WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:04.799 A young researcher is thrown against the wall so hard that his spine breaks. 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:08.029 A man turned into a Scarecrow. 00:00:08.029 --> 00:00:10.740 A woman unmoored from gravity. 00:00:10.740 --> 00:00:14.180 A man losing a vital component of his brain. 00:00:14.180 --> 00:00:21.330 All these poisoned prizes can be yours, if you have your hands on a certain special object… 00:00:21.330 --> 00:00:24.980 The Thief is confused, to say the least, at the sight before him. 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:29.480 It isn’t exactly what he has been expecting to find on his travel to the forgotten cave. 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:34.860 The strange object is displayed on an altar, with a beam emanating from somewhere above, 00:00:34.860 --> 00:00:38.340 shining a bright column of moonlight onto it. 00:00:38.340 --> 00:00:43.059 This must be the treasure that he was sent here for… but what was this strange treasure? 00:00:43.059 --> 00:00:47.970 He’s still aching all over from his long journey, many days and nights spent crossing 00:00:47.970 --> 00:00:51.280 the desert just to reach his destination. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:56.059 All around the cavern are precious stones and gold coins, jewelry and riches beyond 00:00:56.059 --> 00:00:57.540 the Thief’s wildest dreams. 00:00:57.540 --> 00:01:02.880 And it’s all his for the taking, just as long as he fulfills his promise to the strange, 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.400 decrepit old man he met at the entrance of the cave. 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:11.610 The Thief steps closer to the altar and examines the object the old man told him to recover. 00:01:11.610 --> 00:01:16.600 Upon hearing the word ‘lamp’, the Thief had been picturing an ornate oil jug, with 00:01:16.600 --> 00:01:18.290 a handle and spout. 00:01:18.290 --> 00:01:20.670 Not this… thing. 00:01:20.670 --> 00:01:23.140 The Thief has never seen an object quite like it. 00:01:23.140 --> 00:01:27.310 It’s a tall, thin neck that winds upwards from a flat, circular base. 00:01:27.310 --> 00:01:32.210 The top looks like the hem of a dress, but far smaller, and made from green glass. 00:01:32.210 --> 00:01:36.100 It’s a lamp alright, but not as this Thief would know it. 00:01:36.100 --> 00:01:41.280 He lifts it up to get a closer look, and notices something: an empty space beneath the stained 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:44.610 glass lampshade; it looks like there’s a part missing! 00:01:44.610 --> 00:01:50.579 Nearby, he comes across another curiosity: a rounded, almost perfect sphere of glass, 00:01:50.579 --> 00:01:53.780 with an elongated protrusion terminating in a metal connector. 00:01:53.780 --> 00:01:57.610 It seems like it would be the perfect fit for the vacant port on the lamp. 00:01:57.610 --> 00:02:03.240 So, figuring out how to affix the two, the Thief attaches the lightbulb to the lamp. 00:02:03.240 --> 00:02:07.110 To his surprise, the bulb begins to glow a light blue. 00:02:07.110 --> 00:02:12.430 Cautiously, he places it back down and backs away, uncertain about what is about to happen 00:02:12.430 --> 00:02:13.430 next. 00:02:13.430 --> 00:02:17.599 A sudden plume of blue smoke erupts from the lamp, and the Thief ducks for cover, thinking 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:19.040 the object has exploded! 00:02:19.040 --> 00:02:24.069 But there’s no loud sound, no flames, and this prompts him to peek out from his hiding 00:02:24.069 --> 00:02:28.360 place to see a mysterious figure emerging from the cloud. 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:33.210 It looks to be an older man, hovering above the ground – not legs – but a tail of 00:02:33.210 --> 00:02:35.550 the same smoke as the rest of his body. 00:02:35.550 --> 00:02:38.570 Now, the Thief recognizes what’s going on. 00:02:38.570 --> 00:02:43.150 He’s grown up with stories of creatures almost exactly like this one, and it fills 00:02:43.150 --> 00:02:47.209 him with a rush of excitement: it’s a Genie! 00:02:47.209 --> 00:02:50.230 He can remember as clear as day, tales about genies. 00:02:50.230 --> 00:02:54.590 They are mystical wish givers, imprisoned within lamps and then bound to the person 00:02:54.590 --> 00:02:56.190 who discovers them. 00:02:56.190 --> 00:03:00.900 Once it emerges from its slumber, a genie will then offer whoever freed it three wishes. 