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| SCP-414 placed bottom-up |
Item #: SCP-414
Object Class: Safe (Euclid)
Special Containment Procedures:
SCP-414 is to be kept on a 1.5m high pedastal, enclosed and locked within a glass casing 1m in length, width and height. The 30m x 30m x 5m room should have sufficient lighting to keep every part of the room well illuminated. All cameras should be constantly monitored 24 hours a day by rotated observation staff with its footage recorded for security and research purposes.
A specially trained security squad is on stand-by at all times, and during testing they are to accompany personnel entering the room, but stay at least 3 meters distance from SCP-414 unless SCP-414 begins exhibiting behavior.
Only class D personnel and accompanying security detail are allowed to enter the room and the door is to be locked when all staff and equipment has been brought in. The door lock is controlled by the adjacent observation room and cannot be operated from the inside. Before unsealing the glass casing that SCP-414 resides in, all personnel and security detail must be fitted with a harness and tethered to specified hard points within the room.
Tools and equipment brought into the room should be left inside the specially designed transport assembly when not in use. All tools and equipment should be held with a firm grip, and staff should be constantly reminded of this. Items with potential to cause damage and harm require stricter handling protocols and heightened alertness from observing staff when brought into the room.
Before all personnel, security and materials have vacated and relocked the room, the glass encasing should be triple checked to ensure that it is secure. No loose objects or lone personnel should be left within the room alone with SCP-414. Failure to comply with these protocols is punishable by reassignment to keter-class duty.
Description:
SCP-414 is a leather and soft silk weave top hat of typical variety used in shows and performances by magicians and illusionists. It takes on a unusual ebony color at certain angles, but discolorations are present due to wear and age. There are no markings to identify its origin or manufacturer. The design and make of SCP-414 indicates that it originated in the late 1870's to early 1900's from a European setting. Fiber analysis is inconclusive at best.
Upon first inspection, SCP-414 appears to be a normal head wear. Peering into SCP-414 reveals a pitch black void that begins midway into the stove pipe shaped section that comprises SCP-414. Cameras and other electronic equipment looking into SCP-414 inexplicably fail to operate. Electromagnetic analysis and other scanning attempts into SCP-414 are not possible due to this. Personnel appear to be entranced when staring into SCP-414 and sometimes report movement of unknown nature occurring within the void.
By reaching into SCP-414 by hand or non-electrical retrieval device (such as a fishing rod), SCP-414 will produce items of various nature. The items comprise mostly of aids found in typical magic shows and illusions. These items are unusual in each of their own way and have been logged in Experiment Log 414. SCP-414 will always offer an item that can be lifted by the method used to retrieve an item. Heavier objects may turn up if the appendage is capable of extracting it. Turning SCP-414 with its opening downward to shake it of its contents does not produce any results. There is no way to control what objects SCP-414 produces.
Inserting items into SCP-414 is possible, however releasing grip on the object inserted is tantamount to losing it forever. Maintaining firm grip or a connection to outside the void will ensure an object is not lost and can be pulled back out without incident.
The opening of the brim SCP-414 will increase in circumference and adjust its shape to accommodate the dimensions of the object being passed through. The limit of what SCP-414 can take in has not been reached with testing done so far. It is not understood how SCP-414 is able to accomplish this, despite composition analysis revealing SCP-414 to be physically incapable of stretching in such a manner.
Testing indicates that SCP-414 has an equilibrium state in regards to the quantity of objects placed in or taken out. SCP-414 appears to return to equilibrium state precisely 24 hours from the last object passing the void inside it. Up to five items can be safely pulled from SCP-414 without causing incident or triggering abnormal behavior.
Inserting items into SCP-414 can allow more items to be removed safely, as it appears to count toward putting SCP-414 toward equilibrium or even past it. Inserting up to five items into SCP-414 past equilibrium will not trigger abnormal behaviour. SCP-414 will only accept certain items however, and eject unsuitable ones immediately. As long as the items can be conceivably used in a magic act, it is acceptable.
Putting five items in beyond either point of the equilibrium will trigger SCP-414 to exhibit abnormal behaviour, with increasing severity and frequency to match the quantity of items displaced. Starting from the sixth and onward, items pulled will sharply take on increasingly disturbing and morbid natures. Common magic aids start taking on unsettling qualities, and items that do not aid in illusions appear in increasing frequency. Many of these items are dangerous as well.
