I guess there aren't too many places like it left in the world.
Item Number: SCP-7327
Containment Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: The entrance to SCP-7327 is to be guarded at all times. Traffic is to be diverted from its location in a three-hundred meter radius. All civilians in the vicinity of SCP-7327, born between 1975 and 1992, are to be immediately removed. Research into SCP-7327 is to be performed only by Foundation employees born before or after this time period.
Description: SCP-7327 is a dilapidated structure located in an abandoned strip mall in █████, ██. The exterior doors and windows have been removed by the previous property owner; all attempts to seal or board up the entrances result in the barrier's anomalous corrosion or destruction. The interior is empty and in an advanced state of disrepair, measuring 30,000 square meters, with four smaller attached rooms. Anyone entering the structure, born between 1975 and 1992, will experience acute visual, auditory, and olfactory hallucinations, and will be compelled to remain inside. No subject is barred from exiting the structure (see Addendum, Test 18), though forcible extraction is recommended.
Discovery: The Foundation was alerted to SCP-7327 after learning about a series of missing persons reports in the area. Upon investigation, a small crowd of civilians were seen outside the structure, attempting to persuade four civilians inside it to exit. One Foundation agent was subjected to SCP-7327's anomalous traits upon entering the structure, and was only able to leave when physically extracted by another agent; the remaining four civilians were removed in a similar manner. All civilians present were amnesticized and escorted away from the property, which was summarily purchased and quarantined by the Foundation. A subsequent investigation of the interior led to the discovery of fourteen corpses, in various states of decay. Cause of death was determined to be starvation and/or dehydration.
Addendum: A test log performed by Site-203 researchers, led by Dr. Rashid Safir.
The interior of SCP-7327.
Test 1: Drone test (photo enclosed). No results. D-class testing commenced.
Test 2 - 6: No results. All D-class had been born prior to 1975.
Test 7, 9, 10, and 12: No results. All D-class had been born after 1992.
Test 8: A D-class born in 1991 was used. Enclosed is a transcription of the investigation.
D-50050: I'm inside.
Control: All right. Describe what you see, please.
D-50050: I see… Whoa. It's an arcade.
Control: (a pause) Interesting. Is it functional?
D-50050: Well, the electricity's running, if that's what you mean. I can hear all the machines, and there's some music playing over… Oh, hey, the original Donkey Kong.
Control: Does it work?
D-50050: Lemme try. (a pause) Yup, it works, all right. I was never very good at this game, though.
Control: That's odd. Um, please continue the investigation.
D-50050: Sure, sure. (a pause) There are a lot of cabinets here. They've got Gauntlet, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Tempest… And there's Outrun. It even has the steering wheel and pedals. I'm gonna test this one out, too.
Control: Subject, please refrain from distractions and continue your investigation.
(silence)
Control: Subject?
(silence)
Control: D-50050, please respond.
D-50050: Sorry. The Outrun machine works, too. Damn! I wish I could stay here. This place is badass. Okay, um… Whoa.
Control: What?
D-50050: It's the six-player X-Men cabinet; I've never seen one before. They've got Contra, Asteroids, Final Fight, Lethal Enforcers, some Japanese games I don't know… I'm gonna go—
Control: Subject, please ref—
D-50050: (gasps)
Control: What is it?
D-50050: It's Polybius! I didn't even think these things existed…
Control: Subject, please refrain from distractions and continue the investigation.
D-50050: You don't want me to test any of these out?
Control: No. Do you see anything besides arcade cabinets?
D-50050: Uh, yeah. There's…a basketball game, a pool table, whack-a-mole… Holy shit, it's Big Bertha. I used to play this all the time as a kid!
Control: Are you the only one in the structure?
D-50050: Uh, no, there are a few other people milling about.
Control: How many?
D-50050: (mumbling softly) One, two, three-four… Eight, ten, twel… (louder) Twelve people. I think.
Control: Twelve?
D-50050: Yeah. Thirteen counting me.
Control: What are they doing?
D-50050: Just wandering around. A few of them are playing the games. There are two over by the Ninja Turtles game. I wonder if they'll mind me joining them.
Control: Subject, we have all the data we need. Please exit the facility.
(silence)
Control: Subject?
