CODE NAME: Dr Cimmerian's Proposal
This thing hated you long before it knew you existed.
Welcome, O5-13.
Please read this document thoroughly before making any decisions regarding the ongoing incident in your managed sector.
Proximate area including SCP-001's exclusion zone. Edits have been made to avoid anomalous effects.
Item #: SCP-001
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Psychological counseling and/or medication relating to anxiety disorders caused by SCP-001 are to be provided to any affected staff.
MTF Kappa-10 "Skynet" is to be tasked with indexing all data related to communications regularly used in online astronomy communities. Specific care is to be paid to mentions of anxiety related to areas associated with SCP-001.
Notable observations of the two neutron stars in proximity of SCP-001 made by the astronomy community and/or reported to places of academia are to be reviewed by the anomaly's current project lead. This individual is to be granted broad authority to remove any data from public record as necessary.
Both 81 Galatine and Secace Epsilon are to be considered exclusion zones. As the systems are located in Sector 13, O5-13's approval is necessary before entry into these systems is allowed, even in the case of a full council vote.
Description: SCP-001 is a point in space approximately 157 parsecs from Earth that, when visually observed, causes a viewer emotional distress. This distress manifests as a general and non-specific, anxiety. The anxiety itself, while treatable, is long lasting and unconnected to repeat observations of SCP-001.
SCP-001 is remarkable in that it appears to be nearly equidistant to the neutron stars 81 Galatine and Secace Epsilon. These neutron stars appear to have formed simultaneously around 1-2 million years ago. Study of these neutron stars is the source of most security breaches related to SCP-001's existence.
Exploration of SCP-001 and surrounding stellar systems by the SCPV Tolkien and SCPV Vonnegut (whose original missions were to run from 2063 to 2068) have led to a better understanding of the anomaly. Each of the surrounding stars appear to have at one time supported life-bearing planets and interplanetary civilizations.
The minor anomalous effects related to SCP-001 appear to be amplified as distance between the observer and the anomaly decreases. What effects, if any, SCP-001 may have had on inhabited planets in orbit of the neighboring neutron stars is currently being investigated.
Access Granted
Biological Considerations of the Sword Stars
Author: Director Pat Anders
Two different species of sophonts developed in this area of space.
81 Galatine Two produced a species of humanoids. The Galatinian people were a near-genetic match to terrestrial examples of Homo habilis, though how they found themselves this far away from Earth we do not know.
Secace Epsilon Seven, a small helium gas giant, produced a species of sulfur and sillicon-based sophonts. Their technological artifacts are much harder to acquire and decipher than the Galatinians.
The Secace body plan is mostly empty space and a distributed neural network. Using methods of self-inflation and gas release they could rise, fall, or propel themselves in a particular direction.
Secace orbital bases are difficult to explore as they are inhospitable to human life.
There is a problem of sight to consider. We can bring back bits and pieces of the ruined civilizations, and that includes the remains of the dead. Yet we cannot visually observe the sky or the planets themselves without causing considerable psychological trauma. This has hindered our exploration efforts.
Adapting to this, we have temporarily removed the eyes of several research teams to allow more in-depth exploration. The methods used are easily reversible and have helped us recover quite a bit of historical data from the Galatinian people.
Access Granted
A Brief History of the Sword Stars
Author: Director Kase Agasa
It should be noted that the information gathered on the conflict between the Galatinian and Secace people were recovered mostly from a Galatinian perspective. This has introduced an unavoidable bias to this summary.
The two systems are approximately 2.3 light years away from each other. Radio signals from the Secace were detected fairly early in Galatinian technological development, though they were not understood to have a cosmic origin until later. The signals also ceased after around a century and a half, as the Secace likely moved away from high leakage radio technology.
Anomalies were known and accepted by the Galatinian people. At first, the Secace were classified as an anomalous entity. However as more and more detail became known over the following years, the mundane nature of the Secace was accepted by the people of 81 Galatine.
The Galatinians purportedly sent an envoy and research vessel to Secace Epsilon. It either did not arrive or did not survive the trip. This was attempted 4 additional times.
These attempts took place over a period of six-hundred years, and during this time the Secace people did not respond to radio messages, nor were any efforts carried out by the Secace to make contact.
Around twelve-hundred years after the first detected radio emissions, a probe originating from Secace Epsilon was detected on the outskirts of 81 Galatine. This probe was destroyed by a xenophobic faction of Galatinian civilization.
Fearing retaliation, an armed fleet of Galatinian ships was sent to Secace Epsilon. These ships were destroyed en-route by a previously unknown weapon. The Galatinian government then began a number of projects to eliminate the assumed threat posed by the Secace.
After approximately four-hundred and fifty years, a significant Secace fleet was detected en-route to the home world of the Galatinians. All attempts to communicate with the Secace fleet failed.
As this fleet reached the halfway point between the two systems, both 81 Galatine and Secace Epsilon spontaneously converted to neutron stars.
The historical record ends here. It is unknown if this was a defensive move by the Galatinians or a final attack by the Secace, but it seems fairly clear from government records that anomalous means of defense and offense were being developed by both sides of the conflict.
