SCP-4XXX: Channel Tuner
Item Number: SCP-4XXX
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4XXX is kept in a secure locker within Site 19’s Secure Storage Wing. Testing may be carried out by Level 2 researchers with Approval from at least 1 Level 3 Researcher Testing may be carried out by a Level 3 or higher researcher (See Incident 4XXX-A).
SCP-4XXX’s batteries are to be changed out every 4 months to prevent corrosion. Standard store-bought AA Alkaline Batteries are sufficient to keep SCP-4XXX operational. Lithium-Ion or similar high-grade batteries may be used to extend the battery life of SCP-4XXX, but provide no additional effect.
If SCP-4XXX has no scheduled tests for a period of 2 weeks or more, batteries may be removed and replaced when testing resumes.
Pending approval for medicinal use.
Description: SCP-4XXX is a standard 1990s RM-870 remote produced by the Sony Corporation for use with TVs of the era. There are no markings aside from the original manufacturer labels on the front of the remote. On the back inside cover of the battery case, the phrase “Use it well” has been written in silver Sharpie.
SCP-4XXX-1 is a Sony KV-1484MT Model TV from the same era and was recovered along with SCP-4XXX. SCP-4XXX-1 does not have anomalous effects, save for being unaffected by the effects of SCP-4XXX. SCP-4XXX-1 is operational but shows standard wear for a TV of its age. On the back of the TV is another message written in silver Sharpie, “Except on this”. SCP-4XXX-1 will, interestingly, not respond to any other remote, despite similar models from the time being able to.
SCP-4XXX’s anomalous effects manifest when the remote is pointed at an object other than SCP-4XXX-1. Upon pressing various inputs on the remote (full details available through Document 4XXX-A), the object currently being pointed at will alter according to the inputs directed at it.
A comprehensive list of SCP-4XXX’s abilities;
- Power: When pointed at an object and pressed, the object will immediately cease or resume operation, depending on its state. On non-biological, inanimate objects (such as rocks or books; objects that have no moving parts or functions), the button has no effect. Biological testing has shown all heart and cerebral functions cease and resume instantaneously. Biological subjects who expire for reasons other than SCP-4XXX cannot be ‘turned back on’. Repeated testing on the same individual has detrimental effects on their mental capacity, frequently resulting in depression in those revived over 10 times. Testing on machines of any kind yields a similar result; the machine will cease and continue operation based on its previous state. A machine which has failed or ceased operation due to other circumstances outside of the effects of SCP-4XXX cannot be resumed through the Power button.
- Muting: When pointed at an object and pressed, the object will immediately lose or gain the ability to create noise, depending on the previous state. As above, objects without means of making noise experience no effect. On biological subjects, any sound that would be made simply (such as footsteps, clapping, etc.) has no volume, to both the affected individual and others. Affected individuals can still hear others speaking to them. Tested on both humans and animals with similar results.
- TV: When pointed at an object with a screen (such as a laptop or monitor), the object will immediately gain the ability to pick up local and national television stations. This is done anonymously; no receiver will be created to facilitate objects being able to pick up local or national stations. Of note: Despite SCP-4XXX and SCP-4XXX-1 being manufactured before 2009, SCP-4XXX-1 can pick up digital signals without the use of a DTV Adaptor, and SCP-4XXX converts all display screens to TVs capable of picking up digital signals, again without the use of a DTV Adaptor. Testing into how this is possible has gone inconclusive.
- Numbered Buttons 0-9, and [+/-]: When pointed at an object and pressed on their own, no effect. Must be used in conjunction with one of the following buttons for effect, pressed before inputting number (Note: Button label has no direct correlation to its effect);
Display/Reveal: Accepts inputs 0-2. Other numbers and [+/-] have no effect. When pointed at any biological organism, the subject will switch sexes based on the input.
0: Sex becomes Neutral. Testing has shown the method of carrying this out to be random. Approximately 50% of test subjects will gain both sets of genitals; the other 50% will lose all genitals. This process happens visually instantaneously; High-Speed cameras pointed at affected areas show [REDACTED], though no pain is reported by subjects.
