SCP-230: The Gayest Man Alive

SCP-230: The Gayest Man Alive SCP-230 is a relentlessly cheerful man whose presence causes immediate chemical dependence. His title uses “gay” in the older sense of happy or carefree. The article explicitly separates his fixation on that word from sexual orientation. The danger comes from a substance his body produces and the control that substance gives him over other people. A compound similar in composition to heroin emerges through his pores and immediately evaporates. Breathing the surrounding air produces intense euphoria, impairment, and addiction. Skin contact can expose someone too, and the compound is present in all his bodily fluids. People affected by it become willing to follow his requests as long as doing so does not require leaving him. That last condition creates an obvious containment problem. Someone might understand a security instruction perfectly well and still refuse to walk away. Exposed personnel have helped him attempt escapes, and they can become violent when separated from him. The article describes those attempts as a relatively low threat because the people assisting him are usually impaired. That assessment offers very little reassurance to anyone standing between them and his room. Withdrawal carries a reported mortality rate of thirty percent. Symptoms vary with the amount of exposure and generally subside after about two weeks. Ingesting his bodily fluids is worse: the file reports that every such subject dies during withdrawal. The comparison with heroin does not explain why this particular compound produces such an extreme and persistent effect. The Foundation found him in an apartment with twenty people serving him and several others dead. He appeared to be limiting how many people he exposed, but his explanation for the bodies makes that sound much less considerate. He said the apartment had become crowded, so he asked some of the people to stop breathing. He remains friendly during interviews and appears unable to experience negative emotions. Researchers cannot establish when his condition began, and attempts to lower his mood with drugs only make him produce more of the compound. The file suggests he experiences its effects without the impairment seen in everyone else. Containment therefore depends on filtered ventilation, supplied-air protective suits, and a door that can only be opened from outside. Anyone exposed is held for at least a month. The procedures call for killing personnel whose symptoms persist, while those cleared are transferred away from him. The addendum shows why the Foundation no longer considers that clearance sufficient. A researcher completes treatment, passes her examination, and returns two months later trying to break into his containment area. She injures several people before being detained and killed. Regular psychological examinations are added afterward, although the warning signs are expunged from the reader's copy. What stands out is how little his cheerful manner tells us about his treatment of people. He can enjoy a conversation and describe a killing with the same apparent ease. The record never establishes whether he understands distress normally, but it gives plenty of evidence that being pleasant around him is not the same as being safe. Original Entry: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-230