WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.459 --> 00:00:04.750 A group of three Class D Personnel approach the locked containment chamber. 00:00:04.750 --> 00:00:08.670 One of them is carrying a bucket and mop, but all three of them look jumpy and hesitant 00:00:08.670 --> 00:00:09.820 to move forward. 00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:14.099 An SCP Foundation guard walking behind them gives one of them a push forward with the 00:00:14.099 --> 00:00:18.199 barrel of his gun and they continue stepping towards the cell door. 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:21.710 All three of them nervously stare at the heavy, locked metal door. 00:00:21.710 --> 00:00:26.340 Behind it, the sound of stone scraping against metal can be heard coming from inside. 00:00:26.340 --> 00:00:31.199 A second guard standing next to the door asks the three if they are ready. 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:34.510 They don’t answer and the guard starts to laugh. 00:00:34.510 --> 00:00:36.079 They never are. 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:40.440 The guard loudly announces that “special containment procedures are beginning now! 00:00:40.440 --> 00:00:41.440 You know the rules. 00:00:41.440 --> 00:00:44.750 Two maintain eye contact at all times while the other cleans. 00:00:44.750 --> 00:00:47.250 If you have to blink, do it one eye at a time. 00:00:47.250 --> 00:00:50.550 And announce before you close even one eye so everyone knows.” 00:00:50.550 --> 00:00:54.850 The guard turns and starts to enter a code into the keypad next to the door. 00:00:54.850 --> 00:00:59.460 Each of the D Classes take a couple hard, last blinks, taking the last opportunity they 00:00:59.460 --> 00:01:02.429 have to shut both of their eyes at the same time before they begin. 00:01:02.429 --> 00:01:06.280 With a loud hiss the sealed chamber door unseals. 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:09.729 “Alright, eyes up!” the guard commands. 00:01:09.729 --> 00:01:12.650 The door opens to reveal a small, dimly lit chamber. 00:01:12.650 --> 00:01:17.030 There are no furnishings, and much of the metal floor and walls are covered in a reddish 00:01:17.030 --> 00:01:18.800 brown substance. 00:01:18.800 --> 00:01:22.719 And there in the corner, is what they’ve heard stories and rumors about. 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:25.890 The thing that has given them nightmares ever since they learned that they would have to 00:01:25.890 --> 00:01:28.470 enter its containment chamber… 00:01:28.470 --> 00:01:30.299 SCP-173. 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:32.180 Or as most of the staff in the SCP Foundation call it… 00:01:32.180 --> 00:01:35.049 The Sculpture. 00:01:35.049 --> 00:01:37.409 It looks so unassuming in person. 00:01:37.409 --> 00:01:41.560 Just a crude, concrete figure with a stupid looking spray painted face, standing motionless 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:42.560 in the corner. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:47.549 The three D classes get another push from the guard behind them and they enter the chamber. 00:01:47.549 --> 00:01:52.270 The two assigned to watch SCP-173 assume their position in the middle of the room, their 00:01:52.270 --> 00:01:56.040 eyes locked on the Sculpture as the other starts cleaning the foul substance off the 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:57.040 floor and walls. 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:02.119 It smells terrible, like a mix of old blood and human waste. 00:02:02.119 --> 00:02:06.040 The two assigned to watch 173 pay no attention to the one cleaning though. 00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:10.060 They follow protocol to a tee, maintaining their vigil and announcing each time they 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:12.770 are going to blink, even if it is only one eye. 00:02:12.770 --> 00:02:17.350 The third one continues cleaning, trying his best to keep his own eyes locked on the sculpture 00:02:17.350 --> 00:02:20.570 as he attempts to mop around it without getting too close. 