00:03:00.900 --> 00:03:02.159 “Hey, you there! 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:03.340 You gonna hide all night? 00:03:03.340 --> 00:03:05.000 Come on, kid, let’s get this over with. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:06.000 What’ll it be?” 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.440 the Genie asks rather brashly. 00:03:08.440 --> 00:03:12.550 The Thief approaches the smoky, translucent figure, and immediately knows exactly what 00:03:12.550 --> 00:03:13.550 to do. 00:03:13.550 --> 00:03:17.610 He’s already thought of exactly what to ask for, the wish that can free him from his 00:03:17.610 --> 00:03:19.239 life of stealing and poverty. 00:03:19.239 --> 00:03:23.569 “Genie, I wish for you to make me rich,” he says. 00:03:23.569 --> 00:03:28.159 As soon as he’s finished his sentence, the Genie vanishes, leaving the Thief confused. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:31.140 Surely, he still had another two wishes? 00:03:31.140 --> 00:03:35.250 He’s startled as the lightbulb he had affixed to the lamp suddenly explodes – for real 00:03:35.250 --> 00:03:39.659 this time – with a spark and a shower of small glass shards. 00:03:39.659 --> 00:03:43.400 Before the Thief can so much as call for the Genie to return and demand that it explain 00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:47.250 itself, he feels a sickly churning in his stomach. 00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:49.750 Something is very, very wrong. 00:03:49.750 --> 00:03:54.740 After a few short moments of violent and painful sickness, the Thief lays dead on the floor 00:03:54.740 --> 00:03:56.420 of the cavern. 00:03:56.420 --> 00:04:01.521 If one from a more advanced period of history were to examine him, they’d find the Thief’s 00:04:01.521 --> 00:04:07.129 body exposed to an extremely large overdose of Vitamin C – enough to kill him. 00:04:07.129 --> 00:04:10.220 The Genie had made him rich. 00:04:10.220 --> 00:04:15.780 It just goes to show, the old warning to ‘be careful what you wish for’ is always applicable. 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:21.660 Especially when you find yourself making a wish from SCP-4035. 00:04:21.660 --> 00:04:25.979 Although it might look like an unassuming table lamp from the outside, within it stored 00:04:25.979 --> 00:04:31.690 an ancient entity who also happens to be wildly unpredictable… and a bit of a jerk, to be 00:04:31.690 --> 00:04:33.620 completely honest. 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:39.460 Anyone examining SCP-4035 will notice the first odd thing about it fairly quickly. 00:04:39.460 --> 00:04:44.710 The lamp itself is rather unremarkable, composed of a simple iron base with a conical lampshade 00:04:44.710 --> 00:04:46.009 above. 00:04:46.009 --> 00:04:50.460 Its patterned stained glass sports a number of shades of green, and overall, it looks 00:04:50.460 --> 00:04:53.020 like the type of lamp you might find at a grandparent’s house. 00:04:53.020 --> 00:04:57.250 Or a distant elderly relative who always tells you just how much you’ve grown when you 00:04:57.250 --> 00:05:01.650 visit every five to ten years, and whose home décor hasn’t changed since the mid-1970s. 00:05:01.650 --> 00:05:08.639 But the first of SCP-4035’s many strange properties is that it doesn’t actually seem 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:10.320 to work. 00:05:10.320 --> 00:05:14.100 Closer inspection of the lamp itself will reveal that it doesn’t actually have any 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:15.830 electrical components whatsoever. 00:05:15.830 --> 00:05:19.820 There’s no wiring running through it, no cable leading to a plug that can be affixed 00:05:19.820 --> 00:05:22.680 to a wall socket, no switch, nothing. 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:25.110 Except for a standard lightbulb socket. 00:05:25.110 --> 00:05:30.430 So, naturally, anyone coming across this seemingly useless table lamp will feel compelled to 00:05:30.430 --> 00:05:33.350 find a lightbulb and see if the thing actually works. 00:05:33.350 --> 00:05:36.889 That’s when things get even stranger. 00:05:36.889 --> 00:05:41.930 Lightbulbs placed into SCP-4035 will indeed illuminate, despite the lack of electricity 00:05:41.930 --> 00:05:43.450 powering the lamp. 00:05:43.450 --> 00:05:47.670 There won’t appear to be anything unusual about its functionality at first, other than 00:05:47.670 --> 00:05:52.850 the bulbs inserted into SCP-4035 will produce a blue-tinted light. 