SCP-ES-203
rating: +6+x
Logo%20de%20SGF

SCP-ES-203 logo.

Item #: SCP-ES-203

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: The Foundation's current efforts are focused on preventing the distribution of SCP-ES-203 and on response and cover-up actions against its effects. While the distribution of SCP-ES-203 has been suspended through the major app stores, if copies of the software are found on file-sharing websites, they will be removed. The BILL-1 and STEVE-1 Foundation Bots will crawl the Internet for references to both SCP-ES-203 and SCP-ES-203-1 instances, alerting the responsible staff to take appropriate action.

MTF Mi-5 ("Pro Gamers") is responsible for the recovery actions of SCP-ES-203-1 instances and devices with SCP-ES-203-1 installed. In most cases, the ES-203 protocol ("Lost Children") shall be applied and the witnesses shall be amnestized and the corresponding coverage history shall be employed.

SCP-ES-203-1 instances will be interviewed and will remain under observation for a period of 120 days. If after that period they show no additional anomalous features, they will be amnestized and placed for adoption in collaboration with the local authorities, through the corresponding Social Services.

Further efforts are being made in cooperation with the Chinese authorities to find Gao Yang (PoI-8156).

Description: SCP-ES-203 is a smartphone video game called Super Golden Fruit1, developed by the Chinese company Funny Fruits Co. It is a puzzle-type game in which the player sorts and collects images representing fruits by type and colour, seeking to obtain the highest possible score in order to move on to additional levels.

The anomalous features associated with SCP-ES-203 are manifested when a teenager2 jsubject plays for a cumulative period of time of more than 40 hours per week. In these subjects, a process of progressive reversion of biological age is observed, at a rate equivalent to 1 year for every 10 hours of playing, with the process stopping at the biological equivalent of 4 years. Both the subjects affected by the anomaly (hereafter referred to as SCP-ES-203-1) and the people in their inner circle3 are unable to perceive the alteration, which would indicate the presence of an mind-affecting effect associated with the phenomenon.

SCP-ES-203 has not been found to induce a compulsive effect in its users, and the mechanism by which SCP-ES-203-1 instances are formed has not yet been discovered.

Instancia%202

An SCP-ES-203-1 instance.

The phenomenon associated with SCP-ES-203 was discovered due to the appearance of prepubertal4 children wandering in typically teenager environments, such as high school and university classrooms, nightclubs and bars, attempting to participate in the usual activities of those places. Despite their apparent biological age, these subjects exhibited cognitive and psychological characteristics consistent with teenagers, often expressing discomfort and confusion in the face of rejection in these settings. Interviews with these children allowed to determine that the common factor was the use of SCP-ES-203, which could be associated with the phenomenon.

Following the recovery of the individuals and the setting up of the necessary cover-up measures5, the cover story spread through social media that these children were participants in a large-scale social psychology study, the results of which were subsequently published in a peer-reviewed journal.6

Addendum 1: Interview with Huang Wang.

Interviewee: Huang Wang, CEO of Funny Fruits Co.

Interviewer: Gabriel Montero, Captain from MTF Mi-5.

Foreword: Having identified the company following the publication of SCP-ES-203, an attempt was made to identify the programmer responsible for its creation, as well as the company's level of knowledge of the anomalous effects associated with the game. For this purpose, in collaboration with a liaison officer in the Chinese government, we interviewed the CEO of Funny Fruits Co. The interview was conducted via video conference on the evening of 9 May 2019, using the Foundation's automatic translation system.

<BEGIN LOG, [9 May 2019, 22:30 hrs.]>

Montero: Good morning Mr. Huang, I am Gabriel Montero, representative of an IT research group, and I need to ask you some questions about one of your company's products. Is it too early?

Huang: No, I usually get to the office at this time, in the competitive environment we are in, every minute counts. I should also mention that the request for this interview came directly from the Central Committee Representative, so I am happy to answer your questions. Now tell me, how can I help you?

Montero: Please explain me Funny Fruits Co.

Huang: Like many mobile videogame companies, we are a small company, we don't work more than 10 people plus half a dozen external collaborators, who work on specific projects and get paid daily. Have you played Super Banana Shooter? It has been our biggest success, it has more than 300 thousand downloads from the app shops…

Montero (shaking his head): No, I am not familiar with it.

Huang: And Zombie Fruit Farm? Melon Roulette? Apple Castle Saga?

Montero: I'm sorry, I do not know any of those games, the one I'm interested in knowing about is Super Golden Fruit. Who was its developer?

Huang: Super Golden Fruit, I haven't heard of this project for a long time, its history is curious. It's what we in the industry call a salvaged game.

Montero: A salvaged game?

Huang: That's right, it was a game started by one developer but finished by another. Personally I don't really like puzzle games, I consider them repetitive and boring, but since the Candy Crush craze we were forced to pay attention to it, as those games have good sales and a target audience eager for innovation.

Huang: At the time Chang was in charge of puzzle games, it was he and Kang, from original content, who developed the general aspects of Super Golden Fruit. He got as far as writing part of the code base when he received a job offer from Tencent and left the company.

Huang: We had 4 other programmers, but they were busy with their own projects, so Super Golden Fruit was abandoned for several weeks, until Gao Yang arrived.

Gao came from a company I don't know called Letters Entertaiment, but he had good references from the Central Committee, so we hired him immediately. He proved to be a good asset, even though he preferred to work alone at night or in his flat. He completed the game in just one month.

Montero: Is there anything else you can tell me about Gao?

Huang: Even though he was a low-key guy, he had a real passion for videogames, especially for minimalist games, with simple graphics and mechanics and bright colours, despising games with advanced graphics and complex stories. He said that games were for fun and that children were the ones who really knew how to recognise and appreciate quality games, although unfortunately they lost their good taste when they grew up.

Montero: I understand. Do you remember anything else about Gao?

Huang: Since you mention it, no, it's funny but we knew almost nothing about his personal life during the time he worked with us.

Montero: Does he no longer work with you?

Huang: No, he managed to work with us for three months, got his salary at the end of the month and didn't show up the following Monday. That wasn't so unusual, sometimes he preferred to work in his flat, but when three days passed without him calling or emailing we alerted the police, who didn't find him at home.

Montero: Thank you very much for your time Mr. Huang.

<END LOG, [9 May 2019, 23:05 hrs]>

Closing Statement: Funny Fruits Co. was asked to hand over the material Gao Yang was working on at the time of his disappearance, under the cover story that it was infected with Malware of unknown type. Code fragments associated with 3 games were obtained, some of which contained previously undetected cognitohazardous and thaumaturgic elements.

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