DrOAK

BY ORDER OF THE OVERSEER COUNCIL

The following file is Level 5/4444 classified. Unauthorized access is forbidden.

4444

Item#: 4444

Level5

Containment Class:

esoteric

Secondary Class:

thaumiel

Disruption Class:

amida

Risk Class:

critical

link to memo

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SCP-4444-1A

Special containment procedures: Dr. Atkins is permitted to freely roam foundation facilities, as long as SCP-4444-3 remains in containment. SCP-4444 may be used in tests involving other SCPs upon permission from the O5 council and under direct supervision from the local site director.

A total of eight pressure resistant, electro-magnet titanium monitoring devices are to be placed on SCP-4444-3’s most exposed metal parts. Those devices are responsible for keeping track of the entity’s whereabouts as well as the rate of degradation of the entity’s metal components. The devices are to be checked daily and replaced on a monthly basis.

Due its massive weight, transportation of SCP-4444-3 is not feasible. Dr. Atkins has been given the permission to “mentally guide” SCP-4444-3 through both intra and intercontinental displacements, allowing the entity to walk on predetermined routes over the ocean floor. These routes are to be chosen based on the Foundation’s directives, as to minimize damage to property and exposition to civilians.

SPECIAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES UPDATE (MAY 12th, 2020)

SCP-4444 has been determined to be dangerously unstable as a means of continuous containment of other entities and constitutes, in its current state, a high-level threat to both civilian and extranormal populations.

In spite of Dr. Jonathan Atkins’ request, SCP-4444 will maintain its status as a Thaumiel-Class SCP, as its capabilities may prove useful to the Foundation under extreme circumstances.

For the time being, SCP-4444 will remain under new, high-priority containment procedures. The entity should only be summoned in critical conditions, solely through the approval of this council.

It is known that SCP-4444-1A aggressively manipulates individuals into summoning SCP-4444-3, prioritizing those who have the means to access it. While in its active state, SCP-4444-3 will protect itself from contingency protocols with the knowledge it acquired from multiple, unsuspecting Foundation sources. Since both the item’s and the entity’s telepathic capabilities cannot be fully suppressed, sensitive information has been purposefully left out of this document.


— O5

While in containment, SCP-4444’s components are divided into SCP-4444-1A and -1B (inactive state).

• SCP-4444-1A: SCP-4444-1A is currently kept at site [DATA EXPUNGED]. It is contained into a multi-layered, armor plated steel vault, ██ meters under the surface. The only way of accessing the vault is through biologically and code locked doors. The artifact itself is confined into [DATA EXPUNGED].
  
  The vault is controlled by AZRAEL, an Artificial Intelligence Construct (AIC), which can only allow entrance when simultaneously activated by 3 specific members of the O5 Council through [DATA EXPUNGED]. AZRAEL contains the biological and digital profile of ███ foundation level 4 and 5 researchers and MTS superiors. Each of those registered individuals has been given a portable device which randomly generates 7-digit codes every 8 seconds.
  
  If activated, AZRAEL will randomly allow ten of the registered individuals to access SCP-4444-1A’s vault through their biological credentials and by inserting active codes displayed in their portable device. Only the first of the chosen individuals to arrive at the site will be allowed entrance.
  
  Termination of the individual will be carried out via [DATA EXPUNGED], under [DATA EXPUNGED] command.
  
  
• SCP-4444-1B: Due to event 4444-K, foundation containment unit H7 has been built around SCP-4444-1B, as its weight prevents it from being moved.
  
  The inner container built around SCP-4444-1B is completely filled with 7,500m³ of concrete, covering the entirety of SCP-4444-1B. The structure is covered by a multitude of sensors, as to detect unusual vibrations. A total of 50 10-meter-wide electromagnets are buried under and around the facility. When activated, the electromagnets are expected to create a powerful magnetic field with an effective range of 2 km² around the inner container.
  
  In case any signs of unauthorized activation of SCP-4444-1B are detected, the inner container will be automatically flooded with a continuous stream of liquid concrete as to difficult SCP-4444-2’s attempts in freeing SCP-4444-1B upon its arrival.
  
