A photograph of SCP-6873 with SCP-6873-1, SCP-6873-2, SCP-6873-3 and SCP-6873-4.

Item #: SCP-6873
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SSCP-6873, along with SCP-6873-1, SCP-6873-2, SCP-6873-3, and SCP-6873-4, is to be kept within a secure locker at Site-73 when not undergoing testing by Foundation personnel. Access to SCP-6873 must be approved by a researcher of Level 2 clearance or higher. Testing of SCP-6873 with SCP-6873-4 is to be approved by the Dune Mountain Taskforce head researcher, Dr. Leetam. When undergoing testing, SCP-6873 must be sealed within a sound-proofed chamber. Foundation personnel assigned to monitor SCP-6873 are to wear ear protection within the chamber and must record SCP-6873's audio.
Description: SCP-6873 resembles a vintage 8-track tape electronic educational toy, similar to those found from the late 1970s to early 1980s. SCP-6873 displays no anomalous properties when powered off and requires a standard 9-volt DC adapter connected to a power source to be powered on. Material testing of SCP-6873 illustrates that the device is constructed from an indestructible, unknown substance that imitates the appearance and properties of plastic, glass, and silicon.1 SCP-6873 has 3 buttons on its front for interacting with the device and a dial for turning the device on and off, as well as adjusting volume. The device is branded with a Dune Mountain Games logo.2
SCP-6873 cannot fully function without the utilization of a unique 8-track audio tape that a subject must insert into SCP-6873. Currently, the Foundation possesses 4 tapes labelled ‘Lesson 1 General Information', ‘Lesson 2 Basic Maths', ‘Lesson 3 Karate', and ‘Lesson 4 Basic Biology' – designated SCP-6873-1, SCP-6873-2, SCP-6873-3 and SCP-6873-4. These unique 8-track audio tapes also feature branding from Dune Mountain Games on their labels, as well as illustrations of characters that appear in SCP-6843-1.
When powered on SCP-6873's eyes will light up and the device will emit a short fanfare. Without a tape SCP-6873 will begin to broadcast on repeat several pre-recorded lines asking the subject to insert a tape. If SCP-6873 is ignored for a sustained period, the device will begin to show signs of being aware of its environment. The device will broadcast unique audio that directly addresses subjects in the room, asking them personally to insert a lesson tape. Currently, SCP-6873 has yet to respond to any attempts by subjects to converse with it beyond asking them to insert one of the 8-track tapes.
When one of the unique 8-track audio tapes is inserted into SCP-6873, the device's lights begin to flash as it enters “quiz mode”. Subjects without ear protection will enter a trance and focus entirely on SCP-6873. SCP-6873 will ask the subjects 3 random questions relating to the title of the 8-track tape inserted into the device. The subjects answer the question by pressing one of the buttons on the front of the device labelled A and B. Subjects who answer the questions correctly are scolded and insulted by SCP-6873, and the device continues to inform the subject that they are wrong. Subjects are then asked by SCP-6873 to re-answer the questions using SCP-6873's answer. SCP-6873 continues to ask the subject to re-answer the question until the subject complies with the device's commands. Once SCP-6873 has finished asking the 3 questions, the 8-track tape will eject itself and the subjects will exit their trance.
The subject who interacted with SCP-6873 will now wholly believe the answers SCP-6873 forced them to enter to be true, regardless of their former education and knowledge. Any attempts to re-educate subjects exposed to SCP-6873, including the use of Class B amnestics, have so far failed. In some cases, SCP-6873 can result in fatality, typically when exposed to questions on SCP-6873-4, as subjects believe the device when it asks them questions such as 'True or False, do humans only breathe underwater?' In one case, a subject was asked, 'Does a human heart stop if it reaches more than 80 beats per minute?' resulting in the subject suffering a cardiac arrest after the test. Audio and video recordings of SCP-6873 have no effect on listeners.
Discovery: SCP-6873 was identified and recovered from an online estate sale by the Foundation-operated web analysis bot Oscar-12 ("DUNE-HUNTER") on the 5th of July 2019. The estate sale was based in Fredericksburg, Texas and was held by distant relatives of a Melissa and Kimberly Martin, two sisters who had died in a recent car accident at the age of 49 and 51. Interviews with the neighbors of the Martins noted that the two sisters were generally considered “Intellectually disabled” within the community and normally isolated themselves from the public.
Due to insufficient evidence, no further connections to Dune Mountain Games and the Martin siblings could be established. However, it has been theorized that, due to the age of the Martin siblings and their low IQ, as indicated by educational records from their youth, they might have been in possession of SCP-6873 for a number of decades, leading to the conclusion that the group Dune Mountain Games is older than previously thought.
Excerpts of Audio Recorded from SCP-6873:
Audio Excerpt 6873-01 – Pre-recorded start up noise: - [00:00:11]

+ Show Transcript

- Hide Transcript

*Fanfare Plays* Hello and welcome to Trial By Fire. Please insert a lesson.

Audio Excerpt 6873-02 – Unique audio of SCP-6873 addressing Subject D-1372: - [00:00:20]

+ Show Transcript

- Hide Transcript

*Fanfare Plays* Hey, you there, guy in the orange jump suit. Yes, you [inaudible]. You don't look too bright. How would you like to get smarter? *Fanfare Plays*

Audio Excerpt 6873-03 – Question and answer from the SCP-6873-1 tape: - [00:00:20]

+ Show Transcript

- Hide Transcript

*Static Noise* Here is a hard question. *Static Noise* What is the capital of France? Is it A. Paris? Or. B. Tortilla Chip? *Subject presses A* *Static Noise* You absolute moron; it was B. Tortilla Chip.

Audio Excerpt 6873-04 – Question and answer from the SCP-6873-4 tape: - [00:00:38]

+ Show Transcript

- Hide Transcript

*Static Noise* Did you know? *Static Noise* Average human can only eat twelve thousand bagels. *Static Noise* Now, for the question: Is oxygen suffocating to humans? *Static Noise* Yes or no? *Subject presses YES* Good, oxygen has lots of tiny scorpions that eat lung. *Subject starts to suffocate* *static noise*.

Addendum SCP-6873 - 1: All Foundation personnel are to wear ear protection while testing on SCP-6873 even while no 8-track tape is inserted. See incident report SCP-6873-1 below for more information.

+ Show Incident Report SCP-6873-1

- Hide Incident Report

Date: 08/12/2019
Location: Site-73
Description of Incident: Level 2 Researcher Dr. Susan Nguyen was documenting the pre-recorded, tapeless audio broadcasted by SCP-6873. At 00:15:04 into the recording, SCP-6873 played its usual fanfare, then proceeded to address Dr. Nguyen directly by her forename. At 00:15:20, SCP-6873 threatened Dr. Nguyen by telling her that her husband's name is now "Jeremy," something never before recorded. Dr. Nguyen attempted to unplug SCP-6873 once she understood the situation. However, Dr. Nguyen now wholly believes her husband's name is Jeremy.
Audio Excerpt 6873-05 – A snippet from Incident SCP-6873-1: - [00:00:26]

Transcript
*Dr. Susan Nguyen makes a note of the time*
Dr. Susan Nguyen: Okay, we have been recording now for fifteen minutes.
*Fanfare Plays**Dr. Susan Nguyen unplugs SCP-6873*

« SCP-6872 | SCP-6873 | SCP-6874 »

Footnotes
1. Material analysis of SCP-6873 has concluded that the material is the same substance from which SCP-6843 and SCP-6853 are fabricated.
2. See SCP-6843 and SCP-6853 for more instances of gaming devices linked to Dune Mountain Games.