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WARNING: The contents of this file may be experienced as cognitohazardous by some personnel. All staff conducting research on the Worlds Crowned by Thorns MUST carefully read all preconditions noted in the Dimensional Orientation File to determine whether they are or are not subject to cognitohazard risk and have consented to terms prior to continuing.
Researchers who have NOT consented to these terms must turn back immediately and determine whether or not they are willing to accept the terms for continued research into this sheaf of universes.
There will be no further warnings. –O5-1
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SCP-963
Item #: SCP-963
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-963-1 is to be given into the care of a current D level subject and also monitored by personnel classified as Dr. Bright's assistant. This assistant is to be chosen by O5-12[1] for loyalty to the Foundation, as well as psychological stability[2].
SCP-963 is to be attached to the subject's forehead or the back of the subject's hand using a suitably strong epoxy. SCP-963-1 is now hung by a chain from subject's neck. 963-1 is not allowed to be hidden upon the subject's body. Any attempt to do so will be met with lethal force.
If the current D-level subject exceeds a thirty-day life span, they are to be executed and a new subject chosen to wear 963-1. By order of O5-3, any host body SCP-963-1 is installed upon shall be treated in a manner consistent with SCP Foundation personnel of equivalent rank to Dr. Bright until it passes on of natural causes, or 963-1 must be transferred to a new host for medical reasons as determined by order of a qualified Foundation physician. Transfer for reasons other than host death or severe illness or injury must be approved by O5-12 and at least two other members of the O5 Council.
Current Transfer Procedure as of 11/18/19██[3]
Except under exigent circumstances, the following transfer procedure is to be employed when moving SCP-963-1 from current host to another. First, the future host is to be selected by the presiding physician from a list provided by the relevant site’s supervisor of D-Class personnel based on health, [REDACTED], and [REDACTED] criteria. Dr. Bright is not permitted access to the host selection list. Additionally, current and selected future host are not permitted any form of contact until after transfer is complete.
Transfer will take place in the appropriate Site infirmary within two neighboring examination rooms secured from intrusion by unauthorized personnel by armed guards. The following personnel in addition to the selected future host are required:
- Dr. Bright’s assistant shall schedule and coordinate the required personnel as well as overseeing SCP-963-1 throughout the procedure, but shall not participate in transfer itself.
- Current and selected future host must be monitored by at least one (1) qualified Foundation physician each.
- Selected host is to be monitored by no fewer than two (2) armed guards until confirmation of transfer completion.
- The physical transfer is to be performed by one (1) qualified containment specialist wearing sufficient personal protective equipment to ensure no skin is or could become exposed until after SCP-963-1 is secured in position on the new host.
The current and selected future host must be in a calm, non-agitated state prior to initiating transfer and capable of remaining still and/or moving only according to containment specialist commands. Sedation is mandatory in the event either host cannot comply for any reason, medical or otherwise. Once compliance is confirmed, physical transfer may proceed.
The containment specialist is to remove SCP-963-1 from the current host and place it into a box with no fewer than three latching mechanisms that cannot be knocked loose as a result of contact or fall/other impact. When SCP-963-1is not confirmed secure on a host, all personnel except the containment specialist must maintain at least two (2) meters’ distance from SCP-963-1 to prevent accidental contact. Once SCP-963-1 is removed from the current host’s examination room, the current host shall be humanely terminated. The containment specialist will transport SCP-963-1 in the latched box to the selected host’s examination room, re-verify selected host’s compliance, and after compliance is verified, unbox and place SCP-963-1 upon the new host. Upon confirmation of completed transfer, all non-medical personnel are to be dismissed to allow private completion of a post-transfer physical.
ATTENTION: As of 12/13/19██ 963-1 is not allowed in proximity of any Euclid or Keter class humanoid SCPs. This directive is to be enforced lethally. Rescinded: O5-6, O5-8, O5-9
Description: SCP-963-1 is an ornate amulet approximately 15 centimeters in circumference[4] made from white gold, with thirteen (13) ██k brilliant-cut diamonds surrounding a ███k oval-cut ruby in a starburst pattern. It was discovered in the personal effects of ██████ ███, who had been found dead by apparent suicide and surrounded by a number of occult books. An Iota-10[5] MTF agent assigned to the [REDACTED] police force intercepted forensic reports stating 963-1 was incapable of being damaged and brought it in according to protocol XLR-8R-██.
