SCP-3813 - The Fall of Hyperion

Co-authored by djkaktus, Doctor Cimmerian, VolgunStrife, and Zhange

SCP-3813 during initial exploration with Agent Setrate to the right.

Special Containment Procedures: The primary superstructure of SCP-3813 is located at the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea, roughly 17km southwest of Rome near the Italian Peninsula. Due to its size and position on the seabed, transportation is infeasible.

Further analysis (as well as additional information from third-party sources) is necessary to ensure the long-term containment of SCP-3813. Should SCP-3813 become active, Site-77 Mobile Task Forces are to mobilize to SCP-3813’s current location and await further orders.

Foundation assets embedded in local maritime law enforcement are to prevent civilian access to SCP-3813. Anyone attempting to access the SCP-3813 site is to be interrogated. All information pertaining to SCP-3813 is to be removed from the historical record. The current working cover story can be reviewed in Department of Disinformation Datafile 3813.10841 (“Second Punic War: Variation 6”).

Description: SCP-3813 is a massive mechanical superstructure located beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea near Rome, Italy. While the majority of the superstructure is buried beneath the seafloor, a significant percentage can be accessed by divers. The interior of the structure is a partially submerged network of corridors and passageways.

Historical records indicate that SCP-3813 was a mechanical war elephant. SCP-3813 was equipped with a number of antiquated armaments, including catapults and ballistae, along with a command tower on the back of the structure. The means by which SCP-3813 was powered is unknown, though investigation of the interior of the collapsed superstructure indicates an anomalous design.

Records pertaining to SCP-3813 have been removed from the public historical record by unknown agents in the Roman Republic, Empire, and the early Catholic Church. Remaining information indicates that SCP-3813 was a mechanical siege engine commissioned by the Carthaginian military for use in the Second Punic War. The entity stood roughly 375m in height and was capable of carrying a number of Carthaginian soldiers and supplies.

Addendum 3813.1: Surviving Historical Records of SCP-3813

+ Addendum 3813.1

- Hide Addendum 3813.1

Section of artwork 3813-P-73: Neapolitan artist Zhaites's depiction of SCP-3813 following the attack on Rome. The fire damage's source is unknown. Click for full view.

The majority of information pertaining to SCP-3813 was gathered from a property owned by former Church of the Broken God leader Robert Bumaro. The documents and artwork were discovered within a sealed vault located below the property. Included among the documents were receipts of their purchase from Marshall, Carter and Dark Ltd, The Journeymen, Wilmington and Associates, The Orion Institute, and Kervier International.

The documents and artwork totaled at 1391 pieces. Alongside these pieces were also notes and journals written by Bumaro and other high-ranking members of the Church of the Broken God. These included schematics, diagrams, graphs and other charts about SCP-3813 and the nearby region, and long-form technical documents about the entity's power source1.

The majority of gathered information came from three notable historians: Aquilla of Naples, Petronius Niccus2, and a single unidentified3 individual who claimed to have fought the Carthaginians on the shore near Ostia. Other minor sources have been identified, mainly collected writings from citizens within Rome.

The first account of SCP-3813 by a non-Carthaginian source comes from the records of Adarr of Syracuse, a Sicilian merchant traveling to Palermo in 217 BC.

At the first light of the morning, we were awoken by a terrible sound. From our hillside we could see the city below us, and the sea beyond, and in the far distance stood a terrible creature. As tall as a mountain and striding through the ocean on legs that could have reached into the heavens on their own. It hissed and roared and smoked, filling the sky with fire and ash. Astride its back was a tower, a quarter again as tall as the beast, and I could just barely make out men running across the battlements.

When the creature came to a stop near midday, we moved towards the beach to see it clearer. When the smoke was blown away we could truly make out its terrible form; an elephant, like those in the south, only misshapen and hideous. Surrounding its feet were ships flying the flag of Carthage, and together they moved slowly through the water towards Rome. Even after it disappeared hours later, I could still hear the endless grinding and screeching of metal.

