Item #: SCP-2456
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Due to the memetic nature of SCP-2456, as well as the high number of suspected infected individuals, complete containment of SCP-2456 is not physically possible with current Foundation technology. Foundation Research is currently developing thematic methods of neutralizing all SCP-2456 instances in the wild. Access to any manuscripts documenting past SCP-2456-α instances is limited to Level 3+ personnel currently involved in Project Montagu.
While active alpha instances are rare in the wild, SCP-2456 is categorized as a Class III memetic hazard, and is considered a high priority. WebCrawler GH739U (“Lorem Ipsum”) is set to scan for any keywords related to SCP-2456-1 on various social media sites, cult databases, and domains. Once identified, alpha instances are to be retrieved by suitable field agents and brought to Site-33. α-instances under research must be kept in a Class III MKHC1. Testing with D-Class is limited to Level 3 personnel. All testing with active SCP-2456 instances has been halted. Testing is limited to the α-state of SCP-2456, and must be under the oversight of Level 4 personnel. Under no circumstances should two active α-instances ever be introduced to one another. In the case of a breach, Site-33 is to initiate lockdown procedures, and Class-III memetic kill agents will be dispensed throughout the facility (See Incident 2456-C for more details)
If SCP-2456 reaches epidemic levels2, the use of Protocol MOBAB in its final or prototype form is pre-approved. Mobile Task Force ψ-10 (“Salt Sowers”) is assigned to handle cleanup of the aftermath, in addition to managing total suppression of media.
Description: SCP-2456 is believed to be a memetic parasite that is present in an estimated 0.7% of the human population. SCP-2456 lays dormant in a majority of the affected, and is not contagious in its initial form. Possible signs of SCP-2456 infection include:
• An affinity towards astrology, astronomy, and/or various pseudosciences
• An increased proficiency in speaking foreign dialects, particularly those in the Balto-Slavic and Afro-Asiatic regions.
• Prolonged episodes of acute psychosis and paranoia
• OCD and a high attention span for geometrical shapes, patterns, and sequences of five.
• Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
SCP-2456 will leave its dormant state once several stress triggers have been activated, and the subject will then undergo an α–event. The subject will fall into a period of advanced REM sleep, lasting up to three to four days. After awaking, α-instances will claim to have had a series of vivid, cryptic dreams. These consist of visions of past prophets from assorted theologies being executed by a saber or sword, and celestial bodies “dancing” in the sky. The SCP-2456 strain as found in α-instances can be eliminated with the use of Class-D amnestics during this time.
Following the α-event, the subject relapses back into a six-day to six-year dormancy, followed by their β-state. During this state, the α-instance will begin preaching SCP-2456-1, an abstract theology that is the only known transmissible form of SCP-2456. Subjects infected in this way are referred to as β-instances. Infection rates are high in observed subjects, with a ~70% success rate at a ~4% falloff. Knowledge of SCP-2456-1, and of its core components, is not contagious; infection requires direct auditory contact with an α-instance or β-instance, and the victim must have strong pre-existing religious beliefs beforehand.
SCP-2456-1 is always monotheistic in nature, and can be characterized by several distinguishable qualities:
• SCP-2456-1 will begin as a variation of an existing theology.
• The number five will appear frequently in written doctrine.
• Godhead figures are synonymous with the sun, and are believed to bring about a future apocalypse.
• Mentions of a nonexistent “Gzymmtprhic Sea” uncommonly appear in scripture. Foundation Research is currently searching for a correlation with SCP-████.
• Many references to celestial objects, based on existing astronomical knowledge at the time.
• The appearance of hands and regular quadrilaterals in religious icons and symbols.
• Religious symbols of the sun have some limited form of mathematical significance.
SCP-2456-1 has a weak reality-warping effect that varies with every iteration, and in its initial state, is virtually harmless. With every new β-instance created, this effect grows exponentially in radius and strength. SCP-2456-1 also incites violence and aggression, commonly leading to self-mutilation and war-like behavior among the infected. β-instances actively seek out the uninfected, and will either spread SCP-2456 infection, or attempt to murder them.
Dormant SCP-2456-α instances are immune to infection by SCP-2456-1, and may aggressively react if exposed. However, exposure to SCP-2456-1 causes stress in the subject, and will increase the chances of SCP-2456 activation. If two active α-instances ever come into contact, then [DATA EXPUNGED] (Please see Incident 2456-C).
No SCP-2456-α instance has been successful in infecting more than 5% of the existing human population. Current Foundation simulations indicate a CK-Class End of the World scenario if SCP-2456 infection rates ever exceed 7%, with the contagion becoming virulent to the point where treatment becomes impossible. In addition to this, SCP-2456-1's reality-warping effect is likely to fracture the integrity of space-time at those levels — if infection rates exceed 96%, SCP-2456-1 is predicted to [DATA EXPUNGED].
Discovery: SCP-2456 was first discovered by an unscheduled raid on a Serpent's Hand base in Eugene, Oregon. On 06/10/2016, MTF Tau-9 "Bookworms" was charged with the acquisition of a copy of SCP-████, which was believed to have been stowed in an abandoned industrial warehouse. Serpent's Hand members were discovered inside upon break-and-entry, and a firefight ensued. Foundation casualties totaled 11. After recovery of SCP-████ and other related anomalous artifacts, a wooden crate was found next to a furnace with the lettering "FIFTHCYCLEOFTHEMIND" stamped onto its side. The cache was discovered to contain numerous Fifthist texts, including an extra copy of SCP-████, and a weathered note which read:

George, this is our latest catch; please burn these as soon as you can at you're (sic) discretion. Don't let the idiots find this. —L.S.

At the bottom of the stockpile, several aged manuscripts were uncovered that detailed past SCP-2456-1 instances, and alarmed Foundation historians about a possible unidentified SCP.

Below is a list of past SCP-2456-1 instances. As of now, there are six known variations of SCP-2456-1. However, research has shown potential evidence of an additional █ more. Descriptions may be added or changed as new information is uncovered.
A recent server breach completely unrelated to 2456 somehow corrupted the files. I've done did about everything to fix it, but if anyone notices the system still acting up, please give me a call. You know the number. —Eric

SCP-2456-1A
SCP-2456-1B
SCP-2456-1C
SCP-2456-1D
SCP-2456-1E
SCP-2456-1F

Name: God Worshipping Society
SCP-2456-α: Hong Xiuquan
Rownt Scale: 5
Complementary Theology: Confucianism/ Catholicism

Due to political instability, in addition to Xiuquan's weak state of body and mind, SCP-2456 was activated in early 1837. Xiuquan experienced vivid hallucinations based on his past knowledge of Confucianism and interactions with Christian evangelicals. During his β state, Xiuquan went into a waxing period of approximately 6 years, after which SCP-2456-1A was created. The local Hakka population was the first to experience infection, but rising tensions with the government led to the creation of the Taiping army, which became the major factor for widespread SCP-2456 contamination.
Although not armed with sophisticated weaponry, the Taiping army completely devastated the Chinese landscape; during its 14 year lifespan, it had marched through every province of China3. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Peace only further increased virability, but weakened as SCP-2456 infection rates slowed down.
One of the more prevalent properties of SCP-2456-1A was its ability to cause full nuclear transmutation of biological organisms. Accounts related to SCP-2456-1A show that β-instances would often involuntarily transform themselves into piles of geological matter. When researching the areas as described in these accounts, Foundation geologists found traces of human feces and saliva in pockets of igneous rock, and hominid DNA "bonded" to sediment.

Name: Cult of Aten
SCP-2456-α: [unidentified]
Rownt Scale: 2
Complementary Theology: Egyptian Mythos

Although Akhenaten of Amarna was the leader of SCP-2456-1B, evidence shows that SCP-2456-1B originated from a scribe or mentor that was particularly close to the pharaoh. Akhenaten was a very aggressive β-instance, using his power as head of state to condemn worship of all Egyptian deities. Temples dedicated to Aten were generally peaceful. Foundation archaeological evidence shows that instruments dedicated to self-mutilation, removal of the heart, and [DATA EXPUNGED] were present in several major temples.
Severe temporal and spatial shifts were common during the lifespan of SCP-2456-1B. One scribe's account indicates that the days were occasionally stretched out, and celestial bodies did not behave as they had once used to. At one point, the midday sun did not set for five days, causing a drought along the bank of the Nile, and sparking a peasant's riot near one of Aten's temples. Additional Egyptian astronomical charts show constellations, nebula and star systems that are nonexistent, or are depicted in incorrect placements. Further, a planet translated to "Nbu"4 appears commonly in astronomical accounts, and was described as being half the size of Venus, but would "pulse" with light in five-second intervals.

