Item#: 5563

Containment Class: safe

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: notice

Containment Procedures: Site 627 has been constructed around the mouth of the cave leading to SCP-5563 to house personnel and testing equipment under the pretense of containing a pocket of poisonous gas. The site is capable of shielding the cave mouth in the event of an eruption from Taal Volcano.

SCP-5563’s chamber should have an ambient temperature of 20° C and humidity of 40% rH.1

A self-contained computer terminal running a modified version of SkipOS is to be continuously connected to SCP-5563. A folder containing multiple text documents is to be maintained and observed, with a blank text document created every two hours. In the event that two English words in a row appear in any text document, Dr. Mamet or Dr. Bosworth are to be notified immediately.

Description: SCP-5563 is a digital information storage device that dates back to at least the fifth century BCE by a hitherto unknown civilization. As there is no known name for the civilization, Dr. Mamet suggested calling them the Bombauni after the original Tagalog name for the island on which SCP-5563 is located. SCP-5563 is a device analogous to a hard drive built from materials that indicate a higher level of technological advancement than expected for that period, including stainless steel, silicon, synthetic rubber and glass2. Information is stored on a set of clockwork mechanisms and silicate wafers, though the exact method of storage is as yet unknown. So far no upper limit for storage capacity has been found. A leather headband with small copper electrodes is connected to SCP-5563 via a cable; this has been determined to be the primary means of data transference. A power cable runs from the eastern-most cave wall to a docking/charging station for SCP-5563. When off the charger, SCP-5563 has a "battery life" of up to 10 hours idle, or 2 hours of continuous use. Due to the location of the cable relative to Taal Volcano, it is theorized that the Bombauni harnessed geothermal energy in a more efficient manner than modern geothermal power plants. Other devices, including what is thought to be a computer, are also present in various states of disrepair. SCP-5563 is the only working device in its chamber.

SCP-5563 is capable of reading human knowledge in the form of computer files. When the input device is worn by a human, SCP-5563 will display a list of skills, experiences, specialized knowledges, and talents that the subject currently has, with file names in the user's primary language. Once displayed, SCP-5563 can transfer those specific sets of information from and to the subject's mind. Individuals who have had information transferred to SCP-5563 are unable to recall anything pertaining to said information, such as where it was learned or how much about it they knew.

Once in storage, information files can then be transferred through the input band to another human mind, allowing another person to "learn" everything the donor had known with no known loss of data. Test logs related to this can be found in addendum 5563.1.

Upon access of SCP-5563's data stores, it was discovered that 100,683 seperate files were already present. Testing has revealed that they are Bombauni in origin3. Testing with SCP-5563 is focused on recording any information available and learning the limitations of data transference.

Background: SCP-5563 is located 75 meters west of Taal Volcano, an island in the Taal Lake of the Philippines . SCP-5563's chamber was discovered during an excavation by the Philippine Institution of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) to determine the age and composition of the containing island. The mouth of the chamber was discovered under basalt stone dated to 500 BCE. Six sets of human remains were present within the chamber when it was discovered. Forensic analysis showed no damage to any of the bones consistent with external trauma; the positions of the skeletons supports this. Upon discovery of the chamber, an agent embedded within PHIVOLCS called in the Foundation to commandeer the site and administer amnestics to the volcanologists involved. A cover story about a dangerous pocket of Hydrogen Sulfide was implemented with the cooperation of PHIVOLCS.

Addendum 5563.1 - A geophysical survey of the island was conducted; no further Bombauni artifacts have been located. Though SCP-5563's chamber was located under basalt stone, no connecting structures have been found. Further surveying is ongoing.

Addendum 5563.2 - Abridged Testing Logs

Full testing log may be found in Document 5563-2

Experimentation performed by Junior Researcher Dr. Sinclair Prope, and overseen by Senior Researcher Dr. Rebecca Mamet.

Test 5563.1

Subject
D-5563-24, 22 years old

Protocol
Subject will place the input band on their head. Dr. Prope will observe the results on the provided workstation.

Observations
After fifteen seconds, a new folder appears in SCP-5563's root folder containing 90 separate files. Each file name is in English.

Test 5563.2

Subject
Chipper, 2 year old Doberman (Test overseen by Security Officer Hanlon)

Protocol
Subject will have the input band placed on their head. Dr. Prope will observe the results on the provided workstation

Observations
After thirty seconds, an empty folder appears.

Notes
Test was repeated two more times, with the same results. Animal testing is cancelled until further notice.

Test 5563.3

Subject
D-5563-24, 22 years old

Protocol
The subject will be sedated, and have the input device placed on their head. Dr. Prope will observe the results on the provided workstation.

