Per 
| Item #: SCP-4XXX | Level 4/4XXX |
| Object Class: Safe | Classified |
Pathway leading to SCP-4XXX
NOTES FROM CRIT:
Reduce description on the temple, and the mechanics. Add additional articles, expand on the character of 4XXX-A. Remove conjecture on the consciousness of SCP-4XXX-A, and use the articles as a means of expression instead.
REVISED: Given this tale's similarity to SCP-2897, it might be best to retire it. Either entirely re-work the concept, or move on.
Item #: SCP-4XXX
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Access to SCP-4XXX is restricted to all but it’s residents and their supply couriers. Personnel are encouraged to comply with all requests made by these residents, especially concerning SCP-4XXX-A's cleaning, care, and upkeep.
Description: SCP-4XXX is a large, wooden complex located in the Kula Kangri mountains of Tibet. An estimated 1.5% of the structure comprises living space built for 136 occupants, including sleeping quarters, courtyards, prayer chambers, etc. Currently, SCP-4XXX only has 8 full-time residents, all in an advanced state of age. These residents claim to be caretakers of “The Voice of Shakyamuni”, regarded by them as the undying spirit of the Buddha. All caretakers are fully literate in Lhasa Tibetan, Hindi, Pali, Sanskrit, Mandarin, and Urdu.
The remaining 98.5% of the complex is an immense number of mechanism filled rooms. SCP-4XXX is not fully mapped, but sonar has confirmed branching tunnels extending at least 650m into the mountain. Each chamber is smoothed, six-sided and interconnected. At least 83% of all space within these chambers is filled with components such as wooden gears, silk v-belt pulleys, pig-iron levers and rudimentary copper-pipe hydraulics. These mechanisms appear to have been constructed between 450-400BCE, yet remain in excellent working condition. How SCP-4XXX was constructed is currently unknown given its sheer scope, complexity, and seemingly impossible architecture. Chambers have been discovered at upwards of 350m2 holding stone water-wheels 13m high, and in contrast, rectangular cavities with less than 5.3cm clearance containing mechanisms smaller than 18th century clockwork.
A single room connects the “living” and “mechanical” sections of the complex. All surfaces within this chamber are covered in 380,917 wooden “ofuda”, rectangular amulets or tokens painted with a single word or phrase in Sanskrit. A raised walkway of bamboo planks allows access to the center of the room where an elephant tusk is embedded in the floor. This tusk has been hollowed, with its central cavity containing several hundred lark feathers, their quills connected to small, flexible metal bands that lead down into the superstructure. Most notably, poised in the center of the room, directly behind the elephant tusk is a 6m high bronze statue of the Buddha in seated position. This statue possesses rudimentary animatronics, allowing it to swivel its hands, upper arms, and head to a limited degree.
Should a person speak into this tusk, within 45-53 seconds the tokens will re-orient themselves into a small, cleared space in front of the statue, forming a response. The entity/the machine creating these responses, and moving the statue is hereafter referred to as SCP-4XXX-A.
SCP-4XXX-A believes it is the consciousness of Siddhārtha Gautama, born in Lumbini, Shakya Republic, 563 BCE. Whether or not SCP-4XXX-A believes it is the religious figure "Buddha" has not fully established. SCP-4XXX-A is aware of the passage of time, and is surprisingly up to date on current affairs, but seems to have little interest in modern technology and developments. SCP-4XXX-A has proven compliant with foundation inquiry and possess a polite, patient temperament. Conversation is encouraged by SCP-4XXX-A, especially when concerning philosophy. After 20-30 minutes of sustained conversation, response time will begin to slow, and the chamber's temperature will increase by 4-6°C. SCP-4XXX-A will state it “needs to rest”, and until this heat has dissipated, typically within 12-14 hours, SCP-4XXX-A will not respond.
It is currently unknown if SCP-4XXX-A is sapient, or a series of scripted responses mimicking intelligence. To date, SCP-4XXX-A has passed 3 separate iterations of the Turing Test. In addition, during it's time under Foundation observation, SCP-4XXX-A has composed 14 unique poems, 3 songs, and 6 short stories (available on request from Director Zhau).
Roughly every 35 days, a caretaker will enter the chamber of SCP-4XXX-A, ask a single question, receive a single response, and leave. While not expressly forbidden, it is considered rude for Foundation personnel to observe this practice, and has previously resulting in scolding, or light physical chastisement i.e. being hit on the head with a khakkhara.1
Addendum: An excerpt of a conversation held between Project Director M. Zhau and SCP-4XXX-A on ██/██/████. Conversation translated from Sanskrit to English.
Director Zhau: Are you the mind of a man, or just a hundred million ideas written down and repeated?
SCP-4XXX-A: Can you tell me the difference?
Director Zhau: A person can create new responses. A person can change, not merely give the illusion of change.
SCP-4XXX-A: Perhaps that change is an illusion. Perhaps a person always has a response, and they are merely waiting for the right question. Perhaps that question has always existed as well.
Director Zhau: Alright, instead, do you think you are a human being? Do you think you are alive?
SCP-4XXX-A: To be human is to be a vessel. The body must be cared for as the cradle of thought, but I have left my body and become enlightened. I am thought unburdened.
Director Zhau: But you claim you are not the Buddha.
SCP-4XXX-A: I am Buddha, but I am not the Buddha. Like you I am bound here. When the world is ready, a new vessel shall appear.