D-50050: This is the best day of my life. I don't ever wanna leave.
Control: Subject, if you will not comply, you will be forcefully escorted out.
(silence)
D-50050: I…I don't want to.
(silence)
D-50050: I don't want to leave. I've never been so happy before. I want to stay here and—
Control: Subject, if you do not vacate the premises immediately, all your privileges will be revoked.
(silence)
D-50050: No. I want to stay here. (a pause) Sweet, Metal Slug!
Control: Subject?
(silence. Subject does not respond)
Two researchers forcefully restrained D-50050 and escorted him off the premises. Subject protested violently, and displayed acute emotional distress before being sedated. Subject's facilities resumed baseline readings after three hours, and was relieved of further testing.
Test 11: Similar results to Test 8, with the Subject (b. 1977) counting eight entities inside the facility. Subject described the interior as "immense"; researchers hypothesize the structure's artificially-expanded size coincides with its anomalous hallucinogenic effects.
Test 13: Similar results to Test 8 and 11, with the Subject (b. 1989) counting ten entities inside the facility. A theory regarding the age range of affected subjects is formed.
Test 14: Long-term test. Subject (b. 1983) was instructed to investigate, and promised a significant reward upon exiting. Subject claimed to see a rollerskating rink, and remained inside the facility for forty-one hours before collapsing from exhaustion, dehydration, and hunger. Subject was removed and treated, having counted nine entities.
Test 15: Second long-term test. Subject (b. 1979) stated to have entered a video rental store she had frequented. Subject counted seven entities inside the facility and remained for thirty-seven hours before collapsing, despite being promised various rewards upon egress. Long-term tests cancelled.
Test 16: Five D-class (b. 1976 - 1991) entered the structure simultaneously and were instructed to investigate. Each counted different numbers of entities in the facility (between six and fourteen). All subjects were extracted after two hours under protest and emotional duress. Of note: two D-classes described the interior as a vinyl records store, commenting on various songs they claimed to hear. Another D-class claimed to have entered a pizzeria she had frequented in her youth, commenting about various animatronics, a ball pit, and several nearby arcade cabinets.
Test 17: A D-class (b. 1985) stated that she had entered a toy store her parents had taken her to every weekend. Subject observed fourteen entities in the facility. Subject made three attempts to leave but failed, and had to be forcefully extracted.
Test 18: Researcher Levi Dennison (b. 1988) volunteered to test a subject's ability to independently exit the structure. Dennison was equipped with an earpiece, harness, and pulley, and instructed Dr. Safir and the other researchers to extract him after three and a half hours. Enclosed is an edited transcription of the test.
Dennison: All right, I'm in. It's definitely an arcade. I can see all the games the other D-class mentioned. There are a few here they didn't… Uh, that's weird.
Control: What is it?
Dennison: Nobody's in here. I'm the only one.
Control: Check around to be sure.
Dennison: Got it. (a pause) I can see why nobody would want to leave this place. I, uh…I used to love arcades as a kid. Whenever I got the chance to visit one, I mean. It, uh…didn't happen often.
(silence)
Dennison: Heh. Smash TV. I played the hell out of this one. (a pause) The cabinets span several decades; there are probably…I'd say twenty-five or so of them in here. Are you getting any audio?
Control: Just your footsteps.
Dennison: Hmm. I hear a song playing over…the radio, I guess? The P.A. system? It's Duran Duran, I think, or a-ha, or Flock of Seagulls; they all sound the same. I still don't see anybody. (a pause) Oh, cool, Wild Gunman. You mean you gotta use your hands? That's like a baby's toy!
Control: Is it just arcade machines? No roller rinks or videotape rentals?
Dennison: Uh, not yet. Let me take a look arou… Ha! You gotta check out this carpet! It's so garish and flamboyant, all blue, pink, purple, green…
Control: Dennison?
Dennison: Sorry, sorry. I'm still not seeing anybody. Let me know when an hour's passed; I'm going to try leaving then.
Control: Will do.
Dennison: (softly) Just gonna test out one machine…
(several minutes of silence pass)
Control: Dennison, are you still there?
(silence)
Control: Dennison?
Dennison: Huh? Yeah, yeah, I just wanted to try one of the machines. They, uh…have pinball, too. (a pause) Oh! I smell pizza! I'm going to take a look.