Name: [undetermined]
SCP-2456-α: [undetermined]
Rownt Scale: 3
Complementary Theology: Aztec Mythos

Little is known about the origins of SCP-2456-1C, but its enormous impact on the Aztecs is evident. The Aztec deity Tonatiuh5 is most likely an aspect of SCP-2456-1C that had infiltrated Aztec culture and society. The retrieval of Aztec texts from the Serpent's Hand (See Discovery) provides evidence for this theory. Sacrifices of the heart to Tonatiuh were very common, and may have even started solely because of SCP-2456. If this is the case, casualties linked to SCP-2456-1C could easily number around 56,███,███.
Although not a complete version of SCP-2456-1C, the worship of Tonatiuh still caused a mild reality-warping effect throughout the empire. Anomalous reports include accounts of the sun and moon being eclipsed by unknown celestial objects, lasting for weeks on end. Rarely, cadavers from past sacrifices would reanimate, and attack civilians in an aggressive behavior, immobilizing them and reaching into their throats to pull out their [DATA EXPUNGED]. Coastal regions of the Aztec empire suffered greatly from a periodical "glowing red poison" that killed off fish in the sea, caused tissue necrosis in humans, and formed large blood clots in the lungs. This is likely the result from bioluminescent dinoflagellates, which is unusual given the areas of occurrence, and the symptoms of infection.
Note: A codex describing Tonatiuh in detail seems to indicate SCP-2456-1C originated from the Epi-Olmecs. A research party has been sent to Veracruz to uncover the genesis of SCP-2456-1C. Scheduled time of return: 17/05/2017

Name: Cult of the Supreme Being
SCP-2456-α: Augustin Bon Joseph de Robespierre (See Document-2456/A)
Rownt Scale: 1
Complementary Theology: Cult of Reason/ Catholicism

Due to the small longevity of SCP-2456-1D, not much can be said about its traits, as it had not experienced widespread virability. Although it did not garner enough followers to cause intense reality-warping effects, some anomalous characteristics were still prevalent.
Since the French Revolution was underway, it is impossible to estimate all casualties linked to SCP-2456. However, Jacobin letters and diary entries show that Maximilien Robespierre had become more "animalistic" and "ruthless" in his executions, as well as implementing a large daily quota. Incorporeal manifestations were visible in the Parisian streets, as well as sudden dimensional shifts in various salons and smoking parlours around the city.
A manuscript detailing the α-instance can be found in Document-2456/A.

Name: [undetermined]
SCP-2456-α: [undetermined]
Rownt Scale: [undetermined]
Complementary Theology: [undetermined]

[SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR MORE DETAILS]

Name: [DATA EXPUNGED]
SCP-2456-α: [undetermined]
Rownt Scale: 8
Complementary The[SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR MORE DETAILS]

[SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR MORE DETAILS]syndrome. Protocol Ophiuch [SYSTEM ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED. PLEASE SEE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR MORE DETAILS]CP-2456-α is still at large.

Document-2456/A [LEVEL 3+ CLEARANCE ONLY]

Access Granted

The following excerpts are taken from texts recovered by the Serpent's Hand. They have been translated from their native scripts into the English vernacular, in addition to being analyzed and deemed safe from any potential cognitohazards. A full transcript can be obtained by contacting the Department of Anomalous Texts.
From Wisdoms of the Heavenly King, c. 1861:

…And so the Prophet stood on the edge of the heavens, and looked down to the poor and weary below. And the great Prophet saddened inside, for men and women groveled in the filth and ash of great mountains, and so he spoke. And His children wept; for they understood, standing so terribly close to the stars…

…He followed the smoke until the smoke had turned into steam, then mist, then vapor; He met the man from the West, who lived in the South, to further his knowledge of the great Dream. He studied for five months, and on the fifth day of the fifth month, the great Prophet understood…

…The man from the West, who lived in the South, left with haste, and refused to assist the great Prophet's mission. The Prophet was angered, but understood. The man simply needed time to itself, and formulate his own opinion and vision…

…And so the Great Prophet led the people of cinders from the ashes, and they waged war when attacked. The armies of the Usurper attacked at the dawn of the new year, but the sun was on our side, and we prevailed. They lost, and ran, but the ones that were left behind faced the Prophet, and they understood. And on the Fifth day, they turned into ebony tar, black sand, and white salt.

Think five irrational thoughts a day.

A student approaches his master, and asks, "We are born, we develop, and we toil until our deaths. Is this not our fate?" The wise master replied, "Our world withers away five pieces at a time, but the stars will always die in threes." The brash student, naïve as he was, called his brave master a fool.

Repay all debts due before a departure.

Two men look up at a star- filled sky. One asks to the other, “Will we forever be bound to the celestial bodies?” The other replies “They have never been there, but you can make it so.”
Five spokes of a broken star
Five elements that forever spar
Five senses to evoke the mind
Five pieces slowly unwind.

A Black Moon, howling, is a vision unworthy of one's sight.

From a verse of the Great Hymn of the Aten6:

Thou claimest the world for its own, according to thy desire
But's given the heart to its sole son
The King who lives by Maat, the Lord of the Two Lands,
Neferkheprure, Sole-one-of-Re, Champion of the Western Nile.
And the humble Scribe, my appreciable mentor,
The messenger of thy glory, rises alongside you unforgotten.
The stars and the Earth command to thy wishes.
Thou alone art their lifetime, a candle in the dark
Thou rises with them, and thou shalt die with them as well.
In thine cycles through the sky, thou sendest visions from the heavens
A distant mirage, light fires in the water
Thou lives in the deepest drenches of the Great [Gzymmtprhic?] Sea
Thou didst perish amongst the harlots; in the Fifth day of the solstice,
And the Fifth Year of the Summer Harvest, thou didst suffered.
But no matter the cause, no matter the Threat,
Thou shalt live on to indulge the next world with thy divine antipathy!
So says the black moon of the Winter months.

Entries taken from the diary of Augustin Bon Joseph de Robespierre, 11 November 1793 – 27 July 1794:

21 Brumaire II,
La Fête de la Raison has been an unimaginable success! The Jacobins parade in the streets, throwing flowers in the air, children sing and laugh! The era of change has begun, but alas! The age of tyranny has not yet ended. The Frenchmen pride in their progressiveness, but it is too soon to celebrate.

29 Brumaire II,
My dear brother, Maximilien, has voiced his concern about the Cult of Reason. I received an epistle from him while I was in my parlor, requesting my sole presence in the ███████7 salon during the twilight hours. I found him in the corner, reading a paper in a booth, and he met my gaze with leering eyes. He raged on end about the vileness of the feast, the hypocrisy of the officials that organized it. I sat on the opposite side, pipe in hand, and stared at him bemusingly. My brother is a visionary, but at times like these his thoughts simply consume him. Give him time, and he will understand there's nothing to fear of change.

23 Frimaire II,
I dreamt a most peculiar dream last night. But unlike the rest, it has invaded my reveries, a vivid thought that eats up my very mind. Ce n'était qu'un [unintelligible]?

30 Frimaire II,
I see the dream more clearly now. A belligerent ruler that defies all odds and expectations. It will reconquer the world, using France as its figurehead. The pope, slain. The king, dead. The world, subservient. All for the glory to the One True King. People celebrating both the Science, and the Spirits of the world. A King must always exist in society. My brother must reason with me; I must share the wonders of this illuminating message!

13 Nivôse II,
I have received a letter back from my brother. In it was nothing more than a crude sketch of a ship, sailing on the Sea, far away into nothingness. I worry for him sometimes. I shall send for a carriage tomorrow, and take myself to his home. I only wished to share the dream, but it seems to have become a new obsession.

14 Nivôse II,
I knocked at his door, but no answer came in return. It seemed almost as if no one had lived there for some time. I paranoically began to believe that my brother had vanished alongside my good friend Sebastien, who I could no longer find ever since I shared my dream with him. However, I continued my racket, until the door slowly creaked open, the terrified expression of my brother peered out behind chains. He relaxed upon realization that it was just my sole company, and hastily ushered me inside.
He poured me a cold cup of tea, and began to bash me with questions about the dream. I told him everything, even the thoughts of culthood that wretched my very mind. He grew visibly excited with every new sentence, and began to write notes in a small sketchbook of his. I share his joy, change is always good for the heart, but I fear for his health. His hands are like those I've seen in medical journals, of the dead and dying.

15 Nivôse II,
I have returned to his tenancy, but nobody was home. The neighbor says that he saw my brother leaving his abode in the early hours, but Robespierre's destination could not determined. I asked if he thought my brother looked ill with any malady, but was astonished to hear the antithetical. Most curious.

18 Floréal II,
Le culte de l'Être suprême has been formally announced! The members of the council grumble with suspicion, but give it time, and time we need, and our numbers will surely amass!

[Date Missing]
I have begun seeing it. Our power grows. And the Nightmare swells.
The other day, I was sitting on a bench reading a book of poetry, and a man approached me. He asked me for a Louis d'or, like some tramp that infests the streets. But he said that he needed a coin to pay the ferryman, otherwise he wouldn't be able to cross the stream. He held out his hat, and I put in, but the man said nothing in return. How rude! But the headless can't speak after all. And so he went on his merry way, the sun reflecting his patches of bones, and disappeared after passing the trunk of an oak tree.
The day after, I entered the local salon, but a crisp cloud of smoke and water enveloped the air. I had accidentally stumbled upon a smoking room, but not any normal smoking room. The Duke of Drrkwyd sat on his sequin throne! I fearfully trembled and bowed down in the presence of the gracious earl, and kissed his left foot, and he graciously patted my head with one of his bulbous hands. The other held a long opium pipe, the third: a scimitar, but alas! The last two were chained. The five heads scowled in scorn as they fought their shackles, and he roared like that of a wonderful beast. A monster worth sacrifice, a lion worth giving one's flesh. Let him feast, —like wonderful maggots they grow on my skin!

[Date Missing]
The streets run pink with blood and agony. I can hear their screams even after their heads topple in the basket. So much blood, so much blood! Blood, and Blood, and Blood. They erupt from the corpses like geysers and daggers in the dead of the night. It's not enough to satiate a growing hunger. My brother, he doesn't understand. He slogs through the Nightmare, hoping to enter the Paradise. Empty promises from an empty lord. But he is our lord, nonetheless.

9 Thermidor II,

Forgive me, dear brother. In these past few days, the entire world has been afflicted with la démence. I am as guilty as you are, but you should have not deserved such a demeaning fate. I gave you those inbred thoughts; the dark whispers that consume me have taken ahold of you. You've lost something in your eyes, brother; it has been replaced with a bright and poisonous light —like that of a distant star. Now, not even your death will win you your freedom. Punish me, oh King! Let me suffer for those who have suffered!

