# Anomalous Science

Please see this document for further details and intent: [Beestation Science Rework](https://hackmd.io/@PowerfulBacon/SkQqNt3bi)

This is a pitch document for refining the proposed rework to science on Beestation. The goals of this document are to provide a more robust skeleton around which to focus discussion. Essentially: throwing an idea into the void to help define ideas that we definitely do want, and definitely do not want.

The proposed rework aims to focus on Anomalies as the core focus of the science department, alá the SCP foundation and CONTROL.The station is then repurposed to revolve around science as the core of the station.

[toc]

## What is an Anomaly?
This section is primarily aimed at people who are unfamiliar with the concept of Anomalies as a whole. Feel free to skip if this all sounds familiar.

Within their defining source material, the [SCP Foundation](https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/), "Anomalies" are essentially phenomena that defy the commonly understood laws of the universe. An anomaly can be an object, a place, a creature - there are a wide variety of different anomalies and they range from strange but harmless, to world destroying threats that challenge the very stability of the universe itself. These anomalies are ranked based on the threat they pose, and the SCP Foundation exists to contain these anomalies.

Containment procedures vary from anomaly to anomaly. Some have simple containment requirements, such as keeping them in a water-proof container, or away from people with specific hair colours. Others, have significantly more complex ones, such as the containment procedure for [SCP-106](https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-106):

>No physical interaction with SCP-106 is allowed at any time. All physical interaction must be approved by no less than a two-thirds vote from O5-Command. Any such interaction must be undertaken in AR-II maximum security sites, after a general non-essential staff evacuation. All staff (Research, Security, Class D, etc.) are to remain at least sixty meters away from the containment cell at all times, except in the event of breach events.
>
>SCP-106 is to be contained in a sealed container, comprised of lead-lined steel. The container will be sealed within forty layers of identical material, each layer separated by no less than 36cm of empty space. Support struts between layers are to be randomly spaced. Container is to remain suspended no less than 60cm from any surface by ELO-IID electromagnetic supports.
>
>Secondary containment area is to be comprised of sixteen spherical “cells”, each filled with various fluids and a random assembly of surfaces and supports. Secondary containment is to be fitted with light systems, capable of flooding the entire assembly with no less than 80,000 lumens of light instantly with no direct human involvement. Both containment areas are to remain under 24 hour surveillance.
>
>Any corrosion observed on any containment cell surfaces, staff members, or other site locations within two hundred meters of SCP-106 are to be reported to Site Security immediately. Any objects or personnel lost to SCP-106 are to be deemed missing/KIA. No recovery attempts are to be made under any circumstances.
>
>_Note: Continued research and observation have shown that, when faced with highly complex/random assemblies of structures, SCP-106 can be “confused”, showing a marked delay on entry and exit from said structure. SCP-106 has also shown an aversion to direct, sudden light. This is not manifested in any form of physical damage, but a rapid exit in to the “pocket dimension” generated on solid surfaces._

Many things that exist within SS13 could already be considered an anomaly: Artifacts, the Floor Cluwne, Nar'sie, Hilberts Hotel, Changelings, Bubblegum, Pyro and Gravity - the list goes on. To that end, focusing science around the study of these great and terrible _things_ would already fit within existing lore and occurances on the Station.

I highly recommend reading a bit more of the SCP wiki and some of the anomalies if you're completely unfamiliar with them - it will help give some context to this documentation and hopefully make it easier to understand.

## Finding Anomalies :mag:
The first duty of the science department will be to find an anomaly to start studying. Split into teams, scientists will explore the station and surrounding space, using anomaly detectors to find the signature flux traces that form around an anomaly.

They could be inconspicious - an otherwise unremarkable charger, or beaker, a strange looking box left laying in the maintenance tunnels, something that without a flux detector could go completely unnoticed until triggered by accident. They could, however, also be loud and proud - a gigantic space carp clogging the medbay hallways, a blazing eye staring down the supermatter engine, a xenomorph serving tea behind the bar, something so unbelievably immediately _wrong_ that you'd have to be blind not to notice them.

Due to the inherent danger present around anomalies, scientists _will need to work in groups_ to prevent their untimely death. Similar to the way exploration teams function with a medic, scientist and engineer, scientists will need to form teams with a diverse skillset in order to ensure they survive each encounter with an anomaly. Some teams may need a weapons expert to subdue a dangerous creature-type anomaly, others may need an expert in engineering to help determine which of a set of consoles is secretly an object-type anomaly, another may a language expert to communicate with beings from within a dimension-type anomaly - the more diverse their skillset, the more equipped they are to handle anomalies. See Personnel Classes for more information.

