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Author(s): JakdragonX, KaraKatt

Title: SCP-5963 - "Dark Nights at ShowBiz Pizza Place."

Other Works:

SCP-5343 - "The 'For-You News' App!"

A Given Purpose

Check out JakdragonX's Personnel File!

Check out Kara's Corner of Doom!

Item #: SCP-5963

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-5963 is contained within a replicated ShowBiz Pizza Place located on the northern periphery of Site-119’s Anomalous Technology Containment Unit (ATCU). Foundation personnel, hereby referred to as "employees," are required to manage and operate this facility between the hours of 11:30 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. Other personnel, hereby referred to as "customers," are requested to periodically attend scheduled special events, occasions, or birthday parties within the new facility.

Inspections of SCP-5963-1 are to occur in Arcade Room every Tuesday and Thursday. In the event that any SCP-5963-1 instance is damaged or begins to emit any odor during operating hours, employees are required to repair and clean them as soon as possible. Employees may contact Senior Researcher Devin Collins for documentation, materials, or assistance concerning the regular inspection, cleaning, and maintenance of SCP-5963.

One D-Class personnel is granted access to SCP-5963-1 once per monthly basis. This is only to occur after the facility "closes" at 8:00 P.M. in order to minimize potential risks to other personnel. Researchers may continue physical or remote observations of these interactions.

Description: SCP-5963 refers to a series of anomalous events that manifested within a currently abandoned ShowBiz Pizza Place1, located in Marionette, Wisconsin. These anomalous events can occur throughout the entirety of the premises; however, these occurences are solely dependent on a series of six arcade units, hereby collectively referred to as SCP-5963-1, that were recovered from the room of the same name.2

Retrieved SCP-5963-1C instance recovered from ShowBiz Pizza Place in 1987.

Whenever SCP-5963-1 is in operation, a series of anomalous events can manifest during conventional playtime. These events are dictated by SCP-5963-(A-F).

SCP-5963-(A-F) is the collective designation given to six sapient entities that can manifest within any SCP-5963-1 instance. However, only one entity can appear between playthroughs. When active, SCP-5963-(A-F) can perform a series of physical and technical interactions with objects and players despite the limitations of its host SCP-5963-1 instance.3

Recovered documents indicates that all SCP-5963-1 instances were directly purchased in-bulk from Arcadia, which correlates to several graphics of the company logo that appear on the exterior of the arcade units. No other information could be gathered from these sources.

Addendum 5963.1 - Discovery:

MARIONETTE CHRONICLES

Local, Trustworthy, Reliable.

June 7th, 1987
PAGE 4 - Outdoor Sports Fest on June 14th
25¢ - NO REFUNDS

LOCAL RESTAURANT UNDER SCRUTINY?

SHOWBIZ PIZZA PLACE UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER THE ABDUCTION OF SIX CHILDREN.

By Kassidy Kara

MARIONETTE, WISCONSIN - ShowBiz Pizza Place has temporarily closed after the abduction of six children: Christopher Holems, Emily Hunt, William Duncan, Harper Reed, Justin Reed, and Mathew Gardiner, all of whom have not been seen since early last month. Eyewitnesses present at the time of these abductions, which occurred roughly between May 1st through May 7th, all recall a strange figure who reportedly led these children to the property of ShowBiz Pizza Place, currently operated by Michael Warren of Marionette County. One anonymous witness stated that they saw a child "completely disappear into thin air." These claims remain unverified due to a malfunctioning security system around the premises and a lack of suspects.

"This is a disaster," says Raina Holems, the distraught mother of Christopher Holems. "It feels like he's been erased from the world. It's terrible, I've lost my home, my job, and now my son. I just don't know what to do anymore." Holems was not the only one to vocalize their worries. Pleading for his childrens return Marcus Reed has this to say: “Please, if you have our children, please! Bring them back. If you’re listening, Justin and Harper, we love you. Please, come home.” No traces of these children have been found yet.

"We work very hard to maintain the safety and integrity of ShowBiz Pizza Place. To prevent further issues security will be updated and heavily monitored," says Michael Warren, current manager of ShowBiz Pizza Place, shortly after issuing a public statement on the matter (Page 6, "Security and ShowBiz, Warrens Statement").

Local authorities believe that a more thorough investigation of the restaurant may uncover the clues necessary to begin revealing key suspects. Unfortunately, no more information has been provided concerning the missing children. Authorities have reported that current investigations are halted due to unforeseen events. If you have any information on these missing children please contact…

Interview Log 5963.1

Interviewed: Michael Warren

Interviewer: Dr. Jackson Cohen

Foreword: Dr. Cohen has been directed to evaluate and question Manager Michael Warren in order to ascertain enough evidence to validate the Foundation's involvement and the likelihood of anomalous influences surrounding ShowBiz Pizza Place.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Cohen: (Dr. Cohen walks into the room, taking a seat across from Michael Warren) Evening, Mr. Warren. I'm with the MCPD. I'm sure you know why I'm here?

Michael Warren: Of course.

Dr. Cohen: All right then. (Cohen pauses, looking down at his clipboard) What is your affiliation with Arcadia? I noticed some of their company logos on a few of your arcade games.