Addendum 2456-1 [LEVEL 5 CLEARANCE ONLY]

Access Granted

On 21/12/2016, during a scheduled comb of Foundation servers, a firewall sounded an alarm in response to an unidentifiable audio file sent to Researcher Samuel T███. No Foundation credentials could be found, but the file was traced to a cubicle that had been vacant for six years.8 Unusually, the hardware had been short-circuited and badly corroded, with traces of pyruvic acid, sea brine and burnt heart tissue found in the CPU.
Although the terminal was not damaged beyond repair, the file was one of few items deemed salvageable, as the rest became corrupted from the damages. Attempts to restore the full audio file have failed. A transcript of the recovered portion can be found below.

orked with the Foundation for 20 years now; I've seen men bleed out because of a song dedicated to a goddamn mountain. I've heard of a skip that forces its victims to suture their mouths shut. And I've tested countless D-class on books that break their bodies, their minds, and whisk their existence away into a land of fiction and fantasy. But now it's me that's dying, if you could call it that. In truth, my soul is slowly burning away, and I'm fucking terrified.
I don't know how much of what I'm about to say is true. Simon probably had the best understanding of this thing out of all of us. Simon, now that's a name I haven't heard of in a long time, but it doesn't really matter. He's gone now, and no one seems to care.

It was just me, Simon, Charlie, and [AUDIO CORRUPTED]. We were assigned to SCP-2456 ever since it was first identified. Our mission was simple: to catalog all past occurrences of SCP-2456-1. This wasn't the first time I dealt with memetics, nor was it the first time I dealt with a Keter class, but this task seemed simpler than my previous ones. Testing with D-Class numbs you down after the first couple of weeks, but you never really get used to it. I was actually almost relieved once I got transferred.
[AUDIO CORRUPTED] was the first one to go. One minute, I was having my lunch with him. The next he's on the floor, screaming about visions of the sea, and the archons of a trloplic world. They dragged him to the infirmary, but not before he managed to stab a guard's leg with a dinner fork. I asked to see him after an hour had passed. Imagine just how surprised I felt when they told me that no patients had been admitted in the past four hours.
This skip is relatively new. We just don't fully understand all of it, and it seems we only have a fraction of the information. And that's where the danger lies. To simply put it, there's a third state of SCP-2456 that's gone unrecorded —A “gamma state”, if you will. Picture a DNA molecule, how does it create proteins? I know, ask any lab boy that question around here, and they'll scoff and treat you as if you're some kind of half-wit. Well, not to bore anyone with the specifics, but basic protein synthesis requires two major steps. The first one, transcription, has RNA polymerase building RNA molecules that detail instructions. DNA translation, in its most basic definition, is the RNA molecule being read. And that creates the product –tRNA first brings methionine, and the chain ends with either “amber” or “ochre” or “opal”. Congratulations, you've just made the primary structure of a protein.
SCP-2456-2 is an incredibly potent anti-meme, capable of causing dramatic and localized dimensional shifts. It's very delicate —very fragile—, and requires careful preparation. A beta instance is the indirect vector for SCP-2456-2 infection. Whenever a beta instance writes information about SCP-2456-1, a gamma instance is created. If a subject reads the gamma instances, there is a possibility that SCP-2456-2 will enter the subject. The subject will slowly vanish from existence, and all records and knowledge of the subject will disappear alongside it. However, this process is incredibly flawed. Sometimes a corpse is all that remains, sometimes just a name. And, from personal accounts, SCP-2456-2 is capable of causing vivid hallucinations and depositing false memories in the subject. Simon kept telling me stories about his life while he succumbed to this thing, and they always seemed to change.

We didn't know this at first. Charlie told me that it was probably a “phantom alphabet” causing us to become ghosts. I told Charlie to shut up. I honestly don't know what stupid fuck hired that man. Simon though, he was the brighter one. He had a theory that SCP-2456 has more to it than meets the eye. He went missing three days ago. We were in the same room. I just turn around for one second, and he's gone. Only his favorite coffee cup —the one that's always by his side, where Snoopy's wearing that goofy-looking christmas hat? — lay half-empty on the floor.
Why didn't the whole fucking world collapse back in '05? The entire U.S. population had practically read that damn monstrosity. Personally, I'm not too sure. I think that something went wrong. I think the Fifth Church doesn't fully understand SCP-2456, and so SCP-1425 failed to become a stable version of SCP-2456-2. Gamma instances can't create beta instances. SCP-2456 just becomes too weak at that level of infection. Instead of beta instances, SCP-1425 created alpha instances. But even then, I think that it did work at some level. What was that woman's name? The talk show host –I only just realized that she never reappeared.
The Foundation doesn't have a full understanding of this particular skip. The problem is, it's not a parasite. SCP-2456 is the Dream.
A slumbering King rests dead in the water. Fractured into five pieces, he shuffles through an eternal nightmare; an usurper has claimed his throne. But he is not fully unconscious. The Fifth King has set his sights onto this world, and will burn the earth with an undying flame, just to punish the traitors that locked him away. His anger is one that is unbridled. And so, he shares the Dream. They were chosen for a specific reason. They were his champions, destined to share the world with his glory. Destined to bathe the world in the blood of his interlopers and remind everyone of their true master. Even the strongest hunger, and sometimes they just gotta take a little bite. Sacrifice by blood is what it desires. Sacrifice by souls is what it requires.
I feel it happening to me too. Even as I write. They whisper to me [unintelligible]. I dream terrible, terrible things. Sometimes of the number five, sometimes of the number six. Rarely of the number four. I feel them too, writhing in my skin, and—Oh, possible cognitohazard as well? That explains many things. Of a little lambent liar lurking in a lonely sea. Of special stars signaling songs ever so carefully. And men that mine may find [unintelligible], if they dig a little too hard. Have you ever wondered what the phrase "A A"9 means? No, stop it. I'm digging a little too hard aren't I? But just wonder –how far down does the rabbit hole go? As deep as a tower door, bringing me to a land of hedonism and fun? Or as deep as a great lake, whose sorry inhabitants float in the water and stare into the fiery abyss of the great sun?
My time is almost up. And just remember, remember, remember. Why do you think we never knew? The Foundation is old, but the world is older. Most likely, we've had some help. A group as old as the Fifth King, trying to put an end to his nightmare. I wouldn't even be surprised if the Serpent's Hand was partially involved in keeping his forces at bay. After all, we did find those gamma instances at their HQ. But now they are in the hands of the Foundation, and they will never be destroyed.
I can hear the Fields of Asphodel calling my name. The air is suddenly getting thicker –I can already smell that sweet sea breeze. Follow the smoke that sits on the water. Listen to the fog horns calling for their dead companions, the sea foam crashing against the tide. I am not ready, for I am not worthy.
This was Senior Researcher John Richards, signing off. And one last thing before I step into the water.
Once history is forgotten, it is of course doomed to repeat itself. And the sixth cycle will forever more echo.

Note: Foundation records of the persons listed in the transcript, in addition to one “John
Richards” are nonexistent. However, these men may be related to sudden unexplained disappearances of Foundation officials. A Foundation audit is currently underway. – O5-3

Footnotes
1. Memetic Killzone Holding Chamber
2. As defined by the Rownt Scale, a one-to-ten scale created by Senior Researcher Jacob Rownt to measure the severity of anomalous contagion outbreaks, in which a rating of 6 would warrant epidemic status.
3. Barring the province of Gansu
4. The Middle Egyptian word for "gold"
5. The leader of the Tollan, and the Fifth Sun to sit in the sky
6. Not found in the original copy of the hymn text
7. Expunged for possible connection to SCP-████
8. Server logs show that the terminal had activity logged the day prior.
9. Unknown

« SCP-2455 | SCP-2456 | SCP-2457 »


Closeup of SCP-2457 sample.

Item #: SCP-2457
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-2457 is to be stored in a cryogenic storage unit at Sector 5 of Site-44. Sample requests for testing purposes require authorisation from Project Head/2457.
Hosts carrying SCP-2457-A are to be taken to Class E wards with survelliance cameras installed. Medical staff are to monitor the health status of said hosts, with daily checkups during the hosts' second and third trimesters. When a given host undergoes combustion, other personnel (if any) in the respective ward are to evacuate. After combustion, a response team is to collect the remnants of SCP-2457.
Carcasses of SCP-2457-A iterations are to be stored in a cryogenic storage unit at Site-44 Class-E Morgue. Access to said carcasses requires authorisation from a Level 2 personnel.
Description: SCP-2457 is a sample of human sperm cells coated in a cryoprotectant semen extender, with a total volume of approximately 5 mL. Analysis of SCP-2457 reports no indication of illness or other abnormalities. The identity of the sperm donor is listed as Mr. ████████ ██████ (hereon listed as PoI-2457-01), a resident of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. When utilised for artificial insemination, there is a 100% success rate of impregnation given that the host is fertile.
SCP-2457-A is a human foetus resulting from the use of SCP-2457 for artificial insemination. All iterations of SCP-2457-A are consistently male and genetically identical, regardless of the hosts of respective iterations. Genetic comparison between SCP-2457-A and PoI-2457-01 indicates approximately 50% DNA overlap between the two persons. Furthermore, all iterations of SCP-2457-A have been diagnosed with anencephaly.
During the third trimester of the host's pregnancy, the host will undergo spontaneous human combustion. Fire generated is shown to be unable to be extinguished via fire extinguisher or water. Thermal imaging indicates that the combustion originates from the host's pelvic cavity.
SCP-2457-A will remain unburnt during the combustion of the host, but it will inevitably expire following the host's expiration due to interruption of gestation. In addition, following the host's expiration, SCP-2457-A's carcass is split into seven portions: head, left and right arms, left and right legs, upper and lower torso (cut off at waistline). Cause is unknown, although wounds on SCP-2457 suggest the application of a bladed object on the carcass.
SCP-2457 was recovered from the █████ Sperm Bank in Shizuoka, Japan on ██/██/2013. After the spontaneous human combustion of Mrs. ██████ █████, Foundation operatives were able to identify the source as SCP-2457 and acquire it after fabricating reports that it is an HIV-positive sperm sample. The death of Mrs. ██████ █████ was officially reported to be the work of an anonymous murderer.
Addendum 2457-1: Interview Log 2457/PoI-2457-01-1

