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SCP-4233: The Dreadnought

Author: CadaverCommander

Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/diving-suit-old-historic-helmet-405730/

combined with https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scaphandre_Carmagnolle_MnM_Paris.jpg

photomanipulation expertly performed by The Great Hippo

Item#: 4233

Containment Class: keter

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: keneq

Risk Class: caution

SCP-4233, circa 2007.

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4233's anomalous physical properties all but preclude the possibility of primary containment, and as such secondary containment measures are considered adequate until a feasible method of physical containment is devised. All appearances of SCP-4233 are to be accounted for with a suitable cover story in conjunction with media blackout, and any civilians having witnessed an overt display of SCP-4233's anomalous effects are to be amnesticized at MTF discretion.

Foundation listening network PANOPTICON is reminded to alert Foundation executive command of the credible appearance of any and all leviathans, and NTF Sigma-58 “Bottomfeeders” stands ordered to track SCP-4233's trajectory and establish radio contact as often as possible to aid in the discovery of any such sea-going bioforms.

Description: SCP-4233 is an amphibious humanoid entity of unknown origin and composition that exhibits potent anomalous properties and operates under an unclear agenda.

SCP-4233 physically resembles a human in a late-19th century diving suit, with a rigid copper helmet with glass viewing window and weighted boots. However, SCP-4233's body plan is disproportionate, and larger overall than that of a baseline human. The entity stands at approximately 2.5 meters when fully upright, with an exaggerated torso supporting thick, oversized arms, resulting in a somewhat simian appearance. Each time it has appeared, SCP-4233 has carried a large stockless anchor, approximately 1.8 meters in length and weighing an estimated 550 kilograms. This anchor is thoroughly corroded and encrusted with barnacles and other sessile sea life, consistent with roughly 75 years of continuous exposure to a marine environment. It bears this item on its right shoulder, and to date has not been observed to use this object for any discernible purpose.

SCP-4233's primary anomalous properties lie in its physical and mechanical attributes. Its suit is opaque to all known forms of penetrative electromagnetic imaging and has thus far proven to be entirely impervious to damage. The extent of its durability and physical strength have proven difficult to quantify; across its many appearances since its first in 1953, SCP-4233 has accepted direct strikes from high-explosive anti-tank munitions, surface-to-surface missile systems, and a full broadside shore bombardment from an Iowa-class battleship without suffering any noticeable damage or impaired movement. It has disregarded any and all attempts at physical containment, typically by walking directly through any barricades or impediments placed in its path and ignoring the efforts of intercepting strike teams attempting to prevent or slow its advance.

The entity's appearances are erratic and follow no observable pattern1, but its behavior is consistent and predictable. SCP-4233 emergence events begin with the entity walking out of the sea and onto a beach or stretch of coastline, chosen apparently at random and with no regard for any civilian presence. SCP-4233 has to date arrived on the coasts of California, Virginia, Scotland, Nova Scotia, Greenland, Thailand, Australia, Chile, Japan, Namibia, Oman, and the Kamchatka Peninsula, among others.

Once on land, SCP-4233 will continue walking at a gradual pace (slightly less than 5 kilometers per hour) in a straight line, only altering its trajectory to avoid injuring civilians, animals, and large plants such as trees. It has not been seen to stop or change pace at any point, and will often simply walk through (and subsequently destroy) objects in its way, such as fallen logs, unattended vehicles, boulders, and abandoned buildings. It will continue on its set path and walk forward until it reaches the ocean, occasionally crossing entire continents over a period of months in order to do so. Upon reaching the coast, it will stop, set down its anchor, clap its hands together once, replace its anchor, then continue, walking into the sea until it disappears from view.

To date, SCP-4233's path has not crossed any major population centers. It has traveled within 5 kilometers of small villages or towns2 on only three occasions, in 1964, 1972, and 1998, but did not enter the towns' limits, nor did it interact with any investigating civilians or law enforcement personnel in any way. It is currently unclear whether this is due to coincidence or deliberate planning on SCP-4233's part. It is uncertain whether SCP-4233 is sapient, and its motivations, if it possesses any, are presently unknown. (See subsequent addendum)

Addendum 4233-01: On December 1st, 2017, as SCP-4233 approached the eastern coast of Baffin Island, operatives from Naval Task Force Sigma-58 “Bottomfeeders” tracking SCP-4233 began to receive a low-fidelity radio transmission of a deep, male voice humming the tune of the traditional sea shanty “What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?”. Triangulation quickly confirmed that SCP-4233 was the source of this transmission. This was the first known instance of SCP-4233 producing electromagnetic signals of any kind, and NTF Sigma-58 were able to subsequently isolate SCP-4233's transmission frequency in an authorized attempt to establish contact with the entity. Resultant communication transcript follows below.

