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SCP-XXX: The Sutra of Emptiness

Containment Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures:

SCP-XXX is to be held in a felt-lined metal containment chest within a hermetically sealed vacuum chamber. This chest is to be locked with both physical and alpha-numeric keys. Pressure sensors will prevent even authorized keys from activating if the outside atmospheric pressure is XXX PSI or above. The vacuum chamber serves as both a containment and testing area. The vacuum chamber is capable of venting atmosphere to XX PSI or lower, fitted with dual observation ports of the primary testing area. Emergency venting controls are to be located in both observation ports and the primary testing area.

Access to SCP-XXX can only be granted through simultaneous code input from both manned observation ports, and not through the primary entrance to the chest itself. If at any time it appears that a researcher will utter the final phrase without proper authorization or in front of materials not cleared for testing emergency venting procedures must be initiated immediately to prevent sound creation through atmospheric vibration from taking place. Atmospheric venting time requires that emergency procedures must be initiated before the recitation of the third line of the final stanza.

Mechanical interruption of either rouge personnel or SCP-XXX itself in the event of unsanctioned recitations is not authorized.

Description:
SCP-XXX is the remaining copy of two identical printed bamboo scrolls of the Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist scripture. This scripture details the philosophical argument that everything in existence has no permanent being and is comprised of the momentary union of various causes and conditions, which immediately break apart and reform innumerable times each moment. The sutra states that only human delusion attaches a permanent continuity to this perpetual arising and breaking apart. Shedding this delusion will lead to enlightenment.

The Diamond Sutra is commonly believed to have been composed between the 2-5th centuries CE, with the earliest known copy being a Chinese translation, dating to 868 CE. Carbon dating of the bamboo fibers of SCP-XXX and its twin copy, SCP-XXX-1 places their creation at approximately XXX BCE, centuries before the birth Siddhartha Guatama, the historical Buddha, and more than a millennia before the advent of wood-block printing.

Earliest known printed text: The Diamond Sutra, 868 CE.

The text of SCP-XXX and SCP-XXX-1 are identical to extant copies of the Diamond Sutra except in two ways: First, they are written in the XXX-dialect of Sanskrit, of which only fragments have been discovered, the study of which is primarily limited to linguistic archeological reconstruction. The second is in the wording of the sutra’s final gatha, a 4-line poem similar to Japanese haiku. Traditionally the gatha reads:

All conditioned phenomena,
Are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow,
Like dew or a flash of lightning,
Thus we shall perceive them.

In SCP-XXX it reads:

All conditioned phenomena,
Are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow,
Like dew or a flash of lightning,
Thus we shall make them.

When SCP-XXX is held and the final gatha is read out loud, any item directly before the reader immediately decomposes into its constituent parts. These parts are of the next whole order of complexity down. When read before an electronic device, the casing, wiring, solders, and any internal components such as microchips, batteries, speakers, or keypads, etc., break apart from the whole, but will remain intact themselves.

SCP-XXXX: Test 8421-3. Deconstructed Digital Camera.

When read before solid state objects of unified material, such as a block of iron, the item breaks down into its individual molecular form resulting in a pile of extremely fine dust. Deconstruction takes place only on the largest unified object placed before SCP-XXX. Tests on a beaker of water resulted in the water breaking apart into a burst of oxygen and hydrogen gas as H2 and O separated, but the beaker remained unaffected. The mass, components, and molecular structure of the deconstructed object remains the same with no other changes noted outside of the breakdown itself. Testing on live subjects results in immediate death as the subject collapses in a pile of separated bones, organs, webbings of blood vessels and nerves, blood, bodily fluids, and empty skin. DNA testing on organic material reveal it is identical to the test subject prior to deconstruction.

Upon each subsequent reading of SCP-XXX, the breakdown process continues on the largest remaining unified item. The gatha recited before a shank of lamb broke it into muscle groups, blood vessels, skin, fat deposits, and the femur. A subsequent reading deconstructed only the femur, the largest remaining unified object, into red and yellow marrow, cartilage, trabecula, osteocytes and osteoclasts, leaving the rest of the deconstructed shank unaffected. A third reading deconstructed the gluteus maximus muscle group into individual muscle fibers, fat, tendon and ligament. This breakdown process continued indefinitely on subsequent readings.

