They both look across the room. Near the far 
end is a large, seven-toothed gear. It is 
suspended above a large tank of water. The 
white hot gear is rotating slowly; as it does, it 
appears to pass through the closed top of the 
tank — as if the gear were intangible. The 
water boils on contact with the gear, producing 
steam. Thousands of small metal tubes run out 
of the tank, which feed into smaller tanks. 
Each tank is covered in valves and gauges 
with hundreds of lines that feed into the walls 
of the chamber. 


Nereus: A... a steam engine? 


Setrate: And why it’s so hot, we must have 
been in a... in a vent or something. 


Nereus: God... my hands. 
Setrate: Nereus... Nereus, look. The walls. 


Figures are beginning to appear in the 
machinery walls. These figures are all vaguely 
humanoid, with rotting skin and mechanical 
replacements for key parts of their bodies. 
They walk through the walls towards the two 
agents. 


Nereus: Fuck! Run! 
Setrate: Shit! 


The agents flee away from the engine and 
towards an opening at the other end. They 
have to get on their hands and knees to enter. 
It leads them into a larger, empty tank on the 
other side. Mechanical humanoids begin to 
appear around them, and a few move towards 


a large wheel near the top. As they turn it, 
water begins to fill the tank. 


Nereus: Visors down! Come on! 


The men seal their helmets as water rushes 
over them. The mechanical humanoids jump 
into the tank from above and sink down 
towards them. Both of the men dive down 
towards the bottom of the tank where a small 
hatch is visible on one side. A mechanical 
figure attempts to grab Nereus from behind but 
is thrown off. Setrate grabs the wheel on the 
hatch and, with some effort, spins it. The hatch 
opens and both men are pulled into the 
enclosed space beyond as water rushes out of 
the tank. 


They slide through the darkness for some time 
through a series of tubes, eventually 
depositing out into another chamber. This 
chamber is similarly cramped, but appears to 
be free of the mechanical humanoids. Agent 
Setrate’s camera goes Offline. 


Setrate: Fuck... | think... shit, | landed on my 
camera, the fucking lens is busted. (He checks 
the recorder unit) No, not the lens. Just the 
recorder. (Pauses) Transmitter is fine, but | bet 
the card is fucked up, too. 


Nereus: Pull it out, and stick it into mine. It'll at 
least be safe from the water in there, and we 
can just look at it when we get topside. 
(Pauses, takes a deep breath) Alright. So 
there are people... things... in here. That hot 
gear up there, that’s got to be an anomalous 
power source, right? Did you see how it was 
just phasing through the metal on that tank? 


Setrate: Yeah. How are your hands? 


Nereus: Fucked up. I’m just going to slow you 
down. 


Setrate nods. Looking around the room, he 
notices several other hatches just above them. 


Setrate: Help me get up there, and we'll try 
and find a route out. 


Setrate climbs on Nereus’ shoulders, and the 
two men squeeze into another confined space. 
They work their way through, careful to avoid 
making any sound. Lights can be seen through 
the walls of the hallway. As they reach the 
door on the far end, Nereus leans in to listen. 


Nereus: (Knocks on the door) Water. | bet this 
is an external door. Let’s go. 


Setrate spins the hatch on the door and opens 
it. Water begins to fill the room. Once the 
chamber is sufficiently flooded, he opens the 
door completely and they step outside. 


They are standing on one of many suspended 
platforms hanging off the sides of SCP-3813. 
Just past the edge of the railing, the dim lights 
of the submersible vehicle are visible. 


Nereus: Emergency lights, look. Something 
must have happened to the sub. 


Nereus waves at the submersible. 


Nereus: Vanguard, you read us now? Let’s 
get out of- 


There is a loud cracking sound, and suddenly 
Setrate is pulled back through the hatch 
behind them quickly. The force of Setrate 
being pulled into SCP-3813 spins Nereus 
sideways, his helmet smashing against the 


side of the railing. The hatch closes behind 
him. A crack has formed on Nereus’ helmet; 
and water is leaking in. He tries to swim 
towards the submersible, but the leg of his 
diving suit has caught on the metal railing. 


Nereus: Oh Jesus! Vanguard! Vanguard, do 
you read me? I’m stuck, I’m taking on water, 
Vanguard, help! 


Agent Nereus attempts to free himself from the 
railing. There is no response from Agent 
Vanguard. 


Nereus: Setrate? Setrate!? Vanguard, help 
me! | can’t get, | can’t get unstuck! Help! 


Inside, Setrate is pulled backwards. Nereus’ 
video feed captures Setrate disappearing into 
the ceiling of the hallway. On Setrate’s video 
transmitter, all that can be seen around him is 
metal moving and the only sound is steel on 
steel. His video feed, now transmitting to the 
submersible, flickers slightly but remains 
constant. 


Outside, Agent Nereus pulls again and frees 
himself from the railing. With his suit quickly 
filling with water, he swims towards the 
submersible. 


