by stormbreath

Item#: SCP-5682

Containment Class: neutralized

Secondary Class: {$secondary-class}

Disruption Class: {$disruption-class}

Risk Class: {$risk-class}

Special Containment Procedures

Anomalous Objects formerly recovered from SCP-5682-β are to be stored in individual storage lockers at Site-64. Objects should be kept discrete from one another in order to prevent malign interaction but should remain specifically labeled as having been associated with SCP-5682.

The 243 former adherents of SCP-5682 that could be found were each interrogated for information concerning SCP-5682, and then subjected to an amnestic therapy regimen to induce the belief that memories of anomalies associated with SCP-5682 resulted from hallucinogenic substances. Following the completion of this amnestic therapy, each was turned over to the Unusual Incidents Unit for criminal prosecution.

Civilian media is to be investigated for religious movements with similar beliefs to SCP-5682 or direct allusions to SCP-5682. Any evidence that SCP-5682 is being practiced again is to be investigated further. If any anomalies are found, the revival is to be treated in the same manner as the original SCP-5682.

SCP-5682-α has been designated as PoI-5682, in addition to its SCP designation. Mentions of it by name are to be processed and monitored, and PANOPTICON is to monitor global surveillance cameras for SCP-5682-α's face. If any indication that SCP-5682-α is still active is detected, MTF Zeta-2 is to be deployed to find and detain SCP-5682-α.

Description

SCP-5682 was a religious movement referred to as the "Heavenly Manifold Temple", active from 1961 to 1968. SCP-5682 was similar to various New Age and UFO religious movements but was primarily inspired by various anomalies created and/or discovered by SCP-5682-α.

Art produced by SCP-5682, representative of the central higher plane of existence.

SCP-5682 was primarily focused around the belief in a higher plane of existence, populated by a number of non-human entities. Some of these entities are believed to be posthuman, with the potential for adherents of SCP-5682 to become one. No adherents are believed to have actually done so. This higher plane of existence is said to possess at least three dimensions beyond the typical four associated with baseline reality.

It is inconclusive as to whether or not this higher plane of existence legitimately exists. While various anomalous objects associated with SCP-5682 allowed for various forms of contact with it, no other methods — scientific or anomalous — have been able to reach it. It is currently undetermined if SCP-5682-α discovered an otherwise inaccessible plane of existence, if it created such a plane, or if it merely created a series of anomalies that gave the appearance of an alternate plane without actually being such.

SCP-5682 placed a high value on individuality and therefore did not have many well-defined beliefs. It offered adherents a selection of ways to view the higher plane of existence but allowed them to draw their own interpretations of their experiences. As a result, individual adherents have drastically differing interpretations of SCP-5682. Philosophical debate and discussion concerning the nature of SCP-5682 were highly encouraged.

Common beliefs of SCP-5682 are that this higher plane is inherently better than baseline reality and that the inhabitants are divine. Adherents frequently emphasize chaos, loud noise and patterns in their descriptions of their experiences, believing all of these to be central to SCP-5682. In addition, SCP-5682 had frequent drug use — most notably LSD and other hallucinogens — as entheogens.

SCP-5682-α

SCP-5682-α was a Class-III ontokinetic responsible for the founding of SCP-5682. Allegedly, SCP-5682-α discovered the higher plane of existence central to SCP-5682 and began to create further methods of contacting and interacting with this alleged plane. It is unclear if the discovery was genuine or faked through its ontokinetic abilities.

The civilian name of SCP-5682-α was Josiah Thornettle. It was born on December 21st, 1931 and disappeared on July 19th, 1968. It is unknown when SCP-5682-α first developed anomalous properties, but it is believed to have occurred shortly before 1961, when it first began to write about SCP-5682.

By 1964, SCP-5682 had become a fully-fledged religious movement. SCP-5682-α purchased a plot of land in southern Yakima County, Washington, and established SCP-5682-β, a commune meant to accommodate SCP-5682. Adherents were encouraged to move to SCP-5682-β to further engage in philosophical discussion of SCP-5682. The commune was mostly isolated from the outside world, and had a population of approximately 230 in 1968.

