SCP-232-ARC

Item #: SCP-232-ARC

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-232-ARC is to be kept in the center of an empty 20 x 20 meter room. The floor and walls must be made of white shadow-reducing substances, and the lighting should be multiple redundant recessed lamps set into the ceiling. Shadows are to be prevented from forming within 8 meters of SCP-232-ARC. Lights should be replaced as soon as possible when required, using the crawlspace above the room to replace the bulbs from above. Should a full power outage, including backup generator failure, occur, the entry will seal automatically.

In the event of activity, those directly involved should be monitored as per protocol 11B in the Security clearance database. SCP-232-ARC is suspected to use some of its victims to survey the surrounding area. Class 2 hazardous containment procedures should be maintained in the event of activity.

Should the crawl space become inaccessible for any reason, a set of free standing lamps outside the range of the object must be activated before attempting replacement of lights. Otherwise, the free standing lamps are for testing purposes.

Description: SCP-232-ARC is an approximately 100cm x 75cm x 20cm basalt relief statue depicting the goddess Ereshkigal being offered a liver by what is assumed to be an utukku, a Sumerian demon known to retrieve the offerings sacrificed to Ereshkigal.

Shadows that fall within an 8-meter radius exhibit unusual properties. Regardless of the temperature of the room, the temperature within a shadowed section will be at 10°C. Personnel stepping inside a shadow within range of SCP-232-ARC have reported feelings of fear, melancholy, hopelessness, and numbness. There have also been reports of the feeling of being watched in the shadows, the sensation of claws or nails digging into the skin, and the sound of whispered voices in an unknown language. Injuries have been sustained in particularly large or dark shadows.

SCP-232-ARC was retrieved from the Sumerian █████ ruins near Tell Ibrahim, Iraq. Reports had come in of [REDACTED] rumors of communication with the dead. The [REDACTED] found mauled in a manner inconsistent with the abilities of the local fauna. [REDACTED] more common with the lunar cycle, with more instances of the effects of the object on nights of the new moon, and fewer with the full moon.

Upon entering the structure, the team found [REDACTED] including lacerations on ██████████. Forensic evidence of the area showed no traces of blood or tissue within the range of the shadows that crossed the object. Object was transported to Storage Unit-██. Moved to Site-19 5/7/19██.

Level 4 authorization is required to unlock the fine lighting controls. The fine lighting controls are to be unlocked for testing purposes only.

Addendum: In light of the incident on ██/21/19██, all personnel who interact directly with the shadows around SCP-232-ARC must be given weekly psychological evaluations. (See Incident Report 232-ARC-1 for details.)

Level 4 authorization is required to unlock the fine lighting controls for any kind of testing.

Incident Report 232-ARC-1:

SCP involved: 232-ARC

Date: ██/21/19██

Location: SCP-232-ARC containment at Site-19

Description:

D-801 engineered an escape from his cell. He was found outside the airlock for SCP-232-ARC holding a bat while trying to force the door open. He had apparently also broken into the kitchens and made off with several beef organs which had been in storage and was carrying them in a paper bag, also from the kitchen. When security attempted to stop him, he became violent, swinging the bat around erratically.

Once subdued, he claimed that he needed to get to the statue and that the bag of organs were an offering “to secure my place in Irkalla.”

Investigation showed that D-801 had been exposed to 232-ARC more times than any other test subject and was among the first to hear voices.