This video is about two things: The first
is SCP – 096, also known as The Shy Guy, a horrific monster who murders anyone and
anything unfortunate enough to look at its face, directly or through photos or videos. The second is you – because we asked you
for your favorite questions, theories, and hypothetical situations involving 096. We even asked you if you thought someone would
be safe from 096 on the moon, and you delivered. If you haven’t watched our first video on
the infamous Shy Guy, we recommend checking that out first, but feel free to stick around
even if you haven’t. First of all, let’s take a look at the questions
you had about the SCP Foundation’s most dangerous introvert, and see if we can find
some answers. “How close would you have to be to trigger
it? Like, if it was 5km away, would it still count?” The short answer is that 096’s homicidal
rage can be triggered from pretty much any distance. We’ll get into some of the potentially crazy
extents of this later on, but if you see the Shy Guy’s face while you’re sharing a
dimension with him, you’re in serious trouble. People who’ve viewed the creature’s face
in different countries, or even miles underwater have met gruesome ends 5 kilometers would
definitely not keep you safe. “What were his origins and how strong is
he compared to SCP-682?” The origins of SCP – 096 are still shrouded
in mystery – all we know for sure is that he was discovered by the Foundation in a snowy,
mountainous region. As for physical durability, he’s about even
with 682 as both survived their encounter. We know 682 has the psychological advantage
though, as 096 has been terrified of the lizard ever since they met in cross testing. However, you could argue that 096 is technically
more dangerous, since unlike 682, 096 has never been pacified before killing its intended
target while on a rampage. “If he goes into an "unstoppable attack
mode" when someone sees his face, shouldn’t you NOT show his face in the thumbnail? Thankfully, according to the official documents,
artistic representations, like paintings or digitally-drawn YouTube thumbnails have no
effect. Only actual photographs or videos of the creature
can be deadly, so you’re safe – unless we decide to do an 096 Face Reveal to celebrate
our next 100,000 subscribers, of course. This leads into our next question. “If it attacks you when you look at it,
then how did the scientist draw the picture of the thing without looking at it?” That’s a good question, and also one that
occurred to the Foundation scientists, who came up with an extremely elaborate solution. They put a D-Class tattoo artist inside a
diving bell miles underwater, and had him unseal a photograph of the creature before
drawing a copy. This copy was then released from the diving
bell in a sealed container, before 096 inevitably got to the poor D-Class. “Does the shy guy have to be viewed through
a good quality image to enter a rage state?” Unfortunately no, even the most poorly rendered
or miniscule image of 096’s face is a death sentence. One of the most infamous incidents resulted
from a man seeing a small dot that was only a few pixels wide in a photo from an old ski
trip. This dot was 096, taken from a mile away. No true image of 096 is safe, regardless of
size. “In some canons, despite 096 being referred
to as indestructible, the Foundation managed to terminate it after many attempts and even
more bureaucracy. How did they do it?” While a lot of 096’s body has been blown
away by conventional arms fire, its hyper-tough skeleton is what has given it such an indestructible
reputation. In one tale though, Foundation researchers
actually used this to their advantage, and employed the use of the neck-snapping killer
sculpture, SCP-173. After using 173 to damage 096’s bones, powerful
acid was injected into the skeleton, destroying it from within. Though of course, this isn’t the official
ending of the 096 story, because the SCP Foundation doesn’t have a single unifying canon. That’s enough questions. Now, it’s time for you to school us – let’s
look at some of your favorite theories about the Shy Guy. Starting with… “I sometimes like to imagine that 096 is
nice, but he can’t control when someone sees him and after he kills the person he
starts to cry because he didn’t want to kill them.” There is actually some evidence to suggest
that SCP – 096 might not want to kill. A great example is its cross test with SCP
– 978, a camera which reveals the deepest desires of whoever or whatever is in its photos. The photo it took of 096 showed that it had
completely disappeared from the photo – showing its deepest desire was just to be invisible
and unseen. Maybe it wants to disappear because it doesn’t
want to hurt anybody? “Regarding the Moon question, I think SCP-096
would probably stay in that hostile state until you came back, at which point it would
promptly rip you to shreds and do whatever it does to your mutilated corpse”
Based on what we know about prior 096 incidents, this feels incredibly likely. It’s also possible that it might enter its
docile state, before becoming aggressive again when you return to its murder range. You really don’t want to find out, either
way. “He can jump to the moon easy, he does squats
in containment all the time.” While its scrawny physique doesn’t make
it seem like 096 understands the concept of exercise, there aren’t any cameras in 096’s
cell – so technically, we can’t prove it isn’t doing squats to pass the time in
there. “I really doubt a blind person would be
safe from his effect, since 096 has the IQ of a new born baby, I think he will count
it as looking at him” This is an interesting theory. However, seeing as 096 is able to sense when
people see its face from entire continents away, the way it knows if you can see its
face might be a little more psychic in nature. Therefore, it’s probable that it wouldn’t
mistakenly kill someone who hasn’t actually seen its face – such as a person who is
