Scarlet-Bread

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Thanks for reading!

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▸ More by this Author ◂

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Translations:

F.A.Q.

Scarlet Bread (Current Version)

You come down
With your thorns in your crown,
Tearing the flesh from your skull;


And the trick of the brain
Is the trickle in vein,
As it drips from your ears and your nostrils;

Item#: 5231

Level3

Containment Class:

safe

Secondary Class:

none

Disruption Class:

vlam

Risk Class:

notice

link to memo

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SCP-5231-A

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Special Containment Procedures: An example of SCP-5231 is to be kept in a standard low-security filing cabinet in Containment Archive A, at Site 18. Samples of SCP-5231-A are to be kept in a low-security laboratory refrigerator at the same site, Active Laboratory 3, East Wing. Testing is to be conducted once daily, using D-Class personnel with a history of mental illness. Researchers are permitted to order the production of more SCP-5231-A from the site cafeteria, and provide SCP-5231 to authorized cafeteria personnel.

Cafeteria personnel authorized to bake SCP-5231-A are not to disseminate instructions for production. Doing so is considered a Class 2 Veil Protocol Violation, and will result in amnestization and termination.¹

Foundation web-crawlers are to monitor popular cooking websites and social media groups for instances of SCP-5231. Any discovered will be immediately scrubbed, and replaced with similar non-anomalous recipes. Web pages modified in this manner will remain under automated observation, to ensure past visitors do not further disseminate instructions for the production of SCP-5231-A.

Description: SCP-5231 is a recipe for the production of anomalous sourdough bread (henceforth classified as SCP-5231-A). This recipe shows only minor deviations from standard, non-anomalous baking instructions, and the majority of deviations that do exist primarily involve creative visualization and cognitive reframing techniques consistent with New Thought philosophy. These techniques also show some influence from Catholic contemplated prayer.²

Ingestion of SCP-5231-A has a variety of beneficial psychiatric effects. Testing with D-Class personnel who have tested above 20 on generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder batteries has shown SCP-5231-A to have greater efficacy than nearly all anti-depressant medication currently on the wider civilian pharmaceutical market. These psychiatric effects have no known cause. Extensive chemical testing has revealed absolutely no difference between SCP-5231-A and samples of non-anomalous sourdough bread created with similar ingredients.

Take my hand,
Leave my heart to the damned —
As you build me a bed in the earth;

SCiPNET LOGIN

name
affiliation

34f8b37f8b4da584e33406ee50c11ed4_1627680088

Login

collapsible

ACCESS GRANTED

CLASSIFIED

Testing Log

SCP-5231 (Provisional)

Purpose of Experiment: Determine anomalous properties and draft containment procedures Date/Location: May 11, 2020 Site-18 General Research Wing

Name: Dr. Mike Segal Junior Containment Specialist Result: SCP-5231 Official Designation Granted

Background

SCP-5231 was retrieved on May, 10, 2020 from a Catholic church site in [REDACTED], UT, following an altercation between county sheriff's deputies and churchgoers. According to surviving deputies interviewed by the Foundation, congregants from the compound had repeatedly invited local law enforcement to church services and functions, particularly potlucks, eventually leading to something of a culinary following among department staff.

Following the altercation, and subsequent involvement of local law enforcement and destruction of the compound, 238 loaves of SCP-5231-A were discovered in a sealed vault behind the main worship area.

Test Conclusions:

SCP-5231 presents anomalous psychological effects, primarily presenting as improved mood and rapid alleviation of symptoms associated with depression. Further testing is required to determine source of effects, as preliminary testing indicates no unusual additives present in SCP-5231.

SCP-5231 should only be consumed during testing. Once we have the recipe, we'll know more about the mechanism behind its anomalous effects. Additionally, authorization procedures are being drawn up for members of the Site 18 kitchen staff with proper clearance. If there's nothing dangerous to this anomaly, it might be a good idea to mass produce the stuff, just to have it on hand. It's quite delicious, I'm told.
false

Peel back my skin,
Let the daffodils in,
As you bury me back to my birth —

Subject	D-83791;
Protocol	Subject was given one slice of SCP-5231.
Results	Subject reported wholesome, buttery taste. Improved mood attributed to perceived safety of test.