  If SCP-4444-2 still manages to reach SCP-4444-1B, thus forming SCP-4444-3, all underground electromagnets are to be activated at maximum potency. Since SCP-4444-3’s metal parts are affected by electromagnetic fields, this measure is expected to immobilize the entity for an unknown amount of time.
  

Description: SCP-4444 consists of a necklace coupled with an large circular metal amulet (SCP-4444-1A) and a set of 107 large metallic pieces (SCP-4444-1B). The interaction of these components with an anthropomorphic being originates an entity known as SCP-4444-3. A more detailed description of each component will be provided in the following documents.

1A

SCP-4444-1A consists of a necklace composed by a simple metallic chain and a circular medallion, which depicts a feline-like creature wielding a sword in a threatening pose. Its design seems to match that of ceremonial artifacts found in ancient Iran, related to [REDACTED].

SCP-4444-1A has proven to possess strong telepathic properties. Affected individuals will experience hallucinations depicting the artifact and its location, accompanied by the unexplained urge to wear it. Subjects will be primarily “chosen” based on proximity to the artifact, though it seems to prioritize individuals who have the knowledge and the means to access it. Usually multiple subjects are affected at once.

SPC-4444-1A’s structure is made of a material of unknown composition, currently cataloged as OsmiumD4. It is believed that the medallion is coated in a subvariant of the anomalous metal which resembles an alloy of gold and silver.

+ Material archive: Osmium D4

The material seems to be an anomalous variant of metallic Osmium, sharing its lustrous, blue-grey appearance, and has proven to be exceptionally resistant, if not indestructible. It is able to withstand temperatures above 5000ºC and pressures over 770 Gigapascals (GPa), as well as high-power artillery fire with no apparent damage. OsmiumD4 has an invariable density of 90.35g/cm³, precisely four times the density of its counterpart Osmium, the densest non-anomalous element on Earth.

The anomalous metal does not react chemically with any known compound other than SCP-4444-2. The reaction between the two slowly degrades OsmiumD4, releasing a “smoky” smell characteristic to that of osmium tetroxide, though no presence of the toxic compound—or of any other product—can be detected.

When an anthropomorphic being wears SCP-4444-1A, it will immediately stick to the subject’s chest. Approximately 4 seconds after this event, SCP-4444-2 will be expelled from the subject’s mouth, nose and eyes. No damage will be caused to the subject by SCP-4444-2 during this process. From this point on, the wearer is classified as SCP-4444-X.

Reports describe an excruciating pain emanating from the subject’s chest while this event takes place, causing the subject to lose consciousness. The subject will no longer display pulse, but blood flow and quality will remain unaltered. Following magnetic resonance revealed a large black blur in the subject’s chest cavity.

1B

SCP-4444-1B is a set of metallic, polished pieces constituted of OsmiumD4, weighing a total of 225,875 tons¹. SCP-4444-1B instances do not dispose of any mechanical component that would allow movement or attachment between each other. While inactive, SCP-4444-1B components are tightly bound together by some kind of force field. As of now, foundation researchers haven’t been able to weaken the field’s effect.

2 & 3

SCP-4444-2 is a black, dense and extremely corrosive smoke, which is able to instantly dissolve matter upon contact. Conveniently, no material apart from OsmiumD4 has been shown to resist SCP-4444-2’s corrosive properties. SCP-4444-2 has shown to be somewhat sapient, and will immediately pursue SCP-4444-1B instances upon release from the subject’s body.

A small sample of SCP-4444-2

There’s indication that SCP-4444-2 will attempt to free SCP-4444-1A from any restraints, allowing it to disassemble. SCP-4444-2 will then expand in size, involving SCP-4444-1B instances, giving origin to SCP-4444-3. The full process in which this occurs is currently unknown.

