Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Object is to be kept in a plain room with no other living entities which may provoke it to become active unless there is a purpose such as observation or other examples of further research.
Description: SCP-XXXX appears as a regular rotary phone from somewhere in the 20th century. However, it lacks any numbers or mechanism for making any calls. Yet the phone is capable of ringing so long as there is intelligent life in the room it resides within.
Upon answering a call through SCP-XXXX the person/being will be connected to someone in a state of despair, calling out for help. The situations of the caller all have the common effect in the answerer of causing distress in the person who hears them - unless they are able to resolve the situation which seems impossible.
The artefact was discovered by Dr. Nicholl on █/█/█ in the hands of a citizen of ███████ when reports surfaced of a man making irregular purchases of firearms in a notably dishevelled state. The concern of the employee at the store was raised due to the unstable behaviour of the man as when he was asked what he needed the weapons for he responded: "I have to save the lady on the phone, I won't let another die because of me." The store employee probed further into what he meant and at this point recorded the words of the man through his mobile phone:
"I can't just let it ring or it makes me feel guilty but I can never help them when I answer… but this time I'm prepared y'see! I'm going to save her… I have to save her"
When the store attendant contacted the authorities the call was part-way intercepted by the foundation and the audio obtained. Upon investigation of the man's living quarters Dr. Nicholl discovered his apartment completely empty excepting SCP-XXXX positioned in the middle with the man beside it in a state of mass hysteria.
It was clear that every time the object had become active and rang he had answered, as it appears to cause an emotional effect on any being around it that refuses to answer, riddling them with incessant guilt. Additionally upon answering the calls and talking to the distressed "person" on the other end - if the answerer is unable to assist them in their dilemma - causes extreme bouts of depression and failure within them.
On answering (and evidently failing to help) every time, the man was in a fractured mental state. Dr. Nicholl interviewed the man to obtain all possible knowledge on SCP-XXXX (see addendum below) before Class F amnestics were administered, as the man had been answering calls for too long that it had become (to him) his sole purpose.
Addendum XXXX.1: Interview with original "guardian"
Interviewer: Dr. James Nicholl
[LOG BEGINS HERE]
Guardian: Where's the phone, I can't be apart from it!
Dr. N: I can assure you it's quite safe, please calm down
Guardian: People will get hurt if I'm gone- they already do when I'm not…
[Guardian begins to weep]
Dr. N: Tell me about the phone, how does it work?
Guardian: It just… rings man I don't know. It rings without being plugged into the phone lines or the electricity. If I don't answer, I get this pit in my stomach y'know? I have to answer it
Dr. N: And what happens when you do answer it?
Guardian: It's awful man… they always need my help and I can't help but want to give it to them, I feel responsible for their problem. One time a man was insisting that he was drowning, he kept crying out "Help, I'm gonna die! Save me! I'm drowning!" and I couldn't help but be frantic like, I was listening to a man die. "I- I don't know what to do, how are you calling?" I asked him and all he said was "God why have you forsaken me, please, I can hear you- help me!" Then the line cut…
Dr. N: He referred to you as 'God'?
Guardian: I- I guess so… it's always the same, and when it's over it feels like I've killed whoever was on the other end. But I didn't dare ever not answer, for the guilt haunted me when I did once…
Guardian was in hysterics at this point of recollection and Dr. Nicholl believed he had sufficient data
Dr. N: You don't have to worry anymore
Guardian: If it's not me, it'll be someone else…
Addendum XXXX.2: Experiments of functionality
Experiment Purpose: Determining call frequency and nature
[BEGIN RUN 1 DESCRIPTION]
SCP-XXXX was placed in a plain room with no other furniture similar to the original guardian's living quarters and monitored with a singular microphone in the corner. SCP-XXXX was left for a number of weeks and made no sound. When Dr. Nicholl entered the room it immediately rang. (Conversation log in further addendum.)
[BEGIN RUN 2 DESCRIPTION]
SCP-XXXX was placed in a similar room with no furniture but with D-███ seated beside it. The subject was left with SCP-XXXX for 12 hours in which it rang a total of 6 times at seemingly random time intervals. Each time subject was overwhelmed by the guilt sensation described by the original guardian and insisted on answering. (Would not speak of what was said to them as was in a hysterical state from their failure.)
Conclusion by Dr. Nicholl: It would appear that SCP-XXXX only becomes active when there is someone to hear its calls and if it hasn't been able to ring in a while, it shall do so as soon as it can when a person comes into its close vicinity.
Experiment Purpose: Ascertaining ability of other living things to answer SCP-XXXX's calls
[BEGIN DESCRIPTION]
SCP-XXXX was placed back in the empty room with a regular adult male orangutan. After waiting for a while, it rang. The subject sat on the floor in the same spot as it had been, after a minute of ringing it began to show signs of distress. It crossed the room and lifted the receiver to its ear. The signs of distress became more and more evident in the creature until it slammed it down crossed the room again and proceeded to violently slam its head into the wall until it died
Conclusion by Dr. Nicholl: It is obvious that the inability of the animal to communicate caused an elevated emotional effect that was too much for the poor creature to handle.
Experiment Purpose: Tests with non-English speaking subjects
[BEGIN DESCRIPTION]
Dr. Son In-ho, a Korean researcher from SCP Foundation Site ██████ in South Korea, voluntarily travelled to enter the room that contained SCP-XXXX (Dr. Son has no knowledge of English and was contacted by Dr. Nicholl through a foundation translator). After waiting for 25 minutes within the room, SCP-XXXX rang and was answered by Dr. Son. For 5 minutes Dr. Son conversed in Korean with the person on the other end and eventually put the receiver down himself. At this point his legs gave out and he sat on the floor in complete silence. He later recounted the conversation to the foundation translator and revealed that he apparently failed to help the caller as in all previous cases and consequently was feeling mild depression symptoms. (Conversation located in later addendum.)
