The concept for this draft was greenlit by RockTeethMothEyes and cybersqyd, as you can see here
By the authority of Level 04 Nexus Director K. ██████
THIS ENTRY HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR ADDITIONS
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Safe
Level 04 Director of Acquisition J.L. ██████████ has changed the Object Classification to Thaumiel. Entry is to stay listed as Safe.
Special Containment Procedures: Any instances of SCP-XXXX-1 are to be carefully monitored using high-speed camera traps disguised as local government surveillance cameras. Any movement of these instances outside of established areas of appearance is to be logged in file SCP-XXXX-A. Abnormal rate of appearance area expansion or any other abnormality in the appearance of SCP-XXXX are to be reported immediately to SCP-XXXX's level 2 head researcher, Jay Rodes, stationed at Nexus N-25.
Level 04 Nexus Director K. ██████ noted: Please keep your name out of Foundation documentation when your position suffices. Your assigment to this case is not necessarily permanent.
Description: SCP-XXXX is a collection of audiovisual phenomena suggesting that criminal activity is taking place. Appearances are normally limited to a specific housing block, neighbourhood or town. Research has shown a close proximity to a Nexus in seven out of eight known cases of SCP-XXXX.
Thus far, the following phenomena have been ascribed to SCP-XXXX:
Audible
Visual
- Emergency service vehicles – Further described as SCP-XXXX-1
- Derelict vehicles
- Illegible graffiti on walls
No source producing the audible phenomena has been found. Testing (logged in Transcript SCP-XXXX-T1) has shown that observing which direction the sounds originate from is challenging.
Transcript SCP-XXXX-T1
This is Rodes. Jay Rodes, that is, head researcher for this SCP. I suppose I should mention it by name for archival purposes: this log concerns testing of the audible phenomena surrounding SCP-XXXX.
After I got home last night, I met my one of my few neighbours left entering her apartment and mentioned a gunshot that I had heard the night before. I asked if she had heard it, and she confirmed she had been outside our building when it occurred. I asked her whether she had heard where the sound originated from, and she replied that she hadn’t been able to tell, just as I suspected.
This morning before work, I ran into my landlord and asked him the same question. Got the same reply, too. It seems that the sounds that SCP-XXXX make are coming from somewhere, but no one can tell where exactly. I might ask the director fors ome equipment to figure it out.
Level 04 Nexus Director K. ██████ noted: Talking to neighbours on private time was not Foundation-approved research, nor is speaking of your employment to civilians allowed. This deviation has been marked on your permanent record. Request for audio triangulation equipment denied.
Camera imaging has shown that all visual aspects of SCP-XXXX are visible in the range of the electromagnetic range expected for physical objects. However, video recording as well as testing has shown that all instances are intangible. For example, an instance of SCP-XXXX-1 has been observed driving through a traffic light post without any signs of collision left on itself or the post.
Upon closer inspection of any of stationary instances of SCP-XXXX, the instance quickly disappears. Although researchers have studied this, no civilians have been observed inspecting any instance of SCP-XXXX closely, suggesting that the urge to explore is suppressed by the SCP. Suggestion to research possible amnestic effect for foundation use has been submitted.
Level 04 Nexus Director K. ██████ noted: Suggestion for research was deemed unwarranted as more powerful and reliable amnestics are available to the Foundation. There is no clear evidence for an amnestic here. Don’t waste valuable time in the Nexus exploring dead ends, Rodes. The scope of your work is catalogueing entries.
The appearance of SCP-XXXX-1 instances differ in each area but are consistent with local emergency service vehicles. SCP-XXXX-1 instances are of particular interest to understanding the source and nature of SCP-XXXX, as they feature errors in replicating real emergency service vehicles that are obvious to any observer upon inspection [footnote] Although it should be noted that the urge to inspect instances of SCP-XXXX does not seem to occur in those unaware of the anomaly.[/footnote]
Noted errors in replicating emergency service vehicles manifest for one part as spelling errors in the text on the side of the vehicles, including errors such as:
- Plice (Police)
- Depaartmenet (Department)
- Eemurgency (Emergency)
- Fire Fireters (Fire Fighters)
Another aspect of SCP-XXXX’s inconsistencies with real emergency service vehicles lies in the operators of the vehicle. Camera footage has shown that instances of SCP-XXXX-1 are manned by a mannequin in an appropriate uniform. However, both this and the misspellings on the vehicles were not noted by test subjects, suggesting the curiosity-suppressing effect described earlier also takes place to some capacity when briefly in contact with the fast-moving vehicles.
