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| SCP-889 in an empty state |
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Item #: SCP-889
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Object is made of glass, and as such should be treated as fragile. No additional special containment procedures are needed.
Description: SCP-889 appears to be an antique inkpot. The bottle is of clear glass, with dimensions of 45mm x 45mm x 38mm, closed with a brass screw-on lid. If the bottle is emptied, it can be refilled with any liquid; once the lid is closed, the liquid becomes black ink, which exhibits the psychological effects listed below. When full, SCP-889 holds approximately 50ml of black liquid which is chemically identical to commercially available India ink.
Any contact of this ink with a flat surface produces amorphous but symmetrical patterns. These spots appear to be random, and can be used as any normal Rorschach blot. Test subjects have described some of the blots as ██████, ███ ██ ███████, ████ ██████, "a puppy", ████████████, or a "tantric sexual position."
As illustrated by the test logs below, Subjects viewing the blots produced by SCP-889 universally report feeling vague fear or unease, which increases with continued exposure. This effect continues as long as the blot is viewable from the subject's position, even if the subject is not actually observing it. If the image is blocked from the subject by interposing another object or by rotating the image so that it no longer faces the subject, the unpleasant emotions immediately cease. Returning the blot to view causes the emotions to return at the previous intensity, and then to continue to intensify for as long as the image is viewable. The effect fades with time, as long as the subject is not able to view the blot.
Addendum: This ink may be useful in safeguarding some site-specific SCPs - placing blots in a perimeter around a site may be able to unnerve civilians and/or wildlife into vacating the area. Further testing is needed to determine the long-term psychological effects of repeated or extended exposure.
Initial Test Logs Follow:
Date: ██/██/████
Test Subject: Class D Subject (SCP-889-a). Male, Caucasian, age 35. No history of mental illness.
Procedure: SCP-889 applied to (5) 21.54cm x 27.94cm sheets of white posterboard. Subject asked to view resulting 'blots' for 10 seconds each, image then placed facedown on the desk..
Responses: Leaf, butterfly, face, car, cloud
Results: Responses are within standard range.
Notes: "Control" set, intended to define baseline reaction.
Date: ██/██/████
Test Subject: Class D Subject (SCP-889-a).
Procedure: Same set of blots from previous test. Subject asked to view blots for 60 seconds each, image then placed facedown on the desk. Subject requested to choose different answers than initial test..
Responses: claws, moth, scary clown, staring man in a hat, explosion
Results: Subject responses are within standard range, but noticably weighted toward the negative, i.e. "a scary clown" rather than simply "a clown."
Notes: Subject exhibits subconscious response to SCP influence. Initial set of blots destroyed by burning.
Date: ██/██/████
Test Subject: Class D Subject (SCP-889-b). Female, Hispanic, age 28. History of impulse control/anger control issues; psychiatric evaluation indicates subject uses violence and intimidation to mask feelings of fear or vulnerability.
Procedure: SCP-889 applied to (5) 21.54cm x 27.94cm sheets of white posterboard. Subject asked to view resulting 'blots' for 60 seconds each, image placed faceup on desk.
Responses: angry cat, brass knuckles, funeral wreath, no response, no response
Results: Test incomplete. Subject became distracted by previously viewed images. Perspiration increased, respiration increased. Subject requested test administrator turn the previously viewed images face down. When administrator refused, subject became combative. Subject then began to attempt to turn the images herself, and became enraged when denied. Subject then attempted to assault the test administrator, and was physically subdued by guards then removed from testing area.
Notes: Total exposure of subject to blots approximately 4 minutes. Administrator did not view the images, and did not exhibit a psychological response.
Date: ██/██/████
Test Subject: Class D Subject (SCP-889-c). Male, Asian, age 41. Psychiatric history indicates a history of persecution complex.
Procedure: SCP-889 applied to (1) 21.54cm x 27.94cm sheet of white posterboard. Resulting blot mounted on wall of test area, behind clear plexiglass shield. Subject locked in test area, told to wait for testing personnel to arrive.
Results: Subject notices blot immediately. Subject examines blot for approximately 30 seconds, then resumes pacing test area. After approximately 90 seconds, subject attempts to ignore blot by facing away. Within 3 minutes, subject is perspiring and visibly trembling. Approximately 6 minutes after initial exposure, subject attempts to destroy blot with a chair from the testing area. Chair is destroyed, plexiglass is marred, but blot remains undamaged. After approximately 8 minutes and two additional attemps to destroy blot, subject curls into a fetal ball in farthest corner of testing area, weeping. At the 10-minute mark, subject is removed in a semi-catatonic state and taken to Medical for further monitoring.
Notes: Subject's mental state slowly improved after exposure, allowing subject to respond to questions. Subject refused to state what the blot resembled, becoming violently agitated when pressed. When questioned as to his reactions, subject stated "…I stopped looking at it but it was looking at me. I wanted make it stop looking at me."
Date: ██/██/████
Test Subject: Dr. █████████. Female, Caucasian, age 38. History of [REDACTED].
Procedure: SCP-889 applied to (1) 21.54cm x 27.94cm sheet of white posterboard. Resulting blot mounted 2 meters above ground level on vertical pole erected on salt plain. Subject asked to view blot, then face away from the image and walk until the psychological effects subside.
Results: Subject examines blot for 20 seconds, then faces away and begins walking. Subject's pace begins to accelerate at approximately 2-minute mark. By 5 minute point, subject is running. Subject stops approximately 2.5km from blot. Due to heat haze, atmospheric haze, and distance, blot is no longer visible. When asked, subject states blot resembles a █████████. Subject is handed a pair of high-powered binoculars and immediately returns to a high level of anxiety, despite the fact that the subject has not used them to view the blot. Approximately 15 seconds later, subject throws binoculars away in distress, and immediately reports a cessation of psychological effects.
Notes: Subject did not need to view the blot to cause a return of psychological symptoms. After the initial exposure, merely having the capability to view the image caused emotional distress. This may invalidate proposed usage as perimeter of defense around site-specific SCPs.
Great, so we can give the Hubble the heebiejeebies. — Dr. █████████