SCP-2566

Demurrage

Connected to: SCP-2855

An instance of SCP-2566. Click for detailed view.

Special Containment Procedures

Due to the anomalous properties of SCP-2566, the long-term storage of SCP-2566 has been deemed inviable as a containment procedure. At the beginning of each month, the Assistant Quartermasters at Site-11 are to distribute instances of SCP-2566 as bonus pay among designated employees permanently stationed at Site-11. Those employees are to store their instances of SCP-2566 in their personal SCP-2566 temporary storage containers. By the end of each month, those employees are to return their instances of SCP-2566 to the Assistant Quartermasters in exchange for products from Site-11's commissary. RFID tags are to be attached to all instances of SCP-2566 to facilitate the tracking of their current location and ownership by the Head Quartermaster.

In the event of a catastrophic breach of SCP-2566's containment, use of SCP-2855 has been approved for assistance in re-containment efforts.

Description

SCP-2566 designates a set of 1,610 banknotes, similar in appearance to U.S. banknotes. Instances of SCP-2566 are visually distinguishable from mundane U.S. banknotes of the same denomination by the presence of a pattern of dark red markings printed on their surfaces.

The anomalous effects of SCP-2566 manifest when an individual comes into the possession of an SCP-2566 instance, with the consent of the previous possessor of that instance (if applicable). When this occurs, an exclusive anomalous link between that individual and the SCP-2566 instance is established. This link can be terminated only upon that individual's willing transfer of the SCP-2566 instance to another individual. As the result of this link, that individual develops an acute awareness of the SCP-2566 instance, which enables them to perfectly recall the following information at all times:

the face value of the SCP-2566 instance
the physical location of the SCP-2566 instance
the duration of their possession of the SCP-2566 instance, accurate to the day

Once an individual remains in possession of one or more SCP-2566 instances for forty or more days, they begin to experience anxiety and guilt toward their continued possession of the SCP-2566 instances. The stated subjective severity of this effect is positively correlated with the duration for which that individual has possessed SCP-2566 instances and the combined face value of their SCP-2566 instances.

SCP-2566 instances can also cause individuals to experience anxiety or guilt when an individual takes possession of SCP-2566 instances that have been linked with another individual¹. These feelings, described as immediate and much more intense compared to those triggered by long-term possession of SCP-2566 instances, persist until that individual relinquishes possession of the SCP-2566 instances.

From the mid-1930s to 2017, SCP-2566 served as the sole means of exchange in Timothy, Nebraska, a rural community with approximately 150 inhabitants. SCP-2566 was introduced to Timothy during the Great Depression by Louis Ingram, a para-economist and member of the Society for Alternative Social Analysis². Over the course of the decades prior to his death in 1969, Ingram maintained the supply of SCP-2566 to Timothy and attempted to modify the community's norms as part of a long-term social experiment regarding demurrage³. Owing to the anomalous effects of SCP-2566 and Ingram's influence, Timothy developed a unique local culture and economy isolated from those of surrounding communities.

The Foundation became aware of SCP-2566 and its role in Timothy in 2015 after the recovery of a clandestine archive of the Society for Alternative Social Analysis. Over the following year, researchers from the Department of Social Sciences conducted a study in Timothy and interviewed its inhabitants⁴. In 2016, researchers were instructed to terminate the study and acquire all instances of SCP-2566 for permanent containment; investments made by a local Foundation front company were used to incentivize residents to surrender their instances of SCP-2566 to the Foundation and submit to amnestic treatment.

Open Selected Interviews of the Inhabitants of Timothy Regarding SCP-2566

Close Selected Interviews of the Inhabitants of Timothy Regarding SCP-2566

Interviewed: Virginia Miller

Interviewer: Researcher Brian Carter

Foreword: The subject was the proprietor of Johnson's General Store, one of several small retail establishments in Timothy.

<Begin Log>

Researcher Carter: Ms. Miller, thank you again for taking the time to speak with us. Could you tell me about what you do here in Timothy?

Virginia Miller: I've been the owner of this shop ever since my father died in 1997. We sell all kinds of odds and ends—if you're looking for it, you can probably find it here.

Researcher Carter: I see. Where do you get your merchandise from?

Virginia Miller: Some of it, my husband and I make ourselves—for example, see those preserves over there? I made those, as well as the baked goods. My husband's responsible for the whiskey on this shelf. We bought some of the other things from our neighbors, like the ethanol and the candles. The rest of the stuff here is used.