Observations
After four minutes, a new folder appears in SCP-5563's root folder containing 25 separate files. Each file name is in English. New files appear at the rate of one every thirty seconds.

Test 5563.4

Subject
D-5563-24, 22 years old

Protocol
After the subject's knowledge has been loaded, Dr. Prope will copy File 5563-000001 to the subject's information folder.

Observations
The transfer takes five seconds. Once the transfer is complete, the subject mentions a mild headache. Dr. Prope asks the subject if they feel any changes. The subject responds that they feel like they know something new. When asked what they've learned, the subject recites a recipe for a dish similar in composition to Swedish Meatballs.

Test 5563.5

Subject
D-5563-24, 22 years old

Protocol
Immediately following Test 5563.5, File 5563-000001 will be deleted from the subject's information folder.

Observations
Deletion takes less than a second. Subject grabs his head as the deletion completes and complains of a sharp pain, though the pain appeared to subside relatively quickly. Dr. Prope asks what they remember of the file's contents. The subject is visibly confused, stating that they don't remember having any knowledge of the file.

Note
As the subject was escorted to their quarters, the subject repeatedly failed to acknowledge his class designation. Reorientation is suggested before any further experiments with this subject commence.

Test 5563.6

Subject
D-5563-27, 35 years old, college graduate (Major in general studies)

Protocol
After the subject's knowledge has been loaded, Dr. Prope will copy File 5563-000002 to the subject's folder. After completion of testing, File 5563-000002 will be deleted.

Observations
The transfer takes five seconds. Once the transfer is complete, the subject mentions a mild headache. Dr. Prope asks the subject if he feels any changes. The subject is visibly excited, and when asked to relay what he has learned, he explains the history of a sport similar to basketball, including multiple team names.

Notes
Subject displayed confusion upon return to his quarters and was sent to the infirmary for a hairline fracture on his tibia. He claimed he had forgotten about his bed and tried to walk past it without realizing it was there.

Test 5563.7

Subject
D-5563-33, 29 years old, high school graduate

Protocol
File 5563-00003 will be copied to the subject's folder, and Dr. Prope will attempt to view the file using a plain text reader and a hex editor.

Observations
The file cannot be opened using a plain text reader. When opened with a hex editor the raw data can be viewed, but until the data encoding can be translated it is impossible to glean any pertinent information.

Test 5563.8

Subject
D-5563-33, 29 years old, high school graduate

Protocol
The subject's knowledge files will be loaded into memory. Dr. Prope will attempt to view one of these files with a hex editor.

Observations
When opened with a hex editor the raw data can be viewed. A hard copy of the information has been requested by Dr. Prope for translational aid, and approved by Dr. Mamet.

Notes
Dr. Prope asked the subject personal questions about her files not pertaining to the translation efforts. Dr. Prope has been verbally warned against asking questions about test subjects' knowledge files, and is to treat them as privileged information.

Test 5563.9

Subject
D-5563-33, 29 years old, high school graduate

Protocol
File 5563-000003 will be copied to the subject's folder and deleted ten times to check for data degradation. The hex editor has been modified with a tool to highlight changes. The subject has been given pain medicine to alleviate the headaches caused by the deletion of the data.

Observations
No changes were seen in the data after ten transfers.

Test 5563.10

Subject
D-5563-35, 32 years old, some college courses attended

Protocol
File 5563-000001 will be moved to the subject's folder and back ten times to check for data degradation. The subject has been given pain medicine.

Observations
For the first seven cycles of transference and deletion, there are no visible changes in the file's data. On the eighth reading, three bytes have been altered. On the ninth, 22 bytes were altered. After the tenth transfer, 147 bytes had been altered.

Notes
Subject hasn't spoken since the experiment.

Test 5563.14

Subject
D-5563-36, 56 years old, college graduate (Major in linguistics)

Protocol
D-5563-36 will be given a sedative and allowed to fall asleep before experimentation begins. File 5563-000003 will be copied to the subject's folder and deleted multiple times to check for data degradation. No pain medication will be given.

Observations
As before, read/write speed is drastically reduced. For the first five cycles of transference and deletion, there have been no visible changes in the file's data. The subject awakens partway through the sixth transfer, causing SCP-5563 to desynchronize briefly. The copy of File 5563-000003 was found to have over half of its data corrupted. The file was deleted without incident.

Notes
Dr. Prope was once again reprimanded for asking the subject about information obtained from SCP-5563. Dr. Prope asserted that he was attempting to judge the subject's capabilities for further testing.