Michael Warren: I used to work for them several years ago. The only thing I have left of theirs are those arcade units I purchased from their headquarters in Irving. That was… when was it? Almost 2 or 3 years back? They were for our Arcade room back there. (Michael points past Cohen's right shoulder.)

Dr. Cohen: Is that all? I couldn't help but notice that photo up there of you and Nolan Bushnell. (Cohen glances upwards.) Were you two close?

Michael Warren: Nolan? Yeah, he and I were close. He hired me a few spots down the corporate ladder at Arcadia, when it first started. (Michael pauses.) It was a weird place. Sometimes, even when I worked for them, we got to see innovation. Other times we were dealing with some, uh, interesting customers. What about him?

Dr. Cohen: Are you aware of his current whereabouts?

Michael Warren: You mean where he's at now? Not anymore. We got out of touch a few years before I left. I only just talked to him shortly before I started here. Why, is he in trouble or somethin'?

Dr. Cohen: Not that I'm aware of. But then again, it's not my job to know. I just ask the questions. (Cohen writes briefly.) Can you tell me what you do know about him? Nolan, I mean.

Michael Warren: Nothing you don't probably already know. When I spoke with him, he told me that he knew about Arcadia's situation, when they were suffering from a harsh decline. The company was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and I think he wanted to help 'em out, so he asked me to start this franchise. Of course, I accepted his offer, only 'cause I was afraid of being put out of a job once they went under. Later he asked if I could purchase some of their units for this place. I guess he was trying to work out some deal between ShowBiz and Arcadia that would help them out with their money situation.

Dr. Cohen: I see. So what about those games back there?

Michael Warren: Those junk heaps? What about them?

Dr. Cohen: They seem like fairly new additions. Can you tell me about them?

Michael Warren: They’re just normal games. We've had those since we opened, which didn't happen not too long ago. The opening, that is. Don't think they've ever been played before though.

Dr. Cohen: Are all of your machines from Arcadia? Or just those few back there?

Michael Warren: Just those ones.

Dr. Cohen: (Cohen scribbles on a notepad.) Interesting. And you said they were working well?

Michael Warren: Of course. The only hiccup I've had with 'em was when Nadia Patelle tried to clean them all off. She's our in-house employee, in charge of making the place look good. I guess she must've bumped into one a little too hard before we opened. It, uh, caused the screens to go a bit haywire. (He leans back in his chair.)

Dr. Cohen: That's not good. (Cohen pauses.) I'll have a few people come in and take those then. For investigation reasons, of course.

Michael Warren: (Michael momentarily grimaces before smiling.) I'm not quite sure why you would need them, but feel free. Although, you may have some trouble turning them on. The only place they seem to work at is here. Trust me, I've tried. But if you still need them, I have a few more units I can use as backups until you can safely return 'em. They're quite unique.

Dr. Cohen: I see. Well, in that case, we'll have to figure out something else. That's all the questions I had. Thank you again, Mr. Warren.

<End Log>

Closing Statement: Local authorities currently suspect Michael Warren as a prime perpetrator of the missing children.4 It should be further noted that due to the involvement of Arcadia technologies, the authorization of a recovery operation from the Foundation has been deemed appropriate to minimize the risk of anomalous influence.

Addendum 5963.2 - Exploration & Analysis:

Event N°: 5963-01

Anomalous Instance: SCP-5963-1C (Asteroids)

Personnel Involved: Dr. Jackson Cohen

Synopsis: Dr. Cohen, whilst investigating SCP-5963-1C, discovered that after gaining a score of approximately 2500, smaller asteroids slowly began to align themselves along the center of the screen. Closer inspection of this alignment revealed the message "STOP," which remained visible on-screen for a period lasting up to 2 minutes. Further gameplay revealed the manifestation of a new sprite, closely resembling Dr. Cohen's interactable "ship" and hereby designated as SCP-5963-C, that would continuously collide with objects (or asteroids) near the player. These collisions would end with a brief death animation, followed shortly by the sound of a loud, human-like scream that would last several seconds. Later inspections of SCP-5963-1C revealed that no audio file resembling the aforementioned scream has ever existed.

Prior to the experiments termination, Dr. Cohen reported hearing the phrase, "please come back" from SCP-5983-1A. He later stated that he was unsure of what he had heard, and assured personnel that he had likely not heard anything at all.

Event N°: 5963-02

Anomalous Instance: SCP-5963-1B (Missile Command)

Personnel Involved: D-199834, Dr. Jackson Cohen

Synopsis: Subject D-199834 was directed to interact with SCP-5963-1B for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, Dr. Cohen reported drastic behavioral altercations with some of the animatronic characters that were active within ShowBiz Pizza Place5, which included "several fits of apparent rage" and "random and incoherent chants of a seemingly Satanic background" per his original statement. This behavior abruptly ended after D-199834 stopped interacting with SCP-5963-1B.

Active on-screen instance of SCP-5963-B.