A later account, by a Roman soldier traveling north to meet the Carthaginians moving south towards Rome, described SCP-3813 as such:

…it is the doom of Rome; the last sound she will make will be a scream as she is broken in half by a monster that barely recognizes she is there at all…”

The Neapolitan artist Zhaites, who was in Rome during Carthage’s attack on the city, described the scene as such in his letter to a friend in the north:

It follows with it a blistering heat, and the air around it shimmers and bakes. The sea beneath it boils and rolls, those unfortunate enough to be caught in it burn.

Three nights past I witnessed a merchant ship attempt to flee the harbor by Ostia and make for the open waters south of the colossus. It had not but touched the open sea before the beast groaned and turned to face it, belching fire out of its mouths that set the vessel ablaze.

Now, this colossus sits in the sea, waiting for the arrival of an army from the north. The garrison has erected catapults, and entrenched the shoreline. But what might do men have in the face of such unstoppable hate?

The solitary Carthaginian account (outside of Hannibal’s) of SCP-3813 comes from a single author, Servius. According to Servius, Carthage was not aware of SCP-3813 until Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal marched it into the city himself. There it was seen as a sure sign of Carthage’s inevitable victory over Rome.

Servius claimed a familiarity with Hasdrubal's son, Hyrum. Following Hyrum's death during the battle, Servius describes an increasingly desperate situation for the Carthaginian forces, including unpredictable behavior from SCP-3813's commander, Hasdrubal. The account ends shortly after Roman siege weapons drive SCP-3813 back into the sea.

The only supported statement made by Hannibal about SCP-3813 is from a conversation he had with Scipio many years later while serving as political advisor in the Seleucid Kingdom:

It is said that at one of their meetings in the gymnasium Scipio and Hannibal had a conversation on the subject of generalship, in the presence of a number of bystanders, and that Scipio asked Hannibal whom he considered the greatest general, to which the latter replied, "Alexander of Macedonia".

To this Scipio assented since he also yielded the first place to Alexander. Then he asked Hannibal whom he placed next, and he replied, "Pyrrhus of Epirus", because he considered boldness the first qualification of a general; "for it would not be possible", he said, "to find two kings more enterprising than these".

Scipio was rather nettled by this, but nevertheless he asked Hannibal to whom he would give the third place. Hannibal replied, "In a different world, one where I had not touched the face of darkness, I might have said myself, for I as even a young man conquered Hispania and led an army across the Alps, the first since Hercules.”

With this said, Scipio smiled and asked again, “so then who stands after Pyrrhus of Epirus?”

“The men who felled Hyperion.”

Addendum 3813.2: Exploration Log Transcription

+ Addendum 3813.2

- Hide Addendum 3813.2

Agents Setrate and Nereus placing video equipment on SCP-3813's outer shell during initial exploration.

Note: The following is an audio/video log transcription taken from an early exploration attempt into SCP-3813. Three members of Mobile Task Force Roma-9 “Ride South”, Vanguard, Setrate, and Nereus, were assigned to enter an exposed section of SCP-3813 to investigate. Audio was recorded from all three agents; video was taken from the submersible vehicle and Agent Nereus and Setrate's Independent Video Recorders.

Agents Setrate and Nereus entered SCP-3813 where the front left leg met the main body of the entity. Vanguard stayed behind in a submersible vehicle to monitor the divers.

[BEGIN LOG]

As on-board video recorder comes online, both Agents Nereus and Setrate are seen floating in the water just beyond the submersible. Beyond them is the form of SCP-3813.

Vanguard: Alright, we’re online. You ready?

Setrate: You got it. Let’s go.

Agents Nereus and Setrate swim towards SCP-3813. Their access point is a damaged panel near the underside of the machine. As they approach, Nereus scans the surface of the structure.

Nereus: I hadn’t had a chance to see it up close yet. This was built by people?

Vanguard: That’s what they tell me.

Nereus: Hard to believe something this big could move.

Setrate: (Looking inside SCP-3813) This is going to be tight, I think. Stay behind me, and let me know if you see anything weird.

Both divers enter SCP-3813. The access point is above the sea floor but barely shoulder width in diameter. Both men activate their dark-vision goggles and inch forward.

Nereus: Do we know where this lets out?