Deconstruction will only take place if the gatha is read in the original XXX dialect of Sanskrit while holding SCP-XXX itself. Reading the gatha silently has no effect, nor does reciting the gatha without holding SCP-XXX. Correctly reciting the gatha while holding a transcription or photographic copy of SCP-XXX does not produce a deconstruction event. Any barrier items worn by researchers have no effect on a break down event – gloves of any thickness or material, voice carried by microphone through an airtight face shield, etc., all result in a deconstruction event, though the gatha must be recited at a volume of 30 decibels or greater. The sound waves of a recitation of the gatha, created by atmospheric disturbance, must reach SCP-XXX for a deconstruction event to occur – researchers wearing sound-proof helmets have been unable to produce deconstruction events despite holding SCP-XXX and reciting the gatha correctly, however deconstruction events will still take place if the gatha is recited when blanketing noise of any volume or type is drowning out the speaker’s voice.

Deconstruction will only take place on items within a distance of 50 – 450 cm of SCP-XXX. When identical items of equal mass and complexity are placed within range of SCP-XXX all items are simultaneously deconstructed. Otherwise only the largest, most complex item is deconstructed. Current tests have not yet established the relationship between complexity and mass as sometimes the most massive item is deconstructed regardless of complexity, while at other times the most complex item is deconstructed despite the presence of more massive items. To protect SCP-XXX from potential damage, tests to transmit the effect of SCP-XXX through video feeds or recordings on outside objects are currently underway, but have thus far been unsuccessful.

SCP-XXX greatest danger lies in its ability to deconstruct objects past the atomic level. When SCP-XXX is read aloud with nothing in front of it, it deconstructs the air itself. Usually the largest unified object in the atmosphere is suspended dust or other particulate matter, the deconstruction of which remains unnoticed to the human eye. Without such matter, O2, which composes approximately 21% of the normal atmosphere breaks apart into two single oxygen atoms, quickly rebinding with available 02 to form 03, or ozone. In the presence of pure hydrogen gas, the hydrogen becomes ionized as the single electron is separated from the nucleus resulting in the production of beta radiation. In the presence of chemical elements with an atomic mass of 150 or greater, such as uranium, a nuclear fission event will take place as a single atom is split apart, causing a cascade affect if sample size is greater than 1 atom, resulting in nuclear detonation. If this occurs, it is surmised that SCP-XXX itself would not survive the event, and testing at this level is currently not authorized. See Addendum 1

SCP-XXX and SCP-XXX-1 were discovered in 19XX at the British Library while library staff were cataloging over 40,000 Buddhist manuscripts purchased by Aurel Stein during his 1907 expedition to the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China.

Aurel Stein, 1909.

The cache of Buddhist manuscripts and other artifacts were sold to Stein by the Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu. Wang Yuanlu’s personal diary, recovered after his death in 1931, is deemed noteworthy as it appears he was fully aware of the presence SCP-XXX and SCP-XXX-1 and their properties, having purposefully included them in the sale to Aurel Stein. His journal implies that this was the reason for the exceedingly low price he charged Stein as well as the great number of manuscripts he was willing to sell, stating it was an attempt to ensure SCP-XXX would be removed from Dunhuang and also remain undetected. Despite journal entries to the contrary, SCP-XXX has displayed no other properties or affects other than those noted above. While the Foundation has discovered further inscriptions in the XXX-dialect of Sanskrit, no collaborating evidence to support any of Wang's other theories has been obtained or documented. See Addendum 2.

Abbot Wang Yuanlu, circa 1920.

The Institution was originally alerted to the possibility of an anomalous presence by embedded personnel in the British Library when Dr. XXXXX, a noted linguistic archaeologist specializing in Sanskrit dialects was assigned to catalog the Stein purchase and noted the discrepancy of a printed text dating to centuries before the advent of block printing.

