Item #: SCP-3008
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: The exterior of SCP-3008 has been purchased by the Foundation and enclosed. Signage indicates it is closed for renovation. Individuals who enter SCP-3008 and cannot be retrieved within 24 hours are to be classified as SCP-3008-1 instances and considered unrecoverable for practical purposes.
Description: SCP-3008 is a retail unit located in ██████, England. Its exterior is consistent with a standard IKEA retail outlet. Its interior is not.
The interior of SCP-3008 is spatially anomalous. It does not have a defined boundary. Exploration teams have traveled for extended periods without reaching an exterior wall or the entrance through which they entered. The interior is consistent in appearance with a standard IKEA store — furniture displays, cafeteria, marketplace section, warehouse — but the layout does not repeat and does not correspond to any floor plan.
Staff within SCP-3008 — designated SCP-3008-2 — resemble IKEA employees in uniform. They do not speak and cannot be communicated with. During daylight conditions, they appear inert and can be moved without resistance. At night — which within SCP-3008 is simulated by a dimming of the lights — SCP-3008-2 instances become aggressive and mobile. They move through the store hunting for SCP-3008-1 instances. They are strong and fast and, in darkness, nearly invisible.
SCP-3008-1 instances are humans who have become trapped within SCP-3008. There are currently an estimated 1,400 to 2,000 active SCP-3008-1 instances. They have formed a civilization. They have social structures, trade systems, territorial divisions, and a governance apparatus. They have assigned names to regions of SCP-3008. They have developed routines for surviving the night phase.
Some have been inside for years. Some have been inside for decades. Foundation communications with SCP-3008-1 instances have confirmed that they are psychologically stable in a functional sense, though their concept of time is significantly distorted.
They have built homes from IKEA furniture. The furniture is functional. There is food — the cafeteria restocks by unknown means. There is light during day.
Several SCP-3008-1 instances, when offered retrieval, have declined. They cite established social connections, community roles, and in some cases — difficulty readjusting to the concept of a world with defined walls.
SCP-3008 by PeppersGhost, SCP Foundation, CC BY-SA 3.0