Once found, an anomaly can be temporarily contained within a Flux Vessel and returned to the science department to be studied - or if its deemed too dangerous, the flux vessel containing them can be chucked into a matter shredder, surrendering any potential rewards in exchange for piece of mind... probably.

## Studying Anomalies :eye:

### Pitch A - Exposure Therapy

Once located, scientists will place the anomaly within a Temporary Containment Chamber or TCC. These chambers can contain almost all anomalies, at least temporarily, and allow the scientists to interact with the anomaly in a mostly safe, mostly controlled environment. The science department will contain 4 TCC's, and each TCC is designed to be used by a team of scientists (about 3-4 people per team).

The TCC has a one way disposals unit that allows for objects to be inserted into the containment area, and removed automatically after reactions to the object have been observed. It will be attached to a console that allows for the atmosphere to be altered, lighting to be adjusted, items to be pushed in and pulled out of the cell, a button for lockdown to be initiated and for the entire cell to be flushed with a matter shredder - for when things are really bad. ~This~ ~matter~ ~shredder~ ~won't~ ~activate~ ~if~ ~a~ ~sentient~ ~crewmate~ ~is~ ~in~ ~the~ ~cell~~,~ ~however...~

The process of studying an anomaly involves subjecting it to various stimulae, and recording the results in the hopes of identifying it from a list of known potential anomalies. Does the anomaly scream when exposed to water? Then it might be B-1080, or maybe B-5603, and so on.

It will be up to our brave men, women and moths of science to determine the best course of action for each anomaly. If the Anomaly Research Director determines an anomaly to be too dangerous - say it releases a tone every 5 minutes that permamently blinds everyone in the area that hears it- then the aim of any research with that anomaly is finding a way to destroy it. If the anomaly is useful, the aim is to find out how best to take contain and take advantage of it, while minimising the harm it could cause.

Through repeated exposure to different stimulae, anomalies may respond in a variety of different ways - this process will help define the best way to deal with it according to that science teams particular aims.

If the anomaly explodes on contact with orange juice but is otherwise harmless, then putting it in a liquid-proof container with flux capacitor attached to it will probably suffice.

If the anomaly is a sapient creature that responds to eye contact with an explosion of flux shortly before shredding whatever made eye contact with it to shreds, then keeping it in a blacked out room and feeding monkeys and assistants into its containment area could prove a risky but beneficial venture...

### Pitch B - A Bunch Of Doohickies
This Pitch is more aligned with Bacons document and is meant to serve as a combination of our ideas.

Science will be composed of

## Containg Anomalies :chains:
All anomalies are potentially dangerous, and thus they will all need to be contained. Even an anomaly *believed* to be safe could still turn out to be secretly harmful, and the worst case scenario would be chucking a *safe* anomaly into the disposal, where it makes contact with money guts and immediately morphs into a deadly monster. The paperwork alone would take **years!**

The science department will contain several empty cells that can be retrofitted into containment cells. Players will need to change each cell to match the containment needs of that anomaly, be it flooding it with a specific gas, removing or changing the colour of lights within the containment zone, making sure specific objects are kept in or out of the chamber - their research will form the basis of this required containment.

Each cell will have an attached console that monitors the amount of flux being produced, the current atmosphere within the cell - important information that allows scientists to safely monitor the cell. It will also contain a camera feed of the contents of the cell to allow for remote monitoring if being seen or directly seeing the anomaly causes harm.

In the event of a power cut, all cells which switch to a backup generator that exists within the cell itself and *cannot be disabled*. These backup generator will only last for a minute or two, and when the battery is depleted, the cell will automatically open, releasing the anomalies inside.

The cells are structered this way for two reasons:

1. To prevent an engineering accident from instantly ending the round by releasing a bunch of incredible dangerous monsters into the station, especially if it really was an accident.
2. To provide some counterplay if the accident is cut *on purpose*. Being able to, as an atagonist, immediately cut power and instantly release a round ending monstrosity is unfun and encourages a stealthy, uninteractive play style that isn't really fun for anyone else. Giving a brief reprieve allows staff to prepare, and encourages antagonists to cut power in conjuction with a *distraction* that slows people down.

The idea of the timer is to create a must-engage scenario that must be dealt with, rather than making it so cut power means instant death - if players consider a mechanic to be fair, they're more likely to engage with it rather than metagaming or power-gaming to avoid it.

