Because a lifetime lives for eternal torture and pain, and right now? I feel like I've just hit the rock bottom…
Item#: 8940
Level2
Containment Class:
esoteric
Secondary Class:
thaumiel
Disruption Class:
dark
Risk Class:
notice
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8940-Z and SCP-8940-L are contained at Site-169. Both entities are free to roam the facility at their discretion, provided that they continue to meet the conditions set by the Foundation.
Copies of any recordings produced by SCP-8940-Z or SCP-8940-L are to be kept in the Records and Storage office at Site-169. Site staff may take these records at their own discretion, provided at least one copy is kept on-site.
For security purposes, both entities must remain on-site. Personnel requesting access to SCP-8940-Z and SCP-8940-L are to be brought to Site-169 for treatment.
Neither entity is considered to be a risk to Foundation personnel, but due to their potential effects, all visits should be scheduled by the on-site psychological team to determine if a visit would benefit the individual.
Description: SCP-8940-Z “Zoya” and SCP-8940-L “Lorelei” are humanoid entities, capable of altering people’s moods and emotional state through music. The listener most often describes the experience as feeling the music “talking” to them, prompting an intimate understanding of what the music is trying to elicit from them.
Both SCP-8940-Z and -L do not possess a consistent physical appearance. General characteristics remain consistent, such as gender and age.
Characteristics that may change are as follows:
SCP-8940-Z
• Eye and skin colour may change due to auditory stimuli, often presenting in a similar way to albinism.
• Tattoos on the arms and neck may glow when actively producing music.
• Hair may change length or colour in accordance with the tone of music that is produced.
SCP-8940-L
• Vocals may present with a perfect-pitch or layered effect, depending on mood.
• Height may vary heavily, with an average of 6ft.
• Skin is often crystalline in nature, presenting as a teal skin tone and causing a scintillation effect.
Both entities exacerbate what feelings already exist, and have not been proven to completely reform an individual.
Project Requiem Case Summary
Following an incident where one Foundation employee was seriously injured, and another was engaged in a harmful act in relation to their mental health, the Ethics Committee has initiated an experimental treatment involving SCP-8940, as an early intervention for Foundation staff showing signs of mental health issues developing.
Dr. Sofia Harper and Agent Kuni Kimura were selected for this treatment due to their previous relationship. They fit the criteria for one critical and one moderately severe patient for the experiment.
Due to their own insistence, they have been transferred to Site-169 for treatment.
— Amelie R. Metanoia, Director, AEED
Security Footage from the Site-169 Cafeteria
Date: 17/06/2025
Staff involved: Dr. Sofia Harper, Agent Kuni Kimura
Foreword: All details irrelevant to this document have been removed for brevity.
<Begin Log>
Agent Kimura: This feels like a waste of time.
Dr. Harper: How would you know that? We got here yesterday.
Agent Kimura: And yesterday went by so quick it feels like it was just today. What is coming here going to help? You think we’re going to find some purpose here at the Foundation daycare?
Dr. Harper: Do you think you were getting anywhere moping at our last site, guarding the director’s office? And oi! The AEED is not a “daycare”, it’s a compassionate department that strives to help anomalies and people. Have some respect for my, hopefully, future employer!
Agent Kimura: Your smile is the only reason their director chose you for this. Your friendship too, obviously.
Agent Kimura sits down and starts poking at his food with a fork.
Dr. Harper: We’re not friends, just friendly. Big difference.
[PAUSE]
Dr. Harper: Come on, Kuni, I think we were both at a bit of a dead end in our lives. I mean, I’m not exactly happy being a paper pusher. I’m raring to innovate, and uplift people with my work, not uplift records onto a shelf for my coup de grâce. What were we going to accomplish there in the next month that we can’t accomplish here?
Agent Kimura: Being wrong didn’t make me feel any better about it.
Dr. Harper: Everyone hates to hear this, but you really need to lighten up, okay? We’re here to learn! To be guinea pigs! Maybe we’ll be cured of our problems by the end of this, and we can help others too!
Agent Kimura: Are you hearing yourself? Just because you’re the first patient doesn’t mean you’ll be the first doctor.
Dr. Harper puts her hands on her hips and pouts.
Dr. Harper: Don’t be a pessimist.
Agent Kimura: Okay, well when you’re ready to be realistic, just know I’ve got a second rope.
Dr. Harper: … Good lord.
