psul
Author: psul
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SCP-2136: An Utterly Driven Scientist.
Initial space telescope image of SCP-8984, showing its inverted conical shape
Item #: SCP-8984
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8984 cannot be physically contained, due to its size, composition, and distance from Earth. MTF Gamma-5 ("Red Herrings") is tasked with preventing, diverting, or discrediting any non-Foundation research or imagery related to SCP-8984. Foundation-controlled space telescopes and other astronomy assets are to monitor interstellar clouds and dark nebulae for evidence of other phenomena resembling SCP-8984.
Description: SCP-8984 is a large volume of anomalously dense dark matter located at the edge of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, approximately 140 parsecs (456 light years) from the Solar System. The density of SCP-8984 is comparable to solid baryonic matter, approximately 1025 times greater than the density of dark matter in any other context..Dark matter is a form of matter that is distinguished by its lack of interactions with electromagnetic radiation (in contrast to baryonic matter). Unlike typical baryonic matter, dark matter only interacts through gravitational force, and not through the strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, or electromagnetism. Due to this limited range of interactions, non-anomalous dark matter is not capable of forming structures of any material density or complexity.
Based on gravitational microlensing evidence from Foundation Space Telescope "THIRD EYE", the dark matter of SCP-8984 forms a contiguous shape. The anomaly's macrostructure is a long, twisted, oblique cone. SCP-8984 is approximately 3,000,000km in length, with a maximum radius (at the wide end of the cone) of approximately 500,000km.
Spectroscopic measurements indicate that SCP-8984 exerts an anomalous influence on the conditions of local interstellar space. Dark energy levels grow increasingly concentrated approaching the wide end of SCP-8984's cone. The vertex (at the opposite end of the cone) expels a stream of concentrated baryonic matter, consisting primarily of molecular hydrogen and cosmic dust. This cloud of baryonic matter flows in a constant trajectory away from the vertex of SCP-8984. It has been theorised that SCP-8984 draws in dark energy from the surrounding interstellar space, transforming it into baryonic matter via an unknown process.
SCP-8984 was first observed in a galactic survey by Foundation space telescopes on 10 December 2023, and flagged by Foundation AIC as potentially anomalous. Dr. Adrian Tan, of the Site-19 Astrophysics Department, was assigned as lead researcher for SCP-8984.
Project Log - SCP-8984:
Date:
Event:
Notes:
17 March 2024
Database Entry Request
SCP Classification request submitted by Dr. Tan. Classification approved - Object Class: Safe.
11 April 2024
Research Note Submission
Research Hypothesis "Potential Function of SCP-8984" submitted by Dr. Tan.
Space telescope image of Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex
Potential Function of SCP-8984
Author: Dr. Adrian Tan, Astrophysics Department, Site-19
SCP-8984 is located near to the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. The nebulae within the cloud complex are regions of interstellar space with denser-than-average concentrations of baryonic matter, including cosmic dust, gases, and plasma.
This concentrated matter can condense into gravitationally bound cores, drawing in additional matter and eventually suffering gravitational collapse to form a protostar. Gravitational collapse can be generated by external events such as nearby supernova explosions, and newly formed stars can themselves produce supernovae, triggering a chain-reaction of star formation.
Typically the matter in an interstellar cloud complex leads to the simultaneous formation of multiple stars, numbering between dozens and tens of thousands. As a result, nebulae in which stars are actively forming are colloquially referred to as "star nurseries". The Rho Ophiuichi cloud complex is one of the closest star nurseries to the Solar System.
It is possible that the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex may have been generated by the dense baryonic matter expelled from SCP-8984. Over astronomical timescales, SCP-8984 could have been responsible for creating numerous areas of extremely dense matter, causing the creation of many of the stars in the Orion Spur of the Milky Way. If structures similar to SCP-8984 were distributed across space, they could be responsible for the generation of stars and other matter on a cosmic scale. This effect could even explain the extreme density of matter necessary for the Big Bang to occur, giving SCP-8984 a crucial role in the birth of the Universe.
What remains unclear is the mechanism by which SCP-8984 could transform dark energy into baryonic matter.
Date:
Event:
Notes:
14 April 2024
Personnel Request
Dr. Tan requested secondment of Dr. Simon Poidevin from the Particle Physics Laboratory to the SCP-8984 research team. Request approved.
21 April 2024
Research Note Submission
Research Hypothesis: "SCP-8984 as particle collider" submitted by Dr. Poidevin.
Simplified diagram of Breit-Wheeler process
SCP-8984 as particle collider
Author: Dr. Simon Poidevin, Site-19 Particle Physics Lab
Dr. Tan has graciously requested the author's collaboration in determining the process by which SCP-8984 might create baryonic matter from dark energy. Naturally - given the circumstances - initial analysis has proceeded from more mundane examples of the production of matter from energy.