SCP-4444-3 is a four-legged entity resembling the mythological creature known as an “Shirdal”, an eagle-lion hybrid which appeared in Ancient Iranian art dating back to before 3000 BC. The entity has the head, legs and last fourth of its tail formed by the following sets of pieces (SCP-4444-1B instances):

• An eagle-like head, approximately of the size of a small truck, along with two 3-meter-long horns. Similar to the bones of most horned mammals, SCP-4444-3 upper jaw, cranium and horns constitute a unique, solid piece. The lower mandible is the sole other piece that constitutes the head. One spiral is carved on each side of the skull apparently to represent the entity’s eyes.

• Four robust, 15-meter-long legs seem to have been purposely designed to look like that of a “Big cat” (members of the genus Panthera). Each leg ends on a five digit claw, which are roughly 1.4m long.

• 10 golden rings, equal in shape and thickness, but with decreasing radius that goes from 1m to 25cm, along with a 3-meter-long and 1-meter wide (at its base) blade. This set of pieces constitutes the tip of SCP-4444-3’s tail.

SCP-4444-3’s neck, body and most of its tail are constituted of SCP-4444-2, which at a distance may look like solid material due to its high density. SCP-4444-3 behaves as if it was a solid organic being.

SCP-4444-X, the medallion’s wilder, is able to mentally control SCP-4444-3. SCP-4444-3 seems to have access to the subject’s memories and knowledge along with some kind of unexplained sapience.

For instance, if ordered to terminate a certain individual previously known by SCP-4444-X, SCP-4444-3 will be able to reach a location of close proximity to the target, searching the area until the target is spotted and eliminated. This will happen even if the location is unknown to SCP-4444-X.

Experiments suggest that there’s no physical limit that may block control of SCP-4444-X over SCP-4444-3.

SCP-4444-3 full capabilities are currently unknown. Throughout the first weeks, SCP-4444-3 actions will rely almost exclusively on its solid body; the entity will make use of its brute force and speed, and will be able to release short bursts of SCP-4444-2 from its mouth. As times goes by, however, SCP-4444-3’s physical attributes grow exponentially; the entity will be able to travel at speeds well over ████km/h and project large vortexes of SCP-4444-2 from its body, which move and grow at the entity’s will.

SCP-4444 is believed to being capable of taking control over its user (SPC-4444-X) through gradual mental degradation. This process seems to take several weeks before reaching a critical level. Initially, the subject will experience a lack of concentration, irritability, insomnia and mild memory loss, which then lead to excessive introversion, paranoia and hallucinations; finally, the subject will suddenly enter a trance state, causing SCP-4444-3 to go berserk. During this stage, the subject will be actively protected by SCP-4444-3.

Though not conclusive, there seems to be a correlation between the subject’s state of mind and the rate of degradation of SCP-4444-3’s metal parts (see Incident 4444-K documentation for further information). In this context, reactivation of SCP-4444-3 is highly inadvisable, as its metal components (SCP-4444-1B) have already lost 40% of their mass while in active state.

If the user expires by any means, their body will be rapidly consumed from inside by a black smoke and then vanish into the air. At that point SCP-4444-1A will fall to the ground and SCP-4444-3 will promptly return to its inanimate state: its metal pieces will bind together and SCP-4444-2 will dissolve into the air.

The only recorded individual to ever summon SCP-4444-3 was Dr. Alexandre Atkins, who was able to control the entity for a period of 72 days, culminating in the destruction of Foundation site █████ followed by the doctor’s death (see Incident report 4444-K for further information).

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Addendum — Incident 4444-K

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The information below has been gathered through surviving personnel reports and camera feed.
On March 1st, Dr. Atkins was relocated to site █████, a low-priority site located [DATA EXPUNGED]. The doctor had been conceded a recess due to performance-related issues in high-priority tests involving other SCPs. Psychiatric tests revealed that Dr. Atkins had been suffering from anxiety and an early stage of depression.

Dr. Atkins was given a room and an office, as well as full access to the installations. He was instructed not to interact with SCP-4444-3, which was placed in containment. During early routine examinations, Foundation psychiatrists reported that Dr. Atkins seemed agitated, complaining about “being unable to dream or even to think clearly”. The doctor was administered proper medication and reported feeling well for the next days, though preferring to spend most of his time at his room.