<End Log>
Following a consultation with AEED Director Metanoia, Dr. Harper and Agent Kimura met with SCPs 8940-Z and 8940-L and decided amongst themselves how to conduct their sessions. SCP-8940-Z preferred to work with Dr. Harper, and SCP-8940-L preferred to work with Agent Kimura.
Audio Log Transcript - SCP-8940-Z/01
Date: 19/06/2025
Researcher: Dr. Sofia Harper
Subject: SCP-8940-Z
<Begin Log>
Dr. Harper: Oh, hello again!
SCP-8940-Z: Hey, Sofia. Come sit, I’ve prepared us something.
Dr. Harper: Oh? What is it?
Dr. Harper pauses for a moment before sitting down.
Dr. Harper: Actually, silly question, wasn’t it?
SCP-8940-Z: Please, there is no such thing.
SCP-8940-Z produces a vinyl record and begins to play it, spinning it on her nail.
Dr. Harper: Guess you don’t sell CD’s, right? Maybe in bulk?
SCP-8940-Z: Why would I? You get the warmth that digital records can’t touch. Plus, all of the imperfections make it real. I don’t particularly like when things are perfect, recorded one hundred times so no one hears your imperfections. It removes what makes it yours, in my opinion.
Dr. Harper: Is the personality what makes them work, too? I’ve heard so much about how beneficial these can be, and I’m excited to see your magic happen.
SCP-8940-Z smiles.
SCP-8940-Z: Thank you, but the magic is all in the listener. I’ve heard quite a bit about you, as well.
Dr. Harper: Really? What’ve you heard?
SCP-8940-Z: Amelie tells me how excited you were to be here, how you were foaming at the mouth to try and help people… And how you apparently swapped your application with everyone else’s from your site?
Dr. Harper: Oh, yeah… Well, when you want something bad enough to steal, right?
SCP-8940-Z cocks an eyebrow and stares quietly.
Dr. Harper: Leaving me hanging?
[PAUSE]
Dr. Harper: Right. So uh, anyways, I know we’re here to help me, and I hope many others… but what do we actually do? I was hoping we could figure out the logistics first today, and then we could-
SCP-8940-Z chuckles.
SCP-8940-Z: Sofia. Just sit back and listen, embrace it, even sing to it if you like. We could also just chat, your mind will work itself with some good music in the background. Don’t take the fun out of this by working too soon.
SCP-8940-Z makes herself more comfortable in her chair, and gestures for Dr. Harper to do the same.
Dr. Harper: I’ll get to know you in the meantime then. Why exactly are you doing this? Music’s awesome, but you look at it like it’s a miracle.
SCP-8940-Z: Well, despite what you may think, I think and feel the same way that you do. The same way your mother does, your best friend, your little sister and any other person on the planet. To me, music is an expression of self, but to you it’s a… I suppose a lens of sorts. You can listen to a record and be brought back to how you were feeling when you first heard it, and remember a part of you that you might not want to forget. That’s only one of many answers I could give to your “Why?” But is it not worth it already just purely from the possibilities?
Dr. Harper: Mm, well, I suppose it’s preference? Some people prefer pictures, some of my friends keep journals. I guess music is how you like to keep the score?
SCP-8940-Z: Yes, it is. Everything I’ve ever felt has been put in a record. I’ll gladly do the same for anyone else who asks me, for everyone who is saved brings us balance and peace.
Dr. Harper: I’m sure Amelie will love to hear that! I mean, she already knew anyway, but nice to know, y’know?
[PAUSE]
SCP-8940-Z: If I may ask, as to not be rude, or state the obvious. Why are you so desperate to be working on this project specifically?
Dr. Harper: I don’t usually talk on other people’s business, but… it’s Kuni. There was an incident, when we were together that divided us more than I’d want to admit. It motivated me to do everything I can, for anyone I can.
SCP-8940-Z: Is this inspiration coming from a place of success? Or perhaps a place of failure, or regret?
Dr. Harper: I used to tell myself I’d be there when he really needed it, it’s not like I didn’t know when we got together how things were going, but it’s different when you aren’t making up the scenarios, you know?
SCP-8940-Z: When you aren’t making them up?
Dr. Harper: Anyone can be the hero in their own mind, because their mind makes things perfect around them. In your head everything just has a certain convenience to it that makes the reality hitting you… so much harder.
Dr. Harper takes a shaky breath and wipes her eyes on her sleeve.
SCP-8940-Z: Oh no, please, I did not mean to upset you. I do not know what is going on between you both, but I apologize if I’ve opened a healing wound.