The simplest physical process by which matter can be created from energy is Breit-Wheeler pair production. The mechanism - theorised in 1934 and first demonstrated in 2021 - involves the collision of two high-energy gamma photons via a particle accelerator, resulting in the creation of an electron and a positron..The anti-matter equivalent particle of an electron.
Free electrons and positrons generated by the experiment are extremely short-lived, typically being annihilated in less than 0.1 nanoseconds. For matter created from energy collisions to persist, the corresponding anti-matter would need to be sequestered or removed. Needless to say, a mechanism for such removal is unknown to physics.
In addition, matter-creating collisions require photons to have more energy than the mass-energy of the created particles..Using E=mc2. Breit-Wheeler experiments to date have been able to create only electrons and positrons, particles whose mass is infinitesimal. The creation of heavier protons or neutrons - let alone more complex atoms or molecules - would require particle accelerators orders of magnitude more powerful than even the Foundation has developed.
If SCP-8984 is creating complex baryonic matter from dark energy - as appears to be the case - then one must posit SCP-8984 as an exceptionally powerful form of particle collider. Under this hypothesis, SCP-8984 would be accelerating dark energy "photons" to the extraordinary collision speeds sufficient to generate baryonic matter atoms and molecules, and simultaneously removing the resulting anti-matter to avoid its immediate annihilation..The author is indebted to Dr. Tan for noting that, if this was correct, SCP-8984 could also explain the otherwise unknown source of baryogenesis, the early universe effect that leads to anti-matter being far less abundant in the universe than particle physics predicts.
The acceleration of dark energy to the necessary speeds could be the result of correspondingly powerful magnetic fields within SCP-8984 (which fields might also sequester anti-matter from collisions with matter, at least temporarily). These fields could follow a series of parallel spiral paths down the exterior conical surface of SCP-8984, towards the vertex, where the matter-producing reactions would occur..Spiral paths are used in cyclotrons, cavity magnetrons and similar particle accelerators. However the source of energy to power such fields - and the method by which dark energy is drawn into SCP-8984 - remains unknown.
In the spirit of magnanimity, the author has dubbed this method "dark photosynthesis", although there would be no objection to the coining of "Poidevin Process"!
Date:
Event:
Notes:
15-16 May 2024
Experimental Observation
Foundation Space Telescope "THIRD EYE" observed the unanticipated gravitational collapse of a number of dark nebulae within the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, forming a series of new "brown dwarf" stars in what appeared to be stochastic self-propagating star formation across the cloud complex.
21 May 2024
Experimental Observation
Foundation general astronomical surveys noted several, more distant, candidate structures which may be similar in composition to SCP-8984.
23 May 2024
Personnel Request
Dr. Tan requested input from Dr. Elizabeth Wexler, Site-19 Xenobiology division, on conversion of energy to matter via biological processes. Request approved.
27 May 2024
Experimental Observation
Zeeman-Doppler imaging of SCP-8984 suggested the generation of extremely powerful magnetic fields by the anomaly. These fields appeared to form spiral paths towards the vertex of the cone.
18 June 2024
Research Note Submission
Research Hypothesis: "Spirals, SCP-8984 and new forms of life" submitted by Dr. Wexler
Gastropod shell in a conical spiral shape
Spirals, SCP-8984 and new forms of life
Author: Dr. Elizabeth Wexler, Xenobiology division
"Dark photosynthesis". Dr. Poidevin's somewhat facetious suggestion for the potential action of SCP-8984 was the impetus for Dr. Tan's request for my input, and it has provided a fascinating jumping-off point. The spiral shape of the anomaly is certainly suggestive of photosynthetic processes. Stromal thylakoids, arranged in spirals within the chloroplasts of plants, are the conversion site of light into the chemical energy necessary for plant metabolic processes. Could the spirals of SCP-8984 similarly convert dark energy into the magnetic power for its operation?
Viewing SCP-8984 through a biological lens may prove instructive in other ways. Spirals, and particularly conical spirals, are found in a range of terrestrial organisms. As well as stromal thylakoids, spirals are also visible in the form of seed heads and other plant organs (known as parastichy). Perhaps SCP-8984 is a gigantic dark matter "pine cone", waiting to expand and release its seeds across the galaxy?
My preferred interpretation, based on the evidence to date, is that SCP-8984's spiral shape may be due to "accretive growth". This type of growth arises where layers of mass are deposited on a hard surface over time, slowly gaining height and shape. As a matter of physics, conical spirals are the lowest-energy configurations from dynamic growth of this nature.
