Recovered photo of SCP-1958 prior to its launch

Item #: SCP-1958

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: As of ██/██/20██, SCP-1958 has been placed in a stable orbit of Earth's sun at a distance of 1.██ AU, and is not currently visible from Earth by the naked eye. The Foundation is to monitor professional and amateur astronomical publications for any indication that SCP-1958 has been sighted and is to suppress any publication of information regarding its composition or trajectory.

On ██/██/20██, a three-man survey team deployed from Foundation Lunar Facility 2-A was successful in reaching and entering SCP-1958, inventorying its contents, installing equipment to facilitate further monitoring, and retrieving components and artifacts deemed noteworthy. All artifacts recovered from SCP-1958 are to be archived at Reliquary 32 for further examination. SCP-1958 is to be returned to Earth if and when a suitable method for its acquisition and transit is devised.

Description: SCP-1958 is a 195█ Volkswagen Type 2 Samba-Bus (often referred to as a "microbus") currently located approximately 1.█ AU (███ million km) from the Earth's sun, in a region of interplanetary space near the orbit of Mars. Prior to the establishment of Foundation monitoring in 20██, SCP-1958 had been moving away from the Sun at a constant velocity of approximately 130 km/h. Aside from a severed coolant line on the undercarriage and a small dent on the rear fender, SCP-1958 does not appear to have received any significant damage. The phrases "STARMOBILE" and "ALPHA CENTAURI OR BUST" have been spray-painted in English on the side panels of SCP-1958; analysis indicates that SCP-1958's trajectory prior to Foundation contact would have placed it in the vicinity of the star Alpha Centauri A in approximately 37.2 million years.

SCP-1958 has undergone heavy after-market mechanical modification. The interior cabin and engine compartment have been made airtight, with a small section near the rear doors being converted into an airlock. The original glass windows have been replaced with a shatterproof acrylic and the exterior surfaces have been treated with an unknown chemical additive rendering them nearly impervious to penetration by space debris. The gas tank has been replaced with a fuel cell that appears to be based on advanced theories of [REDACTED] not developed until several decades after the date at which SCP-1958 is presumed to have left Earth. No modifications have been made to the driver's controls or to the dashboard display. During exploration, the survey team noted that the steering wheel, gas and brake pedals, and gearshift function to alter SCP-1958's speed and direction in a manner commensurate to a vehicle being driven on the Earth's surface.

The following artifacts were discovered within SCP-1958's cabin upon exploration;

The skeletal remains of an adult human male, approximately 21 years of age. Identified as William ███████, who was reported missing in the summer of 195█ while attending classes at the University of California, San Francisco.

Skeletal remains of one adult female domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus). Forensic analysis indicates the cat was pregnant at time of death.

Four bedrolls and pillows.

A supply of clothing in styles typical of late 1950s American youth culture, for several adults of mixed gender.

A partially-exhausted supply of dehydrated food; remaining stores sufficient to feed four adults for approximately three months.

A chemical toilet and water filtration equipment intended to recycle drinking water from urine, feces, and sweat.

An atmospheric scrubbing system sufficient for removing exhaled carbon dioxide from the cabin and introducing oxygen produced as a waste product of the engine.

A seed bank containing seeds from several thousand domestic plants and freeze-dried fertilized ova of several dozen livestock and domesticated animals.

A water pipe containing cannabis residue.

One syringe and an empty vial. Chemical analysis indicated the vial and syringe had been used in the storage and injection of heroin.

Blueprints and technical diagrams relating to the modifications made to SCP-1958's engine.

One acoustic guitar.

One pair of bongo drums.

A set of printed and handwritten star charts.

The following books:

Howl and Other Poems, Allen Ginsberg.

On the Road, Jack Kerouac.

Collected Poems, 1934-1952, Dylan Thomas.

Untitled songbooks containing lyrics and guitar tabulature for the songs of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Hank Williams, in addition to several original compositions.

The Voyage of the Space Beagle, A.E. van Vogt.

Jack Proton - Space Cop, M. K. Snyder.

Worlds in Collision, Immanuel Velikovsky.

Dianetics, L. Ron Hubbard.

Space Brothers: A Guide To Our Galactic Next-Door Neighbors, Rev. Abraxas "Honey-Chile" Jackson.

A handwritten diary identified as belonging to William ███████.