00:02:20.570 --> 00:02:25.680 D-5933 does his job and doesn’t break eye contact with SCP-173. 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:30.530 Even though it hasn’t moved, he can feel the presence of the Sculpture, something within 00:02:30.530 --> 00:02:35.680 it, just waiting for him to slip up, to let his eyes avert for just one split second. 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:37.310 They say that’s all it takes. 00:02:37.310 --> 00:02:41.210 You stop looking for even an instant and it’s all over. 00:02:41.210 --> 00:02:45.220 With all of the fear coursing through his veins it is hard to maintain focus. 00:02:45.220 --> 00:02:49.290 All he can think about is how dry his eyes feel, and blinking them one at a time never 00:02:49.290 --> 00:02:50.410 seems to be enough. 00:02:50.410 --> 00:02:56.220 He wants so badly to shut his eyes, to end their itchy, dry feeling, but he can’t. 00:02:56.220 --> 00:02:58.660 Even with another watcher it’s too risky. 00:02:58.660 --> 00:03:04.500 There’s suddenly a loud crack but D-5933 doesn’t move his eyes away from 173. 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:08.180 He can see in his periphery that the other D Class dropped his broom and instinctively 00:03:08.180 --> 00:03:09.380 looked down at it. 00:03:09.380 --> 00:03:12.380 Luckily for him, there were others watching. 00:03:12.380 --> 00:03:17.270 D-5933 shifts in place, taking a step back and bumps into something. 00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:20.860 He can’t look at what it is, but he reaches behind him and feels that it’s the other 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:21.870 D Class watcher. 00:03:21.870 --> 00:03:24.800 But wait a minute, why is he facing the other way? 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:29.000 “What are you doing, what’s going on?” he asks, his eyes never leaving SCP-173. 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:33.410 “What are you talking about?” the other D Class asks back. 00:03:33.410 --> 00:03:35.000 “You’re facing the wrong way.” 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:36.310 “I’m facing the wrong way? 00:03:36.310 --> 00:03:37.750 You’re facing the wrong way!” 00:03:37.750 --> 00:03:40.000 “We’re supposed to be watching 173! 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:41.000 What are you looking at?” 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:42.870 “I AM looking at 173. 00:03:42.870 --> 00:03:43.920 What are you looking at?!” 00:03:43.920 --> 00:03:47.820 D-5933 doesn’t know what’s going on and starts to panic. 00:03:47.820 --> 00:03:52.540 The one cleaning is focused on his task, trying as hard as he can to quickly mop up an especially 00:03:52.540 --> 00:03:54.110 dirty corner of the cell. 00:03:54.110 --> 00:03:55.970 “Ah ah ah…” 00:03:55.970 --> 00:03:59.950 It’s the worst sound D-5933 could have heard. 00:03:59.950 --> 00:04:00.950 “Ah-choo!” 00:04:00.950 --> 00:04:01.950 A sneeze. 00:04:01.950 --> 00:04:03.380 Just inches behind his head. 00:04:03.380 --> 00:04:07.900 Followed by the sound of bones being cracked, a scream that was cut off too short, and then 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:10.900 a sick, thud as a body dropped to the floor. 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:17.360 D-5933 doesn’t even have a chance to scream before a pair of concrete hands grab his neck, 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:21.890 and his own head is twisted around to see another identical looking sculpture staring 00:04:21.890 --> 00:04:24.069 back at him. 00:04:24.069 --> 00:04:27.969 “Ladies and gentlemen of the O5 council, we have a problem.” 00:04:27.969 --> 00:04:32.949 A senior researcher is giving a presentation to a group who remain largely in the shadows, 00:04:32.949 --> 00:04:38.210 obscuring both their identities as well as their reactions to this horrendous news. 00:04:38.210 --> 00:04:43.909 “SCP-173, through means which we have not yet been able to determine… has multiplied.” 00:04:43.909 --> 00:04:49.090 There’s no reaction from any of the thirteen figures seated around the large, curved table. 