The example of accretive growth most familiar to a lay audience is the sea-shell. Gastropod and cephalopod shells commonly form in spiral shapes. Conchospiral shapes in particular are found in the gastropod genera Turritella (whose shells have "turreted" or "babylonic" shapes), Terebra (known as "auger snails" for their resemblance to rock-drill bits), Conus (predatory, venomous cone snails) and Epitonium (predatory or ectoparasitic sea snails known as wentletraps). Beyond shells, mammals also exhibit examples of this type of growth, including in bones, teeth, antlers and horns.
While initial evidence is fragmentary at best, my speculation is that SCP-8984 may constitute a previously unknown organism. The anomaly consumes dark energy and excretes matter: baryonic matter is expelled from the vertex, and dark matter is deposited on the cone, leading to accretive growth. On this basis, the spiral cone of dark matter that we have observed to date is merely the "shell" of SCP-8984. The nature of the organism inside remains completely hidden. What could be more intriguing than that?
Date:
Event:
Notes:
23 June 2024
Research Note Submission
Research Supplement: "A note on dark energy" submitted by Dr. Tan.
X-ray image of Turritella shell
A note on dark energy
Author: Dr. Adrian Tan, Astrophysics Department, Site-19
Dr. Poidevin has expressed some level of disappointment with the direction of Dr. Wexler's theorising, and has asked me to include a brief discussion of dark energy "to help direct future collaborators". I am happy to oblige.
Dark energy is a theoretical form of energy, hypothesised to comprise the majority of mass-energy in the universe. Dark energy is typically estimated as forming approximately 70% of the universe's mass-energy, with dark matter accounting for approximately 25% and standard baryonic matter no more than 5%. Unlike electromagnetic radiation, dark energy interacts only with gravitational forces, so it is not directly observable. However its existence would explain several known phenomena relating to the universe’s shape and size. In particular, the presence of dark energy would explain the current observed pace of expansion of the universe, as dark energy would be gravitationally self-repulsive, driving this expansion.
The precise nature of dark energy is not known to either mainstream science or to the Foundation. The density of dark energy in space must be very low, and was considered broadly uniform across space, suggesting that dark energy may be an intrinsic fundamental energy of space (a cosmological constant).
The discovery of high concentrations of dark energy near SCP-8984 is evidence in favour of an alternative theory. If dark energy can have variable density across space and time, it may form a dynamic field rather than a static constant. This theory is referred to as the "fifth force" or "quintessence model". The quintessence model proposes that dark energy and dark matter interact, a theory supported by the dark matter substance of SCP-8984.
Even if quintessence theory is correct, what remains unknown is the behaviour of quintessence over time. It is possible that its repulsion effect will drive the expansion of the universe indefinitely, leading to a cold, empty universe tens of billions of years from now. Or dark energy may provide the universe with a renewed structure by decaying over time into new forms of baryonic matter and electromagnetic radiation. SCP-8984's action, converting dark energy into matter, may favour the hypothesis of universal renewal.
Date:
Event:
Notes:
12 July 2024
Experimental Observation
Weekly FST "THIRD EYE" image of SCP-8984 displayed a previously unobserved shape extending from the wide end of the anomaly's cone. Radiation signature suggested the shape may be composed of dark matter, with a zig-zag or spiral shape, approximately 300,000km in length. Matter has ceased to be expelled from the vertex of SCP-8984's cone.
19 July 2024
Experimental Observation
Weekly FST "THIRD EYE" image of SCP-8984 revealed that the unidentified dark shape had several large appendages branching from the main body.
20 July 2024
Equipment Requisition
Dr. Tan requested that FST "THIRD EYE" be redeployed from its other tasks to enable constant monitoring of SCP-8984. Request approved with effect from 22 June.
26 July 2024
Experimental Observation
FST "THIRD EYE" image of SCP-8984 showed no trace of the radiation signature previously observed. Scans of the surrounding areas of space detected several similar candidate objects, designated SCP-8984-A-1 through -A-23. Candidate objects displayed a zig-zag or spiral shape, but were significantly smaller than SCP-8984, and were partially obscured by local nebulae. Observation of SCP-8984 detected that clouds of matter resumed expulsion from the vertex of the cone.
27 July 2024
Database Amendment Request
Based on the changes observed during 8-22 June (dubbed a "Wexler Event"), Dr. Tan requested amendment of Object Class to "Euclid". Request approved.
29 July 2024
Participation Request
Dr. Morgan Robertson, Classical History Department, requested to join the SCP-8984 research team. Request approved by Dr. Tan (objection from Dr. Poidevin noted).
4 August 2024
Research Note Submission
Research Supplement: "Fission and strobilation" submitted by Dr. Wexler.
Strobilation in the lifecycle of jellyfish
Fission and strobilation
Author: Dr. Elizabeth Wexler, Xenobiology division
Not to be outdone by physicists, biology also claims "fission" as part of its scientific language. In this context, the term refers to a method of reproduction involving the division of a single organism into two parts, with each part growing back into the whole organism. Fission is most common in the case of simple, single-celled organisms, but can occur in more complex forms of life. Notably, sponges, sea stars and flatworms can split into two or more parts, with each part regenerating the organs it is missing.