Setrate: Somewhere… inside… there’s a… bigger section… bigger than this… (grunts) I can barely… move…

Both agents continue forward for a short time. Eventually the space opens up into a larger tube, roughly 1m in diameter. Wedged into the wall of the tube, opposite of their entrance point, is a large stone.

Nereus: Explains how our entrance got here.

Setrate: Let’s move up this way. We’re looking for… I guess a power supply would be a good start.

The two agents swim up into the pipe. They pass small pipes feeding off of the main. Nereus pauses in front of one.

Nereus: Look down there. You see something?

Setrate: Barely… a fish, maybe?

Nereus: Maybe… let's see if we can get a better look at it.

Nereus activates a head-mounted lamp. It illuminates the interior of the smaller pipe, and cameras see something moving quickly at the end of the pipe.

Nereus: What was that?

Setrate: I don’t know. Vanguard, did you see that?

Vanguard: Yeah, I’m looking at the footage now… I don’t know, boys, it moved about as soon as you turned the light on. Keep an eye out.

Nereus: Roger.

Continuing forward, audio recorders begin to pick up a slow rhythmic sound coming from deeper within the structure of SCP-3813.

Vanguard: You guys hear that?

Setrate: (Pauses) No… what do you-

There is a loud, low hum for roughly two seconds. The video feeds for Nereus and Setrate go dark.

The electronics inside the submersible begin to act erratically. This continues for a moment, until all the electronics inside the submersible shut off completely. Agent Vanguard launches an SOS balloon from inside the submersible and waits for assistance. Inside SCP-3813, both Agents Nereus and Setrate are disconnected. After roughly four minutes, both men activate their Independent Video Recorders.

Nereus: Probably just interference. Let’s keep going.

They continue forward until they reach what appears to be a valve. Turning the wheel on the outside of the door, Nereus manages to open the valve and swing it open. The space above is open air, but water begins to fill the room. They both quickly climb up and slam the valve closed.

The space they are in is a narrow corridor. The ceilings are low. Both men crouch to avoid hitting their heads. They open the visors of their helmets.

Setrate: Ok, so, not fully submerged. That’s good. We can-

Nereus: Set, look here.

Nereus points at a wall in front of them, where a humanoid figure can clearly be seen merged with the mechanics in the wall around it. The figure’s eyes are closed and its flesh is rotted.

Setrate: Shit. Is it a person?

Nereus: Yeah… it’s not in great shape. Let’s keep, uh… keep moving.

The men continue exploring the tight quarters of SCP-3813’s interior for some time. They pass by several small side-rooms containing discarded machine parts. They see sections of the structure that appear to have been damaged at some point and repaired. New rivets have been placed and leaking steam lines have been patched or replaced. Both men notice their suit thermometers have begun to rise.

Setrate: It’s getting hotter. (Pauses) I can hear something down this way. Hammering.

Nereus: Let’s go.

They reach the end of a hallway that has collapsed. On the ground below them is another valve. Setrate opens it and both men descend.

This space is similar to the earlier tube, only both men are now descending feet first and cannot see what lies beneath them. As they shimmy down the tube, their thermometers continue to rise.

Setrate: Fuck me it’s hot, even the walls here are- fuck! Don’t touch the walls, shit!

Nereus: We need to get out of here, we’re going to cook.

Setrate: Can you go back up?

Nereus: Absolutely not, I can’t even touch the walls of the-

Nereus’ voice cuts out as both men slip down the now vertical tube. Setrate lands on a flat platform at the bottom, and Nereus lands on Setrate's head and shoulders.

Setrate: Holy shit! I can’t- god, Nereus! I’m fucking burning up here, get off- get-

Nereus: What’s below you? What’s below you? We need to get out of here! What’s below you?!

Setrate takes a moment to feel the bottom of the platform with his feet.

Setrate: It’s flat! It’s sealed! I can’t, I can’t- God, we’re going to-

Nereus pushes his hands against the side of the tube, and his skin begins to hiss. He screams in pain and tries to climb back up the tube. Nereus' hands slide against the hot metal and he falls back down onto Setrate. The platform collapses. Both fall into the chamber beneath.