The British Library

SCP-XXX’s anomalous nature was confirmed when Dr. XXXX recited the final gatha in front of his assistant, Oxford graduate student XXXX XXXXX, resulting in the student’s immediate deconstruction and death. Dr. XXX was extracted from the British Library with evidence planted to imply an elopement to South America with his research assistant. A fire, set to mimic improperly stored cleaning supplies, destroyed approximately 800 manuscripts of the Aurel Stein collection in the British Library and covered the physical extraction of SCP-XXX. Dr. XXX was retained at Site-XX for the rest of his natural life, but was allowed to continue his research into the XXX-dialect of Sanskrit under close supervision. Type III Amnesiacs were used to convince Dr XXX of the normalcy of his situation and to remove any memory of SCP-XXX or his assistant. The results of his research has been instrumental in the Foundation's current understanding of SCP-XXX and its use.

As SCP-XXX and SCP-XXX-1 were printed, this creates the possibility of further copies of SCP-XXX or entirely different iterations being in existence. This hypothesis is collaborated by Addendum 2. Any texts, inscriptions or carvings written in the XXX dialect of Sanskrit, regardless of religious affiliation, are to be extracted for testing and confinement upon discovery. If extraction is not possible, specimens of the XXX dialect of Sanskrit are to be destroyed, with an appropriate narrative implanted to either cause or explain their destruction, based on the current social or political situation of the local environment. This was last necessary on March 21, 2001, when manipulation of the Taliban was used to cover the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Hazarajat Afghanistan, when extraction of over 40 meters of recessed cavities containing XXX dialect inscriptions running the length of both statues was deemed untenable. Achieve copies of the inscriptions show they contain variations of the description of the levitating treasure pagoda of the cosmic Buddha, Prabhutaratna, from Chapter 11 of the Lotus Sutra. Matching current hypothesis, testing of the video and photographic achieves of these inscriptions have yielded no unusual affects.

Buddhas of Bamiyan, before and after Foundation intervention.
Sanitation of XXX Dialect Inscriptions on the Buddhas of Bamiyan, March 21, 2001.

At this time, as only the deconstruction ability of SCP-XXX has been verified, all other claims by Wang Yuanlu in Addendum 2 about SCP-XXX and its history are to be taken as the conjecture of an isolated individual attempting to place world events into a meaningful personal narrative using the resources of his native tradition. No Foundation resources are to be used in the research of “Asuras,” unexplained explosions, or any other aspects of Buddhist cosmology. As correct recitation in the XXX dialect of Sanskrit is needed to activate SCP-XXX, Foundation personnel will embed themselves in archeological projects at Buddhist sites and research institutions worldwide. Active surveillance is to be kept on all linguist research into any type of Sanskrit, with the researcher or their work being suppressed, discredited or expunged as deemed necessary.

Addendum 1:

In May 1974, Operation “Smiling Buddha,” or Pokhran-I was carried out by the Republic of India to test its first nuclear bomb, code named “Flower.” Foundation personnel embedded in both Indira Ghandi’s government and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) which headed the project had determined the test would fail due to engineering flaws in the implosion trigger device.

Knowing the test would fail, Foundation personnel determined to use this opportunity to test SCP-XXX-1 ability to deconstruct atoms, since the infrastructure, personnel, and most importantly, the expectation for a nuclear event were already in place, creating the perfect cover. Foundation operatives in chief physicist Dr. Raja Ramanna’s engineering team were instructed to covertly removed XX grams of plutonium from Flower prior to the final sealing of the implosion device’s outer casing.

BARC reactor site in Mumbai where plutonium for Operation Smiling Buddha was processed.

On 18 May, 1974, the day India traditionally celebrates the Buddha’s birthday, D-class personnel, having been trained by Dr. XXX in correct XXX dialect Sanskrit pronunciation were transported to the Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan, India. An extra 10’ square entrance way, passed off as a safety feature to allow extra maneuvering space, served as the SCP-XXX-1 testing area in the underground chamber where Flower was to be detonated. The plutonium removed from Flower were placed before the D-class personnel who were instructed to recite SCP-XXX-1’s final gatha at 08:05, the same moment when the detonation button was pressed. Internal video feeds of the event show the ensuing denotation originating from the plutonium sample placed before SCP-XXX-1, not Flower, before video feed was severed. The test resulted in the destruction of SCP-XXX-1, all D-class personnel, and a nuclear explosion rated at 12 kilotons.