A similar form of asexual reproduction is known as strobilation, found in some corals, jellyfish and parasitic tapeworms. In this process, the upper end of the animal becomes segmented as it constricts at regular intervals, with the constriction sites extending down the animal's body. The constrictions become increasingly tight, until the body splits into multiple segments. Each segment is released in turn, starting from the upper end of the animal, until a small portion remains from which the body will be regenerated. Each segment also grows into a copy of the original animal, eventually undergoing strobilation itself. Strobilating organisms are characterised by high output of offspring, with some tapeworm species undergoing the process continuously throughout their lives.
The evidence collected from the so-called "Wexler Event" bears unmistakeable similarities to fissile or strobilatory processes, with SCP-8984-A as the anomaly's offspring. While there had been speculation about SCP-8984 undergoing reproduction, to see direct evidence is exceptionally exciting. Extraterrestrial life on the scale of SCP-8984, or with its peculiar composition, has not been detected in decades of Foundation research. SCP-8984 is challenging our notions of what forms of life are possible in the universe.
Those who were initially convinced that SCP-8984 was a mere machine may feel disappointed to be proven incorrect, but a living anomaly would offer far more to science as a whole. Its substance and composition, even the matter it produces as waste, may all find uses. The novel chemistry involved will almost certainly find medical or pharmacological applications. Could the Foundation's next wonder drug be out in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, waiting to be analysed and replicated?
Date:
Event:
Notes:
12 August - 28 August 2024
Experimental Observation
Research team recorded three further "Wexler Events" over this period. "Wexler Events" continue to occur every 4-7 days.
25 August 2024
Personnel Request
Dr. Poidevin requested to be reassigned from the SCP-8984 research team. Request denied.
27 August 2024
Research Note Submission
Research Supplement: "Quintessence Theory in Antiquity" submitted by Dr. Robertson.
Detail of cornucopia from remains of a Roman statue
Quintessence Theory in Antiquity
Author: Dr. Morgan Robertson, Classical History Department, Site-12
Site-12's History Division was alerted to SCP-8984 through the Foundation AIC "Alexandria", designed to promote the cross-specialism research of Safe-Class anomalies. The AIC noted the keywords “Ophiuchi”, “babylonic” and “quintessence” as potentially of interest, and I was most fortunate to have received the alert just before SCP-8984's reclassification, as I believe a historical perspective may prove valuable in contextualising the team's research to date.
Dr. Tan's paper on the "quintessence model" of dark energy is certainly a great help to the non-scientific reader, but it is deficient in one respect: it omits the etymology of the term. "Quintessence" was used by twentieth-century physicists as a deliberate allusion to the work of Aristotle, who proposed the quinta essentia (fifth element) in addition to the four classical elements.
Quintessence, also referred to as aether, was described by Aristotle as the substance containing the stars and planets, and thought to be the pure essence breathed by the gods (as air is breathed by humans and animals). The term was adopted by medieval alchemists, who sought to isolate this "element" and transmute it into other substances, or use it for medicinal purposes.
Ancient medicine has another link to SCP-8984, in the form of its galactic location. The Rho Ophiuichi cloud complex is centred on the point 1o south of the star ρ Ophiuchi in the constellation of Ophiuchus (the "snake-bearer"). In Roman mythology, the constellation represented the healer Asclepius, who learned the secret of immortality from healing herbs carried by snakes, and who was slain by a thunderbolt from the god Jupiter.
SCP-8984's relationship with several ancient medical myths would be consistent with the anomaly's absorption of aether. Perhaps the transformation of quintessence into baryonic matter, rather than taking the prosaic form of particle physics, is instead alchemical in nature. I would go so far as to suggest that Dr. Wexler will be proven correct in her supposition that the products of the anomaly may have medicinal use. At the very least, what better purpose for the "breath of the gods" than to breathe life into the universe, through the anomaly's generation of star nurseries as Dr. Tan has described.
In this respect, SCP-8984’s twisted, conical shape is suggestive of a “horn of plenty” or cornucopia, a symbol of prosperity and abundance in classical antiquity. The cornucopia is typically depicted as a curved or twisted animal horn capable of magically producing an inexhaustible supply of food and drink (and Dr. Wexler has already noted animal horns as sharing the spiral growth pattern of SCP-8984). In Greek mythology, the horn of plenty was used by Amalthea (a nymph, sometimes depicted as a goat), nursemaid of Zeus, to feed the baby god after he was saved from being eaten by his father, the Titan Cronus. In the same vein, we have seen SCP-8984 as a potential source of abundance, and might expect further signs of prosperity and plenty out amongst the stars.
