Dr. Welsch: Is there any more to your story? 


SCP-2422-C: Nothing important. 


Dr. Welsch: Okay. Is it alright if | send you 
back to containment now? 


SCP-2422-C: Oh, my God, | upset you really 
bad. I'm so sorry. 


Dr. Welsch: No. Don't be. Don't you dare feel 
sorry for sharing your pain. Ever. Do you 
understand me? 


SCP-2422-C: Yes. 


Dr. Welsch: Good. I'll see you on Thursday, 
right? 


SCP-2422-C: I'll see you then. 
Dr. Welsch: Goodbye, Misty. 


<End Log> 


Hey, Stan. 


Sorry to dump all that on you like that. My 
guess is you'll understand why | did it. | need 
you to understand, not just to know. My words 
can't do what theirs can. 


Now you understand why SCP-2422 is so 
difficult and taxing to deal with. All of it. But 
there are a few more things you should know: 


1. We are the only two who know this 
information. | conducted the majority of the 
interviews myself. Dr. Cardinal was killed in a 
car crash last year, as you know. And Dr. 
willingly took amnestics after his interview with 
2422-D. Everyone else operates under the 
assumption that 2422 live only to make people 


happy. 


2. SCP-2422-B made a confession similar to 
2422-C's very soon after. Almost all the details 
matched up, so | didn't include it. She, 
however, claims that Dave died in that 
basement, and Jeff is the one we currently call 
SCP-2422-A. 


3. All four members of SCP-2422 have scars 
on their inner right arm, similar to 2422-D's. 


Take that information and its implications as 
you will. 


Please don't disseminate this information at 
all. I've chosen you because | trust you. That's 
why I'm being so casual about this. That's why 
| sent this to this account, not your work one. 
We don't know what 2422-D is capable of 
doing to its family members or to personnel. 
Not that we can't handle it, but we don't know if 
it's worth the trouble. 


Treat them like people, okay? I've pushed for 
their humanity to be recognized for years, and 
I'm passing the responsibility of that 
maintenance on to you. Hold it carefully. 


I'll still be working under you in the project. If 
you need any help, just ask. 


You da man. 


Sincerely, 

Lizzie Welsch 

Former SCP-2422 Project Director 
Secure. Contain. Protect. 


Re: The Statue 


From: MSilburn3@Scipnet (Junior Researcher Marcus 
Silburn; Classification Level TC-1; Employee Number 
13610) 

To: SPetrov@Scipnet (Doctor Sasha Petrov, PhD; 
Classification Level XF-3; Employee Number 8909) 
Re: Statue (173) 

Date: 10/11/2018 


Doctor, | was just assigned to SCP-173 as a containment 
specialist. I'm a little confused by my assignment, 
however. All | seem to be doing is watching it via live 
camera footage while D-Class personnel clean its 
containment chamber. You're listed on the SCP file as 
the research lead on the object (though, in the six weeks 
I've been assigned to 173, I've yet to meet you), so | 
thought I'd address my questions to you: 


1) Why do we have D-Class cleaning the cell? Would an 
automated cleaning system not be both more efficient, 
and reduce the risk of lost personnel? 


2) I'm led to understand that SCP-173 cannot move if 
observed: including recorded footage, so long as it's 
watched by someone at a later date. Why is this sort of 
retroactive containment not used to greater effect? 


3) Recent advances in artificial intelligence could make 
the constant observation of the object significantly 
easier. Has there been any testing to determine whether 
artificial sapient or sentient observation of the object has 
the same effect that biological entities do on the 
anomaly? 


Thank you for your attention in this matter; | look forward 
to your response. 


was no Chivalry to be found between knight and dragon. 
Soon, both were again locked away like beasts. So they 
deserved." 


+ Sub-Area 19- "The Chequered Tunnel Wing" 


Description: A kilometer long tunnel composed of tiles 
of unknown composition or make. The largest sub-area 
to be discovered. Focus points in this area are found 
within cavities in the tiles. 


Notable focus points: 


¢ Focus Point #327 ("Serrated Baptism"): A cavity 
found 132.5 meters inside the tunnel. Instills a 
sense of massive physical pain and fear, followed 
by asense of elation and tranquility. Voice 
chanting in an unknown language and the smell of 
metal can also be sensed. 


SCP-921-2's comment: "The Iron Wolf removes another 
from the flock of the Shepherd of Flesh. Those who are 
taken are sheep no longer." 


¢ Focus Point #585 ("Rare Unity"): A cavity found 
301 meters inside the tunnel. Instills a vision of a 
small group of people praying in different 
languages, most notably Arabic, Latin and 
Hebrew. A sense of fascination, suspension and 
uncertainty can also be felt. 


SCP-921-2's comment: "In fear of a great fire, the 
animals of the forest forget old grudges. What is a wolf 
when the flaming brand draws ever closer?" 


