Item #: SCP-XXX
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXX is to be kept inside SCP-XXX-A at all times unless removal is authorised by O5 Command personnel for testing, removal to another location or destruction. SCP-XXX-A is a sealed cylindrical steel container measuring 10.5m in height and 2m in diameter and filled with earth.
SCP-XXX-A is currently located at the bottom of a reappropriated silo on Site 19 to prevent Foundation personnel being affected by SCP-XXX phenomena.
Description: SCP-XXX is an unidentified object, most closely resembling a totem or marker, consisting of a solid circular base and an unmarked monument of an unknown, jet black material which arcs from the base. The base is an otherwise unremarkable slab of worn slate which tests indicate originated from Cornwall, England. The monument has proven impossible to analyse thus far, because the material is impervious to damage and SCP-XXX seems to cause analytical instruments to malfunction until removed from its presence. The only data captured is from the experiences of researchers who have been in contact with the object. Data gathered in post-exposure interviews is contradictory and is to be regarded as unreliable except for three recurring details; the monument is warm to the touch, that within 5m of the base a noise analogous to a hear beat became audible, increasing with proximity and that the closer the researcher’s proximity the more conscious they are of a red tint to the edges of SCP-XXX.
Discovery: SCP-XXX came to the attention of the Foundation by way of Ukrainian police dispatches after it was unearthed in a farmer’s field 50km to the west of the city of Melitopol in the Zaporiz'ka oblast. According to the limited information available, the farmer’s plough struck the monument section of the object, though it bears no sign of ever having been struck by the plough. Upon discovery, it was then unearthed by the farmer and taken to the central plaza of the nearest town. Having placed it there, the farmer was joined by passers-by until a sizeable crowd had formed comprising of most of the villagers. They remained there until dusk before dispersing. Over the course of the next 24 hours, significant numbers of reports of erratic behaviour from the village inhabitants were reaching Ukrainian police, causing it to be flagged by Foundation incident monitoring software. Agents were dispatched immediately and were sufficiently convinced by the seriousness of events to recommend immediate quarantine of the area. Full lock down was achieved within 3 hours of the Agents’ report. A decision was then made by [REDACTED] to not retrieve the object immediately, as the situation had become too volatile to extract without casualties and offered an opportunity to observe the full effects of the object without the waste of Foundation personnel. Full reports of observed phenomena are detailed in the report logs.
Here follows a summary of the most common phenomenon observed;
- Paranoia, levels of which are determined by length of exposure to SCP-XXX and by distance from SCP-XXX.
- Obsessive devotion to SCP-XXX.
- Mutual fear and suspicion.
- Hysteria.
- Brutal and frenzied murder.
- Rapid physical degeneration.
- The formation of groups and factions which repeatedly schism until only hostile individuals are left.
After 5 days of observation and the gradual eradication of the villagers at each other's and their own hands, the decision was made to secure SCP-XXX immediately, but insufficient safeguards were taken by the extraction team and led to the eradication of all but one member of Retrieval One who was extracted and remitted to a Foundation facility for recovery. Full details of incident #901-000-10 are available.
Further testing has indicated that the root of most of the behaviour associated to SCP-XXX is the increased levels of paranoia the object induces. The strength of a given subject’s sanity offers no safeguard to the effects of SCP-XXX, but those with pre-existing mental conditions will deteriorate faster than those without.
Addendum:
Day 1 Observation Logs
Day 2 Observation Logs
Day 3 Observation Logs
Day 4 Observation Logs
Day 5 Observation Logs
Incident #901-000-10
Note: This will change and be added to as the observation logs and incident report are written. This is just a rough draft of the overview page to test that the underpinning concept works, as well as to create a framework to develop from