A possible historical depiction of SCP-0000-A.
Item #: SCP-0000
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: The development of countermemes to neutralize SCP-0000 is currently underway. blah blah blah
Description: SCP-0000 is a memetic agent affecting human perception of certain metals and minerals.
With the exception of 153 specifically documented individuals, every human on Earth is believed to be affected by SCP-0000.
[BEGIN LOG]
SCP-0000-A: The King needed influence. I needed blood. The transaction was simple.
Hall: A few sacrifices for global anomalous influence doesn't quite seem like an equivalent exchange.
SCP-0000-A: In the long run, yes, that I will concede. I suppose it has been an entertaining thing to watch unfold, however.
Hall: What do you mean by that?
SCP-0000-A: When first I conferred the boon to the King, it was bestowed upon him and his people. Yet, so naïve was I that I neglected how… volatile faith can be.
Hall: You mean to say the meme became contagious.
SCP-0000-A: Vastly beyond its original scope. In the end, the King's legacy would far outlive him; every subsequent generation of Kengir1 knew the allure of that metal. However, it would be the traders, slaves, and wanderers that went forth from that place who would see it spread to the ends of the Earth. Unwitting prophets for a gospel of gold.
Hall: Human volatility must have presented challenges though. Rewiring human thought must be no easy task.
SCP-0000-A: For one as yourself perhaps. Humans are naturally drawn to the fruits of nature, metallurgic or otherwise. I needed only redirect that desire to more useful ends.
Hall: Regardless, you speak all of this as though supply and demand don't still exist. There exist unimaginable quantities of precious metals and jewels the world over.
(The entity emits a deep laugh. Multiple present personnel flinch, one vomits.)
SCP-0000-A: The guile of merchantry is dust in the face of powerful enough faith, regardless of what inspires it. I merely bid them believe.
Hall: A lie so widespread that the whole world would come to see it as truth.
SCP-0000-A: What is the truth if not simply that which everyone believes?
Hall: Dispense with the philosophy, if you would.
SCP-0000-A: It's difficult to when you've seen the wheel of history turned by that selfsame engine since before even the first Karahani2 shamans danced beneath the stars.
Hall: But if the consensus can be subject to such a dramatic impact, would you say that the meme could be altered again?
SCP-0000-A: Not for certain.
Hall: Why not? You're the one who created it.
SCP-0000-A: And as I've said, faith is volatile, and humans even more so.
Hall: That's not a very encouraging answer.
SCP-0000-A: We are far past the point of encouragement. Now unless you have any further queries, I believe this pact has been fulfilled.