SCP 8,001, The Edge of the World

To the average explorer for the past few thousand years, the earth was essentially limitless.

No one had any clear picture of the whole planet and its many wonders, and maps were few

and far between.

As time pressed on, more and more of the map began to be filled in, and the world got a bit

smaller each time, less filled with the unknown.

This concept is practically foreign to us in the modern day, the idea

that there are places in the world that we're unaware of, and we're well aware of the

totality of planet Earth. SCP-8001 is about this concept, to a degree, and about explorers and stories.

Let's take a look.

SCP-8,01 is, as the title suggests, the edge of the planet Earth.

The origin of this edge, whether geological, geographical, or ontological, is unknown, and its existence, despite the verified spherical shape of the planet, is the primary academic goal of researchers assigned to the project.

Unlike many similar anomalies, 8,001 is not an extra-dimensional space or pocket dimension,

and people stationed there can be detected by GPS, can make telephone calls via satellite,

and can launch rockets or flares that are visible to people at remote distances.

It exists as a sheer edge running along the southern Pacific Ocean, over which the waters of the

Pacific flow freely into an indeterminably deep void beyond. This means that any ships approaching

the area can easily be caught in the rapidly moving water and be swept over the edge.

This can be prevented by following a carefully charted path that maneuvers them past a series of shoals that break up the flow of water, allowing them to reach the island of Last Watch.

This passage can also be made in reverse, allowing vessels to leave safely as well.

8,001 creates a substantial amount of water vapor, obscuring the area from outside observation,

so it's unknown how far this edge extends in either direction.

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