FrigidWaters

Introduction

First-timer SCP writer who enjoys writing stories with subtle horror and impending threat - don't expect to see many SCPs with multiple casualties and gore.

St Kilda diving bell

Item #: SCP-5116

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: Airlocks into the room should be sealed by default - any interaction with SCP-5116 requires complete lockdown of all external pressure doors. Minimum required pressure rating for containment is 450 atmospheres. SCP-5116 is otherwise inert.

Description: SCP-5116 consists of a diving bell resembling a truncated cone, approximately 5 metres in height with a 4 metre base diameter, tapering to a 1.5 metre top diameter. SCP-5116 appears to be constructed from a single piece of cast iron, though tests demonstrate hardness values far in excess of typical cast iron. The outer hull bears a hallmark and manufacture date reading: “WEATHERBY & SONS 1864”
The interior contains a single open hatchway, 1.8 metres in diameter, that leads to deep sea, regardless of SCP-5116’s actual physical position.
The surface temperature of SCP-5116 remains at a constant 2.1 degrees celsius, regardless of ambient conditions.
No historical documentation matches the design nor provides any background on the manufacturer.

Interaction:
Access to the interior is through the UPPER outer hatch (the larger hatch on the underside is seized shut, and cannot be opened by any means). Once into the interstitial airlock, the OUTER hatch should be secured and sealed before opening the INNER hatch. Entrants are expected to go through a minimum 2 hour compression cycle before opening the inner hatch to prevent extreme barotrauma. Exit, on average, requires a 12 hour decompression cycle.
The hatchway is open to the sea and cannot be sealed, as the outer hatch has been torn off by forces unknown. The immense external pressure of the environment beyond the hatch is what creates the high pressure within the bell itself.
Experimentation has indicated that while the bell has a protective influence to those within it, individuals attempting to enter the water without protective equipment are summarily crushed by the extreme pressure.
It is not entirely clear where the opening leads to, however testing of samples indicates the water is of Atlantic origin. Despite multiple attempts using weighted lines, high intensity illumination and SONAR, no seabed has been detected beneath the opening.
The extreme depth prevents usage of GPS to triangulate the location of SCP-5116’s endpoint, and attempts to float radio buoys to the surface have consistently failed - it is assumed that they succumb to the pressure shortly after deployment.

Addendum:

• January 7th 1974, staff on duty reported hearing faint whalesong for approximately 8 minutes whilst in proximity to the exterior of SCP-5116.
• Dehumidification and drainage of the containment room is highly necessary as condensation on the bell’s outer hull rapidly forms even in completely dry air.

• SCP-5116’s internal depth gauges indicated a depth of 2078 fathoms (3800 metres) on the date of its recovery. Its present reading of 2167 fathoms is consistent with independent pressure readings. Currently, the diving bell appears to be sinking deeper, at a rate of 2 fathoms (~3.66m) per year.

• The interior has an inertial frame of reference separate from that of the exterior. Multiple reports from staff taking routine pressure readings indicate that they felt the bell swaying gently, despite the exterior remaining unmoved.

• During the experiments involving high intensity lighting, one researcher reported seeing a large mass of thick, pale tentacles pass briefly by the peripheries of the opening. Later analysis suggests the researcher in question was suffering hallucinogenic effects from nitrogen narcosis. Since the experiment, however, researchers have consistently complained of feeling watched whilst standing inside SCP-5116.