Item#: 748

Containment Class: euclid

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: caution

SCP-748, interior.

Special Containment Procedures: The non-anomalous structure above SCP-748 has been converted into Site-68. In the event of a civilian encounter, security personnel are to employ non-lethal force in conjunction with the administration of amnestics. A steel, barbed-wire fence must be maintained at a four km radius around SCP-748. Signs warning of toxic contamination are to be attached to the fence at every three meter interval.

Security has been increased in light of recent changes to SCP-748. Researchers are to travel and work in groups of no fewer than 3 and must be accompanied by an armed escort at all times. Security personnel are to be equipped with helmet-mounted live audio/video recording devices and all personnel must be equipped with a GPS tracking unit.

Description: SCP-748 is an abandoned industrial complex capable of mass-production through anomalous technology. Located in Lowell, Massachusetts, SCP-748 was constructed beneath a non-anomalous factory. SCP-748's anomalous machines are rusted, damaged, and primarily disabled. Based on recovered documents, these machines would have required a level of power on par with a fusion reactor but their intended power source has yet to be discovered. The construction of SCP-748 appears to be incomplete. Evidence of this includes walled doorways, dead-end halls, and wires/pipes that connect to nothing. Posters throughout the complex display motivational/propagandistic slogans, including "A HARD WORKER IS A HAPPY WORKER" and "ACTIVE MINDS LEAD TO IDLE HANDS" (among others).

The first subterranean floor is accessible via a collapsed portion of SCP-748's surface interior. Metal signs designate the location as “Boarding 03/1200 – Ι: 21”. The floor is characterized by eight hallways (cell blocks 1-8), each converging at a circular room equipped with a large mechanical lift. Cells are designed for the containment of workers. The floor is estimated to have been designed for the capability of housing 4,000 to 6,000 individuals in crowded, unsanitary conditions.

The second subterranean floor is a rectangular chamber. Despite its distance from the surface it appears to be designed for the packaging and shipping of products; local signs designate the floor “Shipping 03/1200 – Φ: 5190”. The floor contains twenty-one mechanical lifts including the central elevator - the lifts most likely used for the transportation of items from the assembly floor.

Contained within are three machines of identical design attached to the southern, eastern, and northern walls and are respectively labeled Νότος,1 Εὖρος,2 and Βορέας.3 Although disabled, recovered documents suggest that their purpose was related to the transportation of objects. The western wall appears to have once housed such a machine but it seems to have been destroyed. These machines have since been classified as SCP-748-1.

Heavily rusted crates were discovered haphazardly scattered throughout the area. The crates are non-anomalous and their anomalous cargo has been transferred to Site ██ for study. Anomalous objects recovered from these crates include:

500 rocking horses, biologically alive. Scream when observed. Highly radioactive.

500 fur coats crafted from the pelts of various unknown species. Perpetually on fire.

2,000 rifles that superficially resemble the M1903 Springfield. No observable anomalies but Kant counters have registered them at >50 Hm, suggesting high levels of potential unreality.

800 bowler hats that cannot be removed once worn. Causes the wearer to expel wasps from every orifice.

200,000 cigarettes. Direct inhalation transforms the consumer into a basking shark. Affected individuals will explode after complete transformation (a process requiring approximately 30 minutes).

10 metric tonnes of rotten meat. Genetic analysis revealed a hybrid species of human, pig, and squid. Highly radioactive.

The third subterranean floor is a semi-circular chamber accessible via the central elevator. Signs designate this floor “Production 03/1200 - Ω : 91”. The location is composed of conveyor belts, pneumatic tubes, electron tubes, and pipes – all of which connect to a large machine (since classified as SCP-748-2) located in the southern section of the chamber. Based on recovered documents, SCP-748-2's intended purpose was roughly analogous to a molecular assembler.4 However, its design and mechanics fail to correlate with such a hypothetical constructor or with established laws of nature, rendering the process entirely anomalous.

It appears that SCP-748-2 suffered significant damage at some point in the past, an event likely related to SCP-748's neutralization. This is estimated to have occurred in the early 1950s despite records stating that the surface factory was shut down and abandoned in 1915.

+ History and Discovery

- ACCESS GRANTED

The factory that would eventually house SCP-748 was built in 1882 by Randolph T. Metzger and initially functioned as a textile mill. It is speculated that SCP-748 itself was clandestinely built between the years 1896 and 1908.