1: Biological sex is changed to Male. Both human and animal female subjects lose organs and chemicals associated with being female and are replaced by male counterpart organs and chemicals. The change happens similarly as described above. Human subjects retain sentience of their former state and most panic upon their condition.
2: Biological sex is changed to Female. Similar results as above.
Text: Accepts inputs 0-999. No effect on biological subjects. Changes the object’s condition, with 0 being factory new, and 999 advancing the age of an object by 999 years. The [+/-] buttons allow for advancement or regression by 1 year per press, allowing progression outside the 0-999 range. Has no apparent upper limit. Going into negative numbers results in objects disappearing and being replaced by materials used to make up the object. Attempting to go beyond what would be -10 results in the disappearance of all material, which is then deemed irrecoverable.
Video / Hold: Accepts inputs 0-999. Similar to Text, but specifically for biological subjects. Changes subject’s age based on the input. Highest recorded age achieved without expiration of a human subject at 1██. Ages above this input result in immediate death. Depending on how high age inputted is, subject’s corpse will show varying levels of decay. A subject who dies in this way can be brought back to life. Subject’s overall health seemingly taken into account; A healthy subject will be able to live at much higher ages than one with a terminal illness. Subjects retain memories when older than their unaltered state, however, going younger results in loss of memory based on years lost. Memories return upon advancement of age. No ill effects take place on mental capacity.
- Select: When pointed at an object or subject, allows for remote to be pointed away from object or subject and still manipulate properties of ‘selected’ object or subject. When Select is pressed for a second time, the previously selected object is no longer selected. No maximum range. Normal pointing and manipulation must be made within line-of-sight and within approximately 50 feet. Stabilizing and laser guiding the remote allows for greater distance between the remote and desired object, though not exceeding 200 feet.
- Wake-up / Sleep: When pointed at a biological subject, the subject will instantly fall asleep or wake up, depending on input. If left undisturbed, a subject instructed to ‘Sleep’ will sleep for 8 hours. Subjects instructed to ‘Wake-up’ will awake immediately, and stay awake for 16 hours. The same instruction may be sent to a subject multiple times, though with increasingly detrimental effects. Subjects instructed to ‘Wake-up’ multiple times begin experiencing standard issues associated with sleep deprivation. Subjects report having no ability to fall asleep during the 16 hour period when ‘Wake-up’ instruction is active. Similarly, subjects instructed to ‘Sleep’ cannot be awoken during the 8 hour period they are asleep. Subjects have been shaken, dumped out of their bed, and had severe bodily injury inflicted to no effect. Upon waking, subjects will typically become aware of any injury, and react appropriately. Subjects instructed to ‘Sleep’ multiple times tend to enter a comatose state after approximately 36 hours of continuous sleep.
- Pic Mode: When pointed at any object, will immediately freeze in space. Testing using this setting has been banned, as freezing is relative to the universe, not to Earth. Of the few tests conducted, massive damage to Site 19 took place, resulting in _ containment breaches, until the nature of this setting was fully understood. Whether or not this was intentional is unknown.
- Vol: When pointed at an object capable of emitting noise, the object will become louder or quieter depending on the button pressed. Through testing, an upper limit of 40 and a lower limit of 0 has been established. Testing has shown that all objects have a default volume of 10. Sounds that are made louder by the remote go up approximately 5 decibels per press, with similar results when going down. Reaching 0 on the volume results similarly to pressing the ‘Muting’ button. Testing above a volume of 25 must be approved by three level 3 researchers, as most noise emitting objects tend to start damaging glass, walls, and foundations of the room. Furthermore, hearing protection is mandatory for testing at these levels. Testing above a volume of 36 is no longer approved (See Incident 4XXX-A). Of Note: If a subject is under the effects of the ‘Muting’ button, and a ‘Vol’ setting is pressed (up or down), ‘Muting’ will cease its effects immediately, and the object in question will regain the ability to make noise.