Subject	D-13982;
Protocol	Subject was given one slice of SCP-5231.
Results	Subject reported wholesome, buttery taste. Subject was given standard Foundation Mood Assessment Exam, and proceeded to score two standard deviations above D-Class average. Subject was then given a battery of generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder assessments. Subject scored 0 on all assessments, consistent with total alleviation of anxiety and depression symptoms.

Subject	D-49612; This subject was sourced from Site-18 D-Class suicide watch ward after an unsuccessful suicide attempt.
Protocol	Subject was given one slice of SCP-5231.
Results	Subject reported wholesome, buttery taste. Subject was given standard Foundation Mood Assessment Exam, and proceeded to score two standard deviations above D-Class average. Subject was then given a battery of generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder assessments. Subject scored 0 on all assessments, consistent with total alleviation of anxiety and depression symptoms.

But you could always make me hurt…

ACCESS GRANTED

CLASSIFIED

Interview Log

SCP-5231 (Provisional)

Purpose of Interview: Determine extent of SCP-5231 effect among local law enforcement Date/Location: May 11, 2020 Site-18 General Research Wing

Interviewed: Cpl. Robert Gutierrez [REDACTED] County Sheriff's Department Interviewer: Dr. Amy Weatstone Senior Containment Specialist

Foreword: Cpl. Gutierrez was one of two surviving sheriff's deputies following the altercation at Mt. Crimson Evangelical Church in [REDACTED], UT on May 10, 2020. The only other survivor, Dep. Sage O'Donnell, was found in critical condition by emergency medical personnel and later placed into a chemically-induced coma by Foundation medical personnel.

↓ Begin Log, 11:17 p.m. ↓

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Dr. Weatstone: Good evening, Corporal. I know having this interview right now must not be easy for you, but you must understand…

Cpl. Gutierrez: Please, ask away. I'm fine, I assure you.

Dr. Weatstone: … Well, let's start there. You're 'fine,' you say… I think I can be forgiven for harboring some doubts. I've met seasoned military personnel who would most certainly not be fine after tonight's events.

Cpl. Gutierrez: Well, all I can say is that I'm happy to be in one piece. I'm definitely worried about Deputy O'Donnell, but I've seen her power through worse.

Dr. Weatstone: Worse? Corporal, she took three gunshots to the face, one of them at point-blank range. Additionally, over 60 percent of her body suffered third-degree burns. Her left leg will almost certainly have to be amputated, and the injuries to her chest aren't consistent with any kind of firearm we're familiar with.

Cpl. Gutierrez: What I mean is that it's a miracle she's alive. I've known Sage for a while, and believe me, she's not the kind of girl who'd want anyone crying over the sacrifices she's made. If our roles had been reversed, she'd say the same about me.

Dr. Weatstone: I… I suppose I can only say that's a remarkably mature point of view, Corporal. How old did you say you were?

Cpl. Gutierrez: 26.

Dr. Weatstone: I see… And how long have you been attending services at Mt. Crimson?

Cpl. Gutierrez: Couldn't have been more than a few months… Since last November, I guess. I only ever went once or twice, though. Sage was the real devotee. Last week, she and a few of the guys were talking about maybe being baptized into the church.

Dr. Weatstone: Did she or anyone else ever talk about joining the compound?

Cpl. Gutierrez: Full time, you mean?

Dr. Weatstone: That's right.

Cpl. Gutierrez: Not to my knowledge. Though I wouldn't be surprised if she'd been mulling it over. Sage spent practically all her time at the compound. I'm told her husband even thought she was having an affair with someone, maybe the pastor.

Dr. Weatstone: Was that the case?

Cpl. Gutierrez: No. She was baking muffins, most likely.

Dr. Weatstone: Muffins?

Cpl. Gutierrez: Sage had a huge thing for cooking. She spent a lot of her downtime watching that British baking show³. Once she hooked up with some of the ladies up at the compound, she joined their cooking group. Made sandwiches for homeless folks, fed the whole church after Sunday service… Every Monday morning, she showed up with this really great sourdough for everyone on the force. Man, I could sure go for some right now… Light and fluffy… So damn buttery…"

Dr. Weatstone: I see… We'll be continuing this interview shortly, Corporal.

Cpl. Gutierrez: Sure, sure.

