SCP-163

SCP-163, also known as An Old Castaway, is a character in the SCP Foundation series. It is an alien who had arrived on Earth thousands of years ago via a spaceship. It was later found by the SCP Foundation which took it inside their sites where it was allowed to roam freely and safely interact with personnel.
==Biography==
Not much is known about SCP-163's homeworld or life prior to its arrival to Earth. SCP-163 was originally found inside its spaceship which had crash landed on Earth several thousands of years prior to its discovery. SCP-163’s spaceship was first discovered by some miners within the Andes Mountains after they removed some of the rocks causing the entry to the ship to open. Despite being thousands or years old, if not way older, the technology was in near perfect condition and didn't show any sign of age or degradation. The SCP Foundation was quickly alerted by this and went to the location of the discovery. Upon arrival they found that the ship had been looted before their arrival, as a considerable amount of technology was missing. While inspecting the ship, the Foundation agents found SCP-163 in a stasis encased inside a reflective sphere produced by an advanced life support system later designated SCP-163-1. Thanks to the simplicity of the system, the agents were able to deactivate it, freeing SCP-163 who upon waking up attacked the agents, forcing the agents to subdue it.
SCP-163 was then sent to an undisclosed Foundation facility where the Foundation personnel began studying it, while making sure not to harm it. After learning of its unique biology and needs, the Foundation outfitted SCP-163's chamber with the adequate accommodations such as: a receiving room with an airlock and seating appropriate for both SCP-163 and human personnel, a storage room where SCP-163 could store its belongings which are allowed by the Foundation, a workshop and dining area where SCP-163 could work on its technology, a sleeping and resting area where SCP-163 could rest on seating or bedding fitting for its morphology. Its chamber was also fitted with interchangeable air filters and lighting systems for it to safely live inside. As a result of its friendly behavior, SCP-163 was allowed to roam the facility where it was located, but outfitted with an isolated suit which contained air filters and a UV flashlight for it properly see its surroundings, while always being accompanied by a junior researcher who record it with a video camera and prevent from going to dangerous or restricted areas.
During its time under the Foundation custody, several tests were conducted to ascertain SCP-163's intelligence and behavior. In the 46th test, a Foundation doctor presented SCP-163 with 30 images printed with UV-absorbing inks depicting various complex human faces ranging from a simple "smiley face" to a photo of the doctor. SCP-163 was unable to recognize the smiley face, but when it was presented with the eighteenth image depicting an exaggerated human face with an open mouth SCP-163 took it and placed it front the doctor’s face. In the 47th test, the doctor presented 20 images depicting figures based on SCP-163's supposed species ranging from simple isosceles triangle to a direct photograph of it. Like the previous test, SCP-163 didn't recognize the first simple image, but later on it took all images from the doctor and after at each one it sorted them into two stacks, the first one contained six images that SCP-163 didn't recognize as its species while the second stack that contained the remainder of the images, including its own photo, were for those which it recognized. In the 80th test, the doctor presented SCP-163 two wooden blocks and a box that could contain both. After putting one of the blocks inside the box, the doctor closed the lid and attempted to insert the second one through it continued to do so until SCP-163 responded. After 10 seconds of observing, SCP-163 helped the doctor by opening the lid and inserted the second block by itself. In the 88th test, the doctor presented SCP-163 a painting set which included an easel, five canvases, brushes, and colors that reflected ultraviolet light. After the doctor showed SCP-163 how to paint, it immediately proceeded to paint on its own, producing an image depicting an alien landscape with unrecognizable plants and animals. Upon finishing it, SCP-163 looked to it for seven minutes before becoming distressed, knocking it over and retreating to a corner. The doctor attempted to interact with it to no avail, but when they attempted take away the painting supplies SCP-163 stopped them from doing so by forming a negative gesture. The next day SCP-163 was seen painting again, causing the personnel to constantly supply it with new canvases, paints and brushes as this was the clearest way to communicate with it. The doctor then recommended to their superiors to go looking for more members of SCP-163's species as they highly doubt that SCP-163 was the only one given they appeared to have found out of pure luck.
In the ensuing years, SCP-163 would become friends with various personnel and SCPs, such as SCP-2273 and Dr. D. A. Singer who would later become the head of the Ethics Committee.
===Possible Endings===
====Person of Interest File #2273/01====
After the Foundation was forced to become public around 2004, SCP-163 was one of the many safe anomalies who were released. One time, it took part in conference where it was publically presented by an American scientist, and SCP-2273 hoped that more public knowledge about it would help with its homesickness. Eventually after several years, SCP-163 would die under undisclosed circumstances.