Dr. Jack Bright, Junior Researcher, was assigned the responsibility of researching SCP-963-1's capabilities, and granted access to [REDACTED] in 19██. Five months later, SCP-076-2, which at that time was housed at the same site, broke containment (see after-action report 076-2-19A for further details), leading to █ deaths and ██ casualties. Dr. Bright was transporting SCP-963-1 by hand past SCP-076-2's containment unit, and was among the first killed in the breach.
█ days later, a member of D-Class personnel tasked to clear the area of rubble discovered 963-1 among the wreckage and picked it up. An immediate, noticeable change in mannerisms, posture, and speech patterns and accent came over D1-113, accompanied by extreme initial disorientation. D1-113 was then isolated while still in possession of 963-1 and taken to interrogation. See below for initial interview log.
Interview Log X-████, Date: ██-█-19██
████: Could you please tell me your name?
D1-113: It's Jack Bright; you damn well know it is!
████: I believe you are Tom Higly, working for us as part of your life sentence.
D1-113: Don't be ridiculous! I couldn't possibly be--
[SCP-963-1 is removed at this time from D1-113’s possession, resulting in immediate loss of consciousness. A further examination with EEG and experimental Foundation-developed magnetic imaging shows that D1-113 ceases all higher brain functions. 963-1 is returned, upon which brain function returns and the interview continues in the examination room.]
████: Dr. Bright?
D1-113: What?
████: We appear to have a problem.[6]
D1-113: What kind of problem? What the hell do you mean—wait a minute, what happened? Just a few minutes ago…076-2—it was coming right at me—then the pain and the light…white—then it was red and it was grabbing at me, pulling at me so, so hard—I don’t know how, and then—
[D1-113 stops, looks down at his hands and immediately begins to scream. Medical staff administer sedation. Initial interview ends.]
Through extensive experimentation, it has been discovered that when any living anthropoid comes into direct skin contact with SCP-963-1, the mind of the subject is wiped, and that of Dr. Bright is projected from 963-1 onto the subject. Memories native to Dr. Bright transfer from host to host, maintaining full continuity and clarity with minimal to no gap in experiential awareness.
If a subject maintains contact with 963-1 for thirty (30) days, their brain functions become a duplicate of the late Dr. Bright's. If 963-1 is removed after this time period, the subject retains an independent copy of the consciousness of Jack Bright. Extensive sanctions and containment protocols were initially put in place to prevent multiple instances of Dr. Bright from being created; however, most of these conditions were ultimately rescinded, as Dr. Bright’s performance record subsequent to the incident still indicated sufficient dedication to the SCP Foundation and its mission.
It has additionally been observed that SCP-963-1 provides Dr. Bright with partial protection against psionic manipulation of perception and emotion. This effect is hypothesized to be the result of Dr. Bright’s prime consciousness residing within SCP-963-1 and broadcasting through unknown means to the nervous system of the host. This protection remains in effect both before and after the 30-day imprinting window as long as the host remains in contact with the amulet.
Dr. Bright himself has performed extensive research and experimentation on SCP-963-1, with the expressed desire for release from it. Initial research focused on determining the origin and parameters of activation and function for 963-1. Dr. Bright’s research into the circumstances of activation indicate ██████ ███ self-terminated in the process of empowering SCP-963-1, and therefore failed to bind his own consciousness to the amulet. He further hypothesizes the cause of failure for the initial binding attempt was the employment of self-termination as opposed to the original creator being killed by an external force. Therefore SCP-963-1 was left in a primed but not fully activated state following the original creator’s self-termination; this was not understood at the time of the original discovery and classification of 963-1. As a result, when Dr. Bright was killed while holding SCP-963-1, the amulet fully activated at that time and completed the binding process.
Dr. Bright has also performed numerous experiments aimed at the destruction of SCP-963-1, a selected list of which are detailed below:
03-15-19██
Testing Method: Using a chainsaw to attempt to cut across various sections of SCP-963-1.
Result: No damage to SCP-963-1. SCP-963-1 was knocked loose of its clamp multiple times. Chainsaw chain required replacement.
03-15-19██
Testing Method: Attempting to compress and/or cause disassembly of SCP-963-1 by use of a hydraulic press.
Result: No damage to SCP-963-1. When sufficient pressure was reached, SCP-963-1 shot sideways across the lab as a result of accumulated forces, causing a minor divot in the wall commensurate with the measured mass and acceleration.