Level 04 Nexus Director K. ██████ noted: Rodes, the transcript below is pure speculation, and therefore does not comply with entry documentation guidelines. Keep the visible facts of the matter as your priority.
The following transcript is accessible only to 04 personnel and up.
Transcript
So, let’s get into it then… This is Jay Rodes, currently head researcher on and neighbour to SCP-XXXX. I’m not going to go into a lot of specifics about the SCP, it’s all in the entry, but I do have some ideas about a possible origin that I’d like to work out.
You see, I was the first to discover this SCP and I really want to get to the bottom of it, so I hope Director K. ██████ will let me research further into these theories. But you’ll already know if that happened, because my request will be in the file you’re reading, of course. I’m still relatively new to being head researcher, so give me a break if I forget little stuff like that. Okay, so let’s get into this.
I got started on this path of thinking when I received something in the mail about five weeks ago, a while after the SCP started manifesting and only just after I started research on it. It was an offer to buy my apartment, from a large development corporation planning to remodel the entire neighbourhood, and they were offering good money for a neighbourhood seemingly infested by crime.
I don’t even blame my neighbours for giving in: if it weren’t for my ridiculously fortunate position to the Nexus I’m studying, I might have even taken them up on it. Even when you know the sounds are fake, a neighbourhood full of gunshots is still unpleasant to live in. But now, I’m glad I didn’t respond.
I got curious, started digging and found out the company, which is named Sperex by the way, is registered under a larger, national trade name: Sperex Construction Projects. Now, why does this matter? Well, this is where it gets interesting. Sperex is planning similar neighbourhood buyout and renovation in all other neighbourhoods where SCP-XXXX is occuring.
That can’t be a coincidence, right? It simply can’t. I think I’m onto something big here, something national. I’m requesting assistance from higher up first thing tomorrow.
Level 04 Nexus Director K. ██████ noted: Request for further research authorisation denied. Request for assistance in research denied. Request to open national investigation denied.
moc.noitadnuofpcs|sedor.j#moc.noitadnuofpcs|sedor.j wrote: Director, why won’t you let me research this? I could be onto something major here!
k.██████@scpfoundation.com wrote: I’m transferring you to another city. Starting 3/11/████, you are to report to Site 19 Director █████. No further research on SCP-XXXX is permitted at the risk of severance.
Level 04 Nexus Director K. ██████ noted: Researcher J. Rodes was transferred to the level 01 internal research department at Site 19. Reasons include investigating SCP-XXXX further without Foundation authorisation and personal obsession with research projects. This entry has been officially marked as satisfactory and has been closed for any additional research. Any inquiries about SCP-XXXX are to be directed directly to the local Nexus Director from here on out.
Classified (Clearance 04) Notice in relation to this entry - Level 04 Director of Acquisition J.L. ██████████
Notice to all 04 level staff and higher
Dear colleagues,
My most sincere apologies for not picking up on this earlier. Special apologies to K████, who I had to have transfer one of his researchers due to my carelessness. I will have someone keep an eye out for troubles like this in the future. Funds for the transfer will be taken from the reserve of the Acquisition Department.
For those of you that were recently appointed to a level 04 position or otherwise do not know what I'm referring to, SCP-XXXX was used by my Department of Nexus Acquisition to make Nexus-adjacent residential areas less financially challenging to acquire. It was a an experiment, and though we were able to acquire the majority of the neighbourhoods for significantly lowered price due to it, there was admittedly an oversight on our part. Researcher Rodes did his job well and registered SCP-XXXX, but as we were having some trouble with the Ethics Committee back then, we decided to keep it below board. Even now, the project is technically level 04 classified, as the Ethics Committee didn't want to retroactively sign off on it.
Kindest regards,
Level 04 Director of Acquisition J.L. ██████████
 |
| A picture taken of SCP-XXXX with the shelves aligned regularly |
SCP-XXXX
Object class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX is to be contained in a storage container measuring no less than 3 x 1.5 x 1 metres to account for SCP-XXXX's anomalous behaviour[[footnote]]SCP-YYYY requires containment rather than simple storage since incident YYYY-B, when test personnel reportedly started using Russian words in day to day speech after interacting with literature previously inserted into SCP-YYYY. This phenomenon has since been noted in two other cases. Simple amnestics should prove sufficient to halt usage of Russian in personnel.[[footnote]]. No books or other objects are to be inserted into SCP-XXXX when not engaged in testing. SCP-XXXX is to be regularly inspected and checked for traces of paper or other abnormalities different from regular idle behavior.
