Item#: 9484
Level4
Containment Class:
safe
Secondary Class:
kohtalokas
Disruption Class:
amida
Risk Class:
caution
Special Containment Procedures: Full, permanent containment of the phenomenon underlying SCP-9484 is currently a logical impossibility, as a future breach by SCP-9484 is inevitable, although not imminent. Containment efforts are instead focused on delaying said breach for as long as feasible. To this end, SCP-9484 and all three hundred and fifty-five (355) known instances of SCP-9484-1 are sealed within a concrete cast buried twenty meters under the soil comprising the foundation of Observational Outpost-550. Personnel assigned to Observational Outpost-550 are to be kept unaware of the existence and presence of SCP-9484. Any research into relevant subfields of theoretical physics, including by the Foundation itself, is to be suppressed. No testing of any kind is to be performed on SCP-9484. In the event that SCP-9484 breaches containment, either by being captured by hostile forces or being activated under any circumstance, contingency plan RED CARD is to be enacted. In the event that SCP-9484 is replicated by outside entities, contingency plan BLUE CARD is to be enacted.
Description: SCP-9484 refers to the disassembled components of a toroidal stainless steel apparatus with a major radius of 5.5 meters and a minor radius of 0.4 meters. While active, SCP-9484 has a deleterious effect on the stability of the space-time continuum in a 20km radius spherical region around itself. Namely, SCP-9484 acts as a stabile reference point in space which can be utilized together with an instance of SCP-9484-1 to allow translating a region of space across time, enabling what is colloquially called "time travel."
SCP-9484-1 is the group designation of 355 different devices or remains of devices thought to be capable of utilizing SCP-9484. SCP-9484-1 vary wildly in shape, size, and efficacy in terms of the volume they are capable of transporting, ranging from man-portable devices intended to transport single personnel to those capable of moving large crewed vehicles. The vast majority of SCP-9484-1 are damaged beyond repair due to the circumstances surrounding their procurement.
While no testing of SCP-9484 has ever or will ever be conducted by the Foundation, records of tests conducted by other entities have shown or strongly imply the following to be true:
- Travel in either direction (to the past or to the future) is possible
- Travel is instantaneous or occurs in an infinitesimally small period of time.
- SCP-9484 need only be active at the time of origin and the time of destination. (For instance, a subject may travel one hour into the past from 18:00 to 17:00, even if SCP-9484 was inactive at 17:30)
- Any event that would cause most types of temporal paradox does not occur.
- Certain types of causal loop are nevertheless possible.
- Attempts to transport a subject to a time or location without an active SCP-9484 will either fail or cause the subject to disappear to an unknown destination, depending on the instance of SCP-9484-1 used.
- Phenomena related to SCP-9484 cannot alter the past, behaving as if the universe were deterministic.
Addendum 9484-1: History before Incident 9484-1: The earliest known link in the chain of events relating to SCP-9484 dates to June of 1982, when a team of researchers lead by one Dr. Mikhail Skolbeltsyn and based out of Svobodny-12, a Soviet research site and closed city in Siberia, constructed the first prototype of SCP-9484. This first iteration was a hollow cylinder, with its area of effect limited to a small space within. Testing and gradual improvements to the design were made over the following months.
During this period, the Foundation was only vaguely aware of the efforts of Skolbeltsyn et al., and entirely unaware that they had found success, as Soviet authorities supplied false reports to the Foundation, and no Foundation agent had been successfully planted at Svobodny-12 itself due to its remote location.
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PHONE CORRESPONDENCE RECORD, Dr. Mikhail Skolbeltsyn, Yuri Ayedonitsky
DATE & TIME: 1984.02.22, T18:12:20
NOTE: Dialogue translated to English from the original Russian. Transcript courtesy of a KGB wiretap placed on the phoneline.
[BEGIN LOG]
Ayedonitsky: Yuri Ayedonitsky speaking.
Skolbeltsyn: Yuri, it's Mikhail. I need advice.
Ayedonitsky: Mikhail, it is two in the fucking morning.
Skolbeltsyn: I know, but this is important. Really important.
Ayedonitsky: It had better be.