Note: Do NOT let that thing get loose again, Jack. I don’t care how badly you want to destroy it. –O5-12 [7]
03-16-19██
Testing Method: SCP-963-1 is placed into a highly concentrated solution of aqua regia (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid) in an attempt to dissolve the white gold portions of the amulet.
Result: No damage to SCP-963-1 following 24 hours of exposure.
03-18-19██
Testing Method: SCP-963-1 is placed into a highly concentrated solution of hydrofluoric acid in an attempt to damage or eventually dissolve the diamond and ruby portions of the amulet.
Result: No damage to SCP-963-1 following 24 hours of exposure.
03-21-19██
Testing Method: SCP-963-1 is placed into a laboratory furnace with the temperature set to 6000° C
Result: No damage to SCP-963-1 following 2 hours of exposure. Measured temperature of SCP-963-1 immediately upon removal from the furnace was consistent with the temperature inside the furnace; however, neither gems nor metals showed any signs of melting or increased malleability. SCP-963-1 returned to room temperature at a rate consistent with equivalent non-anomalous materials.
05-02-19██
Testing Method: SCP-963-1 is removed from Dr. Bright’s current host prior to 30-day imprinting window, then subjected to repeated electrical bursts from a high-intensity voltage generator.
Result: No damage to SCP-963-1 and no loss of function.
Note: Damn it, I really hoped if we couldn’t actually destroy the thing, we could disrupt or stop its function. While I hadn’t found any evidence of electrical activity in it under ‘normal’ conditions, it was at least worth a try just in case there was some kind of neuroelectric-like component to its broadcasts to my brain…my host brain, I mean. –Dr. Jack Bright
06-04-19██
Testing Method: Undercover Foundation operatives, under the supervision of Dr. Bright’s assistant, infiltrate Atomic Energy Commission and military units performing surface-level nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site and place SCP-963-1 underneath the warhead prior to detonation.
Result: No damage to SCP-963-1; additionally, radioactive isotopes expected as a result of the explosion were not found upon the amulet nor did radioactivity levels significantly exceed those expected for equivalent unexposed, non-anomalous materials.
11-24-19██
Testing Method: Ingestion by SCP-682, conducted in conjunction with cross-test to determine whether SCP-963-1 could expel the consciousness of or destroy 682.
Result: SHIT. 963-1 unscathed. Of course. VERY unpleasant trip though; NEVER doing that again. [8]
Note: Dr. Bright, if you cannot be professional with your research notes, either wait and do it later or get your assistant to document on your behalf. –O5-6 [9]
09-16-19██
Testing Method: SCP-963-1 is placed into a Foundation particle accelerator and antiprotons fired at it.
Result: No damage to SCP-963-1; additionally, while antiprotons were confirmed to have impacted the amulet and split, based on the trails left by two anti-up quarks (u̅) and one anti-down quark (d̅) per collision, no matter-antimatter annihilations occurred until the antiquarks impacted other materials. The results of these secondary matter-antimatter annihilations had no effect on SCP-963-1.
12-25-1986
Proposed Testing Method: Prolonged exposure to corium formation recently identified beneath Chernobyl Reactor 4.
Note 1: The Foundation is not funding a mission to sneak you into one of the most heavily monitored radioactivity sites in the world, not now, not ever. And how the hell is this even logical after a direct hit from a nuclear weapon and even ANTIMATTER failed to destroy the thing? –O5-5
Note 2: This one’s about disruption, not outright destruction. Maybe if the radiation means the damn thing can’t broadcast anymore, it’ll give up and let go of my soul. –Dr. Jack Bright
Note 3: Jack, you are severely grasping at straws and the tone of your message makes it abundantly clear, not just the content. Permission for this test is unconditionally denied. Don’t ask again and definitely don’t strike out on your own to try it. We will be watching. –O5-5
Note 4: Read you loud and clear. Trust me, I’m done with physics. –Dr. Jack Bright
07-08-19██
Testing Method: Requested “liquid capable of destroying SCP-963” from SCP-294.
Result: SCP-294 returned an “OUT OF RANGE” simultaneous with the dispensing of a cup of Coca-Cola described by Dr. Bright as, “just the way I remember it from the drugstore right around the corner where I lived when I was little!” Chemical analysis of a sample revealed trace amounts of coca leaf and kola nut extracts consistent with Coca-Cola manufactured pre-1930. After cocaine levels were deemed sufficiently low as to produce no appreciable effect on adult human physiology, Dr. Bright was permitted to take the rest to his quarters and consume it there. Test results were reported to staff in charge of research on SCP-294 for further analysis to determine the reason the machine experienced this possibly unique combination of error conditions.