Dr. Harper: I’m sorry, really Zoya. I just got too invested in it again, and… Let’s just stop for now.
SCP-8940-Z nods her head and leans back against her seat. Both SCP-8940-Z and Dr. Harper proceed to be silent and listen to the music play for the rest of the session.
<End Log>
Audio Log Transcript - SCP-8940-L/01
Date: 20/06/2025
Staff: Agent Kuni Kimura
Subject: SCP-8940-L
<Begin Log>
SCP-8940-L: Perhaps it would be rude to start the conversation by saying you look a bit bothered?
Agent Kimura: If I was different, I’d try making myself more presentable.
SCP-8940-L: I’m not here to antagonize you, so we’ll leave that where it is.
SCP-8940-L gestures to a seat. Agent Kimura sits down.
Agent Kimura: You don’t expect me to talk, do you?
SCP-8940-L: Not about yourself, unless that’s what you want. I’m just here to help you cope, really.
Music begins to play through a speaker system setup inside the interview room.
Agent Kimura: Sofia says this works like magic on her, her exact words. Made her feel really energised and “refreshed” apparently.
SCP-8940-L: She went in with a positive attitude.
[PAUSE]
SCP-8940-L: You might like to escape yourself for a bit.
Agent Kimura: Oh, so Zoya composes magic, you produce drugs. Gotcha.
SCP-8940-L: Zoya likes people to understand music and learn about themselves through it. It’s more a practical thing to me. It’s always perfect for my listeners.
Agent Kimura: So if it’s perfect, when is it going to work?
SCP-8940-L: Whenever you want to let it.
Agent Kimura is silent for several moments while he focuses on the music playing.
Agent Kimura: Why should I keep sitting here and listening to this?
SCP-8940-L: Music can alter moods; it talks to you. I can’t change your life in two minutes, but I can fix your day at least.
Agent Kimura: And that makes it good for me?
SCP-8940-L gestures to Agent Kimura’s sidearm and sighs to herself.
SCP-8940-L: Well it could load that gun up for you, and cock it too. An influence just capitalises on what was already present, when you think about it.
[PAUSE]
Agent Kimura: I want to finally empty the bottle so I can see through the glass, but I’ve been stuck in this life for years now. Change is a foreign concept.
SCP-8940-L: I’m glad you haven’t welcomed hopelessness, but I need some effort on your part. For better or worse, we can make you feel something different.
Agent Kimura: … But still only what I let you, right? That’s the catch with this?
SCP-8940-L: Music is only noise that people interpret with more meaning than most others. Anomalous or not by human standards, it’s as helpful as you want it to be.
<End Log>
AEED Meeting
Date: 22/06/2025
Researcher: Dr. Sofia Harper
AEED Consultant: Amelie R. Metanoia
<Begin Log>
Dir. Metanoia and Dr. Harper both smile and hug each other briefly.
Dir. Metanoia: Sofia! It’s so nice to see you again! How have you been with Zoya?
Dr. Harper: Hey, Amelie! I’m sorry we haven’t made a lot of progress these past couple of days, we’ve just been chatting a lot honestly.
Dir. Metanoia: Ah, well that’s alright, dear. There is no rush after all, and let’s not forget you’re here for your own treatment before anyone else’s.
Dr. Harper: Are you sure you don’t mind? I wouldn’t want you thinking we’re just vacationing.
Dir. Metanoia: No, no, please. Take as much time as you need to. How has Kuni been?
Dr. Harper: He’s… resisting a bit. I don’t think he likes to change much, but don’t worry.
Dir. Metanoia: I didn’t think he would take to things as quickly as you would here. Poor thing seems like he wants a difference so bad, but he just can’t get himself into the right mind for it.
Dr. Harper: It’s a real shame he isn’t more excited about being here, but I understand him. Things aren’t often hopeful where we worked before, I’m sure you can imagine.
Dir. Metanoia: I can, dear.
Dir. Metanoia picks up some papers from her desk and begins reading them.
Dr. Harper: What have you got there?
Dir. Metanoia: They’re just some logistical things. I’ve been drafting up ideas so we can distribute SCP-8940’s music through the Foundation, and get them to the staff who need it most first.
Dr. Harper: Surely you can just give everyone a playlist? Assuming that would still work the same, anyway.
Dir. Metanoia: Things could be a huge benefit for us all, even the world, but we’re a small site, you see. To go as big as we all want to with this, we would need the 05's approval.
Dr. Harper: That’s an “easier said than done”, isn’t it?