00:04:49.090 --> 00:04:54.311 The researcher in charge of SCP-173 waits for a response, anything at all, but after 00:04:54.311 --> 00:04:57.639 receiving none he clears his throat and continues. 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:02.960 “We gave each of the new instances their own designation, SCP-173-1 and SCP-173-2. 00:05:02.960 --> 00:05:09.900 Two of the D-Class on observation duty during the regular cleaning of 173’s cell were 00:05:09.900 --> 00:05:14.379 killed, the third was able to keep them both in his line of sight until they could be re-contained 00:05:14.379 --> 00:05:15.840 and moved into separate cells.” 00:05:15.840 --> 00:05:18.960 Again, no reaction from the shadows. 00:05:18.960 --> 00:05:22.650 “But as you know… this wasn’t the end of it. 00:05:22.650 --> 00:05:26.919 At some point, the instances of SCP-173 multiplied again. 00:05:26.919 --> 00:05:30.180 Each splitting to form yet another instance. 00:05:30.180 --> 00:05:36.159 SCP-173-1 through 4 are all contained separately, but we don’t know if or when another split 00:05:36.159 --> 00:05:37.569 will occur.” 00:05:37.569 --> 00:05:42.479 The senior researcher waits, but no one on the O5 council speaks or moves, until the 00:05:42.479 --> 00:05:47.289 one seated in the very middle, slides a piece of paper across the table in front of him. 00:05:47.289 --> 00:05:51.590 The senior researcher looks confused, he looks to the Mobile Task Force guard stationed near 00:05:51.590 --> 00:05:56.240 the door, but he too remains expressionless, eyes locked straight ahead. 00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:00.949 The researcher, unsure of what else to do, steps away from the lectern and walks towards 00:06:00.949 --> 00:06:02.139 the table. 00:06:02.139 --> 00:06:04.930 He picks up the piece of paper and reads it: 00:06:04.930 --> 00:06:10.400 OBJECT CLASS - UPGRADE FROM EUCLID TO KETER ORDERS - CONTINUE OBSERVATION 00:06:10.400 --> 00:06:14.779 The senior researcher nods in agreement, thanks the O5 Council for their time, and leaves 00:06:14.779 --> 00:06:16.710 the room. 00:06:16.710 --> 00:06:18.939 Lights flash and siren blare in the halls of Site-19. 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:21.680 It’s a containment breach. 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:25.889 Facility staff, researchers, and site guards all run down the hall screaming, trying desperately 00:06:25.889 --> 00:06:26.889 to get away. 00:06:26.889 --> 00:06:29.020 There’s no hope for any of them though. 00:06:29.020 --> 00:06:34.400 In a flash, SCP-173 instances appear behind them, snapping their necks and dropping them 00:06:34.400 --> 00:06:37.580 to the floor before moving on to their next victim. 00:06:37.580 --> 00:06:39.020 There must be dozens of them. 00:06:39.020 --> 00:06:42.990 Even as a guard tries to keep their eyes on one instance, preventing it from moving, another 00:06:42.990 --> 00:06:44.379 appears behind them. 00:06:44.379 --> 00:06:50.059 The staff of Site-19 flee for their lives, screaming for someone, anyone, to help them. 00:06:50.059 --> 00:06:54.189 The senior researcher presses pause on the video, the terrified face of the senior researcher 00:06:54.189 --> 00:06:57.130 who gave the last presentation is frozen on the screen. 00:06:57.130 --> 00:07:02.430 An instance of SCP-173 is directly behind them, its hands wrapped around his neck in 00:07:02.430 --> 00:07:05.879 the split second before his life was snuffed out. 00:07:05.879 --> 00:07:10.110 The new researcher giving the presentation looks considerably more frazzled than his 00:07:10.110 --> 00:07:11.110 predecessor. 00:07:11.110 --> 00:07:15.270 He explains to the O5 council that following this horrific containment breach at Site-19, 00:07:15.270 --> 00:07:20.949 at least 61 instances of SCP-173 are now unaccounted for. 00:07:20.949 --> 00:07:24.690 It is still unknown how they are replicating, but worryingly there is evidence that the 00:07:24.690 --> 00:07:26.610 process may be speeding up. 00:07:26.610 --> 00:07:30.699 He presses play on a new clip from the security footage which shows what appears to be multiple 00:07:30.699 --> 00:07:35.990 instances of 173 working in tandem, some using their bodies to block exits, others creating 00:07:35.990 --> 00:07:37.900 choke points in the facility corridors. 