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SCP-5041: The Man in the Iron Mask

Author: stormbreath

Thanks to MaliceAforethought for looking this over. His crit prompted me to go in a vastly different direction from my original drafts, which I was much happier with.

Thanks to The Pighead for help with French translation.

Additional thanks to my other critters: DrAkimoto, Oboebandgeek99, Anxiety Incorporated, MalyceGraves

View more of my articles here.

For the benefit of translators and editors, here are links to the individual offsets:

First Page

Second Page

by stormbreath

Item #: SCP-5041

Object Class: Keter-provisi

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-5041 is to be contained within Specialized Containment Cell-01 at Site-Aleph. It is not to be removed from SCC-01 at any time, and SCC-01 should not be accessed by any individual outside the specific provisions allowed by the containment procedures.

SCC-01 is the top story of Building-01 within Site-Aleph. It consists of four rooms: a main chamber, a bedroom, a bathroom, and an antechamber. The only room into which containment staff are allowed to enter is the antechamber and only to deliver food or other provisions to SCP-5041. Containment staff are to ring a doorbell to give SCP-5041 time to vacate the antechamber before they enter. All rooms of SCC-01 have been soundproofed. SCC-01 is to be outfitted with furniture as appropriate.

The roof of SCC-01's main chamber is a skylight, which is cleaned by automated mechanisms. All Foundation satellites that pass over SCC-01 have been set to automatically censor photographs of SCC-01. Under no circumstances should the interior of SCC-01 be viewed; immediate amnestic treatment is required if this is violated. If it is necessary to access the roof of Aleph-Building-01, automated shutters have been installed to close the skylight. SCP-5041 should be notified in advance that the shutters are to be used.

SCP-5041 has been granted Grade-A Humanoid Amenity privileges. In addition to receiving three Grade-A meals each day, it is to be given two bottles of wine and a Grade-A dessert package every week. Entertainment media given to SCP-5041 should not contain depictions of any individuals or characters, real or fictional.

SCP-5041 may make requests to the containment staff of any nature, by writing on a slip of paper and putting said paper into a slot in the antechamber of SCC-01. After these requests are read and denied/granted, they are to be incinerated.

Description: SCP-5041 is a humanoid. As SCP-5041 is still alive after three hundred years of continuous containment it is either immortal, of a greatly extended life-span, or is non-human. SCP-5041 is believed to have other anomalous properties. No details of these additional properties are known.

It is not known why SCP-5041 is in containment.

+ Personal Logs of Doctor Clouzot, SCP-5041 HMCL Supervisor

- Close Logs.

June 8th, 2020:

First day on the job as acting HMCL Supervisor for SCP-5041. It's a Keter, unlike my previous assignments (all Safe) — guess that it's being treated at a lower level than the Object Class would indicate. Previous HMCL Supervisor had been on the job for nearly forty years, it looks like, before retiring. It's a stable job — some might say a dead end.

I do find it troubling, however, that there isn't any proper information about the anomaly itself. That's a little worrying, if you ask me. This thing has apparently been in Foundation containment since the beginning, and we don't know anything about it. Containment Procedures forbid almost any kind of testing, so I'll have to be digging into the archives for the investigation. Won't be able to get an amendment if they're stable (as it would appear).

Let's see what I can scrape from the Con Procs and Description:

Hazardous to perceive? Extends to all forms, apparently — sight and sound both potential vectors. Cognitohazard or memetic likely.

Notes can be read, but only once — effect extends to materials produced by the entity, but not significant? Not automatically lethal or not that dangerous

Immortal, 300+ years old. Unclear if this property relates to main sensory anomaly.

Look into specific times for initial containment. Contained in oldest building at first French site.

Still requires food/drink to live? Is food actually necessary or has other purpose — as suggested by dessert/wine privileges. Why does it get those?

June 9th, 2020:

Investigation starts at the beginning. Information about SCP-5041 from the time before it came into the Foundation is sparse, but we do know a little. It was originally contained by the Estate noir (French Foundation precursor, although more of an Insurgency precursor in all honesty), beginning in 1713. We've got this document from them:

To the honourable Jailer of Avignon,

Delivered unto you in one weeks time shall be a prisoner of most unusual quality. You are to guard him until such time as further instruction is given; however, it is unlikely he shall ever be fit for release from captivity. It is the belief of the Estate noir that the prisoner shall never be released, and that he shall be held till the end of days.

During the time of which he shall be rendered unto you, outfit a cell with the following specifications to hold him. The prisoner is not to be released from this cell, nor should the cell be modified in any way — the following requirements have been determined to be the safest method of holding the prisoner, for both himself and others.

The cell should be constructed so that prison is neither able to see any individuals of the outside world, nor should any individual of the outside world be able to look upon the prisoner. To this end, it is recommended that the prisoner be placed in a high tower, with windows angled up towards the sky.

It is imperative, however, that the prisoner is allowed access to natural light. Do not put the prisoner in a room without a window of any form, but allow him his daily light.

There should be an antechamber between the cell holding the prisoner and between the general corridors of whichever prison is holding him. The antechamber should have locked doors on either side.