Abandoned long before containment, the location was considered a popular, albeit dangerous destination for exploration and the source of several urban legends (none of which are believed to be relevant to its anomaly). On 09/04/1992, the Foundation began its investigation after years of disappearances being attributed to the location. SCP-748 would be under Foundation containment by October of that year.

Randolph T. Metzger: A Biography

Randolph T. Metzger, 1898.

Randolph T. Metzger (1840-1915) was an affluent textile magnate. Born to German immigrants, he was the object of significant praise - his life frequently cited as a "rags-to-riches" story. Owning several mills, his most profitable was located in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, where he employed an estimated 70% of the local population. Metzger was also celebrated for his charitable contributions, including the management of "Metzger's House for Wayward Youths" and the "Organization for the Betterment of Man".

Despite his charitable works, he remained a contemptuous figure in the eyes of organized labor. Conditions within the factory were reportedly dismal and devoid of safety regulations. His conflict with the labor movement would culminate in the bombing of the Lowell factory in 1895, resulting in 23 fatalities. The incident was blamed on anarchist provocateurs and six men were arrested and executed for their involvement despite a lack of evidence. The actual cause of the incident remains unknown, police refusing to investigate the matter further; corruption is suspected.

Metzger began to restructure his business enterprise in early 1896, resulting in the creation of what would later be classified as SCP-748. Approximate to this time, based on Metzger's private journal, aligned himself with an entity known as "The Investor".5

Metzger committed suicide on November 13, 1915, his body discovered by constables after a mail carrier reported hearing gunshots in the vicinity of his manor. Autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a self-inflected gunshot wound to the head. No brain matter was recovered, presumed by the coroner as having been eaten by a pet hound. His family and household servants were discovered missing and their fates remain unknown.

+ Related Documents

- ACCESS GRANTED

Diary Entry: Randolph T. Metzger, 1896

The deal's been made. I regret nothing. Necessary sacrifices. All of them.

Simply good business.

The Investor has promised much.

And soon, I'll be richer than Croesus.

Unsent Letter: Brianna O'Donnel, 1897

Mum,

This money should get you through the next month. Send my love to sis. Tell her I got her letter.

Good news! Mr. Metzger's a changed man! The new factory is a marvel to behold and the dormitories are so spacious! He said it isn't even finished yet. He even plans to increase our wages. Did the protests really get through to him? I don't know but he seems sincere, always a smile on his face. The girls are just as happy. Says the factory is going to be a model for the world! We don't feel just like workers anymore. Like, we're part of something bigger now? It ain't equal to Mr. Metzger but it's certainly an improvement. Haven't seen his family in awhile. His wife and boys used to visit a lot.

Sincerely,

Brianna

Diary Entry: Lucja Czajkowski, 1900

Translated from Polish:

Where does everyone go? So many floors. How many are here now? So hard to keep track. Was working with Sasha at 202. We were speaking and then she was gone. Overseer says not to worry. I ask him again and he beats me. I don't know why. He has no face.

I search for her today but can't find 202. Numbers keep moving.

It hurts behind my eyes. Blood comes from my nose and ears. Overseer say it's normal. I cannot let them see me cry. Or they will use the punishment rod.

No more. I am dying inside.

Diary Entry: Randolph T. Metzger, 1902

The M-Machine has come online well ahead of schedule. Janus Doors are locked to their intended destinations. An endless supply of raw materials.

I desire outfits of finest silk? The machine creates it. I wish for toys? And toys it shall produce. The M-Machine can conjure forth every possible consumer good. I transmute flesh into bread and blood into wine!

The factory bends to my will. The workers live at my mercy alone. I am God here.

Diary Entry: Fiona Murphy, 1906

This place is a prison. We cannot leave. Those outside this dungeon must not know. Always more workers. Hundreds. Thousands. The factory expands. The factors shifts. I heard the overseers. They say it is one of many. Connected by the Janus Doors. What do they mean? The walls move. Too many floors. Too many rooms. Can't keep track. Nothing seems real. My stomach churns and I vomit daily. They inject our meals. Just enough, just enough to keep us alive and useful. The noise is deafening - the sound of machines and screams.