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Interviewee: PoI-2457-01
Interviewer: Agent Kensuke Shirokawa
Foreword: Interviewee is listed as the donor for SCP-2457. The following interview is part of preliminary investigations to comprehend SCP-2457, and is originally conducted in Japanese.
<Begin Log>
Agent Shirokawa: Sensei, please begin by stating your name and profession.
PoI-2457-01: ████████ ██████. A kannushi1 by profession. Head of the █████ Shrine in Hamamatsu, inherited from my father.
Agent Shirokawa: We are here to discuss your visit to the █████ Sperm Bank in ████. Do you acknowledge that you were there on ██ ██████?
PoI-2457-01: Yes, I was there.
Agent Shirokawa: And you were there to donate your sperm. Is that so?
PoI-2457-01: Ye-yes, I did that.
Agent Shirokawa: Recently, several women had died under mysterious circumstances. All of those persons share one common factor. They used sperm donated from you.
PoI-2457-01: I haven't been to Shizuoka City since my initial trip. I did nothing, officer.
Agent Shirokawa: Understood, sensei. Though this may be personal, it is certainly unusual for you to be donating your sperm. Most kannushi tend to have their son succeed the shrine.
PoI-2457-01: Uh, that position is not necessarily hereditary after the war.
Agent Shirokawa: Your wife2 said you two were trying to have a son, a male successor specifically. Sperm donation does not allow you to legally recognise any child birthed using your sperm. So why did you choose to do it?
PoI-2457-01: …You will not believe it if I tell you.
Agent Shirokawa: Try me, sensei. I've seen my fair share of the unbelievable under my current employer.
PoI-2457-01: Officer, do you believe in the kami?
Agent Shirokawa: Perhaps not in the same way as you would, but that is not relevant. Please continue.
PoI-2457-01: Okay… As a kannushi, my role is to be a bridge for the kami to enact their will in the mortal world. Sometimes, it can be very direct and all encompassing.
Agent Shirokawa: Possession?
PoI-2457-01: Yes. Ah, even among my colleagues, few can fathom the presence of the kami. It's sad, really.
Agent Shirokawa: Indeed. So, when did it begin to interact with you?
PoI-2457-01: Uh… it's a bit embarrassing, but I was confronted by it since I was a child. Thought I was going crazy, but it's clear to me now.
Agent Shirokawa: Ah, so were you possessed during your childhood?
PoI-2457-01: No.
Agent Shirokawa: So possession was a recent event. Am I correct?
PoI-2457-01: Yes. It happened sometime before my trip to the sperm bank in Shizuoka, up till the end of my trip to that sperm bank.
Agent Shirokawa: During your possession, who was in control? You or the kami?
PoI-2457-01: Uh… t-the kami. It is possession, after all.
Agent Shirokawa: Only clarifying, sensei. So the kami assumes complete control over the vessel, or you in this case?
PoI-2457-01: Yes.
Agent Shirokawa: Would that include memory? As in the kami's memory overriding yours?
PoI-2457-01: Uh, sure.
Agent Shirokawa: Ah, there is this discrepancy regarding how this particular kami would know how to enter the sperm bank and successfully file in the needed paperwork. After all, you claimed that it overrode your memory then.
PoI-2457-01: The kami have their ways of surveying our world. It is erroneous to think of them as ignorant to our world.
Agent Shirokawa: But do you know why the kami had possessed you?
PoI-2457-01: He called for me, and requested for my assistance. He wished to be manifested by childbirth, a wish he bore to me since my youth. As a servant of the kami, I oblige and wait for a suitable opportunity.
Agent Shirokawa: Sensei, if I may enquire, why didn't it target your wife? Getting her pregnant would be easier than dropping by a sperm bank and leaving your sperms indefinitely.
PoI-2457-01: Aa… I was not in total control back then… I would know nothing…
Agent Shirokawa: Can we speak with that kami? For it to provide its stance.
PoI-2457-01: You can't. Please don't.
Agent Shirokawa: Why not? Is it possible?
[PoI-2457-01 remains unresponsive for approximately four minutes; vocalisations limited to filler words such as "ēto" and "ano". Agent Shirokawa continues to probe PoI-2457-01 due to his lack of response.]
PoI-2457-01: Uh… it's awkward to admit this, but I made the choices. I chose not to involve my wife. I chose to resort to a sperm bank, to at least fulfil my covenant with him.
Agent Shirokawa: To be born?
PoI-2457-01: Indeed, he took residence in my seed and left me to fulfil my part. My seed became a yorishiro.3
Agent Shirokawa: I know it is a bit personal, but given the sperm sample's potency, you can have your son easily. What stopped you?
PoI-2457-01: The women who died. Did they die by fire?
Agent Shirokawa: How did you know that?
PoI-2457-01: He is certainly Kago-no-Tsuchi,4 whom my shrine is dedicated to. I am certain he will burn my wife, as he did with Izanami. Cannot allow that happen to my wife.
Agent Shirokawa: But if you know what's going to happen, why agree to the whole deal?
PoI-2457-01: It is disrespectful for a kannushi to reject the kami. It is not right of me to expel it on my own and dispose of it. I thought that a sperm bank would still fulfil the covenant… in a way.
Agent Shirokawa: By letting another woman pay the price?
PoI-2457-01: I sincerely pity the women involved, but none of the parties involved bore any malice in their actions. The kami are not like us. They are Nature itself, and their natures cannot change at all. Like how fire is always fated to deplete the source in which it sprung from.
Agent Shirokawa: And after donating your sperm, did anything odd happen to you?
PoI-2457-01: He no longer spoke to me. I guess he felt that I did my part.
Agent Shirokawa: Understood, sensei. But we would like to conduct a medical examination of you, for safety's sake?
PoI-2457-01: [sighs] I will offer whatever I can.
<End Log>
Closing Statement: PoI-2457-01 is scheduled for medical examination at front company Shimamura Contagion Pharmaceutics on ██/██/2013. Amnestic treatment will be held pending results of analysis.

Addendum 2457-2: Below is a transcript of PoI-2457-01's medical examination results.

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DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

X-ray of PoI-2457-01's torso. Notice the growth of tumours in subject's right abdomen.

ATTENDING PERSONNEL: Dr. Jirou Ueda
DATE: 21/10/2013
SUBJECT: PoI-2457-01 (Mr. ████████ ██████)
SPECIES: Human (Homo sapiens sapiens)
SEX: Male
ETHNICITY: Japanese
AGE: 48
WEIGHT: 69.4 kg
HEIGHT: 1.64 m
NOTABLE DETAILS: One mass of tissues identified in subject's abdomen. Bears no analogue to known human organs. Appears to vestigial w.r.t subject's body.
With consent from Ethics Committee Liaison and the subject, operation to extract said mass is authorised. Mass of tissues successfully extracted without complication. Further analysis identifies developmentally mature solid tissues, notably those of the brain, skin and hair follicles. DNA analysis identifies 98% genetic match with samples from SCP-2457-A.

Footnotes
1. The person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine (jinja) as well as for leading worship of a given kami.
2. Prior to this interview, an interview with PoI-2457-01's wife (Mrs. █████ ██████) was conducted. For more information, see Interview Log 2457/PoI-2457-02-1.
3. Denotes an object capable of attracting spirits called kami, thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies.
4. Shinto deity of fire. In the Kojiki, Kago-no-Tsuchi caused the death of his mother Izanami. After that, his father Izanagi killed Kago-no-Tsuchi by chopping him into eight pieces.

« SCP-2456 | SCP-2457 | SCP-2458 »


SCP-2458 (detail)

Item #: SCP-2458
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-2458 is to be stored in its case in a standard containment locker and may only be removed for testing. All testing must be performed in a soundproof chamber populated only by D-class personnel. Researchers must perform all duties and deliver instructions from a separate booth. Live broadcasts of SCP-2458 are forbidden.
Description: SCP-2458 is a cello dating back to the early 18th century, consistent with the works of luthier Giuseppe Guarneri, with expected age and wear. The instrument has been restrung within the past 40 years.
When played, SCP-2458 causes individuals within earshot to make rhythmic movements and vocalizations in tempo with the music. The movements are specific to the piece played, but typically involve head nodding, arm waving, and incoherent murmuring. The player of SCP-2458 is not affected, nor any ensemble performing with the player. Live broadcasts carry the effect, but playbacks do not. Prolonged or repeated exposure to the effect of SCP-2458 causes extreme distress in listeners, who develop melophobia and stereotypic movement disorders.
Addendum 2458-1: Experiment Log

Experiment 2458-A
Player: D-385
Listeners: D-296, D-4883, D-5019
Work: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Result: Listeners bob their head in time with the music. Regular mistakes by D-385 cause listeners to twitch and break the effect before reestablishment. Listeners report unease at loss of motor control.

Experiment 2458-D
Player: D-7294, a trained symphony cellist with psychopathic tendencies.
Listeners: D-296, D-385, D-4883, D-5019
Work: Bach Cello Suite #1
Result: Listeners demonstrate more complex movements, standing and bowing, followed by kneeling, assuming a stance common to Catholic prayer. Listeners chant "Kyrie eleison" five times during performance. Listeners afterward express further distress at loss of motor control.