- Level 4/5563 Credentials Required -

Incident 5563.1

Incident 5563.1: On 04/23/2021, D-5563-36 was terminated after Dr. Prope broke testing protocol. Dr. Prope has been confined to his quarters and placed under observation. Disciplinary measures are pending review by Head of Research Dr. Franklin Bosworth.

Test 5563.15

Personal Journal of Dr. Sinclair Prope

Audio/Video Log - 04/25/2021

Personal Journal of Dr. Prope - Final Entry

Note from Dr. Rebecca Mamet - 07/22/2021

Test 5563.15

Subject
D-5563-36, 56 years old, college graduate (Major in linguistics)

Protocol
After the subject's knowledge has been loaded, Dr. Prope will copy File 5563-000006 to the subject's folder. After completion of testing, File 5563-000006 will be deleted.

Edit: Dr. Prope broke protocol and moved the full contents of D-5563-35's knowledge folder to SCP-5563.

Observations
The transfer takes five minutes, during which the subject audibly experiences severe agony. Dr. Mamet attempts multiple times to halt the transfer without success. Upon completion of the transfer, the subject falls unconscious. An MRI scan indicates a lack of higher brain activity.

Entry 03/02/2021 -

I've been at the Foundation for years, and I'm pretty sure if it hadn't been for Dr. Mamet I would've gone nuts by now. I guess it's my fault for going into linguistics instead of more of a physical science. And then Dr. Mamet offered me a job… And ever since I've been working in records. After orientation promised so much. Thankfully she was there showing me the ropes. always promising me that there could be something more if I worked hard and proved myself to the right people. I always joked that I thought she was one of those people and she'd always laugh… Then I'd be alone in records again. And then once again she offers me a job, this time something I can be a working part of. I'll get an actual security clearance! Super exciting stuff. I'm not sure what kind of thing I'll be working with, or what it'll need with a linguist, but I'm psyched.

Entry 03/03/2020 -

I know Dr. Mamet could've done this on her own, she knows as much about ancient languages as I do, if not more. I think this is another of her teachable moments, but I'll be damned if I'm not grateful as hell to see something like this.

It's damn overwhelming. God, I wish I'd had this back when I was doing my thesis… Think how nuts it'd be to just… KNOW things. How easy all of this – science, I mean – would be if all you had to do was study your ass off, then let someone else go on from where you left off. It'd be a tragedy if someone couldn't transfer what they knew before they died, but I'm sure they accounted for that. Hopefully.

Entry 03/09/2021 -

So I was hoping for some insights into the "Bombauni" language, but… Well, it’s a hard no on the language thing. Everybody we’ve tested with doesn’t hear the language, they just “know” the concepts. Dr. Mamet told me not to get discouraged, that we’ll be able to use context to figure out what everything means, but I can’t help but hate that we know about a language that we won’t be able to fully translate. How did they greet each other? What were some idioms, euphemisms, slang terms? We don’t know anything aside from what’s on the computer, and that’s so fucking dry. So at this point it’s another lost language.

I think I’m going to start painting more. I don’t know why I ever stopped

Entry 03/16/2021 -

So… both of the D class we've deleted information from so far have lost something themselves. One forgot their D-class designation, one forgot where their bed was. Nothing serious, testing can certainly continue.

But…

Never mind, they're fine. I'll give them some time to recover, remind them what they forgot.

They'll be fine.

Entry 03/15/2021 -

A recipe and a sport. I'm not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, I guess it's our duty to record every bit of knowledge we can, try to piece together a culture from tidbits. Hopefully we'll stumble across something we don't know about, something that'll lead to a breakthrough, better storage or better power management or something. But on the other hand… it's almost disappointing? We have a brand new culture, presumably one that cared an awful lot about knowledge, and the most we've gotten is… kinda useless, I guess.

Dr. Mamet reminded me about the people of North Sentinel Island today… They’re so insular that they’ll attack anyone attempting to contact them… There’s only something like a couple hundred of them. Nobody knows much of anything about them because they’re so incredibly hostile. They’re a pure culture, untouched by outside influence. If anything happens to them, plague or natural disaster or anything, they could be wiped out. Everything they know, gone forever. Everything they could do. Art, history, culture, heroes… just gone. Just like the Bombauni.

…So yeah, it's our duty to learn everything we can about the skip, about the Bombauni. Cause knowledge deserves to live.

Entry 03/17/2021 -

God, I’m frustrated. Today while poking around our subjects files I happened to notice a bunch of familiar descriptive words… music. Our death row inmate was an accomplished musician. I know I’m not supposed to (and Dr. Mamet said as much, very sternly,) but I asked her what she did before “coming to work for the Foundation.” She said she studied music in school, even offered to play for us if we could get her a violin. Of course I don’t think that’s happening if the look on Dr. Mamet’s face was any indication. It’s a shame. That kind of talent shouldn’t stay locked up.

