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SCP-4368: To Sleep, Perchance to See

by Kybard; author's page

Item #: SCP-4368

Object Class: Safe

SCP-4368.

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4368 is suspended within a zero-gravity cage inside a Site-64 storage locker.

Description: SCP-4368 is a prosthetic adult human eye with a blue iris, composed solely of medical-grade plastic acrylic.

Approximately 18 times per minute, SCP-4368 spontaneously generates and subsequently collapses a localized wormhole, designated SCP-4368-1, which matches its approximate circumference. SCP-4368 cannot be observed while SCP-4368-1 is present. SCP-4368-1 has a measurable effect on spacetime, though the severity of this effect appears to be minor as long as sustained physical contact with SCP-4368 is avoided.

Along with SCP-4368-1, SCP-4368 exhibits a variety of relatively predictable behaviors, noted in the test log below.

4368-001, 2019/07/16: Light sensitivity.

D-15002 is instructed to grasp SCP-4368 in her right index finger and thumb and to raise it toward the test chamber's overhead lamp. SCP-4368-1 increases dramatically in frequency and duration. The test is concluded after D-15002 complains of severe discomfort in her fingers. Medical examination reveals the loss of epidermal and dermal layers of skin. After the test, SCP-4368-1 returns to baseline frequency and duration.

4368-002, 2019/07/17: Oral stimulation.

D-14051 attempts to converse with SCP-4368. SCP-4368's iris turns toward D-14051 during speech, but is otherwise unresponsive regardless of tone or substance.

4368-003-01, 2019/07/21: Visual stimulation.

D-15065 waves a pencil back and forth within SCP-4368's field of view. During initial testing, SCP-4368 successfully follows the pencil's movement for an extended duration. Future tests are less successful; by test iteration 4368-003-06, SCP-4368 ignores the pencil entirely. SCP-4368 now turns away from any D-class personnel who enter the room carrying a pencil.

4368-004-01, 2019/08/12: Audiovisual stimulation.

D-14762 wheels a cart containing a Foundation-issued laptop into the room and plays a live feed of a television news channel. SCP-4368 watches the broadcast for ten minutes, then turns away. As with 4368-003, the length of SCP-4368's focus on the broadcast lessens over time; by iteration 4368-004-11, SCP-4368 will not turn to face the laptop screen.

4368-005-1, 2019/08/14: Memory retention.

D-15065 enters the room with a pencil from 003 testing placed in his breast pocket. SCP-4368-1 drops to near-undetectable frequency, and SCP-4368 tracks D-15065's movement throughout the room, but SCP-4368 is otherwise unresponsive until D-15065 leaves the room. Further 005 tests elicit no response, as with 003 testing.

4368-006-001, 2019/08/18: Complex visual stimulation.

D-15091 opens a book1 in front of SCP-4368. SCP-4368-1 frequency increases for several seconds, then slows dramatically. During this time, SCP-4368 follows lines of text on the page with its iris. After two minutes, SCP-4368-1 frequency rises again. After D-15091 is instructed to turn the page, frequency drops once more.

After the success of 4368-006-001, project lead Dr. Serling initiated a regular regimen of similar tests using a variety of texts from the Site-64 library. During the initial phase of successful 4368-006 testing, SCP-4368's general responsiveness grew tremendously, with typical behaviors including quickly turning towards any person entering the test chamber and more rapid SCP-4368-1 generation in the presence of testing personnel (until presented with a book).

NOTE: A one-page reference guide, detailing previously used books and SCP-4368's apparent literature preferences, is available at the Site-64 library's front desk. D-class personnel who assist in 4368-006 tests may select any book based on this reference guide or their own personal taste.

UPDATE, 2019/10/12: During 4368-006-503, Dr. Serling noted apparent cloudiness in and desaturation of SCP-4368's iris. This corresponded with a decrease in overall responsiveness and a marked, progressive increase in the duration of higher-frequency SCP-4368-1 generation when presented with pages from any book.

This progression culminated in the behavior change noted during test 4368-006-527:

4368-006-527, 2019/10/24.

D-15602 places a book2 in front of SCP-4368. SCP-4368-1 frequency drops to its lowest recorded level and remains there for 10 minutes. After this, SCP-4368-1 frequency returns to baseline, and SCP-4368 turns away from the book. A saline solution, designated SCP-4368-2, forms at the edges of SCP-4368. This solution dematerializes whenever SCP-4368-1 is generated and gradually reappears after SCP-4368-1 collapses.

4368-006 tests after this point have displayed minimal responsiveness and the frequent, but inconsistent, generation of SCP-4368-2. As of 4368-006-560, per Dr. Serling's recommendation, all site staff are to be reassigned from testing, and SCP-4368 is to be kept in its storage locker until a more productive line of experimentation is proposed.

Discovery: SCP-4368 was retrieved in Colby, Kansas, by a MTF Lambda-5 "White Rabbits" team sent in response to an intercepted 9-1-1 call placed from the open-casket funeral of Mr. Henry Bemis. Following retrieval, a clean-up team administered amnestics and re-enacted the funeral service with a duplicate body.

A copy of Mr. Bemis's obituary follows for archival purposes.

HENRY "HANK" BEMIS, AGE 76, a lifelong Colby resident and librarian, died on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, at Colby General Hospital. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann, and by a large and loving community of friends, neighbors, and library patrons.

To Colby residents, Hank Bemis and the public library were practically synonymous. Since 1981, Hank had been a fixture at the Colby Public Library, recommending his favorites — Poe, Asimov, Chandler — to young newcomers and old friends alike.

Even after glaucoma stole his sight in 2010, he and patrons alike took joy in his uncanny recollection of so many cherished tales. Through it all, Hank's grin was irrepressible, from Thursday nights in the main hall reciting "Lenore," to Mondays in the study room telling kindergartners about the glitzy life and times of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

At home, where his bookshelves nearly matched the library's, Hank was quiet but always a strong and loving presence. His warmth will forever fill the air at his and Mary Ann's home.

Though Hank's corrective lens surgery ended in tragedy, his family takes solace knowing he spent his final conscious moments filled with hope and excitement at the possibility of once more seeing the words of The Raven or The Big Sleep on the pages of his many well-tended tomes.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Colby Public Library.

Footnotes

1. The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories, by Edgar Allan Poe.

2. Moby Dick by Herman Melville, previously shown to provoke a strong response.