They land on a steel grate roughly three meters below. The temperature of the room is unsafe, and both men scramble to their feet. Nereus inspects his blistered hands, Setrate scans the room.

Setrate: Nereus- there.

They both look across the room. Near the far end is a large, seven-toothed gear. It is suspended above a large tank of water. The white hot gear is rotating slowly; as it does, it appears to pass through the closed top of the tank — as if the gear were intangible. The water boils on contact with the gear, producing steam. Thousands of small metal tubes run out of the tank, which feed into smaller tanks. Each tank is covered in valves and gauges with hundreds of lines that feed into the walls of the chamber.

Nereus: A… a steam engine?

Setrate: And why it’s so hot, we must have been in a… in a vent or something.

Nereus: God… my hands.

Setrate: Nereus… Nereus, look. The walls.

Figures are beginning to appear in the machinery walls. These figures are all vaguely humanoid, with rotting skin and mechanical replacements for key parts of their bodies. They walk through the walls towards the two agents.

Nereus: Fuck! Run!

Setrate: Shit!

The agents flee away from the engine and towards an opening at the other end. They have to get on their hands and knees to enter. It leads them into a larger, empty tank on the other side. Mechanical humanoids begin to appear around them, and a few move towards a large wheel near the top. As they turn it, water begins to fill the tank.

Nereus: Visors down! Come on!

The men seal their helmets as water rushes over them. The mechanical humanoids jump into the tank from above and sink down towards them. Both of the men dive down towards the bottom of the tank where a small hatch is visible on one side. A mechanical figure attempts to grab Nereus from behind but is thrown off. Setrate grabs the wheel on the hatch and, with some effort, spins it. The hatch opens and both men are pulled into the enclosed space beyond as water rushes out of the tank.

They slide through the darkness for some time through a series of tubes, eventually depositing out into another chamber. This chamber is similarly cramped, but appears to be free of the mechanical humanoids. Agent Setrate’s camera goes offline.

Setrate: Fuck… I think… shit, I landed on my camera, the fucking lens is busted. (He checks the recorder unit) No, not the lens. Just the recorder. (Pauses) Transmitter is fine, but I bet the card is fucked up, too.

Nereus: Pull it out, and stick it into mine. It’ll at least be safe from the water in there, and we can just look at it when we get topside. (Pauses, takes a deep breath) Alright. So there are people… things… in here. That hot gear up there, that’s got to be an anomalous power source, right? Did you see how it was just phasing through the metal on that tank?

Setrate: Yeah. How are your hands?

Nereus: Fucked up. I’m just going to slow you down.

Setrate nods. Looking around the room, he notices several other hatches just above them.

Setrate: Help me get up there, and we’ll try and find a route out.

Setrate climbs on Nereus’ shoulders, and the two men squeeze into another confined space. They work their way through, careful to avoid making any sound. Lights can be seen through the walls of the hallway. As they reach the door on the far end, Nereus leans in to listen.

Nereus: (Knocks on the door) Water. I bet this is an external door. Let’s go.

Setrate spins the hatch on the door and opens it. Water begins to fill the room. Once the chamber is sufficiently flooded, he opens the door completely and they step outside.

They are standing on one of many suspended platforms hanging off the sides of SCP-3813. Just past the edge of the railing, the dim lights of the submersible vehicle are visible.

Nereus: Emergency lights, look. Something must have happened to the sub.

Nereus waves at the submersible.

Nereus: Vanguard, you read us now? Let’s get out of-

There is a loud cracking sound, and suddenly Setrate is pulled back through the hatch behind them quickly. The force of Setrate being pulled into SCP-3813 spins Nereus sideways, his helmet smashing against the side of the railing. The hatch closes behind him. A crack has formed on Nereus' helmet; and water is leaking in. He tries to swim towards the submersible, but the leg of his diving suit has caught on the metal railing.

Nereus: Oh Jesus! Vanguard! Vanguard, do you read me? I’m stuck, I’m taking on water, Vanguard, help!

Agent Nereus attempts to free himself from the railing. There is no response from Agent Vanguard.

