Alten

Comment wanted on an idea: Cassandra Statue. Animate marble statue, apparently dates to ancient Greece, intelligent and pleasant personally, basically benevolent person. Claims to actually be Cassandra from myth. Statue can provide prophecies to any question of the type "If I do X, what will happen?" Statue compelled to reveal full scope of the prophecy; can't cut it short.

If prophecy is allowed to play out as forseen, nothing special happens. If prophecy is somehow prevented, it causes the next one to be slightly corrupted; results are a little worse than normal for the questioner, and the prophecy is a little more detailed, the results defined a little longer.

The effect is cumulative and grows exponentially worse, so that even three or four 'subverted' prophecies begins causing outright disaster for mundane questions. Outside active, informed effort, each prophecy will occur exactly as fortold. The corrupting effect entirely resets once a prophecy is allowed to occur without interferance.

Hook: Temptation to make use of the statue. It's not a literal genie out to screw you, so a little care could make it highly useful, up until natural progression happens to reveal a disaster—and with the SCP Foundation, that disaster is pretty much assured sooner or later. Then the temptation is to prevent it, but that just makes the cycle worse and worse…

"Cassandra Statue"

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Item #: SCP-XXX

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures:

Description: SCP-XXX is a life-size marble statue of a human female mounted on a large pedestal, painted to resemble an individual of Greek descent and wearing a peplos (1). The marble of both statue and pedistal will rapidly repair cosmetic damage, with more severe damage taking proportionately longer.

SCP-XXX is of slightly above-average intelligence, and shows signs of multiple mental disorders consistent with long periods of isolation and abuse. SCP-XXX has proven conversationally fluent in all languages, an ability believed to be a secondary attribute of its anomalous nature, but issues all prophecies in classical Greek.

SCP-XXX is capable of generating accurate prophecies. Testing has confirmed SCP-XXX's claim that

(1) A robe tradtionally worn by women in Ancient Greece.

[Prophetic abilities]

Addendum:

(Note: This is a summary of my concept, not the actual article I'd post.)

The SCP is a library with the property of muting all sound due to the air possessing extreme inertia. Movement within the library is unrestricted, but it feels like you're trying to move through a thin syrup, and it tends to be quickly tiring. Conversation beyond a foot or so is impossible, even yelled, while an explosion might manage to carry four or five feet.

The effect originates in the books, and actually seems to change the air, with the effect wearing off over time. Air that enters the library picks up the properties when it reaches books, and the heightened inertia begins to set in immediately. Air that leaves the immediate vicinity of the books loses the property over ten to twelve hours, though within the library itself, the fact that books are almost everywhere ensures that the property remains in full effect. Sealing the library so that no air can enter or escape will result in the effect growing more and more intense. Eventually, movement becomes impossible, and anyone still inside suffocates as their lungs are unable to force the air to move. Reentry would require digging your way back in, and it would be like digging through packed dirt, or maybe clay.

Books introduced to those already exhibiting the conversion property will themselves develop it over the course of two weeks, gradually assuming full strength. Critical mass to sustain the effect is one full shelf of books; fewer than that and the property fades over two weeks time. Other than the books and the air, everything about the library is normal, though the layout maximizes circulation through the building while minimizing air entering and exiting the library.

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Item #: SCP-XXX

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXX requires no containment beyond remaining in Site 188. To ensure continued security, access to the library containing SCP-XXX is to be limited to researchers permanently assigned to the facility. Other researchers wishing to access the SCP must first obtain permission from Dr. Andrews.

To prevent a potential containment breech, the air within the [REDACTED] Library must be continually replaced with unaffected air from outside the building. Complete replacement should be achieved at least every three weeks, but no more than every two weeks.

Description: SCP-XXX is the book collection contained in the former [REDACTED] Library in Chicago, Illinois, now designated Research Site 188. Component books show no unusual physical properties other than their effect upon nearby sources of kinetic energy.

SCP-XXX

The [REDACTED] Library itself does not appear to be affected by SCP-XXX.

Addendum: After losing two late-working researchers in the past four weeks, the building containing SCP-XXX is now under a 9 PM curfew.
-Dr. Andrews

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