Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: The effective containment of SCP-XXXX is currently beyond the resources of the Foundation. Dr. Arliss has assured the division supervisor of Signals Analysis at Site-25 that while containment of the source of SCP-XXXX is impractical it should also be considered unnecessary; the goal is to manage the transmissions themselves.
Description: SCP-XXXX is an SSTV transmission being broadcast from a location approximately one-million one-hundred thousand (1,100,000) light years from Earth, from within the intergalactic void. SCP-XXXX is received by the Foundation once per day at 00:00 UTC and each individual transmission consists of four separate frames. The first three frames received each day consist of simple white text set against a black background and possess no cognitohazardous effects. The final frame of each transmission is a picture of a random region of space and does possess a cognitohazard.
The content of the first frame of each transmission is always a binary string that translates to ‘this is the sound of stars’. The next frame of the transmission is always written in plain text in a universally understandable language. This anomalous universality of intelligibility extends to all recordings and copies of the SCP-XXXX transmissions. This second frame serves as the title of the transmission. The third frame consists of more plain text, often a short and melancholy inner monologue. The final frame of SCP-XXXX transmissions constitutes its most anomalous properties. Upon viewing the random pictures of space provided at the end of the transmission the viewer experiences profound existential insignificance and marked loneliness. This depression is long-lasting and pervasive.
Considering the distance between the source of SCP-XXXX and Earth, the transmissions were sent roughly one million (1,000,000) years ago. In total, the Foundation has been receiving SCP-XXXX transmissions for approximately twenty three (23) years.
Note From Dr. Arliss: I have compiled a handful of SCP-XXXX transmissions for reference. All instances of the fourth frame have been altered digitally to both nullify any cognitohazardous properties and enhance clarity of the image.
Frame 1:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000
01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101110
01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001
01110010 01110011
Frame 2:
a dream of falling
Frame 3:
i don't belong here. i am a stranger to the world.
Frame 4:
Frame 1:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000
01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101110
01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001
01110010 01110011
Frame 2:
a million lullabies
Frame 3:
i cry myself to sleep. i hope my children won't hear. i hope they are happy someday.
Frame 4:
Frame 1:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000
01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101110
01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001
01110010 01110011
Frame 2:
a book of caverns
Frame 3:
i visited my parents' graves today. i cried for an hour. i miss them so much it hurts.
Frame 4:
Frame 1:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000
01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101110
01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001
01110010 01110011
Frame 2:
that lonely place i know
Frame 3:
my doctor told me my friend is not real today. he told me I am the only one who can see him. i told my doctor 'no'. i told him my friend is real. i would be alone without him.
Frame 4:
Frame 1:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000
01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101110
01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001
01110010 01110011
Frame 2:
you are only dreaming little one
Frame 3:
daddy said mommy wasn't coming back. he said she was in a better place. i miss mommy.
Frame 4:
Frame 1:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000
01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101110
01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001
01110010 01110011
Frame 2:
if the stars are eternal so are you and i
Frame 3:
i found him gone when i got home. he left without saying goodbye. now i am alone.
Frame 4:
Frame 1:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000
01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101110
01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001
01110010 01110011
Frame 2:
gentle is the bleeding heart
Frame 3:
i can still hear his voice sometimes. i hear him playing at the park. but he is gone now.
Frame 4:
Frame 1:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000
01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101110
01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001
01110010 01110011
Frame 2:
a symphony for the deaf
Frame 3:
they told me i was going to die in six months. the darkness is waiting for me. i am so afraid.
Frame 4:
Frame 1:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000
01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101110
01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001
01110010 01110011
Frame 2:
in the void are a thousand eyes
Frame 3:
i don't know if i can go on like this. someone help me. please. someone help me.
Frame 4:
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX-A, SCP-XXXX-B, and SCP-XXXX-C are to be stored together in a containment locker at Site-17. Examination, testing, and any other activity regarding SCP-XXXX is to be approved by Dr. Skal. Once every six (6) days Dr. Skal and his research team will remove the three instances of SCP-XXXX from containment and activate them. This performance is to be watched in its entirety and then SCP-XXXX is to be returned to containment.
Description: SCP-XXXX consists of three heavily altered human corpses: SCP-XXXX-A, SCP-XXXX-B, and SCP-XXXX-C. Each instance of SCP-XXXX is poorly preserved with much of their flesh suffering from desiccation and advanced necrosis. All instances have been surgically eviscerated and their organs replaced with highly intricate brass-colored clockwork. The unknown metal from which the clockwork is fashioned is lustrous, immune to oxidation or corrosion, and possesses an observable luminosity. The ribcage of each instance of SCP-XXXX has been heavily altered in an attempt to create a large acoustic diaphragm. SCP-XXXX is provided with a single winding key made of human bone. Winding them with the key provided will animate them and they will begin to emit Danse Macabre Op.40 by Camille Saint-Saens from the speaker-like constructions in their chests. To this piece of music they will dance.
SCP-XXXX-A, SCP-XXXX-B, and SCP-XXXX-C are each unique in appearance. SCP-XXXX-A is the corpse of a once obese and elderly man with a wooden crown nailed to its head. SCP-XXXX-B is the corpse of a young girl. Finally SCP-XXXX-C is the corpse of a man whose back is crooked and bent.