D-199834 also reported the presence of SCP-5963-B, which manifested as a large pixelated face that covered the majority of SCP-5963-1B's background. Whenever D-199834 successfully destroyed an incoming projectile, SCP-5963-B would begin to weep slowly, distorting its face. This was subsequently amplified until SCP-5963-B's face became entirely indiscernible. Once D-199834 failed at destroying an incoming projectile, however, SCP-5963-B would revert to its initial state before emitting a "laugh" at the subject. This remained until D-199834 was removed from the premises.

3 redundant logs have been removed.

Event N°: 5963-06

Anomalous Instance: SCP-5963-1E (Centipede)

Personnel Involved: D-573910, Dr. Ryan Phillips

Synopsis: During D-573910's playthrough, Dr. Phillips reported a series of strange malfunctions concerning a series of light fixtures above the vicinity of SCP-5963-1E. Further analysis shows that these fixtures were connected within close proximity to SCP-5963-1E itself.

Subject D-573910 was unable to detect SCP-5963-E during its playthrough. However, D-573910 did report a brief loss of control over his playable entity, in which it quickly flashed off the screen. Upon its return, D-573910 reported a drastic increase of difficulty, as well as expressing slight discomfort with the erratic behavior of the hostile non-playable characters (NPCs). The subject later stated to Dr. Phillips that the NPC's were "incredibly realistic, and they all shared the same crying faces." The experiment was later terminated by Dr. Phillips.

Event N°: 5963-07

Anomalous Instance: SCP-5963-1D (Lunar Lander)

Personnel Involved: Dr. Ryan Phillips

Synopsis: Dr. Phillips reported that, during the first level of SCP-5963-1D, the platform in which the player is supposed to land disappeared entirely, causing him to continuously fall downward. As this occurred, a pop-up window displaying the text "they constantly haunt me" appeared, despite SCP-5893-1D being unable to perform this task prior. The prompt remained on-screen for the duration of Dr. Phillips's playthrough.

4 redundant logs have been removed.

Event N°: 5963-12

Anomalous Instance: SCP-5963-1A (Pong)

Personnel Involved: Dr. Jackon Cohen, Dr. Ryan Phillips, Sr. Researcher Devin Collins

Synopsis: SCP-5963-A manifested as Player 2 after several minutes, gaining control of the right side of the screen. During brief moments, SCP-5963-1A would cease functionality. During this period, SCP-5963-A could be seen moving horizontally towards the left side of the screen. Once SCP-5963-1A became operational, SCP-5963-1 would revert back to its initial state, playing against Player 1 (Dr. Jackson Cohen) as intended. During the playthrough, Dr. Jackson commented on the fluidity and the increasing difficulty of playing against SCP-5963-A. The experiment was later terminated at Dr. Cohen's request.

Researcher's Note: The interactions between players and the SCP-5963-(A-F) instances have led me to believe that perhaps their intended purpose was primarily in overcoming the technological difficulties of artificial intelligence during the initial rise of mainstream interactive media. All though it seems that these experiments ultimately failed, it does appear that, in very few circumstances, Arcadia was somewhat successful after all. Why they chose to do this now, and their reason behind using ShowBiz Pizza as a front is still a mystery, however.

- Sr. Researcher Devin Collins

Addendum 5963.3 - Incident Event:

Opening Statement: Sr. Researcher Devin Collins reported that, during an experiment involving SCP-5963-1A (Pong) and one D-Class personnel, an interactable keyboard appeared on-screen. This keyboard was later followed by the message. "who are you. please stop [sic]," which was presumably sent by SCP-5963-A. During this period, Sr. Researcher Collins was successfully able to communicate with the anomaly, with logs of the event added below:

Message Sent: WHO ARE YOU

Response: we do not remember. forgotten.

Message Sent: HOW ARE YOU HERE

Response: lied. led away from home. pain.

Message Sent: WHO LED YOU

Response: a liar. do not trust.

Message Sent: EXPLAIN

Response: not man. dark. told us it was angel. haunts us.

Message Sent: WHAT HAUNTS YOU

Response we want to go home.

Message Sent: PLEASE RESPOND. WHAT HAUNTS YOU

Response: it says we chose this. we do not remember choosing. pain. pain. pain.

Message Sent: EXPLAIN

Response: it sees us. horns. evil smile. reminds us that we are gone.

Message Sent: WHAT IS IT

Response: No response recorded.

Message Sent: ARE YOU THERE

Response: it makes us suffer. it lies behind us.

Message Sent: WHAT DO YOU MEAN

Response: we just want to go back home. please. no more pain.

Message Sent: WHAT PAIN. WHO CAUSED IT

Response: you did.

Closing Statement: Further communication attempts with SCP-5963-A have failed. After this event, SCP-5963-1A ceased functionality for several hours before rebooting entirely. More research may be required before Foundation personnel can fully analyze and evaluate the information provided by SCP-5963-A.

Footnotes

1. American restaurant chain which has since been rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese.

2. SCP-5963 does not appear to exhibit its anomalous attributes outside of licensed ShowBiz Pizza Place locations. Containment procedures have since been updated to accommodate for this.

3. Please refer to Addendum 5963.2 for more information.

4. At the time of writing, Warren's current location and status remains unknown.

5. Namely, "Billy Bob" and "Looney Bird."