<End Log>

Interview Conclusions:

SCP-5231 effects are almost certainly present within Cpl. Gutierrez, and likely Dep. O'Donnell as well. Foundation specialists operating under the guise of counseling services have been dispatched to the relevant law enforcement organizations, as well as any close friends or family who may have consumed SCP-5231.

Additionally, MTF Epsilon-6 ("Village Idiots") has been dispatched to what's left of St. Erika's to recover the recipe, if possible. I'm authorizing the deployment of a Foundation web-crawler to make sure the recipe hasn't spread too widely online, once we know what we're looking for.

As a final note, Junior Containment Specialist Segal has been reprimanded and placed on temporary leave, following his personal testing of SCP-5231. I agree with his conclusions regarding the apparent harmlessness of the anomaly, but I'll be damned if we start breaking protocol just to have a snack.
Dr. Amy Weatstone

Scarlet Bread Pitch

(SevatarMobile) It's bread! It's a loaf of homemade bread. Eating it has anti-psychotic properties. It cures depression and schizophrenia and all sorts of things!

(SevatarMobile) Meanwhile, investigation starts revealing unusual things... It was created with human sacrifice? And it's not doing anything medically, it's... Doing something spiritual?

(SevatarMobile) More tests. Higher doses of this bread can cure BLINDNESS! That's really strange. Also, some frequent users are reporting weird aches and pains... Surely that's not related, is it...?

(SevatarMobile) More investigation, maybe an exploration log. It was definitely created with human sacrifices. Lots of them. And the end goal seems to be to create some kind of method of 'seeing the true nature of reality'... Wtf is this stuff?!

(SevatarMobile) More tests. The D-Class are doing great, except for the pain. It's getting worse. Moreover, some site staff has gotten into the pantry. Small doses can't hurt, can it...?

(SevatarMobile) Then, all hell breaks loose. A recipe has hit the internet, and made it to Good Morning America.

(SevatarMobile) Thousands are now eating this bread every day. The broadcast was halted, but all too late. The worst part is, it contains no anomalous ingredients. It's easy to make, anyone can do it.

(SevatarMobile) The pain is getting worse. MUCH worse. And the D-Class claim to 'understand' now.

(SevatarMobile) Finally, the Foundation figures it out.

(SevatarMobile) This bread has transsubstantiated, in a sick perversion of the Christian eucharist.

(SevatarMobile) The Bread has been transformed into flesh.

(SevatarMobile) The Scarlet King's Flesh.

(SevatarMobile) And it opens the eyes and hearts of those who eat it, so they may understand His primordial agony.

(SevatarMobile) Millions around the world 'get it' now.

(SevatarMobile) They understand where the Scarlet King is coming from.

Scarlet Bread Outline

1) ConProcs
2) Description
3) Discovery/Test Logs
4) Interview
5) Exploration Log (SCP-reclassification)
6) Testing Logs (Blindness Cure and Pains)
7) [kvlt shit!]
8) Exploration Log (Human Sacrifices!)
8x) Orthodox/Erikesh Icons
9) Testing Log (Site Staff)
10) Containment Breach 1
11) Containment Breach 2 (After-Incident Report)
12) Reclassification (Uncontained)
13) [kvlt shit, erikesh shit]
14) Testing Logs (Agony)
15) Testing Logs (Transubstantiation)
16) Interview Logs (Sage O'Donnell)
16x) Children Summon Something Big! And the Foundation Nukes It
17) O5 Conclusions
18) Ennui Vote Fails
19) Incident Report (2000 Fails)
20) Declaration of War Against Reality
21) Emergency Communications (Gluten-Free Resistance)

You Come Down

You come down with your thorns in your crown
Tearing the flesh from your skull
And the trick of the brain is the trickle in vein
As it drips from your ears and your nostril
But you could always make the lakes fill up

Take my hand leave my heart to the damned
As you build me a bed in the earth
Peel back my skin let the daffodils in
As you bury me back to my birth
But you could always make me hurt

Cause I will go to the ends of the Earth
Just to hear you sing
Make no mistake
But the heartache of my weight
Feels like the breath of the wind
Without the force to push me on

Plough through the soil, hear the crunch of the foil
As you unwrap the bread of my heart
Chew through the bones, close your ears to the moans
Of you I now am a part
But how long can you hold on to your head?

