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Note: This is a very early draft of my SCP. I spent the better part of a day coming up with ideas and backstory for it. It will be heavily edited, compressed and cleaned up in the future.
Name: The Never-ending Story
Item #: XXXX
Object class: Safe
Special containment Procedures: The book is to be kept closed, placed on a lectern. The clasp is to be kept locked when not in use. The book does not pose a threat under usual circumstances.
Description: The Never-ending Story is a copy of the famous book, written by German writer Michael Ende, of unknown origins. Unlike other copies of the book, The Never-ending Story, is as the title suggests, never-ending.
Being roughly the size of a standard book, about 25 centimeters in height and 17 centimeters in width, It’s bound in brown, weathered leather with notable age. On the middle of the front cover, two snakes of solid gold, bite each other’s tail, forming a circle around the title, which is burned into the leather. Otherwise, the book is completely blank.
The name of the author, Michael Ende, is written on the bottom of the front cover, as any other copy of the book.
The book and story are different for each person who happens to read it. Reading the book has been described as Intoxicating or immensely gratifying.
Some who have read it, have gone so far as to describe it as almost sentient. It has been noted that it can even describe events as they are happening, or in some rare cases, it has been noted to describe events that have yet to occur.
As the book is different to everyone who reads it, one cannot see what another sees. Even video tapes are different for the people watching, as well as photos.
Originally thought to be completely harmless, it is now known that it in fact, can be extremely dangerous in rare cases. In some cases, the reader has been known to be pulled into the book, without any trace left in the physical world. Later readers have since noticed characters in the stories similar to those pulled in. It’s believed to be impossible to retrieve someone who has been pulled into the story.
Attempts to write down what is read in the book, have resulted in the paper or notebook taking on the properties of the original, essentially creating a duplicate. While many copies have been produced, most have been destroyed. Video, film and photography all produce copies in the exact same way. Currently five duplicates are known to exist. 3 in written form (SCP-XXXX-B, SCP-XXXX-C, SCP-XXXX-D), 1 picture (SCP-XXXX-2) and 1 film (SCP-XXXX-1B).
It has been observed, that if one were to read the book to another, the effect would spread to all those within hearing range. They would be entangled into the story, and in a worst-case scenario, they’d all be pulled into the pages of the book. This has only happened three times, as reading the book aloud is highly regulated. In the worst disaster involving the book, twenty-four staff members were pulled into the book.
Reading time varies from reader to reader. Tests have been made on D-class personnel that were given the book. Some needed only to read for a few minutes before disappearing, while others could read on and off for weeks before finally being sucked in.
Some seem to be immune to the effect, as they have been reading in it for years, without being touched. However, in some of these individuals, they have shown to grow highly addicted the book, some starving to death as they kept reading.
Every single physical test on the book, from looking at it through a microscope, scanning it in an MRI scanner and even testing the composition of it, have returned with nothing but the conclusive answer that it simply, is just a normal book. Carbon dating in the paper dates to 1892, which is highly unusual, since the book wasn’t published until 1979. However, the leather that it’s bound in has been dated to 1981.
The book was discovered in a small, abandoned library, in a town south of London. First records of the book, report of five teenage boys, aged between 14 and 17, broke into the closed library, found and stole the book. According to the reports, they began reading it, and within a few hours, one the boys had disappeared. The foundation was contacted a few weeks later, when a report 10 people had disappeared into the book, trying to uncover its mysteries.
Most of those who’ve read the book, have survived it, but have still reported the book to be incredibly entertaining and well written. It has been observed, that some craved the ending so much that it has left psychological scars. In a single case, one D-class personnel, had grown so addicted to the book, that when he was left without it, he wrote what he remembered on a piece of paper. This resulted in the paper taking on the properties of the book. The next day, his chamber was found empty, with nothing than the paper left. It was subsequently destroyed.
The book can easily be destroyed. However, it is immune to being ripped apart. If one was to tear out a page, it would quickly be replaced. If one were to shred it, or completely rip it apart, it would somehow fix itself once no one observed it. Blinking counts.
Once ripped out, a page becomes blank, losing the properties on the book. However, what was written on it, will be transferred onto the next page in the book, and the seam where it was ripped will not be visible.
Fire has been the most common way to destroy copies of the book. It was decided by a council of researchers, that a maximum of five copies be permanently stored. However, research copies are permitted to be made if the staff member has high enough clearance. This rule was made to avoid a runaway reaction.
It is believed that every page of the book is blank, until one opens it. No one have been observed to reach the end of the story, as it is believed to be, as the title suggests, Never-ending. Not even opening the book at the very end has successfully shown the last page, as the book opens with hundreds of new pages underneath.
A researcher tried to observe the book through a video recording. The digital video file took on the properties of the book, as he was able to read multiple pages in, despite the film only showing a single page. Other staff members reported seeing the pages turn, despite no such thing happening when the film was recorded.
The computer containing this file was destroyed and melted, being turned into scrap metal.
One experiment, involved a researcher, creating and filming a short film based on what he read, using dialogue and descriptions in a script form. Only 2 minutes was filmed, however the short was shown to have the exact effects of the book. The film continued beyond what was filmed and written, being (once again as the title suggests) Never-ending.
While it was originally filmed, without any costumes or sets, the film has shown incredible visuals, compared to modern day, Hollywood special effects. More disturbingly, all those visually involved with the film, have disappeared. Some hadn’t even read the book at any time, only being in the background of what was shot. Many of those who have been pulled into the book, have been observed in the film.
The film, within the Foundation referred to as SCP-XXXX-1b, has been deemed to by far, the most dangerous version of SCP-XXXX. Because of this, it is currently held up in a extremely secure, undisclosed facility, and is scheduled to be destroyed on an undetermined date.
Some have suggested labeling SCP-XXXX-1b, as its own entity. This has not yet happened.
It is unknown how SCP-XXXX captures its victims, as well as why. It’s origins and year of creation are unknown, given the vastly different carbon dating results.
It is unknown weather the world described within it, is an alternative reality, or if the book simply kills its victims. The film would suggest the alternative reality; however this is all unconclusive.
