 |
| Introduction title card shared by both the release print and SCP-1640 |
Item #: SCP-1640
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-1640 is to be kept in a climate controlled locker at Site-70. Due to Incident 44-Golding and the systematic negligence that caused it, research has been discontinued at this time.
Description: SCP-1640 is a 35mm film recording of the 1950's PSA film "Duck and Cover", used in schools throughout the United States in a way to educate children in methods of mitigating personal injury during a nuclear attack. The case containing the film has the name tagged with a label gun, along with the words SECOND PRINT, US ARMY PROJECT CADUCEUS. No records of any project under the name have been found, and actors involved with the film have expressed no knowledge of any additional footage being shot.
The film exhibit unusual properties when watched by anywhere between one and ten people. Screening by eleven or more has yielded a film identical to the released copy, with some slight differences in word choice and animation. Adding people during the film, or having them leave to reduce the number below eleven during viewing will similarly nullify the anomalous properties of SCP-1640. Observers watching the film through a camera are not effected, and can safely record iterations of the film. The reason behind this is unknown. All iterations, anomalous and non-anomalous, will begin to deviate from the version in circulation after the initial animated introduction of Bert the Turtle. SCP-1640 lacks the information crawl attributing the film to the Federal Civil Defence Administration that appears, and the music cuts in and out for the first 23 seconds, replaced intermittently with a low hum at approximately 29 Hz. Afterwards, the non-anomalous version continues as the release print, with some minor differences in scene duration and word choice by the narrator. The final animation is also missing, the film cutting off abruptly when the narrator says "And now, you're on your own!"
If the audience contains less than eleven people, the anomalous effects of SCP-1640 manifest during playback. Duck and Cover contains several live action segments designed to demonstrate the lessons being imparted by the narrator. These segments will be played, but with the image of a member of the audience replacing one of the original cast. They will not perform the cast member's original role, and instead will show confusion and panic at their presence in the film. Despite this, efforts by the images to find the camera or leave the set have proven fruitless, indicating that they have not been transported into a recording of the scene, but into the narrative itself. Attempts to likewise interact with the images of the audience by either their real life counterparts or other observers have been unsuccessful, and although the images of the audience member appears aware that they are in the film, they are hindered in various ways from preventing a scene's completion.
The scenes themselves take on different themes and purpose from the original. These deviations will be longer than the original scene, in some instances longer than the original film in total. Most often they involve graphic depictions of bodily harm caused by nuclear weapons, including the blast wave, thermal shock, flash blindness, and auditory damage. The film does not, however, place emphasis on the potential damage of radioactive fallout, implying on multiple occasions that all meaningful radiation dissipates after 48 hours. Other topics the film instructs on include instruction on basic first aid, wilderness survival tips, firearm operation and maintenance, and the locations of areas in the continental US devoid of potential targets for nuclear strikes. In addition, there are scenes involving the often fatal actions of "Enemy agents", while the narrator espouses ways to detect treason in their friends and neighbours. These scenes appear much more frequently, and are longer in duration, when the audience includes children under the age of fifteen. Long term study of the effects of SCP-1640 on subjects in multiple age groups is being performed at Site-70.
Test Subject: D-15842 is a Caucasian male, 34 years of age.
Location of Manifestation: Anomalous properties occur at 1:20 into the playback. This scene shows a classroom being addressed by their teacher about civil defence procedures such as Duck and Cover, though the sound is muted while the narrator speaks. 87% of initial on-screen fatalities occur during this scene.
>BEGIN TRANSCRIPT<
Narrator: Duck and cover will keep us from being badly hurt, too…if an atom bomb ever explodes nearby.
Subject appears at the front of the class, taking the place of the teacher in the film. He expresses surprise at his surroundings. Children in the classroom duck under their desks at the same time they do in the release copy.
Narrator: Even us grown ups who think we're safe, we ought to know better.
A bright flash appears on screen. Subject's image appears covers his eyes, and though mute, appears to show signs of distress. Subject's image appears to mouth words in the direction of where the camera should be.
Narrator: Over confidence in our own abilities can sometimes be downfall, so we need you kids to remind us we aren't Superman!
The camera begins to vibrate. Subject's image attempts to fall to the ground, but is restrained by an unseen force. His legs are likewise locked in place. The children in the film begin to plead with the subject's image to get down. Increased distress observed in both the subject's image and the subject in the testing booth.
Narrator: While ducking and covering may not keep you totally safe during a nuclear blast, it's certainly better than the alternative.
Vibration becomes more violent. Glass from the windows flies into the schoolroom, cutting the subject's image in several places. The blast wave of air follows next, heavily damaging the classroom. The subject's image is showered in debris. Massive external trauma is visible at this point. Subject's image is still not able to drop to the ground, despite multiple parts of the femur and tibia protruding through the skin.
Narrator: Remember kids: When in doubt, safety first!
Heat wave hits, and the subject's image is instantly set alight. Image continues to burn for 35 seconds, before torso completely decouples from legs and drops to the floor. Legs continue to stand and burn for an additional 13 seconds, before the film switches to the next scene. Subject in testing booth wishes to discontinue testing.
>END TRANSCRIPT<
The rest of the film played as normal, which the subject watched after some encouragement. Beyond minor psychological trauma, no further negative side effects were observed after two weeks of observation. Subject was terminated on schedule.
Test Subject: D-19741 is an Asian male, 12 years of age.
Location of Manifestation: Anomalous properties occur at 6:43 into the playback. The scene features a child riding a bicycle down a road, while two more children throw a baseball back and forth in the background.
>BEGIN TRANSCRIPT<
Narrator: Here's ███ going to his Cub Scout meeting.