00:07:37.900 --> 00:07:43.530 “We have theorized that SCP-173, as we are now referring to the collective instances, 00:07:43.530 --> 00:07:45.909 may possess a form of hive intelligence. 00:07:45.909 --> 00:07:49.819 It also appears that this intelligence scales with the number of instances that are nearby. 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:53.640 This allowed them to implement tactics that thwarted our containment efforts, as they 00:07:53.640 --> 00:07:57.139 used instances to block our containment teams from being able to pursue others.” 00:07:57.139 --> 00:08:01.979 “What you have in front of you is a proposal for Revised Special Containment Procedures.” 00:08:01.979 --> 00:08:06.059 “What I recommend may sound drastic, but it’s what I truly believe is the only way 00:08:06.059 --> 00:08:07.710 to contain this threat.” 00:08:07.710 --> 00:08:11.529 Each of the O5 Council Members picks up the folder in front of them, bringing it into 00:08:11.529 --> 00:08:13.219 the shadows that obscure them. 00:08:13.219 --> 00:08:18.449 “What I propose is that SCP-173 instances no longer be kept in containment cells, but 00:08:18.449 --> 00:08:22.020 instead placed inside of form-fitting metal containers. 00:08:22.020 --> 00:08:27.800 We can then use SCP-120 to transport the instances to the Foundation site on the lunar surface. 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:31.659 The facility will have to be abandoned of course, it’s too risky to maintain a presence 00:08:31.659 --> 00:08:35.210 there, but each of the instances will be fitted with a tracking collar to ensure that we will 00:08:35.210 --> 00:08:38.130 be able to detect if any of them are somehow able to escape.” 00:08:38.130 --> 00:08:39.900 The senior researcher waits. 00:08:39.900 --> 00:08:43.690 After a time, a paper is once again slid across the table. 00:08:43.690 --> 00:08:47.910 He approaches and picks it up, he sees that it is the same folder containing his Revised 00:08:47.910 --> 00:08:49.980 Special Containment Procedures proposal. 00:08:49.980 --> 00:08:53.300 He opens it to find that it has been stamped “APPROVED”. 00:08:53.300 --> 00:08:57.020 “BREAKING NEWS” flashes across the screen. 00:08:57.020 --> 00:09:00.770 A worried looking reporter appears as though she didn’t have time to do her hair or makeup 00:09:00.770 --> 00:09:03.620 before rushing on air to deliver this special report. 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:07.790 She explains that civilian deaths across North America are now estimated to be more than 00:09:07.790 --> 00:09:13.490 500,000 people in the last 48 hours, as these still unidentified creatures continue their 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:16.220 deadly rampage across the continent. 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:20.090 It is unknown how many of them there may be, but the number of sightings has led some to 00:09:20.090 --> 00:09:24.770 estimate that there may be hundreds if not thousands or even tens of thousands of these 00:09:24.770 --> 00:09:26.620 living, neck snapping sculptures. 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:30.700 The reporter explains that rumors are circulating that the creature can be stopped by maintaining 00:09:30.700 --> 00:09:33.650 eye contact with it, but that this has yet to be confirmed. 00:09:33.650 --> 00:09:38.300 There is still no official word from the White House or from any members of Congress, and 00:09:38.300 --> 00:09:42.760 their current location and status are unknown following reports that most of Washington 00:09:42.760 --> 00:09:46.120 D.C. was overrun by the creatures earlier that day. 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:50.860 The reporter suddenly stops speaking and a terrified look comes over her face, her eyes 00:09:50.860 --> 00:09:53.120 locked on something just off screen. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:58.680 The camera pans over to show an instance of SCP-173 standing over a dead cameraman. 