Take my lungs, pour the songs that we've sung
Into a ready-made flask
Mouth open wide as you drink it inside
Drips through the hole in your mask
But you could always make me hurt

Scarlet Bread Cutting Room

Addendum: Post-Contact Interview

Interviewed: Cpl. Robert Gutierrez, ████████ County Sheriff's Department

Interviewer: Senior Containment Director Amy Weatstone

Foreword: Cpl. Gutierrez was one of two surviving sheriff's deputies following the altercation at Mt. Crimson Evangelical Church in ████ ██████, UT on May 10, 2020. The only other survivor, Dep. Sage O'Donnell, was found in critical condition by first responders and later placed into a chemically-induced coma by Foundation medical personnel.

<Begin Log, 11:17 p.m.>

Dir. Weatstone: Good evening, Corporal. I know having this interview right now must not be easy for you, but you must understand…

Cpl. Gutierrez: Please, ask away. I'm fine, I assure you.

Dir. Weatstone: … Well, let's start there. You're 'fine,' you say… I think I can be forgiven for harboring some doubts. I've met seasoned military personnel who would most certainly not be fine after tonight's events.

Cpl. Gutierrez: Well, all I can say is that I'm happy to be in one piece. I'm definitely worried about Deputy O'Donnell, but I've seen her power through worse.

Dir. Weatstone: Worse? Corporal, she took three gunshots to the face, one of them at point-blank range. Additionally, over 60 percent of her body suffered third-degree burns. Her left leg will almost certainly have to be amputated, and the injuries to her chest aren't consistent with any kind of firearm we're familiar with.

Cpl. Gutierrez: What I mean is that it's a miracle she's alive. I've known Sage for a while, and believe me, she's not the kind of girl who'd want anyone crying over the sacrifices she's made. If I our roles had been reversed, she'd say the same about me.

Dir. Weatstone: I… I suppose I can only say that's a remarkably mature point of view, Corporal. How old did you say you were?

Cpl. Gutierrez: 26.

Dir. Weatstone: I see… And how long have you been attending services at Mt. Crimson?

Cpl. Gutierrez: Couldn't have been more than a few months… Since last November, I guess. I only ever went once or twice, though. Sage was the real devotee. Last week, she and a few other guys were talking about maybe being baptized into the church.

Dir. Weatstone: Did she or anyone else ever talk about joining the compound?

Cpl. Gutierrez: Full time, you mean?

Dir. Weatstone: That's right.

Cpl. Gutierrez: Not to my knowledge. Though I wouldn't be surprised if she'd been mulling it over. Sage spent practically all her time at the compound. I'm told her husband even thought she was having an affair with someone, maybe the pastor.

Dir. Weatstone: Was that the case?

Cpl. Gutierrez: No. She was baking muffins, most likely.

Dir. Weatstone: Muffins?

Cpl. Gutierrez: Sage had a huge thing for cooking. She spent a lot of her downtime watching that British baking show⁴. Once she hooked up with some of the ladies up at the compound, she joined their cooking group. Made sandwiches for homeless folks, fed the whole church after Sunday service… Every Monday morning, she showed up with this really great sourdough for everyone on the force. Man, I could sure go for some right now… Light and fluffy… Rich, savory flavor…"

Dir. Weatstone: I see… We'll be continuing this interview shortly, Corporal.

Cpl. Gutierrez: Sure, sure.

<End Log>

Exploration Log: Mt. Crimson Evangelical Church

Exploration Video Log Transcript

Date: May 11, 2020

Exploration Team: MTF Epsilon-6 ("Village Idiots")

Subject: Mt. Crimson Evangelical Church

Team Lead: Sgt. Leslie Gibson ("Alpha")

Team Members: Pvt. Mike Segal ("Beta"); Pvt. Darold Jackson ("Gamma"); Pvt. Gerard Thomas ("Delta");

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[BEGIN LOG]

//Team approaches remains of Mt. Crimson compound.

Person A: Dialogue

Person B: Dialogue

STUFF HAPPENS

Person A: Dialogue

[END LOG]

Footnotes

1. That is, termination of employment. We won't shoot you over some home-baked bread! - Dr. Mike Segal

2. Particularly St. Teresa of Ávila's The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection.

3. Based on streaming service data, this was most likely The Great British Bake Off.

4. Based on streaming service data, this was most likely The Great British Bake Off.