Link to article: SCP-4884.
**Item #:** SCP-4884 **Object Class:** Thaumiel[[footnote]]Previously Keter[[/footnote]] **Special Containment Procedures:** Societies undergoing significant political and social instability are to be placed on Foundation Watchlist 4884-R-56-sR. Foundation personnel are to monitor external media and intelligence for individuals fitting the profile of SCP-4884-B instances. Confirmed SCP-4884-B instances not authorized by the Foundation are to be neutralized. In the event that an unauthorized SCP-4884-B survives and continues to perform SCP-4884-A for a period of longer than one year, Foundation personnel are to take steps to diplomatically and economically isolate the government of SCP-4884-B through the use of governmental contacts to leverage sanctions and form coalitions. The Foundation will conduct media blackout on stories relating to the person of SCP-4884-B, instead focusing on destruction, ill governance, and starvation caused by the governance of SCP-4884-B. If no such stories can be found, Foundation personnel are to fabricate them and oversee their dissemination through the media. If an unauthorized SCP-4884-B appears ready to complete SCP-4884-A, Mobile Task Force Rho-18 ("Deiciders") will undertake Standard Protocol Pentheus. Actions which formerly would have been unacceptable breaches of Foundation secrecy will be tolerated, so long as the completion of SCP-4884-A is prevented. The O5 Council, only with the concurrence of the Ethics Committee, is to only approve one instance of SCP-4884-A at a time. The approved SCP-4884-B instance (hereafter SCP-4884-B-1) is to be monitored for behavioral or other psychological abnormalities on a twice-weekly schedule. SCP-4884-B-1 is to be accompanied at all times by no fewer than three members of MTF Rho-18. In the event that SCP-4884-B-1 begins to take actions deemed inimical to the mission of the Foundation or to human life on Earth generally, members of MTF Rho-18 are authorized to terminate the instance. All D-Class personnel not deemed essential to ongoing projects are to be terminated on the last day of each week. During the course of the termination, personnel are to recite Hymn 4884-W-n-17. In the event of a site containment breach deemed to have a sufficient likelihood of fatalities, either to Foundation or non-Foundation personnel, Hymn 4884-X-e-22 is to be played over available public address advice. **Description:** SCP-4884-A is a multi-year theurgic ritual that afflicts states with underdeveloped and illiberal economies and political institutions. When performed, SCP-4884-A allows the practitioner to ascend to godhood[[footnote]]Here defined as an entity or consciousness not tied to a physical form, capable of performing manipulating and acting on a broad category of objects or concepts not physically present.[[/footnote]]. The primary component of SCP-4884-A is its mass nature, whereby the performer (hereafter SCP-4884-B) must serve as a focus of political energies for a significant proportion of the population, intentionally leading the population into acts of increasing violence. Cross-referencing instances with historical records, it is clear that only one instance of SCP-4884-B may be active at a time. By definition, SCP-4884-A is most commonly performed in societies undergoing large-scale cultural and political instability. It is unclear how instances of SCP-4884-B become aware of the existence of SCP-4884-A, as no commonalities exist between the backgrounds of all recorded SCP-4884-B instances. During the performance of SCP-4884-A, SCP-4884-B will begin to manifest abilities including, but not limited to, telekenesis, astral projection, thaumaturgical prowess, and mass hypnosis. Non-anomalous individuals treat these manifestations of power as uninteresting and regular occurrences. The majority of instances of SCP-4884-B have occupied a middle-to-lower-middle position in society and do not play a distinctive role in the initial instability that creates conditions for SCP-4884-A. In order for SCP-4884-A to be completed properly, the following conditions must be met: > * Extensive economic and sociopolitical displacement of a self-defined political unit of no less than 500,000 people > * A significant struggle on the part of the aforesaid political unit against an external enemy or concept > * SCP-4884-B perceived as the sole leader by a large portion of the affected population > * No procedural or legalistic means to remove SCP-4884-B from their position > * Intentionally inflicted death on > 10% of the population of an affected area, either through war or internal policies > * Conscious affectation of propaganda indicating a heightened or divine status for SCP-4884-B > * Conscious identification of SCP-4884-B with the nation or political entity they lead The mean period for the performance of SCP-4884-A is five years, with the longest observed instance being twenty-eight years. As SCP-4884-A nears completion, SCP-4884-B will grow increasingly isolated and erratic, presumably reflecting their increasingly inhuman nature as well as gradual mental deterioration. Invariably, instances of SCP-4884-B will construct institutions of state terror and surveillance to ensure that their orders are carried out. Following the completion of SCP-4884-A, SCP-4884-B will presumably ascend to divine status and shed their human form, resulting in bodily death. To date, the Foundation has prevented every attempted completion of SCP-4884-A. Autopsies performed on the bodies of SCP-4884-B late in the process of performing SCP-4884-A instances indicate significant trauma to the prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, and pineal gland, originating within and moving outward. The significance of this trauma is not fully understood. In the interest of preserving normalcy and the continued viability of baseline reality, the O5 council unanimously adopted a resolution to utilize SCP-4884-A. Despite multiple objections about potential risks, the O5 council moved on 17/2/2022 authorize the selection of a Foundation agent as a candidate for the status of SCP-4884-B (hereafter SCP-4884-B-1). On 18/7/2022, Alfred Percival "Mothman" DeLeon, a Foundation administrator with level 4 clearance, was selected to be the first authorized SCP-4884-B-1 instance. Factors in this selection included Dr. DeLeon's unwavering loyalty to the Foundation, susceptibility to authority, and lack of personal initiative. No Foundation personnel were made aware of this decision outside of the O5 and essential project staff. Foundation psychological operatives have begun a campaign of propaganda emphasizing the central role that SCP-4884-B-1 plays in all decisions made by the Foundation. On 22/7/2022, representatives of the Global Occult Coalition delivered an ultimatum from the Council of One Hundred and Eight[[footnote]]See document 4884-e-T-97 for the full transcript[[/footnote]] to either discontinue the SCP-4884-B-1 program and terminate SCP-4884-B-1, or risk an Eighth Occult War. In a 6-5 vote with two abstentions, the O5 council chose to reject the demand. To supplement the potential strength of SCP-4884-B-1, the termination schedule of D-class personnel was revised from "as needed" to weekly. **Open [http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-4884/offset/2 Addendum 14-w-9]** [[footnoteblock title=""]]