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| SCP-194, front view, case open (L) and SCP-194, rear view (R) |
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Item #: SCP-194
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-194 is to be kept in a secure vault behind no less than five unique and redundant locking mechanisms- one hidden in each adjacent room surrounding the vault, one obvious on the door itself and one in the remote observation chamber, which is to be located no less than five hundred yards from the vault and manned by a team of four people at all times. Team members are to be Class D personnel and are to be aware of the actual location of no more than two of the hidden locks, to be verified by daily polygraph testing. If knowledge of two is exhibited, all team members are to be reminded not to share knowledge of lock locations. If any team member becomes aware of three or four, termination of entire team is required. These precautions are intended to prevent- or at least retard- access using SCP-005.
SCP-194 itself is to be kept inside a locked acrylic case on a stand within the vault and monitored, by camera, by one Class D personnel at all times. Each of the remote locks are to be observed in a similar fashion, but are to be displayed alongside no less than five extraneous images of rooms throughout the facility, for a total of a bank of nine monitors. Each team member- excepting the one observing the object itself- is to be appraised of the location of a single lock and the method of engaging it- though not of the actual procedure of releasing the lock- and in which room it is kept. Any personnel tampering with any lock without enactment of FPA-194 (see Addendum) is to be immediately terminated and team members are to be assumed to all be aware of its location. Thus, if an attempt is made on two separate locks during the tenure of a single observation team, the entire team is to be terminated and replaced.
Observation of SCP-194 is to be halted at 23:59:50 daily and resumed at 00:00:10. Under no circumstances should observation continue during this time. Thirty-seconds prior to observation cessation, an alarm tone must be sounded, and repeated every five seconds afterward until 00:00:10, at which point an all-clear tone must be sounded.
Ensure that observing team members are aware of the possibility that SCP-026 may appear in the chamber and that this occurrence indicates a future FPA-194 enactment. All concerned personnel are to be alerted immediately, the team members removed from the observation room and all locks disabled immediately to enable recovery of SCP-026. The team members may be returned to duty once the vault is once more locked and SCP-026 returned to custody.
Under no circumstances is SCP-194 to be introduced to anything on the following, non-exclusive list:
Militant subjects of SCP-009
SCP-010
SCP-017
SCP-019
SCP-026 (except under enactment of FPA-194)
…[DATA EXPUNGED]
Description: SCP-194 appears to be a standard fob-design gold pocket watch with latched lid, but when opened reveals itself to have a nonstandard clock face within. Contrary to the outer construction, the watch face within appears to be of much lesser quality, displaying a nearly childlike theme and coloration. Watch face depicts what looks like a canted view of a volcanic eruption- the mountain being the darker colored wedge, the explosion taking place directly behind the fulcrum for the three arms of the watch. Three other shapes are also apparent- a darkened gold, five-pointed star overlaying the explosion and also centered on the arms' fulcrum; an orange oblong at non-standard 9 o'clock; and two odd extensions from an off-yellow shape encompassing nonstandard 11- and 12- o'clock. Observers have likened the extensions to be as unto such things as an open beak, another explosion, and numerous other impressions.
The most strikingly odd feature of SCP-194 is that its clock face possesses thirteen hour markers and indicators around its circumference. Under most circumstances, the item functions with perfect accuracy. However, there are a number of oddities with its performance that become clear after continued observation.
Firstly, SCP-194 requires no maintenance to continue functioning. It does not require winding, and in fact has no apparatus for opening or affecting the workings within the device. All tests intended to reveal the innards of the item show the appropriate clockwork within the device, functioning as it should. Very mild levels of what seems to be harmless energy radiates from within the device, possibly as a result of the materials used in its construction, but no effect of the radiation has been discovered- neither have we found any indication of what materials do, in fact, comprise SCP-194's interior.
Secondly, the item appears to be either highly advanced technologically or else partially sentient- it is aware of DST (in both directions), changes in time zone and passage over the International Date Line (this last is assumed, as it does not display date- it reacts as though it had passed into a new time zone), and automatically adjusts for each occurrence.
Thirdly, at precisely midnight (local time), anyone observing the clock's face vanishes for the space of exactly one second (to be referred to as the Midnight Event, or ME). After this period, they reappear in the exact location they left. The first test subjects reappeared insensate, if not unconscious- testing on unconscious individuals indicated a state of faint, and were otherwise physically unharmed. All initial test subjects either arrived or awakened in utter panic, and exhibited markedly increased fear of the dark and total refusal to view SCP-194 again. Most subjects were recuperated and returned to duty within a week, though their phobia of darkness and the item itself did not diminish.
Post-experimentation interviews with the test subjects revealed that during the ME, they spent what felt like an eternity in nothingness. They specified that it was not just that they felt they had gone blind- it was as though they had been completely destroyed and could no longer sense anything. No attempts to make or hear sounds, feel their own body, taste, smell or see anything were successful. They were conscious for at least part of the time- there just wasn't anything to sense. All described an intense feeling of inquiry, as if their thoughts and desires were being examined, and were eventually returned to their previous location. Also worth noting is that a number of the Class D personnel used as test subjects possessed timepieces of their own- each and every one of these returned a single hour fast.
Document #194-0:
Containment critical cross-reference: those with Level 4 clearance see SCP-196. All others be advised that should another item identical to SCP-194 be discovered, that the second example of this device must not be permitted to be in contact with SCP-194. Advise all personnel of this important containment measure.
Document #194-A:
One subject (now referred to as User 1) did not reappear as normal. Inquiries were made with SCP-026 regarding User 1, but the only information retrievable was that the subject was dead, was buried in ████ █████████ cemetery in ██████, ████████- and had been for ██ years. Further investigation initiated into civilian records at ██████, ████████ revealed that an individual matching User 1's description had arrived in 19██, and had proceeded to make a fortune betting on sports events. Subject reportedly arrived at roughly the same age as his participation in the experiment.
Document #194-B:
Secondary testing initiated after post-experimentation rehabilitation and interviewing with the initial subjects. Dr. ██████ █████████ presented a hypothesis based on the interviews and the anomaly of User 1, suggesting that perhaps the inquiring sensation was exactly that- an inquiry as to what the affected subject desired. The overwhelming majority had expressed an intense desire to return to where they had been prior to their exposure to SCP-194's ME, and all were returned so.
The next battery of test subjects were briefed on what to expect and given a specific desire to express. Each was equipped with a variety of timepieces, functioning and not. All the timepieces capable of measuring time returned one hour fast- ones altered to be fast or slow returned with one hour's difference as affected by their specific peculiarity.
With two exceptions, each was simply returned to the room. Those briefed on the experience returned in moderate discomfort, but the extreme fears exhibited by the first subjects were not repeated.
Desires for material objects, events or most other desires were ignored. The two exceptions returned as follows:
-User 2: returned two days later in the custody of SCP personnel, as planned. Individual reappeared several hundred miles away- precisely twenty-four hours and one second after his disappearance- in a small facility which they had been briefed on and shown photographs of. The facility was constructed for precisely this purpose, and was manned by aforementioned SCP personnel awaiting the subjects arrival to return him to custody. His watch, which displayed the date, did not reflect the twenty-four hours he had been missing, but still displayed the extra hour which the others did.
-User 3: Arrived in custody, similar to User 2, but ten minutes prior to his introduction to SCP-194. He was held in quarantine until his disappearance, then debriefed. He had arrived one day prior to his ME experience in the location designated for both himself and User 2. His timepiece exhibited the same extra hour, but- as with User 2- did not reflect the day they had gained.
Document #194-B-I:
Dr. ██████ █████████ issued the following theorem on the functioning of SCP-194:
Following the three exhibited anomalies in those experiencing the Midnight Event related to SCP-194, I now theorize that any individual viewing the item as its hands enter its thirteenth hour are forced to experience the thirteenth hour in the presence of whatever entity or force it is that keeps SCP-194 functioning. Though the sensation of being questioned and examined is remarkably forceful, SCP-194 only reacts to requests relating to space and time relative to the subject. It is likely that the thirteenth hour indicated on SCP-194's corporeal components is a space-time anomaly created by the device, or possibly simply accessed by it. Whatever force or entity resides within the anomaly seems to occupy itself by transporting supplicants to other locations in the space-time continuum that they request.
Extremely high security precautions are necessary to maintain containment of this device. Under no circumstances should it be allowed to leave the facility. Under no circumstances should an individual be allowed to access the ME while holding SCP-194. Under no circumstances should it be used by anyone who has not undergone extensive conditioning by SCP personnel. Under no circumstances should any individual utilizing the ME to return to a past point in time be allowed to interact or even directly observe themselves. The following procedures should be enacted to ensure the integrity of SCP-194's containment: [DATA EXPUNGED].
Document #194-B-II:
Dr. ██████ █████████ proposal, entitled Failsafe Protocol Act for SCP-194:
In the event of a breach of containment, security or protection of any Keter or Euclid class SCP entities deemed unreleasable under any circumstances, limited utilization of SCP-194 in tandem with SCP-026 can be authorized. Required approvals from █ 05-x class personnel are necessary before enacting of FPA-194.
SCP-026 is to be briefed on the situation regarding the escape/compromise/destruction of the SCP entities concerned, as well as given all information necessary to successfully utilize SCP-194's ME, and allowed access to SCP-194.
SCP-026 is to request transfer to SCP-194's containment chamber one day prior to the escape/compromise/destruction of the concerned SCP entity. He is then to explain the situation to all personnel ranked high enough to be privy to such information, and then held in a secondary containment unit until such time as his past self has utilized the ME, at which time he may be returned to his normal environment.
Any and all actions necessary to prevent the successful escape/compromise/destruction of any SCP entities is authorized under this protocol. Take care to prevent cross-exposure of timelines- remember that under no circumstances should any individual be allowed to interact with or directly observe their alternate selves. Termination is, of course, authorized to prevent this, and to prevent the escape/compromise/destruction of any SCP entities.