4/5600 LEVEL 4/5600

CLASSIFIED

Item #: SCP-5600

Elk Grove, WI circa 1978.

Special Containment Procedures: An exclusion zone has been established at a distance of 5km from SCP-5600 and marked with hazardous waste warnings. A joint agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has designated the area surrounding SCP-5600 as blighted and all roads have been redirected away from the exclusion zone.

Security Task Force Sigma-10 ("Rolling Stones") has been assigned to monitor the exclusion zone and intercept any persons or objects attempting to either enter or leave SCP-5600. Members of STF Sigma-10 are to be equipped with a chroniton dosimeter1 at all times and rotate off-site as necessary for safety. The accumulation of chronitons2 may have unpredictable interactions with Foundation interests, including the containment of SCP-5600.

Due to the inherent difficulties in recovering personnel, entry into SCP-5600 is not permitted at this time.

Description: SCP-5600 is a temporal rift affecting the town of Elk Grove, Wisconsin where time does not advance beyond December of 1979. Residents of Elk Grove awaken each day with an intrinsic understanding that it is still some time during "December of 1979", and are able to maintain a sense of progression between each individual day.

Radio broadcasts, television broadcasts, and the local newspaper within SCP-5600 all continue to publish information or produce new programming daily. These publications include material synthesized from local, regional, and national events circa 1979, however, large segments of all publications consist of lorem ipsum3.

Direct communication is not possible between the interior and the exterior of SCP-5600. While it is possible to safely observe and monitor the anomaly from within the boundaries, objects or personnel who attempt to leave the anomaly undergo temporal shearing as they transition back to normal space-time. To date, this shearing effect has been ultimately fatal to personnel but does allow for the transition of some inorganic objects.

Investigation Log.5600.1:

After numerous attempts to investigate SCP-5600 using unmanned and remotely controlled devices, a manned mission was approved and scheduled for 1985-03-20 which included Agents Dureau and Jonas. Both agents were equipped with precautionary hazardous environment equipment, as well as VHS recording devices.

On 1985-03-21 proximity alarms within the exclusion zone indicated multiple objects had appeared near the boundary of SCP-5600. A recovery team was dispatched and inventoried a total of twenty VHS tapes. Several tapes were scorched beyond salvaging but more than 80 hours of total footage was retrieved.

December 1979 Tape #1

Eject tape

Footage begins with the camera pointing down at a dirty tile floor. There are numerous wet boot prints and slush puddles scattered about. The camera jerks up to the interior of a convenience store. Agent Jonas is visible in the adjacent aisle looking at the camera from behind a bag of chips. A hand reaches out and grabs one of the bags of chips and brings it closer to the camera.

Agent Dureau: "Look at this.." Agent Dureau flips the bag around. It is a generically packaged solid gray color with white block letters that read 'CHIP SNACKS' near the top. There are no nutrition labels or other information visible on the bag.

Agent Jonas: "Very strange…Chip snacks, soda pops, chewing gum, candy snack. Where's Coke? Where's the Gummy Bears? I've heard of off-brand but these are no brand at all." The camera pans around further as Dureau roams the store. He approaches a cooler door and pulls it open. Cases of 'Good Beer' line the top shelf, 'Modest Beer' beneath that, and finally 'Hog Swill' on the bottom shelf.

Agent Dureau: "This place creeps me out. We're out of here soon, I hope? If this is the worst thing going on inside this bubble, we're going to be fine."

Agent Jonas: "Yeah, we're out either tonight or first thing tom—"

A voice from off-camera interrupts with "Merry Christmas!" and as the camera is snapping around to face it, the tape stops due to damage. The rest of the tape was unsalvageable.

December 1979 Tape #4

Eject tape

Footage begins in a diner with the camera positioned to see a row of people sitting and drinking coffee.

Agent Dureau: "This here is the diner's morning coffee crew. My dad always used to tell me that places like these were the pulse of any good town. All the information gets exchanged here, all the stories, all the deals, all the rumors get vetted and validated over cups of java and slices of pie." The camera zooms in on the man standing behind the counter who is holding a carafe of coffee and topping up the cups of the other locals.

Agent Dureau: "And this here is Joe Kirschbauer, the proprietor of the finest establishment here in Elk Grove. Say hello and Merry Christmas for our video, Joe." Joe waves to the camera but turns away with shy deference.

Diner Patron: "Joe makes the best lemon meringue pie this side of the Mississippi 364 days a year. Aside from Christmas." Several other patrons eagerly affirm this statement.