SCP-5682-β was loosely organized as a commune, with SCP-5682-α as a spiritual and political leader. Food, LSD and marijuana were self-produced by the compound, with income generated by the sale of the latter two in commercial quantities. Several buildings were built by SCP-5682 on the property as housing and communal gathering spaces.

Undercover Foundation agents infiltrated SCP-5682 and found substantive anomalous activity. On July 19th, Foundation agents collaborated with UIU agents to raid SCP-5682-β and bring all adherents of SCP-5682 into custody. The raid was conducted without casualties for any party. Multiple anomalies were covered in the process.

In the aftermath, SCP-5682-α could not be located. The house in which it was alleged to have been staying in caught on fire during the raid and burned to the ground. Multiple members of the cult have claimed that SCP-5682-α "ascended to the higher plane", but there is no evidence to support this claim. If true, SCP-5682-α would be the only member of SCP-5682 to have successfully done so.

Anomalous Objects Associated With SCP-5682

The following are a collection of anomalous objects and phenomena that were discovered within SCP-5682-β after the 1968 Foundation/UIU raid. The majority of these anomalous phenomena are believed to have been created by SCP-5682-α personally, but a small number are believed to be indirectly created by the interaction of other anomalies.

Designation
Description
Notes

AO-5682-1
Stockpile of LSD (5,000g). Chemically identical to non-anomalous LSD. Causes hallucinations which typically feature loud sounds, patterns and geometric tessellations. Hallucinations are remarkably consistent between users and different from traditional LSD samples.
Used by SCP-5682 as the primary method of seeing the "higher plane of existence" and as an entheogen. Usage was common throughout SCP-5682.

AO-5682-2
Anomalous strain of marijuana. Chemically and genetically identical to non-anomalous marijuana, although flowers are a different color purple than most strains. Mild mnestic properties when consumed, similar to teùkoka.
Secondary to usage of AO-5682-1, although also common recreationally within SCP-5682.

AO-5682-3
Serrated knife with a fractally defined edge. Edge of the knife is therefore infinitely sharp and does not possess a conclusive point.
No evidence of usage within SCP-5682. According to testimony, proved sharper than expected.

AO-5682-4
Printed copies of an excerpt from SCP-5682-α's dream journal. Upon reading a copy, the next dream the reader has shall be identical to the events detailed within AO-5682-4. Dream encompasses an encounter with a sapient entity that resides within the higher plane of existence.
Contents of the dream are frequently described as mildly disturbing by individuals who are not already familiar with SCP-5682. Was only provided to long-term adherents.

AO-5682-5
Large tent that, when erected, causes spacial anomalies within its interior. These include the disappearance and manifestation of small objects, the appearance of patterns of light, and quiet sounds reminiscent of whispering.
Used by SCP-5682 as a meeting place and discussion. Was believed to be the closest place to the higher plane.

AO-5682-6
Small visual anomaly nested within a hole in a plank of wood. Visual anomaly reminiscent of kaleidoscope patterns. Effect is only visual; objects pass through with no effect.
Known to have been spontaneously generated by members of SCP-5682, with no involvement by SCP-5682-α directly. Led to conclusion that SCP-5682 had become anomalous and capable of creating anomalies.

AO-5682-7
An sixth-dimensional shape partially embedded within baseline reality. Conforms to standard models for higher-dimensional shapes in lower-dimensional planes. Was rotated along a higher dimension axis during raid, and further attempts at manipulating it along this axis have been unsuccessful.
Used by SCP-5682 in several important religious rituals. The exact purpose within these practices is unknown, but was central to daily practice. Adherents refused to explain purpose.