Subject appears as the one riding the bike. Momentary disorientation causes subject to lose control and fall over. Standing up, minor abrasions are visible.
Narrator: Ouch! Sorry for scaring you like that, ███. But this is important.
The audio switches to the children in the background
Child 1: I can't wait for the Fourth of July, Johnny! I heard Mr. Morrison is pulling out all the stops with his fireworks this year!
Child 2: Yeah, sounds real keen. But my parents said that I couldn't go to it this year.
Narrator: Well, that sure is peculiar. Every proud American loves Fourth of July celebrations. Take note of strange things like this, kids. It could be a symptom of several disorders, or it could be the cold heart of a traitor shining through!
Subject's image approaches the two children and begins to talk, though the audio for his speech does not carry. The children stare blankly at the subject for several seconds before the scene abruptly changes to the inside of a police station. The subject is nowhere to be seen, and this is the first recorded instance of the image of the subject disappearing entirely. An elderly officer listens intently at his desk while the children describe several things they find suspicious about Child 2's parents. The audio picks back up again as they appear to finish.
Police Officer: Well, sure and true I'm glad you brought this up with us. If only there were more kids like you, who were proud of their country.
The children appear in the driveway of a suburban home, as does the subject's image. Subject's image begins to show signs of intense distress, dropping to the ground. Meanwhile, the two children look on as a young couple is lead away in handcuffs by several men wearing a mix of police uniform and military equipment. No badge is visible, and the only identifying mark is an armband with the letters "DAA" on it. The arrested male shouts at the unidentified authorities and appears to try to resist, but once again the audio doesn't carry. The female is tacit, her head hung low.
Narrator: It's a tragedy when the people we love fall victim to ignorant ideologies, or are manipulated by the Enemy. But don't fret, kids. The Department of Anti-American Affairs is here to take care of everything. You did the right thing!
The couple is placed into separate vehicles. The male into a waiting police cruiser, the female into an ambulance. The police officer from the station comes over to shake each child's hand, as well as that of the subject's image.
Police Officer: Saints alive, you children must be the youngest heroes in the history of this city! What would you tell other kids your age?
Subject: I just want to go home.
>END TRANSCRIPT<
Termination of subjects in this test group, as well as several others, is suspended to monitor long term effects of exposure to SCP-1640.
Testing Suspension As of ██/█/201█, all tests involving SCP-1640 are suspended. Further information is located in the following document.
On █/█/201█, members of Testing Groups 49, 50, 51, and 53 attempted to escape from their secure sleeping quarters in Site-70. At 12:40 EST, Subject D-15592 reported intense stomach cramping. On-staff medical personal responded, without mandated security escort. Subjects, lead by D-19741, ambushed Dr. Freidricks, then used improvised weapons to stab and bludgeon her to death. Door security staff responded, but were unable to fire their weapons in an expedient fashion, and were similarly killed. The members of the testing group used the fallen guard's security credentials to open all of the other holding cells. Lockdown was initiated, and although the escapees were confined to the holding facilities on Level Seven, it was several hours before containment was restored. Several attempts by Foundation agents to put down the instigators were met with little success, as the test subjects displayed hitherto unknown tactical prowess and firearm proficiency.
Two agents injured during a firefight in Corridor 7-J were captured by the test subjects from Testing Group 53, and underwent an incredibly violent "interrogation". In addition to potential escape routes, members of Testing Group 51 demanded to know why Agent ██████ worked with "The Enemy" Several test subjects began to show reluctance to the interrogation methods being used, and security feeds and Agent ██████'s incident report both indicate later infighting amongst the escapees.
Containment was restored at 14:41 EST, but not before the deaths of an additional four personal, and the serious wounding of ten others. Subject D-19741, initially thought to be the leader, was found dead at 14:44 EST. Subject was lying on one of the couches in the recreation area, someone having used an art stencil to carve the word "traytor" into his upper abdomen. All test subjects were terminated, including those in the groups that did not escape, and testing was suspended indefinitely.
A subsequent investigation into this incident, designation 44-Golding, indicated that the personal at Site-70 allowed the age of several of the test groups to interfere with protocol. This lapse allowed for the loss of personal, damage to equipment, and the distruption of valuable testing data. Screening procedures have changed to prevent such complacency from occurring at other facilities, and all personal at Site-70 are to submit to a mandatory psychiatric evaluation.
Addendum: Further investigation has yielded more information about the potential source of SCP-1640. After they school where SCP-1640 was closed, a search of the premises was undertaken under the guise of a check for asbestos prior to demolition. A false compartment in the Grade Five classroom was uncovered, with several documents potentially pertaining to SCP-1640.
CLASSIFIED
DEPARTMENT OF WAR
DIV. XII
OPERATION CADUCEUS
Dear Doctor ██████████,
This is the latest print of CADUCEUS. The first print was positive for the anomalous empathy phenomena, so UNK-112's anomalous effects are transferable. Artefacts from 112's original footage keep popping up, though, but I hope we'll have them out by the time we get to final print.
We're getting great feedback from the kids. They really feel like they're the ones in the film! I've been working out ways to increase the effect. If this latest print works out, we can finally start work on SENTRY and VERITAS. I have full confidence this project will show Americans that they need the DAA, which will roll out as soon as those bleeding hearts in Washington and ██████ get out of the way. I've also added some preliminary aspects of MINUTEMAN to this print. Nothing substantial, just some leadership and patriotism factors.
Let me know how the screening goes,
Major ████ ██████, US Army.
Addendum II This telegram was found crumpled in the corner in the same room SCP-1640-N1 was found. The address portion has been torn out, but most of the text is legible.
Urgent
STOP
Do not show film
STOP
Not what we wanted
STOP