Per 
SCP-XXXX: The Bullet
Special Containment Procedures:
SCP-XXXX is to be contained within a small bedroom with a small bed and table equipped. A lamp is to be placed on the table, as a light source in the room. SCP-XXXX is to be placed on the table, with a stack of clean paper and a fountain pen laid beside it. The supplies in the room are to be replaced if needed.
A Foundation personnel of clearance Level 2 is to enter the room and conduct an interview by paper and pen in the room with SCP-XXXX bi-weekly, and anything unusual occurring within the room is to be reported instantly to a Level 4 personnel for further investigation. After every interview, the personnel are to be administered a Class C amnestic, then re-assigned to other SCPs.
Sanitation of the bedroom is to be conducted once per week, and no personnel under clearance Level 4 are to enter the room except for sanitation or interview purposes. Entrance into the room without clearance is warrant of immediate termination.
Description:
Physical characteristics:
SCP-XXXX is a crushed 7.92×57mm Mauser, a type of rifle bullet used by Germany in WW2, made from copper and lead. The bullet itself is separated into two sections, the slug and the shell, which are both a part of SCP-XXXX and should be considered a singular SCP combined. The words "Krieg" and "Selle" ("War" and "Soul" in German) are engraved on the shell of SCP-XXXX, the tools used seemingly being a small, sturdy knife, the handiwork rushed and messy. Any attempts to digitally capture the physical characteristics of SCP-XXXX have failed, though artist renditions can be produced.
Sapience and cognitive functions:
SCP-XXXX has been discovered to have sapience by Foundation researcher Dr. [REDACTED], who has since then been re-assigned from SCP-XXXX, due to growing conflicts of how to keep SCP-XXXX non-existent to the outside world.
It has an almost full ability to sense its surroundings, with even enhanced senses of hearing or sight, but does not have the ability to taste. It can also manipulate the engravings on its shell to form short messages, such messages not limited to using the original letters that were engraved on SCP-XXXX, and limited to around 10-25 letters due to SCP-XXXX's size. Therefore, SCP-XXXX communicates with Foundation personnel with short, curt messages on its shell.
It is also unknown whether SCP-XXXX has more advanced communication skills, since its physical limitations have barred it from forming more complex messages. However, it is theorized since SCP-XXXX tries to cram as much meaning into its messages as possible, and its cognitive function is excellent along with its available senses, SCP-XXXX does have the capacity to form complex messages.
Artist rendition of SCP-XXXX.
When questioned by Foundation personnel, SCP-XXXX is generally cooperative and helpful while trying to relay as much information as possible in such physical constraints. However, it can grow stressed when there is fire in its proximity, or when it can hear sounds likely related to its past experiences, like artillery shells exploding or pained screaming.
Effects of SCP-XXXX:
SCP-XXXX has mild psychological effects on people in its immediate vicinity, projecting its feelings at the time onto them. Therefore, it is desirable if SCP-XXXX is kept in a state of calm emotions at all times, so as to not negatively influence Foundation personnel in its proximity.
The exact boundaries of SCP-XXXX's influence seem to be influenced by multiple variables, with the mental state of such humans, their physical health and the mental state of the SCP itself being major factors. Generally, SCP-XXXX's area of effect is larger when the afflicted human is feeling stressed or vulnerable, their health is deteriorating, or when the SCP itself is experiencing strong negative emotions. However, such influences have never exceeded a mild emotion spike in such humans.
These influences are immediately applied to a person after they enter SCP-XXXX's area of effect, which is subject to change real-time and may frequently fluctuate. However, even after an individual leaves SCP-XXXX's area of effect, they are typically continuously subjected to its effects for 1-2 more hours before the effects cease.
Notes for crit:
- We have an anomalous bullet which is a sapient entity.
- It can perceive its surroundings and can feel emotions.
- Whatever the bullet is feeling at the time it projects onto nearby people.
- It feels emotions the same way humans do, i.e. it won't feel happiness due to world destruction or death, but will feel fear or desperation accordingly.
- The physical bullet itself is a metaphor for war as a whole, while the sapient entity inside it is a representation of the majority affected by the war, i.e. normal soldiers.
- Since most normal soldiers, or normal people really, want peace instead of violence, this SCP typically influences history towards peace rather than war, through being in specific situations that would likely have caused mass destruction and influencing them.
- The SCP also emphasizes how lucky we have been to get through multiple major wars e.g. WW2, The Cold War, etc, through emphasizing its small influence (a nudge in the mindset of the people around it, not even direct control) on the people around it, contrasting to the large positive influences it has had on our history.