In the most severe cases, a pale arm with tone and color matching that of a waterlogged drown victim will emerge from SCP-414 and attempt to pull items into SCP-414. The appearance of this arm increases as magnitude of items removed increases, and decreases at SCP-414 is closer to toward equilibrium. The arm is strong enough to drag an adult deer into SCP-414, but testing has shown it has a preference for magical aid items. The arm will consistently choose live specimens over inanimate magic aids, and magic aids over all else.
Exorbitant amounts of items placed into SCP-414 will cause SCP-414 to eject items. Near equilibrium, SCP-414 has a higher chance of returning the most recent item placed in. When going too far, items are ejected randomly with increasing trend toward objects of paranormal nature in the severity pattern as with removing items. Deceased small animals, humans and body parts have been documented amongst the refuse. The only live, stable human was obtained through this manner, who has been labeled Victim 414-3. Please see the attached interview fiel with Victim 414-3 for more information.
Earliest
A video recording of a by magician with stage name ████████ was scene performing with SCP-414. The scene was a birthday party. The date of the performance was 19██ at the city of ████████. The recording shows the magician going through standard illusions and slight of hand techniques for his client. ████████ moved into an act involving disappear and reappear tricks using SCP-414. A volunteered was requested and provided; the family's pet puppy. Recording skips to ████████ lowering puppy into SCP-414, reaching deep enough that SCP-414 nearly reached the magician's shoulders. ████████ removed his arm from SCP-414 without puppy. SCP-414 was flipped around and shaken, and to the astonishment of the audience the puppy did not fall out. ████████ Reached into SCP-414 with intent to retrieve puppy, but instead retrieved a large volume of other animals to tease audience. When ████████ announced he would make the puppy appear once more, the magician pulled out a puppy of a different species. Playing the mistake as part of the act, the magician began pulling a series of increasingly ill-looking puppies until he realized the last three were puppy cadavers. Recording stops at this point amidst the wailing of the audience.
SCP-414 was brought into containment in 19██ after a magician apprentice named ████ ████████ (referred to as Victim 414-1) began contacting local publications to warn the general public of the dangers of practicing illusions and magic, citing SCP-414 as proof of his claims.
Agents were sent to investigate when Victim 414-1 was implicated into several missing persons cases and charges of first-degree murder soon after the start of the incident. Bodies were never found, crime scenes were often covered in blood and viscera, and witness testimonials were described as bizarre. Reports of cases continued appearing for some days until Victim 414-1 was brought under custody along with SCP-414 sealed in a custom-made metal case. Agents noted metal case was shaking while enroute to site 19.
[[collapsible show="+ Experiment Log 414" hide="- hide this content"]]
Five item range within equilibrium:
Playing cards
No identifiable manufacturer, various unusual patterns and designs for faces and backs.
Small animals
Rabbits, doves, kittens and other pet-store variety. Species do not match any record.
Fabrics
Fibers and composition are similar to everyday silk and cotton, but are of unusual color, texture and tensile strength.
Coins and bills
Mint dates ranging from 200's to 4300's. Intricacy and metallurgical complexity rarely follow preconceived technological levels matched with eras and dates. Design and shape may or may not match known types. Materials include typical to unidentifiable. Some are are identified as a combination historically significant, ancient or incredibly rare.
Paper notes
Various non-sequitar anecdotes, sentence fragments, names and random garble in various languages. In addition, some languages do not match any on record and some languages are known only to the foundation.
Wallets
Sometimes contain some of previous items. Owners range from non-existent, living, to deceased. Interestingly, no cards with magnetic strips are ever included.
Keys
Ranging from well polished to severely rusted, plain to elaborate, these items follow the same pattern established by previous examples.
Other
Various unusual toys, (un)identifiable flower species, jewelry.
Addendum:
List of items obtained, their classification number and details:
- SCP-443-01 — Set of playing cards that do not follows standard suite and numbering format.
- SCP-443-02 — A rabbit that does not match any known rabbit species on record.
Document #414-A: [Discovery]
Document #414-B: [Study into pocket universe]
Document #414-C [Previous owners and disappearance of ████████████]