As an SCP Foundation enthusiast, Luoshu was naturally familiar with the Hume Index—a metric used to gauge the strength of reality benders and their impact on local reality.
Understanding Hume Levels
Baseline Reality: 100 Hume (standard "reality strength").
Below 100: Reality is weakened.
Above 100: Indicates a reality bender is siphoning reality strength.
Hume Index = (Environmental Hume) / (Individual Hume)
Normal humans/environments: 100 Hume → Index = 1.00 hm.
Reality benders: Index <1.00 hm. The lower, the stronger the distortion.
Last Night's Readings
The loli-voiced operative had estimated Luoshu's individual Hume at ~350 during the incident.
Lowest environmental Hume (doorway): 60.
Hume Index = 60/350 ≈ 0.17 hm.
Context:
Powerful reality benders typically score 40/>300 (0.13 hm).
SCP-343 ("God"): ~860 Hume (Index ≈ 0.12 hm) but with no environmental distortion—suspiciously controlled.
Reality Bender Tiers
Tier 1 (78-80/130-150): 0.62–0.52 hm.
Subtle influencers (e.g., the restaurant owner using the Energy Hourglass).
Tier 4 (like Luoshu last night): ~0.17 hm.
High threat—contain or terminate.
Tier 5: World-ending Keters.
Theoretical Tier 6: True deities.
"God" sits ambiguously between Tier 4-5, but his lack of environmental disruption suggests deliberate suppression.
The Interrogation
That afternoon, Peter led Omega-12 to the dice-rolling chamber.
Their Kant Counter locked onto Luoshu:
"Individual Hume: 105."
A loli voice barked behind him:
"Explain! Why is your Hume above baseline?!"
Luoshu turned—and froze.
A two-meter-tall, muscle-bound girl with twin pigtails loomed over him.
Commander Barbie of Omega-12.
(Yes, her name was literally Barbie.)
Peter intervened: "Barbie, Luoshu oversees two Keter projects here. He's essential."
Barbie crossed her arms. "Answer. Now."
Luoshu's Defense
"Maybe residual exposure to reality benders? I worked at Site-19—met SCP-166 and contained the Energy Hourglass."
SCP-166 (Gaia): Clef's daughter, a known reality bender.
Barbie scoffed. "Exposure lowers Hume levels in normals. Yours rose."
(E.g., SCP-939-1's Hume dropped to 85 post-exposure.)
Luoshu shrugged. "The Energy Hourglass grants temporary reality bending. I tested it—this 105 must be leftovers."
Barbie narrowed her eyes. "I'll verify. But for now…"
She leaned in, her dual intuition (woman + reality bender) screaming:
"You're hiding something."
The Stakes
If Barbie digs deeper, Luoshu's Evolution Distortion secret could explode.
But denying it risks Area-13 containment.
Solution?
Redirect: "Check Site-19's Energy Hourglass logs. You'll see I'm clean."
Misdirect: "Maybe Area-14's ambient anomalies skew readings?"
Last Resort: Use Self-Deception to make her believe him.
(But Omega-12 trains against mental influence.)