Item #: SCP-2146

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-2146 is presently commonly known as DDUSAT-12, and is on record as a defunct communications satellite owned by Defense Design United, a holding of Standard Communications Production, a Foundation front company.1 Due to its size and location, recovery or containment is presently thought infeasible.2 MTF-Mu-19 ('the Star-Struck') have been covertly inserted into various astronomical societies in order to identify any potential breaches of the anomaly. Individuals who discover SCP-2146 are to be either administered Class-B amnestics or discredited, as is appropriate for the situation.

The transmissions known as SCP-2146-1 are presently impossible to suppress3; however, as the content of said transmissions is typically profoundly innocuous, it is considered a low-level threat. The transmissions are to be monitored, and these procedures may be modified if the transmissions ever begin to exhibit anomalous or otherwise dangerous properties or content. Complaints to government organizations responsible for telecommunications regulation are to be monitored. The present cover story regarding SCP-2146-1 is that it is a pirate radio station broadcast by an avant-garde art movement.

Description: SCP-2146 is the frozen corpse of an adult specimen of Balaena mysticetus (the Bowhead Whale), which is presently in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). Its orbital path is circular with an inclination of 146 degrees (retrograde), and its orbital period is 19.6 hours.

The object is approximately 17.5 meters in length, and while its gender is presently unknown, it is (due to its size) statistically more likely to be a female instance of the species. Its estimated weight is approximately 30 tons, one-third that of a healthy specimen of its species, due to desiccation. In addition, the object has suffered significant corrosion from micro-impacts, and is deeply cracked in a manner consistent with limited heat exchanges and radiation exposure typical in a vacuum environment.

Once every Synodic Lunar month (29.5 days), SCP-2146 begins broadcasting radio signals, presently designated SCP-2146-1. These broadcasts range in duration from 2.5 to 18 minutes. It is presently unknown how SCP-2146 transmits these broadcasts; telescopic viewing has not shown any sign of radio-capable equipment on SCP-2146.

These broadcasts vary widely in both content and format: some appear to be documentaries, others appear to be science fiction dramas (often of the space opera variety), others seem to be children's shows, and others are songs or poems. These broadcasts only feature an audio track, and in every case, features an entity presently referred to as SCP-2146-2, who narrates, acts in, or sings the content of SCP-2146-1. No other voices have yet been heard in SCP-2146-1 transmissions.

The SCP-2146-1 transmissions often feature unusual and occasionally disturbing content; however, SCP-2146-2 is always cheerful to the point of jocularity in the broadcasts. Its voice seems to be that of a middle-aged, deep-voiced man, and has been noted to speak in a number of languages, including English, French, Norwegian, Russian, and Inuktitut.

SCP-2146-1 transmissions contain one other unifying feature: in every case, the contents deal with a 'space whale,' a space-based Cetacean; however, the features, motivations and characterization of this creature changes with each broadcast.

No information as to how SCP-2146 came to be located in Earth orbit has yet come to light. No launches involving Bowhead Whales, or of a size capable of transporting an intact Bowhead Whale, are presently known to the Foundation.

Discovery: SCP-2146 was discovered in 19██, after a number of civilian complaints in several developed nations in the Northern Hemisphere were linked by Foundation Analytical personnel. These complaints were generally directed towards government offices that regulated telecommunications, and always involved bizarre and disturbing radio show content. The signal, later designated SCP-2146-1, was used to triangulate the location of its source, SCP-2146. Fortunately, developing telecommunications, and a subsequent increase in both radio traffic and artificial orbital bodies have rendered SCP-2146 and its transmissions much more difficult to isolate. See above for the present containment procedures.

A list of notable SCP-2146-1 broadcasts

Access Granted

Broadcast Date: ██/ ██/19██

Duration: 2 minutes and 56 seconds

Language: English

Content: A short jingle (SCP-2146-2 singing, apparently accompanied by guitar), apparently for a children's show featuring Bay-Bo the Space Whale. Notable lyrics include: 'He loves you so much, he's gonna eat your whole world up/ You get to learn all about science in Bay-Bo's guts!' and 'Swims through space, the size of a star/ he's the friendliest, nicest cosmic monster!'

Broadcast Date: ██/ ██/19██

Duration: 8 minutes and 14 seconds

Language: French

Content: A short political manifesto laying out the rights of 'Exocetaceans,' and making a number of derogatory claims regarding 'oppressive higher-dimensional harpoonists.' Notable content includes the Exocetaceans 'inalienable right to devour lesser races.'

Broadcast Date: ██/ ██/20██

Duration: 16 minutes and 3 seconds

Language: English

Content: A melodramatic science-fiction production of the 'Space Opera' variety, including orchestral scoring (not a match for any known piece). Regards the quest of the 'Brave Space Whale Owaba' to defeat the evil empire and rescue 'Space Whale Princess Bawooha.' Notable in that the evil empire seems to consist of beings in spacecraft (possibly humanoid).

Broadcast Date: ██/ ██/20██

Duration: 12 minutes and 51 seconds

Language: Norwegian

Content: A documentary regarding the feeding and mating practices of Balaena stellaris, the Space Whale. Notable in that the species is, by its binomial nomenclature, identified as a Right Whale, like SCP-2146 (as a Bowhead Whale). Also, the reproduction of a Balaena stellaris apparently requires the 'utter destruction of a primitive civilization.' The reason behind this reproductive necessity is not made clear.

Broadcast Date: ██/ ██/20██

Duration: 6 minutes and 47 seconds

Language: Russian

Content: A short science fiction tale about a crew of (apparently human) biologists in a spacecraft, attempting to locate a legendary creature (the space whale). Most of the story consists of the scientists speculating on the nature of the space whale in a pseudoscientific and mildly religious manner. The story ends with the crew finding the space whale and, in awe, pledging to worship it.

Broadcast Date: ██/ ██/20██

Duration: 8 minutes and 22 seconds

Language: English

Content: An episode of the children's show 'Bay-Bo the Space Whale,' which was featured in an earlier broadcast of SCP-2146-1 as a jingle. Involves a number of children in a spacecraft speaking through a 'communicator' with the nearby Bay-Bo, a star-sized cetacean. The episode consists of a simplified explanation of gravity, appropriate for 8- to 10-year-old children. The episode ends with the spacecraft crashing into Bay-Bo, and the narrator stating, 'And the children all died. They should have paid more attention to the lesson, I guess!'

Footnotes

1. This information was falsified and entered into the UN Register of Objects Launched into Space by embedded agents. It is believed such a registration will discourage close scrutiny.

2. While the Foundation possesses assets capable of reaching the object and subsequently constructing a containment structure or destabilizing its orbit, any such attempt would be too difficult to conceal.

3. The signal has been shown to switch frequencies in early attempts to jam the signal; its method of detecting the jamming is presently unknown. Full jamming of the range of frequencies SCP-2146-1 broadcasts on would have disastrous effects on civilian telecommunications.