Per 
Seeking Greenlights: Yes
Page Type: SCP Article
Genre (Optional): Horror
Elevator Pitch: A few of the Planets and Moons in the solar system are specially-suited to contain massive anomalies in their cores. Earth is not exempt from this.
Central Narrative:
During the discovery and investigation of scp-2399, the foundation started an initiative to search other phenomenon in the solar system to determine if they were anomalous or natural in origin. What they found was that among the moons of Jupiter, several of the moons were actually containing a large SCP each. The moons seemed to be structured in such a way to keep the SCP contained. (Io's active core seemed to keep at a temperature that kept the SCP at bay, with volcanos spewing out excess heat to keep the moons temperature stable. Europa's Icy crust was to keep the SCP cold, and the magnetosphere of Ganymede keeps the Scp's power in check)
[O-4 clearance and above]: After much searching the SCP foundation stopped looking up and instead started looking down. Whatever Earth contains, it was not by chance we have water and a large moon that is capable of complete solar eclipses. To prevent panic this information is kept to Clearance 4 and above until more is learned about the SCP earth contains within its core.
Hook/Attention-Grabber: We thought SCP 2399 was coming for us, but after looking up we realized we really should have been looking down. Now are we helping with containment of this new SCP or hindering it?
Additional Notes: Currently struggling with an engaging story, need to work on how I can bring this article without it being simply a list of observable containment procedures. I was thinking of having the list be the main article and the story of the shock of earths core be the narrative.
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Safe?
Special Containment Procedures: None.
Description: SCP-XXXX is a series of anomalous entities found in the cores of celestial bodies within our Solar System. None of the entities (referred to as SCP-XXXX-X) have been directly observed and all attempts to contact the entities require approval from the O5 Council. Inferences on the entities attributes, capabilities and deficiencies have been made based on the observations and nature of the celestial body (referred to as SCP-XXXX-XA) that the corresponding SCP-XXXX-X is contained in.
SCP-XXXX was first theorized by Dr. Melerann when assigned to review records of the Project: BEHOLDER1 following the release of Space Policy Directive-42 by SCP-5004-B. Dr. Melerann requested additional study of the Moons of Jupiter after noting the unusual variety in the characteristics and conditions of the moons. A mission was approved to analyze Europa for anomalous behavior with the cover story of an research expedition to search for life under the ice sheets of the moon.
After Confirmation of the existence of SCP-XXXX-1 was made, several other research missions were authorized to the moons of Io, Ganymede, and Callisto. Following the findings of these missions and the confirmation of the existence of SCP-XXXX on each of these moons. Dr. Melerann was assigned to Direct the Research division of Site-(BARRIER array site) for further studies.
The individual entities are classified as SCP-XXXX-1 through SCP-XXXX-8 with the respective celestial bodies containing them classified as SCP-XXXX-1B through SCP-XXXX-10B respectively.
| # | Codename | Celestial Body | Containment Features | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCP-XXXX-1 | Jack Frost | Europa | Ice Sheet insulates core temperature to 200 K. Plumes release pressure on regular basis to maintain stable sub-ocean pressure. High Saline liquid surrounding core. | |
| SCP-XXXX-2 | Salamander | Io | High internal core temperature. Volcanic and tectonic activity. Constant removal of Sulfer Dioxide by Jupiter Magnetosphere. | |
| SCP-XXXX-3 | Magnemite | Ganymede | Strong Magnetosphere. Ocean-rock combination of layers. High Mass and gravity. Hot core. | |
| SCP-XXXX-4 | Flinstone | Callisto | Cold Core. High frequency of Meteroite impacts. High Mass and gravity | |
| SCP-XXXX-5 | Rockefeller | Titan | High in hydrocarbons. Large mass. Nitrogen rich atmosphere. Low in metals. | |
| SCP-XXXX-6 | Non-formatted cell | Charon | Non-formatted cell | |
| SCP-XXXX-7 | Non-formatted cell | Ceres | Non-formatted cell | |
| SCP-XXXX-8 | Non-formatted cell | Mercury | Non-formatted cell | |
| SCP-XXXX-9 | Non-formatted cell | Venus | Non-formatted cell |
[i'm thinking of doing this section as a audio log of Dr. Meleranns notes to himself -thoughts?