00:05:52.850 --> 00:05:57.889 But surely, that’s just because of its ornate stained glass lampshade, right? 00:05:57.889 --> 00:05:58.889 Wrong. 00:05:58.889 --> 00:06:04.270 Shortly after placing a lightbulb within SCP-4035, that’s when he emerges. 00:06:04.270 --> 00:06:05.300 Who is he? 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:12.360 Well, the Foundation know him as SCP-4035-1, but for the sake of brevity, let’s just 00:06:12.360 --> 00:06:14.600 call him The Genie. 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:18.880 Emerging from the lamp will be an entity that seems to be gaseous in its composition, lacking 00:06:18.880 --> 00:06:24.071 a tangible, physical form and instead appearing to be incorporeal, almost like a ghost, or 00:06:24.071 --> 00:06:26.110 a man made of vapors. 00:06:26.110 --> 00:06:29.900 This being has been described as having the characteristics of a middle-aged, balding 00:06:29.900 --> 00:06:34.030 man, looking to be somewhere between his forties and fifties. 00:06:34.030 --> 00:06:38.300 Whenever he appears, the Genie always looks the same, always sporting a patchy brown suit 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:39.300 coat. 00:06:39.300 --> 00:06:43.930 Beneath, however, he has no visible legs, and in their place is a cloud of blue gas 00:06:43.930 --> 00:06:48.210 that emanates from the lower body of SCP-4035-1. 00:06:48.210 --> 00:06:54.020 As soon as SCP-4035-1 appears, he will strike up a conversation with whoever placed a lightbulb 00:06:54.020 --> 00:06:55.620 in the lamp that contains him. 00:06:55.620 --> 00:07:00.879 Now, you might be forgiven for perhaps predicting how the next interaction typically plays out. 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:03.230 After all, you’ve seen Aladdin. 00:07:03.230 --> 00:07:07.990 A genie appears, and offers to grant the person who discovered its lamp three wishes. 00:07:07.990 --> 00:07:12.100 However, the person making the wishes has to be very careful with how they word their 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:14.569 requests to the magical entity. 00:07:14.569 --> 00:07:20.440 One wrong word, and they might find themselves suffering some unforeseen consequences. 00:07:20.440 --> 00:07:25.010 Or perhaps it unfolds like other myths and fables involving genies – the wishes are 00:07:25.010 --> 00:07:28.580 granted, but they come at a terrible – maybe even fatal – price. 00:07:28.580 --> 00:07:32.830 Well, you’d be almost right to expect something like that from this Genie. 00:07:32.830 --> 00:07:39.490 But let’s just say that SCP-4035-1 doesn’t exactly enjoy doing things by the book. 00:07:39.490 --> 00:07:44.160 The Genie introduces itself, usually under some randomly selected false name – some 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:48.780 favorites of his during past encounters have included ‘Bobby’, ‘Spiff’, ‘Danny 00:07:48.780 --> 00:07:51.569 Fry’ and ‘Josephi Krakowski’. 00:07:51.569 --> 00:07:55.650 Now can you see why just calling him ‘The Genie’ is a lot simpler? 00:07:55.650 --> 00:08:02.949 Anyway, after he manifests, SCP-4035-1 won’t offer three wishes, but instead offers to 00:08:02.949 --> 00:08:08.129 sell a product to whoever placed a lightbulb in SCP-4035. 00:08:08.129 --> 00:08:11.860 Attempts to ask the Genie to elaborate on the product being offered are usually met 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:15.629 with an evasive response, and little detail being revealed. 00:08:15.629 --> 00:08:21.639 Once the person, or ‘subject’, talking to SCP-4035-1 responds, the Genie then – in 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:24.169 effect – grants their wish. 00:08:24.169 --> 00:08:28.280 They can just be trying to converse with the entity, but it will regard even a completely 00:08:28.280 --> 00:08:31.400 unrelated verbal response as an answer. 00:08:31.400 --> 00:08:35.760 The subjects typically receive a biological modification or other anomalous ability that 00:08:35.760 --> 00:08:38.300 directly relates to what they said to the Genie. 00:08:38.300 --> 00:08:41.130 And we do mean directly. 00:08:41.130 --> 00:08:45.130 Once again, you might be forgiven for expecting that being granted supernatural powers by 00:08:45.130 --> 00:08:48.200 a magical genie would be a fun experience. 