An early stage of SCP-2816-1. SCP-2816-2 is visible on the right.

Item #: SCP-2816

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-2816 is currently located in a storage locker in Site 28. Instances of SCP-2816-1 are to be recovered and placed in Site 28 storage room 5C in front of a CCTV camera.

Description: SCP-2816 is a set of paintbrushes of various sizes, estimated to be approximately 8 years old at the time of recovery. The brushes emit minor amounts of ionizing radiation, although not enough to be considered harmful. SCP-2816 may be used as a regular set of paintbrushes when creating original works, but any attempt to copy an existing painting will make the finished result an instance of SCP-2816-1.

Instances of SCP-2816-1 will not initially display anomalous properties, but when left unobserved for a length of time1 the contents of the painting will begin to change. The first change is always the appearance of SCP-2816-2, which will be seen sitting or standing somewhere within the painting. SCP-2816-2 will remain idle in the painting for up to 24 hours before making additional changes. Changes will only be made when the painting is not being observed; if the painting is observed while changing, it will appear to be frozen mid-change. SCP-2816-2 may be visible, often in the act of changing the painting. Any changes made to the painting while SCP-2816-2 is active will cause SCP-2816-2 to stop appearing in the painting and all progress to halt.

SCP-2816-2 is a humanoid figure wearing a white Level C HAZMAT suit. After SCP-2816-2's first appearance, additional changes will be made to the painting during periods of non-observation. SCP-2816-2 will overhaul all structures within the painting, adding safety equipment and survival gear wherever possible2 and in many cases reinforcing the structure by replacing walls with stronger materials, fixing holes or damage, or boarding up windows. Additionally, SCP-2816-2 will place a sign saying "HAZARD" over every visible exit. Although SCP-2816-2 will not modify any living creatures in the painting, after several modifications have been made their expressions can be seen to be visibly more anxious. If the creatures are not inside an enclosed structure, SCP-2816-2 will place gas masks on their faces.

Within 5 days of SCP-2816-2's first change, the environment of SCP-2816-1 will begin to show significant differences matching an accelerated timescale of a nuclear winter. If SCP-2816-2's preparations were complete, the painting's inhabitants will remain unaffected; however, if SCP-2816-2's preparations were not completed in time, the painting's inhabitants will begin to die. A variety of causes have been recorded, including radiation sickness, hypothermia, starvation, and dehydration. On rare occasions, the cause of death will indicate violence by another inhabitant, such as assault with a blunt object or a bloodied trail leading off to the side of the painting. Inhabitants have also been known to commit suicide if an opportunity is available.

Addendum-2816-01: Log of recorded changes in instances of SCP-2816-1

+ Test Results

- Test Results

Test 1

Painting: Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

Changes: A gas mask was placed on the subject's face and the opening in the background was partially boarded up. Through gaps in the boards, the sky could be seen to have darkened significantly, and snow appeared to have begun falling.

Test 2

Painting: Edward Hopper's Nighthawks.

Changes: Canned goods, bottled water, and survival manuals were stacked on the counter. The door at the back of diner had a hazard sign placed over it. The inhabitants looked increasingly anxious over the course of the changes. The sky darkened and snow began to fall shortly after SCP-2816-2 finished covering the windows with metal plates.

Test 3

Painting: Salvador Dalí's The Persistence of Memory.

Changes: SCP-2816-2 reset all clocks to 12 o'clock and constructed a simple shack filled with food and medical supplies in the center. The entire painting turned white for approximately 20 seconds, then displayed only smoke and dust for the next hour before showing a crater.

Test 4

Painting: Vincent Willem van Gogh's Starry Night. A brush stroke was made in the middle of SCP-2816-2's preparations, halting its progress.

Changes: SCP-2816-2 boarded up approximately half of the town's visible windows and had begun working on a bunker in the foreground. 3 days after SCP-2816-2's last appearance, a large cloud of smoke blotted out most of the sky and snow began falling. Within 24 hours, all of the houses whose windows had not been boarded up displayed signs of forcible entry. Two (presumably dead) bodies could be seen lying on the ground in front of the church, but were soon covered by snow.

Test 5

Painting: Pablo Picasso's Guernica.

Changes: SCP-2816-2's only apparent actions were to close the eyes of all the inhabitants of the painting and place tall stone posts next to them; however, other actions may have been performed but obscured by the abstract art style. The second effect appeared 2 days after SCP-2816-2's first appearance, and all the inhabitants were quickly covered by snow, leaving only the posts visible.

Footnotes

1. The longest recorded timespan has been 8 days, and the shortest has been 38 seconds.

2. Items added have included fire extinguishers, gas masks, first aid kits, canned food, sealed water bottles, Geiger counters, educational literature on a variety of topics including hydroponics and food preservation, and maps of arbitrary locales with large sections shaded in and labeled "DANGER."