The belief that Flower’s faulty design operated correctly set back India’s nuclear weapons program by almost 20 years, with failed tests in 19XX, 19XX, 19XX, 19XX, 19XX, and 19XX until a final successful test, officially announced to the public as Pokhran-2, but in actuality Pokhran-9, took place in 1998.

One of the Shakti Devices successfully detonated during Pokhran-"2" testing.

Foundation testing successfully proved the ability of SCP-XXX-1 to deconstruct atoms, as well as the fragility of SCP-XXX-1 itself. As SCP-XXX and SCP-XXX-1 were identical in form and function up to this level of deconstruction, it is hypothesized that a similar event would take place were material of sufficient atomic mass exposed to SCP-XXXX deconstruction ability. Testing of this nature is not currently authorized. This moratorium on testing will be revisited only if further specimens of SCP-XXX are recovered.

Addendum 2:

The following are extracts from Wang Yuanlu’s (1849-1931) personal journal, Taoist Priest, and caretaker of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China, and of SCP-XXX prior to its sale to Aurel Stein in 1907. Cave names at the Dunhuang site based on modern designations have been inserted in the text for clarity. All entries are written in classical Chinese:

Entry:
4 June, 1862:
Wang Yuanlu, living in central Sichuan Province, age 13, describes meeting a man named Huang Jianshui (The Yellow Guardian of the Waters) and becoming his disciple. The master is a Taoist, but is well versed and sympathetic towards Buddhist teachings. Wang choose to travel with Master Huang northward to escape the carnage of the Taiping Rebellion (1850 - 1864) raging in the south.

The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) claimed more than 70 million lives.

10 October, 1877:
Wang, now 28, and Master Huang have established their temple in Dunhuang, China, close to the Gobi Desert in north-central China, a once-important oasis along the Silk Road. Master Huang suffering from tuberculosis believes his death is imminent and reveals several strange Buddhist sutras to Wang. Master Huang demonstrates the power of one scroll by transporting Wang instantaneously to the Reclining Buddha in Cave 148 and back.

The Reclining Buddha, Cave 148.

Wang is told that the power of similar scrolls were used by the leader of the Taiping Rebellion, Hong Xiuquan, who also claimed to be the brother of Jesus Christ, to fuel his rebellion against the Qing Dynasty.

Hong Xiuquan, leader of the Taiping Rebellion and self-styled "Brother of Jesus Christ."

Wang wonders if the rebellion, which ultimately failed, was worth the 70 million people who died during it. Master Huang states that other warlords, such as Asoka who unified India in 268 AD, and An Lushan, whose rebellion (755-763 AD) shattered the glory of the Tang Dynasty in China, used similar scrolls.

Carving of Ashoka from the Buddhist Stupa Sanchi, India.

Each scroll had different powers, such as building, destroying, instantaneous travel or communication, and foreknowledge, mirroring many of the “Supernatural Powers” or “Shentong” in traditional Buddhist theology. The scrolls were sometimes referred to as the “The Chains of Sakra,” and their powers are secondary to their importance, though Master Huang does not know what their true purposes or relationship to the historical Buddha is. Master Huang currently possess 8 of these scrolls, some duplicates, including SCP-XXX, but Wang does not identify any of these scrolls in his journal. “The Chains of Sakra” is a reference to the Buddhist scripture The Vemacitrin Sutra, which describes the King of the Asuras (wrathful titans), Vemacitrin, being chained to the throne of Sakra, ruler of the Trayastrimsa Heaven, the highest paradise in Buddhist cosmology. Master Huang believes the producers of the scrolls are long gone and there is only a limited number of them left in the world.

Carving of a gate-guardian Asura at the Buddhist Plaosan Temple, Indonesia.