On March 11th at 7a.m, SCP-4444-3 bursted out of containment, releasing a huge amount of SCP-4444-1A from its body.

It is estimated that the first thing to be targeted by the entity was the underground nuclear warhead, as to prevent its detonation. MTS Epsilon-11 "Nine-Tailed Fox" reached the site 5 minutes later, when approximately 10km² of the site had already been compromised. Dr. Atkins, who was actively avoided by SCP-4444-1A, could be seen walking alongside SCP-4444-3.

SCP-4444-1A, two minutes after the initial breach

Dimensional imprisonment methods performed by MTF Epsilon-11 did not seem to affect SCP-4444. Heavy artillery also proved ineffective, as missiles launched at the entity were dissolved before detonation or the explosions themselves were consumed by SCP-4444-1A.

SCP-4444-1A began to spread itself at a higher rate, disabling two helicopters in the process. O5-3, who had been monitoring the operation, dispatched MTF Omega-12 to the location.

However, before MTF Omega-12 could reach the site, SCP-4444-3 paused and slowly backed off, allowing Dr. Atkins to step out of the huge mass of SCP-4444-2. The Doctor desperately demanded to be shot, and was promptly taken down. At that moment, both Dr. Atikins’ body and SCP-4444-1A dissolved into the air, and SCP-4444-2 bound together.

SCP-4444-1A was immediately collected by an autonomous drone and sealed in a special container. The item was rapidly transported to site [DATA EXPUNGED] with no further contact with human personnel.

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Addendum — Discovery and recovery

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Zendān-e Soleymān hill

Zendān-e Soleymān hill's entrance

SCP-4444-1A was initially found at Zendān-e Soleymān hill, located approximately 3 km west of Takht-e Soleymān, an archaeological site in northern Iran, on March 13th, 1972. At that time, agents from the Organization for the Reclamation of Islamic Artifacts (ORIA) had been sent to the site to investigate formal reports of unusual physical weariness, mild hallucinations and extremely vivid nightmares shared by multiple archaeologists working for the German Archaeological Institute, the first to conduct a systematic excavation of the Takht-e Soleymān site in the early 1970’s.

Upon arrival, the agents reportedly felt a strong sense of uneasiness by simply looking at Zendān-e Soleymān hill, which could be seen from the site. The operation report referred to an increasingly strong “feeling of dread” shared by the agents as they approached the hill, as it seemed to be the source of the anomalous occurings.

After contacting backup, which provided climbing equipment as well as memetic agents, in an attempt to lessen their seemingly anomalous ill-being, ORIA operatives managed to reach the crater’s bottom, where SCP-4444-1A was spotted partially buried. The item had to be retrieved by a drone, as all of the agents refused to approach it.

SCP-4444-1A came into Foundation’s possession through one of many negotiations conducted between the Foundation and the ORIA on February 12th, 1975, regarding the acquisition of anomalous items deemed of little to no use for the ORIA. The negotiation was carried out by Dr. Alexandre Atkins, who was then a Junior Researcher from the archeological findings department of site ██.

The item was initially classified as “Safe” and stored in an underground storage locker located 2 km from site ██, being accessible to personnel with minimum Clearance 2 under the site’s director approval. No tests were conducted in regards to SCP-4444-1A, as its anomalous effects seemed stable and easily avoidable through the isolation of the item.

On December 30th, 2019, all Foundation facilities in eastern Europe and western Asia were put under alert due to the declaration of an High-Level State of Emergency regarding a breach of containment in northern Russia.

On that same day Dr. Atkins, now site director and chief of the archeological findings department, accessed SCP-4444-1A’s storage locker in an apparent state of great distress, promptly putting the necklace on. The item’s effects were immediately triggered, causing Dr. Atkins to pass out. Right after being expelled from the doctor’s body, SCP-4444-2 proceeded upwards, forming a straight, 30-meter-long hole leading up to the surface.

O5-3 was alerted to the situation, as SCP-4444-2’s destructive capabilities were believed to be interconnected to the ongoing event in northern Russia, and a high-priority breach of containment was declared. Foundation orbital satellites were engaged in maintaining visual of SCP-4444-2 as it flew west at 6,882 km/h. Meanwhile, Dr. Atkins was taken to site ██’s medical department.

