TheBaron58

Item #: SCP-5171

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures:]
SCP-5298 is to be kept folded in a standard combination locker at Storage Unit-05. It may be accessed by any Level 2 personnel wishing to perform testing upon SCP-5298. Experiments involving the destruction or degradation of some or all of the object are to be avoided if possible.

Description:
SCP-5298 is a canvas piece of cloth measuring 0.91 by 1.52 meters, and shows minor cosmetic damage including fraying and some small burns. There are two brass rings stitched into the outer edge, identical to any standard sized flag from the mid Twentieth Century. These are fairly heavily worn. The cloth’s true appearance is unknown, as it appears differently to all those who view it. Its anomalous properties are only recognizable when multiple viewers are asked to describe the appearance of the flag, which presents itself to the viewer as the flag that they hold the most passionate appreciation for.
SCP-5298 has appeared as several different flags and does not appear to be limited by nation, movement, time period or political motivations. When photographed, it shows up as whichever flag the camera operator sees. So far, the Foundation has recorded the following to have been viewed by different subjects:
- A standard American flag
- A flag representing the Black Lives Matter movement
- A “stars and bars” US Confederate flag
- An LGBTQ+ Pride flag
- An American Gadsen flag
- A Communist Party of China flag
- A standard French flag
- A standard Finnish flag
- A standard Soviet flag
- A standard Norwegian flag
- A standard Australian flag
- A “Thin Blue Line” variation of the American flag
- A black flag with the SCP Foundation logo in the center

Subjects who have had no prior political or national affiliation will view the flag of whatever nation they currently reside in. Any other experiments or tests that lead to the viewing of other flags should be reported on and documented.
The Foundation is currently investigating any connections between SCP-5298 and SCP-1776, including the possibility that it was a previous variation or attempt at creating SCP-1776. SCP-5298 has not demonstrated any memetic properties or influences similar to those shown by SCP-1776.

SCP-5171 was initially recovered from a warehouse in Miami, Florida, in the aftermath of a shootout between the local “Corazon” gang, and a rival gang also operating in the area. The Foundation first became aware of the flag when attempting a sting operation on the group to investigate reports of unrelated anomalous artifacts in their possession.
According Agent Richards, the man assigned to this task, when introduced to the head of the gang, Arthur “Bones” Williams, he saw what appeared to be an American flag hung above the desk they were sitting at. Upon seeing this, he believed that this was a test of his field effectiveness by the Foundation, and therefore didn’t give into any of the suggestions by Williams to reveal his true intentions. Had he, Williams would have inevitably killed him. After questioning, it appears that Agent Richards had no knowledge of the anomalous properties of SCP-5171, and truly believed the entire interview to be another Foundation skill assessment. The following audio log from the agent’s hidden microphone picked up the relevant portion of their conversation.

Field Log 919-09

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<Begin Log>

Agent Richards: Alright then, what do you need me to do to prove my worth to you?

Williams:Eyy, calm down man. You don’t gotta put on that front with us no more. Look, you’re among friends.

With this, Williams points to the flag above the desk.

Agent Richards: (Hesitating) I’m sorry, I don’t understand…

Williams: What’s not to understand? You and I, we both fly the same flags, if you get my drift. This isn’t any kind of interview, it’s a congratulations on getting this far.

Agent Richards: Look man, I don’t know what you’re talking about. All I see is some fuckin’ American flag up there. Do you want me in your troupe or not? If I ain’t what you’re looking for, just tell me, don’t play this dumbass game!

Williams: (Laughing) Alright, looks like we got a good one here. You swear all you see is the red white and blue hanging above me?

Agent Richards: Right hand to God.

Williams: Then welcome to the club, Mr. Riker. (Richard’s alias)

<End Log>

Addendum 2:

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On January 18th, 2013, the Foundation came across several sets of documentation in the residence of Miguel Sartori in Lugano, Switzerland. He had been under surveillance for several strange incidents regarding fabrics that he had sold to the local populace. Several properties including impossible resistance to fire, mirror-like reflectiveness, and memetic properties such as inexplicable appearance of beauty, envy for otherwise mundane colors and patterns, and a desire to wear clothes out of these fabrics for as long as possible manifested themselves in the fabrics he sold.
Upon his death in a motorcycle accident, the Foundation took to searching his home and found several filing cabinets with records documenting the sale transactions, designs, and history of several fabric-based SCP’s going back to Sartori’s grandfather, an immigrant from Norway who had garnered a reputation as an excellent tailor. Among these was further insight into the creation and use of SCP-5171.