The cell should be protected against sound as well as possible, so that no sounds penetrate the interior chamber in which the prisoner is kept, and so the prisoner does not hear any of the ongoings or discussions of his jailers.

The door between the antechamber and the cell is to have an angled slot in it, that allows for the prisoner to slip a note through the door and into the antechamber.

Once the prisoner has been delivered unto you, and is kept within the cell, he is to be treated in the following manner. Be sure to do so with great respect and civility, for while the prisoner is responsible for terrible acts, he is repentant of his sin.

Like the famed prisoner held by Bénigne d'Auvergne de Saint-Mars, the prisoner has been given a mask of black velvet to wear at all times. The prisoner shall be delivered to you wearing this mask, and he will wear it all times, should the unlikely situation require him to appear in public. Do not force him to remove it.

No contact should be held with the prisoner. He is not to be spoken to nor exposed to the outside world, and should spend the rest of his days in isolation.

So that the mind of the prisoner remains sane and does not decay, he is to be provided with various forms of entertainment and engagement:

The prisoner may be allowed books and poems, but none of these are to reflect the lives of individuals or their stories. He may be given paintings to decorate the cell, so long as these paintings do not depict any individuals.

The prisoner is to be allowed the materials with which to write and paint. Should he place any in the antechamber, it is to be destroyed without inspection.

The prisoner is to be fed well each day, with three proper meals given to him. He is to be afforded two bottles of wine per week, of whatever vintage that is readily available.

Finally, the furnishings of the prison cell should be finely done and crafted. The cell that holds the prisoner should not be sparse of comforts, for it shall be his home for eternity.

The prisoner was responsible for the disappearance of a rather large number of victims, some leagues south of Mende. As a result of his nature, the names of these victims have been forgotten, and they have vanished from all accounts. Nonetheless, the Estate noir is certain that he is responsible for this, as—

There was evidently a second page/more to this letter, but it was completely absent from the records. Unclear if it was lost before or after the Foundation formed, or if the Estate noir lost it in the past. Possible it was destroyed in the Foundation Civil War. Either way, we don't have it, and only have the first half of the letter.

Salient points:

Estate noir didn't expect the prisoner to be able to be released. Implication that this is distinct from the reason it's in containment/any sense of justice/punishment for actions.

Killed(?) a lot of people in the south of France, almost totally — antimemetic in some capacity, it seems? Not certain about that (can still remember it myself).

It looks like most of the food provisions are because the Estate noir were being polite, and the Foundation simply kept up the traditions when they inherited the object. No real reason to have them, most likely.

Sunlight is set apart from the rest and called out as being more important. Seems key?

Reference to the historical Man in the Iron Mask — some of the containment might be a reference to that, not because it was specifically tailored to 5041 itself? Need to review the history of that case, see if there's any reasoning I can't scrape out of it.

Interesting note that stories can't have people in them. Weird that's the biggest/only concern (although exceedingly broad).

Key points as I see them here are the mental state of the prisoner — keeping him alright — and making sure he has almost no contact with the outside world. Not just about making sure we don't know about him, but that he doesn't know about us either.

June 12th, 2020:

Was digging late last night into old records and the like (lead about the Man in the Iron Mask didn't go anywhere — that case is too much of a mystery itself). Lots of old records, most of it unhelpful. Almost passed out from low blood sugar — feel like I might be putting myself on the line here. Warnings about infohazards are also in that vein. But still! I have to do this for myself the Foundation.

Went for a review of more information, and was able to find the following interview log from 1988. It's the work of old Doctor Lebeau (now retired with a dose of amnestics) and was buried under a mountain of paperwork (what he had to go through to get it approved). Took him over a year to do that — I'll start the processes but it'll take a while to do it myself.

Doctor Lebeau: Hello. Are you inside?

SCP-5041: You should not be in the antechamber. You should not be allowed to speak to me.

Doctor Lebeau: We are the group holding you, and we just want to know a little more about you. Our records are not very complete, and we want to know who you are and why you are here.

SCP-5041: I would advise against knowing of me, but I shall answer your questions. You deserve to know the identity of your prisoner, for all you have done for me. You are not the Estate noir?

Doctor Lebeau: No, the Estate noir has not existed since the year 1900. We are the Foundation, and we are the successors to the Estate noir.

SCP-5041: I see. You hold me all the same, and for that I am thankful.

Doctor Lebeau: Now, may we ask your name?

SCP-5041: No. I shall give you neither name nor title.

Doctor Lebeau: Might we call you SCP-5041, in that case?

SCP-5041: Is that a name you have already given to me? What does it mean?

Doctor Lebeau: That's what we currently refer to you as. It doesn't truly mean anything itself, it has no inherent meaning to you.

SCP-5041: That is the only kind of title that I shall accept. You may call me SCP-5041, but I will not refer to myself as such.

Doctor Lebeau: Noted, SCP-5041. We would like to speak to you about your unusual properties.

SCP-5041: No. If this is the topic of conversation, it is a dead end. I will not speak of it, for both of our sakes. There is nothing to be gained of it, only pain.