01-01-19██
Proposed Testing Method: Introduction to SCP-914 on setting “Very Coarse”
Note 1: Denied. First off, we are not risking 914 after what happened with 682. And secondly, a consciousness going through the Clockworks on “Very Coarse”? We are privy to far more than our share of terrible things on the Council but even the thought of this gives me nightmares on your behalf.[10] –O5-3
07-08-20██
Proposed Testing Method: Ingestion by SCP-123.
Note 1: That’s not a test. That’s a one-way trip. For all the Foundation’s efforts, we still haven’t found a way of empirically testing what’s beyond the event horizon of a black hole, even a miniature one contained in an anomalous framework, and no way of deciphering any information coming back out of it, if that’s somehow encoded in the Hawking radiation if we even had a detector reliable enough to pick it up in the first place. Yes, it could theoretically work, but the most favorable failure would be you wake up after a trip through a wormhole in a universe with who knows what sort of properties. The worst failure would be 123 ‘chokes’ on the amulet somehow and either spits it out, breaching the containment framework, or sets off the kind of explosion we think happens when black holes collide with each other, or other objects that don’t ‘give’ particularly easily. Either of those is an XK End-of-World scenario. Permission denied. –O5-1
03-22-20██
Proposed Testing Method: To be determined. Proposing contacting thaumatologists at the Global Occult Coalition for paranormal methods of reversing the soul-binding, as Foundation attempts to derive a method based on the texts originally found with 963-1 and other codices in the possession of the SCP Foundation have consistently failed.
Note 1: Denied. We are not releasing 963-1, nor detailed information regarding it, to an adversarial Group of Interest, even in light of the recent détente. Once it’s out of our exclusive control, it’s not just the GOC we have to be concerned about; it’s anyone else they work with or who spies on them that we can’t intervene to stop. I’m aware of what happened with the 963-2 project. There is not going to be a 963-3, -4, or any more if I have anything to say about it. That’s an unacceptable risk both to you and to an unguessable amount of people. This has to stop, Jack. Speaking for myself this once, I am getting very concerned. I’m putting in an order for you to undergo evaluation with Dr. Glass. –O5-12 [11]
SCP-963-2
Entry Regarding SCP-963-2
On ██/██/19██, orders were given by O5-6 to attempt to replicate SCP-963-1.[12] All attempts met with failure until SCP-963-2, at which point, [SUBSEQUENT DATA EXPUNGED].
ALL INFORMATION REGARDING SCP-963-2 IS CLASSIFIED LEVEL 5. ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO ACCESS FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT SCP-963-2 WITHOUT LEVEL 5 CLEARANCE WILL BE TERMINATED.
ANNOTATIONS
[1] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: Okay, so a little explanation about the O5s, and especially Twelve, for those of you who haven’t dealt with them directly (or as “directly” as it ever gets). Because of how long this file has been active, you might see the same number but it might not necessarily be the same person depending on when something happened. The first O5-12 I had the misfortune of dealing with…well, try as he might to hide it, it was definitely my father, one Dr. Adam Bright. And to give you an idea how those interactions went, let’s just say I eventually started looking into how I might commission Are We Cool Yet? to make him an anart piece cleverly entitled, “DIE.” Use your imagination as to the effects. Thankfully someone else apparently got there first. Which did not surprise me at all, because wanting to kill him is a totally reasonable reaction to getting to know him.
That started the tradition of the new O5-12, who, rumor has it, literally gets yanked off the street from the normal side of the Veil and conscripted onto the O5 Council to serve as the Voice of Humanity. Probably happened because the rest of the Council got sick of the entitled attitude from dear old Dad’s ages-long anomalous-world heritage. Anyway, the new Twelves since then haven’t objected to being called that, and they tend to be some of the better O5s to work with. Which I find funny as hell, because I bet the last thing my father wanted was for somebody who actually wanted things to work well to start being in charge of selecting my assistants. Anyway, if you see O5-12 mentioned anywhere else, I’ll point out which one it is: Adam Bright, or the Voice.
[2] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: We’re all mad here! Though to be fair, it does come in degrees.