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:51.590 After all, who doesn’t want anomalous abilities? 00:08:51.590 --> 00:08:59.519 But be warned, the abilities SCP-4035-1 hands out usually fit the description of ‘lackluster’ 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:00.519 and ‘disappointing’. 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:01.519 Why? 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:07.240 Well, because typically, the anomalous modifications the Genie makes are highly detrimental to 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:09.220 the subject in question. 00:09:09.220 --> 00:09:16.880 You see, SCP-4035-1 has a habit of taking things extremely literally, almost to a pedantic 00:09:16.880 --> 00:09:21.420 extent, intentionally misinterpreting and leaving any who accidentally make a wish with 00:09:21.420 --> 00:09:24.610 it harmful changes to their minds and bodies. 00:09:24.610 --> 00:09:29.910 And, like most genies from mythology, this one doesn’t undo the ‘wishes’ that it 00:09:29.910 --> 00:09:30.910 grants. 00:09:30.910 --> 00:09:34.960 After bestowing someone with abilities that usually leave them in agony or distress, the 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:41.930 Genie disappears back into SCP-4035, causing the lightbulb inside to violently explode. 00:09:41.930 --> 00:09:45.871 Should someone attempt to replace it and get the Genie to reverse whatever horrific change 00:09:45.871 --> 00:09:49.390 it has made, its voice will emanate from the lamp and yell: 00:09:49.390 --> 00:09:51.130 “Sorry, kid, no refunds.” 00:09:51.130 --> 00:09:53.839 But how bad could these abilities possibly be? 00:09:53.839 --> 00:09:58.240 Well, to find out the answer, you only have to take a look at a select few of the numerous 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:03.769 tests the SCP Foundation has done involving SCP-4035. 00:10:03.769 --> 00:10:08.330 Doctor Bannock, at one point in time, is assigned to be the head researcher in charge of conducting 00:10:08.330 --> 00:10:11.450 experiments on SCP-4035. 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:16.110 The approach he takes is sending members of disposable D Class personnel to interact with 00:10:16.110 --> 00:10:19.090 the lamp and Genie, then record the results. 00:10:19.090 --> 00:10:24.050 The first test unfolds as follows: The subject, a D Class with the designation 00:10:24.050 --> 00:10:30.930 number D-4088, is sent into the containment chamber that houses SCP-4035. 00:10:30.930 --> 00:10:35.639 Doctor Bannock instructs him to place a lightbulb in the socket and request telepathic abilities 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:37.830 from SCP-4035-1. 00:10:37.830 --> 00:10:43.470 However, as the Genie emerges, its sudden presence startles the D Class, and he makes 00:10:43.470 --> 00:10:46.520 an expletive exclamation that we won’t repeat. 00:10:46.520 --> 00:10:50.570 It was words to the effect of ‘What the heck is this?’ 00:10:50.570 --> 00:10:56.630 As a result, the Genie grants D-4088 an ability that relates to the sentence he said. 00:10:56.630 --> 00:11:00.630 And to call it particularly unpleasant might be something of an understatement. 00:11:00.630 --> 00:11:05.440 You see, because of a certain word the D Class had used, the Genie gives him the ability 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:11.130 to identify the chemical composition of… what we’ll refer to as ‘waste’. 00:11:11.130 --> 00:11:15.399 The fact that he can even identify what kind of creature said waste comes from does little 00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:19.700 to make D-4088 happy with his newfound power. 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:25.320 Doctor Bannock is forced to refine his experimentation strategy following this bungled first attempt. 00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:29.410 In the lead up to the second test, he informs the next D Class candidate of what exactly 00:11:29.410 --> 00:11:33.209 they will be facing when they enter the chamber, so as not to be caught by surprise at the 00:11:33.209 --> 00:11:35.110 sight of the Genie. 00:11:35.110 --> 00:11:41.190 As a result, the second D Class subject repeats the process of activating SCP-4035, and calmly 00:11:41.190 --> 00:11:45.830 repeats the request for telepathic abilities that he’s been told to ask for. 00:11:45.830 --> 00:11:48.029 “I’d like to be able to read minds.” 