Nothing to see here.
The Marshal seated himself in front of the board and loosened his tie. The wind whistled outside, the fire in the hearth at the head of the great stone hall crackled. He examined the problem; the two kings on opposite sides, between them the black queen. Not much stood in her way. The Marshal wondered. Was it wise to let anything get between her and the white king?
"So, this problem just happened to come to mind, did it?" The Marshal leaned from side to side in his chair, as though the problem's solution was a matter of angles.
O5-13 stood by the fire, looking down into the flames. "I cleared my mind, as you requested, Josip. Even then there is chess." The Overseer turned and paced back to the other end of the great hall, noting the ancient metalwork lacing through the windows, making brief eye contact with the guard posted at the door, ever at attention, Kalashnikov in his hands.
"I recognize this problem," said the Marshal. "Drezga came up with this one. 'A Poison Pawn for the Queen.' I played him once."
"And how did that go?"
The Marshal laughed. "About as well as expected."
O5-13 stood at the opposite side of the table, looking down on the board from Black's position. "Does familiarity affect your little magic trick here?"
"Divination has a flowing set of rules. As much as there are rules to begin with." The Marshal rested a fingertip on the black pawn two spaces ahead of the queen.
"That sounds very unsatisfying." The corner of O5-13's lip curled up slightly as the Marshal lifted his hand from the piece.
"Life is usually unsatisfying. Still, this saved us on more than one occasion, those years in the mountains. Give my regards to Eight, by the way."
"You'll have the chance to do that in person, soon enough. You're partners now, after all." O5-13 scanned the ceiling of the hall, taking note of the stone columns and wooden support beams. "I'm sure your engineers have already conducted a structural assessment of this place."
The Marshal's eyes went back and forth between a black pawn and a white pawn, both in the line of the black queen. "This castle was where the entire House of Kabužić was imprisoned for a year. We barely have to make any upgrades to ensure the necessary levels of security. We'll be ready."
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Algorithms developed to predict the time, location, and geographical location of SCP-XXX appearances are to be continually refined based on collected data. Temporary security cordons of at least 10 km2 are to be established at the location of each documented SCP-XXX appearance.
MTF Phi-2 ("Clever Girls") has been assigned to ensuring the health and well-being of SCP-XXX for the duration of its appearances in baseline reality. These responsibilities include medical examination, feeding, and proper socialization practices for its species. For more details, consult Document XXX-TM003 (Anomalous Species Care Manual, "Iguanadon").
SCP-XXX is a Grade 3 Temporal Instability Phenomenon, and is subject to heightened monitoring protocols. All potential causality-altering events concerning SCP-XXX are to be reported to Overwatch Command immediately.
Description: SCP-XXX is a living female specimen of Iguanadon bernissartensis (iguanadon). SCP-XXX spontaneously appears in locations across the planet with a frequency of approximately seven occurrences per annum, typically in areas conducive to habitation by large, herbivorous fauna. Based on the 67 previous appearances of SCP-XXX since its initial observation in 2005, these appearances are now able to be predicted with an approximately 88% accuracy rate for location and date.
SCP-XXX is theorized to have a native timeframe somewhere in the early Cretaceous period (126-125 Ma). Based on bacterial and viral samples taken from SCP-XXX, researchers believe that the specimen likely spends the majority of its time between manifestations in the present day within this time period.
SCP-XXX has apparent control over when its ability to travel on a temporal basis, and has been observed to initiate temporal distortion events on its own initiative. Based on observation and several behavioral studies, SCP-XXX has utilized this ability as a means to avoid predation.
SCP-XXX is capable of occupying the same moment in time on multiple occasions, and will frequently do so, appearing in herds comprised of multiple instances of itself numbering between 15-20 individuals. Researchers have noted that SCP-XXX will appear multiple times in the same timeline in response to stressors and perceived threats; thus, containment protocols have been designed to provide as conducive an environment as possible during manifestations.
Addendum XXX.1 - Behavioral Notes
SCP-XXX displays several behavioral traits indicative of a level of intelligence beyond that expected of analogous specimens of similar brainpan size, metabolism, and overall physiology. Observation and several batteries of behavioral testing have indicated that SCP-XXX possesses the following traits:
- Rudimentary mathematical understanding
- Recognition of individual humans1
- Knowledge of tactics and strategy2
- Evaluation of environmental factors, such as available food supply, likely locations of predators, and weather conditions
- Ability to respond to verbal commands
- Coordination between multiple manifested instances existing at the same time period
Addendum XXX.2 - Notes on the Health of SCP-XXX
On 23 March 2014, Dr. Vanessa Hutchence, MTF Phi-2 staff paleobiologist, noted a larger than usual group of 57 SCP-XXX instances during a manifestation event. Of this group, eleven of these instances were observed to be repeatedly manifesting and demanifesting, a behavioral pattern not observed previously in the specimen.