## Reaping the Rewards (And Consequences) :money_with_wings:
All anomalies produce a mysterious substance called Flux. This matter is poorly understood, but can be coaxed into various uses by putting it through a Flux Vendor, which applies intense physical and chemical forces onto the flux and transforms it into useful and powerful items - many of which are replacements or analogues of things created by the old science system.

All anomalies produce flux "reactively" - that is to say, when exposed to specific stimulae. They either produce flux in bursts, or constantly.

To illustrate the difference, here are two examples:
- A beaker that produces flux as long as its submerged in H~2~O is producing flux **passively** is a pass
- A creature that produces flux in a **burst** in the instant it kills a monkey is a burst-production anomaly.
## Personnel Classes :female-police-officer:
:::warning
There are two different pitches here for reworking the science department, as well as a pitch for changing assistants into a more focused and useable role.
:::

### Pitch A - Specialised Science Roles

:::warning
This section has currently hypothetical roles, use your best judgement/imagination and consider the spirit of the concepts presented rather than the specific details. If you think a particular technician isn't appropriate, consider alternatives that serve the same purpose. The idea is to create a diverse selection of jobs within science that **must work together** to achieve a goal.
:::
All crewmates in science are part of a personnel hiearchy, similar to other games that reference or include anomalies.

digraph hierarchy {

                nodesep=.8 // increases the separation between nodes

                node [color=Black,fontname=Arial,shape=box] //All nodes will this shape and colour
                edge [color=Black, style=dashed] //All the lines look like this

                Captain ->{"Anomalous Research Director" "Head Of Security"}
                "Anomalous Research Director"->{"Engi. Tech" "Chem. Tech" "Med. Tech" "Lang. Tech" "Combat Tech"}
                "Head Of Security"->{"Combat Tech"}
                "Engi. Tech","Chem. Tech","Med. Tech","Lang. Tech","Combat Tech"->{Assistants}
                {rank=same;}  // Put them on the same level
}

#### Anomalous Research Director
The Anomalous Research Director, herein referred to as the ARD or RD, is the big boss of science. Their word is **law** - their orders are to be followed without question and it is only by them using their best judgement that the station avoids certain doom.

The RD organises and monitors all the work within Science. They're responsible for making sure anomalies are properly contained, that teams are functioning well, and that nobody is about to die of Flux Sickness. They're also in charge of handing out stuff from the Flux Vendor and making sure nobody is abusing the goodies within.

The RD answers only to the Captain, but may want to keep on good terms with the Head of Security - they manage their own team of combat technicians, but when Xeno's burst out of a fridge and start tearing up the station, it helps to have security ready to respond appropriately.

Beneath the RD are a selection of different Technicians, all with unique specialisations.

#### Engineering Technician ^(Engi.^ ^Tech)^
Those containment cells won't build themselves, and this is where Engi. Techs come in. Proficient with electronics and atmospherics, engineering technicians are responsible for modifying blank containment cells to be appropriate and secure for the anomaly they will eventually contain. They're also in charge of monitoring power to the science department and preventing disastrous power-outages.

Once an engineer has set up a containment cell, they will need to monitor it, the atmospherics set up it has, and repair the cell of any damage it sustains, upgrading it as the round requires. If they do their job poorly, anomalies will almost definitely escape, and cause station wide chaos.

#### Chemical Technician ^(Chem.^ ^Tech)^
One of the most straight forward jobs in science, chemistry technicians need to study the properties of an anomaly and produce substances to try and use on it. Ideally, this should use real life chemistry knowledge - anomalies could react differently to neutral, acidic and alkaline substances, different metals, etc.

They produce unique chemicals using their Science-Chem Dispenser to use on the anomaly - this dispenser contains various strange reagents that cannot be found in a typical chem dispenser, differentiating the job from medical chemistry.

Chemistry Technicians are also needed to study the various excretions anomalies will produce - is that monster spit or blood potentially a powerful healing remedy, or a deadly toxin? Theres only one way to find out - put that bad boy into the chem analyser and experiment on it with different reagents!

#### Medical Technician ^(Med.^ ^Tech)^
Anything involving danger will inevitably need a doctor. Medical technicians are responsible for keeping their colleauges alive, and they're also primarily responsible for making sure Assistants are not killed or fatally wounded during testing.

Besides babysitting assistants and their foolish colleagues, medical technicians are also expected to perfmorm experimental surgical procedures on anomalies - or try to. Does that aggressive anomaly have a second brain, and will it calm down once once has been removed? Does that fridge made of flesh produce viable organ clones when one is inserted? Get in there and find out!

Particularly experimental doctors can also borrow some gene mutators from medbay for some *extra* fun with anomalies (or perhaps genetics becomes a part of Science, using flux and anomalies to mutate the human genome...?)