[3] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: I wasn’t the one who wrote this procedure. But I did insist on the safety stuff. For once in my damn life. Regardless of what anyone thinks of me, how I treat myself half the time, if I’m not in my right mind when a transfer needs to happen, or someone just really, really happens to be pissing me off, I actually don’t want collateral damage from accidents. Transfers can’t always happen like this but when they can, it’s better for all involved.
[4] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: Circumference, not diameter. You would not believe how often I see this confused, including by highly educated professionals. For the terminally curious, or the seriously bored, a 15 cm circumference works out to a diameter of about 4 ¾ cm. And for any non-sciencey Americans who somehow got hold of this file, that would be 5.91 inches around and 1.88 inches across.
[5] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: Mobile Task Force Iota-10, or “Damn Feds,” or as I like to call them, "Pushing Papers Per a Purpose.” They’re our infiltrators into all sorts of government agencies, and our first indication when law enforcement or some other poor sap in public service stumbles onto something anomalous in the line of duty.
[6] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: You know what hardly anyone ever asks? No one asks what it means to be this. No one asks what it feels like—they don’t want to know. And I don’t want them to know, not the way I do, but sometimes I want them to know of it, just a little. Until very recently, the interview log in the file ended here…at least it did until in some sick moment of self-pity I dug up the original interview tape. Why did I do that? Because that was not where it really ended. Somebody decided the actual end of the interview wasn’t important, like everybody’s going to just get back down to business after figuring out something of this magnitude. What the hell kind of narrative were they trying to construct with that kind of selective editing? Or did they just not think enough to give a shit? Like I said. Hardly anybody ever asks what it feels like. So I went into the file and I edited this bit back in. Why the hell did I do it? I hardly like to talk about it but sometimes, if they could just see, just for a second…!
[7] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: Dear old Dad, folks! Source notwithstanding, this was one of the first things that put it in the back of my mind that I needed to start giving some thought to some kind of proper transfer procedure. That didn’t come until later, but it did eventually come.
[8] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: You may have heard a story I told about this once. Don’t believe it. I was about nine sheets to the wind in the middle of a hot wing eating contest at the time, tried to make something up because Alto Fucking Clef would not shut up about it. Didn’t do too badly for that much alcohol, but badly by any kind of objective standard. It was an incredibly unpleasant trip, but not like that. Also, for the record, never get that wasted at a hot wing contest, ever. I spent the whole rest of the night after that praying to the porcelain goddess for blessed death just to get out of the body I did that to, and after I finally did get some kind of sleep, I woke up to the worst fucking hangover in my entire life and my entire digestive system screaming like I chugged battery acid all night. And no transfer authorization because, I quote, “It’s your own damn fault, Jack.”
[9] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: So that lovely O5 there is my older brother, and unfortunately, he’s still around. Fuck you very much, Mikell. You try getting chewed up, swallowed, and output from the other end by the damn lizard. You try contact with that disgusting excuse for a mind and try not to get overwritten by it. Then see if you want to come to me about “professional.”
[10] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: This…was honestly one of the nicest denials I ever received. Until then I didn’t know anyone on the O5 Council had it in them. The more I’ve heard about Three over the years—the Philosopher-Scientist, some people call him—this seems pretty consistent with his behavior across the board. (I know, I know, proper form is to put a footnote or define a term the first time you use it, not wait until most of the way in, but so what? It seemed like it fit here.)
[11] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: As you might guess by the actually not totally asshole-ish delivery, the O5-12 who sent me to the shrink and pulled the plug on the termination tests was the Voice, not my father. And did you see that? A 963-2? Keep reading and be grateful you haven’t had to suffer the decades of nightmares that one has given me.
[12] Note found on Dr. Jack Bright’s personal copy: You know the phrase “dragged away kicking and screaming”? Yeah. That’s what my oh so wonderful father and older brother sent MTF Alpha-01, the “Red Right Hand,” to do to me. They waited until I’d imprinted on my host and literally sicced an elite MTF on me, the personal bodyguards of the O5 Council themselves, to seize the amulet because I was not letting go of it willingly when I got wind of what they wanted to do. I’ll leave you to imagine the test results because nothing—nothing—you image could possibly be as revolting and utterly depraved as what I witnessed that day. Like I said…I still have nightmares to this day. Just how the fuck could my lovely delightful family members see this and think it could possibly be a good idea?! If you’re reading this, please, trust me. Don’t ever try to do this again.