SCP-XXXX-1: "SCP-XXXX-1's contaiment seems to hint at the skip thriving in low temperatures and high pressure, like my last marriage. The Icy surface acts as a perfect insualtor to keep temperature stable and relatively warm, but pressure low. There is a potential that the skip does not like Saline liquids, but then again who does like salty water? Initial probe team encountered a strong mementic presence after 87.5 km of drilling into the ice. so potentially the skip finds Ice hard to spread its influence through. I guess we will never know what happened after they kept drilling, you think they would have learned the first time…"
| SCP-XXXX- | Observed Issue | Cause | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCP-XXXX-1 | Increase in ice fissures | Increased activity following SCP Drill Research team | Avoid further contact below 87 km. |
| SCP-XXXX-2 | Increase in open Lava fields | Increased Core Temperature following SCP Research team | If situation worsens send local comets into moon |
| SCP-XXXX-3 | Magnetic Poles Reversal Imminent | Natural Causes | None. Observe and report. |
The Concept
The idea I am going for is something that appears to be a boring "thing that does a thing" on the outside, but has a much deeper purpose underneath.
The deep premise is that it is a being sent to find individuals that have the affinity to the being(s) that sent it. (working on that part still). The biggest thing it wishes to avoid is being detected, as such its actions are designed to allow it to test beings without being found.
To find these individuals without being detected, it appears as a children's shape sorter puzzle. When someone approaches it, it alters its appearance to appear as a shape sorter from their childhood, and then the blocks adopt a form that symbolizes of whatever "elements" they thought of as a child (Typically Fire, water, earth and air for western cultures. Wood, Metal, Earth, Fire and Water for eastern cultures, and Blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm for SCP-049, ect.) From there it gently entices people to interact with it, but not so strong they have an overwhelming compulsion. After a period of time (~20 min), If they did not interact with it, they end up having their life force drained to power the skip, it disguises this event by terminating them using one/all of the elements it portrayed., then it teleports away to try to be a trap/test for someone else. If they did interact with it, the skip doesn't want to draw attention to itself, so it instead reaches out and draws the life force of a family member, while also making the event appear random (A home fire breaks out if they used a fire block, they drown if they use a water block, ect.) another idea related to this is that the skip doesn't want to kill them off because their descendants might have the attributes its looking for. It then remains there and waits for another person to come by.
Should it find a compatible person who interacts with it in a way that meets its puzzle requirements, it then reveals itself and digs into their mental state to find out more about them.
At this time I am trying to decide if the skip is killing off people who meet the requirements, or just those who don't.
The requirements the skip needs to activate are that the person approaching knows nothing about the skip, and be of the age of majority in their culture. If anyone has any idea about the skip and/or instructions on how to interact with it, the skip stays dormant because it wouldn't be an accurate test, and it doesn't want to waste resources.
Initially the SCP Foundation just let it sit in a containment room, and retrieved it from time to time when it teleported out, however the time between breaches became faster and faster over time, and the distance of travel grew greater and greater. It was then decided to wait until near the end of the time window before giving it a candidate.
The Narrative
History
After being around, searching and draining people for thousands of years, the skip was eventually found out and dubbed a "murder box". It was used in assassinations for a long time for a few reasons:
-The Skip being inert with individuals who knew about, and deadly to those that didn't, it could be safely handled by the assassin and those involved.
-The Skip could be given to the offspring of the target, rather than the target since it would target family members if interacted with.
-After a set time period, the skip would just simply teleport away in its search of a new candidate. Thus removing the evidence of its use and existence.
-As it drained the life of a target, it would make it look like an accident involving one of the elements, thus making it harder to detect that it was an assassination in the first place.