« SCP-920 | SCP-921 | SCP-922 » 


From: SPetrov@Scipnet (Doctor Sasha Petrov, PhD; 
Classification Level XF-3; Employee Number 8909) 
To: MSilburn3@Scipnet (Junior Researcher Marcus 
Silburn; Classification Level TC-1; Employee Number 
13610) 

Re: Statue (173) 

Date: 16/11/2018 


Mr Silburn: As you were brought on only to supervise the 
cleaning of SCP-173's chamber, as laid out in the 
object's Special Containment Procedures, you were not 
made aware of the supplementary documentation 
regarding the object. They aren't classified: it was simply 
assumed that you didn't require them to complete your 
task. Rest assured, all of your concerns have been 
addressed in the course of SCP-173's containment. | will 
address each of your concerns here: 


Firstly, regarding the fact that | haven't had any dealings 
with SCP-173 or the containment staff thereof: 173 is 
one of the oldest SCP objects still in Foundation 
possession. It has been tested exhaustively, which you 
would be aware of if you had been given access to the 
testing logs. Its properties- the speed at which it moves 
when unseen, the strength with which it attacks the walls 
of its cell, its composition, the composition of the effluvia 
it ectoentropically excretes, its Hume differential, and so 
on- are all very well understood. There is little left to test 
for, and more dangerous and unpredictable anomalies in 
Foundation care. | personally lead the research 
programs into sixteen anomalies, including two Keter. If 
you have any testing proposals, feel free to file them, 
and | will give them due consideration. 


Secondly, if you had been given access to the 
maintenance logs, you would be aware that two 
automatic cleaning systems have been installed, once in 
the late seventies, and once in the mid noughties. 
SCP-173's excretions blocked critical valves and 
electronics, with a surprising degree of efficiency. There 


was some discussion about whether the object could 
consciously direct the production of the blood and faeces 
that appears in its vicinity, and whether it was sapient 
enough to deliberately sabotage the cleaning systems. 
There was even some discussion regarding motivation- a 
popular theory after the last system failure was that the 
effluvia was a sort of lure, designed to bring prey to it. 


Thirdly, all Known media containing footage of the 
anomaly degrades physically. Blood and faeces, 
identical to that produced within SCP-173's area of 
effect, destroy the circuitry or tape or what have you. 
This secondary anomaly should likely be mentioned in 
the core documentation: | apologize for that. As | 
explained, my attention has been elsewhere. | give you 
authorization to make the necessary edits. 


Fourthly, regarding your idea to have an .aic entity 
observe SCP-173- yes, it has been attempted. Almost as 
soon as the Foundation became capable of generating 
artificial consciousness, in fact- and it does work. 
Regardless of composition, origin, or level of sapience, if 
a sentient entity capable of vision observes SCP-173, it 
will not move. However, the artificial intelligences are 
subject to the secondary effect | mentioned in my third 
point: blood and faecal matter appear in their housing 
medium and destroy them, given enough time. There 
was a proposal to put a number of .aic-capable 
mainframes on the task, and have the observing entity 
transfer when physical damage began to occur, but it 
was rejected as too costly. This result raises a further 
interesting question: if we could remove the need to blink 
from a human being, would this secondary effect also 
occur in our own hardware- our brains? Or does it occur 
only with artificial media? Interesting to speculate upon. 


Anyway, while | applaud your initiative in contacting me, | 
must remind you that firstly, there is a chain of command 
for a reason, and you should have relayed your concerns 
to your supervisor, and secondly, that the Foundation, 


while not infallible, is not composed of idiots. We do, 
generally, know what we're doing. If you have any further 
questions, and your supervisor doesn't have the 
answers, feel free to contact me again. 


Sincerely, Dr. Sasha Petrov 


From: MSiloburn3@Scipnet (Researcher Marcus Silburn; 
Classification Level TC-2; Employee Number 13610) 
To: Dir19_JBright@Scipnet (Director Jack Bright; 
Classification Level XK-4; Employee Number 2218) 

Re: SCP-173 Containment 

Date: 21/09/2021 


Director, I'd like to thank you for my assignment as head 
of containment for SCP-173. No doubt you're aware of 
my ongoing fascination with the engineering conundrum 
that the anomaly presents. | have a proposal to present 
to you, actually: a series of remote-controlled drones with 
swiveling cameras mounted on them. The drones could 
clean the object's chamber, with the footage from the 
cameras streaming to the piloting staff, preventing 173's 
anomaly from activating. The secondary anomalous 
effect would not occur, as the footage would be 
streamed, rather than stored. | would need 
Manufacturing to create four or six drones to 
specification- a team or two or three, and a backup- and 
a few staff members to be trained in their use. With this 
system, we could keep the chamber sanitary, and cut 
down on personnel losses- we've lost eight D-Class and 
a Junior Researcher, over the last ten years. Low 
compared to the bad old days, certainly- but | believe we 
can do better. 


From: Dir19_JBright@Scipnet (Director Jack Bright; 
Classification Level XK-4; Employee Number 2218) 
To: MSilburn3@Scipnet (Researcher Marcus Silburn; 
Classification Level TC-2; Employee Number 13610) 
Re: SCP-173 Containment 

Date: 22/09/2021 


Clever idea, Marc. | like it. But don't get over-confident 
about SCP-173. We've had a lot of clever ideas thrown 
at that statue over the years, and they've all failed. 
Machines, in my experience, aren't always an especially 
reliable option, when you're dealing with the anomalous- 
and 173 might or might not be sapient, but it has 
something a bit like low cunning. Your project is 
authorized, but | want you to keep a close eye on it. 