Nereus: Vanguard! Vanguard, open the hatch! 
Vanguard, the water! Vanguard! 


Agent Nereus is seen approaching the 
submersible, though his movements are erratic 
and he makes little progress. 


Nereus: Vangu- (sounds of water) -help, |- 
(choking) -help, please, he- (sloshing) -can’t, 
can't- 


Agent Nereus pulls at his belt and disconnects 
his video recorder, which he throws at the sub. 
He struggles with his helmet for the following 
23 seconds before becoming still. His suit 
hangs in the water just in front of the 
submersible. After a moment, his body sinks 
towards SCP-3813. 


Agent Setrate’s video feed becomes dark for 
several minutes as the agent is pulled through 
the interior of SCP-3813. Eventually a small, 
dimly lit room becomes visible. There are 
humanoid entities around the chamber 
operating machines. Steam fills the air. Agent 
Setrate tries to resist, but his arms and legs 
are restrained by the wall behind him. 


In the center of the room is a large mechanical 
component that appears to have burst through 
the floor. Conjoined into this structure is a 
skeletal figure with bloodied, taut skin and thin, 
grey hair. A golden circlet is fused to the 
figure’s scalp. When the entity turns to face 
Agent Setrate, it smiles, and behind its teeth a 
fire can be seen burning in its throat. Small red 
lights flash in its eye sockets. 


Foundation linguists and analysts with access to 
this file are to utilize the following audio log in 
conjunction with evaluation file 3813-9-A in order to 
identify the entity interacting with Agent Setrate. 


The entity soeaks. The language is 
unidentified and it has not yet been translated. 
It reaches a hand out from the machine it is 
fused into, up to move away its hair. The red 
lights of its eyes begin to glow brighter, and 
SCP-3813 shudders around them. The entity 
speaks again, more forcefully. 


Setrate: | don’t know what you’re saying! 


The entity steps forward. As it does, the 
machine it is attached to begins to stir, and 
long mechanical constructs snake out of it to 
follow the figure towards Agent Setrate. After a 
moment, the entity is within an arm's length 
from Setrate. Its body is still connected to the 
central machine by numerous cables, tubes, 
wires and other machine parts. The entity 
smiles, and the fire in its throat is visible again. 
Smoke begins to pour out of its nostrils and 
mouth. 


Setrate: What do you want? 


The figure reaches an arm into the ground, 
and through the machinery on the flooring 
produces a Foundation standard diving- 
helmet. The visor is down and the interior is 
cloudy, but other tubes and hoses snake out of 
the bottom of it. Red fluid pulses through the 
hoses. 


The figure holding the helmet begins to speak, 
and as it does Nereus’ voice speaks from 
inside the clouded helmet. The voice is 
metallic, heavily distorted, and in English. 


Nereus’ Voice: You look to run. As a true 
coward of Rome. But there is no path but 
forward. For too long | have waited. For too 
long | have... suffered. Today, a son of 
Romulus comes. | have held this machine 
together in anticipation of your arrival. | hope 
only that you resist so that | may enjoy 
breaking your will. There is much to do and 
Rome must burn. 


Agent Setrate struggles as the machine parts 
around him begin to pull him back into the wall. 


The video and audio feed cuts out and does 
not reactivate. 


[END LOG] 


Shortly afterwards, Foundation recovery teams collected 
the submersible vehicle, the video records of both divers 
and Agent Vanguard for debriefing. Agents Setrate and 
Nereus were not recovered. 


A complete historical summary of SCP-3813's attack on 
Rome has been compiled by Foundation Historian, Dr. 
Elias Antony in document 3813-L. 


Footnotes 

1. “An... unthinkable puzzle... something that this man drew out of 
nothing with no knowledge of providence. God doesn’t provide 
willingly to the undevout, so how would a heathen like the 
Carthaginian find this gift? What makes him deserving of a blessing 
like this and not one of the devout?" ~ Robert Bumaro 

2. No other information about this author can be found from any 
other sources. 

3. Based on the style of writing and experience described, it is 
possible that this author is Claudius Marcellus himself. 


Document 3813-L 


Modern historical accounts indicate that the Second Punic War was 
fought mostly in what is now northern Italy, when Hannibal’s army 
descended through Transalpine Gaul and beat the Roman military in 
several key engagements. During this march Hasdrubal brought 
SCP-3813 south along the North African coastline, through Sicily 
and up the Italian Peninsula to Rome, where he met the Republic in 
open combat. 


The Carthaginian Advance (218 BC): 


In 218 BC, Hasdrubal met Hannibal and the Carthaginian army near 
what would be modern Valencia before their expedition east. After a 
week with the troops, Hasdrubal sailed south for Carthage. After 
several months of preparations, in the beginning of summer 217 BC, 
Hasdrubal, his brother Mago, and Hannibal's brother-in-law Naravas 
commanded a Carthaginian fleet east, towards Sicily accompanied 
by SCP-3813. As SCP-3813 was much too large to be transported 
in a ship, Hasdrubal instead walked the entity through the shallower 
waters of the coast and then across the narrow sea towards the 
island. 