Experiment 2458-G
Player: D-7294
Listeners: D-296, D-385, D-4883, D-5019
Work: Shostakovich's Cello Concerto
Result: Listeners showed considerable agitation at the start of the test. When the performance began, listeners immediately ceased resistance and tapped their foreheads in unison. At 6:17, D-7294 deviated from test protocol and played an impromptu dissonant piece. D-385 poked out his own eyes while D-5019 and D-4883 strangled each other. D-296 removed his coveralls [DATA EXPUNGED]. At 15:18, D-5019, D-4883, and D-296 had expired while D-385 was blinded. Researchers instructed D-7294 to stop. D-7294 complied.
D-385 showed extreme melophobia after Experiment 2458-G, claiming the music told him to self-harm. D-7294 is retained for future testing.

Addendum 2458-2: Recovery Log
SCP-2458 was recovered from the abandoned Osservanza psychiatric hospital in Imola, Italy. Inventory records indicated that the object was bequeathed to the hospital in 1978, with the following note:

To the kindly doctors who looked so carefully after my beloved Alessandra. May this instrument's music bring peace and order to your patients, the very gifts I tried and failed to bestow on my ailing wife. May we all choose penitence as St. Dismas did on Mount Golgotha.

« SCP-2457 | SCP-2458 | SCP-2459 »


SCP-2459

Item #: SCP-2459
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: A 2 km perimeter has been set up over the zone affected by SCP-2459. Mobile Task Force Phi-12 ("Green Light") is to work with local police and transit authorities to prevent civilians from approaching the area. The town within the perimeter is to remain evacuated, with a local chemical spill and health hazard remaining a cover story. All movement within the perimeter must avoid any travel by road. All roads are to be removed within the perimeter as allowed by local conditions.
MTF Phi-12 is to maintain a supply camp in town. Food and necessary survival supplies are to be provided to the remaining individuals under SCP-2459's effect. All personnel who deliver supplies and engage in waste removal are to be tethered by steel cable to the supply camp, and retrieved from the affected area by reeling in. Class A amnestics are to be administered to all participants involved in supply delivery. Roadside waste must be removed by MTF Phi-12.
Foundation personnel affected by SCP-2459 are to be included in supply programs, with the responsibility of dispensing food and supplies as required. Personnel within SCP-2459's zone of effect are reminded that the water hose and power cables are Foundation property and any transactions brokered by personnel are to be placed with the Foundation's petrol account. Furthermore, if they show signs of decreased morale, they are to be reminded that they will remain in place until the traffic clears.
Civilians rescued are to be interviewed. Each civilian is to be detained for a minimum of two weeks, placed on an amnestic regimen, and must attend classes regarding the structure of society and proper functioning therein (see Protocol Balakot-525). All citizens must demonstrate understanding and belief in the social structures of their home community before being released.
Description: SCP-2459 is a multilevel location-based mind-affecting hazard overlayed on an area of four intersections within ███ █████, Pakistan. Any person who enters the zone of effect is subject to an initial cognitohazard, convincing the subject that leaving the zone is not an option. The primary result of this hazard is a large traffic jam that extends throughout the city blocks in the zone of effect.
Furthermore, the hazard contains a memetic component believed to be a subconscious defense against the initial cognitohazard. Subjects within the zone of effect in SCP-2459 try to organize their affairs with respect to all other subjects within the zone, resulting in a reinforcement of the need to stay inside the zone, typically for reasons of social standing and personal property rights.
Because the zone consists solely of the roadway, there is no source of water or food available. All food and water must be provided to hazard subjects. The development of the hazard and the subjects involved is a dynamic situation, and containment continues to be based in humanitarian efforts and civilian rescue.
Addendum: Incident Log 2459-A Notable events and any changes to the nature of the anomaly are to be logged and appended to this document. Personnel involved in containment of SCP-2459 must remember this is an evolving cognitohazardous incident, and to log any behavioral changes found.
5 May 2015. A traffic jam formed in the zone of effect of SCP-2459. When it was observed that the jam was not clearing itself naturally, local police were dispatched to move traffic along. When local police stopped attempting to direct traffic, provincial forces were dispatched.
7 May 2015. Provincial forces disobeyed orders to leave the area, refusing to back down from the task of clearing the traffic. Foundation contacted regarding potential cognitohazard. First responders noted that civilians at the edge of the traffic jam appeared confused regarding instructions to move on. Although civilians would leave their cars and walk around, no one left the roadway at any time. Entrepreneurial civilians within the affected zone had set up outhouses at the edge of the roadway for civilians and were charging for their use. Human waste was noted to pile up at the road edges.
An initial sortie sent to rescue a civilian from the rapidly deteriorating conditions entered the zone of effect of SCP-2459 and first appeared lost. When instructed to return, affected personnel refused, stating the importance of locating an appropriate civilian to rescue. When ordered to leave, personnel reiterated the importance of the mission. One member attempted to establish rapport with the locals by bartering his meal bars to others. As currency was rapidly becoming concentrated in the hands of the outhouse renters, the Foundation personnel accepted a remaining share in the petrol in the tank of the car of one of the civilians. HC-1 Class cognitohazard was diagnosed and MTF Phi-12 was dispatched.
8 May 2015. Affected civilians ran dangerously low on food and water. Civilians demonstrated further anomalous memetic effects, reaching consensus to accept petrol as payment for goods and services between them. Civilians and personnel agreed that all such transactions should be managed at a central bank, and civilians siphoned petrol from all vehicle tanks and transferred it to a tanker caught in the effect, rendering the vehicles unfit for travel. 20 civilians collapsed from dehydration and heat exhaustion. MTF Phi-12 contacted civilians, offering medical evacuation. All offers were refused. MTF extends water hose to affected personnel within the zone of effect to provide water. Daytime high temperature 41 degrees C.
9 May 2015. MTF Phi-12 delivered the first crate of supplies to affected civilians and Foundation personnel. Personnel affected by the anomaly, having entered the zone without vehicle or petrol, have been classified as low-status individuals by civilians. Affected personnel have bartered away their equipment in order to participate in the society forming from SCP-2459. Affected personnel request to receive the supplies and water directly from the Foundation so that they may sell them to the civilians and increase their social standing. Request denied.
14 May 2015. MTF Phi-12 completed containment perimeter. All unaffected civilians evacuated and amnesticized. Supply drops continue. A power cable is extended to affected personnel. Personnel are requested to confiscate all phone power charges for containment purposes. The Foundation applies for a petrol account for incidentals.
18 May 2015. MTF Phi-12 attached a retracting cable to rescue personnel and enter the zone of effect. Personnel were subject to the cognitohazard within 2 seconds of entering the zone. Cable retraction was successful in retrieving the attached rescue personnel. Retrieved personnel continued to demonstrate memetic infection, complaining that they still had obligations within the zone. Class A amnestics successfully remove the cognitohazard from subjects.
19 May 2015. Tethered rescue personnel instructed to attach a harness to retrieve a civilian located at the edge of the road. Task successful with casualties: broken ankle of civilian. Although Class A amnestics removed the cognitohazard from the rescue team, it failed to completely remove the hazard from the civilian. Civilian interviewed.

Interviewed: POI-2459-1
Interviewer: Agent Mohammed Shah, MTF Phi-12
Foreword: Interview conducted 19 May 2015. Interview immediately after rescue from zone of effect. Subject suffered a broken ankle resisting rescue.
<Begin Log, 11:30>
POI-2459-1: You can't keep me here! I have to go back!
Agent Shah: We can't let you go back out there. You need medical assistance.
POI-2459-1: They've set up a practice at the ambulance, I will be fine.
Agent Shah: We can get you better care here.
POI-2459-1: But what about my car? I can't just abandon it! They'll think that I left it behind. Would you return home, face your wife and tell her you just walked away from the car and now you have nothing?
Agent Shah: You have a wife? Where is she? Wouldn't she want to know where you are?
POI-2459-1: She's at home. And she'll be more concerned that I show up with no car, a broken ankle, and no way to work! No, let me back to my car, and I'll drive it home when the traffic clears, like I'm supposed to.
Agent Shah: But you've emptied the tank! How can you drive on an empty tank?
POI-2459-1: The petrol is still in my name and I can withdraw it at any time. Now let me return to my car.
<End Log, 11:42>

20 May 2015. A civil disturbance broke out within the zone, which was quickly suppressed by affected police. The cause of the riot was a disagreement regarding the dispensation of POI-2459-1's vehicle. Affected individuals debated the situation, and agreed that vehicles and equipment of rescued individuals are considered abandoned. Methods of claiming abandoned property were not agreed upon, however, suggesting that future riots could result if civilians rescued do not have their vehicles with them. Fifty-three claims on POI-2459-1's petrol account were registered with the tanker driver and zone accountant.
2 June 2015. Civilian extraction attempted. Target (POI-2459-12) has been identified as a taxi passenger, and so arrived without vehicle or petrol. MTF Phi-12 considered POI-2459-12 a good candidate for extraction without causing further civil disturbance. Extraction successful. POI-2459-12 interviewed.

Interviewed: POI-2459-12
Interviewer: Agent Mohammed Shah, MTF Phi-12
Foreword: Interview conducted 2 June 2015. Interview 24 hours after rescue from zone of effect. Subject was a taxi passenger, and owned no vehicle within the zone.
<Begin Log, 09:17>
Agent Shah: As I've explained before, no, you can't go back there.
POI-2459-12: Really? You are really keeping me from going back?
Agent Shah: Really. Besides, you were at the bottom of the food chain out there.
POI-2459-12: I was surviving just fine. I just need a change of clothes and a bath, which I'll get just as soon as my lazy driver finishes taking me home!
Agent Shah: We can get you home faster than your driver.
POI-2459-12: What? No. We already negotiated the fee for driving me home. I'm not going to walk away and let him steal what I paid for.
Agent Shah: We can reimburse you. You'll get home safely, can take care of yourself, and you don't have to be stuck in traffic anymore.
POI-2459-12: I refuse. I can't let him get away with this! He's probably trying to steal my petrol account, as we speak.
Agent Shah: But you did not arrive with any petrol.
POI-2459-12: No, I earned it. I'm very talented. It's mine now, and you'll see the profit I can make once everything moves on.
<End Log, 09:20>

10 June 2015. Civilians disassembled some of their own vehicles and reconfigured them into shelters. High temperature 43 degrees C. Personnel within the zone of effect have been successful in preventing dehydration and starvation. Due to temperatures, civilians were allowed to continue with disassembly.
23 July 2015. A prescribed course of amnestics every eight hours coupled with cultural reindoctrination education has been found to be sufficient to cure civilians of the memetic component of SCP-2459. Protocol Balakot-525 established. POI-2459-1 amnesticized and released. Monsoonal rains prevented further heat and dehydration crises.
5 September 2015. Protocol Balakot-525 successful in the rehabilitation of 50 civilians to date. Sample exit interview attached.

