The most important thing in communication isn't content—it's method.
Without the right approach, even the most well-intentioned words fall on deaf ears.
Many tragedies in this world stem from people failing to grasp this simple truth.
Since direct communication wasn't working, and Dark Heart wasn't attacking him, Luoshu took the opportunity to analyze the root of the problem.
First question: Why does Dark Heart speak this way?
If he remembered correctly, these weren't original lines—Dark Heart had recited the same phrases during Dr. Johnston's interview.
This meant:
Dark Heart had something to express.
Its language was so obscure that no one could understand it.
The Foundation's rule—"No listening to SCP-058 for over 30 minutes"—suggested its speech was an auditory hazard.
The danger wasn't in the content but the form.
Its four-character cadence was the real threat.
To counter this, Luoshu needed to:
Protect himself (via Mental Block from SCP-148).
Match Dark Heart's communication style.
Mimicking the Madness
Luoshu tried four-character phrases:
"Hello, my friend, let's be pals, okay?"
Dark Heart ignored him, continuing its monologue:
"Endless suffering, fools' punishment. Shallow minds, only take. Fish and flesh, peel and hang. Silver blades stab backs, blissful slaughter."
(Still nonsense.)
Next, Luoshu borrowed classical poetry ("No Clothes" from The Book of Songs):
"谁说无衣?与子同袍.王于兴师,修我戈矛,与子同仇!"
("Who says no clothes? I'll share my robe. The king calls arms, we hone our spears, and fight as one!")
Dark Heart's response:
"Nameless pawns, fight for crowns. Blind horse on thin ice, doomed to drown."
(Still pre-scripted lines.)
The Memetic Solution
Realizing language wasn't the issue, Luoshu turned to anomalous methods.
He flipped to Page 13 (SCP-931 - A Rice Bowl), activating:
Haiku.
(A Japanese poetic form—5-7-5 syllables—but more importantly, a memetic vector.*)
Memes forcefully implant ideas, bypassing rational resistance.
(Luoshu suspected "domineering CEO romance novels" were an uncontained meme—why else would smart girls fall for such nonsense?)
Now, he weaponized it:
"Hello, dear friend!" (5)
"Please listen to me first," (7)
"Let's be good friends!" (5)
"Don't you decide," (5)
"Just do as I say now," (7)
"We're friends, okay?" (5)
Dark Heart finally broke script:
"As you wish, so it shall be."
Success
Luoshu checked the Anomalous Item Compendium—SCP-058 was now listed.
How?
Haiku's memetic effect forced open communication.
Persuasion + Self-Deception sealed the "friendship."
With 40 minutes left, he studied Dark Heart's abilities.
[Page: 46]
[Item #: SCP-058]
[Name: Dark Heart]
[Class: Keter]
[...]
[Ability: Heart of Darkness]
"The heart is a lonely hunter. This one hunts with fire and venom. Its whispers erode sanity; its touch shreds steel. But its true power? Corrosion. Not of flesh—of reality itself. Where it lingers, the world weakens."
[Status: Successfully Contained]
[O: x2]
(This explained the auditory hazard—its speech thinned local reality, priming the area for destruction.*)