July 14, 1893
Wang states that Master Huang has left for the south after receiving word that the Asuras have returned and are collecting as many remaining scrolls as they can find. Wang Yuanlu ponders the Asuras, who, according to Buddhist cosmology, are personifications of anger and violence, forever fighting among themselves and against others in an unending struggle for dominance and power, and who delight in destruction. What the Asuras hope to accomplish with the scrolls remains unknown. Master Huang hopes to find out about the truth of these rumors and perhaps the Asura’s motivations, and taking several scrolls with him departs south to visit his own master. Wang wonders how Master Huang's own master could possibly still be alive. Master Huang leaves several scrolls, including SCP-XXX with Wang.

August 14, 1893
Wang relates receiving a letter from Master Huang informing him that he is journeying further sound in search of answers. He advises Wang to be ready to relocate at a moment’s notice and warns Wang with increasingly frantic writing of generals striding the land at the head of armies, citing many warlords of the Taiping Rebellion and the atrocities they committed. It appears that Master Huang believes these warlords from both the Qing and the Taiping were all Asuras or their agents pouring out violence on the land as they searched for these scrolls. Master Huang ends his letter by openly wondering where Sakra and the Devas are, as they were the tradition opponents of the Asura. He signs off by letting Wang know that he will be traveling to Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist temple located near Jakarta, Indonesia, and is increasingly worried that if the Asuras are present, Vemacitrin, the King of the Asuras, may also appear. He hopes to find answers, and perhaps safety for the scrolls at Borobudur. Wang never hears from Master Huang again.

Borobudur Temple, Indonesia, 1911. Largest Buddhist Temple in the world.

26 August, 1893
Wang is disturbed by a sudden pulsing and piercingly bright green light emitting from SCP-XXX. At the same time the temple is enveloped by a fierce sandstorm from the Gobi Desert. Ironically, the dust storm blocks the green light from being seen by other members of the village which is also overtaken by the storm. The dust storm lasts until the morning of August 27th, with the storm and ensuing fires claiming many lives in the town. Several weeks later, news reaches Dunhuang of the eruption of Mt. Krakatoa, one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in human history which claimed more than 36,000 lives. Tracing the path on a map, Wang notes that Master Huang would have passed Krakatoa on his journey to Borobudur, located only a few days travel east of the volcano, and that the mysterious green light and sandstorm hit Dunhuang at the same time and lasted for the same duration as the eruption of Mt. Krakatoa itself. Afraid, Wang Yuanlu seals SCP-XXX in Cave 17, the Library Cave, at Dunhuang.

Lithograph of Mt Krakatoa Eruption.
Coral boulder blasted from the seabed during 1893 eruption.

NOTE: Foundation researchers note that later geological studies determined that an explosion of the magnitude of the 1893 eruption of Mt. Krakatoa could only have been caused by a sudden pressure differential caused by the introduction of vast quantities of seawater into the magma chamber beneath the volcano, such as through a sudden underwater landslide or other violent event.

March 3rd 1904
Wang Yuanlu takes Master Huang’s warning seriously and carefully watches national and world events. He becomes suspicious of Yuan Shikai, a warlord who is rising in the favor of the Emperess Dowager Cixi and head of “The New Army,” a reformed Qing Imperial army based on Western structure, tactics, and technology.

Qing New Army troops, 1905.

Shortly after a census of local temples and religious sites is taken in neighboring Guazhou county, a New Army officer arrives in the area on an “inspection tour” and immediately closes down the Yulin Buddhist Cave site, less than 100 km away from Dunhuang. The inspector spends almost five months in excavations and surveys, with local army officers searching temples and establishing checkpoints to confiscate any Buddhist scriptures of more than 200 years of age for the “protection of national treasures of cultural significance.” Wang decides that SCP-XXX and the other scrolls are not safe in China, but does not know how to go about removing them without raising suspicion.

April 5th 1907
Wang Yuanlu overhears a conversation between two merchants about a Westerner visiting the area and researching archeological sites. The Westerner appears to have both Imperial permission from Beijing and has bribed local officials to facilitate his trip. Wang stages a chance meeting with this Westerner, Aurel Stein, and shows him part of the Dunhuang cave system.