Skolbeltsyn: We were preparing for a test, and Boris found this rock inside the apparatus.
Ayedonitsky: Sigh…
Skolbeltsyn: Yuri, wait! Do not hang up. There is no way this rock should have been there. We didn't put it there, certainly, and it's the size of a football. Cut into the shape of one, too. I think we may have been compromised.
Ayedonitsky: Mikhail, listen to yourself. If we had been compromised, why would whoever compromised us decide to leave behind a fucking rock, of all things?
Skolbeltsyn: I don't know! But why else would it be there?!
Ayedonitsky: Could it not be part of a future test?
Skolbeltsyn: …Huh?!
Ayedonitsky: Here is what I am thinking: The maximum distance we have managed to send something was, what, a day? Maybe within a few years, you guys manage to make a better launcher, and decide to see how far back you can send something. You use something simple, cheap, sturdy. Like a rock.
Skolbeltsyn: I suppose that could make sense. Still, a rock of all things…
Ayedonitsky: I am happy I could be of help. Please continue the test… You didn't shut the machine off in a panic, did you?
Skolbeltsyn: Of course not! It takes ten hours to spin back up! Do you think I am stupid?!
Ayedonitsky: …
Skolbeltsyn: Fuck you, man.
Ayedonitsky: Mikhail, can I go back to sleep?
Skolbeltsyn: …
Ayedonitsky: …Mikhail?
Skolbeltsyn: …I'm back. Sorry. Boris took another look and found some numbers etched on the rock.
Ayedonitsky: Numbers?
Skolbeltsyn: Yes. One moment… There. The numbers are one, seven, five, seven, twelve.
Ayedonitsky: How intriguing. I am going back to sleep now. Good night, Mikhail.
Skolbeltsyn: …
Ayedonitsky: …Mikhail?
Skolbeltsyn: …
Ayedonitsky: Tch. This fucking guy.
[END LOG]
Afterword: The phonecall was interrupted when all communications into and out of Skolbeltsyn's laboratory abruptly cut. This is taken to be the moment incident 9484-1 began.
SATELLITE OBSERVATION RECORD
DATE & TIME: 1984.02.22, T18:35:45
PARTICIPATING SATELLITES: DSP-3, FAOIS-5, 8, 12, 15 and 16, FAAMS-6
FOREWORD: Soviet authorities alerted the Foundation to the possibility of anomalous activity when first responders sent to investigate the communications blackout of Skolbeltsyn's laboratory failed to report back. A Foundation Anomalous Activity Monitoring Satellite in geostationary orbit, as well as five Foundation Anomalous Optical Imaging Surveillance Satellites in polar orbit, were directed to monitor Svobodny-12 as the Foundation gathered information regarding the research taking place at Svobodny-12 and prepared resources to deploy a Mobile Task Force to the scene. Combined, the satellites provided one photograph of the area approximately every fifteen minutes, as well as continuous low-resolution Hume readings.
[BEGIN LOG]
T+00.00.00: Photograph 1: Svobodny-12 is seen in full. No anomalous activity is clearly visible. The remote Hume measurements are uniformly nominal, except for a single out-of-range reading at a complex on the eastern side of the city. Future photographs are set to zoom in on this complex.
T+00.15.32: Photograph 2: The complex, later identified as being the one housing Skolbeltsyn et al.'s work on SCP-9484, is visible. A firefight is taking place in the parking lot, with at least two different groups firing upon one another. A main battle tank of unidentified make is parked on the roof of the complex.
T+00.32.01: Photograph 3: The parking lot and western half of the complex have been destroyed. A number of craters dot the surroundings. The tank on the roof is destroyed and smoldering. A circular structure several meters across has appeared on the roof next to it.
T+00.44.16: Hume levels across Svobodny-12 spike downwards, with FAAMS-6 returning an out-of-range error within a 2km radius zone centered on the complex. Satellites are reprogrammed to zoom out once again.
T+01.01.02: Photograph 4: The entirety of the city has become a warzone. At least four dozen fighter jets are visible, engaging in aerial combat. Most structures in the city have been reduced to rubble.
T+01.08.26: Photograph 5: Most armed forces have abruptly dematerialized.