Kirschbauer: "Well, without Betty behind the counter you boys gotta get your sugar fix somehow." Several patrons laugh, as does Kirschbauer, but his smile quickly fades.

The video cuts but then resumes in the same diner. One of the diner patrons is sitting across the table, Agent Jonas is in the seat to the right of center, Agent Dureau behind the camera. The three of them speak in hushed tones.

Diner Patron: "Joe's lived here almost his whole life other than a few years he went off to business school. Came back right after and married his high school sweetheart. Gorgeous woman, Betty. Maiden name Ansbach, I think."

Agent Jonas: "The way things were worded something happened to her, yeah? Divorce, early death, infidelity?"

Diner Patron: "Jesus man, keep your voice down. If Joe heard you he'd break that pot of coffee over your head! Betty was a sweet, sweet woman. Active in the church committee, the PTA, you name it. She and Joe opened this diner together. He did the flattop, she did the coffee and pies, and this town supported the hell out of them. They had two kids. The first one they lost to whooping cough. Real, real sad. Two years later they tried again and had a boy, Daniel. He's ten-years-old now if I'm remembering right."

Agent Jonas: "Betty and Joe stayed together and had another? Wow, that's a strong relationship. I can't imagine."

Diner Patron: "Yeah. We were all like one big family for them back then. It changed them both but that's not really the sort of thing it's too polite to go asking about or poking at. We just did what we could and so did they. But then, not long after Daniel's…4th birthday, I think? The three of them were coming back from Shullsburg and got hit by a drunk driver. Betty died by the side of the road and Daniel hasn't said a word since."

Agent Dureau: "The boy is completely non-verbal? That's a terrible story."

Diner Patron: "None of his teachers can get him to say a word. He seems to read and write fine but the boy just won't talk. Doc in town, he's a psychologist so he says, says the trauma did this to the boy's psyche. Needs something—"

Several minutes are lost due to damage to the tape.

Agent Jonas: "—any plans for Christmas?"

Diner Patron: "Oh, sure. Me and the Mrs. will do the early service at church, then stop on by to drop off the gift for Daniel, then we'll come head to my wife's sister's house across the street for dinner."

Agent Jonas: "I'm sorry did you say you're giving a gift to Daniel? As in the Kirschbauer boy?"

Diner Patron: "I did, yes. That okay?"

Agent Dureau: "Sure, just wanted to make sure we heard you right. Can we get you some more coffee?"

The diner patron smiles, nods in the affirmative, and mouths 'Merry Christmas'. Agents Jonas and Dureau look at each other with concern.

December 1979 Tape #16

Eject tape

Footage begins inside a residential living room. The camera is pointed at a convertible sofa where Joe Kirschbauer is seated. His son, Daniel Kirschbauer, is sitting on the floor in front of him playing with a set of Lego brand building blocks. Agent Dureau is seated in a chair on the far right side of the screen.

Agent Dureau: "Thanks Joe, we won't take up too much of your time."

Kirschbauer: "That's okay, boys. You've bought enough pie and coffee for the locals that I had to yield sooner or later. If I didn't stop you, everyone would be too fat to fit in the door after Christmas!" Kirschbauer laughs and the Agents politely laugh along.

Agent Dureau: "You're actually the last person in town to agree to be interviewed. Other than your son, obviously, but—"

Several minutes of video are lost due to damaged tape. Footage resumes as Joe Kirschbauer sits forward and pats his son on the head. He leans down to his son's ear and says something to him the camera audio is unable to pick up, then the boy gets up and leaves. Joe waits for his son to be safely out of the room before resuming.

Kirschbauer: "Fellas I'm just not sure what more there is to gain from talking to me. You watch my diner every day, you talk to all my patrons and I know they've already told you every rumor in town worth hearing. So why don't you tell me why you're intent on ruining the mood of another Christmas."

Agent Dureau: "Christmas is important to you, isn't it? It seems to be the one thing everyone here has in common: anticipation for Christmas and a gift for your son."

Kirschbauer: "Christmas is important to my son so it's important to me. It's his favorite holiday. He deserves to enjoy it."

Agent Jonas: "Any plans for Christmas you want to share with us?"

Kirschbauer: Joe shifts uncomfortably in his seat for several seconds. "Not especially. It's a private affair and I don't really know you very well."

Agent Dureau: "I'll be direct Mr. Kirschbauer. Everyone in town has a present for your son, or very nearly everyone. And that's not an exaggeration. I know your family suffered a profound tragedy and it's wonderful that everyone is there for you but every single resident, six years after the accident, still keeping this up? Can you explain this to me in some—" Dureau is interrupted by Kirschbauer.