During the next fifteen hours, this behavior had apparently spread, to a total of eighteen instances. In addition to the "flickering" behavior, these instances appeared sluggish and generally unresponsive to stimuli. This condition was classified by Dr. Hutchence as a developing illness in SCP-XXX.
Emergency observation and diagnosis led Dr. Hutchence to attribute the illness to SCP-XXX's time alteration abilities. Treatment modality was developed within the next two hours, and was determined to consist of convincing SCP-XXX to manifest all current instances to a previous event three years prior, when SCP-XXX health baselines were optimal in comparison to other manifestation events.
This was accomplished by staging a game of flag football in a manner similar to a manifestation event on 11 December 2011, in which SCP-XXX was noted for its interception of a long pass using an unusually large number of instances. By staging the game with the exact personnel who took part originally and running the same play, staff were able to lure healthy instances of SCP-XXX into the game, which converged underneath a location in the end zone and disappeared, along with the sick instances.
This action is believed to have addressed the underlying health issue, as evidenced by a subsequent SCP-XXX manifestation event on 13 May 2015.
attrib: iguanadon https://pixabay.com/p-958005/?no_redirect pixabay creative commons courtesy DariuszSankowski
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Thaumiel
Special Containment Procedures: Public access to the region of Santa Cruz Province containing SCP-XXX is to be restricted using embedded assets in Argentinian industry and the provincial government. The Minera Celestina SA and Santuario de Guanaco front organizations have been established for this purpose. Satellite imagery of the region is to be censored using established signal disruption protocols. The restricted area encompassing SCP-XXX is currently 1,229 km2, and has expanded at an average annual rate of 2.4% since its initial documentation in 1979.
Mobile Task Force Phi-9 ("Barqueros") has been assigned to conduct research and approved interventions in SCP-XXX. At this time, access to SCP-XXX is restricted solely to members of MTF Phi-9. Research, response, and containment of SCP-XXX generated phenomena outside of Southern Argentina is to be coordinated through the Foundation Administrative Department.
All active intervention missions within SCP-XXX must be approved by O5-5 (currently ████████████████), Subdirector for South American Affairs prior to initiation.
Description:
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Since 1998, the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has been conducted and overseen by an embedded Foundation researcher in the English Department of San Jose. Winners of the contest are selected after Foundation personnel have secured the identified individual clandestinely against influence by SCP-XXX.
Records concerning the disappearances of 12 previous winners of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest have been expunged, and families have received covert amnestic conditioning in order to minimize knowledge of these individuals. The remaining two contest winners prior to 1998 have been debriefed and amnesticized.
All activities by the thirteen known members of SCP-XXX are to be documented and suppressed whenever possible. Due to difficulties in predicting SCP-XXX activities, research is ongoing concerning new methods that may be employed to track individuals occupying multiple planes of existence.
Description: SCP-XXX is an organization of thirteen known individuals possessing anomalous abilities and properties. This organization is led by an entity known to display the physical form, memories, and mannerisms of 19th century English politician and writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton. The remaining twelve individuals are previous winners of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, in which participants are encouraged to compose the opening sentence to "the worst novel of all time." Members of SCP-XXX refer to their organization as "Ordo Procellas," however this is merely the most common self-identification of the group.
Members of SCP-XXX possess numerous anomalous properties. These have been observed to include an ability to seemingly disappear at will, an ability to impart subtle ideations and patterns of thought directly into the consciousness of others, and an ability to establish direct perception of seemingly any physical location without need for physical travel3.
While observed manifestations of SCP-XXX members are rare, several intercepted communications suggest that the group's primary aims are the spiritual development of its members (guided by Mr. Bulwer-Lytton), furtherance of the craft of writing (both by members and others), and interference with the activities of those individuals SCP-XXX believes are poor writers.
