Per 
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX is to be stored at Research Site 57. When not in use, SCP-XXXX is to be kept in a locked safe-deposit box in a secure locker. Standard security monitoring of the locker is to be maintained at all time. Any proposals for research on SCP-XXXX must be approved by the site director, the Ethics Committee, and the head researcher assigned to SCP-XXXX.1
When in use, SCP-XXXX is only to be removed from its locker under the direct supervision of the head researcher, with security and medical personnel on standby. SCP-XXXX is to be transported inside of the locked container at all times. All computer access is restricted while SCP-XXXX is in use, including personal terminals and devices, and network access to any offsite database is strictly prohibited.
No research, security, or administrative personnel may open the container for any purpose, and may not make extended eye contact with the object before, during, or after testing. If this protocol is breached, the exposed individual must submit immediately for temporary detention, psychological evaluation, and possible termination.
Description: SCP-XXXX is a spring-operated wooden music box, powered by a key located on the underside of the object. On the bottom is a maker's mark for a "Kay Mountain Toy Co., Aurora, CO, 1973." No information on any company of that name operating in Colorado has been recovered.
When viewed directly, individuals exposed to SCP-XXXX claim to recognize it as an object from their childhood home. The effects of SCP-XXXX are limited to a single person per exposure.
Upon exposure, subjects will report a belief that the object is familiar to them, identical to one owned in childhood. Subjects typically report a feeling of nostalgia, followed by unprompted recollections from their past focused around the room where the object was kept. The scenes and memories are described using idyllic language. The memories recalled by subjects exposed to SCP-XXXX may have several details that contradict established fact or the recollections of others.
Exposed subjects will be compelled to wind SCP-XXXX for the purpose of listening to it. Subjects physically restrained from doing so will struggle against restraints, even to the point of self-injury. Subjects may have an emotional breakdown if not permitted to hear the music. The effect of this compulsion lasts approximately 4 hours after exposure, or until the subject winds the key on the bottom of the object.
Despite being spring powered, the object will continue to play continuously for 25 minutes once wound, unless the subject is separated from the object by ~10 meters or loses consciousness. The mechanism by which this occurs has not been determined.
After 3 minutes of exposure, the subject will begin vividly fantasizing about these recollections and will lose the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. Subjects will not be responsive to outside prompts or stimuli, but will hold conversations with imagined persons. During these fantasies, the subject will typically understand themselves to be anywhere between the ages of 5 or 16, though the ages fall predominantly in the range for primary school.
After 5 minutes of exposure the subject will show clear signs of distress, which seems to Attempts to sedate the subject after 5 minutes of exposure have proven ineffective.
After 7 minutes of exposure, the subject will become hysterical, calling out for assistance and protection. The following symptoms and behaviors may also be noted:2
- Screaming
- Crying
- Vomiting
- Varying heart rate and/or blood pressure
- Damage to Foundation property
- Assault of Foundation personnel
- Injury to self
- Internal Hemorrhaging
- Fractured Bones
- Scar formation
- Concussion
- Loss of Consciousness
- Coma
After 15 minutes of exposure, if the subject remains conscious, they will be completely catatonic. The music will cease playing from the object. At this point, SCP-XXXX becomes inert for approximately 12-48 hours.
After recovering consciousness, the subject will retain full memory of the experiences as though they were a real event that happened at a point in the subject's past. Any recorded documentation containing biographical information on the subject's past will be spontaneously altered to remove any contradictions with the subject's modified recollections. This effect is limited to a five (5) kilometer radius from SCP-XXXX, though the effect can transmit from object to object across the same distance. Electronic records are effected in the same manner as physical records. Other evidence or records not previously in existence may spontaneously manifest in the same five (5) kilometer radius. These effects do not modify the memories of anyone other than the subject. See attached Mission Report from
Long-term effects of exposure to SCP-XXXX include:
- Chronic pain
- Disrupted sleep
- Recurring nightmares
- Depression
- Increased anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder
- Eating disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Paranoia
- Hostility
- Aggression
- Substance abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Self-injury
- Suicide
Subjects exposed to SCP-XXXX are immune from any anomalous effects, though exposure to SCP-XXXX may cause subjective distress in persons previously affected by it.
Addendum:
By order of Site Director ██████ █████████, the following memo is to be appended to all records of SCP-XXXX.
Site Director ██████ █████████
SCP Foundation Research Site 57
█████████, ██
██/██/████Certain questions have been raised in the wake of Dr. Sara Cho's decision to leave the foundation over issues with the research procedures of SCP-XXXX.
The Foundation wishes it to be known that Dr. Cho's decision to resign was a voluntary decision made over personal ethical concerns regarding the nature of her research. We at the Foundation hold ethical questioning to be good scientific method, and do not "punish" researchers for raising ethical concerns regarding the nature of their work.
Nonetheless, the implications made by Dr. Cho and associates that the Ethics Committee is "a joke" are malicious and without solid foundation. The Ethics Committee takes all good-faith objections into serious consideration, and in the case of SCP-XXXX has heard the concerns of Dr. Cho and others. However, given the danger that SCP-XXXX and objects of that nature pose, it has been the consistent finding of the Ethics Committee that the need to determine the cause of SCP-XXXX's effects, as well as effective countermeasures and possible treatment for exposed subjects, outweighs the risk posed to individual subjects or researches.
Researchers are reminded that they are solely responsible for any ethical dilemmas they perceive in the performance of their duties, and any individual unable to comply with directives should submit themselves for medical leave, followed by reassignment or termination as the situation demands.
Failure to comply with the decisions of the Ethics Committee will be considered insubordination warranting termination.
Signed,
██████ █████████
Addendum 2:
