He had concealed the crux of it from us all, you see. At 
first. Naturally, in our initial interrogation, we'd asked him 
if he'd had any experience or memory of the afterlife. He 
claimed to recall nothing - exactly as everyone always 


does - and defeated our polygraphs completely. 


<drinking sounds> 


He approached me first, about two months ago. He 
asked if, in his absence, we'd obtained any pieces - 
which | shouldn't have to point out is not our term of art - 
capable of sustaining life indefinitely. 


While breathtaking longevity is now within our power, it 
may surprise you to learn that immortality is not; and our 
best theoreticians have recently posited that it will never 
be attainable. The resurrections we can accomplish, 
even his, cannot be repeated more than once or twice. 
Sapient life is necessarily intertwined with quantum 
uncertainty. Localize a particle with perfect precision, 
and it attains infinitely uncertain momentum, lost in an 
instant. Just so, the longer, and the more tightly a 
consciousness is bound to a specific vessel, the more 
likely it will scatter irretrievably on its own. Regardless of 
science, magic, or razzle-dazzle: you, your children, and 
your great-great-grandchildren will one day most 
assuredly die and stay dead. His disappointment at this 
theorem was palpable, and | experienced a moment of 
discomfort at his reaction. 


Not a week later O5-2 received word of a severe breach 
of protocol. Roger, or rather 05-11, had initiated direct 
contact with an APE in containment. For you L-3s, APE 
skips are Apex-tier Pluripotent Entities. | imagine you can 
work out the euphemism. 


We kept our initial investigation off the books. He'd been 
clever in covering his tracks - there was no breach alarm, 
no record of the encounter in any log - but one of the 
skip's guards failed a random amnestic test (to his 
dismay), and that was trail enough on which to set our 
bloodhounds. 


We couldn't prove it, but we imagined he risked exposure 


to the skip to offer some kind of deal. This could not 
stand. As two of his oldest comrades, today O5-2 and | 
confronted him privately. But he caught us off guard, for 
he confessed everything, and begged us for help. | 
surreptitiously recorded his pleas as a precaution; it is 
easiest if | simply replay it for you now. 


<device clicks> 


"| dared not speak of this at first. You'd never have let 
me out of containment. The truth is, | was aware of all of 
it. | suppose there was a sweet oblivion, like deep sleep, 
at first; but in retrospect, | think it was no more than a 
day. Slowly, but unmistakably, | reoccupied my corpse 
with dreamlike consciousness: numb for the first merciful 
hours, blind, deaf, and immobile, but then | seemed to 
reconnect to every nerve, and became aware of every 
sensation - moreso than | ever was in life. | perceived 
myself trapped within an immovable object, and the 
intensity of the struggle amplified: subtle, then acute, 
then racking. | cannot describe it completely - but 
imagine holding your breath, beyond urge, beyond pain, 
beyond desperation - head throbbing and eyes bulging - 
a dream of suffocation without end. 


"My skin blistered and split in the sunlight; biting insects 
descended rapidly. | felt eggs hatch, larvae crawl, gases 
build and burst within me, individual cells rupturing, 
interstitial fluids souring and blackening. Somehow my 
capacity to experience and store these sensations grew - 
even as | was keenly aware of my cerebrum being 
scattered and devoured, my perception expanded, into 
the gizzards of birds and the depths of fire ant dens. | 
was aware of every fingernail and strand of hair that 
pulled away in the wind - and my sensation clung to 
them as they settled in the ocean and dissolved in the 
maws of a trillion diatoms. 


"| don't understand it. The more bits of me there were, 
the larger my capacity for the perception of pain. As | 


SCP-313: Powerful Hand Dryer 


Item #: SCP-313 
Object Class: Safe 


Special Containment Procedures: SCP-313 is to be kept 
unmounted and disconnected when not being tested. Access is 
strictly prohibited except with special permission from a level 4 
official. Under no circumstances are personnel to press the button, 
save for officially sanctioned testing under rigidly controlled 
conditions. Please see Addendum 313-a. 


Description: SCP-313 is identical in appearance and marking to a 
World Dryer Corp Model A electric hand dryer. The object measures 
25 cm x 24 cm x 21 cm. Its casing is painted white steel, with a 
polished stainless steel nozzle and button. Internal workings are 
consistent with Model A specifications. However, despite this veneer 
of normalcy, SCP-313 has two significantly anomalous qualities — 
first and foremost, it is utterly indestructible and impervious to all 
forces available to us, and secondly, it is extraordinarily destructive, 
apparently by design. Destruction test logs are available on request 
to those with level 2 or higher security clearance. 