Interview Log: Charlie Kollwitz

The following is an interview conducted with SCP-5682 adherent Charlie Kollwitz on July 20th, 1968, shortly following the raid upon SCP-5682-β. As with the raid itself, the interview was conducted with both Foundation (represented by Operative Blackwire) and Unusual Incidents Unit (represented by Special Agent Cassidy Powell) involvement. This particular interview focuses on the recruitment strategy of SCP-5682.

Interview Transcript

UIU Powell: Hello, Mr. Kollwitz. We need to ask you a few questions before we can let you go. You aren't in a lot of trouble, and if you just answer a few of our questions you'll be on your way shortly.

SCP Blackwire: Keyword there being if. If you answer our questions. There could be complications if you don't cooperate with us.

Kollwitz: Um. Yeah. Got it.

SCP Blackwire: We want you to tell us about how you got into this cult. How you found out about them, how they made you a believer, got you to move to the middle of nowhere Washington, all of that.

Kollwitz: It's not a cult. It was a commune. We might have had and — hold on, who are you? She's an FBI agent — but you don't have the badge.

UIU Powell: I think my friend from the CIA here might have came across as a bit too hostile. We just want to know a little about how the Manifold Temple got new members. Do you think you could tell us about that?

Kollwitz: The CIA? Good god. Okay, I'll talk.

UIU Powell: So how did you find out about the Manifold Temple? How did they get a kid like you to join up with them?

Kollwitz: Well, I was visiting this buddy of mine a little south of here, at Reed College, and we're sitting around, and he tells me he's heard about this new source of acid. Supposed to be like nothing else. So we head on out there, down in Sellwood, and we get some of this stuff.

UIU Powell: And this new source was connected to the temple?

Kollwitz: Sure was. This was back in '65. We walked into the house and I was like "Woah, what's all this?", since the dealer had all this art from the Temple on his walls. The dealer offered us the acid for cheap — real cheap. Said he just wanted other people to feel what he had. His name is Sullivan, he's been living up here for the past year or two.

SCP Blackwire: I'll run his name and see if we picked him up.

Kollwitz: Right, right. Anyway, I take the acid with my Reedie friend. We're sitting in his old dorm room, and boom, it hits me. It wasn't like anything else I had ever done before, and I've done my share of acid.

SCP Blackwire: Of course you have.

Kollwitz: This hit like a freight train. It's not normally this intense - total sensory block out. Nothing but this one hallucination, which was just utter chaos, on every sense. Sight, sound, touch, taste. But I wasn't scared, in fact, I thought it was actually pretty calming. Now I know it was a holy vision, so that makes sense.

UIU Powell: Interesting. Sounds like it would have been quite jarring.

Kollwitz: And yet, despite the cacophony — the screaming, the crying, the sounds — there was a beauty to it all. Within the chaos, patterns. A joyous and wonderful song. It was nothing but beautiful. You should see it, if you can.

SCP Blackwire: I'll pass.

Drawing produced by Charlie Kollwitz.

Kollwitz: And in between the chaos, there were beings. Angels, I think. Not sure what else they could be. And they're not really things you can explain, either. They're from the other plane, and they've got too many angles for our minds to really get them, y'know? I can try to draw you a picture but I don't know how good it'll be for you.

UIU Powell: That'll be appreciated, if you could. For our records.

Kollwitz: Right on. Well I see these angels, and it seems to me like they're saying "Charlie! Come to us! Join us!" And how could I refuse them? They were the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. I felt calm looking at them, just right. Everything made sense, despite nothing I was experiencing making sense.

UIU Powell: Could be hard to say no.

SCP Blackwire: Only takes a backbone.

Kollwitz: Anyway, the trip comes down. My Reedie buddy didn't really like the trip, but I was fascinated. Before I left Portland, I met up with the dealer again and got some more, and then he told me about this commune the Heavenly Manifold Temple was building. And I figured, well, I'm just bumming around the West Coast right now. Might go there next, why not?

UIU Powell: And you decided to stay here, once you got here?

Kollwitz: Sure did. I talked to some other friends on the way up here, and they didn't get what I had seen while on the trip. Didn't get why it was so inspiring for me.