Conclusion by Dr. Nicholl: SCP-XXXX adapts to the spoken language of the person who answers its calls so long as it is a human tongue.
Addendum XXXX.3: Recorded calls on SCP-XXXX
CONVERSATION WITH DR. NICHOLL*
Dr. N:** Hello?
Caller: You have to help me, he's going to kill me.
Dr. N: Who are you, if you would?
Caller: There's no time, surely you know?! I'm stuck, he's going to find me.
Dr. N: I fail to see how I would know, regardless you must explain to me the situation before I can offer any assistance.
Caller: I-I'm… someone broke in… my wife is already dead. I'm scared, please help me…
Dr. N: I don't believe there's anything I can do
Caller: Please God! Help me…
Dr. N: I'm afraid you're mistaken, can you tell me where you're calling from?
Caller: C-calling? What do you mean?
Dr. N: Where are you making this phone call from?
Caller: W-what- I'm not making a phone call!!
Dr. N: Well then explain how we're communicating right now.
Caller: Are you… I'm pray-
[Sound of a gunshot and the phone line cuts]
Note from Dr. Nicholl: I cannot be sure whether I was connected to someone in this world and this device simply intercepts the prayers of the truly desperate or if there is perhaps a world beyond in which the answerer to SCP-XXXX's calls are deities. The one thing that is clear is the sense of despondence and depression I feel having failed to help that desperate soul. Whether these events are occurring as the calls take place or if they are merely echoes of what has happened and there is truly no hope I do not know but we cannot limit the amount of calls we experience lest we miss crucial details about SCP-XXXX's nature. Perhaps there is a possibility of a positive outcome to these calls.
CONVERSATION WITH DR. SON
Dr. S: Hello.
Caller: My- it is surely the voice of God.
Dr. S: No sir, I am not a god.
Caller: I have been so lonely in life, I cannot lose the only light within it.
Dr. S: Sir, I do not understand. Can you tell me where you are phoning from?
Caller: What does "phoning" mean? It is I who cannot understand you! You have to help me, my child is sick and I do not know how I may treat her.
Dr. S: Do you mean to tell me you don't know what a phone is?
Caller: Why do you insist on asking these questions? No I do not. You say you are not God yet your voice calls out from nothing but air? How may I treat my ailing child.
Dr. S: Sir, I do not hold knowledge of medicine, you must tell me what year it is where you are.
Caller: My child, she has departed
[Line cut out]
Note from Dr. Nicholl: It appears that SCP-XXXX can go beyond time. But this further begs the question as to whether the calls we here are simply echoes. Is it possible to aid the desperate callers and if so would doing so change the course of time? Or are we simply doomed to listen to distant pain of another? I fear the only way to answer these is with more observed calls, yet I don't wish to continue such disheartening experiments. Perhaps SCP-XXXX is best left alone.
Addendum XXXX.4: SCP-XXXX-1 and success
Log from Dr. Nicholl
I decided that there had to be some method to attaining success in calls through SCP-XXXX, I had my fellow researchers take watch in a one-way mirror room using a number of D-Class personnel subjects all to try their hand at assisting a desperate caller. On this, day 45, I have come myself to observer whilst everyone else takes a rest from the guilt and responsibility that SCP-XXX burdens its observers and answerers with. Upon entering the room where the artefact was stored I discovered it was not all that was in the room. A tall, slender male human was standing next to it with a blank stare. I immediately called for the other researchers. I inquired to him of who he was and he stated nothing in response. Appropriately I have named the specimen as SCP-XXXX-1, its skin cells offered no telling as to any possible identity and carbon-14 dating suggested all of it (body and clothes) merely came into existence a number of days ago. My colleagues and I retreated to behind the one-way mirror to observe further. I was personally curious if SCP-XXXX-1 would be counted as a being capable of answering. Then it rang, and SCP-XXXX-1's head turned a perfect 90 degrees turn from its position facing the door to right through the mirror. It looked from me to my colleagues one by one and settled on Dr. Burgess. It then spoke, "It's for you." I nodded to Dr. Burgess to go retrieve the receiver. It appears that as the artefact is still in sight to us, it can still ring. As in all other cases when it was alone in the room we had only audio not visual correspondence with SCP-XXXX. Dr. Burgess picked up the receiver and engaged in a conversation with the caller on the other end. He smiled, and seemed excited, then triumphantly placed down the receiver. He turned to where he knew we were and exclaimed that he had done it. We all rushed into the room at once. SCP-XXXX began to make a mechanical whirr such as that of a common house printer and out from no visible slot came a small polaroid of a pretty sunrise captioned 'Sending thanks from somewhere beyond' Dr. Burgess described extreme feelings of euphoria. Since this any time SCP-XXXX has rang, the guardian directs the receiver to someone in the vicinity with its monotonous direction and it has vastly improved chances at success. Yet it is still not an assured things, the euphoria from the polaroids is addictive. I believe we have sufficient information on the operations of SCP-XXXX and will now suggest we leave it be unless it should become a health hazard to any. We still do not know where the callers come from or the chances of tampering with timelines and therefore having, from my viewpoint, recorded all important features and criteria - it is time to leave it be.
Computer Scan of the deposited polaroid
Per 