Dir. Metanoia: Assuming we prove it can work on you and Kuni, it shouldn’t be too bad. Zoya and Lorelei aren’t harmful, it’s just whether they’re helpful that matters.
Dr. Harper: I found her pretty helpful, if my opinion is all you needed.
Dir. Metanoia laughs softly.
Dir. Metanoia: We still don’t know exactly how their music influences us, all we know is that to some extent, it does. We aren’t a research site, and their case has been pretty low priority until Project Requiem started. You and Kuni don’t mind lending a hand in changing that, do you?
Dr. Harper smiles.
Dr. Harper: Of course not, Ma’am.
Dir. Metanoia pats Dr. Harper on the shoulder before Dr. Harper exits the room.
<End Log>
Audio Log Transcript - SCP-8940-Z/02
Date: 24/06/2025
Researcher: Dr. Sofia Harper
Subject: SCP-8940-Z
<Begin Log>
Dr. Harper: Hey, Zoya!
SCP-8940-Z: Morning, Sofia.
SCP-8940-Z takes a record from a shelf, and it begins spinning on her nail.
Dr. Harper: I know we have business to attend to, so on and so on. I wanted to chat some more about music, too, if you don’t mind… and maybe the other thing, too.
SCP-8940-Z: Always. Which shall we handle first?
Dr. Harper: Let's get the business out of the way first. I was talking to Amelie, and she said we had to prove that your music puts that spark back in people.
SCP-8940-Z: That seems simple, but you seem bothered?
Dr. Harper: Yeah… I was specifically thinking of Kuni, though. He resists help, so we should be golden if you sway him for the better. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind focusing on him instead of me?
SCP-8940-Z: We can only really do as much for him as he wants to do for himself, and I don’t want to crowd him and slow him down.
Dr. Harper: I know, but he just needs a firm kick to push him into gear. I’m going to speak with him soon and have a little heart to heart, and try to open his eyes a bit.
SCP-8940-Z: He needs to push himself first. Everything that he puts in is everything he will get in return from us. We can’t “magic” away people’s problems… and I believe yours are too important to ignore, as well.
Dr. Harper adjusts her glasses and leans back in her chair. She smiles softly at SCP-8940-Z.
Dr. Harper: Well, I suppose he’ll come around. He’s only a stubborn idiot at the end of the day.
SCP-8940-Z: I had heard you speak with Amelie… Is there anything you’ve come up with that we could try?
Dr. Harper: We haven’t got the money to just send everyone their own album, despite how cool that would be, but I was hoping we could bring people on-site. Y’know, like me and Kuni are doing. That way we can spread the costs a lot wider, so no one department goes bankrupt for their staff’s mental health.
SCP-8940-Z: I assure you, me and Lorelei are not interesting enough to warrant people taking trips here.
Dr. Harper: I assure you that you are! If people knew what you were doing for them, they’d be crowding at the door trying to meet you. Don’t let introversion be the thing that stops you changing so many lives, Z!
SCP-8940-Z holds their hand over their chest and smiles.
SCP-8940-Z: All I do is give people an outlet, Sofia. Something to resonate with and experience their feelings through. I don’t think any of this would be worth anything if people didn’t make music what it is. Which brings me back to my point on Kuni.
Dr. Harper: It might not be magical, but I like to think it is. Even if it just gives a few the courage to change themselves, it’s all got to be worth it for that.
SCP-8940-Z smiles and picks up another record.
SCP-8940-Z: I can’t argue on that. Do you have time for another? We could chat about your other business, as well.
Dr. Harper: Of course, yeah.
SCP-8940-Z: Whenever you are ready.
Dr. Harper: It’s just… I’m struggling with the idea that every time I stop, someone else’s clock keeps ticking. It’s like no matter how much I try to do for people, I somehow always have less time to help, than they do to get help.
SCP-8940-Z: Is the motivation from before this new sense of urgency?
Dr. Harper: Yes. Before me and Kuni got together, I could tell things might be, I guess, tense. I’d heard from one person or another that he wasn’t doing great, pair that with the fact that he’s cute and I figured I’d say hello. I was just gonna, you know, have a chat with him now and then, try to cheer him up a little.
SCP-8940-Z: Were you two more tense at first? Or did you “click” like I hear Amelie say?
Dr. Harper: After the first few times I noticed he would perk up a little when I’d go talk with him, how his eyes wouldn’t look so hollow, and his posture wasn’t so fucked. It made me feel important to see that, gave me a more intimate and meaningful purpose in a place where I was usually just organising files and being disposable labour for the lead researcher.