SCP Blackwire: Don't think I do either.

Kollwitz: Exactly! But at the commune? Everyone got it. I wouldn't belong anywhere else. I just had to stay.

UIU Powell: Could you tell me a little more about why it resonated with you?

Kollwitz: Well, the way I see it… I'm in the chaos. It's scary, and it's disorienting. But the angel appears, and it's there, in the middle of all it, a part of it. But it's still calm, a part that doesn't fear the rest. And it hits me: you can't make the world calmer. You control the chaos, and you ride it. That's how you deal with the world. And Josiah said I got it.

UIU Powell: Thank you, Mr. Kollwitz. I think that concludes this round of questioning, for the moment.

Kollwitz was administered the standard amnestic therapy regimen — as with all other adherents of SCP-5682 — following this interview.

Unusual Incidents Unit Records

The following document concerning SCP-5682 and the Foundation/UIU raid was given to the Foundation by the Unusual Incidents Unit and is included here for posterity.

UNUSUAL INCIDENTS UNIT

Intelligence Briefing: Heavenly Manifold Temple

The "Heavenly Manifold Temple", located in Yakima County, Washington, was responsible for supplying a large amount of the LSD and marijuana in circulation on the West Coast, and was placed under investigation by the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. They discovered substantial evidence of criminal activity, although no evidence of anomalous activity. A search warrant was obtained for this purpose.

It was not until the Foundation contacted the Unusual Incidents Unit that evidence of anomalous activity was discovered, providing information about the anomalies present at the Heavenly Manifold Temple. The UIU then forwarded this information to the ATF. The Department of Anomalous Drugs and Ordnance, the branch of the ATF that handles anomalous matters, concluded it was severely understaffed to handle such a matter, and returned the case to the UIU.

The UIU performed a joint operation with the Foundation to raid the Heavenly Manifold Temple complex. As the commune was known to be mostly non-violent, it was decided that the action would merely consist of the presentation of the search warrant, and then arresting members of the commune following the confirmation of the discovery of drugs/paraphernalia. The decision to arrest all members of the commune was encouraged by the Foundation.

At noon on July 19th, the combined UIU/Foundation agents arrived at the Heavenly Manifold Temple. The warrant was presented at the boundary of the commune, and the agents were allowed access into the complex. Substantial evidence of criminal activity was quickly found following this entry, and agents began to arrest members of the commune.

Almost all members of the commune complied with the orders given to them by directing UIU agents, and were placed into joint custody. A small number of members attempted to resist arrest, but were quickly brought under control and also placed into custody.

However, shortly after the UIU/Foundation agents entered the commune, a fire broke out in the main building of the commune, which was identified as the residence of Josiah Thornettle (leader of the Heavenly Manifest Temple) and several senior members of the commune. The cause of this fire remains unknown, but internal investigation has determined that the UIU was not responsible, as all agents were stationed at the front entrance or outside of the commune at the time.

Agent Stone attempted to enter the building during this time, in order to find Josiah Thornettle. His testimony is transcribed below:

I saw that the main building had caught fire, and one of the cult members next to me screamed that was where their leader was. Because we were all outside of the complex at the time, I knew the fire either had to be an accident or an intentional sabotage on the part of the temple. In either case, we would need to get in and rescue anyone inside.

I rushed forward, and entered. It hadn't substantially caught fire yet, but I could hear some muffled voices from the upstairs. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but they seemed pretty calm. Which was weird, since the roof was on fire.

I rushed up to the second floor, and as I bounded onto the landing, the voices stopped. There was this … well, it sounded almost like static, but it didn't sound mechanical. It sounded spoken, if that makes sense. I rushed to the room where the sounds were coming from, and slammed into the door.

Nobody was inside. I must have gotten the wrong room. I looked back into the hallway, and the smoke and fire was getting too much. I couldn't stay in the house any longer.

Due to the placement of the main building, the fire was self-contained and did not spread to other buildings/structures within the commune. After the flames had extinguished, the ashes were thoroughly searched: no human remains or bones were discovered. It is not believed any individuals were within the main building at the time it caught fire.