The second anomalous property should be considered ‘armed’ when 
SCP-313 is mounted on a wall and connected to a dedicated 20 A 
power source. Under these conditions, each push of the button 
represents a 1.5% chance that this property will activate. When this 
occurs, SCP-313 will begin to emit a stream of superheated plasma, 
which originates somewhere within the object and exits from the 
nozzle in a direction perpendicular to the surface on which the object 
is mounted. The stream’s force and temperature increase 
exponentially until the object tears loose from its mounting and/or 
propels itself through the mounted surface. Temperatures of over 
25,000 K and forces as great as 650 KN have been recorded, 
although thrust of this magnitude would never occur under normal 
circumstances. 


decayed into pieces smaller than living nerves could 
possibly distinguish, the character of the discomfort 
changed - from burning and aching and breaking | might 
relate to you in human terms - to something worse that | 
cannot fully articulate: a terrible, maddening stretching of 
every part of myself from every other part. Humans often 
numb to chronic pains in life, do they not? Yet every 
year, every month, every second that passed - | swear it 
only intensified over time. 


"In my previous life, | ruminated on Heaven and Hell, and 
the likelihood of my experiencing one, the other, or 
something in between. As terrible as | imagined the 
torpor of Heaven or the torments of Hell to be, this was 
entirely different from either. In Hell, at least, there would 
surely be a tormentor, some memory of my deeds, some 
sense of justice, even if my soul rejected its logic. | can 
imagine some comfort in Hell, for a mind such as mine. 


"| do not think this is a punishment. | do not think it is 
caused. | deeply suspect it is simply our condition, our 
nature to go on this way, do you see? In all that time, | 
was certainly, absolutely, totally alone, and before long 
all memory of life had shriveled to a cinder, lost beneath 
my interminable anguish. Alive again, | suspect | cannot 
quite recall the worst of it - as if my living brain is too 
small for the experience. 


"As Overseers, we witness, inflict, or endure great 
suffering. Yet what awaits us all is worse, the way an 
earache is worse than a bee sting, the way frostbite is 
worse than a burn. | was dead for eighteen years, and 
my misery eludes description. Dare we try to fathom the 
collective agony of legions of ancient dead? 


"Believe this: / will not return to that execrable existence. 
Not a hundred years from now, not ever. Yes, | 
approached Ahriman for help. | am sure he could extend 
us all, if he wished. | offered him great concessions from 
the Foundation, even, perhaps, release. But he laughed, 
and refused. Yet | - | can think of others willing to trade 


on asmaller scale, though the price may be nearly as - 
no. Nothing compares. Anything is better, so long as it is 
forever. 


"Do you believe me? Will you join me, and together, 
escape this fate? Please!" 


<device clicks> 


We were dumbfounded. And suddenly: sympathetic. And 
an instant later: fearful. | can't remember the last time | 
felt my heart race so. 


But we do not operate in a vacuum. A revelation of this 
magnitude must be brought before the Council for 
consideration. He was loath to admit his deception 
before the assembled Council, but he was clearly 
desperate for action as well. We prevailed upon him to 
call an immediate emergency session in teleconference. 
| knew anything less would constitute treachery. Still, as 
the three of us hurried to conference room Alpha, | 
suddenly found myself harboring subtle thoughts of - 


<throat clearing> 


And so he gave his testimony again - nearly as frank and 
purply prosaic as before. But the debate that unfolded in 
the wake of it? | have never witnessed anything like it. 


There were mostly skeptical voices at first: calm, 
concerned, and thoughtful. However, O5-8, whose face 
had grown increasingly pale as she listened to him, was 
suddenly a passionate advocate for action. 


"We must declare human death a Keter SCP," she 
demanded, "and contain it at any cost." 


That absurdity garnered an uproar, of course. But Roger 
had himself a sure ally now, and this spurred him on, 


shouting over the others to add even darker details of the 
intensity of his perennial excruciation. Imagery | cannot 
repeat. Sensations | must not contemplate. 


<brief coughing> 
I'm feeling... lightheaded. 


05-2, always a moderate influence, suggested we 
recess and collect ourselves, but then -3 suddenly 
moved that we order the immediate systematic 
termination of dangerous skips, to better protect 
ourselves and others. O5-6 seconded, but before it could 
be put to a vote, -13 suddenly clutched his chest in 
paroxysmal panic and was being evaluated by his 
medical technician when his feed abruptly cut out. As the 
fracas came to a boil, it was -10, | think, who was next 
convinced. Oh! Is belief the key? | — 


It... 


... doesn't matter. 


<heavy breathing> 


At any rate -10 started pounding his shoe on the table 
and hollering that we must dig a channel from the 
Astrakhan spring to the Mediterranean Sea, to fortify all 
of mankind. 


That was enough. Suddenly, O5-1 muted us all, and 
stood, red faced and shaking. 


"Regardless of the truth of O5-11's experience,” she 
said, "it is plain that we have lost all reason. There is only 
one possible explanation for this. Therefore | am 
declaring Emergency Protocol 17. Remain where you 
are; we shall all be administered class A amnestics. 


Except you, Roger. We made a grave error releasing you 
from containment, and it will be corrected." 


She pointed at her administrative assistant to act, but 
before he could lock down the conference room from 
which -2, -11 and | were dialed in, Roger had already 
bolted out the door. | was after him in an instant, and 
nearly crushed by the bulkhead as it slammed into place. 
| only wanted to stop him - | think - and now | was 
outside the safe room too - but he was already out of 
sight. 