00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:53.730 Unfortunately, his wording means things haven’t exactly gone according to plan. 00:11:53.730 --> 00:11:57.320 Testing with this subject reveals he hasn’t developed any telepathic abilities. 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:01.720 Disappointed, Doctor Bannock has the subject released back into Foundation incarceration 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:04.110 alongside his fellow D Class prisoners. 00:12:04.110 --> 00:12:09.560 However, several weeks pass, and it soon becomes apparent what ability this inmate has been 00:12:09.560 --> 00:12:10.660 granted. 00:12:10.660 --> 00:12:15.010 He encounters another D Class, one of many pulled from maximum security prisons around 00:12:15.010 --> 00:12:16.050 the globe. 00:12:16.050 --> 00:12:20.320 This particular inmate has a tattoo on his forehead, of a few words in Chinese. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:24.579 However, to the former test subject, these phrases appear to have been translated to 00:12:24.579 --> 00:12:28.670 English and read ‘Cuban butter mustache’. 00:12:28.670 --> 00:12:32.990 When he reveals the mistake made by his fellow inmate’s tattoo artist, the subject is attacked 00:12:32.990 --> 00:12:34.600 and beaten up. 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:39.840 He had, however, gained the ability to ‘read minds’ – he can understand any form of 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:42.500 writing on the forehead of a living being. 00:12:42.500 --> 00:12:48.760 A little time passes, and Doctor Bannock finds himself still struggling to get SCP-4035-1 00:12:48.760 --> 00:12:52.430 to bestow any worthwhile abilities to test subjects. 00:12:52.430 --> 00:12:56.550 The Genie just seems to take everything far too literally, interpreting every wish with 00:12:56.550 --> 00:13:01.360 no regard for normal speech and colloquialisms, even disregarding the safety of the person 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:03.089 making the wish. 00:13:03.089 --> 00:13:07.010 Doctor Bannock conducts yet another test, sending a member of D Class to speak with 00:13:07.010 --> 00:13:11.329 the Genie, and telling him to wish for ‘muscle regeneration’. 00:13:11.329 --> 00:13:16.660 The D Class places the request with SCP-4035-1, seemingly without issue. 00:13:16.660 --> 00:13:21.649 However, then comes the next part – testing whether this new anomalous ability actually 00:13:21.649 --> 00:13:24.420 works the way Doctor Bannock intends. 00:13:24.420 --> 00:13:28.220 The subject of this latest experiment is intentionally injured. 00:13:28.220 --> 00:13:31.639 As he this happens, his body appears to rapidly change. 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:36.400 His muscular system swells up and multiplies, increasing from its original size. 00:13:36.400 --> 00:13:38.670 A successful test, right? 00:13:38.670 --> 00:13:42.970 Well, it would be, if the rapid muscle regeneration actually stopped… 00:13:42.970 --> 00:13:47.990 Before long, the D Class test subject’s muscle tissue is almost two hundred and fifty 00:13:47.990 --> 00:13:53.860 percent bigger than its original size, making it much bigger than the rest of his body too. 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:58.560 The subject is clearly highly distressed, although fortunately, this doesn’t continue 00:13:58.560 --> 00:13:59.560 for long. 00:13:59.560 --> 00:14:04.410 Unfortunately, that’s because his body can’t function normally with this new rapid change, 00:14:04.410 --> 00:14:10.190 and as a result, the D Class subject’s vital signs stop after three short seconds. 00:14:10.190 --> 00:14:14.130 Getting more and more frustrated with the disastrous outcomes, Doctor Bannock makes 00:14:14.130 --> 00:14:17.500 the decision to simplify the requests made to the Genie. 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:20.610 Surely it can’t misinterpret one word, can it? 00:14:20.610 --> 00:14:25.000 The next test that Bannock conducts sees yet another unwitting member of D Class – D-1899 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:31.120 – entering the containment chamber and placing a lightbulb within SCP-4035 just like her 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:33.130 predecessors have done. 00:14:33.130 --> 00:14:38.690 She follows her instructions, and as the Genie appears, she asks for one thing: 00:14:38.690 --> 00:14:39.690 “Flight.” 