#### Language Technician ^(Lang.^ ^Tech)^
Language technicians are your typical nerdy scientist. They start the round with a neural implant, that allows them to speak two extra languages. If they take and this implant also provides an incomplete understanding of either dimensional, creature or object type anomalies that allow them to examine and recognise specific traits (explosive, waterproof, etc) for that anomaly type.

>You can see that this anomaly has a **water-proof** casing.

>This creature has large teeth, typical of a canine **predator**.

>Through studying the movement of the wormhole, you can tell that it is **one way**.

This makes them invaluable in the research portion of the job, and indispensible when it comes with trying to communicate with anomalies.

Language technicians can upgrade their language and anomaly abilities by using rewards from the Flux machine. If their implant is removed, they lose their communicative abilities - and if someone else inserts the implant, they will gain the language skills they had!

#### Combat Technician ^(Combat^ ^Tech)^
Combat technicians are robust scientists that start with a special anomalous-disabler weapon, which works to temporily disable **all** anomaly types, and handcuffs. Their job is to maintain the safety of the science department, and while they primarily answer to the RD, as they are allowed to use and start with weaponry, they *also* answer to the Head of Security.

Their job is essentially less being a cop, and more being a mall security guard and animal wrangler. They contain the situation until heavier fire power can arrive. They cannot arrest or detain people, only cuff them and remove them from science for the actual security team to deal with.

When it comes to anomalies, however, they **are** the heavier fire power. Their anomalous-disabler guns can stun any anomaly and disable them for extended amounts of time, making them invaluable for finding and bringing in more *spicy* and monstrous anomalies. They're also responsible for testing the anomalies reaction to specific damage types and helping the security team arm themselves appropriately in the event of a containment breach.

### Pitch B - Self-Organised Science

#### Learning To Share

The alternative to a more structured department full of sub-roles is to encourage a more interactive and team-work focused approach that encourages people to self-specialise and self organise. The department will spawn with a handful of different tools, and it will be up to individuals within the department to divvy up the work for the shift.

The following tools will spawn at the start of the shift - enough for a few but not all scientists to do the tasks that the tool requires. Players will need to communicate between themselves to split up these tasks.

| Tool | Purpose | Note |
| -------- | -------- | -------- |
| Flux Detector | A tool for dectecting even the faintest trace of flux produced by an anomaly | Scientists should probably start with these, along with a few spares for other departments to borrow. They basically function like geiger counters, but for flux. |
| Anomaly Disabler Gun | Fires a highly focused beam of flux that stuns and temporarily deactivates anomalies - has no effect on anything but an Anomaly. Some anomalies may grow to resist its effects if exposed to it to often | Given that these are anti-anomaly weapons, only a handful of these should spawn in the science and security department at the start of the round. More could be ordered from Cargo if needed. Weak anomalies will be stunned in a few shots. Strong anomalies may take several dozen shots or resist its effects entirely. |
| Flux Cannister | A container for holding Flux. Can be inserted into a Research Vendor and other machines. | Science should start with boxes of these, and should be able to print more cheaply. They function like sealed beakers and are used to transfer flux between machines. Flux cannot be extracted from an anomaly without a cannister, so these are vital for science to function|

In addition, several work stations will be added to science.

| Station | Purpose | Note |
| -------- | -------- | -------- |
| Containment Computer | Monitors the current status of a contained anomaly. | Text |

### Making Assistants More Useful

#### Assistants - Sharpening Their Purpose
Sometimes, more precise mechanical interactions with an anomaly beyond "put a monkey near them" will be required. This is where assistants come in. Instead of being free-roaming problem causers, assistants must now obey *every* command given to them by a member of science (if they are controlled by a player).

*Most of the time*, an assistant will be unharmed, or only slightly harmed after interacting with an anomaly. Their job is to follow simple instructions, such as "Pour the contents of the beaker onto the anomaly.", "Touch the anomaly with an intent to aid it.", etc.

Scientists experimenting on assistants should be careful not to deliberately kill assistants - if they think theres a risk of death, they should use a monkey or non sentient clone as a test first. Assistants are NOT there to be killed freely, they are there to assist and do things that would be too dangerous to risk the life of a scientist to do. **They are still played by sentient people with thoughts and feelings, lore aside!**

Seperate to other roles, Assistants spawn within a holding facility within science, even if the shift has already started. Made up of several cells and a communal relaxation area complete with snacks, drinks and a few simple toys, this holding area is where Assistants will wait until they're needed for an experiment.