Not in someone like that.

Entry 04/02/2021 -

I… I just got out of a meeting with Dr. Mamet. I've been warned multiple times over the past few weeks about talking to the test subjects about their past lives, but I need to know what they wanted to do with the information they had, you know? Why they didn't?

Dr. Mamet has always been there for me, but she doesn't see what I do. I tried to tell her how we could potentially use the device. If someone gets wounded in a breach or is about to retire, why don't we just keep their knowledge for the next person to take their position? Why bother with amnestics when we can just transfer the knowledge to storage in case it's ever needed? We'll need to figure out how to power it if we move it, but we're the fucking Foundation! We could figure it out!

I can't be the only one that thinks this is a good idea.

Entry 04/22/2021 -

I'm SO FUCKING SICK OF THIS.

I have busted my ass to learn as much as I could here. I spent years learning something only ONE FUCKING PERSON thought was a good idea, and now here I am surrounded by people who don't appreciate the WORK and EFFORT it took. Fuck, they don't even appreciate the work their own skills took! This new D Class is a goddamn SCIENTIST. It's been a month and Dr. Mamet has backed off of me, I couldn't help but try to learn everything, learn why she wasn’t here with us trying to save the fucking world!

… SHE'S A FUCKING LINGUIST.

I can't. I just fucking can't.

She's doing more tests in a couple days.

We're gonna try something new.

Audio/Video Log

Date: 04/25/2021

Personnel Present: Dr. Sinclair Prope, Dr. Rebecca Mamet, D-5563-35

[BEGIN LOG]

Dr. Mamet: What… what the hell did you do?

Dr. Prope: I… oh crap… I wanted to see…

Dr. Mamet: You wanted to see? What the hell, Sin? You're a goddamn scientist!

Dr. Prope: S-so was she.

Dr. Mamet: What?

Dr. Prope: She was a linguist too! And she… I was so frustrated… I didn't know that would happen…

Dr. Mamet: Sin… (Sighs) Get it together. We're going to have a long talk about this later, but right now we need to get something out of this.

Dr. Mamet opens one of D-5563-35's files with the hex editor

Dr. Mamet: Damn, still completely unreadable. Call Dr. Bosworth and explain- hold on. That wasn't there a second ago.

Both doctors stare at the computer. Random symbols appear on screen - slowly at first, but faster the longer they observe it.

Dr. Prope: It wasn't doing that before.

Dr. Mamet: No, it wasn't. I wonder what's different now…

WHY appears on screen, followed by more random characters

Dr. Prope: Holy shit!

Dr. Mamet: Oh sh… Look, it's random, it was bound to happen at some point. Infinite monkeys and keyboards, right?

Dr. Prope: Right… Right. You're right. OK.

DARK appears on screen

Dr. Prope: That's not a fucking coincidence!

Dr. Mamet: Oh, no…

PAIN

Dr. Prope: Oh shit shit shit shit…

Dr. Mamet: Hold on…

Dr. Mamet opens another of D-5563-35's files. Random characters fill the screen, broken up with single English words. HURTS. CAN'T. NOTHING. WHY. WHY.

Dr. Mamet: She's conscious in there.

Dr. Prope: She… I… No…

Dr. Mamet: Sinclair! Sit down, shut up, and let me salvage something from this!

Dr. Mamet scrolls to the bottom of the file and types, Can you see this?

YES. WHY. SO MUCH PAIN.

Dr. Prope: Oh my god…

Dr. Mamet: (Yelling) Shut up, Sinclair!

Dr. Mamet types, What else do you see?

NOTHING. DARKNESS.

MEATBALLS.

Dr. Mamet: Oh wow.

Dr. Prope grabs the mouse from Dr. Mamet and moves D-5563-35's files back to their storage folder

Dr. Mamet: What're… No, goddammit!

D-5563-35's eyes flutter as the files transfer

Dr. Mamet: You saw what I saw! What the fuck made you think that was a good idea?

Dr. Prope: She was in pain, I…

Dr. Mamet: (Yelling) The data was corrupted!

Ten minutes pass, with both doctors watching D-5563-35. When the last file is transferred, D-5563-35 displays symptoms similar to a grand mal seizure and collapses. Dr. Prope checks her pulse and slowly shakes his head

Dr. Mamet: Sinclair… Get out. You are hereby confined to quarters until we figure out what the hell to do with you.