Kirschbauer: "I'm not going to be lectured by the two of you on what is and what is not an acceptable way for my son to spend his Christmas. Everything safe and good about his childhood was taken from him by a drunk driver and I am not going to let Christmas join that list. You're going to shut the fuck up and figure out what to get my son for Christmas or you're going to get out of my life forever. Your choice."

Agent Dureau: "Joe, he's never going to be able to move on from her death if you don't let him."

Kirschbauer: "I think I've made myself clear. It's time for you to leave."

Jonas picks up the camera and the two agents leave the house. As they walk down the path to the driveway, Mr. Kirschbauer is heard angrily telling them to 'have a Merry Christmas' before slamming the door. The camera is then manually turned off.

December 1979 Tape #19

Eject tape

Footage begins at night as Agent Dureau pulls the door to the diner open. Few lights are on except for above one booth in the back. Joe Kirschbauer sits in the booth cradling a cup of coffee with a cigarette in his hand. He does not look up as the agents approach.

Agent Dureau: "Joe, can we talk?"

Kirschbauer: "Not with that [camera] on."

The camera is set on the countertop and the lens cap is put in place. The rest of the interview is audio-only.

Kirschbauer: "I'm sorry I've been short with you. It's just…it's stressful. I want everything perfect. My son deserves it and we're going to get it fucking right. It's enormously stressful to hold things just so and to try to change a town of 1800 people."

Agent Dureau: "Change the town how? What do you mean?"

Kirschbauer: "Slowly. Gradually. Each and every person, day by day, until they embrace the Christmas spirit and join the effort to lift my son's holiday. With some folks, it's much easier than others; weak wills or substance abuse leaves them with no defense. After that, I started working on the other influencers. The town council, the school board, the priest, the deputy. People with no influence, no connection, they're the hardest and there are still plenty of them out there. The diner helps with that and gives them a reason to come and find me sometimes."

Agent Dureau: "What happens when and if you finally get everyone to cooperate?"

Kirschbauer: "My son can have the Christmas he deserves and he'll find the strength to speak again. I know it."

Agent Dureau: "Joe I…has your son spent time with a psychologist or psychiatrist? Grief counseling is really important and everyone deals with tragedy in their own way, I don't think it's fair to—"

Kirschbauer: "Yeah I took him to the shrink in town on the regular for almost four months after Betty died. He'd shake my hand and say Daniel was 'making good progress' but that never came. No change. No talking. He just nods at me and points at things and sometimes he'll write it out if it's a complex thought but that's more and more a luxury nowadays…"

Agent Dureau: "These things do take time though. You can't give up on treatment just because you, an outside observer, don't see the results. The changes are happening within your son, not without at least not yet."

Kirschbauer: "That's easy for you to say. I know my son, and I know pain. I see the same pain in my heart reflected back in his eyes and I won't force him to face an uncertain future until we've pushed through this. Betty's favorite time of the year was Christmas. It's the time when everyone comes together and celebrates and creates family and memories and warmth and happiness and he deserves that again. The best Christmas ever, even if it kills me!"

Several minutes pass as Joe presumably calms down.

Agent Dureau: "I worry about what'll happen to the both of you, to this town, if you finally achieve your goal and it doesn't live up to your hopes. If it doesn't fix Daniel."

Kirschbauer: "I worry too."

Agent Dureau: "I realize I'm nobody special to you or your son, but I do have experience with tragedy. Sometimes the only thing you can do is choose to make the best out of whatever messed up crap life throws at you. Neither you nor your son deserved to lose Betty, but dwelling on it and waiting for perfection that might never come in order to confront it is…no way to live life. What would Betty say if she knew you were frozen here, December of '79, unable to let your son grow up and become the man you both hoped he could be? A man able to handle what life throws at him."

Kirschbauer: "I can't ask him to leave his mom behind."

Agent Dureau: "He can't leave her behind, or you can't?"

The camera continues to record for several more minutes without conversation. A soft sobbing is heard until the camera is turned off.

December 1979 Tape #20

Eject tape

Footage begins as Agents Jonas and Dureau say 'Merry Christmas' to the camera and exchange small wrapped boxes. Several minutes of footage are lost due to damage, however footage resumes as Agent Dureau holds a bottle of wine close to the camera and states he is going to go check on Joe and Daniel Kischbauer. The camera is then manually turned off.