Researcher Carter: Do you ever get any shipments of new goods?

Virginia Miller: Greenies⁵ are too important to waste on that. First, we repair what we have. If we can't repair what we have, we make it ourselves. And if we can't make it ourselves, we probably don't need it anyways. That's basically our motto here in Timothy.

Researcher Carter: So what do you use the "greenies" for, then?

Virginia Miller: Well, first things first, we have to pay taxes—don't want to cause any trouble with the Feds, after all. Besides that, we have to use them sometimes to buy medicine. It's awfully expensive, but we pool our funds together and make it work.

Researcher Carter: OK. One last question: who are your customers? Are they mostly locals, or do you ever get any from outside of town?

Virginia Miller: I only accept reds⁶ as payment. We only have so much stuff here to go around. We can't exactly afford to be giving out our wares to outsiders, now can we?

Researcher Carter: I see. Well, thank you for speaking with me, Ms. Miller.

Virginia Miller: No problem. Feel free to come back whenever you feel like it!

<End Log>

Interviewed: William Schwartz

Interviewer: Researcher Brian Carter

Foreword: The subject was born in 1931, making him one of Timothy's oldest residents.

<Begin Log>

Researcher Carter: Mr. Schwartz, I really appreciate your offer to talk with us about the history of Timothy. What can you tell me about Louis Ingram?

William Schwartz: I wasn't personally familiar with Mr. Ingram, but my father was. He told me that when I was little—maybe only two or three years old—Mr. Ingram came to town for the first time. That was back during the Great Depression—times were hard then and there was hardly enough money to go around. So, when Mr. Ingram started talking about how he wanted to start an experiment to get the money flowing, people were willing to hear him out. He told everyone that the reason why times were so hard was because everyone was hoarding their money and wasn't spending enough, and it made sense, considering how much food was just sitting around unsold back then. We figured that things couldn't get any worse, so we told Mr. Ingram that we agreed to participate in his experiment, and he came back with the first batch of reds. He told everyone what they were and what they did, and gave $50 worth of reds to everyone in town.

Researcher Carter: How was the town's economy afterwards?

William Schwartz: At first we weren't too optimistic, but Mr. Ingram's experiment worked! All of the towns around us were floundering, but we here in Timothy had more than enough to go around during the Depression. I've always remembered how the New Deal men came into town once and spent the entire day strolling around town looking for something to help us with. They must have never seen anything like it before!

Researcher Carter: Did Louis Ingram ever return to Timothy?

William Schwartz: Yes—every once in a while he would come by and give us some new reds. "Increasing the money supply," as he said. Sometimes he would give talks about how important the reds were for the town's economy, and we couldn't disagree with him there—he saved us from the Depression, after all! In particular, I remember the day when he got together all of the parents, the teachers, and the pastor and told them that they should teach the children about the reds, since they had never seen the Depression themselves. That was when we started the tradition of Gifting to the children.

Researcher Carter: Sorry, I'm not familiar with this "Gifting" tradition. Could you explain this to me in more detail?

William Schwartz: It's sort of a coming of age thing. Six months before a child reaches a certain age—for my kids, it was ten; for some others, it's thirteen—we give them $100 worth of reds. We tell them that if they can hold on to it for six months, they get to spend it on their birthday. Otherwise, they have to forfeit it. I've never seen anyone make it to six months—by three or four months, they're begging and hollering for us to take it back. Of course, we always give them a $100 birthday gift regardless—it's not about holding on to reds, it's about learning to give reds back to the community!

Researcher Carter: Did you ever participate in Gifting yourself? I mean as the child, not as the parent.

William Schwartz: No. By the time we started Gifting, I was already twenty years old. If you want to hear about Gifting, maybe you should talk to someone younger than me.

Researcher Carter: Of course. Thank you again for speaking with me, Mr. Schwartz.

William Schwartz: Anytime.

<End Log>

Interviewed: Jimmy Baker

Interviewer: Researcher Brian Carter

Foreword: The subject was fourteen years old and had participated in Gifting one year prior to the interview.

<Begin Log>

Researcher Carter: Hello, Jimmy. Thank you letting me interview you! I've noticed that not many people here seem to be willing to talk about Gifting.

Jimmy Baker: No, I guess not.

Researcher Carter: Do you happen to know why that is the case?