Interviewed: POI-2459-52
Interviewer: Agent Mohammed Shah, MTF Phi-12
Foreword: Interview conducted 5 September 2015. Interview 21 days after rescue. Subject underwent amnestic regimen and cultural realignment, and has been identified as rehabilitated. Subject underwent final amnestics course after interview and returned home.
<Begin Log, 22:03>
Agent Shah: Greetings, ███████. Please, sit, have some tea. Are you ready to return home, now?
POI-2459-52: Yes, I should like that. Goodness, have I really been caught in that jam for four months?
Agent Shah: I'm afraid so. For the record, could you please explain a few last details regarding your experience?
POI-2459-52: Certainly, anything if it will help those poor souls. Ask your questions.
Agent Shah: Why were you convinced not to leave the roadway?
POI-2459-52: Well, first thing you have to understand, is that none of us want to be there. We all have destinations, families to go back to, things to do. Being stuck in traffic is just a temporary setback.
Agent Shah: But if the traffic lasts days, then wouldn't it have been easier to just leave the road and walk?
POI-2459-52: Certainly, but then you'd have to leave your car behind. Or abandon your fare. You couldn't do that. You can't make progress if you're just letting the things you own slip through your fingers. What good is it if you make it home, but you have nothing? What sort of fool leaves his valuables to be taken? No, it's better to just wait. The traffic will move eventually. The police were there, working on it.
Agent Shah: But everyone emptied their tanks! People are disassembling their vehicles! They can't move their house, now!
POI-2459-52: The traffic was slow. We would reclaim our petrol, remove our structures, and leave on a bus when the time came to move. Until then, we needed a place to live and a petrol account to get our food and water while we waited.
Agent Shah: If it weren't for the rescue operation, there would be no food or water! Dehydration was rampant when we arrived. There are buildings nearby, certainly it would have been easy to bring water from there.
POI-2459-52: And abandon our vehicles? Forfeit our petrol? Certainly not. We decided how these things should work, and we would leave when the traffic cleared. Until then, it was best to make do.
Agent Shah: But you could have died! Why would you believe waiting was the better thing to do?
POI-2459-52: Sir, I understand the absurdity of our solution now, but please try to put yourself in the shoes of those of us stuck in traffic. If you're not willing to die for your beliefs, what good are they?
<End Log, 22:14>

« SCP-2458 | SCP-2459 | SCP-2460 »


SCP-2460

Item #: SCP-2460
Object Class: Safe Keter (See Addendum 2460-B)
Special Containment Procedures: Due to its position and properties, SCP-2460 is not contained at this time. Space agencies are to be informed of SCP-2460's trajectory so that satellites and launches do not collide with SCP-2460. When doing so, SCP-2460 is to be listed as a large piece of space debris. No object is allowed within 50 km of SCP-2460.
Any matter colliding with SCP-2460 must be reported to the astronomical tracking unit at Site-195 immediately. In the event of a collision, the mass, density, and Schwarzschild radius of SCP-2460 must be remeasured and its resulting new orbital trajectory calculated.
Description: SCP-2460 is a gravitational anomaly in elliptical orbit around the Earth. It has an orbital period of 4 hours, with a furthest distance from the surface of the Earth of 12,430 km and a closest approach of 395 km. Measurement of the gravitational anomaly indicates it has a mass of 1.24 x 1013 kg. At the location of the anomaly, there is an apparent object of approximately 50m x 30m x 15m. This gives the object a measured density of 5.51 x 108 kg/m3, which is approximately 100,000 times the density of the Earth and close to the density of a white dwarf star.
The shape of this object is variable in appearance, with components of different materials appearing to erupt from the surface of the object only to be reabsorbed. Furthermore, the object is virtually invisible to electromagnetic radiation and has no measurable charge, magnetic moment, or wave emissions. However, despite this behavior, photons in the visible light spectrum still interact with the object, albeit at a low albedo of 0.01.
The anomaly behaves very differently on the quantum level. SCP-2460 is comprised of bosonic matter that anomalously maintains much of the structure of fermionic (normal) matter. This anomalous construction causes the Pauli Exclusion Principle not to apply, allowing matter to occupy the same quantum state as other similarly composed bosonic matter. In addition, electromagnetic interaction is suppressed. As a result, the bosonic electron fields between objects in SCP-2460 do not repel each other.
The net result of these anomalous quantum effects is that multiple individual objects within SCP-2460 occupy the same place at the same time. What appears to be objects growing out of and receding into SCP-2460 is actually thousands of colocating objects oscillating about the gravitational center of the anomaly. The exceptionally high mass of SCP-2460 is the result of these thousands of individual objects occupying the same location, all gravitationally bound together.
It is important to note that this colocation is not a spatiotemporal distortion, but the net result of the lack of interaction between individual objects in the anomaly. There is no risk of a "reversion" to a Euclidean space, because the space is already Euclidean.
The influence of the gravitation of thousands of objects acts as a strange attractor, keeping each individual object within 105 m of the center of SCP-2460 at all times. The chaotic nature of the attractor has caused multiple objects to be shown at the surface of SCP-2460 at different intervals. Most of the items expressed are space dust and rocky debris similar in composition to asteroids. The following items are notable, however:

A planetesimal with the above dimensions of 50m x 30m x 15m. This item acts as the "surface" of SCP-2460. Of note is the distinct lack of cratering on the surface.
A comet nucleus of approximately 5m diameter. Visible spectral analysis suggests that the object's original location was the Oort cloud.
A spacefaring vessel of unknown make, 10m in length. The hull is covered with unidentified symbols. Through a plate glass window, two beings are visible, apparently long deceased and dessicated, resembling crocodilian humanoids.
Approximately 1,000 metric tons of hydrogen and helium, compressed under gravitation into a superfluid state.
Ninety capsules, each containing a single humanoid occupant, each colocating independently from the others. The occupants are apparently dead and dessicated.
Foundation Probe OU11-3 and Agent Rick Roberts, deceased. (See Addendum 2460-B)

Addendum 2460-A: On 2/15/2013, a stray orbiting steel bolt attached to a retaining plate from the [REDACTED] disaster was seen to be captured by the gravity well and collide with SCP-2460. It was observed that the collision caused no impact site and the bolt passed through the matter without hindrance. However, post collision the bolt and plate no longer registered any electromagnetic field deformation. Further observation demonstrated that the bolt remains attached to the plate, confirming that the colocation effect of items caught within the anomaly does not extend to items that are exposed within milliseconds to it.
This observation further suggests that all objects seen in SCP-2460 were, at one time, normal fermionic matter, transformed by the anomaly into the presently seen amalgamation. It is hypothesized that the anomaly annihilates the quantum spin of the subatomic particles, transforming the matter from fermionic to bosonic and allowing it to colocate. Containment procedures updated to prevent further matter collisions with SCP-2460. Further testing is suggested.
Addendum 2460-B: On 2/5/2014, SCP-2460 was noted to pass within 70 km of Foundation Orbital Unit-11, and a sortie was authorized to intercept the anomaly for quantum measurements. Agent Rick Roberts was sent in Probe OU11-3 to examine the anomaly at close range for testing of the quantum signature of the matter within the object. Radio contact with Probe OU11-3 ceased when the probe came within 5 km of the central mass. Approximately 0.5 seconds before loss of contact, apparent density of the low Earth orbit medium was seen to increase from 1.0 x 10-11 kg/m3 to 7.3 x 10-9 kg/m3.
All remaining data from the experiment comes from the cameras aboard Orbital Unit-11. Agent Roberts quickly noted the lack of radio contact, and engaged thrusters to maneuver away from SCP-2460. The fuel was seen to ignite and pass ineffectually through the hull and cabin of Probe OU11-3. Unable to adjust position or trajectory, Probe OU11-3 was gravitationally captured by SCP-2460 and fell into the central mass.
15,534 kg added to the mass of SCP-2460. Trajectory and Schwarzschild radius recalculated. Containment procedures updated to include a mandatory distance of 50 km.
Addendum 2460-C: Transcript of lecture regarding SCP-2460 on 4/3/2015

