There Is No Antimemetics Division is a science fiction and horror novel by British author Sam Hughes, who writes under the pen name qntm. The novel was originally published as a web serial novel to the collaborative writing website SCP Wiki from January 31, 2015 through January 1, 2016. It was subsequently released as an independent print-on-demand paperback, before being updated and published as a hardcover by Del Rey Books and Ballantine Books on November 11, 2025.
Following the director of the Antimemetics Division of a mysterious organization, it is Hughes's first traditionally published work.
Synopsis
Marie Quinn is the director of the Antimemetics Division, one department of the secretive Unknown Organization (UO) that protects humanity from "unknowns", anomalous entities that can erase themselves from the memories of all who view them. As the Antimemetics Division's research deepens, Quinn begins to uncover repressed memories and finds herself ensnared in a conspiracy that threatens all of reality.
Plot
In the Unknown Organization, the Antimemetics Division is responsible for containing and studying anomalies that erase themselves from memory and perception. To function at all, division staff rely on mnestic drugs that let them notice and retain awareness of antimemetic phenomena, even as prolonged use causes severe physical and cognitive harm. Antimemetics Division Director Marie Quinn comes to understand that the division is engaged in an ongoing, mostly unrecognized war against an apex antimemetic entity designated U-3125, an "escapee" that cannot be safely known. U-3125 operates as a lethal conceptual hazard: when someone successfully conceptualizes it, the entity detects them and proceeds to overwhelm and kill them, with the danger spreading through shared knowledge.
As the situation deteriorates, Quinn takes extreme steps to limit who can be harmed by what she knows, including completely erasing her husband Adam and other key parts of her personal life from her memory to prevent the conceptual contagion from reaching those close to her. She attempts to maintain continuity by working through recorded notes and controlled environments that reduce her exposure, while trying to assemble a plan she will not be able to reliably remember. Quinn concludes that the only viable route to victory is a device associated with researcher Ed Hix—an "irreality amplifier" intended to broadcast a countermeme capable of opposing U-3125. As U-3125 breaches containment and begins assimilating personnel, Quinn reaches the site where she expects the amplifier to be stored.
Instead of the expected device, Quinn finds a "memory bomb," and—cornered amid escalating infection and her own failing condition from mnestic use—she detonates it. The blast erases all living memory of the Antimemetics Division itself, cutting away the informational foothold U-3125 uses to spread and forcing a rupture in the war's continuity. In the later aftermath of these events, Adam begins noticing profound gaps and inconsistencies in his life and memory that suggest something vast has been removed. Guided by the antimemetic Unknown entity "Sunshine", Adam journeys to the ruins of the Wyeleigh facility and the remnants of Quinn's plan.
Adam eventually locates Ed Hix, who is alive and has continued work in isolation for years, completing the irreality amplifier but lacking a viable method to supply the specific countermeme needed to activate it against U-3125. Adam then takes an extreme dose of mnestics to restore what was removed from him and to carry what Hix needs, culminating in an encounter in "ideatic space" where Quinn's recovered presence supplies the countermeme that neutralizes U-3125. With the threat eliminated and normalcy returning, UO leadership recognizes that major portions of recent history are inexplicably missing and moves to rebuild their capabilities.
Development
There Is No Antimemetics Division was originally released in chapters on the SCP Wiki from January 31, 2015 through January 1, 2016.[1] The published version of the novel retains some of the original formatting from the version on the SCP Wiki, such as redacted information and missing letters,[2] but omits all of the character names and concepts from the wiki that are still released under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license, replacing references to "the Foundation" with "the Organisation" and "SCPs" with "Unknowns".[3]
The UK publishing rights for the novel were acquired by Del Rey Books in 2024, while the North American rights were acquired by Ballantine Books.[4] The novel was released on November 11, 2025.[5]
Reception
The novel received positive reception from critics. The Washington Post praised the novel, describing it as containing "a story worthy of Lovecraft" and noting the use of inserted documents from the in-universe Antimemetics Division as a way of increasing the book's immersion.[6]Lisa Tuttle, writing in The Guardian, recommended the novel as an "unforgettable" read.[7]Dirt also published a positive review, praising the novel's plot and connection to modern-day anxieties around technology.[8]Kirkus Reviews positively compared the book to The Twilight Zone and The Matrix, while Publishers Weekly complimented the book's concepts but noted that the "zany narrative" could potentially confuse readers.[5][2]
Adaptations
A four-episode web series adaptation of the CC BY-SA 3.0 / SCP Wiki edition, SCP: There Is No Antimemetics Division, directed by Andrea Joshua Asnicar, was released from March 27 to April 16, 2024.[9] A black-and-white short film adaptation of that edition directed by Adria Lang, and starring Jasika Nicole, was screened at the 2025 Chattanooga Film Festival.[10]
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