And the toil never ends. People work themselves to death. And then are fed to that infernal machine. We make everything. Food. Toys. Clothes.

And weapons. Unlike any I could imagine. Terrible, terrible weapons.

We are allowed four hours for sleep but I often wake to the sound of Harvestmen. The scraping of metal on metal. In the morning, we sometimes find someone missing. We dare not question it. Need to keep our head down, can't look them in the eyes.

They aren't human. Not anymore.

Diary Entry: Randolph T. Metzger, 1912

The Investor dreams of war. A most profitable venture. This explains the current demands. I don't know where they are being sent. The Investor prefers to keep me in the dark. I've become a cog in his machine and have grown dreadfully bored. This factory is bound to me! It grows too efficient, too perfect; I have no place in its future.

Have I become obsolete?

Suicide Note: Randolph T. Metzger, 1915

THIS WASNT [sic] WHAT I WAS PROMISED

Addendum: On 05/14/1996, a blockage of bone and scrap metal was removed from several large pipes used throughout the complex. This removal caused the pipes to flood with water, resulting in the loss of eleven personnel. Following this incident, electrical lights were enabled throughout the complex (flickering and dim, suggestive of low power) and an aperture opened where the central elevator shaft had previously terminated, connecting to an additional floor.

The fourth subterranean floor is a spherical chamber accessible via the central elevator shaft. Metal signs designate the floor as “Management 03/1200 - Δ : 586”. Contained within this floor are 200 pillar-shaped machines attached to one another via copper wires, bronze pipes, and vacuum tubes. Each device houses a glass cylinder containing an unidentified green liquid and one preserved human brain. These brains are biologically alive but have suffered damage consistent with lobotomy. These devices are classified as SCP-748-3 and connect to a large and intricate apparatus at the northeastern section of the floor which has since been classified as SCP-748-4.

SCP-748-4 is a 275 metric ton bio-mechanical machine related to the control and management of SCP-748. SCP-748-4's mechanical component is comparable to an analog computer (albeit one of incredible complexity) while its organic component is a living human brain that claims to be Randolph T. Metzger. SCP-748-4's voice is often distorted and marred by static - it remains unknown how it is able to speak and hear.

+ SCP-748-4: Interviews

- ACCESS GRANTED

SCP-748-4's brain vat.

Interview 01

Interviewed: SCP-748-4/"Randolph T. Metzger"

Interviewer: Dr. Emerson

Foreword: First official interview with SCP-748-4.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Emerson: Please state your name.

SCP-748-4: I am Randolph Thaddeus Metzger. Has the Investor sent you? Does he finally wish to parlay after all these years?

Dr. Emerson: No. I wasn't sent by the "Investor". Tell me - how did you come to be in your current state?

SCP-748-4: Do you think yourself my equal? Humble your tone and lower your head. I demand answers. Satisfy my desire and perhaps I'll indulge your curiosity.

Dr. Emerson: Very well, Mr. Metzger. Ask your questions.

SCP-748-4: If you are not one of his sycophants then who are you?

Dr. Emerson: I am a researcher. Nothing more. Does that satis-

SCP-748-4: [interrupts, voice distorted; a metallic and grating tone] Liar. LIAR! I've been watching you with all my eyes. A researcher, yes, but don't play me for a fool.

Dr. Emerson: I'm afraid that information is confidential.

SCP-748-4: Then you are a parasite and shall receive nothing.

<End Log>

Closing Statement: A request was made to Overwatch for a ToI6 Agreement. Request approved.

Dr. Paula Emerson

Interview 02

Interviewed: SCP-748-4/"Randolph T. Metzger"

Interviewer: Dr. Emerson

Foreword: Second official interview with SCP-748-4.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Emerson: We agree to your terms. We are an organization that deals with anomalies, such as yourself.

SCP-748-4: I'm an anomaly now? Oh, it's simply a trade secret…

Dr. Emerson: Being a brain in a jar?

SCP-748-4: Now now, there's no need to be snide.

Dr. Emerson: Will you answer our questions then?

SCP-748-4: Speak your words. I'll decide whether to answer or not.

Dr. Emerson: How did you come to be in your present state?

SCP-748-4: I was utterly aghast, you know. At least at first. No doubt my enemies would have proclaimed 'poetic justice' or some rot.