Presenter: Dr. Cordelia Argent, Principal Researcher, Astronomical Phenomena Division
Foreword: Dr. C. Argent presents the results of her observations and experiments with SCP-2460.
<Begin Log>
Dr. C. Argent: Good evening and welcome. I want to thank everyone for coming this evening. Tonight, I am going to explain what, exactly, SCP-2460 is, and the risk it represents for the Earth.
I could explain the fermion-to-boson conversion called quantum spin annihilation, explain how this interaction is possible under a version of supersymmetry, the transformation of quarks to squarks and so on. But I'm sure that that would go over most of your heads. You could learn it all, but you're here to understand what this is and what it means. I'll spare you the physics.
I'm sure you've heard stories of walking through walls. Ghosts, radio waves, certain anomalies, et cetera. Phasing is a popular term for it. In essence, SCP-2460 is a collection of objects - asteroids, comets, nebula material, stellar mass, and more - all phasing through each other. It's important to recognize that this phasing is the sole reason all these objects exist in the same place at the same time. This is not a spatiotemporal distortion, at least, not anything more than is fully and non-anomalously explainable via its gravity alone.
However, what is less explainable is the lack of electromagnetic interaction within SCP-2460. Firstly, this means that there is no radio communication possible with anything within the anomaly. Radio waves pass through it as if it wasn't there. This is also what leads to the phasing effect we see. You know how we are made of atoms, and atoms consist of a nucleus surrounded by an electron cloud? These electron clouds are negatively charged and push each other away, and that's why we can't walk through walls. But within SCP-2460, the electron fields between objects introduced at separate times don't interact, don't push against each other, and as a result, don't stop objects from passing through one another.
But wait, you're probably asking, isn't the photon the gauge boson for the electromagnetic interaction? Why do we see anything? Okay, you're likely not asking that, but I did, first thing. The truth is, we don't see most of SCP-2460. Experiment 2460-B proved that. We saw the medium density around Probe OU11-3 increase nearly a thousandfold before losing contact. There is a cloud of massive particles that have nearly no interaction with normal matter extending as far as 5 km from the central mass. There are only two ways these particles interact: gravitationally, and rendering normal matter that comes in contact with it out of phase. These particles are invisible and otherwise undetectable. All remaining mass was added subsequently, acting as an anchor for the particles. That's why we can see the massive objects in the center.
What's the risk from this? Well, it is exceptionally dense, and thus perturbations from its present orbit will preferentially cause the orbit to decay, resulting in SCP-2460 falling to the Earth. Now, since it remains "phased out," collision with the Earth won't cause any impact crater. However, the quantum spin annihilation will affect all matter the anomaly passes through, resulting in invisible holes of phased out ground. SCP-2460 will pass unhindered through the center of the Earth, transforming matter the entire way, leaving a giant hole through the center of the Earth that the liquid mantle and core will gush into, the crust and surface eventually falling, unsupported, into the hole. But it won't end there. The momentum in SCP-2460 will propel it all the way back out of the center of the earth, back to the surface, where it will gravitationally oscillate back and forth, back and forth, rendering more and more of the Earth out of phase with itself like Swiss cheese until the entire planet collapses into a central superdense pile of untouchable rubble, constituting a QK-Class Quantum Degeneracy End-Of-The-World scenario.
So I'm sure you agree that we want this thing as far away from us as possible. The problem is, we can't touch it. We can't use thrusters to push it away. There's nothing to push against. We can't deflect it with magnetic fields. There's no electromagnetic interaction. We can only use gravity to pull it away. That means that we will need to tow an asteroid of similar mass into Low Earth Orbit to carefully slingshot the anomaly away from us, then destroy the asteroid somehow. An asteroid approximately 22 km in diameter should contain enough mass to eject the anomaly. Recommendations have been submitted to O5 Command.
But I'm sure you actually are all asking, what is this, and why did it end up here, orbiting around the Earth? Well, it is an amalgamation of weakly interacting massive particles, invisible to electromagnetic radiation, emitting no radiation of its own, and possessing only gravity.
In short, ladies and gentlemen, SCP-2460 is dark matter.
And when you consider that fully 85% of the mass in the universe is dark matter, we should not ask why we are so unlucky to have a chunk of it orbiting around the Earth. We should ask why we are so lucky that we haven't hit any of this stuff yet.
Thank you, and good evening.
<End Log>

« SCP-2459 | SCP-2460 | SCP-2461 »


Item #: SCP-2461
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Following the accidental deaths of Dr. ██████████ and the remainder of the SCP-2461 research team, no further research into SCP-2461 is to be carried out without a unanimous consent of the O5 council. The remaining SCP-2461 artifacts are to be placed in High Security Containment at Armed Containment Site 2461. No access to SCP-2461 is to be permitted without unanimous consent of the O5 council. Anti-theft measures in place at Armed Containment Site 2461 are classified under Protocol 999-2461-Gernsback. Lethal force is authorized to prevent theft of SCP-2461 objects.

Description: SCP-2461 is a series of artifacts recovered from a crash site on ██-██-████.

SCP-2461-A: A disc-shaped device approximately 45 meters in diameter and 10.5 meters in height. Device's exterior is covered in a radar-absorbing material. Entrance and egress are possible through a dilating iris doorway in the central underside of the device, either by ladder, elevator, or roof-mounted gravity lift.
The interior of the device is divided into three levels, each approximately 3 meters in interior height. The topmost level (Deck 1) appears to be devoted to command and control, and includes a control center, observation dome, and navigation systems. The second level appears to be devoted to engineering and avionics, and includes the avionics, engine, and flight control systems. A small living quarters, including galley and cots, is also located on this level. The third level contains the remaining avionics and flight control systems, but is mostly made up of a toroidal fuel tank, containing approximately 40,000 liters of an unknown combustible liquid. At the moment of the writing of this article, 10,000 liters of fuel remain in the tank.
The underside of the device has six hemispherical protrusions located at regular intervals around the circumference of the disc. Each hemisphere shields a turreted X-ray laser in the 200 MW range. Guidance and firing are carried out either by the master gunnery control station on Deck 1, or by individual turret controls on Deck 3.
Three extendable struts are located at regular intervals on the underside of the device, and can be extended for landing.

SCP-2461-B: Ten instances of SCP-2461-B were found inside SCP-2461-A, labeled SCP-2461-B1 through SCP-2461-B10. At the time of the writing of this article, seven instances of SCP-2461-B (B1 through B7) have been destroyed through testing or accident, leaving three extant examples.
SCP-2461-B is an exoskeletal "powered armor" suit constructed of a highly sophisticated steel alloy. Each was originally worn by a different instance of SCP-2461-C before recovery, and was individually fitted to its wearer's physical characteristics. Experimentation has revealed that SCP-2461-B grants the user increased strength, that its armor plating is capable of repelling small arms fire up to and exceeding .50 BMG, and that it contains systems capable of life support in hard vacuum for extended periods of time.

SCP-2461-C1 through C12: The cremated remains of twelve individuals (eleven male, one female) who originally operated SCP-2461-A. At the present time, none of the SCP-2461-C instances have been positively identified. Autopsies carried out after the initial crash site recovery indicates that all ten individuals were killed [DATA EXPUNGED].

SCP-2461-D1 through D10: Ten devices originally housed in leather holsters affixed to the exterior of each SCP-2461-B. Eight of these devices (SCP-2461-D1 through D8) were damaged beyond repair in the impact. One of the surviving devices was subsequently destroyed during the course of experimentation and testing, leaving one extant device remaining.
SCP-2461-D is an X-ray laser pistol in the 150 kW range. The emitter is located in the bulbous structure located just above the grip. The collimating "barrel" of the device is a hexagonal prism made of an artificial aluminum oxide crystal, protruding four inches from the emitter, surrounded by combination heat-sink and barrel shroud. The devices are rechargeable by 125 V alternating current, or by replacing the power pack located in the grip.

SCP-2461-E1 through E4: Four X-ray laser rifles in the 200 kW range. The construction is similar to that of SCP-2461-D, except that the power pack is located in a magazine well located forward of the trigger housing, the barrel has been extended to twelve inches and includes a forward hand grip made of walnut wood, and a rifle butt made of the same walnut wood has been attached to the rear of the laser emitter housing.

SCP-2461-F through Z: [DATA EXPUNGED UNDER SECURITY PROTOCOL 999-2461-GERNSBACK]

SCP-2461-ALEPH through HE: [DATA EXPUNGED UNDER SECURITY PROTOCOL 999-2461-GERNSBACK]

Addendum: Initial Recovery and History. SCP-2461-A (and all artifacts contained within) were originally recovered from ██████,██ on ██-██-████. Initial recovery operations were carried out by personnel from the nearby ██████ ████ ███ █████, and were originally stored in the U.S. government's ████████████ █████ ███████. Artifacts were transferred to SCP Foundation Site-2461 on ██-██-████ with permission by the Bowe Commission, and have remained in SCP Foundation custody ever since that commission's dissolution.
On ██-██-████, a Global Occult Coalition representative contacted SCP Foundation officials, requesting that custody of the SCP-2461 artifacts be transferred to GOC auspices, citing the "historical and cultural significance" of the SCP-2461 artifacts to the GOC. As of the writing of this article, no plans have been made for any such transfer.
Addendum:

The following information is limited to personnel with 999-2461-Gernsback clearance only.

- Conceal information

The following slogans were found scrawled on various interior surfaces of SCP-2461-A upon recovery.

Deutschland Über Alles!

Gott Strafe Amerika! Gott Strafe England! Gott Strafe Die Vereinten Nationen!

Two stylized lightning bolts, later identified as the sigrunen used as a symbol of the Schutzstaffel (SS).

A crudely drawn symbol of a sword with a ribbon wrapped around the blade, and the words "Ahnenerbe Deutsches" scrawled around the exterior

SCP-2461-VAV: SCP-2461-VAV1 through VAV4 are the cremated remains of four Global Occult Coalition operatives (three male, one female) found on board SCP-2461-A at the time of impact. At the time of the writing of this article, the identities of these operatives are unknown.
Forensic reconstruction indicates that, at the time of impact, two of these individuals (VAV3 and VAV4) were located just outside the corridor leading to the control center on Deck 1, armed with SCP-2461-D and SCP-2461-E instances. Two other individuals (VAV1 and VAV2) were found at the controls of SCP-2461-A, seated at the pilot and copilot's stations. Two SCP-2461-C instances (C1 and C2) were also found nearby, each killed by a headshot by a laser pistol in the 150 kw range.

The following information is limited to O5-level personnel with 999-2461-Gernsback clearance only.

- Conceal information

Transcript of SCP-2461-A Cockpit Flight Data Voice Recorder.

