Item #: SCP-7477
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: A fenced perimeter has been established around SCP-7477. Armed guards are to patrol this perimeter.
Description: SCP-7477 is a cave system in South Mesopotamia that allows for communication with SCP-7477-1, an equivalent cave system in an alternate dimension (7477/PRIME). Sounds produced in SCP-7477 can be heard in SCP-7477-1, and vice-versa. This has allowed for the establishment of communications between baseline Earth and 7477/PRIME.
7477/PRIME is topologically identical to baseline Earth, but has dramatic sociopolitical differences. The majority of these differences are believed to stem from a single, core irregularity between baseline earth and 7477/PRIME. This most core difference is that in 7477/PRIME humanity regularly and repeatedly engages in long-term acts of armed institutional conflict, in a tradition that is referred to as war.
War is practiced extensively within 7477/PRIME, and has been observed in nearly every human culture and society in the recorded history of 7477/PRIME. Cultures that have not engaged in war are either extremely young, geographically isolated, or largely defined by their opposition to it. War appears to be the defining facet of human civilization in 7477/PRIME.
Numerous cultural changes have resulted from war, in comparison to baseline reality:
- Significantly increased diversity of sovereign nations, and expanded definitions of what a sovereign body entails. 7477/PRIME has two hundred and six distinct sovereign entities.
- The sovereignty of some of these states is allegedly disputed. These disputations are expressed through war.
- The global economy is heavily reliant on war or activities related to war. These include corporations that produce equipment for military activity or relief organizations dedicated to reducing the harmful effects of war.
- Differences in technological development. Although levels of advancement are roughly equatable between 7477/PRIME and baseline reality, multiple technologies either exist exclusively in one reality.
- All development exclusive to 7477/PRIME is the result of war or other conflict-driven development. However, not all of these developments are of military usage.
- Drastically different cultural beliefs and valuations. Traits or characteristics which are of greater importance during war (such as courage or self-sacrifice) are over-valued in other areas of society, where they are not as applicable.
- While individual humans from 7477/PRIME are not believed to be any more intrinsically violent than baseline humans, they have however been conditioned and raised to accept war and long-term systematic violence as normal. As such, they generally behave more violently.
- Individual conflict appears to be slightly more common. Inter-group rivalry and conflict is significantly more common.1
It is under debate as to whether war is anomalous. While it has been established as abnormal2 and therefore qualifying for anomalous classification in and of itself, it is unclear as to whether it is scientifically impossible. The current leading hypothesis is that baseline humans are physically capable of war, but would need to be socially conditioned in a way completely different from current society.
The primary risk that SCP-7477 presents is the potential for the ideas associated with war to become commonplace, or spread into baseline reality. Should these ideas spread, an NK-Class Societal Upheaval Scenario would likely result. Although the ideas are not believed to be anomalously memetic, the degree to which they are present within 7477/PRIME indicates that they are naturally virulent and pervasive, and could reinfect society in baseline reality.
An organization either analogous or identical to the Foundation is believed to exist in 7477/PRIME, despite the massive sociopolitical differences. This is known to be a result of SCP-001 and is not an intrinsic property of SCP-7477. [FURTHER DETAILS REDACTED 5/001]
History of SCP-7477
SCP-7477 is one of the oldest known interdimensional portals. It was initially discovered by Foundation precursors in 11137 HE and given over to Foundation control upon its founding in 11409 HE. During the initial years of its discovery, the societal differences between baseline and 7477/PRIME were not well understood, especially as the inhabitants of 7477/PRIME were not well-primed for scientific inquiry at the time.
The exact difference between baseline reality and 7477/PRIME were discovered in 11538 HE, when the [peace precursor] of baseline was convening with the Devan-e Jaaduyih of 7477/PRIME. During this meeting, the Devan-e Jaaduyih emissary alluding to an ongoing war fought between the sponsor government of the Devan-e Jaaduyih (known as the Šāhanšāhi-ye Safavi) and a rival nation, known as the Devlet-i ʿAlīye-i ʿOsmānīye.
Upon initially arriving to the meeting, the delegation of the [peace precursor] noticed that the previous Devna-e Jaaduyih emissary was absent, and inquired as to where he was. The replacement responded that he had been slain by the yeniçeriler of the Devlet-i ʿAlīye-i ʿOsmānīye during the ongoing war between their nations, and briefly lamented his absence before moving on.
