Windsor Bridge, location of SCP-2175

Item #: SCP-2175

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Due to the high level of pedestrian traffic that occurs at SCP-2175’s location, containment of SCP-2175 is minimal. A local apartment has been repurposed for Foundation reconnaissance; at all times, two Foundation agents are to occupy this facility (designated Observation Post 2175-1) on the Eton side of the bridge. The agents are to monitor the location and any pedestrians who enter it.

Should an instance of SCP-2175-1 manifest, it is to be collected by a Foundation proxy1 who has passed the requisite Scarborough Protocol training2. Any passerby who attempts to remove an instance of SCP-2175-1 from the bridge is to be escorted to the Foundation base for questioning. To maintain a low profile, no force is to be used; however, unauthorized individuals adamant on retaining SCP-2175-1 are to be noted and subsequently investigated by Foundation security staff.

Recovered instances of SCP-2175-1 are to be stored in filing lockers located on the premises of Observation Post 2175-1. Documents determined to contain notable content are to be transferred to the nearest Foundation site. Access to both sets of documents requires Level-2 clearance.

Description: SCP-2175 is a localized phenomenon that manifests on Windsor Bridge, connecting the towns of Windsor and Eton in Berkshire, UK. At irregular intervals during dawn and dusk, documents of varying content and length will appear on the pedestrian walkway of the bridge; these items are collectively designated SCP-2175-1. Instances of SCP-2175-1 are various notes, reminders, and collections of miscellaneous information, written on international B5 size (176mm x 250 mm) paper sheets. Closer analysis has revealed the makeup of the paper to be high-quality flax fiber.

Through graphology analysis, handwriting matches with local citizens have been established for a small minority of instances. Interviews indicate that the involved persons consistently have some recollection of the information contained in the documents, and have expressed a belief in the importance of committing said information to memory. As such, it is believed that SCP-2175 is triggered by individuals crossing the bridge while engaged in active remembrance of information they consider significant at the time. Though exact circumstances are unknown, it is currently observed that an instance of SCP-2175-1 will manifest once the individual who has triggered SCP-2175 has left the bridge.

While the majority of SCP-2175-1 instances are commonplace lists, usually of groceries or “to-do” items, others recovered have also included material ranging from personal information3 to less commonplace material4. Some notable instances gathered over the past ██ years are as follows:

Five chapters of an adventure novel draft involving a protagonist who possesses amphibian and avian features

A two-page list of various herbal ingredients, including several nonexistent plants

An account of a disease that transforms a living being into an abstract philosophical concept

A recipe for combining "5-simplex honeycomb" and "pan-dimensional spam"

A process for stitching wolfsbane thread into silk robes

A children's rhyme about an amphiptere eating various fruits

A plan for a "romantic night of fairy sniping", including opinions on weapons and ammunition

The shortest instance to date, a half-sheet of paper bearing a stylized tree icon and the phrase, “If asked again, would you go with me?”

SCP-2175 was discovered following the interception of a message which determined the Windsor Bridge to be a rendezvous point for members of the Serpent's Hand. Diagrams and a personal vignette confirming Hand activity were later obtained from initial investigation of the bridge. SCP-2175 is currently believed to be caused or maintained by members of the Serpent’s Hand, who may actively use the phenomenon to facilitate exchange of information at the location. Though the Foundation has yet to directly intercept a Serpent's Hand member at the bridge, it is confirmed that members of the group are presently aware of Foundation investigation of SCP-2175 (see Addendum SCP-2175-4).

Addendum 2175-1: On ██/██/████, seven SCP-2175-1 instances were recovered, each containing a unique verse variation on the lyrics of the ballad “Scarborough Fair”. These recoveries coincided with the appearance of a group of seven individuals on the bridge, one of whom was under Foundation investigation for potential connections to the Serpent’s Hand. Though Foundation personnel were able to recover the documents, none of the seven individuals could be located after their initial sighting. The circumstances of their disappearance are currently unknown.

Addendum 2175-2: Analysis of the verse variations deemed the lyrics to be non-anomalous. The Scarborough Protocol was created on ██/██/████ by Doctor R. Mercer to address the potential of SCP-2175 manifesting documents consisting of sensitive information when Foundation agents come into contact with the location. Repeated trials of the behavioral procedure (mentally reciting the recovered verses and focusing only tangentially on the bridge) have demonstrated fairly consistent success: roughly 70% of manifested documents that do result from Foundation proxy activity consist entirely of lyrics from the ballad, with no other information present.

Addendum 2175-3: An incident on ██/██/████ involved an instance of SCP-2175-1 manifesting during a period of high bridge traffic: while most passersby did not acknowledge the presence of the document, a previously-unnoticed individual wearing hooded clothing was able to obtain the instance and disappear amongst the crowd before Foundation agents could intervene. Based on further reconnaissance work, it is theorized that instances of SCP-2175-1 may only be noticed and recovered by an individual who is purposely searching the bridge.

Addendum 2175-4: As of ██/██/████, 33 SCP-2175-1 instances containing a lyrics variation have been noted. The most recent content is as follows:

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

You've thus learn'ed naught but the rhyme;

Forever barred be the bridge o’er there,

’Till you are a true friend of mine.

Footnotes

1. Drawn from the current pool of local persons being assessed for possible Foundation recruitment

2. See Addendum 2175-2

3. e.g. names, addresses, daily routines, locations of small items such as keys or shoes

4. e.g. obscure incantations, times and dates of unorthodox festivals, undecipherable phrases in unknown languages