00:09:58.680 --> 00:10:03.990 There’s a scream, and the camera goes back to the reporter who now lies dead on her desk, 00:10:03.990 --> 00:10:08.830 her head twisted 180 degrees, before there’s another sound of bones breaking and the feed 00:10:08.830 --> 00:10:10.830 goes dead. 00:10:10.830 --> 00:10:15.590 A woman in an SCP researcher coat sits at a computer terminal in a secure bunker, a 00:10:15.590 --> 00:10:19.240 large, jeweled medallion around her neck, typing furiously, as if there isn’t much 00:10:19.240 --> 00:10:20.240 time. 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:21.240 “Personal Log of Dr. Bright. 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:26.090 From the little news I’ve been able to gather, it sounds like SCP-173 has besieged and destroyed 00:10:26.090 --> 00:10:30.960 four Foundation facilities pretty much simultaneously in the last 24 hours. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:35.120 Each instance shows the same strength as the original, and thousands of them working together 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:40.220 are capable of ripping open concrete bunkers and compromising foot-thick steel doors. 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:43.680 I alone have been killed thirty-seven times in the last week. 00:10:43.680 --> 00:10:47.000 They can smell me, somehow, regardless of what body I'm in. 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:51.200 The majority decision of the remaining O5s is that this is an XK class end of the world 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:56.260 scenario unfolding, and they're gonna deal with the problem, or else the Russians are. 00:10:56.260 --> 00:10:59.620 They're evacuating this base, which means there won't be a single Foundation scientist 00:10:59.620 --> 00:11:01.170 anywhere in the New World. 00:11:01.170 --> 00:11:05.050 They say they're gonna try to evacuate the surviving civilians, but I doubt it. 00:11:05.050 --> 00:11:08.540 There can't be more than a couple hundred people in all of North America anyway. 00:11:08.540 --> 00:11:12.790 I managed to make it down to a secure bunker but who knows how long it will be until they’re 00:11:12.790 --> 00:11:13.790 able to get in. 00:11:13.790 --> 00:11:16.050 I don’t think there’s any chance I can get out either. 00:11:16.050 --> 00:11:21.360 I’m running out of food, and I’m not sure which will get me first, hunger, the sculptures, 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:24.490 or what I know the O5’s will inevitably do.” 00:11:24.490 --> 00:11:28.410 Dr. Bright closes the computer terminal and sits back in her chair. 00:11:28.410 --> 00:11:31.660 She looks up at the ceiling of the bunker where the sound of concrete scratching against 00:11:31.660 --> 00:11:34.910 metal can be heard through the thick walls. 00:11:34.910 --> 00:11:38.610 A sullen and tired looking researcher steps out of a room in the makeshift foundation 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:42.290 site that has been established just outside of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. 00:11:42.290 --> 00:11:46.981 He’s holding a piece of paper and closes the door behind him which has had “O5 Council 00:11:46.981 --> 00:11:50.750 - Authorized Entry Only” hastily painted on the outside. 00:11:50.750 --> 00:11:54.290 A small group of Foundation staff are waiting for him, they’ve gathered to hear what the 00:11:54.290 --> 00:11:58.110 Overseers have decided to do in the face of this world ending disaster. 00:11:58.110 --> 00:12:03.160 The researcher looks around at his colleagues' faces, and as they make eye contact, any hope 00:12:03.160 --> 00:12:06.860 they had is quickly replaced by the bad news they know is coming. 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:08.310 He begins to read: 00:12:08.310 --> 00:12:11.540 “Revised Special Containment Procedures 00:12:11.540 --> 00:12:16.340 Containment Zone X1, formerly North and South America, is to be denied access. 00:12:16.340 --> 00:12:21.370 Following saturation nuclear bombing the number of SCP-173 instances has been reduced. 