Unknown: "Stick this in your pipe and suck it, Ratzi scum!"
Sounds of physical struggle.
C-1: "Foolish. Did you seriously think that you could win this fight? You are a MAN. We have become GODS."
VAV-1: "I'm starting to *strangled grunt* get really sick of *shout of pain* your grandstanding!"
Continued sounds of physical struggle. Servos whining.
C-1: "You've lost. Your mere human muscles are no match for the power of our steel. When you see your home town in flames, when you…"
Sound of gunshot. Sound of two rapid gunshots.
VAV-1: "… it took you long enough."
VAV-2: "You try running in heels on a UFO, Captain."
VAV-1: "What about Manny and Wee Willy? Are they safe?"
VAV-2: "They broke out at the same time we did. They're holding the corridor against the enemy."
VAV-1: "Good. Now let's see if we can turn this infernal machine…"
Extended pause.
VAV-1: "Scheiße."
VAV-2: "You see it?"
VAV-1: "Computer flight controls. It must be making thousands of computations per second keeping this thing in the air… and it requires a password. Do you know it?"
VAV-2: "No. Damn. What do we do?"
VAV-1: "We can't let this thing cross the Atlantic. If this verdammt… monstrosity… gets found by the wrong people… our country is barely rebuilding itself. We can't let this act of sabotage set us back …"
VAV-2: "It won't. Give me some time. I'll figure out this compu—."
VAV-1: "Wait one. Manfred, go."
Extended pause.
VAV-1: "Then do what you can. Go with God."
VAV-2: "The fight isn't going well?"
VAV-1: "Wilhelm is dead. Manfred will…"
Explosion. Gunfire.
VAV-1: Shouting. "We are out of time!"
VAV-2: "Then we go to Plan B."
VAV-1: "Yes."
VAV-2: "For what it's worth, Fritz, you weren't so bad for a stuck up German ass."
VAV-1: "I feel the same way, you headstrong Ami bitch."
Recording ends.

GOC missive sent to SCP Foundation O5 Council on ██-██-████.

To Whom It May Concern,
The Global Occult Coalition High Command has recently received word that the remains of GOC Strike Team Alpha are in the custody of your organization. It is with the utmost respect and gratitude for the care with which you have maintained these historical artifacts that the Coalition cordially requests that these remains and artifacts be returned to the Global Occult Coalition.
Strike Team Alpha was the first Global Occult Coalition strike team to be formed in the wake of the Second World War. Their exploits against the SS Ahnenerbe and the Thule-Gesellschaft during the years following the dissolution of the Nazi regime were instrumental not only in dealing with the occult fallout of that war, but in repairing the reputation of the German people in the occult community. Certainly, complicit guilt in the deaths of nine million innocents cannot be expunged easily, but their pasts do not in any way lessen the courage and sacrifice of Commander Hans Fritzl, Lieutenant Wilheim Weiss, Sergeant Manfred Schroeder, and Special Agent Diana Wu-Frost.
Certainly, an organization whose early history includes a shameful involvement in the "McCarthy-Truman UFO Scandal" of 1951 must understand the value of repentance and restitution.
Yours Sincerely,

Under-Secretary-General D. C. Al Fine
United Nations Global Occult Coalition

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« SCP-2460 | SCP-2461 | SCP-2462 »


SCP-2462

Item #: SCP-2462
Object Class: Euclid Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Due to the restrictive growing conditions of Rafflesia arnoldii, Outpost 2462-0 has been established at SCP-2462's location of discovery to prevent unauthorized access and allow for experimentation. Monetary compensation to the citizens of ██████ has been authorized to prevent the disclosure of SCP-2462's anomalous properties to third parties. A 350m perimeter is to be established around SCP-2462 during its blooming period, with access denied to all unauthorized individuals, save for citizens of ██████ who live, work, or regularly visit inside the perimeter.
SCP-2462 is kept at Outpost 2462-0. Four mirrors are to be stationed around SCP-2462, and must be cleaned regularly to maintain reflectivity.
Description: SCP-2462 is a genetically unremarkable specimen of Rafflesia arnoldii located outside ██████, Indonesia. While blooming, SCP-2462 generates a variable number of illusory R. arnoldii instances, collectively designated SCP-2462-A, within 250 meters of itself.
SCP-2462-A do not displace any matter or have mass of their own, yet are opaque to light and respond realistically to environmental stimuli and physical interaction. Computer analysis of photographed SCP-2462-A has confirmed that they are not hallucinations.
The number of SCP-2462-A is variable. In its natural environment, SCP-2462 would maintain an average of 30,000 SCP-2462-A1 under normal circumstances. The following factors are known to affect SCP-2462-A production:

Proximity of other R. arnoldii: Each living specimen within line of sight of SCP-2462 results in a ~60% reduction in SCP-2462-A's numbers.
Malnourishment: SCP-2462-A production increases by 20-50% in periods where SCP-2462 is malnourished.
Light: When illumination of SCP-2462 drops below levels typical of nighttime in its natural environment, SCP-2462-A will triple in number, receding when illumination is restored.
Damage: When SCP-2462 is damaged, SCP-2462-A will cover almost every surface within 250 meters of it. SCP-2462-A will recede only when the damage to SCP-2462 is healed.

Due to the difficulty of locating and transporting R. arnoldii instances2, containment by the presentation of other R. arnoldii instances is impracticable.
Recovery: SCP-2462 was identified in 2008, after photographs of SCP-2462-A were published on the official ██████ tourism website. Interviews with citizens of ██████ indicate that SCP-2462 has been exhibiting anomalous properties since the previous year, with SCP-2462-A affecting two neighborhoods on the town's outskirts. Turning SCP-2462-A into a tourist attraction had only been considered in the months preceding SCP-2462's 2008 bloom.
Addendum: At the recommendation of Dr. Breitkopf, SCP-2462 was surrounded by four mirrors, producing an effectively unlimited number of reflections, during a blooming period. SCP-2462-A was not generated. SCP-2462 was downgraded to Safe, and containment procedures were adjusted accordingly.

Footnotes
1. Roughly one per 6.5m2 over its whole active radius.
2. R. arnoldii exists as a parasite on the roots of the Tetrastigma genus, and has not been successfully cultivated in captivity. It is not visible to the naked eye outside of its brief annual blooming period. Moreover, R. arnoldii is critically endangered due to deforestation — SCP-2462 is the only known member of its species within a 36km radius.

« SCP-2461 | SCP-2462 | SCP-2463 »


Item #: SCP-2463
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Each instance of SCP-2463 is to be kept in a separate standard containment locker at Site-19. At no point should any instance of SCP-2463 come into contact with any other instance of SCP-2463. Access to single instances of SCP-2463 is restricted to personnel with security clearance of 3 or higher, and access to multiple instances is not permitted at this time.
Any personnel found attempting to remove any number of SCP-2463 instances from designated testing rooms are to be immediately detained and held for questioning.
Description: SCP-2463 is a set of six bronze horses, each approximately 6 cm tall, and believed to be Ancient Roman in origin. Various dating methods have placed the creation of SCP-2463 at circa 250 CE. SCP-2463's anomalous properties begin to manifest when instances are exposed to water collected from naturally occurring sources1. SCP-2463 instances that are exposed to any such water, will begin converting the water into petroleum through an unknown process. This conversion takes place at a rate of approximately 63 mL per hour.
If separate instances of SCP-2463 come into physical contact, this conversion rate will scale exponentially with the number of instances, so that when all six instances are in contact, the conversion will occur at a rate of approximately 62,523,502 L per hour, allowing large volumes of water to be converted very quickly.
SCP-2463 was discovered during a raid on a storage facility in ███████, New York, which was believed to be owned by Marshall, Carter and Dark LLP. The raid was conducted by Mobile Task Force Mu-3 (“Highest Bidders”), and resulted in recovery of SCP-2463 as well as SCP-2635 and SCP-1738, along with several documents and items currently awaiting cataloging.
MTF-M3 was discovered during their mission, and as a result, several Foundation personnel were killed in the course of duty. SCP-2463 was briefly activated during recovery, but was successfully contained by remaining MTF-M3 operatives.
For further information on the recovery of SCP-2463, consult Recovery Log-2463.
Addendum-2463-1: In addition to SCP-2463, MTF-M3 also recovered a Marshall, Carter and Dark item listing for the object. This document has been designated as Document-2463-1.
Addendum-2463-2: Found with Document-2463-1 was a transcript of a letter believed to have been translated from ancient Latin, written to the Roman Emperor Gallienus2 by an as of yet unidentified person. For a transcript of this letter, see below.

+ Document-2463-2

- Close

To Imperator Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus Augustus
We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of your great father, and write to you in order to settle a pressing matter of business left unresolved by the venerable emperor.
Shortly after his capture at Edessa by Shahansha Shapur, your father wrote to Us from Bishapur, seeking aid on behalf of The Empire. On his request, We have procured a number of items that we believe met the needs he expressed.
We will happily pass along these items to you, so long as We are paid the price that was arranged by your honorable father, that being a sum of 60,000,000 Aurei. We are aware that the price seems extreme, but so were the demands of your father.
"A force to wipe out the Persian dogs. To make barren their lands, and sickly their people. A force to destroy every square foot on which they have ever walked and to plague their kingdom with bloodshed for millennia."
These were the feats required of us by the deific Valerianus, and for this power We must ask for equal renumeration.
Should you decide not to pay, We shall retain possession of the items until a time when We are payed what We have asked.
Your loyal servant, D. Mercator.

Footnotes
1. Tests have determined that any water collected from natural bodies of water (including lakes, rivers, seas, oceans, and subterranean springs, etc.) will activate SCP-2463. Water from artificial sources, such as canals, or man-made reservoirs, will not activate SCP-2463.
2. Roman Emperor who ruled with his father, Emperor Valerian, from 253 to 260 and then alone until his death in 268, at the age of 50.

« SCP-2462 | SCP-2463 | SCP-2464 »