- Due to its small influence, this SCP can't really stop things like the Holocaust since it's not a one-time decision but rather was caused by a whole ideology that can be executed by many people. Another example would be the atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, since those are actually technological advancements made by multiple scientists and teams rather than single decisions altering the course of history.
- However, something so insignificant can change many things, though not all things.
- Although this SCP may not be able to change everything for the good, but we still have us. Humans.
- The message here is not belief in human nature itself, but belief in humans' overall tendency and hope for peace.
Moar notes for crit:
The SCP is involved in WW1 and WW2 specifically, with it being involved in three situations detailed below:
1914 Trenches:
Apathy and live-and-let-live mindset in trenches. More detail indev.
Dunkirk:
SCP-XXXX changed Dunkirk by influencing Hitler’s decision to pursue after Allied troops by delaying it enough to give aforementioned troops a time window to evacuate from Dunkirk, through causing irrational fear in him that there would be Allied reinforcements waiting at Dunkirk for a coordinated attack.
B-59 Sub:
SCP-XXXX has prevented the arming of B-59’s nuclear-tipped torpedo, by influencing commander Vasily Arkhipov to oppose the launch of the torpedo through fear of bearing all the responsibilities of starting a world war.
…………………………………
Its involvement in such situations represents the overall hope of ordinary soldiers/citizens to return to peace, hence its actions influencing the course of history to lean towards that way. This metaphor for humans' overall tendency and hope for peace ties this SCP's involvement into a coherent whole.
MOAR
Hook:
The descriptions of the "miracles" SCP has played a role in, how all of that links up, the metaphors, and the overarching story.
Logs: (WIP)
SCP-XXXX has been changed to be a bullet due to soldiers' general feelings towards it, representing the sharp fear of death (the bullet can kill instantly), irrational anger (violence of war) and desperation (may be added, pending). As compared to a polaroid, this seems to be much more relevant.
SCP-XXXX is speculated to be a time anomaly that travelled back to as far as the 4th century due to unknown reasons, influencing major events in wars that it played a role in. Major examples include: the Gothic Wars in the 4th century, the Anglo-French War in the 13th century, the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century, the English Civil War in the 17th century and, the First and Second World Wars and the Chinese Civil War in the 20th century.
It has single handedly prevented the arming of Soviet submarine B-59’s nuclear-tipped tornado, by influencing commander of the deployed submarine detachment Vasily Arkhipov to oppose the launch of the tornado by its anomalous properties of making people feel irrational negative emotions, in this case fear, specifically fear of bearing all the responsibilities of starting a world war if his assumptions of war occurring were incorrect. His assumptions of war, along with the same assumptions of the other two senior officers on board, were caused by the US Navy dropping practice depth charges on the submarine, causing the officers on board to think war had started and the US Navy was attacking them, due to their inability to monitor any radio traffic at such low altitudes.
It has also assisted in the evacuation at Dunkirk by influencing HItler’s decision to pursue after Allied troops by delaying it enough to give aforementioned troops a time window to evacuate from Dunkirk. Its anomalous properties caused Hitler to feel reluctant towards pursuing Allied troops through causing irrational fear in him that there would be Allied reinforcements waiting at Dunkirk for a coordinated attack, adding to Hitler’s original thinking that once Britain's troops left continental Europe, they would never return. This reluctance and delayed action caused over 300,000 lives to be saved, and was a turning point in the course of WW2.
Finally, SCP-XXXX played a crucial role in causing the Christmas Truce of 1914 during WW1, by exchanging hands between soldiers on both frontlines, and causing irrational feelings of apathy, and later tolerance. Its anomalous properties were a major reason for the famous “live and let live” mindset and informal truces developed on the Western Front, and indirectly caused the informal Christmas Truce of 1914 by uplifting the general moods of certain troops on both sides of the frontlines. This is also the only documented case of SCP-XXXX having positive influences on people around it. Reasons for such a case are as of now unknown.
Hence, this SCP is, at request of the governments of Britain, America, France, China and Russia, to be kept secret at all times, for fear of causing widespread political unrest and further distrust of new weapons technology, due to the foreseeable repercussions of the public gaining the knowledge that, most likely, SCP-XXXX was the only object preventing us from spiralling down into a much, much worse scenario, no matter it be nuclear annihilation or German racism dominating the planet. Also, if any personnel at or below Level 3 gain any knowledge of this SCP, they are to be immediately administered with a Class C amnesiac, due to the sensitive nature of such an SCP and the high chance that it will be leaked to the public if such knowledge falls into the hands of personnel without necessary clearance.