I have been delighted to collaborate with my colleagues at Site-19, and look forward to further discoveries in their company. I may also entreat some additional perspectives, perhaps for a comparative study with the treatment of SCP-8984 in Classical religion.
Date:
Event:
Notes:
28 August 2024
Personnel Request
Dr. Robertson requested the secondment of Dr. Hannah Mekalu from the Foundation Abrahamic Faith Project, Site-43. Request approved.
29 August 2024
Leave Request
Dr. Mekalu submitted a leave request for 3-4 October 2024 (Rosh Hashanah). Request approved by Dr. Tan.
31 August 2024
Disciplinary Report
Dr. Tan filed a disciplinary report on Dr. Poidevin following altercation with Dr. Robertson and Dr. Wexler. Formal reprimand recorded.
6 September 2024
Technology Request
Dr. Mekalu requested technology assistance: "The Site-19 system won't let me submit a Research Summary using a Site-43 file format - please help."
7 September 2024
Technology Request Withdrawn
Dr. Mekalu withdrew technology assistance request: "Issue resolved with Dr. Tan's assistance - he showed me how to fix my silly mistake! Sorry for troubling you."
7 September 2024
Experimental Observation
Wider telescopic surveys of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex identified a statistically high concentration of exoplanets within the habitable zones of stars in the complex. Xenobiology Institute notified for future analysis.
INCIDENT REPORT
Date: 8 September 2024
Location: Site-19
Details: Dr. Elizabeth Wexler, Xenobiology Institute, was seriously injured by an equipment malfunction. Dr. Wexler was working alone in the Institute's laboratory before office hours, conducting gel electrophoresis experiments to separate the proteins in SCP-████. The electrophoresis power pack suffered an electrical short at approximately 0730 hours, electrocuting Dr Wexler. Colleagues discovered Dr. Wexler's unconscious body on their arrival shortly thereafter.
Dr. Wexler was taken immediately to the Site-19 medical ward and was treated for electrocution, third degree burns, and respiratory dysfunction. She remains in a coma, and is being monitored for neurological damage.
Colleagues collaborating with Dr. Wexler on ongoing projects are to be notified of the incident.
Date:
Event:
Notes:
8 September 2024
Research Note Submission
Research Supplement: "The Shape of a Shofar" submitted by Dr. Mekalu.
A shofar on museum display
The Shape of a Shofar
Author: Dr. Hannah Mekalu, Foundation Abrahamic Faith Project
The author would like to record her gratitude to Dr. Robertson for the invitation to work on this project, and particularly to Dr. Tan, for his willingness to accept wider perspectives on SCP-8984. Dr. Robertson was especially keen to discuss his theories on SCP-8984 as a "horn of plenty" and requested this note to summarise the author's contributions to that discussion.
The curved cone is a singularly evocative shape. It draws the viewer on, inviting them to follow its coils with eye or hand. Receding to a point, the conchospiral disappears from view and grasp alike, and we are left to ponder. Little wonder then that each member of the research team has seen analogies to the spirals of their own experience. Less wonder still that the author looks at SCP-8984 and sees a shofar.
A shofar is a musical horn used in celebrations and rituals of the Jewish faith, typically made of the curled horn of a ram or kudu. It is played in the manner of a bugle, using an embouchure while blowing to vibrate the air column inside the horn. The shofar is traditionally blown on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) celebrating the creation of the universe said to have occurred on that day, as a "wake up call" to the faithful, and as a reminder of the need for repentance. In ritual playing, the shofar is blown in patterns of a single long blast (tekiah) reaffirming G-d's authority, three connected short bursts (shevarim) symbolising the sound of groaning with remorse, and a series of short, broken blasts (teruah) representing the uncontrolled sobbing of extreme anguish.
Shofars are mentioned several times in biblical texts. In the book of Joshua, seven shofars were carried ahead of the ark of the covenant as it circled the city of Jericho. After the seventh circuit, the shofars were blown, and the army of Israel shouted, bringing down Jericho’s walls. There are several other biblical accounts of shofars being used to signal armies at the start of battle, or being blown by angels.
Of course, trembling air resonates through the coils of a shofar from narrow end to wide, whereas the path through SCP-8984 flows from wide to narrow. Perhaps we should imagine this process as an inhalation, the "breath of the gods" being gathered in for some purpose as yet unknown.
Date:
Event:
Notes:
10 September 2024
Local File Amendment
Research Supplement: "SCP-8984 and the tragedy of Dr. Wexler" prepared by Dr. Robertson, but deleted from the SCP-8984 research folder before submission.
11 September 2024
Relationship declaration
Dr. Tan and Dr. Mekalu notified HR of their intention to commence a personal relationship, and requested permission to remain on the SCP-8984 research team. Request granted.