SCP-8940-Z: You grew attached to him very quickly, no?
Dr. Harper: Care is more nuanced than just getting attached, but I suppose so. The boat feels more kinship with the shark than the water, I guess.
SCP-8940-Z: When were you a shark?
Dr. Harper: It’s an expression, Zoya. Not actually a shark.
<End Log>
Audio Log Transcript - SCP-8940-L/02
Date: 24/06/2025
Staff: Agent Kuni Kimura
Subject: SCP-8940-L
<Begin Log>
Agent Kimura: I’m hoping things look up, but there’s not too many job openings for someone like me…
SCP-8940-L: You are trying, though?
Agent Kimura sighs and runs a hand through his hair.
Agent Kimura: Come on, no one’s going to sign me up for a better position around here. I can’t get an application through my boss, let alone to any task force. No one wants the fragile ones that drive themselves crazy to break the monotony.
SCP-8940-L: How do you feel about the idea that you aren’t going to be scooped up just for existing?
Agent Kimura: I feel tired, discouraged and misguided. Living in a world on poor grounds, with no purpose.
SCP-8940-L: You live in a world where all sorts of unbelievable things happen, you even work with some of them, but you aren’t assigned a purpose. Make yourself one and then you’ll begin to feel more stable in the world.
Agent Kimura: I’m in the most stable place I could be, but it feels like I’ve put myself on a tight rope without a circus net.
SCP-8940-L: So you agree that you’ve engineered this problem of yours? Why?
Agent Kimura: I guess I’m hoping to fall at this point. Maybe someone catches me, or maybe I’ll hit the floor. It’s… disheartening to work your whole life to get to this level, to be at the peak of your field but the rock bottom of your potential.
SCP-8940-L: Ah, I see. You’ve put all the effort you had into becoming what you thought was the best, and to see that the top for you is really just someone else’s bottom has broken your spirit.
Agent Kimura: I pass one hurdle, expecting that was the finish every fucking time, only to see another hurdle waiting for me. I keep thinking I’ve made it to where I want to be, only to feel… bitter for being the level that I’m at.
[PAUSE]
Agent Kimura: No one wants to accept they’re stuck where they are. That’s why it hurts every time you try and change it. Every attempt at improvement is another reinforcement for self-doubt if you fuck up and fail… Maybe that’s why I’m starting to like talking with you.
SCP-8940-L: They correlate?
Agent Kimura: These songs put a bandage on things. They can’t stop the constant bleeding, but they keep it out of sight and let me feel normal for a while.
SCP-8940-L leans forward and gestures to some of Dr. Harper’s work that was on a nearby table.
SCP-8940-L: Music can alter moods and talk to you, but using it as a bandage is simply coping. Why not try to take inspiration from it? Your friend Sofia seems to be quite successful with that approach.
Agent Kimura: Sofia’s in a place where she can get motivated to begin with. She has the strength to soar higher each time she does something, and I just spiral down every time I try…
SCP-8940-L: That is your excuse to stop trying?
Agent Kimura: What would be the point if I can predict the outcome?
SCP-8940-L: To use your analogy, either you hit the ground because you refused to fly, or because you failed. Perhaps you might start to succeed and never hit the ground at all.
Agent Kimura: And you’re saying that songs can somehow affect that?
SCP-8940-L: Music can do a lot for you. You see that with Sofia, but you blind yourself to it because you’re afraid of trying.
Agent Kimura does not respond.
SCP-8940-L: If you really want to settle into this position, then that’s what you will do. If you choose to listen, you’ll begin to feel very different.
SCP-8940-L and Agent Kimura sit in silence while the music continues to play for the next hour.
<End Log>
Audio Log Transcript - SCP-8940-L/03
Date: 27/06/2025
Staff: Agent Kuni Kimura
Subject: SCP-8940-L
<Begin Log>
SCP-8940-L: You look unwell.
Agent Kimura: I’ve been up all-night thinking about things.
SCP-8940-L: Are any of those ‘things’ worth losing sleep over?
[PAUSE]
Agent Kimura: I’ve decided I want to be like her… I want to change.
SCP-8940-L: It always impresses me how much people motivate each other. You never expect the things you do to have such big impacts, even if it’s only to one or two people.
Agent Kimura: Sofia doesn’t seem to let herself get caught up in her problems. She doesn’t stay to think about the negatives too long… So, I could either just sit on my ass, piss and moan, or I can try and make something of my situation like she would.