The means by which SCP-1958 initially left the Earth's surface is unknown. An examination of police reports and newspaper archives indicates that several bright lights and "sonic booms" were reported by residents of San Francisco on the evening of July 4th, 195█ during Independence Day fireworks displays that could not be accounted for by pyrotechnics. ███████'s former residence was demolished to make way for new construction in 1975; surviving friends and relatives have described ███████ as a "beatnik" who was active in counterculture circles and left-wing political causes, and who dabbled briefly with several new religious movements, including Transcendental Meditation, the teachings of Indian mystic Meher Baba, and the First Fifth Church of San Francisco.

+ Show Excerpts From Diary of William ███████

- Hide Excerpts From Diary of William ███████

2/3/5█: Bought the bus today. We hocked pretty much everything we own between the four of us to make the down payment. Jerry says it's perfect - plenty of space inside for all of us, and plenty of room under the hood for the shit he's gonna need to pack in there. He says it'll be ready in a couple months, but Susan wants to graduate before we go so we'll probably wait until summer. Plenty of time to get everything else we need.

Feels like it was only yesterday those Fifthist squares kicked us out for our "heresy". They laughed when I told 'em Jackson was wrong, that Eggers was wrong, that Rand was wrong. There's magic up there, alright - but I'm not gonna sit here working nine-to-five and wait for it to come to us. We're going to it. Heaven's up there, man, just waiting for its angels.

7/4/5█: Blastoff! First men in space! Take that, Khrushchev! Here it is, Independence Day - and for the first time in history since the Man started setting up his rules and his laws and his banks, there's four people in this universe who are really free.

It's so beautiful up here. The Earth is getting smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror. I swear, it feels like we're barely moving at all, but Jerry says we're pulling eighty-two on this thing. Ain't no pigs up here gonna pull us over. He says oughta be three weeks, four tops, before we make it to Alpha Centauri. We lit a couple up and said goodbye to Mother Earth for one last time.

7/7/5█: Would you believe we can still get AM on the Motorola? Outer space is rockin', man.

7/9/5█: We ran out of beer today. Sam cracked one open with breakfast when we noticed there were only seven left - four Olympia, two Rainier, one Coors. We cracked 'em open with lunch - even let Susan's cat Milly drink some. She looks like she's gained some weight since we took off.

Everyone's kinda bummed about the beer situation, but it's all good. Soon as we land we'll get some barley growing and by next year we'll be brewing our own.

7/16/5█: Jerry's dead.

Something bumped into us during our sing-a-long. Jerry said it was probably just some space dust, but he wanted to go outside and check it out. He put on the space suit Susan made for him and climbed outside. He was on his way back in when something else bumped us and he lost his grip. Susan and Sam were screaming as he just drifted away. I tried to turn around, but shit, man, I never learned how to drive, and these things handle like boats even when they do have a road underneath 'em. By the time we got to him he was dead. Susan won't stop bawling - they were gonna get married as soon as we landed. I've got my license and all, I was gonna do the deed myself. We had to give her some pills to get her to sleep after I got us back on course. It's a good thing we're halfway there by now - the sooner we can get out of this cramped little bus, the better.

7/19/5█: Susan was dead when we woke up this morning. The needle was still in her arm. I don't know how she got that much junk on here with her - she never touched that shit before in her life.

I played Amazing Grace on the guitar and said a little something while Sam put her out the airlock. Maybe she'll find Jerry out there.

8/23/5█: Something's wrong, man. We should have made it by now, but I haven't even seen Alpha Centauri out the window. Are we going the wrong way? Did we go too far? I can't make any sense of these star charts - Jerry was the expert on all this shit, I'm just a philosophy major.

Sam and I have been getting sick, too. I've been getting weaker and we've got these splotches all over our bodies. Sam is having trouble eating and he lost a tooth yesterday.1 I haven't seen the cat in days, but I can smell something real bad. I think she must have crawled behind something and died. I hope we make it soon.

9/18/5█: I can see the Moon out the side window. Something's wrong, man. All this time out here and we're not even past the Moon? Jerry must have fucked up the math. We'll never get there in time. I don't even think we can get back home anymore. I closed all the curtains once I saw it. I can't let Sam know - he's not holding his food down anymore. I'm not much better myself.

9/23/5█: I'm all alone now. Sam died this morning.

He could barely sit up or see towards the end. He asked me if we were there yet. I told him yeah, man, we'll be there tomorrow, just you get your rest. I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. He asked me to read him "And Death Shall Have No Dominion" one last time. His eyes were closed by the time I finished. They never opened up again. I pushed him out the airlock after he was gone. There's not gonna be anyone left to push me out.

11/3/5█:

The stars are so fucking beautiful out here, man.

Footnotes

1. The symptoms described are consistent with scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. Examination of the food stores found aboard SCP-1958 indicate a grossly deficient vitamin C content.