SCP-4444-2 finally stopped once it reached Zendān-e Soleymān hill, where SCP-4444-1A had initially been recovered by the ORIA. SCP-4444-2 then proceeded down into the crater, being concealed by darkness. After a couple second seconds, a large entity (SPC-4444-3) crawled out of the crater. The entity remained unmoving in a sitting position. At that point O5-3 had already dispatched MTF Epsilon-11 to the location.

Upon waking up, Dr. Atkins immediately asked medical personnel about “where it was”. Right after that, mobile task force Epsilon-11 reported that SCP-4444-3 had suddenly moved from a static position to a full 3,230 km/h run, its trajectory being the exact opposite of that previously followed by SPC-4444-2.

Throughout the following minutes SCP-4444-3 moved on a straight line towards Foundation site ██. Heavy artillery was used, but could not alter the entity’s trajectory. Anomalous weaponry could not be effectively used, as most of it was directed towards the higher-priority situation in northern Russia.

Medical personnel reported Dr. Atkins as looking disoriented as they proceeded to evacuate him from the site, stating that he kept clutching SCP-4444-1A on his chest while mumbling to himself. Suddenly, SCP-4444-3 buried its claws on the ground, forcing a sudden stop only a few meters from the site’s limits. Dr. Atkins, now fully conscious, directly contacted O5-3, stating that he had witnessed a [REDACTED]. MTF Epsilon-11 was ordered to stand by, while Dr. Atkins was driven towards the entity.

Dr. Atkins was able to direct the entity to a secure location within site ██. In the following day the entity was then transported along with Dr. Atkins to [REDACTED], where further tests were conducted.

Civilian exposure to the entity was minimal, given that the whole event transpired before dawn and that the entity moved mainly through unpopulated regions. To ensure the integrity of the veil, all towns within the entity’s trajectory were placed under a Class-A amnestic regimen, and all civilian surveillance videos were revised and edited accordingly.

Upon subsequent investigations Zendān-e Soleymān hill’s crater was revealed to have suffered heavy erosion, its bottom being 20 meters deeper than before. Foundation employees were assigned to restore it to its previous appearance.

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WARNING: O5 APPROVAL REQUIRED

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ANY ATTEMPT TO ACCESS THIS FILE WITHOUT PROPER CLEARANCE WILL BE LOGGED AND WILL LEAD TO TERMINATION.

I understand and wish to proceed

The following message was retrieved from Dr. Jonathan Atkins’ personal computer, 30 minutes before Incident 4444-K took place.