[END LOG]

Entry 04/28/2021 -

I messed up bad.

I didn't think about what I was doing and I messed up.

We've been working on this project for months, and I messed up. I can't even pretend like it was an accident. Everything I did I did on purpose.

SCP-5563 was supposed to be the last remnant of a lost people, a people that, as far as we can gather, worshiped knowledge. I've had a chance to translate some of the descriptions of the files, and even though none of them come right out and say "We worship knowledge, this is what we call ourselves, oh shit there's fire falling from the sky everybody write down all your pertinent information for a future shadow organization to collect," between the lines we can make some assumptions. They mention holding someone's knowledge for their children, or desperately trying to get the device to someone who'd been shot and had minutes to live. They'd do everything in their power to make sure people lived on through their knowledge. That resonated with me.

There's no way we could've known, but that still doesn't give me an excuse. I messed up.

I can only guess that being 2500 years old can do weird things to any hard drive, especially one designed to integrate with human minds. But… The closest I can figure is that being so old degraded the file system just enough to take more than was necessary. I knew it deleted more than necessary, I knew, and I should’ve been more careful. I can't help but feel remorse for D… her. I'm not going to pretend she wasn't a human. Her mind was torn out and digitized, and it took more than it needed. 400 little bits of consciousness, suddenly trapped in a void where all they knew was pain and solitude…

And I did that. And after that I killed her again.

I was so mad at her. For weeks I'd looked at D-class and had to hold my tongue. I saw death-row prisoners who were artists and artisans… They KNEW things. They could DO things. And they DIDN'T. I asked what they'd done and they invariably said, "Not much." It got frustrating. So very, very frustrating. They were capable of things I've always wanted to do, they could create, share with the world something that was theirs… And they were all here. They all did something so bad we got them. One of them had multiple files with different styles of writing. Poetry, song lyrics, prose, fiction, non-fiction… And he also had a file named Skyrim. A much, much bigger one. That was almost the one that hurt the most… Instead of creating worlds of his own, he'd rather live in someone else's. Then…

She went to school for the same thing I did. She had the same opportunities and instead she murdered a man in cold blood for… I never found out. I don't think it even matters at this point. All I know is that she decided taking a life was more important than solving the mysteries of the ancient world, than figuring out language, maybe making one yourself, writing an entire book series just to give your language a place to call home… She could've done any of that and she didn't.

Just like I didn't.

I was just going to teach. Rebecca offered me the job here and that's the only reason I'm anywhere today… I mean, why I was anywhere three days ago.

So I was mad. I was mad at everyone that wouldn't do something with the skills, the knowledge they had. Mad that they wasted something that could've been given to the world.

Because they reminded me of me.

That didn't give me the right.

Rebecca came to my quarters yesterday and told me she had an opportunity to keep working with the skip. She wasn't happy about it, but the alternative was amnesticization and being shunted back into the real world. I have a hunch I know what she means. If I'm right… I'll do it.

I can put myself to use.

I can safely say that we've managed to translate twenty-three of the Bombauni files already, and though none of them have been particularly ground-breaking, being able to properly preserve the last remnants of a lost civilization is… well, it's good work.

It's been slow going, but Dr. Prope's help has been invaluable. I'm… ambivalent about his participation in the project. Of course I felt responsible for him, He was my student and my friend. However, what he did, never mind the why, necessitated action. It was a hard sell to the Ethics Committee but sometimes hard numbers add up to something ethically acceptable. They just wanted to be sure he knew what it entailed.

He did, So of course he volunteered; he says he felt he had to make up for his mistakes. I believe he just didn't want to go back to the "real world." I can't say I blame him.

Every time I look in his eyes, though… This isn't the boy I helped get his footing with the Foundation. This is an empty shell. Sentiment dictates I fight to keep him alive as long as I can, even if I have to foot the bill myself. I know what he did was wrong… but I get why he did it. Now, anyway.

I hope he feels some kind of relief in there, somehow. I hope he knows that his skills are being put to the best possible use, considering. His sacrifice has saved us time, personnel, grief. And I hope he manages to regain his composure enough to work a little quicker. The sooner he finishes the sooner he can rest.

Right now, however, I live for the times I get called for a multiple word event, because that means he's stopped screaming.

Footnotes

1. Adherence to these specifications is not strictly enforced, but after Incident 5563.1 all efforts to avoid further degradation of SCP-5563 should be taken. - Dr. Bosworth

2. The lack of resources on the island indicate that either the Bombauni people traded for what they needed, or they stripped the island of its natural resources before the fall of their civilization.

3. A full list of files may be found in Document 5563-1, with permission from Dr. Bosworth.