an extreme mood swing.

It is also discovered that not every computer is capable of using the full range of discovered emotions. Generally, the complexity of the computer shows a positive correlation with the range of emotions available: microcontrollers are only capable of using the most basic emotions ("scared", "angry", "sad", "happy", "excited", "neutral"), whereas the most sophisticated example of SCP-XXX-P encountered (SCP-XXX-P1267, written for a 16384-core supercomputer cluster) contained references to emotions like "heartbroken", "inspired" or "zestful".

During experimentation, it was discovered that the emotional state of a computer running SCP-XXX-P is also influenced by other programs running on the computer and that this emotional state will affect all programs running on the computer. Terminating the SCP-XXX-P instance does not stop this effect, only rebooting the computer does.

Addenda:

Acquisition Hide The Foundation became aware of the existence of SCP-XXX when a downloadable freeware program appeared on free software sites in 2004. The program claimed to be able to accelerate the rendering of raytraced 3D graphics. It was actually capable of doing this; in 75% of the cases it put the computer in the "In Flow" state. The rendering performance was significantly greater than the theoretical limit of the computer, however, there were no signs of overclocking or other hardware modifications. An interview with the program's creator W███████ H██████████, a student at the Technical University of V█████ revealed that SCP-XXX was used. The first instance of SCP-XXX-C and SCP-XXX-L were acquired from Mr. H██████████'s computer. Given his cooperativeness and aptitude for working with SCP-XXX, Mr. H██████████ was offered a position of junior researcher in the Foundation. During the interview, Mr. H██████████ also revealed that he acquired SCP-XXX-C and SCP-XXX-L from a user called "DoctorSoul19" in a private chatroom. On the chatroom Mr. H██████████ wrote that he was about to give up his hobby of 3D modeling because rendering took too long and he did not have money for a computer upgrade. "DoctorSoul19" contacted Mr. H██████████ in a private message and sent him a link to a compressed archive containing an instance of SCP-XXX-C and SCP-XXX-L, stored on an anonymous file hosting server. Unfortunately, the logs of both the chat server and the file hosting server only contained the IP address of an anonymous proxy on the Coconut Islands. "DoctorSoul19" has not appeared on any chat server since then.

Extract from SCP-XXX-A1 Hide Designation Can be set directly? Minimal hardware complexity required Effect Neutral Yes Any CPU Computers in neutral mood perform as expected, but their emotional state is subject to change. Happy Yes 8-bit CPU Calculations are performed faster (with a factor of 2-3), but a small error is present. In integer calculations, this error usually means +/-1 in 3.2% of the calculations and a larger error in 0.5%. Testing with floating point calculations showed that this error has a normal distribution with a standard deviation of 0.5. Sad Yes 8-bit CPU Calculations are performed slower (with a factor of 2-3). If it persists and the computer is complex enough, it might transform into "depressed". Angry No 8-bit CPU Calculations are performed faster, but with a large error (σ=2). The computer may refuse to perform time-consuming calculations. Excited No 8-bit CPU Usually a result of the program approaching the end of a cycle with a large number (>214) of iterations. Calculations are performed faster and accurately. If the next instructions are sufficiently different from the ones in the cycle, the computer will probably enter into a "happy" mood. If they are similar, it will enter into a "sad" mood. If they are only slightly different, it will enter into a "neutral" mode. Scared No 8-bit CPU Usually a result of unexpected input or slight hardware issues (fluctuation in the power supply, for example). The computer will slow down considerably and might make small errors in the calculations (σ=1). Its speed will gradually resume to normal and the error will approach σ=0 in the next 232 cycles. After this, the mood will return to neutral (or, if the computer is complex enough, "relieved") Annoyed No 16-bit CPU Usually a result of frequent interrupts. The computer might start to ignore some of these interrupts. If interrupts continue, it might enter into an "angry" state. Bored No 16-bit CPU Generally a result of a long IO-burst, insufficient variation of input data or a long cycle of simple calculations. The computer's performance will slow down approximately 10% every 216 cycles and an initially small error (σ=0.1) appears, which however doubles every 216 cycles. If the state is sustained for at least 232 cycles, the computer will enter into the "sad" state. An interrupt, a change of input data or the end of a long cycle can move the computer out of this state - generally to the "neutral" state, but if the computer was close to 232 cycles in this state and is complex enough, it might enter the "relieved" state. Lonely No 16-bit CPU Results if an SCP-XXX-P is the only program running on a computer without user input. Identical to "neutral", but the computer will enter into a "sad" mood if it persists. Proud No 32-bit CPU Results if the computer output a large amount of information. The next few operations will be performed faster, without errors. If the computer is complex enough, a "proud" state might be followed by an "inspired" state. Guilty No 32-bit CPU Results if the program has caused inconvenience or errors to other programs (timeouts, etc…) or the user, especially if it was because of its emotional state ("angry" or "scared" states are prone to cause this state). Effects identical to "sad", but the computer will enter into "neutral" mode after 264 cycles. Depressed No 32-bit CPU A computer usually enters into a "depressed" state if a "sad" state persists for more than 232 cycles. In this state its speed slows down even more than in the "sad" mood (with a factor of 8-10) and an error with σ=1 is introduced. The computer might refuse to perform some operations. Relieved No 32-bit CPU Calculations in this state are performed 2-3 times faster, without errors. The state returns to the "neutral" state in 232 cycles. The accessible states are apparently the same as from the "neutral" state, but the computer is more "emotionally stable" here, it is unlikely that it will move out from this state before its natural end. In Flow No 32-bit CPU with a clock speed of at least 2.4 GHz, at least 2 cores (virtual cores are sufficient), at least 1 GB of RAM per core It is unknown what exactly causes "flow" state, but it usually occurs when the computer performs memory and CPU-consuming (>75% of average load) tasks in a row and the computer is in a neutral or happy mood. The processing speed of tasks similar to what caused the flow shows a significant (a factor of 64-128) increase. It is unknown where the resulting processing power comes from as the heat output of the CPU does not show an increase consistent with overclocking. After a "flow", the computer will inevitably enter into a "proud" state. Suicidal No 64-bit CPU, at least 2 cores The computer will refuse to perform most operations. If this state persists for long, the computer will cause irreparable hardware damage to itself and shut down. It is recommended to reboot a computer once it enters into suicidal mode - while it can be moved out from it, it is usually not worth the effort. Inspired No Unknown, observed only in a program running on a 16384-core supercomputer Similar to "flow", but the computer will use its extra computing power to generate other outputs not included in the program. These outputs are usually relevant to the user. Zestful Yes Unknown, observed only in a program running on a 16384-core supercomputer If a computer is in a "zestful" mood, a sufficiently complex calculation will process faster (and there is a chance that the computer will enter into an "inspired" or "flow" mood). However, if the computer performs simple calculations in a "zestful" mood, it might transition into "bored". Heartbroken No Unknown, observed only in a program running on a 16384-core supercomputer Unknown, during observation the "heartbroken" state was not achieved. However, the source code of SCP-XXX-P1267 calls for excessive interaction with other programs, computers and users in case of the "heartbroken" state. Note: it implies that there is an "in love", or at least an "infatuated" state, but no reference to these has been found.