Footage resumes as Agent Dureau walks down a shoveled walkway to a ranch-style house. Dureau steps onto the front porch and presses the doorbell, which can be heard chiming. Several minutes pass as he attempts to look into the house and he rings the doorbell again. After approximately ten minutes, Dureau leaves the front porch and goes around the side of the house into the backyard. The camera is pointed at a sliding glass door, and Joe Kirschbauer is seated at a table inside.

Agent Dureau approaches the sliding glass door and knocks. The first attempt at knocking goes unacknowledged, but the second prompts Joe Kirschbauer to rise from his seat, open the door, and invite Agent Dureau in.

Agent Dureau: "Hey Joe, Merry Christmas. Is…everything okay?"

Kirschbauer: "Yeah, it's fine. Can I get you anything? Coffee?"

Agent Dureau: "No, that's alright. I brought you this though." Dureau hands over the bottle of wine.

Kirschbauer: "Thanks, that's thoughtful. Sorry if I seem gloomy, I really do appreciate it."

Agent Dureau: "Hey, Joe, that's alright. I think we've established you can talk to me if you need a shoulder. It's clear something is eating you and I hate to see you down on Christmas."

Kirschbauer: "Yeah, that's the thing. Clinton, it's…it's never going to get any better than this, than it was today. Is it?"

Agent Dureau: "Not sure what you mean. Did things not go as expected?"

Kirschbauer: "They did, actually. I've fretted about this for…as long as I can remember. Today was perfect. Daniel woke up so excited. His breakfast was great, I drank coffee in the recliner as he sorted out his presents, lots of friends and family came by to wish us well and drop off more gifts. His smile just grew and grew all day long until I worried he might burst. It was perfect."

Agent Dureau: "That sounds really nice, Joe. Exactly what you've been saying you wanted for your son. I'm happy for you both."

Kirschbauer: "But now that it's over, what do I do? What do I say? What does he have to look forward to when he gets up tomorrow?"

Agent Dureau: "Gosh, Joe. That's some heavy stuff. I…don't know how to respond to that."

Kirschbauer: "Yeah. Neither do I. Did you want some coffee or not? I'm going to pour another cup. With Irish cream." The camera continues to record for several more minutes as the two sit with each other over coffee. Extraneous audio and video have been removed.

Footage resumes as the camera is pointed at a television. It is nighttime and the glow of the TV is the only illumination. A countdown is heard as a ball is seen descending, marking a traditional New Year's Eve celebration. After the ball hits '1' and 'Happy New Year' is shouted, the TV cuts to an announcer who begins speaking lorem ipsum. The camera is manually turned off.

Footage resumes as Agents Jonas and Dureau grab their suitcases and check their motel room for belongings one final time. Dureau walks over to the nightstand and pans the camera over the floor where a messy pile of papers can be seen. Each of the papers has been ripped from a tabletop calendar and is printed in the format: "Today's date is December <%>". The only legible sheet in the one on the top of the pile, and it says 'December 685th, 1979'. Agents Jonas and Dureau leave their motel room and the camera is turned off. There is no more footage on this tape.

Recovery Log.5600.2: Clinton Dureau

On 1985-03-21 proximity alarms within the exclusion zone indicated two objects had exited or been expelled from SCP-5600 in the same area the tapes were recovered approximately 50 minutes later. A team was dispatched and discovered the unconscious body of Foundation Agent Clinton Dureau, and the corpse of Agent Aaron Jonas, laying outside of the boundary of the temporal rift.

Agent Dureau had suffered third-degree burns to more than 70% of his body and the majority of his internal organs were saturated with chronitons, causing numerous necessary biological processes to phase in and out of normal space-time. Agent Dureau was placed into intensive care. Agent Jonas was dead on arrival. Agent Dureau was provided quality-of-life care after his prognosis, including pain management, so he could be debriefed. The interview has been transcribed below.

Open Interview Record

Close Interview Record

[BEGIN LOG]

Dr. Eates: "Clinton, I'm sorry we cannot do this more delicately. You are with us in the infirmary at Site-37. What is the last thing you remember?"

Agent Dureau: "I stepped through the bubble and my life literally flashed before my eyes. Next thing I know, here I am."

Dr. Eates: "You subjected yourself to the temporal shearing surrounding SCP-5600."

Agent Dureau: "And what a trip it was. Am I going to make it?"

Dr. Eates: "I'm not an MD, but the prognosis isn't great. You're badly burnt and large portions of your body are out of sync with our space-time. We're working on ways to stabilize you as quickly as we can but things are a bit of a mess at the moment."

Agent Dureau: "Ah. So just in case, here we are."