Josiah Thornettle has not been found, and is presumed at large.

Interview Log: Shanon Church

Shanon Church was one of the most senior members of SCP-5682 and a direct associate of SCP-5682-α. She was not present at SCP-5682-β on July 19th, 1968, and thus managed to avoid being captured during the Foundation/UIU raid. However, she was apprehended in 1974 by the UIU and brought in for questioning concerning SCP-5682-α.

Interview Transcript

SCP Blackwire: Well, well, well. Look who it is. One of the cult leaders herself. We thought you burned to death with Thornettle.

Church: Josiah didn't burn to death. He ascended into heaven, something that we can't just take for granted. The angels came and whisked him away, and him alone. He was always the closest to them.

UIU Powell: We have difficulty believing that. It's awfully convenient for him to have disappeared at the exact moment when we were finally closing in on him. We finally get close, and then, and only then, does he vanish into the aether? Why not any sooner?

Church: Josiah was the only one of us who could have, but he didn't want to go alone. He wanted to take us with him. He could have left any time earlier. But you came for his head. And now I am locked out of heaven, the only man who could have taken me forced to run.

SCP Blackwire: Seems most likely he just burned to death. I mean, you weren't even there.

Church: Did you find any bones? No, you wouldn't have. Because he ascended.

UIU Powell: Putting that aside, what if he just wasn't there that day? And just went into hiding?

SCP Blackwire: Like you.

Church: Once the temple had been built, Josiah never left. He stayed with his people. It was his life's work. He ascended. I alone escaped. You destroyed everything he — we — had ever worked for. We were reaching for the fruit of salvation, and then you cut down the tree.

SCP Blackwire: Salvation. Guess what? We know what you were dealing with. We call them [REDACTED] and they aren't fucking pretty. These are beings that [REDACTED]. If your boyfriend managed to get into their home at the end, he isn't alive anymore.

Church: Ah, yes. The so-called [REDACTED]. Merely fear and superstition, perpetuated by people that do not understand the truth. It is common for the unenlightened to fear that which they do not understand. I know the angels could scare those that have not seen them before, but they are holy nonetheless. Tell me, Operative, have you ever experienced any of the revelations that we offered in the commune? Any of the enlightenment?

SCP Blackwire: Have I willingly exposed myself to dangerous anomalies? No. Never.

Church: You wouldn't get it, then? Would you? These things require faith. You have to take that first step into the water.

SCP Blackwire: You aren't the first person to give me that line.

Church: I wonder why? Maybe there's some truth to it?

UIU Powell: Let's get back on track, shall we? The topic at hand is Josiah Thornettle and what happened to him. That's what we're here for, and we'd like if you could tell us about him, Ms. Church.

Church: The answer is simple: Josiah performed a ritual only he himself was capable of achieving. It required the highest level of attunement with our beliefs to achieve, and he was the only one who came close. The rest of us were trying to get there, but never could. He was a prophet. He escaped into a higher plane, and abandoned this world.

SCP Blackwire: I highly doubt he was a prophet of any stripe. Nothing he had was all that compelling.

Church: You've only heard it all second hand. This was all direct. You need to see to believe. The visions had so many facets you'll inevitably miss some of them.

SCP Blackwire: We haven't been able to find your plane, you know. Nothing has worked. We've tried knives that cut dimensions, technology that shouldn't exist, everything. Dead ends.

Church: Interesting. I wouldn't know why that is, but I would hazard the guess that heaven resists heretics. You cannot break down the pearly gates.

UIU Powell: Poetic. Ms. Church, I feel we are done here. Do you have anything else to add?

Church: No. I know what I believe. And I know that you have barred me from those pearly gates. Only Josiah is with the angels.

Following this interview, Church was given the same amnestic therapy regimen as other adherents of SCP-5682. Following her release from custody, she no longer practices SCP-5682 and has had no contact with any other anomalies.