Item #: SCP-5436

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: All instances of SCP-5436 are to be kept in a standard locker at Site-19. Personnel wishing to conduct tests involving SCP-5436 are to obtain Level 3 or higher authorization and present a detailed list of intended test subjects. All testing of SCP-5436 must be conducted in a soundproof containment chamber with padded walls and floors. Direct exposure to SCP-5436 is to be conducted exclusively by D-class subjects.

All known orchestras and related media are to be monitored for symptoms consistent with exposure to SCP-5436, and any additional copies of SCP-5436 are to be confiscated immediately.

Description: SCP-5436 is an unknown orchestra’s recording of Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K. 626, distinguished by the addition of a unique auditory cognitohazard, which remains outside the human range of audible perception throughout the length of the recording. All individuals who listen to SCP-5436 report the experience of an unknown dimension and eventually encounter entities, dubbed SCP-5436-1. These anomalies are described as angels/spirits/supernatural entities if the subject is religious, and extraterrestrials/machines if the subject is not. Subjects who encounter SCP-5436-1 have unanimously reported feelings of serenity.

SCP-5436 was originally theorized to function as a means of generating a highly complex set of illusions. However, subsequent testing has suggested that SCP-5436 may actually function as a unique method of remote viewing. It is currently believed that the user receives sensory information from an extradimensional source, with increasing immersion across each section of the recording.

The effects of SCP-5436 are summarized in the following table:

Music Section
Effect on Subjects

Section I. Introitus
No anomalous effects.

Section II. Kyrie
Subjects begin to experience a minor compulsion to continue listening through the remainder of the recording, regardless of prior interest.

Section III. Sequentia
Subjects experience the onset of mild perceptual alterations, including photopsia1, hyperacusis2, and the sensation of falling. These conditions gradually increase in severity over the course of this section.

Section IV. Offertorium
Altered perception increases exponentially in complexity. Photopsia and hyperacusis symptoms begin to manifest in coherent, kaleidoscopic patterns.

Section V. Sanctus3
Altered perception becomes fully immersive. Subjects cease responding to any external stimuli until SCP-5436 either finishes playing or is paused.

Section VI. Benedictus
Subjects begin to perceive the presence of SCP-5436-1. Instances of SCP-5436-1 do not seem to take notice of the subjects until the start of Section VII. Agnus Dei.

Section VII. Agnus Dei
It is at this point that SCP-5436-1 approach the subject. During this time, the subject’s bodies undergo grand mal seizures that continue until SCP-5436 either finishes playing or is paused.

Section VIII. Communio
Subjects suffer a permanent loss of higher brain function and undergo a momentary decrease in their personal Hume reading, resulting in the creation of an additional instance of SCP-5436-1 that appears in all subsequent testing.

Any copies of SCP-5436, recordings of SCP-5436 being played, and artificial broadcasts of SCP-5436 are known to display the same anomalous effects as the original SCP-5436. As a result, a single copy of SCP-5436 could potentially be utilized to mass produce any number of additional instances.

Investigation: The preliminary investigation of SCP-5436 was initiated when the Foundation’s WATCHDOG global anomaly monitoring network highlighted a significant correlation between recent upticks in comatose patients, and growing rumors of an unidentified New Age movement applying music as a means of transcendence. These rumors were traced to an anonymous post on a religious studies forum4. Foundation analysts then developed a watchlist of any forum users who had interacted with this post, the investigation of which eventually led to the discovery of SCP-5436 on 04/23/20185.

Incident Log 5436: The following is a log of all known incidents directly involving SCP-5436. It should be noted that the vast majority of individuals who utilized SCP-5436 (>80%) were found to suffer from severe depression and/or anxiety.

+Open Incident Log 5436:

-Close Incident Log 5436:

Date: 04/23/2018

Details of Incident: A vinyl copy of SCP-5436 was found among the personal effects of Lucia Redd, a 52-year-old cantor who was discovered comatose in her apartment. Foundation agents identified SCP-5436 as a potential cognitohazard during a routine investigation of the scene, and subsequently confiscated it in accordance with standard protocol.

Results: Special containment procedures are established for SCP-5436, and the first known instance of SCP-5436-1 is encountered in subsequent testing.

Date: 12/03/2018

Details of Incident: Four cassette tapes containing recordings of SCP-5436's Section III. Sequentia, through Section VI. Benedictus, respectively, were confiscated from the home of McKinley Rayes, a 33-year-old church organist who had been privately utilizing these items as a method for easing panic attacks following the recent death of her brother. All witnesses were interrogated and then amnestitized.

Results: Despite extensive interrogation, Rayes confesses no knowledge regarding the origin of any SCP-5436 copies, all of which had been obtained through an anonymous gift at her brother's funeral.

Date: 12/27/2019

Details of Incident: The Foundation’s WATCHDOG global anomaly monitoring network identified a broadcast of SCP-5436 from the laptop of Jack Williams, a 27-year-old graduate student of religious studies who was discovered comatose in his dorm alongside two other students. Although the broadcast was successfully jammed before reaching any mainstream channels, Foundation agents were ultimately forced to destroy the laptop in the process.

Results: Three additional instances of SCP-5436-1 are identified in subsequent testing. Attempts to trace the intended recipients of the broadcast prove to be impossible, due to the destruction of the laptop.

Date: 11/03/2020

Details of Incident: By correlating commercial delivery patterns with the prior incidents involving SCP-5436, Foundation agents were able to identify and intercept a shipment of approximately two hundred CD copies of SCP-5436. All witnesses were interrogated and then amnestitized.

Results: Subsequent investigations reveal this shipping order to originate from a shell company. Attempts to trace the manufacturer of SCP-5436 are currently ongoing.

Date: 11/11/2020

Details of Incident: A USB recording of SCP-5436 was found in Finney Chapel in Oberlin, OH, where the entire 14-member congregation was discovered comatose. This recording was confiscated, and the cover story of a carbon monoxide leak was issued to the local press.

Results: Fourteen additional instances of SCP-5436-1 are identified in subsequent testing. Reclassification to Euclid status is currently under consideration.

Document 5436: The following is a reproduction of the forum post that led to the initial investigations of SCP-5436. The original post has since been deleted in an attempt to minimize the occurrence of further incidents involving SCP-5436.

+Open Document 5436:

-Close Document 5436:

The original Requiem Mass was meant to grant peace to the departed. In modern times, we have learned to acknowledge condolences for the living as well, though memento mori has always been a cold comfort at best. As if peace only becomes a possibility when we’re already dead. We have a choice to be or not to be, but there is a third option that goes unmentioned by the question. Requiem aeternam6.

Spread the word.

Footnotes

1. Perception of flashing lights in the subject’s field of vision.

2. Increased sensitivity to specific auditory frequencies and volume ranges.

3. If the playing of SCP-5436 is interrupted after this point, the subject will awaken with mild disorientation, nausea, and motor impairment for the next 12-48 hours.

4. See Document-5436 for further information.

5. See Incident Log 5436 for details.

6. Literally translated to mean "Eternal rest." This phrase is notable as the first words recited during the introit of a Requiem Mass, in addition to being the title of a well known prayer from Western Christianity.