Access Granted
The SCPV Tolkien and SCPV Vonnegut
The exploration of both 81 Galatine and Secace Epsilon has necessitated the utilization of two interstellar vessels. Following an O5 council vote, The Tolkien and Vonnegut were selected for this assignment due to their shipboard staff having the necessary expertise.
Both are Bradbury-class exploratory vessels with a max range of 45 light years per trip through a self-generated way, and stutter warp drives for sub-light travel. Each ship has a crew compliment of 64.
The Tolkien specializes in xenoarchaeolinguistics. As the Galtatinians were a traditional terrestrial civilization, many examples of their written language exist, as well as significant recorded instances of their spoken language.
27 scientists were assigned to the project under the authority of Director Kase Agasa. Recovery teams Gamma and Phi were assigned to help collect physical evidence from 81 Galatine. The shipboard AI is a level 6 intelligence using the pseudonym Brent.
Upon landing on 81 Galatine Two, it became readily apparent that the Galatinians were not, in fact, completely deceased. The heads of the individuals were left intact and living, despite there not being any biological support systems remaining.
The Vonnegut's specialization is xenobiology and xenoanthropology. The Secacean civilization, technology, and communication networks are quite foreign to our experience, so a better understanding of these systems was the goal of the Vonnegut.
24 scientists under the authority of Director Pat Anders were assigned to the Vonnegut, along with a single recovery crew specializing in micro-gravity environs. The shipboard AI is a level 6 intelligence using the pseudonym Majel.
It appears that the Secaceans were not limited to travel via ship, and had methods of short range near-planet orbital travel around Secace Epsilon Seven. Approximately 34,000 corpses were found in orbit of the gas giant, with fully intact silica-sulphur neural nets.
After information was compared with the Tolkien's recovery of Galatinian heads, these neural nets were tested for activity, and found to be fully functional.
Since the Secacean people lived primarily in the upper layers of the gas giant Secace Epsilon Seven, it is believed that the majority of their population (estimated to number in the trillions) are unrecoverable.
Access Granted
ALERT.
Situation in progress.
The following briefing will be expanded as more information is discovered.
Report on the SCPV Tolkien
The Tolkien reported an infobreach approximately 3 hours before contact was lost.
A member of the recovery team was eating in the mess hall when he used a fork to scoop out both eyes. He was restrained, but the physical damage was quite extensive. The chief medical officer estimated approximately 6 weeks of recovery at a minimum.
Roughly 2 hours after this incident, the captain reported other strange behavior from several crew members. Before contact was lost, the captain displayed symptoms of paranoia and anxiety. She did not listen to commands from headquarters and cut all communication shortly thereafter.
The severity of the SCP-001 effect increases with proximity to the anomaly. Prior testing indicates it is wholly possible that the crew of the Tolkien are suffering from severe paranoia and hallucinations at this point if fully exposed.
Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible, given the safeguards we've put into place. A secondary anomaly or a less than complete understanding of the core anomaly may have led to failures in our safeguards.
The Vonnegut was redirected to act as a recovery or rescue vessel, as it was the closest ship and also had experience dealing with the anomaly. However, shortly after the Vonnegut docked with the Tolkien, it too lost contact with mission control.
Report on the SCPV Vonnegut
A rescue mission was prepared aboard the Vonnegut. The rescue crew was waiting in cargo bay 3 for the docking process to complete.
During the approach, various communication signals were received from the Tolkien. These signals originated from both the ship's crew and computer systems, though none were coherent.
Approximately 12 minutes after the first signal was received, a mechanical failure of the primary and secondary airlocks of cargo bay 3 vented 6 crew members and a member of the recovery team into space. Recovery of the bodies was tasked as a priority. However, the secondary rescue team's environmental suits began to malfunction immediately upon leaving the ship.
All remaining members of the Vonnegut's recovery team (including those sent to rescue the previous team) suffocated during these malfunctions. At this point, the command and control center aboard the Vonnegut reported a logic fault in the primary computer systems.
The Vonnegut began to suffer ship-wide system failures over the next several hours. During this time the airlocks of the Vonnegut were inoperable. This precluded any further attempts at rescuing those aboard the Tolkien.
A final distress call indicated a failure of the life support systems. Under normal circumstances, this would allow 36 hours to affect a rescue. If airlock and door control have been compromised, this estimate may be meaningless.
Access Granted
Situation Update:
The SCPV Asimov and the SCPV Clarke are within range to affect a rescue, however the Clarke is 26 hours out. The Asimov has began casting the appropriate spells to travel to the area, but is waiting for confirmation from the O5 Council on how to proceed.
Question Before the Council:
"Should we order the rescue of the Tolkien and Vonnegut?"
COUNCIL VOTE SUMMARY:
Member
Aye
Nay
O5-01
Aye
O5-02
Nay
O5-03
Aye
O5-04
Nay
O5-05
Nay
O5-06
Nay
O5-07
Aye
O5-08
Nay
O5-09
Aye
O5-10
Aye
O5-11
Aye
O5-12
Nay
Status
Incomplete: O5-13 has not voted.
Click here to vote "Aye" on the Motion.
Ethical Considerations
None