Aurel Stein during Central China expedition, 1907.

Seeing Aurel Stein’s excitement at the caves, Wang shows him the Library Cave which houses several tens of thousands of Buddhist manuscripts. Feigning ignorance of the manuscripts true worth, Wang agrees to sell more than 40,000 scrolls, including SCP-XXX, to Aurel Stein. Knowing that such a move will not remain unnoticed, Wang only sells SCP-XXX to Stein, retaining his last “Chain of Sakra” scroll. Wang ensures that Stein’s guides know that he is selling manuscripts to foreign scholars, hoping that it will attract more buyers, believing that scattering the manuscripts among different international buyers will confuse the trail for the Asuras.

Cave 16, the Library Cave, Dunhuang.

1908 – 1914
Wang describes several other sales of manuscripts to foreign archeologists, including Paul Pelliot (1908), Otani Kozui (1911), and Sergei Oldenburg (1914).

Paul Pelliot in the Library Cave, 1908.

30 June, 1908.
After the sale of several thousand more manuscripts, including the final “Key of Sakra” scroll to Paul Pelliot in April 1908, Wang helps arrange transportation of the purchase by Trans-Siberian Railroad to France. Word reaches Wang that a portion of the manuscripts were stolen while being loaded onto the trains at the border crossing into Russia, and that the thieves headed north, deeper into the Siberian tundra. Reports trickle in over the next few weeks of a massive explosion, taking place near the Tunguska River in inner Siberia on 30 June, 1908. The blast flattened forests in a 2000 square kilometer radius with a force equivalent to a 30 megaton nuclear explosion. Records deny any human casualties, but rumors circulate that two individuals were present during the blast. Eye witness accounts at the periphery of the blast zone describe a bluish light, brighter than the sun, descending to earth.

Flattened forests 20 years after the 1908 Tunguska event. Photograph taken 1927.

April 22, 1917
Wang wonders openly whether the Great War in Europe (WWI) and the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in China are further operations of the Asuras. He reasons that the intensified war zones in Europe indicate that the search for the scrolls is now centering on Europe as the Asuras follow the manuscripts, with them reveling in their destructive power as they search. He wonders if he did the right thing in sending the scrolls away, but justifies it to himself as correct. He guiltily wonders how many people have died in Europe due to his actions.

15 September, 1931
A smartly dressed gentleman of indeterminate heritage, but speaking perfect Chinese arrives at the temple, asking for a tour of the caves. The caves occasionally receive visitors, but Wang, now 82, feels there is something offsetting about the stranger’s toothy grin and unblinking eyes. On the slow way up to the now-famous Library Cave the stranger points to part of a crumbling embankment and asks about the history of the cave he is pointing at. Wang, scanning the area, states that he does not see a cave, just the crumbling hillside. The stranger raises one eyebrow, smirks, and asks “Is that so?” before turning around and heading back into the town. He never visits the Library Cave or is seen by Wang again. Flustered, Wang scrabbles up the embankment to where the stranger pointed and finds an opening, just large enough for a thin man or child to crawl through. It opens up into a hitherto unknown cave lined with manuscripts. Horrified, Wang, retreats from the caves and blocks the entrance, but at 82, he is exhausted by the exertion and experiences sharp chest pains. He is bed ridden for the next two days before dying, with the last line of Wang Yuanlu’s journal simply stating “They are coming.” Attached to the last entry are two clippings of newspaper dated 18 September, 1931. The first describes the growing social unrest in Germany and the galvanization of the Nazi party in preparation for the Reichstag elections of 1932. The second article details the Mukden Incident and the beginning of the invasion of China by the Japanese Imperial Army.

Invading Japanese troops during the Mukden Incident, 1931.

Note: Foundation researchers have found no trace of the second Library Cave that Wang Yuanlu claims to have discovered despite numerous surveys of the local mountain sides. However, historical documents were discovered stating that considerable damage was done to the entire cave network in 1939 by Chinese Nationalists Troops stationed in Dunhuang at the height of the Japanese Invasion of China during World War II. The area remains under continued surveillance.