Because of this, it was just assumed to be a "thing that does a thing". MC&D bought and sold the item dozens of times (MC&D retrieved the skip after uses since they kept the knowledge of where it went from the clients), until the point where it had a waiting list for people looking to acquire it. As all Higher Executives were familiar with the item, it was harmless as long as it was fed candidates on regular basis before a time period elapsed resulting in it relocating away. It was found out over time that the time period was not random, but instead it was based on factors such as:
-blocks manipulated during interaction
-age of drained individual
-days since last solstice/equinox
-length of time since last test
Because of this MC&D was able to profit from the skip, and sell the formula for an even greater bonus profit, since everything has a price.
MC&D enjoyed this steady income until one day, many of its higher executives started dying from "Accidents". At that point the organization realized the skip ended up with a rising star employee, and he was removing his competition within the organization. From there they spent a small fortune in Resources reacquiring the skip after the employee fled.
From there MC&D approached the SCP for containment. Initially they asked for a excessive price to "Cover their costs of acquisition" to which the SCP informed them they knew all about what had happened within their leadership (SCP spies within the company had leaked the info). After this MC&D and the SCP came to a reasonable agreement. Upon the acquisition of the skip, MC&D then offered to sell them the formula, to which the SCP responded by informing them there were plenty of families with knowledge of SCP'S that they didnt like, so if they wont give the formula, they will just find it out the old fashioned way. MC&D then handed over the rudimentary formula.
The Incident
A D-class was chosen to be a candidate for the skip who had a issue with impulse control (the kind of guy who cant keep his mouth shut). Ended up putting the blocks in the correct combination to trigger the skip. The skip then activated and proceeded to probe the mind of the D-Class. The SCP foundation personnel proceeded to perk up, and activated the array of recording and monitoring equipment in preparation to observe the death event. However after a few minutes, the D-Class proceeded to walk away, unharmed.
The following is proceedings of the interview:
Dr. Lead Researcher: D-XXXX we are debriefing you now on your incident with SCP-XXXX
D-XXXX: Sure Doc, are you at least gonna give me some coffee to marinate with? Maybe a rub? Anything before you grill me?
Dr. Lead Researcher: D-XXXX your attitude is unacceptable and will be shown in my report. Are you ready to continue now?
D-XXXX: Sorry, didnt mean to offend, just couldnt help myself.
Dr. Lead Researcher: Please keep the answers as simple as possible, a yes would have sufficed.
D-XXXX: Yes
Dr. Lead Researcher: Good. My first question is if you knew anything about SCP-XXXX before your encounter?
D-XXXX: No.
Dr. Lead Researcher: Did you receive any instructions on how to interact with SCP-XXXX before or during your incident with SCP-XXXX either directly or indirectly?
D-XXXX: Uuuuuuh No?
Dr. Lead Researcher: Describe your encounter with SCP-XXXX
D-XXXX: Ummmm we chatted, he left, it was a good talk.
Dr. Lead Researcher: Could you be more specific?
D-XXXX: Well, we talked about the people he was looking for, what the world was like and a bit about Swedish death metal and blow up dolls.
Dr. Lead Researcher: D-XXXX if you are not going to cooperate, we will terminate you right now for insubordination. Give me specifics on your conversation from the beginning.
D-XXXX: Sorry, ummmm, well He started by talking about checking me out if I was compatible and stuff, then I said some things and then we talked about the current state of affairs in the world.
Dr. Lead Researcher: What specifically did you say first to SCP-XXXX?
D-XXXX: I would rather not say….
The Cocking of a gun is heard
D-XXXX: OKAY OKAY! I ummm…. told it that …… (Whispers)
Dr. Lead Researcher: Speak up. Now.
D-XXXX: I told it that it's Mom was who I was looking for……
Silence ensues for about 20 seconds.
Dr. Lead Researcher: ARE YOU #($#@)! SERIOUS???!!??! FIRST ENCOUNTER AND YOU SAY WHAT?!?!?
There is the sound of a table being flipped and a slamming door.
Several hours later there is the sound of a door being opened, someone walks in and the sound of a scraping chair is heard.
Dr. Bright: Hello D-XXXX, my name is Dr. Bright, I am the Site Director for our little place here. I understand you have upset our Lead researcher a bit.
D-XXXX: Yes sir. I am sorry sir.
Dr. Bright: He mentioned you told a "your mom" joke to SCP-XXXX in your first encounter?