12 September 2024
Leave Request
Dr. Robertson requested two days of medical leave. Request approved by Dr. Tan.
13 September 2024
Experimental Observation
Research team noted that no "Wexler Events" have been recorded for 7 days. No subsequent "Wexler Events" recorded.
14 September 2024
Disciplinary Report
Dr. Poidevin alleged to have contacted Dr. Robertson during his medical leave. Dr. Robertson requested disciplinary proceedings but did not provide details of the conversation with Dr. Poidevin. Disciplinary decision pending.
15 September 2024
Local File Amendment
Research Supplement: "On the Impossibiility of Hiding from the Gods" prepared by Dr. Robertson, but deleted from the SCP-8984 research folder before submission.
16 September 2024
Leave Request
Dr. Robertson requested two weeks of stress leave. Request approved by Dr. Tan.
18 September 2024
Experimental Observation
FST "THIRD EYE" measurements suggested that the pace and volume of matter expelled from SCP-8984's vertex has reduced since first observations. Based on current rate of deceleration, flow through SCP-8984 predicted to cease in approximately 5 million years.
INCIDENT REPORT
Date: 21 September 2024
Location: Site-19
Details: Dr. Simon Poidevin, Site-19 Particle Physics Lab, reported missing. Colleagues advise Dr. Poidevin had not attended his post for at least one week. Personal belongings had been removed from on-site residence. Burned papers discovered in waste-paper basket - remaining text appears to be a partially completed hand-written research summary entitled "SCP-8984: potential mechanisms for removal of antimatter".
Site security investigating possible links to theft of Class-B amnestics from Site-19 infirmary on 15 September 2024. MTF on standby to commence off-site search.
26 September 2024
Experimental Observation
Zeeman-Doppler imaging of SCP-8984 no longer detects magnetic fields as part of the anomaly.
27 September 2024
Research Note Submission
Research Supplement: "Antigone" submitted by Dr. Robertson. Submission consisted of the word "Antigone" repeated 623 times.
28 September 2024
Database Amendment Request
Dr. Tan requested deletion of Research Supplement "Antigone" from the SCP-8984 database entry. Request approved by RAISA.
28 September 2024
HR Request
Dr. Robertson admitted to Site-19 psychiatric ward for observation.
28 September 2024
Research Note Submission
Research Supplement: "A Messenger" submitted by Dr. Mekalu.
Statue of an angelic herald
A Messenger
Author: Dr. Hannah Mekalu, Foundation Abrahamic Faith Project
Following discussions on the nature of angels (some of it less project-oriented than it perhaps should have been!) Dr. Tan has kindly requested that I record some further information on the most famous heavenly musician, the archangel Gabriel / Jibrīl.
Gabriel is an angelic figure referred to in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths as a guardian angel and the archetypal messenger of G-d. Gabriel is one of the few angels named in both New and Old Testaments, and is also said to have revealed the Qu'ran to Muhammad.
In Jewish mythology, Gabriel plays a crucial part in bestowing life on developing embryos. When the tree of life (in the Garden of Eden) blossoms, new souls are produced and fall into the Guf, the treasury of souls. Gabriel then reaches into the Guf, pulling out a soul which flows into the embryo, giving it life. SCP-8984 acting as the treasury of souls, with quintessence pouring into it to form new life, accords with some of Dr. Tan's theories about its purpose.
The Jewish image of Gabriel as the messenger of life may be the source of the stories in the Gospel of Luke, where the angel appears first to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and then to Mary the mother of Jesus, in each case to announce an impending birth.
Islamic tradition also sees Gabriel as a messenger of new life, adding to his tidings the announcement to Abraham of the birth of Isaac. Gabriel meets several times with Muhammad, delivering the word of Allah, and assisting Muhammad in battle. Another story has Gabriel deliver the wrath of Allah against the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, annihilating them with the tip of his wing.
In the Old Testament Book of Daniel, Gabriel appears several times to explain Daniel's visions, including his final vision of the "time of the end" when the dead will be raised. Through medieval history, this story appears to have become conflated with other biblical references to a trumpet blast that would signal the end of time, developing into the modern notion of "Gabriel's trumpet" to announce the apocalypse.
Date:
Event:
Notes:
1 October 2024
Experimental Observation
FST "THIRD EYE" recorded a rotational shift in position by SCP-8984. Vertex of cone rotated 90o away from observational position, leaving FST "THIRD EYE" facing SCP-8984's wide end.
2 October 2024
Experimental Observation
FST "THIRD EYE" detected a series of high energy radiation waves from the vicinity of SCP-8984. Recording of telescopic images during this period displayed an entirely white screen.
2 October 2024
Experimental Observation
FST "THIRD EYE" diverted by Dr. Tan from observing SCP-8984 to co-ordinates of star "Earendel"..At a distance of 12.9 billion light years from Earth, "Earendel" is the most distant star ever observed.