The Investor was not punishing me. No, no… Efficiency was increased. That was all that mattered.

Dr. Emerson: Who was the Investor?

SCP-748-4: A very wealthy man. Wealthier than I - and I was the sixth wealthiest magnate in the world! The five more affluent than I? They too were willing to serve the invisible hand of the market. I know not his name or how he procured his fortune. Perhaps every loose coin falls his way…

There is a shadow market. There has always been a shadow market. Where Rockefeller reigned by daylight, the Investor ruled in darkness. And even Rockefeller bowed his head.

The filth of this world. The dregs, the socialists, the PARASITES [shrieking distortion followed by static]… They called us 'robber barons'; if we were barons, then the Investor was emperor.

And none but us even knew he existed. In the end, he dared to put a stop to the project. Saw the writing on the wall, knew he was losing control…

Now go. I grow weary of conversation. Return later if you must.

<End Log>

Closing Statement: A fortuitous conversation, although its bombastic speech renders it difficult to discern how much was mere hyperbole.

Dr. Paula Emerson

Interview 03

Interviewed: SCP-748-4/"Randolph T. Metzger"

Interviewer: Dr. Emerson

Foreword: Third official interview with SCP-748-4.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Emerson: Would you be willing to answer more questions?

SCP-748-4: Ask and you may receive.

Dr. Emerson: What can you tell me about this complex? What is its purpose?

SCP-748-4: You call yourself a researcher? How can you not see its purpose? If you were my employee I would have you stripped of your position and thrown into the Crucible7 as scrap material!

Dr. Emerson: Allow me to correct myself. We know it is for manufacturing but what is its larger purpose? How does it work?

SCP-748-4: To take industry to its logical conclusion! And how it works? HA! [shrieking metallic noise] A trade secret, my friend. We prefer to keep the upper hand.

Dr. Emerson: "We"? Are you referring to those other brains?

SCP-748-4: Those are merely additional places to store my memory. Thoughtless tools. Nothing more. Do you think I am the only one? Many served the Investor. You don't even know the true scale of this place, do you?

Dr. Emerson: Please explain.

SCP-748-4: No. I find this all terribly dull. Leave me be.

<End Log>

Closing Statement: It appears that SCP-748 is only one of many such factories. I find it peculiar that SCP-748-4 has a very limited interest in conversation. How else is it occupying itself? Perhaps I am overthinking this.

Dr. Paula Emerson

Addendum: Six personnel have inexplicably vanished with the first incident occurring in 08/14/1996. Each individual was out of sight at the time of their disappearance and in some cases, were nearby but merely obstructed when turning a corner or moving behind a machine. The cause of these disappearances remains unknown. Security procedures have since been updated to address this concern.

When asked about the disappearances, SCP-748-4 responded by stating: "Accidents happen. Your safety is not my concern."

+ INFORMATION RESTRICTED TO LEVEL 4 PERSONNEL OR ABOVE

- ACCESS GRANTED

WARNING:

Due to the ongoing nature of SCP-748's containment breach this document is incomplete and subject to change.

O5-12

12/31/1999

Item#: 748

Containment Class: keter

Secondary Class: uncontained

Disruption Class: ekhi

Risk Class: danger

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-748 and its related anomalies are currently uncontained. Special containment procedures are to focus on the apprehension of SCP-748 products and the mitigation of Mammon events.

Description: SCP-748 is a factory complex capable of anomalous manufacturing. SCP-748 is not believed to be the only one of its kind and may function in tandem with potentially hundreds of such instances. GPS readings recovered from Site-68 revealed scattered pings across all continents but Antarctica. This suggests that SCP-748 may now be merged with these related instances and functioning as a single entity via dimensional anomalies.

It is currently unknown when SCP-748 breached containment but it is hypothesized that Site-68's security became jeopardized shortly after the discovery of SCP-748-4. The Foundation would not become aware of the breach until the first recorded Omega-Mammon event (the destruction of Site-68 being a likely Alpha-Mammon event).

An Alpha-Mammon event involves the harvest of materials and their transmutation into salable products. Resources are gathered by instances of SCP-748-5 by any available means and make no distinction between living and non-living matter.