Description: SCP-XXXX is a mahogany bookcase, measuring around 2.5 x 1 meters. The case has been finished with both a dark wood stain and a polyurethane finish according to chemical testing. The edges of the case are littered with holes which likely held screws or nails at a certain point in history, possibly in an attempt to combat the anomalous effects of SCP-XXXX. Testing has revealed that any screws or nails inserted into the case are forcibly resisted and eventually pushed out.
SCP-XXXX autonomously changes its spatial dimensions (the distances between its five shelves as well as the depth of the entire case) to resist the neat storage of any book. It has two main ways of action: it either changes the space between two shelves to always be slightly too narrow to fit the book standing straight up, or it changes the depth of the shelves causing the back of the book to overhang the shelf by about 3 centimeters. Books which are especially non-compliant with SCP-XXXX's preferences, like books with irregular shapes or books printed in the wrong language, are eventually rejected by shortening of the shelf until the book falls out.
SCP-XXXX's behaviour seems to differ depending on the size of the books which are put in: books which are taller than they are deep are most commonly met with a narrowing space between shelves, while deeper books are often confronted with shortened shelves leading to overhang.[[footnote]]YYYY This difference is nullified when books of American print are inserted, since these do not trigger the simple misfitting of the book but an active rejection.[[footnote]]
SCP-XXXX possesses the ability to change its dimensions without any prompt to do so, as observed by security footage of the containment unit it is locked in.
Testing with SCP-XXXX has revealed that the dimension-changing behaviour of the bookcase grows stronger when triangle-shaped objects are put inside, and less prominent when objects with more corners and sides are placed inside. Regular polygons are less severely rejected than irregular ones, but only circular objects have elicited no significant changes relative to SCP-XXXX's idle behaviour.
Testing has shown the severity of the dimension-changing behavior is impacted by the language and era of origin of the books inserted. The only books having been 'accepted' by SCP-XXXX so far have been original Russian works dating between 1952 and 1968, which have been printed in the Soviet Union between those years. Testing with dated books is incomplete due to the low availability of the original copies and thus, this period could be slightly longer on either end. Books which complete any of these prerequisites are less resisted by SCP-XXXX, but are nevertheless subject to the size restrictions of the bookcase.
Through X-ray the build of the case has been shown to be quite unconventional with a double back wall containing multiple pieces of paper, possibly related to its origins or its intended use. Attempts to gain access to these documents through partial destruction of the back wall has led to the traumatic removal of one forearm and four fingers in two seperate D-class personnel assigned to retrieve the documents.
The mahogany is of a subspecies of Swietenia mahagoni which is of import as the case was recovered in [REDACTED], Russia (former Soviet Union) and this wood is native to the south-eastern United States. Dating of the wood by Foundation Carpentry experts has revealed that the lumbering of the wood and most likely the construction of the case took place around 1970, which has provoked further interest in the documents contained in the back board of SCP-XXXX and their nature.
During testing with SCP-XXXX a corner piece of paper was uncovered at the bottom of the backboard. Without any instructions to handle such a situation, the D-class personnel (attempting to fit books written in different languages at that time) tore off the corner before having their hand crushed by lowest shelf rapidly and powerfully descending. Analysis of the paper has shown an age of approximately 45-55 years suggesting further ties to the political events occuring in the United states and the Soviet Union at the time.
Test log: XXXX-05
Protocol: 5 D-class personnel were to attempt to all insert one book of similar size into a different shelf each.
Subject: SCP-XXXX
Team Lead: Dr Ian
[BEGIN LOG]
Dr Ian: Alright, I will count to five, and on five, all of you will put your book in at the same time. Is this understood?
D CLASS PERSONNEL ALL REACT AFFIRMATIVELY
Dr Ian: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
SCP-XXXX PROCEEDS TO LOWER OVERALL HEIGHT TO FIT NONE OF THE BOOKS
[END LOG]
Test log: XXXX-06:
Test 06 attempted to insert into SCP-XXXX a book trimmed down to only 2 centimeters of depth. In response, SCP-XXXX did not shorten its shelf but lowered the shelf above the trimmed book, crushing the flimsy remains until the back of the book broke. Testing the destructive power of SCP-XXXX is suggested.
Per 