2 October 2024
Database Amendment Request
Dr. Tan requested deletion of SCP-8984 database entry. Request denied by RAISA. Insufficient grounds provided.
2 October 2024
Local File Amendment
Dr. Tan deleted local files dated 2 October 2024 from the SCP-8984 research folder.
2 October 2024
Site-19 Infirmary Request
Dr. Tan requested provision of Class-B amnestic - two doses. Request denied by Site-19 Infirmary. Insufficient grounds provided.
INCIDENT REPORT
Date: 3 October 2024
Location: Site-19, SCP-8984 research lab, Quiet Room
Details: Two Foundation research staff discovered deceased at 0743 hours. Identified as Dr. Hannah Mekalu, Abrahamic Faith Project and Dr. Adrian Tan, Astrophysics Department.
Time of death: approximately 8-12 hours prior to discovery.
Dr. Mekalu suffered several deep incisions to the throat, likely made with a sharp blade. Dr. Tan displayed multiple incisions at the wrists and forearms.
Weapon (domestic knife) discovered with Dr. Tan at the scene. No evidence of anomalous activity. Investigation proceeding on the basis of presumed murder-suicide.
- Close
Protocol K Contemporaneous Voice Note - Automated Transcript
Recorded to the computer of Dr. Adrian Tan
Date: 2 October 2024, 2338 hours
<recording commences>
… shit shit shit – okay it’s recording. Shit!
<rapid breathing>
This is – fuck! – okay, this is, uh, a contemporaneous voice note on observations of SCP-8984, in accordance with Protocol K. My name is Dr. Adrian Tan. I’m recording this at, uh, eleven-thirty on 2 October. I don’t know if THIRD EYE picked up the visuals. But I saw - I saw it! Look, I know I sound … I know how I sound, okay!
<deep breathing, slowing slightly>
Anyway, Hannah and I both saw it. She’s in the, uh, quiet room, I think she's preparing her own note, so they should – they should corroborate. Okay, okay. What we saw was… we saw… No – start at the beginning, dammit. Protocol K training mnemonic - Context, Observations, Interpretation, Log it… Give context, you fucking -
Okay. Okay. Tonight, Dr. Mekalu and I were working late - she is on holiday tomorrow: Rosh Hashanah. I was, uh, finishing a supplement based on one of Hannah’s suggestions, and she was assembling some sources. But we were - I mean, we were mostly just talking, and watching the images from the THIRD EYE telescope. Just an ordinary evening, and then – uh, then Hannah called my name. She sounded worried.
I ran over from my workstation to the THIRD EYE viewing screen. I asked if - Hannah was telling me to look. So I looked – I looked and I…
No, that's not right. The first thing I saw was the reason Hannah had cried out for me.
I have stared so much at 8984 on that screen. For months it was a black funnel, superimposed on a field of shimmering gas and dust around it. The past few days, viewed almost end-on, it’s like – like an empty disc. Like a deep hole.
Now, tonight … space dust and gases were still flowing from the far end of the cone. But now from a different angle. And I saw it immediately - the way the dust had spread out in two distinct clouds, sweeping upwards in symmetrical curves behind 8984, wider and then narrowing to points, almost touching. Like upturned wings.
Looking at the screen, I reached for Hannah’s hand, and… fuck, this is going to sound insane.
<silence, 12 seconds>
In every image of 8984, there is the black void of the anomaly itself, the corona of dust, but everything is surrounded by the cloud complex, thousands of stars, and more of them in deeper space beyond.
One of them - one of the stars - was too bright. I think it was Delta Ophiuchi. I watched it. I really - I'm not… I swear that this was real!
I watched it, and its light twisted, and the star opened like the iris of a camera, and it was an eye!
<shouted> It was a fucking eye! Iris, pupil, sclera. It looked human, I don't know… It blinked. Hannah screamed.
And then another star blossomed open, and another, and twenty more. A hundred. In seconds, where there had been stars, a thousand, thousand eyes, clustered around the black emptiness of 8984, wreathed with wings of cloud. They were alive. They moved. They were looking back at us!
<silence, 5 seconds>
I turned the screen off. Hannah was hyperventilating. We barely spoke. I don't know how long. She pulled it together first, reminded me about the protocol.
<silence, 15 seconds>
The protocol. Observations, Implications. Okay, think aloud, Adrian. Talk it out. She says that's how you do your best work.
This can't be real. It can't. 8984 is anomalous, sure, but it's a predictable, manageable structure. Ever since we started studying it, everything we expected of it has been completely…
<silence, 10 seconds>
What if we haven't been predicting it?
What if we have been directing it?
Like some fucked up observer effect - our measuring it, theorising about it, has influenced the anomaly. We influenced the anomaly. When Poidevin thought it was a particle accelerator, it behaved like a particle accelerator. When Elizabeth wrote that it might be alive, it became alive.