From: MSiloburn3@Scipnet (Researcher Marcus Silburn; 
Classification Level TC-2; Employee Number 13610) 
To: Dir19_JBright@Scipnet (Director Jack Bright; 
Classification Level XK-4; Employee Number 2218) 

Re: SCP-173 Containment Breach 

Date: 18/04/2022 


Well, you've likely read the incident reports by now, 
Director. The first set of drones was taken out a week 
ago; one had its vision momentarily obscured by some of 
that foul blood/faeces mixture dripping from the ceiling, 
one had a malfunction in its camera (again, blood and 
faeces in the circuitry), and the operator of the third 
blinked. A fraction of a second later, all three drones 
were out of commission. We chalked it up to bad luck, 
put the second string in, and requested a new set from 
Manufacturing. Three days later, the same thing 
happened. The statue, it seems, is capable of learning. 
What's worse, apparently checks on the locking 
mechanism have been neglected. The second incident 
led to a breach; a janitor was killed before SCP-173 
could be re-contained. | take full responsibility for Mr. 
Hamilton's death, the breach, and the cost of the drones. 
I'm willing to tender my resignation, if you'd like to have 
it. 


From: Dir19_JBright@Scipnet (Director Jack Bright; 
Classification Level XK-4; Employee Number 2218) 
To: MSilburn3@Scipnet (Researcher Marcus Silburn; 
Classification Level TC-2; Employee Number 13610) 
Re: SCP-173 Containment Breach 


Date: 18/04/2022 


Don't be an idiot, Marc. Do you have any idea how that 
damned statue killed in the old days, while your 
predecessors threw every half-baked idea they could 
come up with at it? Your idea wasn't a bad one. It just 
didn't work. We can't afford to keep building robots for 
the thing to shred, obviously, but you turn your mind to 
the problem and come up with another potential solution. 
That's how you atone for Hamilton's death: work to 
prevent similar losses in the future. | look forward to your 
next proposal. In the mean time, get the D-class cleaning 
crew back on the job. 


From: MSiloburn3@Scipnet (Senior Researcher Marcus 
Silburn; Classification Level TC-3; Employee Number 
13610) 

To: Dir19_JBright@Scipnet (Director Jack Bright; 
Classification Level XK-4; Employee Number 2218) 
Re: 173 Containment Proposal 

Date: 03/02/2025 


| had a new idea for the statue, Jack: the damned thing 
doesn't need to eat, or breathe, and it isn't strong enough 
to bust out of its containment chamber. The only reason 
we bother to go in is for maintenance, to clean up the 
blood/shit muck. What if we didn't need to? Listen: 
curved walls and ceiling, like a dome, coated with 
something with a low coefficient of friction, like PTFE. A 
floor that's a series of grates, made out of that carbon 
nanotube stuff that's in every damned thing, now. The 
muck sluices down, and we get rid of it as per usual, and 
the thing can't ever get out. We throw a couple cameras 
in there, small and solid state, and flick them on once in 
a while just to make sure it's still in there. No more 
breaches, no more deaths, ever. What do you think? 


From: Dir19_JBright@Scipnet (Director Jack Bright; 
Classification Level XK-4; Employee Number 2218) 
To: MSilburn3@Scipnet (Senior Researcher Marcus 


Silburn; Classification Level TC-3; Employee Number 
13610) 

Re: 173 Containment Proposal 

Date: 04/02/2025 


Sounds costly, but effective. Approved. But throw some 
Raman spectrography and motion sensors and whatever 
else you can think of in there, too. | want to avoid 
surprises. 


From: MSiloburn3@Scipnet (Senior Researcher Marcus 
Silburn; Classification Level TC-3; Employee Number 
13610) 

To: Dir19_JBright@Scipnet (Director Jack Bright; 
Classification Level XK-4; Employee Number 2218) 
Re: Just let me smash the fucking thing 

Date: 15/07/2029 


So apparently 173 can alter the bloody shitty muck it 
conjures out of thin fucking air to contain complex 
biochemical compounds capable of eating through 
carbon nanotube weave. It went down into the sluice, 
ripped through a foot of rotted concrete, dug through 
seven feet of soil, and came out in a minimum security 
portion of the facility, killing twelve people. 


| know you already know what has happened, but | feel it 
bears repeating. This thing is unstoppably fucking 
malign, Jack. Consider this an official termination 
proposal for SCP-173. Give me the word, Jack, and I'll 
rip the malformed bastard thing apart myself. We can't 
learn anything more from it- we've tested it exhaustively- 
and it's an ongoing threat to Foundation personnel. It 
needs to be destroyed. 


From: Dir19_JBright@Scipnet (Director Jack Bright; 
Classification Level XK-4; Employee Number 2218) 
To: MSilburn3@Scipnet (Senior Researcher Marcus 
Silburn; Classification Level TC-3; Employee Number 
13610) 

Re: Just let me smash the fucking thing