SCP-8940-L: You have such a way with words, Kuni.
Agent Kimura settles a bit into his chair.
Agent Kimura: Inspiring, I know.
SCP-8940-L: Was there anything in particular that gave you this push? It’s out of character for you, to say the least.
Agent Kimura: I was thinking about where she would be after this project is over. Probably somewhere important, with some important research team doing important things, while I’ll still be sat outside the director’s office doing nothing. I’m going to do this for me, though in part it’s for her. I don’t want to lose a friend I care about because I want to get comfortable being miserable.
Agent Kimura looks down at the floor and begins fiddling with his watch.
SCP-8940-L: You sound very confident, yet you don’t seem to believe it.
Agent Kimura: I don’t expect it to be easy, and part of me thinks this is just spontaneous motivation that’ll disappear soon… I’ve told you about it now though. So, I’m accountable at least.
SCP-8940-L: If you’re committed to the change, that means no more bandages from now on.
SCP-8940-L produces a vinyl record and begins to play music.
SCP-8940-L: You can’t hide your problems with songs anymore, so be like Sofia, and confront them while we support you. We can make something useful out of your doubt and worries.
Agent Kimura: I believe what you said about it altering my mood, but you’re putting a lot of power into this…
SCP-8940-L: Just assume we’re the personification of music, and you’ll find it much more mystical and powerful. Everything has a greater influence over you if you perceive it as being bigger than yourself.
Agent Kimura: And if I can’t believe that then what happens? Will it just change nothing?
SCP-8940-L: You get what you give. It’s too late to be questioning how it works now, and I have no reason to lie about it.
SCP-8940-L puts a hand on Agent Kimura’s shoulder and smiles softly.
SCP-8940-L: You can still make a difference, and we will see to it that you do.
<End Log>
Audio Log Transcript - SCP-8940-Z/03
Date: 28/06/2025
Researcher: Dr. Sofia Harper
Subject: SCP-8940-Z
<Begin Log>
SCP-8940-Z: Sofia? Why is it you wanted to see me? We already met once today.
Dr. Harper: Well, I just had something important to talk about.
SCP-8940-Z: Is it-
Dr. Harper: And no, before you ask, it is not logistics.
SCP-8940-Z: Okay, go ahead and explain, I suppose.
Dr. Harper: I just wanted to, well, how do I say this accurately…
SCP-8940-Z: Take your time. I don’t believe I was doing anything important anyways.
[PAUSE]
Dr. Harper: I can see it in his eyes again. Those little shimmers and glints that I missed seeing, finally back…
SCP-8940-Z: You mean Kuni? He is getting well?
Dr. Harper: Yes! I keep telling Amelie that things are working, how he’s starting to smile again, and I’m starting to truly believe in this project instead of just hoping.
SCP-8940-Z: I am glad to hear that, Sofia. Truly I am. It brings me such peace to see those who seek it out, find it.
[PAUSE]
Dr. Harper: I guess I wanted to meet you just so I could say thank you at least once. I’m not sure if it’s for opening his eyes better than I ever did, or if maybe music really is just magic at the end of the day, but really…
Dr. Harper leans forward and hugs SCP-8940-Z for several seconds.
Dr. Harper: Thank you.
<End Log>
Audio Log Transcript - SCP-8940-Z/04
Date: 01/07/2025
Researcher: Dr. Sofia Harper
Subject: SCP-8940-Z
<Begin Log>
SCP-8940-Z: May I ask something? Though I suspect you can’t answer?
Dr. Harper: What’s that?
SCP-8940-Z: Are there others like me? Those who are not so… typical.
Dr. Harper: Yes, there are. I really shouldn’t tell you much about them though.
SCP-8940-Z: Is it possible they might benefit from being among the Foundation the same way I do? The same way you and Kuni have?
[PAUSE]
Dr. Harper: Well, yes but… Not all of them are as cooperative as you are, or helpful, but absolutely!
SCP-8940-Z: Though if what me and Lorellei do can help you, it could possibly help them as well, yes? And that would help everyone in the end?
Dr. Harper: It could… You could do great things with more support.
SCP-8940-Z: Support that I might get from you, no? Think how far you’ve come in such a small time, in such an improvised way. The things we could do for others with enough time would be unbelievable, Sofia!
Dr. Harper: You want to scale things up that fast?
SCP-8940-Z: I want to do so much more than I am now, and I want you to be the person helping me.
