Item #: SCP-222

Object Class: Euclid

THIS DOCUMENT NOT FOR USE BY PERSONNEL BELOW CLEARANCE LEVEL 3

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-222 itself requires no special containment. It also cannot be moved. The site is guarded by SCP Foundation personnel as well as a rotating mix of US, Italian, and NATO soldiers (none of whom are aware of its significance). Foundation personnel travel to and from the site very often, and their true numbers are carefully hidden from the soldiers (and usually from personnel below clearance level 3).

Description: SCP-222 designates an area of tunnels in the Dolomites Mountains, near Aviano, Italy. The site is close to the Church of St. Gregory, and Aviano Air Force Base is also nearby. The tunnels are filled with carved stone coffins; one coffin in particular has unusual properties, and some portion of the tunnels is also involved. The carvings in the tunnels appear very old and of fairly good workmanship.

History

After 1948, US operatives in Italy participating in Operation Gladio began receiving word of unusual activities at the site. In 1954 Aviano Air Base was turned over to NATO.

On February 22, 1955, Foundation operatives found a series of tunnels carved into the mountains. They appeared to be catacombs (tunnels for storing the dead); archaeological research into their construction has yielded contradictory results. (See #SCP-222-7 through -9.) The tunnels were being used as a hideout by a terrorist cult. All members of the cult were killed or taken into custody. (Operation details filed in #SCP-222-1 through -5.) The cult appeared to be less mentally stable than most such organizations, but otherwise unremarkable. However, details turned up during the operation prompted further investigation.

Once the nature and abilities of the site were determined, it became one of the most-used and -visited objects under Foundation care.

Function

As previously stated, one (and only one) coffin in the tunnels has unusual properties. (See #SCP-222-6 for summation of all tests done to date and clarification of items below.) If a living person is placed into the coffin and it is closed, the following sequence of events occurs.

Within 15 minutes, the occupant falls asleep.

The occupant will fall asleep under any circumstances; such as, but not limited to, being in the middle of a claustrophobic fit, or being given amounts of caffeine and amphetamines close to causing an overdose.

The occupant sleeps for 1-2 hours.

Opening the coffin during this time usually results in the death of the occupant and no further results.

The occupant wakes up, feeling well rested.

The occupant will not fall asleep until the coffin is opened again. The possibility of sleep deprivation research has been advanced but not yet implemented.

Within 24 hours, a person will be found within the tunnels who is a duplicate, or clone, of the occupant.

No attempts to find the origin of the clone within the tunnels have ever been successful. The clone invariably finds its way to the coffin, though it usually appears to be wandering aimlessly.

Clones created by the coffin appear in all physical respects to be identical to their originals, though dressed in tattered rags of unknown origin. Man-made objects are not duplicated; the cloning process is not recommended for occupants with tooth fillings or pacemakers. Clones appear to possess the same lifespan and medical conditions as their originals.

The most unusual aspect of a clone is its mind. Clones appear to be victims of global retrograde amnesia. Languages are retained, along with most physical skills. While clones cannot remember any people or events, they appear to retain their ethical beliefs and loyalties, and thus can usually be quickly re-indoctrinated into Foundation personnel. Security procedures must be retrained, but combat and weapon skills are preserved. Some clones demonstrate retention of computer and interrogation skills as well.

Many Foundation personnel have been cloned with SCP-222, providing a loyal workforce for Foundation initiatives. It is one of our most obviously useful items.

Addendum: Document #SCP-12: Indoctrination Issues

Lieutenant █████ ████████'s clone was brought to a mockup KGB indoctrination center where he was brainwashed into becoming a "KGB spy". He was a native of the USSR, so this was considered a useful test of a clone's attitudes. The clone eventually rebelled against the brainwashing and was prepared to die rather than submit. At that point the "training exercise" was ended and he was welcomed as a loyal Foundation member.

However, ██████ █. ██████'s clone was given a standard indoctrination, but it rebelled and proclaimed allegiance to an Afghan terrorist group. It was terminated, and questioning of the original ██████ █. ██████ revealed that the beliefs had been accurately copied.

Addendum: Document #SCP-222-13: Call for clone psychiatric/sociological analysis

General ████████ maintains that cloned personnel display behavior patterns and habits that cannot be accounted for by simple amnesia. He cites a statistically significant higher incidence of mental illness, particularly homicidal tendencies, among clones when compared to "original" personnel.

Addendum: Document #SCP-222-14: "Second generation" Clones

Clones may themselves be cloned, though records show this has only been performed twice. The "second generation" clones were observed to have marked mental differences: both were resistant to indoctrination, and Foundation psychiatrists returned a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. However, intelligence and mental ability were measured at equal to or greater than the original clones' (or even the originals'). Further investigation is warranted.

Addendum: Document #SCP-222-15: "Clonedex"

███ ███████ has called for an effort to catalogue all clones in Foundation employ and the verification of the locations of each of them, as there appear to be consistent reports that the Foundation has more personnel than is recorded.

Addendum: Document #SCP-222-17: Clone Approval Orders

By order of O5-2, all cloning activities must be recorded with a work order and must be approved by non-clone personnel of at least clearance 4.

Addendum: Document #SCP-222-21: Clone Visual Identification

As a result of the nearly successful Site ██ takeover attempt by the clone of General ████████ wherein [DATA EXPUNGED], all current and future clones are to be tattooed on the forehead and back of both hands with a simple C. This should negate the possibility of a clone impersonating its original for nefarious purposes.