After passing Sicily on the north, the Carthaginians turned north 
along the Italian Peninsula and began to march towards Naples. The 
Roman general Cladius assembled a defense fleet at Scalia that 
was able to drive most of the approaching Carthaginian ships back 
out to sea, but was shattered once SCP-3813 reached the shallower 
waters and was able to emerge from below the surface. Hasdrubal 
halted his fleet in Scalia to await word from Hannibal in the north. 
After three days, the group continued north towards Rome. 


Another defense fleet, this time assembled by a group of powerful 
Napalitan merchants, converged on SCP-3813 in the late fall of 217 
BC. The leader of this group, a retired Roman commander named 
Alexius Marius Trudeus, launched several volleys on the 
Carthaginian fleet before retreating, being careful to avoid the much 


slower SCP-3813. Long-range catapults on the Neapolitan shore 
were able to deter SCP-3813 slightly and do some small amount of 
damage to the overall structure, but these were quickly dispatched 
by SCP-3813 as it swept its tusks across the beachhead and 
destroyed them. 


The Ostian Beach head (Spring - 216 BC) 


Hasdrubal and his fleet reached the Ostian beach head in the spring 
of 216 BC. Because Hannibal was still two weeks march from the 
city, Hasdrubal opted to wait until reinforcements arrived over land 
before attempting his beach landing. As he did, Alexius Marius 
Trudeus’ fleet arrived in Rome and reinforced the garrison there, 
preventing any Carthaginian retreat that did not involve action by 
SCP-3813. 


At the same time, a larger Roman army under command of Marcus 
Claudius Marcellus approached from the south to reinforce the 
troops that had fled to Rome after their disastrous victory at the 
Battle of Cannae. The general is reported to have said, upon seeing 
SCP-3813 for the first time: 


“They say Hyperion has descended upon Rome... and 
Rome will welcome him. As Apollo did to Helios, so shall 
the might of our Republic do to this bastard god.” 


As Claudius Marcellus reinforced the beach, word of a second army 
approaching from the northeast arrived at the front. Hasdrubal, 
perhaps eager to see SCP-3813 in action and concerned about his 
growing number of enemies without word from Hannibal, decided to 
begin his attack. 


On a spring morning in 216 BC, the Carthaginian ships made 
landfall. They were met by intense fighting by the Roman garrison, 
and were repelled. However, with SCP-3813 threatening to make 
landfall, the garrison was forced into a hasty retreat. 


After two days of fighting on the beach, word arrived that Hannibal 
and the Carthaginian army had arrived from the north, and had 

established a camp near modern Ladispoli. Eager to reinforce the 
beach, Hasdrubal had ships fitted to move north and resupply the 


of high magnitude sound production, any subject that hears the 
sound will be absorbed, even if not in close proximity to the object. 
Experimentation has shown that the subject must actually listen to 
and hear SCP-497 in order to be absorbed. Subjects listening 
remotely or listening to recorded sound from SCP-497 are not 
affected. See Experiment 497-A for further details. 


It is possible to damage SCP-497, and samples have been 
extracted by using diamond drill bits. However, SCP-497's sound 
will increase in magnitude when damaged, and will materialize 
subjects at a greatly accelerated rate. The shell will quickly repair 
itself during this period as well. Attempts to continue damaging 
SCP-497 will cause its sound to increase exponentially. 
Determination of the composition of the samples has so far proved 
inconclusive. Extraction of further samples is advised against. See 
Experiment 497-B for details of early extraction attempts. 


Addendum: 


SCP-497 has produced subjects of various ages of both genders. 
Subjects have been comprised of a majority of people of Indian 
descent, with a small percentage of other races. Approximately 
eighty percent of recovered subjects have been dead. Of the 
remaining twenty percent, only three percent have survived more 
than two days after being released from SCP-497. Severe 
malnutrition and resulting complications have been the primary 
cause of death. 


SCP-497 was recovered in 's house in , India, following an 
investigation into missing persons reports. The situation was brought 
to the attention of the Foundation after the discovery of many 
unsolved missing persons cases originating near the location, dating 
back hundreds of years. Agents and __were called in to 
investigate the house and surrounding area. SCP-497 was 
discovered to hold supernatural qualities after Agent —_‘ found it 
among a collection of shells and was absorbed into the object. "/ 
should have kept a better watch over Agent _ on his first mission. 
But how inept do you have to be to hold a shell up to your ear when 
we are searching for SCP class objects?" —Agent during 
debriefing. 


army, as well as ferry it to the established beach head further south. 
However the ships were not able to escape Marius Trudeas’ 
blockade and were all either captured or destroyed. 


The Battle of La Dragona (Summer - 216)