Dr. Eates: "Just in case. Do you know how long you were inside Elk Grove?"

Agent Dureau: "No, I'm honestly not sure. Years at the least? I really couldn't even speculate but it felt like both a lifetime and just a couple of weeks all at once. I can't really explain why it took so long to come back. Did you get my messages? I wasn't sure if…"

Dr. Eates: "Yes, Agent Dureau. We think we got just about all of them. A few of the tapes didn't survive the transition but we have a lot of material to go over thanks to you."

Agent Dureau: "Good. I hope it proves this was worth it. Would suck to die for nothing."

Dr. Eates: "Our original instructions were for you to return after one hour but you were gone for more than twenty-four. Can you explain what caused you to deviate?"

Agent Dureau: "One day? That's it? That can't be right. I…There's no way that's the reality of it. No, I lived there…I…There were so many…I'm." The Agent's breathing becomes audibly shallow and erratic.

Dr. Eates: "Please, focus your breathing and let's try to talk this out. I need you to get on top of what you're feeling and break this down for me. Focus, please. The extra stress isn't doing you any good." Over the next thirty seconds, breathing returns to normal.

Agent Dureau: "I think I'm going to be okay now. I wish I could make you understand what it was like but I don't think there are any practical ways to describe it to you."

Dr. Eates: "Please, as soon as you're ready I'd like you to try."

Agent Dureau: "Well, I was finally able to convince the dad that the rest of the town was ready over many late nights talking. Ready to give his son the Christmas he had been putting off. I woke up the next morning after one of our late-night chats and something had changed; I knew it was December 20th. I have to tell you, Eates, from that point on it felt like a march to the finish line. Things were great, at least for me."

Dr. Eates: "Any change in the locals?"

Agent Dureau: "No, none. They acknowledged the date too but it wasn't a big deal to them. Everyone just kind of carried on with life. Anyway, I did my part to excite those I had befriended and spread the word of Christmas cheer and all of those other cliches. Events were planned, gifts were purchased then wrapped. Cards mailed. Cookies baked. We all got ready and I nearly jumped out of my shoes in anticipation, which was strange because I was ultimately planning to spend the day alone. No family in town, obviously."

Dr. Eates: "And Christmas Day finally arrive."

Agent Dureau: "That's right, finally. I got lots of video that explains it all."

Dr. Eates: "I'm sorry Dureau but we'll have to skirt around the editorial parts for now. The doctors are saying you need to get some rest. Was Christmas your final day inside the anomaly?"

Agent Dureau: "No; I decided to stick around for a little. The next few days felt like a relief to everyone I talked to except for Kirschbauer. So I set a deadline for New Years Day to pack up and try to leave; I felt bad for him and wanted to know he was going to be okay. I was able to mark my calendar and wake up each and every day to see the 26th, 27th, 28th, each passing. For New Year's Eve, I watched the ball drop on TV, had a glass of champagne as the host spouted some word salad, and then I went to bed confused but happy."

Dr. Eates: "And here you are, just as planned."

Agent Dureau: "No, that's the thing. I woke up the next morning, headed for my calendar on the nightstand to flip it over to January 1st, 1980, but…It said December 32nd."

Dr. Eates: "There are only 31 days in—"

Agent Dureau: "Yeah I know. But it said 32nd. I stayed a few days longer to see if anything changed but the calendar just kept counting up until I couldn't take it anymore. I don't need to explain how numbers work to you but seeing 33rd, 34th, and so on was so surreal and crushing and mentally taxing in a way I cannot describe. Knowing that time was marching on but we still couldn't move on made it worse. So, so much worse than standing still."

Dr. Eates: "I can only imagine. When is it that you finally decided to leave?"

Agent Dureau: "One morning at the diner, Joe had brought his son in for breakfast. I ask the boy, Daniel, how he was doing and if he enjoyed his Christmas. He just nodded his head at me and smiled. I looked up at his dad, figured the boy would have found his words, but Joe just shook his head and looked at me like his wife had died all over again. Some people just can't let go and I guess I almost couldn't either. Oh, I wanted to ask…is Jonas okay?"

Dr. Eates: "N-…We'll let you know the moment he clears quarantine. Until then, get some rest, agent. You've more than earned it."

[END LOG]

Footnotes

1. A device that measures exposure to chroniton particles over time.

2. A subatomic particle that has numerous temporal properties. Generally inert, but dangerous when interacting with asynchronous space-time.

3. A type of placeholder text used to demonstrate visual form without relying on meaningful content.