blind. “To deal with him in my opinion… simply
freeze him. Either in space or the mountains. His body shuts down and when looked at it
will not react correctly. It is simply asleep.” While we don’t know how SCP – 096 would
react to a zero-g environment, for a creature that’s always nude, it seems extremely tolerant
to the cold. When it was first found, it was lurking in
icy mountains and a Foundation agent commented on the fact it wasn’t even shivering, despite
the incredibly low temperatures. But who knows if there’s a temperature out
there that’s too low even for the Shy Guy? “If someone looks at it in China and it’s
the US, then you get on its back, you’ll get a free piggy back ride to China. It’s a free trip to China, and all it costs
is a human life. That’s my theory”
Technically, it’d be at the cost of two human lives, unless you wore a diving suit
with plenty of Oxygen. 096 has proven to be an extremely proficient
swimmer, but you’d have to maintain your grip across the entire Pacific Ocean while
it journeys to China. In other words, it’s technically possible,
but we here at SCP Explained would rather pay for the roundtrip flight. To each their own though. But that’s enough theories for now. Let’s move on to the main event: Hypotheticals. You posed some great possible scenarios involving
SCP – 096, so we’re going to see if we can find the answers. “What would happen if someone looked at
a picture of it while in or before entering another SCP’s pocket dimension or mirror
dimension?” There aren’t any canon examples to prove
either way, but if there’s any kind of consistent entry point into this dimension, it’s likely
that 096 would find a way to follow you in. If not, it’s very possible that it may just
wait for you to eventually return, before bringing the metaphorical hammer down on you. So technically, if you were pulled into the
Old Man’s pocket dimension and he closed the portal, you’d be safe from 096, but
then you’ve got a whole other problem to deal with. “What happens if a person sees his face
then gets their memory of the creature wiped?” Considering how good the Foundation seems
to be at wiping people’s memories and their access to amnestics, if this worked, they
probably would have made it standard procedure by now – so it’s unlikely. “What happens if a person looked at it and
the person then went on a plane? Or just staying in the air or space what would
it do?” 096 has shown the ability to jump up and destroy
low-flying aircraft, but otherwise, it’s likely that the creature would probably run
to a point directly below you and remain there until you touched back down. Since you’ll need food and water at some
point and aircrafts need fuel, you’d probably just be prolonging the inevitable. “What if the young girl was around it so
it tried to attack her but died trying?” This is another interesting possibility. SCP-053 is a girl capable of causing homicidal
urges, but causes fatal heart attacks in those who attack her. While we can’t know for sure how a meeting
between 096 and 053 would go, we can use her encounter with 682 as a potential template. Aggressive SCPs like the hard to kill reptile,
perhaps having an innate knowledge of the danger that comes from attacking 053, tend
to become strangely docile around her. It’s possible that 096 would do the same. “Would we be able to control SCP-096 with
the help of SCP-035?” The Possessive Mask, aka SCP – 035, is undeniably
a lot more intelligent than 096, and has even been shown to respond to reason on occasion. It’s also been able to control almost every
other entity it’s been placed on. The problem is, if the Mask was placed on
096, and it was somehow effective, the result may be even more dangerous than 096 – An
intelligent monster with an indestructible and highly dangerous body. There’s no telling whether 035 would slowly
break down 096 into sludge the way it does to humans, in which case we could be left
with an immortal 096 - 035 combo. So maybe it’s best that we never find out. “If someone were to be in the infinite Ikea,
and looked at a picture of its face, could it be finally contained, and if someone else
looked at a picture of it outside of the Infinite Ikea, could it escape and kill them, if so,
how long would it take it?” This is a great question, and while the infinite
Ikea is a terrifying maze, SCP -096 has an advantage here that we don’t: Not only can
it rip through anything in the way with its super strength, it has an innate sense of
where its victim is. Therefore, regardless of whether you’re
inside and out, SCP -096 will still come straight to you to exact your horrible fate. But at least you can enjoy the meatballs while
you wait, right? And finally: “What would happen if 096 were led into
a room full of mirrors and allowed or made to look at its own face? Would it smash the mirrors or try to rip itself
to pieces?” This is still a hotly debated issue to this
day, which – thanks to the “no canon” nature of the SCP Foundation – doesn’t
have a definitive answer. Some theorize that this would at least be
an effective deterrent against SCP – 096, while others suggest that it wouldn’t be
effective, because many believe that 096 is actually blind and thus cannot see its own
face. It can only sense when other people see it. Again, we don’t quite know for sure, but
it’s likely to remain one of the most contentious issues around the Shy Guy for a long time
to come. And there you have it, folks, our very first
questions and theories video. We loved hearing what you had to say, so keep
an eye on our community posts for the next one! Are there other SCPs you’d like to see us
cover in Explained or Theory videos? Let us know in the comments! And subscribe to SCP Explained and turn on
notifications for new SCP Videos every single week! And while you’re here, go check out “SCP
– 053 – The Young Girl” and “SCP – 682 – Ways The Foundation Tried To Kill The
Hard To Destroy Reptile” for more SCP Foundation classics!