Nereus: Setrate? Setrate!? Vanguard, help me! I can’t get, I can’t get unstuck! Help!

Inside, Setrate is pulled backwards. Nereus’ video feed captures Setrate disappearing into the ceiling of the hallway. On Setrate’s video transmitter, all that can be seen around him is metal moving and the only sound is steel on steel. His video feed, now transmitting to the submersible, flickers slightly but remains constant.

Outside, Agent Nereus pulls again and frees himself from the railing. With his suit quickly filling with water, he swims towards the submersible.

Nereus: Vanguard! Vanguard, open the hatch! Vanguard, the water! Vanguard!

Agent Nereus is seen approaching the submersible, though his movements are erratic and he makes little progress.

Nereus: Vangu- (sounds of water) -help, I- (choking) -help, please, he- (sloshing) -can’t, can’t-

Agent Nereus pulls at his belt and disconnects his video recorder, which he throws at the sub. He struggles with his helmet for the following 23 seconds before becoming still. His suit hangs in the water just in front of the submersible. After a moment, his body sinks towards SCP-3813.

Agent Setrate’s video feed becomes dark for several minutes as the agent is pulled through the interior of SCP-3813. Eventually a small, dimly lit room becomes visible. There are humanoid entities around the chamber operating machines. Steam fills the air. Agent Setrate tries to resist, but his arms and legs are restrained by the wall behind him.

In the center of the room is a large mechanical component that appears to have burst through the floor. Conjoined into this structure is a skeletal figure with bloodied, taut skin and thin, grey hair. A golden circlet is fused to the figure’s scalp. When the entity turns to face Agent Setrate, it smiles, and behind its teeth a fire can be seen burning in its throat. Small red lights flash in its eye sockets.

Foundation linguists and analysts with access to this file are to utilize the following audio log in conjunction with evaluation file 3813-9-A in order to identify the entity interacting with Agent Setrate.

The entity speaks. The language is unidentified and it has not yet been translated. It reaches a hand out from the machine it is fused into, up to move away its hair. The red lights of its eyes begin to glow brighter, and SCP-3813 shudders around them. The entity speaks again, more forcefully.

Setrate: I don’t know what you’re saying!

The entity steps forward. As it does, the machine it is attached to begins to stir, and long mechanical constructs snake out of it to follow the figure towards Agent Setrate. After a moment, the entity is within an arm's length from Setrate. Its body is still connected to the central machine by numerous cables, tubes, wires and other machine parts. The entity smiles, and the fire in its throat is visible again. Smoke begins to pour out of its nostrils and mouth.

Setrate: What do you want?

The figure reaches an arm into the ground, and through the machinery on the flooring produces a Foundation standard diving-helmet. The visor is down and the interior is cloudy, but other tubes and hoses snake out of the bottom of it. Red fluid pulses through the hoses.

The figure holding the helmet begins to speak, and as it does Nereus' voice speaks from inside the clouded helmet. The voice is metallic, heavily distorted, and in English.

Nereus’ Voice: You look to run. As a true coward of Rome. But there is no path but forward. For too long I have waited. For too long I have… suffered. Today, a son of Romulus comes. I have held this machine together in anticipation of your arrival. I hope only that you resist so that I may enjoy breaking your will. There is much to do and Rome must burn.

Agent Setrate struggles as the machine parts around him begin to pull him back into the wall. The video and audio feed cuts out and does not reactivate.

[END LOG]

Shortly afterwards, Foundation recovery teams collected the submersible vehicle, the video records of both divers and Agent Vanguard for debriefing. Agents Setrate and Nereus were not recovered.

A complete historical summary of SCP-3813's attack on Rome has been compiled by Foundation Historian, Dr. Elias Antony in document 3813-L.

Footnotes

1. “An… unthinkable puzzle… something that this man drew out of nothing with no knowledge of providence. God doesn’t provide willingly to the undevout, so how would a heathen like the Carthaginian find this gift? What makes him deserving of a blessing like this and not one of the devout?" ~ Robert Bumaro

2. No other information about this author can be found from any other sources.

3. Based on the style of writing and experience described, it is possible that this author is Claudius Marcellus himself.