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Dear brother,
You know above all others of my fascination about the great wonders of our world’s untold existence. Throughout my 46 years of work at this Foundation, I’ve been given the opportunity to glimpse at the past in all its truthfulness, unearthing things that go beyond our very notions of antiquity, cosmology and reality. It is somewhat poetic that my end will come as a result of my discoveries, yet I cannot deny that I am profoundly scared. Today I will die not by the hands of something malevolent, or even conscious, but of something made wholly corrupt — and I hope that I perish alone.
They’ve been trying to help me for months — their echoes reverberating from the artifact that now lays on my chest — but such pleads seemed irrelevant in contrast to the beauty of the void.
A wicked beauty, as I have now gathered from the divine enlightenment brought by the creator of this very blessed metal. I no longer have the strength to stop what’s coming, but I can pass onto you whatever knowledge I have so that you, and the Foundation, can stop what I’ve started.
There’s a fundamental truth that you need to know about, John.
Reality resides in tiny bubbles amidst an ocean of utter nothingness. Its limitless borders are only viewed as so by those who belong within it; in truth, our feeble existence is maintained by forces which keep the outer pressure from crushing us. The smallest of ruptures is enough to let it in… and to end it all.
But don’t be fooled: IT is not. It was never supposed to be.
It is only here because they have tried to make something of it… something that could actually exist inside of our universe without turning itself into a sinkhole for the very fabric of reality.
To achieve this they needed to bound such an abstraction to a real concept—a piece of existence that could be slowly torn apart. The Great Machine, father of endless intellect, created the artifact, a gateway that would bound the incomprehensible to one’s sole source of emotion and creativity: their soul.
Theoretically, nothingness could be continuously fed by the endlessness of human creation and sensation. However, The Great Machine knew that His beloved creation was in itself bound to flesh and bone… to imperfection, meaning that eventually, and rapidly, fatigue would weigh on the artifact’s wilder. No mind would for even the blink of an eye resist the maddening hunger of inexistence.
With the aid of the blood-writers, The Great Machine built a cage made with the same metal as the artifact. The cage would be constituted of multiple parts, which were configured to occupy space in a predefined order upon the artifact’s activation; such order, as it was established, could only exist in the presence of the physical manifestation of nothingness. Therefore, The Great Machine essentially forced the void into reality, bounding it to a region of space — that is, within the cage — because the arrangement of the latter, which already exists, depends on the existence of something which did not exist up to that moment.
Such paradoxical cage would minimize the wear over the artifact’s wilder, allowing them to direct their thoughts into actions, which would then be followed by their unmaterial parasite. The very appearance of the cage was thought as a further stabilizing factor, as the multiple historical, religious and natural concepts associated to it were meant to be consumed by what’s trapped within.
A wicked guardian would arise.
The Great Machine anticipated that not even His equation could conceal the contradiction inherent to making something out of the void. Such mechanisms were bound to break.
For that reason, He produced a failsafe system: if the artifact’s wilder dies — that is, their soul is no longer bound to their body — their soul would be sent back through the gateway along with the void to which it was bound to. Of course, such measure could only work if the void were still forced into materiality by its paradoxical cage.
The guardian’s ultimate purpose was fulfilled, as it was the only thing, or the absence of it, which could overpower the raging, pulsating flesh in a battle of feverish creation against destruction. In the last step of His plan, The Great Machine compelled the chaotic void to stand back, breaking himself in a final sacrifice as a means to constrain its nemesis for eternity.
To subdue the void before its wrath broke loose, the now Broken One had to rely on His most loyal followers, as all of its fading strength was directed towards ending the war.
After sacrificing one of their own, those allies disposed of the darkened metal — both artifact and cage — in a hill of burning magma, which would remain untouched for ages under the veil of tenebrous legends regarding the wicked nature of what laid within. Only if the seal was broken and the flesh emerged from the abyss, the artifact would call for a new wilder, one worthy of protecting the child of The Broken One.
Despite our foolish intervention, Father managed to restore stability on that fateful day in Russia. But that sparkle of threat was enough to awaken the artifact. If it was too early, only He knows.
It has been 44 years, but I still remember everything: upon its recovery, the artifact irradiated a strange sense of repulsiveness; for a long time it was thought that its anomalous character derived from the unbearable, suffocating feeling of being near it, as well as the horrific nightmares born from prolonged exposure to its presence. Unlike the others, I was never severely affected by it, something I believe facilitated my negotiations with the ORIA — though the mere thought of touching the thing was nauseating.
It was the blood-writers’ curse, as I came to know later, that was cast on the metal as a means of protection to our weak, human minds. And by our Father’s design, it was broken on that day when it called upon me. The medallion cried out in desperate whispers, echoes inside my head which left me no choice but to put it around my neck.
//What was pure of the metal taught how to manage my power; it showed me its history, its purpose and its risks. But in time corruption prevented me from taking

action against the latter; I could not dream, I could not remember, I could not feel.//

Now the curse is broken, and the artifact is broken. You must bury it deep so that its twisted cries will not be heard, not ever again. It is with all my strength that I tell you that such powers were never meant to be held by man. I guess Father knew that if He were to fail in His primal task, mankind could be spared from the eternal, blood-driven irrationality; either by the prevalence of intellect, or by the very end of all things.
For a wicked guardian shall destroy what it was intended to protect.

Footnotes

1. For comparative measures, this is equivalent to the weight of approximately 393 Airbus A380 aircrafts (maximum takeoff weight)