At the conclusion of the musical piece SCP-XXXX-A, SCP-XXXX-B, and SCP-XXXX-C will recite a short poem in Middle French. This brief performance features the pantomime and theatricality inherent of a stage play and each stanza of the poem is performed by a different instance of SCP-XXXX. From first stanza to last the order of the performance is SCP-XXXX-A to SCP-XXXX-B and finally SCP-XXXX-C. The voices used by the three instances of SCP-XXXX during this brief recitation appear to be highly degraded analog recordings of three individuals:
- A man of advanced age, belonging to SCP-XXXX-A
- A young girl, belonging to SCP-XXXX-B
- A young man, belonging to SCP-XXXX-C
Equal are three – king, child, and peasant we;
Unburdened by all standing and wealth,
Standing bestowed amongst this dance of Death.
Who is the child, the peasant, the king?
Of this dance of corpses from the grave,
Who is the fool, the wise, the guiltless knave?
The risen and beleaguered dead;
In this hour of Death dance do we,
Watch the king, child, and peasant three.
Should the three instances of SCP-XXXX remain unobserved for a period of time longer than seven
(7) days they will animate and relocate themselves via instantaneous translocation in an effort to find an audience. If obstructed or ignored for forty-eight (48) or more hours after attempting to find an audience they will begin to emit a mechanical weeping noise from the speakers in their chests. Any organic structure within audible range of the weeping noise, regardless of audibility, suffers from a slow and irreversible cell death. The hypothetical audible range of SCP-XXXX is five-hundred (500) meters.
Refer to the following instructions for winding SCP-XXXX:
Winding Instructions
Begin by winding SCP-XXXX-A with the key provided. This initial winding requires ten consecutive turns of the key. After winding, SCP-XXXX-A will emit a ticking sound after which personnel will have ninety (90) seconds to wind the two remaining instances of SCP-XXXX. SCP-XXXX-B is to be wound next followed by SCP-XXXX-C. Executed properly, the three instances of SCP-XXXX will begin their performance.
Upon finishing their recitation of the poem all three instances will deactivate and emit ticking noises. This continues for one-hundred twenty (120) seconds during which time rewinding them with a single turn of the key is sufficient. Otherwise all three instances will remain idle until the ticking ceases.
Addendum-XXXX-01: When SCP-XXXX-B is wound independent of the other two instances of SCP-XXXX it will animate and recite the following repeatedly for one-hundred twenty (120) seconds:
And said the man 'I am become Death'.
And said Death to the man 'You shall be humbled by your end of days.'
And said the man to Death 'You shall be humbled by your end of days.'
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX is stored in a lead-lined steel box that has been welded and riveted shut. This box is stored in the Vault-0213 of the Video Archives room at Site-19. SCP-XXXX is not to be removed from either the vault or its containment box under ANY circumstances. Personnel and D-class test subjects that have viewed the tape past the twenty (20) minute mark have been issued straightjackets, are given regular injections of Midazolam and have been locked in padded isolation cells until further notice.
Description: SCP-XXXX is a [Redacted]-brand ¾” U-Matic videocassette tape produced c. 1974. The tape is in fair condition and has the phrase “GOOD SHIT” illegibly scratched into its face. Faded bloodstains are located on the corners and reverse side of the tape. DNA analysis has shown the blood to be female. In addition, faint screaming has been recorded emanating from SCP-XXXX.
SCP-XXXX, when inserted into a proper media player, presents a semi-anomalous blank screen for approximately sixteen (16) seconds. This blank screen is white and suffers from the type of magnetic tape degradation inherent to the U-matic video storage system resulting from advanced age and extensive use. However, after the sixteen (16) second interval has passed, the picture clears and SCP-XXXX-REC begins. In total SCP-XXXX-REC is three hundred and seven (307) minutes and twenty-seven (27) seconds in length; a recording length far beyond the capabilities of the U-matic videocassette.
SCP-XXXX-REC is the footage on SCP-XXXX, a recording that documents the systematic and brutal sexual torture of a young woman — Entity-A — by a severely deformed and faceless assailant — Entity-B. Any subject that views SCP-XXXX-REC past the twenty (20) minute mark is subject to its primary effect, an extreme alteration in personality and behavior reminiscent of an extremely violent psychosis. This psychosis is comorbid with extreme forms of sexual masochism disorder and sexual sadism disorder. All subjects affected by SCP-XXXX will compulsively mutilate their own bodies until they are unrecognizable. They will then attempt to mutilate anyone in sight until death occurs.
The first twenty (20) minutes of SCP-XXXX-REC are extremely grotesque and anomalous; evoking what has been described as a morbid curiosity in the watcher. This is the secondary cognitohazardous effect of SCP-XXXX-REC. This curiosity is compelling and anyone who begins to watch SCP-XXXX-REC is unable to stop without assistance. This curiosity does not prevent visceral reactions to SCP-XXXX-REC and subjects have been known to vomit without looking away. The first twenty (20) minutes are immutable and will not change on subsequent playbacks. Past this mark the content of SCP-XXXX-REC is, as far as audio analysis would allow, mutable and changes with each playback.