T+01.08.45: DSP-3, a reconnaissance satellite operated by the United States, detects infrared radiation consistent with a nuclear detonation from Svobodny-12.
T+01.08.45: Hume readings in a 20km radius zone around the complex begin falling.
T+01.12.59: Hume readings stop being measurable in the zone.
T+01.15.25: Photograph 6 is entirely black. Future photographs are to zoom further out.
T+01.32.12: Photograph 7: A black hexagonal structure has appeared, with a radius seven kilometers across. Dozens of fireballs and explosions are visible, hypothesized to be ballistic missiles or bombs intercepted in mid-air by the structure.
T+01.45.07: Photograph 8: A second, triangular gray structure similar in size has appeared overlaid on the first. The structures appear to be firing unidentified, highly luminous projectiles at one another. The terrain surrounding the two is an unrecognizable jumble of craters, rubble, and fire.
T+01.48.02: Hume readings in a radius of 3000km of Svobodny-12 begin falling. Several Foundation facilities across Eurasia enter automatic high alert in anticipation of an impending, widespread CK-Class Reality Restructuring Scenario.
T+01.48.03: DSP-3 detects several further nuclear detonations.
T+01.48.06: The Hume-unstable area returns to 20km radius.
T+01.48.08: The Hume-unstable area demanifests entirely.
T+2.01.02: Photograph 9: Both structures have dematerialized. The smoldering remains of Svobodny-12 are visible. No activity is seen within. The following photograph is to zoom in on the complex.
T+02.15.02: Photograph 10: SCP-9484 is visible through a hole in the ceiling of the complex. A single apparently human subject is seen sitting on the ground leaning on it.
T+02.30.08: Reports from Exclusionary Sites deem that no observable change in reality has occurred. The high alert is consequently deemed a false alarm.
[END LOG]
AFTERWORD: Mobile Task Force Eta-72, "The Sarajevo Fifteen" Were cleared to approach Svobodny-12 after two hours of no further activity. The Task Force found SCP-9484 in a deactivated state, and secured the object. The human subject seen in photograph 10 (hereafter PoI-9484-45) was also present, unconscious and in critical condition due to a gunshot wound on the left leg. A joint Soviet-Foundation Search and Rescue operation was able to locate and recover two hundred and twenty-five (225) civilian survivors of the incident, who were questioned, amnesticized and resettled. None of the survivors were members of the team of researchers working on SCP-9484. The cleanup operation lasted several months as hundreds of tons of unexploded ordinance, damaged military equipment, human remains, and anomalous material were secured, disassembled or processed. The city of Svobodny-12 remains abandoned and off-limits under the official guise of a hazardous waste spill.
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INTERVIEW LOG: Paul Halder, "John Doe."
SUBJECTS: Paul Halder, Foundation Agent; PoI-9484-45.
TIME & DATE: 1984.02.25, T12:45:00
FOREWORD: Interview conducted shortly following PoI-9484-45 regaining consciousness at a Foundation medical facility.
[BEGIN LOG]
Halder: Evening. My name is Paul Halder. Could you tell me yours?
PoI-9484-45: …Where am I?
Halder: In a safe place. Can you tell me your name?
PoL-9484-45: …What time is it?
Halder: Your name, please.
PoI-9484-45: Call me John Doe.
Halder: …Could you repeat that?
PoI-9484-45: John Doe.
Halder: Are you certain you don't mean Jane Doe?
PoI-9484-45: I suppose that would be more apt. But I already said what I did. So, John Doe.
Halder: Alright, John Doe it is. John, we found you bleeding out from a gunshot wound at a top-secret research laboratory in the middle of a warzone that had vanished into thin air at Svobodny-12, three days ago. What were you doing there?
Doe: What's the date, again?
Halder: The twenty-fifth of February.
Doe: And the year?
Halder: Interesting that you would ask. Are you a time traveler?
Doe: You got me. You're looking at a soldier in the great Time War. Or veteran, I guess.
Halder: Okay. The year is nineteen eighty-four.
Doe: …Hot damn. Wait, you believe me?
Halder: Stranger things have happened.
Doe: …Are you guys the… uhh, whatchamacallit… the Foundation?