Dr. Harper: You know I will, but how are we getting this through to Amy?
SCP-8940-Z: I will speak with Amelie, don’t worry. She understands the potential we have, and she will know how to use it best. She is still held down a bit by “protocol”, is all.
Dr. Harper: I’m sure she is, but I really do need to be getting busy elsewhere right now. I still have responsibilities around here, y’know.
Dr. Harper stands up and smiles down at SCP-8940-Z.
SCP-8940-Z: I don’t expect you to stay all day, but please, take this as one of your responsibilities before you go.
SCP-8940-Z hands over a stack of vinyl records.
SCP-8940-Z: Take these and give them to people, see what happens. Some examples in case just you and Kuni aren’t enough already.
Dr. Harper: Of course I will. I’ll see you soon, Zoya…
Dr. Harper turns to leave but stops halfway to the door.
SCP-8940-Z: What is the matter?
Dr. Harper: Do you think that maybe… I might succeed this time?
SCP-8940-Z: Succeed in what, Sofia? You have been doing great, what could the problem be?
Dr. Harper: Would you be bothered if I vented in front of you? Just one last time?
[PAUSE]
SCP-8940-Z: You know I wouldn’t. Please.
SCP-8940-Z sits up and rests her elbows on her knees, focusing on Dr. Harper.
Dr. Harper: I nearly lost someone I care about very deeply that day, and well… Even if he’s still around, I was too close to it all for comfort. I don’t know how, or why or when, I ended up in this position I’m in. I was starting to feel different again after I saw what nearly happened to Kuni, and it scares me to say that I might’ve taken the second rope if he had actually…
SCP-8940-Z: I’m touched that you allowed me to hear the end of that story, Sofia. If I may ask, why now?
Dr. Harper: I guess that I’m just trying to be honest with myself, and you. I forced my way into this project, because I wanted to help other people, but it feels wrong to not admit why.
SCP-8940-Z: And what was your reason? I won’t judge.
Dr. Harper: I wasn’t comfortable letting anybody know before. What if someone else could have been helped who really needed it, and I took that away to try and be the hero? They would have never let me be in the position to help if they saw how I was really feeling, but now I’m hoping that maybe Amelie sees that acceptance and… She’ll at least let me do something.
SCP-8940-Z: Sofia-
Dr. Harper exits the room.
<End Log>
Audio Log Transcript - SCP-8940-L/04
Date: 04/07/2025
Staff: Agent Kuni Kimura
Subject: SCP-8940-L
<Begin Log>
Agent Kimura is seen lying on a couch in the room and staring at the ceiling. Their hair is a mess, as is their uniform.
SCP-8940-L: You’re looking sombre today. Though I haven’t seen you very cheerful before, unfortunately.
Agent Kimura: We all want to grow up and leave the past behind us, but I’m afraid of what’ll happen if I do push forward.
SCP-8940-L: Your fear of improvement is still your reason to not improve at all?
Agent Kimura: I mean, what happens if I do get out of here? What happens to Sofia? I don’t know if you noticed, but she’s sort of all I have around here.
[PAUSE]
Agent Kimura: Not to slight you, of course…
SCP-8940-L: I understand. She’s a longstanding friend, and you fear her not being there. That’s very human of course.
Agent Kimura: I’m so close to seeing something different in my life and yet every step closer I take, I get the urge to pull myself away again. It’s why I’ve avoided Sofia lately.
SCP-8940-L: Because you know she wouldn’t let you quit now? Even if that meant not seeing her.
Agent Kimura: Yeah, she manages better than I do at, well, everything. I don’t think she gets how it is from my perspective.
SCP-8940-L: Hm, and when she eventually isn’t around to hold you up, what will happen? Are you going to stay on the ladder without your harness? Or are you going to get scared and climb back down?
Agent Kimura stops pacing for several seconds.
Agent Kimura: I think I’d rather not be on the ladder.
SCP-8940-L: Trust me, I’ve seen a lot of people on some very shifty ladders in my life. You could be sprinting up yours if you applied yourself to life. No more getting comfortable.
SCP-8940-L stands up and pulls Agent Kimura up with her.
SCP-8940-L: You’re sick of working dead end jobs with shit pay, and you’re tired of wanting to die the same day. So, we’re going to go change that…
Audio from this point becomes too distorted to transcribe, though the camera feed remains unaffected. SCP-8940-L produces a vinyl record and both Agent Kimura and SCP-8940-L proceed to listen to it for the following 3 hours.