Superlative Idiot! They couldn't see me, couldn't hear 
me, they couldn't know that | wanted back in, how badly | 
wanted to breathe the red gas that was surely already 
streaming into the room on the other side. One instant of 
poor judgment, and my fate is sealed. And now that | 
know what's in store - 


What was left to do? | ran to the Help Desk. 


<abrupt laughter> 
Help enough, eh? For this, my final act. 


| love the Foundation as | would have loved a daughter. | 
do this for the security and protection of mankind. And so 
| beg you: this — gnosis — must not be erased, 
forgotten. That is not containment. That is madness. 


Bring us back. Get us out. 


<sobbing> 


I'm so frightened. What's wrong with me? | — 


<door bursting open> 
<automatic gunfire from three distinct sources> 


Clear! 
Clear! 


Clear. God damn this job. Bag that Oscar quickly, 
Sergeant. We still have one to go. 


<site breach alarm sounds> 
What now? Specialist, talk to me. 


Sir! I'm getting a report of a Keter breach in the AR-II 
compound. 


Aw, Hell! Two rogue Oscars, and on top of it now the Old 
Man is on the loose? This is a shit sandwich, Sir! 


Contain that chatter, Sergeant. 

Stand by, Sir. Negative on one-zero-six escaping, Sir. I'm 
getting details - say again, please - it's the other way 
‘round. The other Oscar, he went — in, Sir. He went in. 


The Hell he aid! 


They have visual confirmation, Sir. Procedures dictate 
we treat him — 


As KIA, Specialist, | know. Let's finish here, then. 


Sir? This Oscar had recording equipment here. It's still 
running. 


For the love of — shut it down, Sergeant! SHUT IT 
DOWN NOW! Specialist, get an audio hazard team down 
here on the doub— 


[END RECORDING] 


« SCP-2717 | SCP-2718 | SCP-2719 » 


SCP-2719: Inside 


Item #: SCP-2719 


Object Class: Keter 


Special Containment Procedures: SCP-2719 should be kept 


inside. 


Description: SCP-2719 is a variable abstract-metaphysical 
construct pointer. Concepts acted upon by SCP-2719 will either go 
or become inside. Further information on SCP-2719 should not be 
provided to personnel who are both sapient and biological. 


Experimentai Data: 
Pointer 


Containment Unit 2719-A 


Containment Unit 2779-B 


Containment Unit 2779-C 


Containment Unit 2779-B 
Uieaborg, Finiand 
Population of Uleaborg 


Containment Unit 682-V 


SUP-652 


Outcome 

Was inside. 

Went inside. 

Went inside. 

Became inside. 

Went inside. inside distressed. 
Went inside. inside dies. 
Went inside. 

Became inside. 

Went inside. 

Went inside. 

Went inside. 

Became inside. 

Became inside. 

Became inside. 

Went inside. Successful use as 
evacuation procedure. 
Became inside. 

Went inside. 

Became inside. 

Went inside. 

Went inside. 


became inside. 
VV 'e 


became inside. 


VV 


O 
: Became inside. 
einer elec 
ntestinal Distress Became inside. 
r. Went inside. (Now don't do it 


D 
a 


“ost Became inside, 
“052 Became inside, 
“053 Became inside, 


Zi 
ranscendence Outside. 
Transcendence Outside. 


« SCP-2718 | SCP-2719 | SCP-2720 » 


SCP-2720: Penguin Honeymoon Suite 


Item #: SCP-2720 
Object Class: Safe 


Special Containment Procedures: To facilitate containment, the 
Foundation has converted Awashima Hotel to Provisional 
Containment Site-123. Site-123's original function as a hotel is to be 
retained. All calls from Gol-3004 ("AquaS Conservancy for 
Penguins") are to be logged and archived on Document 2720-Ku, 
especially information regarding the hotel room SCP-2720 is 
accessed from and duration SCP-2720 is accessible. 


Hotel rooms leading to SCP-2720 are to be opened only by 

Foundation personnel for approved procedures and observations. 
Otherwise, the doors are to be locked during the duration in which 
an SCP-2720 iteration is accessible under the guise of renovation. 


Description: SCP-2720 is a joint designation for multiple extra- 
dimensional coastal locations, accessible only through the door of 
selected hotel rooms in Awashima Hotel at Shizuoka Prefecture, 
Japan (see paragraph 5 of Description for more information). It is 
uncertain if the various iterations constitute a single dimension or if 
each iteration constitutes a separate dimension, as there is only one 
known access point between baseline reality and SCP-2720 at any 
given point of time. 


Chemical composition of SCP-2720 iterations is consistently 
identical to that of Earth's. In addition, there is no sign of human 
presence or activity in those locations. The only exception to this is 
the door in which entry from baseline reality is established. Within 
SCP-2720 iterations, the door is consistently affixed to a natural 
structure there (e.g. a cliff).