Documented Background

SCP-5171 was created in 1933, by Francesco Sartori, Miguel’s father. According to the sales records, it was never meant to be sold, but used as a first test of Francesco’s talent at sewing by his father.
It is written that it followed the family as they moved around Scandinavia, eventually finding its way into Finland. It was here where the family left it, as they fled the shop upon the announcement of war, returning to Norway before emigrating to Switzerland in 1944. The flag was somehow still tracked by the documents kept in the Sartori residence.

Effects While in Finland

While it cannot be verified, it is said that SCP-5171 caused a great deal of confusion in Finland, where it would end up revealing a low-level Soviet plant in the Finnish officer corps when a confusion over the flag’s appearance led to the plant thinking he was among other Soviet spies.
SCP-5171 was the brought the Finnish Pechengsky District in 1939, and flown over a recon base manned by a battalion of Finnish National Guardsmen. Nearly every one of the soldier’s present was mentioned by name. After several months, the Soviet 14th Rifle Division saw the flag flying and believed it to be a friendly detachment. The ensuing battle saw a Soviet victory, and it is assumed that an independent soldier took it somewhere else in Europe, as the next mention of the flag is Italy in the 1980’s.

The Sartori “Connection”

It appears as though the documents only cover the history of the item when a living member of the Sartori family of tailors was able to actually get ahold of it while they were living. Following this logic, it would explain why the history of SCP-5171 was lost following it being seized in 1939, as Francesco Sartori died in August of 1938. There were no living Sartori family members who had contact with the flag, so none of them knew where it was. However, sometime in the 1980s, Miguel Sartori came across it and “reconnected” with the flag, as the record picks up after this point. Why Miguel parted ways with the flag is unknown, as the next use of this flag is apparently in the US with the Corazon gang the Foundation initially seized it from.
Inexplicably, the documents do make direct mention to the SCP foundation taking control of the flag, and even states by name the researchers tasked with experimenting on it. The Foundation is currently investigating a breach in security in Storage Unit-05 upon the discovery of these documents.
Similarly, several individuals who interacted with the flag at different points through its documentation were given by name. The Foundation was able to recover one Alexander Cappelen, who was brought up several times in these documents. The portion of his interview relating to SCP-5171 is included below.

Interview 344-17

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Interviewed: Alexander Cappelen

Interviewer: Dr. Fredrick Wesley

Foreword: This interview has been edited to highlight it’s specific usefulness concerning SCP-5171. The full unedited version is being considered for classification designation, as it contains potentially sensitive information regarding Foundation members. Mr. Cappelen was taken from his home in Svolvær, Norway, three days prior.

<Begin Log, 1 hour 14 minutes into initial interview.>

Dr. Wesley (In Norwegian): Switching focus a bit, we have some questions regarding SCP-5171. You may know it as the flag depicted here.

Cappelen: I’m sorry, this appears to be just a Norwegian flag to me.

Dr. Wesley: Of course. Then perhaps you will remember its properties. I do not see a Norwegian flag, instead one of my home nation of France.

Cappelen: Ah, of course! Francesco’s first foray into sewing. His father
was quite proud of that particular feat. They kept that old thing around for years, before they lost it in Finland.

Dr. Wesley: I assume you have no knowledge of how this was created either?

Cappelen: Unfortunately, no. Mr. Sartori, as liberal as he was with showing off his work and those of his children, was very tight-lipped about how they came about them all. The only reason I know that Francesco made it was because he told me before departing for Finland.

Dr. Wesley: Do you know to what capacity the family used this item, or was it kept hidden away?

Cappelen: I only saw it in person on a few occasions. I heard that they used to fly it on their porch when they lived in Oslo, but that they would get strange visitors whenever they did. Foreigners, you know. I heard what finally pushed it over the edge was when a German fellow was passing through, and tried to give Mr. Sartori congratulations on him being so brave about his support of the Reich. Mr. Sartori never did like the Reich, and so he tried to explain it to the fellow… one thing led to another, some punches were thrown, and I never saw it again.

Dr. Wesley: In regards to how the family was able to keep such close track of it while it was out of their hands, have you any knowledge on what methods they used to follow the fabrics they made?

Cappelen: While most of it was a close-kept family secret, I do know from Francesco that he had a certain… connection with the flag that let him stay in contact with it. He always seemed to know where it was and who had it, even years after he had lost it.

<End of Log>