SCP-XXXX as captured by a camera.
Description:
SCP-XXXX is a polaroid of size 3.5 inches x 4.2 inches, with the main picture (size 3.1 inches x 3.1 inches) having a top, left and right margin of 0.2 inches. The main picture depicts a face of the observer’s original race, differing from person to person. The face is typically male-oriented, although different genders have been observed according to test subjects, and has a perceived age of 3-5 years old. The face has also been shown to have different emotions to different observers, with emotions of sadness, fear, desperation, anger and disgust being reported as of now. According to Dr. [REDACTED] and Dr. [REDACTED], the face depicted had a bullet in its forehead, the face slack and seemingly dead.
In all cases, the polaroid has been reported to be faded and yellow, with some reports identifying seemingly bullet holes along the side of the polaroid. Some cases also report the polaroid to ignite spontaneously after an extended period of visual contact, although no such thing has happened from an observer’s point of view, but once the aforementioned subject breaks visual contact from SCP-XXXX, it seemingly appears again, unharmed, from the subject’s point of view.
Any attempts to capture SCP-XXXX with objects that are non-human have resulted in the polaroid appearing blank and undamaged, just like a normal, non-used polaroid. However, researchers have been able to produce artistic renditions of SCP-XXXX through memory.
An extended period of exposure to SCP-XXXX in a 15-meter radius (exact duration different for each individual) will cause the subject to slowly start to experience extreme, irrational fear, an overwhelming desire to flee from any other humans in visual sightlines, and in certain cases, suicidal tendencies. Such effects usually come out in full 30 minutes after initial effects start to appear in exposure to SCP-XXXX.
The SCP, as of now, has not displayed any sentient characteristics. SCP-XXXX has displayed sapience by communicating with our researchers. The SCP communicates by manipulating nearby pens (preferably fountain pens) to write on nearby surfaces. It can also hear and understand most languages, except certain languages like Ancient Sumerian, and is generally cooperative to our demands.
Questioning through this method has revealed that the polaroid was first discovered during the Vietnam War in 1966, by Sgt. [REDACTED] in the ███ Infantry Division on 23 February. According to questioning by researchers, SCP-XXXX gained sapience the moment it came into contact with Sgt. [REDACTED]’s hands, becoming aware of its surroundings like it "had just woken from a dream". SCP-XXXX described that when it was in contact with Sgt. [REDACTED], it "gained access to the Sergeant's emotions and memories, and documented them involuntarily."
Sgt. [REDACTED] then pocketed SCP-XXXX and continued on as normal, until he died in battle ██ days after, and SCP-XXXX was discovered by another soldier, Pvt. [REDACTED]. The memory documentation process was repeated on Pvt. [REDACTED]. This process of SCP-XXXX changing hands continued, with SCP-XXXX having no anomalous properties except the involuntary documentation of memories and emotions and the gain of sapience. It is not known what was depicted on SCP-XXXX at the time, as SCP-XXXX has not been able to provide this information, and all contacts with SCP-XXXX in that time period have died in action, leading SCP-XXXX to be picked up by another individual. It is also not known whether SCP-XXXX being picked up by so many individuals, all within minutes of the original owner dying in action, is a coincidence, or an anomalous property at the time.
More questioning has revealed SCP-XXXX has gained memories of unknown individuals originating in the past every time it has changed hands, such memories going as far back as the 15th century. SCP-XXXX, due to reasons it has not revealed to us yet, is reluctant to share such memories dating back from 1966, when it was first discovered by Sgt. [REDACTED]. However, we have managed to successfully extract three such memories through extensive questioning, such interviews seen in Addendums 1A through 1C.
(Note: this SCP will be a major role in most "miracles" throughout major wars and the reason we got through them, kinda like the famous story in the Cold War about the nuclear submarine not firing nuclear bombs because of one veto vote. Since I haven't finished yet, this is yet to be presented here, but just so reviewers know.)
Addendums:
Addendum 1A:
Interviewed: SCP-XXXX
Interviewer: Dr. ████████
Foreword: This interview was taken on 5th March, 1974, 11 months after SCP-XXXX came under the custody of the Foundation and 5 months after sapience has been revealed in SCP-XXXX. It should be noted that throughout the interview, SCP-XXXX is communicating through pen and paper due to its limitations.
<Begin Log, 10:38>
Dr. ████████: Good morning, SCP-XXXX. How are you feeling today?
SCP-XXXX: (writing on paper) Good. Is this another interview?
[Repeat as necessary]
<End Log, 13:53>
Closing Statement: [Small summary and passage on what transpired afterward]