D-XXXX: Yes sir.
Dr. Bright: Well let me just tell you this is highly irregular D-XXXX, highly irregular and absolutely HILARIOUS! I mean did you see the look on __'S Face? Man I wish I had a camera for that! It was the best thing I have seen this entire year! That man has a stick up him so big that I think its a tree!
D-XXXX: Your…. Not mad?
Dr. Bright: Mad? Oh heavens no! I think that
Dr Cim: Thank you for meeting with XXXX
O5-XX: Im not happy Dr. Cim, this has to be one of the stupidest things that has ever come across my desk, and in all my years I have had some really dumb things
Dr. Cim: I’m sorry you feel that way XXXX, but the data is there, this program will solve many of our personnel, resource and morale issues we are facing.
O5-XX: I still don't like it, D class are meant to be resources, not personnel. We have more than enough of your pencil pushers, we need more fodder.
Dr. Cim: And I agree, that is the issue, but this is a new world XXXX. We no longer have a few hundred SCP’s and a limitless supply of Death row inmates to feed them to. The world is rejecting the Death Penalty, and the goverments that would have supplied us, like the CCP, are realizing the vast profit to be found in Labor camps and Force Organ harvesting. Not to mention that the number of SCP’s being discovered is growing Exponentially. Our D-Classes are becoming a valuable commodity.
O5-XX: So? That just means we need to save the fodder for the more risky situations, and use those new kids to do the stuff that doesn't need a D-Class. I think most of those brats are way too entitled anyways, they need to have a healthy dose of fear to build some respect for their work. Besides isn't that lifer recruitment system of yours working to fill our D-Class ranks?
Dr. Cim: It is.
O5-XX: See? Problem solved. No need to add this program I-
Dr. Cim: If I may interrupt XXXX, you keep assuming that the individuals we are recruiting are usless, stupid miscreants who have no hope at ever being anything other than a criminal. Many of these “Lifers” and even a few of the death row inmates are Doctors, Scientists, accountants and technicians, skills we are always in need of. Even the ones who came from the streets and crime life tend to have more flexible minds than those who came from the recruiters.
These people are a resource we can utilize and use to grow the foundation, and at the same time the foundation can provide them a path to reformation. A D-Class Lifer who has agreed to 10 years here can become more proficient at the containment procedure for SCP-2317 than some research assistant who has to have someone hold up the book for him so he doesn't screw up, eventually they can be given the opportunity to take over that ceremony as a point of pride, rather than fear.
O5-XX: That job really is a waste of researcher resources.
Dr. Cim: I’m pretty sure that job keeps the world from ending.
O5-XX tenses up for a moment, then relaxes.
O5-XX: Of course, of course. But that does bring me to the other point. Treating these D-Class as personnel encourages emotional bonds forming, which makes it harder for our staff to do what needs to be done. The whole point of assigning them a number is to dehumanize them as much as possible. They are meant to be used and tossed aside, to be replaced with another faceless number.
Dr.Cim: That is the intent. But do you not think a D-Class who has successfully cleaned SCP-173’s containment cell for over 5 years has not developed emotional bonds with the researchers? Not only that but should that D-Class die, morale will suffer. If he wants to stay after the end of his term, why not? We are not looking to promote all the D-Class’s to Secondary Research aides, but simply the best.
O5-XX: Your kidding? D-XXXX is still doing that job?
Dr.Cim: He is, and in fact he now handles all the training and scheduling of cleanup duty. Nobody will care more that the job is done right than the guy whose life is on the line.
O5-XX looks thoughtful, after a moment he sits up and puts his elbows on the conference desk.
O5-XX: Fine. I'll approve this little test project for you and D-YYYY. I still think it's a waste of time, but I have been wrong before.
With that O5-XX gets up and walks over to the door. Pausing, he looks over to Dr. Cim.
O5-XX: Your little Ethics committee was the worst thing to happen to this place.
Dr. Cim smiles and watches him leave. His burn scars making half his mouth still look like a frown.
Dr. Cim: No XXXX, the fact that a committee had to be formed for ethics in the first place is the worst thing that happened to this place.