00:12:21.370 --> 00:12:25.550 All available Foundation resources are to be redirected to monitoring the ocean, to 00:12:25.550 --> 00:12:29.100 ensure the integrity of Containment Zone X1. 00:12:29.100 --> 00:12:33.130 Foundation Adjuncts from national navies are to perform around the clock patrols and sonar 00:12:33.130 --> 00:12:34.130 sweeps. 00:12:34.130 --> 00:12:38.630 Detected instances are to be contained and removed to SCP-120 for transport to the lunar 00:12:38.630 --> 00:12:39.630 containment site.” 00:12:39.630 --> 00:12:42.320 “That’s it?” one of the staff members asks. 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:45.390 “That’s it,” the researcher replies. 00:12:45.390 --> 00:12:47.490 Several of those present begin to cry. 00:12:47.490 --> 00:12:49.450 There’s nothing more they can do. 00:12:49.450 --> 00:12:54.230 Their homes, their friends, their families, all of them are gone. 00:12:54.230 --> 00:12:58.320 Killed either by the neck wrenching sculptures or in the heat of a nuclear blast. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:02.130 “Why, why did they have to do it?” one of the other staff who appears to be a former 00:13:02.130 --> 00:13:03.340 site guard asks. 00:13:03.340 --> 00:13:05.800 “That's all we could do!” another argues. 00:13:05.800 --> 00:13:08.500 There’s much disagreement in the small crowd. 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:12.851 No matter how they feel though, this was the official order from the O5 Council, their 00:13:12.851 --> 00:13:14.750 word is law. 00:13:14.750 --> 00:13:19.000 Especially in a world where all law and order outside of the Foundation has broken down. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:20.830 There really was no other option. 00:13:20.830 --> 00:13:24.830 All they can do now is hope that the sacrifice of two whole continents was enough to keep 00:13:24.830 --> 00:13:26.070 it contained. 00:13:26.070 --> 00:13:31.030 That SCP-173 is unable to cross the ocean to Europe, and that they remain safe on this 00:13:31.030 --> 00:13:32.780 side of the planet. 00:13:32.780 --> 00:13:37.180 The group grows quiet, mourning the loss of the world they once knew, when the silence 00:13:37.180 --> 00:13:39.710 is suddenly interrupted by someone running down the hall. 00:13:39.710 --> 00:13:42.860 It’s another researcher carrying his own piece of paper. 00:13:42.860 --> 00:13:46.850 He tries to push past the group towards the O5 Council’s door, insisting that they let 00:13:46.850 --> 00:13:49.460 him through, that he has important news that can’t wait. 00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:52.510 “What is it?” demands the group, “we deserve to know!” 00:13:52.510 --> 00:13:55.860 The group wrestles the paper away from the junior researcher and it is passed through 00:13:55.860 --> 00:13:59.360 the group to the same man who read the Revised Special Containment Procedures. 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:03.890 He quickly reads the report, it’s just a couple of lines, and his face goes white. 00:14:03.890 --> 00:14:07.730 “What is it, what does it say?” comes a question from the crowd. 00:14:07.730 --> 00:14:11.010 “Message from the North Atlantic Navy General Command. 00:14:11.010 --> 00:14:15.190 Verified sighting of SCP-173 in the United Kingdom. 00:14:15.190 --> 00:14:18.270 Nuclear bombardment authorized and executed. 00:14:18.270 --> 00:14:21.430 No survivors.” 00:14:21.430 --> 00:14:23.890 SCP-173 has come for them. 00:14:23.890 --> 00:14:29.750 I hope you enjoyed this special exploration of the SCP Foundation Tale SCP-173 Revised 00:14:29.750 --> 00:14:30.750 Entry. 00:14:30.750 --> 00:14:36.100 If you liked this, then be sure to watch The First SCP SCP-001 The Prototype. 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:39.530 Let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more like this and make sure you subscribe 00:14:39.530 --> 00:14:43.190 and turn on notifications, so you don’t miss a single anomaly, as we delve further 00:14:43.190 --> 00:14:46.670 and further into the SCP Foundation’s classified archives.