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Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: A single instance of SCP-XXXX is currently contained in a secure storage locker at Site-██ for research purposes. All other known instances are to be located and terminated. In order to obscure existence of SCP-XXXX and by extension, SCP-XXXX-1, a disinformation campaign has been carried out.
Viewing of SCP-XXXX requires the use of a SCRAMBLE1 unit, unless authorized by a personnel of Clearance Level 2 or above. Any individuals exposed to SCP-XXXX without sufficient protection are required to undergo immediate psychological evaluation. Those determined to be under the influence of SCP-XXXX must be amnesticized, unless deemed expendable by a personnel of Clearance Level 2 or above. In the latter case, the individual is to be immediately terminated.
Description: SCP-XXXX refers to any copy of the comic book titled "The Revenger Issue #1," written and illustrated by Bernard Scheurling. Paperback copies measure approximately 26 cm x 17 cm and contain 24 pages. The plot of "The Revenger" is centered around the eponymous vigilante, a former police officer who decides to take the law into his own hands after his sister's murderer is freed from prison only to kill again.
SCP-XXXX instances possess cognitohazardous properties which appear to be triggered by reading the book in its entirety. Victims are spontaneously afflicted with a seemingly incurable mental condition akin to dissociative identity disorder. The newly acquired persona appears to be identical in all recorded instances, and is collectively referred to as SCP-XXXX-1.
Instances of SCP-XXXX-1 are incapable of basic communication, with all their actions being devoted to a single purpose. This goal appears to be the extermination of violent criminals, generally within a 2 kilometer radius of its initial location. It is unknown how SCP-XXXX-1 identifies their targets, though it is speculated to be an extension of its anomalous properties. Any attempts to impede these activities has resulted in violent and often fatal retaliation.
SCP-XXXX-1 are most active at night, with the persona often manifesting after the subject has gone to sleep. An instance will typically don a crude costume to mask their identity and proceed to wander the streets for hours in search of their desired targets. This process often occurs every night without the subject's knowledge, who awakens the following morning with no memory of the experience.
Addendum 01: Discovery
Initial investigation of SCP-XXXX began after authorities noticed a sudden increase in vigilante crime across the Northeastern United States. 947 perpetrators have been identified to this day, ranging from as old as 66 to as young as 7 years old. The majority of these individuals were found to have no association with one another, and all appeared to be completely unaware of their activities.
Further investigation linked the crimes to a newly released comic book titled "The Revenger," which was located at majority of the perpetrators' homes. Suspecting the book to possess cognitohazardous properties, the Foundation proceeded to seize all known copies and initiated a disinformation campaign to hide their existence from the populace.
Addendum 02: Interview XXXX_1
Interviewer: Agent Elwell
Interviewed: Bernard Scheurling
Foreword: Shortly after the initial investigation of SCP-XXXX, the Foundation uncovered the source of its cognitohazardous properties: a series of subliminal messages in the form of arcane symbols hidden on the comic's pages. Their discovery led to the subsequent arrest of SCP-XXXX's author and illustrator, Bernard Scheurling. The following interview entails Scheurling's interrogation.[BEGIN LOG]
Elwell: As you might be aware, there have been a number of incidents surrounding your comic. Do you have anything to say?
Scheurling: What incidents?
Elwell: Don't play dumb with me, Mr. Scheurling. You know exactly what I'm talking about.
Scheurling: What's with you people?! First you break into my house… kidnap me to God knows where… and now you're questioning my comic? This is illegal! I'm calling the po-
Elwell: Calm down, Mr. Scheurling. All we're looking for is the truth. If you comply with our demands, you'll be free to go.Scheurling: And if I don't?
Elwell: Let's just say, we have methods of making you talk.Scheurling: What do you want me to say? That this was all part of my master plan? That I wanted to make all these people go batshit crazy? Who the hell do you think I am?
Elwell: In that case, we'll have to try a different approach.
[Pause Log]Intermission: Subject is administered Grade B Truth Serum.
[Resume Log]Elwell: I'm going to ask you again, Mr. Scheurling. Did you or did you not commit these crimes.
Scheurling: I…I…I d… I did. Fuck you.
Elwell: So you claim full responsibility?
Scheurling: Yeah, I did it. I'm not even afraid to admit it. Those symbols that made people go all…vigilante? That was me. I wrote them knowing full well what they were capable of.Elwell: How did you learn about them? Surely they didn't just pop into your head.
Scheurling: Honest-to-God, they just kinda came to me. Hell, I didn't even think they'd work.
Elwell: Then may I ask why? Why did you do all this in the first place?Scheurling: Isn't it obvious? It's because those sick fucks deserved it.
Elwell: How so?
Scheurling: How so?! I thought you were a smart man, agent. But as it turns out, you're just as ignorant as the rest of them.
Elwell: Please explain.
Scheurling: You're familiar with the story of my comic, correct?
Elwell: It's a work of fiction. You can't possibly use it to justify your actions.
Scheurling: Oh believe me, agent. There's more truth to it than you think. Somewhere in this world, there was an innocent girl gunned down in an attempted robbery. A girl who had her whole life ahead of her. Perfect grades, lots of friends… but oops, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and she just had to die for it. Tell me agent, is that fair?
Elwell: Of course not.
Scheurling: Then is it fair for the man who shot her to go to prison for thirty years, then get out as if nothing happened? Why the fuck does he deserve to live more than an innocent girl who did nothing wrong?
Elwell: That's the law, Mr. Scheurling. I have no say in it.
Scheurling: That's bullshit and you know it. You only support the system because you're part of it. What if that was your sister who got shot? Would you still say the same thing?
Elwell: Like I said, the law is the law. We can't make exceptions; otherwise, anarchy ensues.
Scheurling: You think justice is anarchy because you're too scared to take the law into your own hands. You refuse to admit that I have the moral high ground.
Elwell: Your actions resulted in the deaths of hundreds. How is that moral?
Scheurling: Simple. Those who died deserved it.
Elwell: What if they didn't? What if they were wrongly accused? You can't just play judge, jury, and executioner. That's why the system exists in the first place — to ensure a fair legal process for everyone.
Scheurling: How is it fair to let murderers and rapists walk the streets, while their victims get no justice? You're delusional.
Elwell: Mr. Scheurling, I'm not here to argue with you. Do you have anything else to say?
Scheurling: So you admit it!
Elwell: Let's agree to disagree. I will never convince you, and you will certainly never convince me.
Scheurling: The words of a man admitting defeat! Lock me away and let me rot, then. That's all your 'justice' system is good for.
[END LOG]
Closing Statement: Five days after the interview, Bernard Scheurling was found dead in his cell. The cause of death was determined to be suicide via asphyxiation.