Control: You're coming up on one hour.
Dennison: Already? Jeez.
(several minutes of silence pass)
Dennison: Okay, I found out where that pizza smell was coming from. I'm in a… Holy crap. It's just as I remember it. They even have an arcade cabinet here. It's tempting, but I, uh, probably shouldn't try any of the food.
Control: What do you mean "just as you remember it"? Have you been here before?
Dennison: Yeah, I used to come here for a reward. They had these reading programs at school, and if you read a certain number of books, you got to go to a pizza party at █████ ███. Damn, that brings me back! And they got the red plastic cups and everything!
Control: You're past an hour, Dennison. Do you want to try and leave?
(silence)
Control: Dennison?
Dennison: N-not yet, let me look around a bit more.
(several minutes of silence pass)
Dennison: Oh wow. I'm in a ███████████ now. My family used to come here every Friday to rent movies. Sometimes we'd even get a video game. God, this takes me back! (a pause) No DVDs at all, just VHS tapes. Whoa! They've got a Betamax section! And… (laughs) no way, a Laserdisc section, too!
(several minutes of silence pass)
Control: Dennison?
Dennison: I'm here, I just…
(silence)
Control: Have you seen anybody? Maybe a clerk, or…
Dennison: Um, no, nobody. I have the place all to myself.
(silence)
Dennison: I want to live here.
Control: You're coming up on two hours.
Dennison: Seriously? Damn! It feels like I just got here! Uh…let me look around just a little bit longer. I promise I'll try and leave when three hours pass.
Control: Copy.
(several minutes of silence pass)
Dennison: I made it to the toy store. I guess all these places are connected somehow. The transition…
(silence)
Control: Dennison?
Dennison: (sniffles) Damn it, I…I'm crying. I'm honest-to-god crying. I don't want to leave. I really don't. Everything here is so… I mean, it's silly, right? But everything makes sense in here. It's everything I loved…
(silence)
Dennison: Oh, god. These video games. Damn! If I had bought these when I was a kid, I'd be rich now. They've got everything: Sega, Turbographix, a Super Nintendo, a 3DO…hell, even a Neo Geo! And the toys, too: He-Man, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Batman, Star Wars… And the music over the P.A. system… It's just how I remember it. God! I really don't want to leave.
Control: You're at two and three-quarters.
(silence)
Dennison: I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave.
Control: Should we start pulling you out?
(silence)
Control: Dennison?
(silence)
Control: Okay, let's begin extraction.
Dennison: No, wait. (Dennison sniffles) It's fine. I'll…I'll try. Just let me try first. God.
(Dennison is heard slowly shuffling out)
Dennison: Dr. Safir?
Control: Yes?
Dennison: This might sound really stupid to you, but this place is like heaven for me. Everything's…wonderful. It's all…so optimistic. Does that make sense?
(silence)
Dennison: It's like everything pure and beautiful and good in the world, and I know it sounds stupid, because it's just video games and toys and pizza, but…this means something to me. I don't know if you understand. You're from a different time. No offense.
Control: None taken. You're doing good, Dennison. Almost there.
Dennison: Yeah. It just feels like it's being taken away from me. Again.
(several minutes of silence pass. Dennison sniffles sporadically)
Dennison: Everything is so much better in here. It's like I'm in Willy Wonka's factory: out there, it's cold and dull and…harsh. A cruel place where every day you feel like a miserable failure. Where you feel old, and worn-out. But in here…
(silence. Dennison sniffles again.)
Dennison: Sorry, I'm just talking out loud.
Control: It's fine. You're just past three hours now. Do you need help?
Dennison: No. (quietly) I can do this. I can do…
(silence)
Dennison: Dr. Safir?
Control: Yes?
Dennison: When was this place shut down? Do you know?
Control: In February 2002.
Dennison: (quietly) Yeah, that sounds about right. I guess there aren't too many places like it left in the world.
(several minutes of silence pass. Dennison is seen approaching the front door, shielding his eyes from the sun.)
Dennison: Hey, I made it. Looks like you can leave whenever you want to. The problem's just in the doing.
After debriefing, Dennison refused amnestics. No further tests were conducted.