SCP-3722

“The spider weaves the curtains in the palace of the Caesars/The owl calls the watch in the towers of Afrasiab"

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WARNING: This article, along with all information about SCP-3722, contains an infohazard which prompts an amnestic effect in all who read it. After you have read this article, you will be unable to retain the majority of the information contained within; all researchers on SCP-3722 must take an appropriate dose of mnestics after reading this article.

scpisfahanpic.jpg

The earliest known image of SCP-3722.1

Item #: SCP-3722

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: A method of preventing SCP-3722 has not yet been found. Due to the amnestic effect of SCP-3722, only personnel who have subsequently taken mnestics can recall any information about SCP-3722 or any SCP-3722 events. This effect has thus far protected SCP-3722 from public exposure.

Due to the unstable nature of SCP-3722, it is possible that its amnestic effect could fail in the future. Should this occur, Operation Caesar's Spider is to be launched to artificially prevent public knowledge of SCP-3722. In order to prevent a further degradation of SCP-3722, Foundation agents have been embedded in the planning departments of Isfahan's municipal authorities. They are to prevent any alterations to the city and its landscape which could further destabilise SCP-3722.

Due to the ORIA not possessing any mnestic capabilities, it is believed that the organisation is unaware of SCP-3722. Preventing ORIA from gaining mnestic capabilities is considered to be of vital importance. Informing ORIA of SCP-3722 is part of the protocol for Operation Caesar's Spider, in order to enlist their aid in containing the anomaly and preventing exposure.

Observation of SCP-3722 is to be performed via remote drone, as any humans entering SCP-3722 will become SCP-3722-1 instances.

Description: SCP-3722 refers to an event taking place in the city of Isfahan, Iran, on 13 Muharram each year according to the Hijri calendar. Beginning at sunrise, and finishing at sunset, the entire structure and layout of the city metamorphosises into a near-identical copy of itself from an earlier point in its history. SCP-3722 always emulates the city at a point prior to 23/10/1722 (13 Muharram 1135 in the Hijri calendar);2 ordinarily, this will be at a point between the 1610s and 1670s.3 The precise scenarios which occur are believed to be thematically linked to events taking place in contemporary Iran.

The inhabitants of the city also abruptly transform, with their clothes, visual appearance and personalities altering to match the period and location which SCP-3722 is emulating. These individuals are henceforth referred to as SCP-3722-1. SCP-3722-1 instances act in a period-appropriate fashion, taking on jobs and roles necessary for the functioning of the city in the period emulated. Any individuals entering the city during SCP-3722 will also become SCP-3722-1 instances. Any non-human objects entering the city will not transform after the beginning of the event, however, which can often cause confusion among the SCP-3722-1 instances who encounter them.4

At dusk, the city abruptly collapses into rubble. Following this, SCP-3722 ends, and the city returns to its ordinary, non-anomalous state. The SCP-3722-1 instances transform back into ordinary individuals, who possess no recollections of SCP-3722; their memories will compensate by constructing alternate scenarios about the day in question. The same will occur for any outside observers, or any individuals who learn about SCP-3722 through second-hand means. The only known way to counter this memory-loss is through the use of mnestic compounds.

It is unknown how long SCP-3722 has been active, but it is speculated to have begun shortly after 23/10/1722 (13 Muharram 1135 in the Islamic calendar). It was discovered by Foundation personnel on 13/12/1978 (13 Muharram 1399), shortly after the first discovery and implementation of modern mnestics.

Addendum 1, 01/10/2011: On 08/09/2011, Foundation historians discovered a single damaged page of a Safavid-era letter in the Ottoman Imperial Archives. The writer and recipient are unknown, but the letter was dated to after the Treaty of Constantinople between the Safavids and the Ottomans in 1590. The letter begins and ends mid-sentence, and has suffered extensive water damage. A translation from the original Persian is as follows:

as your second Solomon can attest to6. May this peace last a thousand years! For the hostilities between fellow Muslims are to be deplored; the Dar al-Islam7 must remain united.

I speak to you now on a more fascinating and terrible subject; Our Shah’s plans for the reconstruction of Isfahan. He has taken a strange step; he has elected not to alter the old city of Isfahan, with no changes being made to its houses or mosques. Instead, our glorious monarch has conceived of the creation of an entirely new city, built slightly away from the old city. The plans he has presented are almost perfect in their form and function; he would create a single long boulevard, flanked by beautiful houses, gardens and trees. This would lead past the palatial complex, onto which it would open. On the other side of the palace

<The letter here becomes illegible for several lines, due to subsequent water damage>

consulting with various alchemists and physicians in its design. Its perfection goes beyond the mere requirements of the city, but is instead designed to simulate a particular alchemical representation of the human mind. The city would have a life of its own; its call, subliminal and strange, would possess a grand memory of the past and a grand lure to all who see its walls. Prosperity and grandeur seem to be the destiny of

<The letter here becomes illegible for several lines, due to subsequent water damage>

should it ever be damaged. The design must remain intact, I have found, for the Shah’s scheme to work; alteration or destruction would result in an irreparable flaw in the design. I do not believe this would deactivate it entirely, but would instead

Addendum 2, 17/11/2013: On 16/11/2013 (13 Muharram 1435), the 300th anniversary (in Hijri years) of the fall of Isfahan to the Hotaki dynasty, SCP-3722 took on a notably different form. It appeared to emulate Isfahan following its fall in 1722, but with several notable alterations, such as the complete absence of SCP-3722-1. A remote drone was sent into Isfahan in order to ascertain the details of this unusual scenario.

After sunset, SCP-3722 ended, and the populace of Isfahan was restored as per usual.

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