SCP-748-5 entities appear roughly human but have undergone extensive mechanical and surgical augmentation. Their numbers are unknown but they are believed to be composed from former workers of SCP-748 and Site-68 personnel. SCP-748-5 lack skin and appear to have undergone a process similar to plastination8 but employing a stronger, more flexible material. Attached to the backs of SCP-748-5 are rusted, iron cages; the tops of which are open and apparently designed for the collection of materials. Their left hands have been replaced with tools, most commonly sickles or circular saws. The face has been completely excised, the hollow space housing a flaring horn (similar to those used in early phonographs).

SCP-748-5 are able to render themselves intangible (during which they are unable to interact with the physical world) and are capable of manifesting/demanifesting at any location. This in turn makes it practically impossible to contain a living specimen. Autopsies of deceased subjects (SCP-748-5 can be terminated through destruction of the brain stem) suggest that the mechanical components of SCP-748-5 self-destruct upon the death/disablement of their host, leaving the technology beyond repair and of little to no research value.

An Omega-Mammon event involves the manifestation of SCP-748 products at retail locations. These objects, as well as the packaging used, have a cognitive influence on employees and owners of affected stores. Retailers are unable to perceive SCP-748 products as unusual or out of place. Money used to purchase these products will vanish the moment they are placed within a register. Credit or debit cards used for the purchase will have the appropriate amount of money deducted but without any evidence of where the money was transferred.

The first Omega-Mammon event involved the sudden influx of anomalous objects at retailers within 40 km of SCP-748. Some anomalies appear intended while others appear to be a byproduct of the molecular and existential instability associated with most of SCP-748's creations. Purchased items resulted in 56 casualties (including 33 fatalities) and requiring an extensive (and ongoing) coverup operation.

Mammon events have since been reported globally.

Site-68 was discovered destroyed and heavily salvaged. Surviving personnel were hostile to recovery operatives, resulting in the deaths of 9 recovery agents and all 12 Site-68 personnel; approximately 50 other Site-68 personnel vanished before they could be neutralized.

Autopsies revealed significant modifications to Site-68 staff, including chemical treatment, lobotomy, and mechanical augmentation. Site-68 personnel have since been classified as SCP-748-5. It is suspected they were converted at least 2-6 years before discovery, during which Site-68 requested and received advanced equipment that has yet to be recovered. It is presently theorized that this equipment was used to repair SCP-748.

SCP-748 is currently in a metamorphic state. These shifts lack any recognizable pattern and have resulted in the fatalities of 32 recovery operatives – primarily from being transfigured and incorporated into SCP-748 or through evisceration by the rapid manifestation of pipes and wires. Surveillance has been rendered impossible with CCTV equipment having been disabled and remote drones quickly destroyed by shift events.

Addendum: Audio data was recovered from what is left of Site-68. Although part of a CCTV recorded video, the video itself was too distorted to be of any use but audio proved salvageable and appears to reveal seemingly one-sided conversations by SCP-748-4. It is theorized that SCP-748-4 is communicating with instances similar to himself from throughout the world. It is suspected that Foundation personnel had already been converted to SCP-748-5 at the time of these recordings. SCP-748-4 has been recovered stating the following over a period of several months:

"Wake up Liverpool. It is time to get back to work."

"A capital idea. We'll corner the market."

"Ah. Tokyo. You survived. A pity we slept through the war. It would have been a most profitable venture."

"Be proud, my friends, for the project moves swiftly."

"The Infinity Engine has been reactivated. The Crucible demands fresh material."

"We have long awaited for this! The world will be that of producer and consumer and those who refuse will be industrialized. We are to fulfill our destiny and become one with the free market…

Gentlemen, I do declare: we are truly back in business!"

Footnotes

1. Greek god of the south wind.

2. Greek god of the east wind.

3. Greek god of the north wind.

4. A theoretical device capable of guiding chemical reactions by positioning reactive molecules with atomic precision. Also known as a universal constructor.

5. Since classified as PoI-296. Currently unidentified, they were/are capable of supplying anomalous technology.

6. "Trade of Information". A limited and controlled release of information in order to gather presently unknown data.

7. Meaning unknown but presumably a component of SCP-748.

8. A technique used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts, first developed by Gunther von Hagens in 1977. Water and fat are replaced with plastics, preserving anatomical properties and preventing decay.