Voyager II returns to Earth. But its still transmitting 13 million miles away…
Item#: 9971
Level2
Containment Class:
safe
Secondary Class:
none
Disruption Class:
dark
Risk Class:
caution
SCP-9971-1 at time of retrieval (██/8/20██/19:26:12)
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-9971-1 should be kept in a twenty-by-twenty meter item containment unit located at Site-██. The containment cell is shielded with thirty millimeters of lead plating to prevent radiation leakage. It is mandatory for all personnel to don hazardous material equipment before entering its containment unit. The level of radiation emitted by SCP-9971-1 is monitored regularly, with any deviation of its typical emission pattern to be reported. In addition, SCP-9971-2 must be left in a safe-class item locker outside of its cell. A backup of its contents is kept on a hard-drive in the Site's electronic archives. SCP-9971-2's contents should be frequently monitored for rewrites and be subsequently documented.
Description: The object designated as SCP-9971-1 is a seemingly perfect replica of the Voyager II space probe launched by NASA in 1977. In August ██, 20██, SCP-9971-1 was discovered by the CNEOS Sentry program moving on a trajectory to intercept Earth. It was identified as Voyager II by NASA due to the radio transmissions originating from the object being identical to Voyager II's original transmission. Despite this, Voyager II was confirmed to still be in contact and on its original course. Agents embedded within NASA relayed this information to the Foundation, leading to an independent survey and retrieval of the probe before it entered Earth's atmosphere. After the object was brought into Foundation custody, it was taken to Site-██ to be examined.
SCP-9971-1 is completely identical to the Voyager II probe. The replication is one-to-one, down to the object's internal components and the materials used to construct them. However, upon isotopical analysis of the object, it was discovered that the isotopic signatures of the alloys present indicate that the metals used within the probe do not originate from Earth.
SCP-9971-1 emits a constantly shifting amount of cosmic radiation. The amount of which changes unpredictably but has not been documented to exceed 80 rems of radiation, with the lowest known level being 25 rems of radiation. Only SCP-9971-1's outer chassis exhibits this effect, with its internal components and SCP-9971-2 being completely unaffected.
A recreation of the Golden Record, designated SCP-9971-2,was found inside of a compartment within SCP-9971-1 during the probe's examination. SCP-9971-2 itself is identical in make and contains the same contents of the original. Most notably, the pulsar map that resides on the bottom of the record is not the same as the one on the original. The pulsars depicted on the chart do not intersect at a known star, implying that the probe does not originate from any existing solar system in the galaxy.
The contents of SCP-9971-2 change periodically, despite containing the original information from the Golden Record. This phenomenon was dubbed "SCP-9971-2 rewrite events" by research staff. It replaces random imagery and audio within the record's gallery with media not originally stored in the Gold Record. The exact cause of these changes is currently unknown, with no consistent interval being recorded.
Addendum [9971-2/1a]
Below is a table of notable media discovered from SCP-9971-2 overwrites.
- Rewrite 1
- Rewrite 2
- Rewrite 3
- Rewrite 4
- Rewrite 5
Eiffel Tower image discovered in SCP-9971-2.
[██/10/20██] An image depicting the Eiffel Tower was discovered during examinations of SCP-9971-2. The Eiffel Tower was not included in either copy of the Golden Record. The image only manifested within the SCP-9971-2 record but not the digitized backup copy. Security audits show that the record was not tampered with, resulting in the anomalous effects of SCP-9971-2 being discovered. The image vanished three hours after discovery.
you found me
you found me
you are hurting me
Mirrored skull image found in SCP-9971-2.
[██/11/20██] At approximately 12:53:33, an SCP-9971-2 rewrite event occured. An image of an unidentified human skull was found written over an photo of the Sun within the record. The skull seems to be mirrored across itself. The rewrite lasted until 18:53:33, before the record restored itself.
you are hurting me.
i forgive you.
is this you?
you are beautiful
[██/12/20██] At approximately 7:32:42, the third SCP-9971-2 rewrite event occured. The Arabic portion of the greetings audio section was overwritten. The audio was replaced with an excerpt of the orchestra "Jupiter" from Gustav Holst's Planet Suite. Unlike other SCP-9971-2 rewrite events, faint audio from the original recording of the Arabic greeting is still present. The rewrite lasted only until 8:12:42 before being restored.
a wonderful orchestra
i do not understand rhythm. the concept hurts me.
but i forgive her. she is beautiful
The rewritten image.
[██/13/20██] At approximately 16:33:23, the fourth SCP-9971-2 rewrite event occured. The imagery of the planet Earth was affected by the event, with a picture of a lit candle in a pitch-black dark room. Investigation of the photo yielded no results. The rewrite lasted until 18:23:23 before restoration.
you are hurting me.
but your light draws me in.
i cling to you lovingly.
Abstract imagery found in SCP-9971-2.
[██/14/20/██] At approximately 19:11:23, the fifth SCP-9971-2 rewrite event occured. The rewrite event affected the anatomical graphs of human biology. An abstract image was decoded, though researchers contest whether or not the image was properly received. The event lasted only ten minutes before the record was restored.
you are hurting me.
but I do not want to leave.
embrace me in agony.
Incident Log [9971-2/2a]
- Close
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING FILE IS LEVEL 3/9971 CLASSIFIED
ANY ATTEMPT TO ACCESS THIS FILE WITHOUT LEVEL 3/9971 AUTHORIZATION WILL BE LOGGED AND WILL LEAD TO IMMEDIATE DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
Incident Log [9971-2/2a]
On ██/1/20/██, researchers identified multiple overwritten images within SCP-9971-2. These photos lasted several weeks before restoration. A previously unseen anomalous phenomenon was recognized regarding the overwritten images, leading to the pictures being designated as SCP-9971-3. Exposure to SCP-9971-3 was observed to cause an irrational feeling of anxiety within individuals who viewed them.
why are you afraid
This symptom was coupled with a feeling of physical sickness that began after looking at SCP-9971-3 for an extended period of time. The effects caused from SCP-9971-3, although temporary, would cause vomiting and general nausea; lasting around half an hour before dissipating. The effects were proved superficial and generally safe to continue studying. SCP-9971-2 rewrite event frequency began to increase after the incident, with its behaviour changing drastically as well. Rewrite events began affecting other electronics, overwriting its backup and multiple hard drives in a nearby archival room. The images appearing in the rewrites have been exclusively observed to be more instances of SCP-9971-3.
The extent of SCP-9971-2's information tampering capabilities are not yet known. However, all observed post-incident rewrite events seem to affect documents containing information regarding SCP-9971. An escalation in the object's disruption class and containment procedures is currently pending.
i hurt you
Below is an attached file featuring pictures of SCP-9971-3.
im sorry
View with caution.
View with caution.
am i beautiful?
View with caution.
Addendum [9971-1/1a]
- Close
After SCP-9711-2's last known rewrite event, further study was conducted to figure out the origins of SCP-9971-1. A research project led by Senior Researcher Doctor ████ J. was authorized, beginning sampling and investigation of SCP-997-1's chassis. Radiometric analysis of the materials residing in the plating of SCP-9971-1 revealed that isotopes within the probe's composition were dated to be over 15 billion years old.