Due to their criminal records, assistants have **extremely limited access to the station** and leaving science without permission **will set them to arrest.** Due to their nature as test subjects, all assistants start with a tracking bracelet surgically implanted into their skin, in case an anomaly devours them and teleports them out into space and their corpse needs to be retrieved.

:::warning
As it stands in the live game, the assistant role serves no real constructive purpose. Because of its limited structure, not enough players use it to learn the game, a too many of them use it to grief, and the resulting roleplay is often of a poor quality.

While some people use the role in interesting and creative ways, it would be better to support that creative roleplay elsewhere by providing more structured opportunities for gimmicks.

The aim here is to create an interesting, non vital role that creates interesting roleplay opportunities rather than giving someone free pass to bum around the station causing problems.

It would also start as a lore-heavy introduction to the server and how it functions, while also teaching players things like manipulating objects in their hands, the different interaction intents, and so on.

While this does essentially turn them into fodder for monsters and dangers, they essentially are anyway as an assistant, and this at least attempts to add some structure to the role. Learn the game through assistant, and then move on to being on the other side of the experiments.

This role is also great for people that enjoy chaos generally, as anything could happen to you and you get up close an personal to a bunch of chaotic action without it interfering with the way the station runs - a role where getting eaten by a monster actually or turned into goo *directly helps the station!*.
:::
</details>

## How Dangerous is "Dangerous"? :warning:
Many anomalies in other games are often extremely lethal and dangerous, despite the fact that many within the original SCP series are [completely harmless](https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1029) or [even beneficial](https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-500).

With that in mind, we should be *very, very, **very*** careful about the threat level of an average anomaly. Silly anomalies, helpful anomalies, weird or just mildly annoying anomalies should be significantly more common than an anomaly on par with something like [SCP-106](SCP-106), which is both insanely lethal and next to impossible to properly contain.

Fun should be the priority when creating our anomalies, and while it can be fun *sometimes* to fight against a terrifying, station destroying threat on par with Xenomorphs, it should be rare and balanced in a way that is fun to interact with.

It should be an enjoyable and a creative challenge to contain an anomaly, a team effort that rewards valuable powers and gadgets - with some pressure in the form of maintaining containment. If every single anomaly requires insane containtment procedures, is highly lethal, and becomes unstable very quickly, players will be pushed to min-max containment procedures and be more likely to try and powergame to cope with the pressure and difficulty of keeping an anomaly contained.

As an additional note - while some anomalies could become sentient if they become unstable enough, it should be assumed that every anomaly with function primarily as a simple mob. It should also *not* be assumed that sentience means communicating in common, or verbally at all. Assume that any harmful anomaly becomes **significantly more harmful** when controlled by a player, and this should be bore in mind.

## Creating an Anomaly :pencil:
Part of this rework would mean crowdsourcing a collection of fun and interesting anomaly ideas, and this part serves to explain what an anomaly would need to have to be considered "complete".

| Field | Description |
| -------- | -------- |
| **Name** | The name of the anomaly, something like **B-350 - The Cluwne Shoes** |
| **Threat Level** | This should be either: **Safe** - the anomaly causes no to *minimal* harm, **Beneficial** - the anomaly *can* have a positive use or effect, **Harmful** - the anomaly is typically harmful or disruptive, or **Lethal** - the anomaly is *always* to be considered dangerous or about to cause harm. |
| **Type** | **Creature** - self explanitory, the anomaly is a creature or animal of some kind. Xenomorphs, Blobs, Cluwnes, Teretoma's and Changelings would be considered a creature type anomaly<br>**Object** - the anomaly appears to be an object or tool of some kind, such as a screwdriver, box, console, or other strange object. Artifacts would be considered Object-type anomalies.<br>**Dimension** - Anomalies that warp things to or contain some kind of pocket dimension. Hilberts Hotel and Wormholes would be considered Dimension-type Anomalies. |
| **Documented Responses** | This should be an exhaustive list of *potential* interactions. Why potential? Because ideally, if an anomaly has 12 different interactions, it should have 4 of them occur in a single round. The game will randomly select which 4 interactions with different objects, creatures and substances apply for that particular round. The idea here is that the player can memorise and look up *some* information on the anomaly to guide their experiments, they still need to do some actual testing in game to find definitive answers. |
| **Containment Hints** | The exact requirements for potential containment - these should be *restrained* and it should be reasonable for players to set up round after round. If every single anomaly requires an intensely difficult containment procedure, it will become exhausting to engage with. *Even setting up a supermatter engine is relatively straightforward. Keep that in mind!* |

## Departmental Harmony - A Station Repurposed :peace_symbol: