Item #: SCP-699
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Given the ongoing testing of SCP-699, it is currently stored in observation lab ██ at site ███, where it requires very little special containment beyond key coded entry to its standard concrete reinforced room. Given the effects generated by SCP-699, any breach of containment is to be considered low priority, as it tends to contain any would-be insubordinates of its own accord. The priority level should be increased as time passes however, as eventually subjects affected will regain consciousness and attempt harm to themselves or other personnel. A small security detail should be on call and proceed to the observation room in the event of a breach. Lethal force has been approved in the containment of SCP-699, however, this has rarely been necessary as subjects affected are usually easily subdued.
The observation room is furnished with several comfortable chairs, couches, and recliners, each equipped with hidden restraining devices, as SCP-699’s effects are best observed in a comfortable seated, or reclining position. When not undergoing testing in observation lab ██, the item may be stored in high value storage at ███████, with access restricted to level 2 personnel and above. Testing may be carried out upon approval from two level 2 personnel overseeing the SCP, and under remote supervision of at least one level 2 personnel, and one level 3 security staff.
Description: SCP-699 is a moderately sized bookshelf, black in color, 1.83 meters tall, 1.22 meters wide, and .46 meters in depth. Testing of the wood the bookshelf consists of has revealed it to be similar to a type of Ironwood found in the Caribbean, Lignum Vitae (Guaiacum officinale), though not identical. New species classification is underway. The wood is extremely resilient to ordinary attempts at damage, but is not indestructible, as several samples have been removed for analysis with industrial grade electric saws. These samples react to high temperatures, acidic environments, and other means of damage that would ordinarily be reserved for the degradation of metallic objects, resulting in the destruction of the samples. Other than its exceptional ability to resist damage, and lack of known counterparts in the wild, the wood is otherwise not unusual. Dating has placed the bookshelf at an age of ███ years.
The bookshelf is untreated with varnish or any other kind of chemical, though it has been sanded to smoothness. SCP-699 is filled with 128 tomes, each identical to the others contained therein, all of which are leather-bound and 20.32cm tall (8in), 15.24cm wide (6in), and of 7.62cm (3in) thickness. The tomes are responsible for all but one observed effect of SCP-699. The bookshelf, as observed thus far, acts as a containment of the tomes set within it. For further details of this containment, please see addendum 699-A1.
The tomes appear to somehow inject the individuals that touch them into the stories contained within. Any individual making contact with one of the tomes will immediately fall into an unconsious dream like state. A mimetic link has been suggested, but testing thus far has not revealed the means by which the tomes cause subjects to enter this state, or how it maintains the state in affected individuals. Neither the bookshelf, nor the books within it, has displayed any kind of mental lure beyond simple human curiosity. Attempts to touch the books with heavily gloved hands and even via remote controlled robotics have resulted in unconsious states in those performing the attempts.
Some individuals are able to touch a previously touched tome without falling unconsious. These individuals will attempt to find an audience, and read the tome out loud to completion without pause for the satisfaction of even the simplest of bodily needs, such as eating or sleeping. Readers will react violently, but not abnormally so, to any attempts at removal of the tome from their persons. When finished reading, they will place the tome back in it's spot on the shelf and display a range of mental states, from uncontrollable laughter or fits of crying, to psychotic intentions of harm.
Once a tome is back in its spot, unconscious subjects will awaken. Test subjects able to relay their experiences have insisted that they have been in another place entirely, and have been either witness to or perpetrators in the undertakings described by the reader of the book. It would seem that subjects are “trapped” in the books they touch, and live out the stories there told, as main characters or secondary characters with varying roles. Subjects able to have claimed that throughout the experience they felt as if they were in control of their own actions, though not necessarily their perceived environment.
The contents of each tome varies, and a list of “stories” read aloud thus far may be found in addendum 699-A2. Repeated tests on the same tome have revealed that it may contain a different story each time. Visual recordings of the open tomes has revealed no text upon the pages within.
Upon initial discovery of these effects, each tome was briefly considered for SCP labeling and separate storage and testing procedures were suggested, but never acted upon given the events of its acquisition and subsequent relocation to its current observation room. A brief record of these events may be accessed via acquisition report 699-Q1 with approval from one level 2 overseer of SCP-699.
It is uncertain whether the tomes themselves may be destroyed, as all attempts to do so have met with an unscheduled reading of one of the books by those performing the attempt. It has been suggested that the bookshelf itself be destroyed, as this at least is possible. However, given the nature of the tomes contained within, it has been deemed unwise, as it is unknown whether the tomes would also be destroyed, or be freed from bondage to the bookshelf.
Addenda:
699-A1: Bookshelf Abilities
The bookshelf itself has displayed only one observed effect. If a subject in contact with the book is forcefully removed from the presence of the bookshelf by a distance of more than 1km, the subject will attempt to return to the proximity of the bookshelf. Those affected by the tomes in this way have later claimed that they felt that they must return the book to a “safe reading zone”, in their own words, and while under its effects, will violently attempt to do so if obstructed. All efforts to remove any of the tomes beyond the observed 1km proximity zone of the bookshelf have resulted in the return of the tomes to this zone, resulting in the deaths of a low number of D-class personnel.
It has also been noted that individuals who have fallen unconsious may be moved to any location regardless of distance from the bookshelf, and will remain unconsious until the tome they touched has been fully read aloud and placed back in SCP-699.
699-A2: List and synopsis of stories read aloud.
Acquisition Report:
699-Q1: SCP-699 was found by an individual in an abandoned log cabin while hiking through an infrequently traveled area of ███████████ National Park. No record of this cabin exists in any park documents, and an investigation into any possible properties the cabin may contain or exhibit is ongoing. The hiker found multiple human skeletal remains just within the front doorway of the cabin, along with several bundles of U.S. currency dated to 1922 or older. It has been theorized that the deceased inviduals may have been betting against who could withstand the most trauma from interaction with the tomes contained within SCP-699. The site was locked down after the hiker emerged from the forest and informed a ranger of his find, wisely deciding to leave the cabin undisturbed. Both the ranger and the hiker were administered powerful amnesiacs and monitored for the standard period, and have shown no signs of remembrance of the cabin or what was found therein.
SCP-699 was removed from the site after much frustration, as it is speculated that many agents fell unconscious upon touching a tome. After 24 hours with no response from the containment team, a second containment team was sent in to investigate. Upon arrival at the cabin they found that many of the previous team members had either committed suicide or were wandering the nearby woods in a severe state of fugue. Attempts to interview the surviving agents proved impossible, as they immediately opened fire upon the second team when discovered and were subsequently killed in action.
The second team took extreme precaution in moving the bookshelf, along with all other items found within and around the cabin, as it was uncertain at the time just what may have caused the previous team to act as they did. The tomes of SCP-699 were quickly discovered to be the anomalous objects upon relocation to Reliquary Site ██. At the time, the bookshelf itself was considered unrelated, until a repeat of what must have happened to the first recovery team occurred onsite. Lockdown protocols were initiated and SCP-699 was quickly contained without further incident. It was then moved to its more secure location at site ██ for further testing.