The Cable Box

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX is to be stored in a room measuring 7m on each side. SCP-XXXX is hooked up to a small flat screen television that is to be turned off at all times when not being used for research purposes.

Description: SCP-XXXX is a small, black, cable box that is approximately 4" tall and 9" wide and weighs about 16 ounces. SCP-XXXX was discovered on September 28th [REDACTED] after a police report was sent to the foundation, explaining that on September 14th, a man was shot and killed by police after he attacked and killed an officer. The report states that the man’s wife called emergency services after her husband violently attacked her when she tried to pull her husband away from their television. The woman explained to officers that her husband was standing an inch from their television screen, mumbling and laughing to himself, and when she tried to get his attention, he wouldn't respond until she tried to force him away from the TV where he proceeded to attack her by grabbing her by the throat and tossing her into a wall. When police arrived, the man didn’t respond to their demands, and when an officer tried to place handcuffs on him, the man spun around and grabbed the officer’s head and proceeded to break their neck. The other police officers there began firing rounds into the man, killing him instantly. When questioned, the wife said that he started acting weird when he bought a replacement cable box for his “man cave”.

When the foundation collected and inspected the cable box, they discovered no modifications with it. There was a motherboard, a few processing chips, and an IR sensor for a remote control. When hooked up and turned on, the TV displays nothing but static for 10 seconds, and then shows a menu screen with 1 channel to choose. When chosen, the TV screen displays several rows of letters and numbers and low hum is heard from the TV's speakers. When tested on by a D-Class subject, they began moving closer and closer to the TV until their face was an inch away from the screen. After staring at the screen for a while, the subject began mumbling incoherently to himself and at random, began laughing for a few seconds. When disturbed, the subject attacked and killed the guard who disturbed him. Anyone who is affected by SCP-XXXX is to then be referred to as SCP-XXXX-1. During many experiments with SCP-XXXX, we discovered that it can only affect the person who activates and uses it, which explains why the SCP-XXXX doesn’t affect anyone else in the room. Any instance of SCP-XXXX-1 is to be terminated due to the fact that after anyone is affected by SCP-XXXX, there is currently no way to revert them back to their normal selves. When researchers tried to translate the seemingly random rows of numbers, Dr.[REDACTED] theorized that the numbers locate a certain letter in the English alphabet. (1=A, 2=B, 3=C) So researchers put that theory to the test, and they were able to translate what the numbers mean. When translated, the numbers spelled out two words, “Keep Watching”.