00:14:39.690 --> 00:14:45.769 A short while later, the Genie once again vanishes and leaves D-1899 with her wish. 00:14:45.769 --> 00:14:50.230 She has instantly become unaffected by the Earth’s gravitational pull like normal. 00:14:50.230 --> 00:14:54.290 Within seconds, she is floating above the ground, as if experiencing the zero gravity 00:14:54.290 --> 00:14:56.380 of traveling in outer space. 00:14:56.380 --> 00:14:58.810 That certainly sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? 00:14:58.810 --> 00:15:01.149 After all, who doesn’t wish they could fly? 00:15:01.149 --> 00:15:06.209 To be granted the unique opportunity to view the majesty of the world from high above. 00:15:06.209 --> 00:15:10.029 Just one problem, though – getting back down. 00:15:10.029 --> 00:15:15.670 D-1899 quickly realizes, as does an agitated Doctor Bannock, that she isn’t in control 00:15:15.670 --> 00:15:18.110 of her newfound flying abilities. 00:15:18.110 --> 00:15:22.060 She can’t alter her direction, or return back down to ground level at will. 00:15:22.060 --> 00:15:26.970 She’s stuck, floating in the air, only able to affect her trajectory by propelling herself 00:15:26.970 --> 00:15:28.620 off of solid structures. 00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:34.490 The results of SCP-4035 tests continue to be somewhat undesirable, to say the least. 00:15:34.490 --> 00:15:38.660 An interaction with the Genie that begins with the phrase ‘Uh, hey man’ causes the 00:15:38.660 --> 00:15:43.120 D Class who spoke to be suddenly replaced with a crude scarecrow. 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:48.120 When another subject makes a wish for ‘a new life’, they die almost instantly. 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:52.690 Only for, moments later, one of the Foundation’s researchers to suddenly give birth to a baby 00:15:52.690 --> 00:15:57.139 with identical genetic makeup to the now deceased D Class. 00:15:57.139 --> 00:16:00.980 Another test sees a member of D Class personnel enter the containment chamber, with the instruction 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:03.089 to wish for whatever they can think of. 00:16:03.089 --> 00:16:07.100 Put on the spot, they’re unsure what to request when the Genie appears, and instead 00:16:07.100 --> 00:16:10.420 they only offer up the response: “I dunno.” 00:16:10.420 --> 00:16:16.149 Moments later, this subject falls into a catatonic state, and eventually passes away. 00:16:16.149 --> 00:16:20.089 An autopsy of the subject’s body reveals that their hippocampus has been removed. 00:16:20.089 --> 00:16:24.540 Thanks to the Genie, they literally didn’t know anything. 00:16:24.540 --> 00:16:29.430 Further testing with SCP-4035 is later carried out, however, it should be noted that the 00:16:29.430 --> 00:16:33.590 next instance of a recorded experiment with the Genie isn’t one that was authorized 00:16:33.590 --> 00:16:35.459 by the SCP Foundation. 00:16:35.459 --> 00:16:40.110 Rather, hearing that there was a Genie being tested, Junior Researcher Jacobson decides 00:16:40.110 --> 00:16:42.670 to try and make his ultimate wish come true. 00:16:42.670 --> 00:16:47.100 He’s never been all that lucky in love, and it’s left the young Foundation Researcher 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:49.029 with a little insecurity. 00:16:49.029 --> 00:16:54.149 Nothing that a visit to SCP-4035-1 can’t fix, surely. 00:16:54.149 --> 00:16:59.829 Despite not being authorized to use SCP-4035, Junior Researcher Jacobson approaches the 00:16:59.829 --> 00:17:02.029 lamp within its containment chamber. 00:17:02.029 --> 00:17:08.041 He then repeats the process to make SCP-4035-1 appear, and then requests that the Genie grant 00:17:08.041 --> 00:17:11.880 his wish: “Make me more attractive.” 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:16.309 In an ideal world, this scenario wraps up with Junior Researcher Jacobson becoming more 00:17:16.309 --> 00:17:20.650 handsome by conventional standards, perhaps even improving his sense of insecurity as 00:17:20.650 --> 00:17:21.980 a result. 00:17:21.980 --> 00:17:26.220 But by now, you can probably guess that isn’t what happens at all. 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:30.710 Instead, being as literal as ever, the Genie grants the young Researcher’s wish and makes 00:17:30.710 --> 00:17:33.150 him more attractive. 