Everything we think about it, everything we write. From that first note until now, everyth… oh shit!
<shuffling noises, sounds of typing, 94 seconds>
Oh god oh god oh god it's gone. Earendel's not there. Earendel's gone. Retreating - fleeing from us faster than…
<silence, 8 seconds>
We did this. I did this.
It knows everything. It knows what we think. It's moving the stars and how can we escape and it's like a judgment, like the day of… like Rosh Hashannah.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck - there's no time, there's no time there's no time what can we possibly…
<loud wooden thump>
Pull it together! Pull it to-fucking-gether! Think!
We have to delete the files. All of them, but especially tonight… And we can't tell anyone. No-one can know why. If anyone learns enough about it to form a theory, this just keeps happening. I mean, what stops it? Can it even be stopped?
<slow exhalations>
Okay, but wait - the Wexler Events stopped. Elizabeth said that 8984 might be capable of reproduction, and Wexler Events started happening, but then they stopped again. They stopped after - after she…
<silence, 35 seconds>
We're the only ones left. Nobody else remembers. Maybe after us they'll stop thinking about it. Maybe they'll dream a more beautiful dream for it.
Oh Hannah, I hope there's another way. I really hope -
Forgive me.
<recording ends>
UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH NOTE
SCP-8984: A Thought Experiment
Author: Dr. Adrian Tan, Astrophysics Department, Site-19
Dr. Mekalu's research submissions, coupled with changes in the anomaly, have stimulated a thought experiment best suited for the author's specialism. What would result if SCP-8984 was to operate in reverse?
At present, SCP-8984 absorbs dark energy, producing baryonic matter. The amounts of dark energy consumed or transformed must be immense to generate the volume of matter observed to date (because, again, E=mc2). The inverse - an intake of baryonic matter with the expulsion of dark energy - would produce a correspondingly large amount of dark energy through deconstruction of matter.
In a single location, the generation of that amount of dark energy would have a pronounced effect on local space-time. If similar objects to SCP-8984 exist across the universe, the result could be substantially more significant.
As previously noted, dark energy is posited as the force driving the expansion of the universe. A universe-wide injection of vast amounts of dark energy could accelerate that process dramatically.
This is a scenario which astrophysics has considered (and which is colloquially known as the "Big Rip"). With the pace of expansion escalating, the distances between objects would increase more and more rapidly. At some point in this acceleration, the relative speeds of any two objects expanding away from each other would exceed the absolute speed of light travelling between them, meaning that each object would become unable to be observed by the other. In fact, those objects could no longer interact in any manner, as causal interactions between them (via mass or energy) cannot occur faster than the speed of light.
As expansion accelerated, the distance over which observation (and interaction) of objects could occur would grow shorter and shorter. Initially, distant galaxies would disappear from view, then galaxies themselves would begin to separate as gravitational interactions could no longer bridge the distances between stars. This effect would eventually reach the scale of planetary systems, which would become gravitationally unbound from their suns, before the structures of planets themselves would lose cohesion and disperse as gravity could no longer hold them together.
Ultimately, accelerating expansion would reach a molecular, then atomic level, overcoming the weak and strong nuclear forces. Electrons would be sheared away from atoms and nuclei scattered, before spacetime itself would be torn apart, as all distance would become functionally infinite and the progression of time would cease.
In modern cosmology, a "Big Rip" scenario is considered relatively implausible, with little evidence for a method of accelerating universal expansion to the extent necessary. Any role for SCP-8984 in such a process is purely specu
UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH NOTE
Incomplete drawing by William Blake
Primary Sources
Author: Dr. Hannah Mekalu, Foundation Abrahamic Faith Project
"There appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel on him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) and enquired of him about the tenets of Islam. [And the Holy Prophet taught him such.]
The enquirer again said: Inform me about the hour of the Doom. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) remarked: You who is asking knows as much as the one who you ask…
Then the enquirer went on his way, but I stayed with the Holy Prophet for a long while. He then said to me: Do you know who this enquirer was? He was Gabriel (the angel). He came to you in order to instruct you in matters of religion."
- Ḥadīth Jibrīl, fragment
Betwixt these rockie pillars Gabriel sat
Chief of the Angelic guards …
He ended, and the Son gave signal high
To the bright minister that watch'd, he blew
His trumpet, heard in Oreb since perhaps
When God descended, and perhaps once more
To sound at general doom.
- Paradise Lost (IV.545f, XI72ff), John Milton
A great shofar will be blown, and a small still voice will be heard. The angels will make haste, and be seized with fear and trembling, and will say: "Behold, the day of judgment!"
- אוּנְתַּנֵּה תֹּקֶף (Unetanneh Tokef), fragment
- Close