The delegation from the [peace precursor] were immensely confused by the allusion to war, unable to comprehend the apparent casual murder of the previous emissary by a large group. The ensuing conversation, to clarify the nature and meaning of war, lasted for three days before the [peace precursor] emerged from SCP-7477 with a partial understanding of war.
Dimensional Investigation
While other interdimensional portals are known — and many alternative realities are apparent to the Foundation — SCP-7477 remains the only which has consistently practiced war. Other universes that are accessible to baseline reality fall into one of the following categories, in ranked order of how common they have been observed from baseline:
- Identical to baseline reality, with reference to war.
- Similar to baseline reality, with no observed occurrences of war. However, other dimensions known to these realities always have multiple occurrences of war, with the only exception being baseline reality.
- Realities generally similar to baseline, but have one or two occurrences of war. These instances are generally historical and viewed as unique anomalies.
- Realities which were initially observed to fall under Category 1 or 2, but have recently seen the outbreak of war. In most instances, Category 4 realities tend to see multiple wars in succession.
The growing number of universes which contain war has been deemed an immense concern. As best as can be determined, war has independently evolved a number of times throughout the reality. The majority of Category 3 and 4 universes have had little to no contact with 7477/PRIME or another reality in which war is present. The causes of this are under significant debate.
The Foundation, at present, is discussing two leading theories as to the
Trees and their Branches
Before we begin, while I wait for the rest of the Council to pile in, there's a little story I'd like to tell. Not much of a story to be quite honest, but if you'll just hear me out.
We don't have a word for how the world is. Nothing to describe our way of life, the age in which we live. And there is no need — if you have never known darkness, why would you have a word for light? But in that other world, 7477/PRIME, they do. They call our state peace. They say it is the state of not being in war.
Of course, that describes our entire history, but it is so obvious to hear. Of course they would have a world. How could they have it sooner? It feels like a blind man having his face described to him. He's known the shape all his life but he could have never put it into words. We live in a world of peace. A great blessing, is it not?
I see everyone is here. I'll begin now.
Imagine, if you will, the infinite multiverse. At each choice that we have, a branch splits off from the rest. In an overwhelming majority of times, these branches are so similar to each other that they collapse back onto each other. But frequently, they split. Consequences, and the tree diverges. Keep making choices, and the tree will continue to diverge. Choices. We choose the shape of our universe.
Imagine the shape of the universe, going back to the first moment that war began in 7477/PRIME. In that moment, there is only one universe: one which will branch out, to become ours and theirs. Do you truly believe that in the grand totality of the universe, only one branch chose the same resolution as we did in that moment? No. There were a thousand ways for peace.
And so a thousand branches of the universe spring out. And going forward, we pass time until it is the time for the second war. And again: there are a thousand ways for peace. Each splits off from the rest.
Continue that onward, for the entirety of human existence. A simple choice, at every turn to choose a solution without violence. Without massive bloodshed. Perhaps with only a battle or two, but never more. No such thing as escalation. That is the universe we live in. Here and now today.
We live in the universe where war has never happened. There is nothing that stops war from happening in the future, only the growing unlikelihood that it will happen. War is costly, and it defines those other worlds. You need their so-called armies, their soldiers, weapons, a scale for conflict that doesn't exist here and never has. But don't mistake that for impossibility — we could easily make those weapons, raise those levies, and besiege our enemies.
Our universe does not exist because of divine providence, the blessings of Fortuna. It is not a freak, chance occurrence. We did not simply "get lucky" to exist in this world. Luck has nothing to do with it. That isn't the case here.
To claim that it is luck — that we are nothing more than a statistical improbability that happens to exist as an inevitability of the universe — discredits ourselves. Our world was not chanced out of the aether, but forged. We made the world what it is. Sweat and tears, but no blood. Never blood. Every person in our history who has chosen an option other than the most violent has brought us here. We stand upon the backs of men and women who chose the harder way, the harder path, and that brings us here.
This is both a curse and a blessing.
A curse for us. Our world is fragile. If we were lucky, we could count on that luck continuing to levy us, to keep us safe from harm and ensure we'd never see a war. After all: we've made it too far for it to break now. Providence would keep us free from harm. But that's not the case, that's not our world. Peace must be protected. We must consciously keep the world safe.
The blessing is not for us. We do not get anything out of it. But for the rest of the multiverse. All it took for us was a collection of choices. There is nothing that stops them from doing the same. Infinite luck can't be shared. The benediction of God is not transferable. You can't give that away.
There are better worlds are possible . We don't need to be the only one.