Jimmy Baker: Well, I don't know if anyone has told you this, but it's kind of a private thing. It would be like me telling you all about my circumcision, or something like that.

Researcher Carter: Oh… I see. If that's the case, I won't ask you to talk about Gifting if you would prefer not to do so.

Jimmy Baker: No worries, Dr. Carter. I don't mind talking about it. I don't think that it should be that private, but I understand why others feel that way.

Researcher Carter: So why do others feel that way?

Jimmy Baker: The thing about Gifting is that it's a really shitty experience. You can hold on to a red for like, a month and a half, and feel alright. Hold on to a red for another month, and then whenever you have a second to spare, you start to think about that red burning a hole in your pocket. You then hold on to it for another month, and you start thinking about getting rid of the red 24/7… it's like an obsession, and you start losing sleep over it. By the time that you get to five months… God, it was just fucking awful.

Researcher Carter: So, you held onto your red for five months during your Gifting?

Jimmy Baker: Yes.

Researcher Carter: In spite of how terrible the experience was?

Jimmy Baker: Yes.

Researcher Carter: Could you tell me why?

Jimmy Baker: It's like… OK, don't judge me, but it's like a contest. Every boy tries to show off by holding on to the red for as long as possible. It's… yeah, it's kind of stupid.

Researcher Carter: No worries. I don't judge, I just observe. Jimmy, you've been very helpful, so if you would prefer not to answer this next question, just let me know. How exactly did you feel about the red at the end of your five months during Gifting?

Jimmy Baker: It's… uh, it's really hard to describe, Dr. Carter. Best thing I can do is give an analogy. Now, during Sunday school, there's this story that Reverend Paul loves to tell—Reverend Paul's the town pastor, by the way, in case you didn't know. So back during the time of the Apostles there was this rich couple called Ananias and Sapphira. Dr. Carter, have you heard of this story before? I won't retell it if you know it.

Researcher Carter: I can't say that I'm familiar with it. Please go on.

Jimmy Baker: Anyways, what happened was that Ananias and Sapphira sold their land, and were going to give the money to St. Peter, but kept some of it for themselves. And Peter told Ananias that Satan made him lie to God, and he died on the spot. Then Sapphira came in and Peter told her that she was going to die, and she died too. I have no idea what Ananias and Sapphira felt, but I can't imagine that it was all that different.

Researcher Carter: I see. Thank you, Jimmy. That's all for today. You are welcome to talk with me about your experience at any time, if you feel like it would help you.

Jimmy Baker: No, thank you, Dr. Carter, I really appreciate that you took the time to listen to me. Have a nice afternoon!

<End Log>

Interviewed: Reverend Paul Gesell

Interviewer: Researcher Brian Carter

Foreword: The subject is the pastor of the sole church in Timothy.

<Begin Log>

Researcher Carter: Reverend Gesell, thank you for taking the time to speak to me about your beliefs. Many people here have told me about how you've touched their lives.

Reverend Gesell: Please, Dr. Carter, call me Paul. In any case, I'd be happy to answer any of your questions.

Researcher Carter: Alright, then, Paul. What can you tell me about the reds? What is their purpose?

Reverend Gesell: Well, the first answer is obvious. I'm sure you know how much they have helped this town, ever since the Great Depression. And really, it shouldn't surprise anyone—there's a Biblical precedent! Proverbs 11:24: "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty."

Researcher Carter: And the second answer?

Reverend Gesell: Ah, the second answer. The reds teach us not to sin—when we do not want, we see that what is best is free. This was a lesson that I learned the hard way when I was young. During my Gifting, when I was eighteen, I was able to hold onto my red for the full six months—I don't think that anyone before then or since then managed it. Now in those days, I was living in sin, so with my $100 I bought myself a jug of moonshine and a full tank of ethanol, stole my father's car, and ran off with my then-girlfriend for a week. Then I came back to Timothy, sneaked back into my house, and found that my father had left a $100 red inside a Bible, as a bookmark! Since I had managed the six months, I thought that I would be able to take the red, but I was wrong. I opened up the Bible, and picked the red up, and when I looked at it I felt like I had seen my own damnation. So I put the red back, and then I saw the words, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

(Reverend Gesell takes an SCP-2566 instance and holds it in front of Researcher Carter.)

Reverend Gesell: You see here, this red? The wages of sin. It is unfortunate that we must do what we do here, but I learned goodness through fear, just like everyone else.

<End Log>

Footnotes