<End Log>
Notice:
Agent Kimura and SCP-8940-L repeated this act for three hours a day, for a total of twenty-two days. Two logs have been removed from this document due to issues with transcription, and video logs of the events being redundant.
Agent Kimura has shown significant improvement in their mental wellbeing over these twenty-two days, which has been attributed to the intensity of SCP-8940-L’s help.
Notice made as of 26/07/2025
— Amelie R. Metanoia, Director, AEED
Final Meeting for Project Requiem
Date: 30/07/2025
Staff: AEED Director Amelie R. Metanoia, Dr. Sofia Harper, Agent Kuni Kimura
Items: SCP-8940-L and SCP-8940-Z
<Begin Log>
Dir. Metanoia: Morning, friends! Your trials have all come to an end, and as sad as I may be to see you graduate from my site, I’m inspired to see what you could become!
Dr. Harper: Does that mean you’ll miss us?
SCP-8940-Z: I’m sure we all would.
Dir. Metanoia: It really is incredible what you’ve all managed to accomplish in such a short time. If I wasn’t talking, I’d be speechless.
Dr. Harper: I think she’s exposition-ing again.
Agent Kimura: Nice, that means I won’t be leaving soon then.
Dir. Metanoia gasps in mock offence.
Dir. Metanoia: Oh I will hear nothing like that from you, Kuni! Your work has been even more warming to see. How can you not be buzzing with pride?
Agent Kimura: I learned to feel it, not to show it.
Dr. Harper smirks and laughs softly.
Dr. Harper: You can smile, Kuni. No one frowns when they accomplish things.
SCP-8940-Z: Mm, relax and enjoy.
Dir. Metanoia: Exactly, Kuni. No more idle guarding, you’ll be sent to work with the Mobile Task Forces!
SCP-8940-L: Yes, so act excited about it.
Agent Kimura: I get to what?
Dir. Metanoia: You’ll be going off to train. To do big things for the world in ways you never saw coming. All because of the commitment and tenacity I had the pleasure of seeing from you!
Dr. Harper: What a wonderful rise to stardom! Oh, Kuni I’m going to tell my little sister all about you.
Agent Kimura: She must bother you often in that case.
The group roll their eyes and smile.
Dir. Metanoia: Now for what I was going to say before my joy overcame me… I’ve had many talks with the Ethics Committee, the 05s, myself in the mirror, and we all agreed that this project was a bountiful success! So, Foundation staff and your fellow anomalies may come to see you, and leave with a record to uplift them. Something they can listen to when things aren’t going so well, or perhaps when they’re going great too!
Dr. Harper: Zoya and Lorelei have given a tool with such agency to us all. I hope many, many people get to use it.
[PAUSE]
SCP-8940-Z: Mm, well… You see we need a manager, of sorts.
Dir. Metanoia: And Sofia, with how well you and Zoya get along, I was wondering if you wouldn’t stay with us at the AEED? Be the project manager for our new arrangement, yes?
SCP-8940-Z Smiles.
SCP-8940-Z: We’d really like if you stayed.
Dir. Metanoia: You would be of tremendous help, and would of course be promoted in the process.
Dr. Harper remains silent for a moment before wiping her eyes briefly.
Dr. Harper: Of course I will!
Dir. Metanoia: I’m glad to hear that my dear!
Everyone is silent for a few moments.
Agent Kimura: So if I’m going and she’s staying, am I not going to see her again?
Dir. Metanoia: No one said you two wouldn’t meet after this, dear. Just because you won’t be chatting in the cafeteria now doesn’t mean you never will again.
Dr. Harper: And don’t you dare stifle yourself after all the work you’ve put in, Kuni. Especially not just to see me Monday to Friday.
SCP-8940-Z: I’m sure there will be many opportunities for you both to meet again.
Agent Kimura: The “what if’s” are still talking to me.
SCP-8940-L: You are always welcome around here, you know.
Dir. Metanoia: You don’t have to accept if you don’t want to, Kuni, but I do agree with Sofia that it would be a real shame.
Dr. Harper: As sweet as it is, I wouldn’t want you to do that. We would all be happier knowing we’re all succeeding, even if we aren’t there to see it in person.
Agent Kimura: I… See what you mean.
Agent Kimura glances around briefly and frowns. Dr. Harper hugs Agent Kimura briefly.
Agent Kimura: I’m not bothered of course.
Dr. Harper: Oh I’m sure you aren’t… But I’ll miss you.
<End Log>
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