Rendition of SCP-3581 broken from an incomplete mural. Artist(s) unknown.

Item #: SCP-3581

Object Class: Neutralized

Special Containment Procedures: As SCP-3581 is long deceased, and any remains are yet to be recovered, interest of outside sources towards SCP-3581 is negligible. Information surrounding SCP-3581 is to continue to be perpetuated as a local folk tale in the region of Ukraine where it was discovered. The archaeological site near Artsyz, Ukraine will continue to be monitored by Foundation agents until the conclusion of the project. In the event that any further relevant information is discovered, the Foundation is to seize the assets by means of purchase or redistribution.

Description: Based on descriptions and depictions from recovered artifacts, SCP-3581 is believed to have been a Meleagris gallopavo, or domestic turkey. Notably, this species is exclusively native to North America. The manner in which one of its members became relocated to modern day Ukraine is unknown, but thaumaturgical tampering is suspected. Recovered artifacts related to SCP-3581 have been dated to around 510 A.D., and suggest that it was a member of a small and short-lived independent civilization with a culture influenced by the teachings of the Sarkic Cults.1

Despite having been a domesticated animal, SCP-3581 was not used as livestock, and seems to have held a respectable position in society. Though it was originally acquired for the former purpose, it was spared upon having been adopted by an influential woman, and eventually became a local celebrity. Historical texts also point to SCP-3581, named “Corneliu” by its adoptive family, having been sapient, though the extent of this cannot be verified by current records.

According to translated historical records, a combination of droughts and relative isolation caused a period of famine that lasted for ten months in the city in which SCP-3581 resided. Despite having been a member of an upper-class family and therefore not at immediate risk of starvation, SCP-3581 willingly chose to sacrifice itself to provide food for starving families. However, according to translated documents, this occurred by SCP-3581 “[lighting] itself aflame and [dispersing]… such that cooked meats rained from the sky into baskets waiting below.” Whether this is an accurate representation of events or exaggerated praise by a historian is currently unknown. Although the sacrifice of SCP-3581 is believed to have prevented many deaths by starvation, no other historical records of the city have been dated past 570 A.D., and it is likely that within the following decades, emigration and other factors caused the small civilization to inevitably divide.

Addendum: The following is a partial translation of a recovered document relating to SCP-3581. For the complete texts, refer to the section on “Sedasa” in the Ancient Eurasian Civilizations and Cities SCPFN Archive.

As promised, Corneliu stepped from his home and trodded solemnly down the path to the gathering place. A few people who had come to pay their respects waited with sharpened knives, believing that he would ask to be slaughtered. But when he stopped, with a few clicks of his beak and tongue he lit aflame and dispersed into ashes, and the smoke from his feathers lifted such that cooked meats rained from the sky into baskets waiting below. It is unsure where or how he learned this trick; the magicians could not answer when asked. Corneliu’s flesh proved to be quite abundant for an animal of his size, and it has been a saving grace to the families who believed that they would starve. Not much remained of Corneliu’s body when the flames died out, but the salvageable ashes and remains were placed into a box and buried beneath the floor of his home.2

Footnotes

1. For information relating to the Sarkic Cults, refer to the associated GOI file.

2. The location of the house in which SCP-3581 supposedly lived and was buried has been thoroughly searched; an empty, aged wooden box was discovered buried mere centimeters beneath the surface. Forensic trace results were inconclusive, however, fragments of other bones found on-site appear to correspond to the Meleagris genus