==Appearance==
SCP-163 stands 2 m tall and 1.5 m wide, with its body being suspended 50 cm from the ground. SCP-163's body has a roughly cylindrical shape, with a circular mouth at the bottom, the equivalent of a head at the top, eight legs with three joints arranged radially around the equator. SCP-163 also possesses two prehensile feeding apparatus on either side of its mouth, two arms near the top of the body which it uses for delicate manipulation, two larger arms located near its legs which it used for heavy work, and two unknown appendages which had been removed at some point before being discovered by the Foundation. SCP-163 possessed one semi-compound which extended around its head forming a ring. SCP-163 can only display its emotions by furrowing its dome of tissue above the eye.
==Powers and Abilities==
As an alien not native to Earth, SCP-163 possessed a very different anatomy and physique. As mentioned SCP-163 possessed a set of arms used for delicate actions and a second set of much stronger arms that could produce a steady force of approximately 500 N and a striking force of up to 2000 N. SCP-163's unique eye allowed it to have a full 360 degrees of vision, but possessed a blind spot at the back of the head in order to make way for an organ used for excretion. Its eye was separated into 88 units, which are hypothesized to receive only vertical information while the brain used different units to intuit horizontal information. SCP-163's eye was sensitive to light wavelengths between 150 nm and 300 nm which was equivalent to UVC and is harmful to terrestrial life. SCP-163 possessed an endoskeleton that was composed of tissue resembling cellulose, protruded from the uppermost joint of each leg, and appeared to have been blunted possibly from mechanical means, but when tissue samples were taken SCP-163 didn't exhibit any sign of pain. When exposed to visible wavelengths of light SCP-163's skin becomes transparent, while exposed to ultraviolet made it opaque. SCP-163's green blood transported oxygen and carbon dioxide based on nickel instead of iron or copper. The DNA of SCP-163 is also different as despite it resembling that of the terrestrial organisms and being used by the cells for instruction, a different method was used to interpret these instructions. The DNA possessed different sets of bases that still code for amino acids, and some alien amino acids replaced those usually found in terrestrial cells causing a dramatically different arrangement of proteins.
As a result of developing in a planet drastically different from Earth, SCP-163 was affected differently to certain elements. For example a highly poisonous metal to terrestrial life was used for SCP-163’s metabolism, while Iron, calcium and other unknown chemicals were harmful to it. SCP-163 could survive in Earth's atmosphere for some time without mechanical aid, but would soon become ill, needing the air to be filtrated of harmful elements. SCP-163 can also produce a type of vocalization in form of a steady sinusoidal wave of approximately 15 Hz that although presumed to have been to communicate with its brethren never changes and lasted from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
In order to survive foreign environment SCP-163 uses a universal life support device designated SCP-163-1 that could convert basic chemical elements into sustenance and project a reflective sphere that concealed SCP-163 and put it in stasis. It is theorized that SCP-163-1 relied on some physical processes that also made SCP-163’s other technological equipment that didn’t correspond to modern science. The personnel were to provide SCP-163 with 20 L of certain chemicals for it to fill SCP-163-1.
==Personality==
Not much is known about SCP-163’s personality. SCP-163 is able to express emotions by furrowing its dome, emitting a vocalization when under emotional states that could instill paranoia to those present while in darkened places, and could express an affirmative gesture by beating together its delicate arms and a negative gesture by doing the same thing but with the stronger arms. When it was first discovered by Foundation personnel, SCP-163 was aggressive towards them, but after being taken in it began cooperating with them, adjusting itself to the new environment provided by the Foundation. During tests conducted by the Foundation, it was shown that SCP-163 was capable of recognizing individuals, both human and its own species and benevolent as it helped a doctor in putting a wooden block inside a box. When SCP-163 painted an image of its homeworld, it became saddened as it missed its home and knocking over out of anger, but later resumed painting more images about it home. SCP-163 became friends with several individuals such as SCP-2273 who would play table-tennis together and Dr. D. A. Singer who took a liking to it and after becoming the head of the Ethics Committee he would be against the neutralization of SCP-3320 as that would result in the destruction of an entire alien race.
==Gallery==
===Images===
Scp 163 old castaway.jpg
Old castaway.jpg
Scp alien.jpg
Scp 163.jpg
2273 site-17.png|SCP-163 playing tennis with SCP-507, while SCP-2273 plays chess with SCP-191.
===Videos===
SCP-163 │ An Old Castaway │ Safe │ Extraterrestrial SCP
SCP-163 An Old Castaway (SCP Animation)
==Trivia==
*In "The Leak" forum thread the author of SCP-163, Flah, explained that SCP-163's missing limbs were its reproductive organs that had been surgically removed by its people.
*When the Foundation used SCP-978 to take a photo of 163, the picture showed it interacting with another member of its species on a habitat resembling those from its paintings. The photo was subsequently printed in UV-absorbent inks and given to 163 who refused to give it back for two days.
== External Links ==
* SCP-163 on the Earth-Omega Wiki
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