Doctor Lebeau: Then, can we ask why the Estate noir initially jailed you, in 1713?

SCP-5041: Murder, of the blackest sort. So foul that I cannot speak of the specifics, lest my crimes repeat themselves. I would not wish the same to happen to you.

Doctor Lebeau: Our few records indicate that you complied with the Estate noir at all times. Is this all out of penitence for your crimes?

SCP-5041: In part. It was not intentional, what I did, but I regret it all the same. But it is more to prevent it from occurring once more. I do not wish to go through that agony again.

Doctor Lebeau: And your crimes are linked to your unusual properties?

SCP-5041 does not respond.

Doctor Lebeau: SCP-5041?

SCP-5041: I will not speak to you of this any further. You are looking into an abyss. Stop this madness before it consumes you.

Doctor Lebeau: We simply wish to know what you are.

SCP-5041: A lethal mistake. I am a knife with no handle. There is no way to touch me that does not cut you to shreds.

Doctor Lebeau: Very well, SCP-5041. We'll be ending this interview. Do you have any other requests?

SCP-5041: Kindly do not attempt to speak to me again, at least for the span of some years. Forget all it is you know about me, sir. Forget my name. Please, forget my words as well. Let no trace that you spoke with me remain. That is all. Now, if you will, please, leave me in peace.

He deleted the actual audio but left this translation lying around. Not sure if that was intentional, but I have it now. I'm not sure what to make of it other than the emphasis that the prisoner wants to be left alone (can't have that as a standard and unchallenged practice). It rejected/denied any attempts to learn anything about it, and just told Lebeau to fuck off. That's not the way anomalies talk to us.

I feel like I'm getting close to cracking this thing. I can imagine where it might take me. Nice reward for all my troubles.

June 15th, 2020:

The following note was dropped out of the dropbox today, into the antechamber.

Veuillez calmement cesser votre plan d'action actuel, Monsieur.

Translated from the original French: "Please cease your current course of action, sir."

Decided not to listen to this warning (has to be a warning, given effects). Too close to stop now. I'm almost there. I'm getting to the bottom of this, even if it kills me. We need to know.

One scrap of information I realized from this: it's been aware of me investigating. There's been no contact with it in the slightest since I started this whole investigation. It has to have a precognition of the outside world somehow… And it somehow learned that I was a man? Could just be an assumption, can't make any assumptions based on that.

June 17th, 2020:

I've got it!

I figured it all out, every last bit. A theory that explains just about every last detail of the anomaly. I've written up a new draft of the description, and I'll be submitting it to the Site Director tomorrow. It's flawless, and we should be able to test it without much consequence.

And like I expected, much of the current containment routine is unnecessary! So we'll be able to make some significant revisions to that (no need for all the expenses that we're currently dealing with) to bring it in line with the standards for humanoids. Nothing too special about this one that needs to get dessert on a weekly basis. That's way out of line.

So not only am I the one to figure out an anomaly that's had us stumped for three-hundred years, I'm the one who refines the containment procedures for it! This is perfect, I couldn't have asked for a better assignment. Doctor Lebeau was a "genius" but he never even came close to figuring this thing out. (Guess I'll have to thank him for what little research I got from him, but whatever.)

So much for a dead-end career — I'll be able to leverage this hard. Promotions, advancement, it's all opening up now for me.

June 20th, 2020:

Well.

I've had a rough few days.

Thursday — I woke up to find out that SCP-5041 wasn't taking breakfast in the morning. Nothing too unusual and no alarm was raised — it had done that before. But then it didn't take lunch either, and I began to suspect something was wrong. It took until nearly dinner time (also rejected) before I got a solution in place.

Lowest grade .aic we have, installed into the automated roof cleaner. Scan the containment cell for signs of life, tell us on the status of SCP-5041. Got the following result back:

Date: 18th June 2020

Location: WELL-FURNISHED APARTMENT in BELLE ÉPOQUE FRANCE (63% certainty)

Type: FULL COLOR PHOTOGRAPH

Subject: The image contains twelve (12) PIECES OF FURNITURE in various locations. In the center of the photograph is one (1) ADULT PERSON lying down. With 100% certainty the PERSON in the image is DEAD.

I didn't make up the mind to break containment and enter the cell until a few hours after that. Sent a low-risk D-Class (former medical practitioner — rare resource) into the cell to give an autopsy and verify the death. Came back to confirm the .aic's conclusion (and no sign of infohazardous contamination either).

Got the body extracted from the containment cell and sent it to the morgue for a full inspection. Didn't hear back from them until yesterday, when they processed the autopsy. Cause of death was diabetic ketoacidosis of all things, dated to occur around the time of evening on the 17th. Incredibly bizarre — it must have developed that recently since it hadn't been treated in the past and made it this far. Makes me worry about myself.

I spent today trying to clean out the cell and perform a thorough investigation of the contents, or at least planning to do so, when my clearance got abruptly shut off. Locked out of nearly everything, and my office door isn't opening. I've been trapped in here, remotely. But there's one thing that really worries me.

There's an unopened email from the Ethics Committee in my inbox.

This file has been updated.