Halder: …
Doe: You are, aren't you? I guess that's lucky.
Halder: John, what happened at Svobodny-12 three days ago? Was it part of this "Time War?"
Doe: I can't tell you.
Halder: John. Five thousand people are dead. We need to know exactly what happened so we can stop it from happening again. I don't have time for bullshit. If you have information that is of use, you will divulge it.
Doe: Fine, sheesh. I'll tell you what I can. It was part of the Time War, yes. The enemy was trying to establish a foothold in a strategic time. We stopped them, though we did cut it pretty close. As is standard for these things, one operative has to stay behind and shut the beacon off. This time it was me. I guess that makes me honorably discharged.
Halder: Who is this enemy?
Doe: I don't know who they are. The thing about time travel is that it makes everything a massive, contradictory mess, and we do things on a need-to-know basis partly because of that. All I know for sure is that there are those who want to expand the chronosphere, and those who want to stop that from happening. I'm in the latter group. As far as I understand, our interests are aligned.
Halder: …I see. You mentioned a foothold?
Doe: Earlier points in time are more valuable, so the enemy is always trying to gain access to them.
Halder: Why?
Doe: Where I come from the sky rains poison and the ocean caught fire. It wasn't always like that. The past is a refuge. One of indeterminate size. The further back you can go, the less time machines there are, the more coherent time you have. Time travel makes everything a clusterfuck, and there's no going back once it becomes prevalent enough. Like pandora's box.
Halder: And when was that box opened?
Doe: I don't know. I don't think anyone does. I suspect it's lost to history, ironically. Society crumbled in the wake of it. The fact that we're able to have this conversation suggests it hasn't happened yet, and Svobodny-12 was just a false start. Still, I'm worried.
Halder: What about?
Doe: The enemy was fighting tooth and nail trying to keep this foothold. They risked the big one on it, and paid dearly for it. That's not the unusual part, mind, this is some extremely valuable time, if it really is pre-war. The unusual part is that they gave up on it. Normally, after the advance force shuts off the beacon, it's a battle of attrition trying to keep them from activating a new one. But this time, they all just left. Like they knew exactly, down to the second, when they'd be stranded if they stayed behind.
Halder: I suppose that brings me to my next question. Our reports of Skolbeltsyn's research show that for travel to be possible, one needs advance knowledge that the destination is valid. How were you or the enemy aware that a secret lab in a secret town was working on this? Will our cleanup crew overlook something?
Doe: Like I said, need-to-know basis, and I don't. The full lists of valid destinations are about the closest kept secrets we have, if said lists even exist. "Guys with guns" like me are very rarely told when or where we are, just where to shoot. I've also heard rumors that both us and the enemy have some records left over from the before-times that they're always digging through, looking for new frontlines. I've also heard the enemy is blindly firing probes into the past, hoping to hit something. This could be one of those.
Halder: I see.
Doe: Either way, there's nothing you can do.
Halder: Because it already happened?
Doe: Exactly. The future is already set. What will happen will happen.
Halder: But that's-
Doe: Uncomfortable? Trust me, I know. Certainty is terrifying. The reason we do things on a need-to-know basis isn't just opsec. It's good for morale. Seeing the strings of causality moving you, it erases hope. I had comrades who knew the exact moment of their death months in advance, because they'd seen it happen. In the dark, you might live or you might die. In the light, you'll know. So we'd rather die in the dark.
Halder: Interesting turn of phrase.
Doe: How do you mean?
Halder: Nevermind. In any case, thank you for your time. Unless there is something else you would like to say?
Doe: If I were you, I would destroy the damn machine. Scatter the pieces all over the globe, grind it to dust. Do your best to erase it from history. You'll fail, but you may delay your failure.
Halder: Thank you for your advice. However, we're quite adept at making things like they never happened. I think we'll manage.
Doe: psh. This conversation is futile. Heed my warning or don't, it'll make no difference. There'll be somethingⓘCircular ReasoningDon't you already know what it is?- you'll overlook.
Halder: Duly noted. Thank you for your time, Ms. Doe. Goodbye.
[END LOG]
AFTERWORD: Ms. Doe is to remain in Foundation custody indefinitely.
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