- AB/Enlarge and PROGR: When pointed at any object and pressed, the object will begin to scale in size up and down. The objects obey the first law of Thermodynamics. This frequently means objects scaled above 3 times their normal size begin to experience structural failure. Objects scaled down less than 50% of their original size begin to experience a similar fate, though typically results in an explosion due to the object becoming too compact. The PROGR up and down buttons scale the object by exactly 5% of their original size with every press. The ‘Enlarge’ button will only scale an object up, but by a significantly higher rate (50% every press) compared to the ‘PROGR’ button. Under no circumstance is SCP-4XXX to be pointed at a wall or other structural portion of any building when using this control. See Incident 4XXX-B.
- Text CLR: When pointed at any object that has been modified by SCP-4XXX, the object will return to its original state before alterations took place. If pressed on an object that has not been affected by SCP-4XXX, or is in its original state, a series of random effects will take place on the object. This can be as mundane as increasing the size of the object by 10%, or, in one instance, as severe as [DATA EXPUNGED], causing massive structural damage to Site 19 and requiring Class-A Amnestics to be distributed to the local civilian population. The subject was not recovered from the experiment. Testing with this setting is strictly monitored, pending permanent ban.
Recovery: SCP-4XXX and SCP-4XXX-1 were recovered from the personal belongings of █████ █████████, in ████████, VA on 9/23/1998. Local police were called in when reports of a ‘loud bang’ were heard from the subject’s house. Upon arrival, police found portions of the subject and subject’s house strewn all over his front yard. An autopsy showed the subject had been struck with a relatively small object in the chest based on the entrance wound, but the size of the exit wound and subsequent destruction to the house could not be explained by investigators. Embedded SCP agents within the local government caught wind of the strange circumstances surrounding █████’s death and subsequently launched an investigation. This lead to the discovery of SCP-4XXX (and SCP-4XXX-1), after an investigator attempted to use the remote on the TV, missed, and instead caused all power in the house to shut off.
Testing Log 4XXX-A
Note to Researchers: For clarity; Refer to ‘Display/Reveal’ as ‘Sex Change’, ‘Text’ as ‘Object Condition’ and ‘Video/Hold’ as ‘Biological Condition’ regarding inputs.
Date: 9/25/1998
Purpose: Establishment of SCP-4XXX’s capabilities
Object/Subject: SCP-4XXX-1
Input: Multiple different inputs (see results)
Results: Initial tests showed nothing to be happening, aside from normal operation of the TV. Level 1 Researcher Davidson suggested trying SCP-4XXX on a different TV of the same model.
Note: Following tests revealed nature of SCP-4XXX-1, and was labeled shortly afterward.
Date: 9/25/1998
Purpose: Establishment of SCP-4XXX’s capabilities
Object/Subject: Sony KV-1484 Model Television. Light cosmetic damage. Unplugged.
Input: Power, PROGR
Results: TV turned on. Noted that TV was unplugged. Attending Researcher attempted to switch channels, but instead increased the size of the Television. After a 15% increase in size, television ceased operation. Decreasing size did not resume operation. An internal inspection revealed that some wires disconnected when size was increased.
Date: 9/26/98-9/28/98
Purpose: Establishment of SCP-4XXX’s capabilities
Object/Subject: D-4XXX-1
Input: Power, Muting, Sex Change, Biological Condition, Select, Wake-Up/Sleep, Vol, AB/Enlarge and PROGR, Pic Mode
Results: Testing results abbreviated for simplicity’s sake. Nearly fully established the capabilities of SCP-4XXX. Pic Mode could not be understood at the time of testing, as D-4XXX-1 suddenly disappeared from the testing chamber, creating a hole in the roof of Site-19. Future tests regarding the establishment of SCP-4XXX’s capabilities have been removed for brevity's sake.
Date: 11/2/98
Purpose: Establishing what SCP-4XXX defines as an object
Object/Subject: Two pieces of wood board were cut to form a dovetail notch, and placed together.