Date: 1 December, 2017

Location: Approximately 1 kilometer from eastern shoreline of Baffin Island, Canada. Interview conducted from NTF Sigma-58 pursuit and reconnaissance truck at a distance of 3 kilometers from SCP-4233.

(SCP-4233's broadcast signal is isolated with stability, and the entity's humming is clearly heard, although the signal is relatively low-quality and tinny. NTF Sigma-58 operative Sergeant Kendra Hill initiates verbal contact upon receiving clearance from Sigma-58 tactical command.)

Sgt. Hill: Testing, one-two. This is Sergeant Kendra Hill of Foundation Task Force Sigma-58, hailing undesignated entity transmitting on this frequency. Is this channel receiving?

(The humming stops. There is a moment of silence interspersed with slight static, which clears. SCP-4233 responds in English.)

SCP-4233: Mmmm. New friends in the air today. I receive you, Miss Hill, as I receive your superiors. It is a good day for a swim, I think.

(SCP-4233's speech is interspersed throughout with the sound of bubbling liquid.)

Sgt. Hill: Who are you?

(Laughter.)

SCP-4233: Inquisitive. But that answer is long, and you've caught me with little time to spare. Words and boxes are your great loves, and all love should be respected. But words wash away from me, and I am my own box. Such as it can be, in time and tide.

Sgt. Hill: What are you?

SCP-4233: Peace and weight, part and parcel. I am my own slow way, in water and iron. I am the crashing wave. I am the calm of the deep, and the great pressure upon the bones of evil. No danger to you. Unless you think to threaten your own providence alike, haha.

(The following question from Sgt. Hill is in deviation from the standardized list of questions provided to personnel in the event of an encounter with an anomalous sentient entity.)

Sgt. Hill: Where are you going?

SCP-4233: To walk along the bottom, and look up through the waves. I find that my vision is best through all the salt. But the wind and the grass have their own charms. When most of your life is darkness and mud, a flower is a genuine treasure. The depths have no eye for art. Kelp is not as interesting as it may seem.

(Sgt. Hill is admonished for deviating from standardized conduct protocol, but permitted to continue her line of questioning.)

Sgt. Hill: Is there something you're looking for?

SCP-4233: There is. My brother. His signal is hard to find, so I must wander for a good spot, so he can hear me.

Sgt. Hill: Who is your brother?

SCP-4233: You have written of him in your lightning books. He appears in a suit like mine, though his is white, and made for the void, not the water. My elder brother, the champion of the Moon. He is very swift in the sky, and very strong, and often very silly. But he has been very, very silly lately. I wish to speak with him. He does not know I am calling him, I think. He has a hard time paying attention to things.

Sgt. Hill: Why is it so important that you speak with him?

SCP-4233: I wish to know if his stories are true, or if he is playing another of his games. If true, I wish to help him. If not, I will ask him for his help instead.

Sgt. Hill: What do you need help with?

SCP-4233: All life came from the sea, Miss Hill. Other things came from it too, and I must keep them from leaving. It would be very terrible if they did. I fight well at the bottom. My steel sings heavy death upon these creatures. But times change. They change very quickly, and though I am strong, I am slow. My brother moves with the speed of a thunderbolt, and strikes like the justice he so loves. He would be a great help. And sometimes his jokes are funny. Funnier than mine, at the least.

Sgt. Hill: … Is there any way we can help? You don't have to do all of this alone. We're strong in our own way, you know.

(Laughter)

SCP-4233: Your spirit is as strong as your great ancestors'. But though you may wish to stop me, this is where my destiny flows. I will fight on, and win the war in the depths. My great weight will crush the foe. The waters will be still at last, and all peoples above will breathe easy, as I cannot. For now, I descend alone.

(SCP-4233 has reached the shoreline. Sigma-58 cameras observe the entity stop and place its anchor into the shallow water at its side.)

Sgt. Hill: I don't understand. Is going alone really necessary? Do you have to? You could just give us the information.

SCP-4233: We all must flow through our ways, and bear our own burdens. You are yours, I am mine. Lay your noble guns to rest, and quiet your battle songs. Turn from the shore and stand in the warmth of the great sun. You will be safe. Though they mass in churning droves, no foul leviathan shall draw breath beneath the weight of my mighty anchor. For I am…

(SCP-4233 claps its hands together, producing a ringing sound measured at 122 decibels. A massive wave of seawater causes sea levels within 5 kilometers of SCP-4233 to rise by approximately 1.2 meters. The origin point of this wave is unknown.)

SCP-4233: … Sea Champion.

Sgt. Hill: Wait wait, what exactly-

(SCP-4233 advances into the water, and radio contact is lost.)

Footnotes

1. The shortest recorded time between emergence events being approximately 45 days, the longest 7 years and 4 months.

2. With populations of 1500 or less.

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