Addendum XXX.1 - Known Works Published by SCP-XXX Members
Despite an unusually rigorous informational secrecy doctrine practiced by members of SCP-XXX, two intercepted e-mails in 2009 identified the following published works as being written by members of SCP-XXX, which were confirmed by Foundation background checks on the pseudonyms employed:
- The Race Has Come and Left, by Abigail Collins - collected poems, 1999
- Three, by Juan Waters - novel, 2001
- Donegan's Tower, by G.H. Carmody - novel, 2001
- Across the Plains of Erebus at Midnight, by Gertrude Mulvaney - collected short stories, 2003
- Sickness and Decline, by Thea Vilar - play, 20054
- Zipperneck, by Victor Phan - Novel, 2007
- Cast Down Your Eyes, Dweller, by Mary Saint John - collected poems, 2009
Addendum XXX.3 - Suspected Influence in Death of Jonathan Brighton
In 2008, high-profile writer and movie producer Jonathan Brighton was found dead in his home following what Foundation researchers have determined was a suicide by gunshot. The details of Mr. Brighton's demise were concealed by his agent and the executors of his estate in an apparent cautionary measure on behalf of the future value of his intellectual properties. Mr. Brighton was best known for his Reincarnation Island series of novels and subsequent films, depicting a disastrous attempt at recreation of dinosaurs for the benefit of tourists, as well as his writing of the television series Trauma Center, and a series of novels adapted for the screen as action thrillers in the 1980s and 90s.
Examination of Mr. Brighton's personal records document a series of contacts with what is suspected to be (based on physical descriptions and subsequent investigations of the anomaly) Edward Bulwer-Lytton, following the release of the film Diamonds of Kinshasa, adapted from one of Mr. Brighton's novels. Mr. Brighton met repeatedly over the next several years with Mr. Bulwer-Lytton, who posed during these conversations as a Hollywood-based New Age-style spiritual advisor. Mr. Brighton kept discussions of these meetings to a minimum with outsiders.
Additionally during this period of time, Mr. Brighton made regular appointments with a psychoanalyst, to whom he would complain of manic episodes, feelings of intrusive thoughts, distressing dreams and associated insomnia, and occasional auditory hallucinations. These symptoms apparently persisted despite numerous pharmaceutical regimens.
Foundation researchers, through access to the United States National Security passive telephone monitoring database, recovered a recording of a telephone conversation between Mr. Brighton and Susanna Kohl, his third wife from whom he was divorced in 1983. This is believed to have immediately preceded his suicide on the evening of 4 November 2008.
Brighton: Susan? Susan, you have to listen to me.
Kohl: Jon? Why are you calling? Have you been drinking?
Brighton: No, no, just listen. Can you listen?
Kohl: What are you-
Brighton: Look. A-a man, I know this man, he came to see me tonight. He came up through, through the sink, I know this sounds crazy-
Kohl: What? Are you all ri-
Brighton: And he's just laughing, laughing at me. He asks me if I remember how I couldn't get "the clouds were menacing and gray, like a bank robber" out of my head. And I couldn't! I didn't tell anyone about that, and I couldn't get it out of my head! And, and-
Kohl: Jon, I'm going to hang up-
Brighton: No! No you don't understand! And then he tells me that it was a terrible line, that he's surprised it made it through an editor, and then he asked me, what do you think of it? And I said I didn't know, and then he laughed again, he just kept, laughing, laughing at-
Kohl: Stop. Just stop it.
{{Brighton: I couldn't tell! I don't know! He said, he said that it was in one of my books, and that I should know all right. Then he rattled off some more. "Orchid of my heart." "Gleaming bones like a handful of silver." "The horse stood tall against the saguaro sky."
Item #: SCP-4000
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: At least once every six months, researchers are to conduct experiments confirming the cessation of anomalous phenomena associated with SCP-4000. These experiments must utilize at least 100 test subjects and be conducted in accordance with adopted ethics guidelines. Under no circumstances may Foundation personnel participate as test subjects. Should experimentation indicate a resumption of anomalous effects associated with SCP-4000, researchers are required to notify Overwatch Command immediately.
All significant historical records regarding major events transpiring between 11 November 1918' and 11 November 1919' have been expunged. Historically significant figures prominent at this time, especially [DATA EXPUNGED] have been generally removed from the historical record. Any surviving records discovered during routine review procedures, as well as newly created records referencing events of this time period, are to be suppressed, tracked, catalogued, and eliminated.
Information concerning Foundation operations to expunge historical records of 11 November 1918' through 11 November 1919' is sealed by order of the Overseer Council.
Description: SCP-4000 is a time period of severely anomalous activity occurring during the early 20th century, necessitating the establishment of the Foundation. This time period occurred from 11 November 1918' to 11 November 1919'. Due to the pervasive nature of anomalous phenomena during this time and the profound global effects caused by extranormal events, the organization that would become the Foundation expunged an estimated 97% of documentation pertaining to this time period, constructed an alternative narrative for worldwide events, and established a protocol for preserving normalcy in postwar global society. As a result of these activities, one true chronological year has been erased from the historical record.