Input: PROGR
Results: Only one of the boards increased in size, while the other remained the same, save for being slightly deformed by the increased size of the other half.
Date: 11/3/98
Purpose: Establishing what SCP-4XXX defines as an object
Object/Subject: Two pieces of wood board, nailed together.
Input: PROGR
Results: Both boards (and nails) increased in size.
Note: It seems 4XXX wants things attached in a way that is more permanent than not. I recommend continuing to define what this means further.
Date: 11/4/98
Purpose: Establishing what SCP-4XXX defines as an object
Object/Subject: Two pieces of paper, glued together with a store bought glue stick, left to dry for 15 minutes.
Input: PROGR
Results: Both pieces expanded in size.
On 2/2/2005, a Level 2 Researcher, █████ █████████, received approval from a supervising Level 3 researcher to conduct testing with SCP-4XXX. Researcher █████████ began testing on a D-Class personal (D-4XXX-45, later identified as John ███████. Notable for being deaf since birth.) using the volume settings. Unbeknownst to the Foundation at the time, both Researcher █████████ and D-4XXX-45 were Chaos Insurgency agents, with an apparent mission to sabotage the containment of SCP-███. The researcher █████████ used the volume setting well above approved levels, putting D-4XXX-45’s volume at 40 within seconds. A partial video transcript is available below…
[2/2/05; 09:35:03] Researcher █████████ and D-4XXX-45 enter the testing chamber.
[2/2/05; 09:35:14] Researcher █████████ increases the volume of D-4XXX-45 to 40 within seconds. Security notices, and begins to advise Researcher █████████ to stop immediately.
[2/2/05; 09:35:20] D-4XXX-45 claps once, lightly. The sound of his hands hitting each other register at over 130 dB. Security and Researcher █████████ wince and cover their own ears in pain.
[2/2/05; 09:35:25] D-4XXX-45 then inhales sharply and screams. The resulting shockwave destroys the testing chamber, and footage from around the building shows staff and other personnel in various states of covering their ears and being knocked down due to the wave.
[2/2/05; 09:35:32] D-4XXX-45 begins running towards the containment chamber for SCP-███. Each footstep on the ground results in additional shockwaves, which begin causing partial containment breaches throughout the facility. Security is unable to approach due to being continually knocked down.
The camera within the testing chamber then fails as a result of being knocked off the wall. Post-Incident reports indicate D-4XXX-45 had not anticipated the resounding shockwaves from each of his footsteps or was expecting Researcher █████████ to reverse the effects. Shortly after leaving the testing chamber, the ceiling collapsed, crushing and killing him. Agent Stanton, who was in the chamber when the incident started, managed to get a hold of SCP-4XXX and return D-4XXX-45 (post-death, as rubble falling on his body was still being amplified) to a normal state, all while his ears were actively bleeding.
Agent Stanton was awarded the Foundation Silver Star for his role in stopping further damage and halting the attempted sabotage. SCP-███ was secured, along with 4 other SCPs who breached containment during the incident. Repairs to Site-19 were completed over the following month. Researcher █████████, who survived the incident, was detained, questioned, and terminated. Special Containment Procedures were modified after this incident in an effort to prevent other Insurancey agents from accessing SCP-4XXX.
On 6/17/2011, A Level 3 Researcher (███ ████████) missed hitting his intended target while using the ‘Enlarge’ input. At the time, Site-19’s Testing chambers were undergoing a refitting, and testing was taking place in temporary setups right outside the main facility. The entire temporary testing building Researcher ████████ was in expanded in size and subsequently began falling apart. No one was hurt during the incident, and the Researcher ████████ was reprimanded.
Note from Site-19 Director: I write this as a reminder to all personnel to double and triple check the procedures when it comes to this sort of thing, and that goes for EVERYONE. Imagine, briefly, that a person using SCP-4XXX ‘missed’, and the next thing it modifies is Site-19 itself, or worse yet, Earth. I don’t want to hear about another occurrence like this again.
Per 