00:17:33.150 --> 00:17:38.110 Seconds later, as soon as the Genie has demanifested, Jacobson is suddenly flung across the containment 00:17:38.110 --> 00:17:41.490 chamber and smacks sharply against the solid wall. 00:17:41.490 --> 00:17:45.710 The sheer force of the impact gives the Junior Researcher a severe spinal fracture. 00:17:45.710 --> 00:17:50.900 Of course, this catches the attention of Foundation security, who bring Junior Researcher Jacobson 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:52.700 to the on site medical center. 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:57.850 There, he is given a full analysis, and this reveals the extent of just how ‘attractive’ 00:17:57.850 --> 00:18:00.080 the Genie has made him. 00:18:00.080 --> 00:18:04.360 Junior Researcher Jacobson’s epidermis, his outer layer of skin, has been given properties 00:18:04.360 --> 00:18:07.460 similar to that of a high powered magnet. 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:11.470 He has been magnetically attracted to the metallic walls of the containment chamber, 00:18:11.470 --> 00:18:15.820 resulting in a spinal injury that would claim his life only two hours later. 00:18:15.820 --> 00:18:21.120 The extensive testing with SCP-4035 is still ongoing, and as a result, the Foundation sees 00:18:21.120 --> 00:18:25.080 it fit to keep a large supply of lightbulbs near the lamp’s containment chamber. 00:18:25.080 --> 00:18:28.720 Doctor Bannock’s research seems to indicate that while a person is in close proximity 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:34.740 with SCP-4035, they ware more likely to suffer a sudden and inexplicable speech problem. 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:38.970 For example, the most common of these are parapraxis – commonly known as a Freudian 00:18:38.970 --> 00:18:43.930 slip – or ankyloglossia, which is a condition wherein the skin joining a person’s tongue 00:18:43.930 --> 00:18:48.940 to the bottom of their mouth is shorter than usual, and this affects normal tongue movement, 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:51.580 sometimes being called a tongue tie. 00:18:51.580 --> 00:18:57.700 Being closer to SCP-4035-1 increases the chances of suffering some form of unintended speech 00:18:57.700 --> 00:19:01.480 mistake by sixty-eight percent when talking to the Genie. 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:06.220 To cut a long story short, the Genie doesn’t just intentionally and obtusely interpret 00:19:06.220 --> 00:19:11.409 everything literally, but also directly affects how clear a person will be while making their 00:19:11.409 --> 00:19:12.559 wish. 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:18.730 As for exactly where SCP-4035 comes from, there’s little information available. 00:19:18.730 --> 00:19:23.130 Some theories suggest it might well be an actual mythological genie, who is just tired 00:19:23.130 --> 00:19:27.380 of spending so many centuries in the business of granting wishes for mortals. 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:31.580 After all, imagine you get trapped in a desk lamp for all eternity, and have to magically 00:19:31.580 --> 00:19:34.840 fulfill the requests of anyone that comes across you. 00:19:34.840 --> 00:19:39.090 Living through that for so long is liable make a genie bitter and petty. 00:19:39.090 --> 00:19:42.960 Then again, perhaps the Genie isn’t even really a genuine genie. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:47.000 It doesn’t inhabit an oil lamp, but instead a broken table lamp. 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:51.030 And instead of granting wishes in the way they’re intended, it misinterprets and takes 00:19:51.030 --> 00:19:55.080 things too literally, leaving the poor fools who thought they’d be blessed with supernatural 00:19:55.080 --> 00:19:58.340 powers to deal with the consequences. 00:19:58.340 --> 00:20:00.169 But perhaps that’s the point. 00:20:00.169 --> 00:20:06.620 If nothing else, the Genie residing in SCP-4035 serves as a reminder of that important lesson: 00:20:06.620 --> 00:20:09.190 to be careful what you wish for. 00:20:09.190 --> 00:20:14.309 In any case, if we were going looking for a genie, we’d take the friendly Robin Williams 00:20:14.309 --> 00:20:17.020 type over this pedantic jerk any day. 00:20:17.020 --> 00:20:21.159 Check out the Dr. Bob Patreon and become a junior researcher today! 00:20:21.159 --> 00:20:26.870 Now go and watch another entry from the files of Dr. Bob, like SCP-150 Body Stealing Parasite 00:20:26.870 --> 00:20:28.249 - Ship of Theseus!