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DESIGNATION: SCP-4978
CLASS: Euclid
DESCRIPTION:
SCP-4978 is a mint-condition CD copy of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails' third studio album The Fragile.
SCP-4978 was found in 2009 in ██████, South Dakota. After strange effects were observed from those who listened to it, the Foundation took an interest in the copy, taking it from the possession of a new mental patient.
The digipack the CDs are contained is in mint condition, and the two CDs themselves have no scratches. After much testing it has been determined to be impossible to damage SCP-4978 by scratching, smudging, smashing, stabbing, submergence, tearing, or melting (See Addendum 4978.1).
Upon unfolding of the digipack the CDs are contained in, two normally observed things are missing:
- The booklet containing lyrics
- The tracklisting from the digipack's middle section
Despite these differences, all other portions of the digipack are exactly as they are in other, non-anomalous CD copies of The Fragile.
However, the Left CD, labeled SCP-4978-1, has been observed attempting to encourage subjects to listen to the Right CD by pausing and glitching frequently in multiple songs, but unlike SCP-4978-1, the Right CD sounds very different when compared to other CD copies, and is officially labeled SCP-4978-2.
Halfway through the normal running time of the first song on SCP-4978-2 known as The Way Out Is Through, the song has been heard quickly fading out and ending prematurely. The second song is one minute of silence (See Addendum 4978.2). The third song is highly personal to the subject, consistently manifesting as the subject's favorite song. The fourth song on SCP-4978-2 is the longest, estimated to be 60 minutes in length, and has very anomalous properties.
It is unknown what the fourth song contains, as all known subjects refuse to talk about what they heard. It can be inferred, however, that what the song contains may be extremely disturbing, and that it gradually gets worse the longer it is listened to through the reactions of subjects who listen to it. It is also unknown if the effects of listening to this song carry over through recordings.
The last song on SCP-4978-2 causes intense, long-term effects on subjects who have listened to it that progressively get worse. As of now, there are three known stages:
- Stage One, lasting from immediately after listening to about one hour later, consists mainly of high amounts of stress. Subjects who have listened to SCP-4978-2 are observed to have nearly constant flashbacks, and respond with high amounts of distress, an unwillingness to talk, fear and/or worry about their safety.
- Stage Two, lasting from one hour to one week after listening to SCP-4978-2, includes feelings of sadness and depression, as well as symptoms of sickness, including high fever, stomachache, coughing, vomiting, and occasionally even ██████. Hallucinations begin in Stage Two as well and are observed to be highly variable, from auditory and visual hallucinations to even taste or smell hallucinations.
- Stage Three, beginning a week after listening to SCP-4978-2, is marked by more intense hallucinations spanning every sense, making them very vivid and life-like. Similarly to Stage Two, there are feelings of depression, sadness, and anger but they are observed to be much stronger in Stage Three than in Stage Two, to the point that several D-Class test subjects have attempted to commit suicide.
It is unknown if other stages exist, or if there is any way of treating SCP-4978-2's effects. It is also unknown if other anomalous CDs outside Foundation control exist.
CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES:
SCP-4978 does not need specific containment procedures, as it cannot move on its own. It is kept inside a small steel box with 0.75 centimeter-thick walls and a hatch with a 4-digit padlock. As SCP-4978 is hazardous, no personnel are allowed to open SCP-4978's containment area unauthorized.
ADDENDUM 4978.1:
Tests are currently underway to determine if the CDs themselves can damage each other and/or the digipack they are contained in.
ADDENDUM 4978.2:
The silence, through a chance discovery by a D-Class subject, can be used for communication with SCP-4978 (See Addendum 4978.3). However, not only must each message by SCP-4978 be one minute or less in length, and not only must the song repeat to get a new message, but the voice heard is reported to be distorted and hard to make out. Despite this, SCP-4978 has been shown to display an intelligence average for a human, and even a personality.
ADDENDUM 4978.3:
It is unknown if the entity being communicated with is SCP-4978 itself. Due to this, it is also unknown what parts (SCP-4978, SCP-4978-1, SCP-4978-2) of SCP-4978 are conscious. However, for simplicity's sake, it is said that SCP-4978 is the one being communicated with and the one that has a conscience. Study into this is ongoing.
