He was shivering and sobbing, and I just held him until the rest showed up. He kept going on about the cold and the endless snow, babbling like a baby…
Billith
Written by Billith.
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Photograph of SCP-3315-1, recovered from exploration log 3315-1-B
Item #: SCP-3315
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3315 should be kept inside a copper-shielded thermal insulation locker and stored within the Site-76 Low-Risk Inanimate Objects Warehouses when not in use. All personnel interested in research with the object must first obtain approval from project head prior to experimentation. Additionally, personnel requests for testing purposes require administrative approval and several rounds of D-Class screening prior to admission.
All testing is to be recorded and observed from within Site-76's experimentation chambers. This chamber should be retrofitted with a Faraday mesh and shielded with TO-3 thermal resistance pods that must be inspected daily by members of research staff.
Description: SCP-3315 is the designation for a 25 cm black aluminum ice pick with "p e r s e v e r a n c e" engraved onto its handle. The object itself is comprised of non-anomalous material, with a handle composed of carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic and an aluminum carabiner ring on the blunt end.
SCP-3315 is abnormally cold, registering in at ~193 K (approximately -79.4° C), requiring use of protective equipment when handling. The carabiner ring features a single handwritten note, laminated and attached via plastic zip-tie. Attempts to remove or otherwise alter the components or state of SCP-3315 have failed.
The note reads as follows:
O wanderer, struck forth on heaven's eye
What mysteries of yonder frozen ridges hide?
Steal your fate with the pick on high
When you climb to reach perseverance's side
When an individual grasps SCP-3315 and lifts it from a surface, they will disappear from all visual and global positioning systems. The subject will then be instananeously translocated to an alternate locality defined as SCP-3315-1. During this period, audio broadcasting reception can still be detected with decent clarity within two kilometers of the point from which SCP-3315 vanished.
Once the subject appears within SCP-3315-1, they will be unrecoverable until they expire, whereupon they reemerge alive and unscathed within SCP-3315's original location. During the event, subjects are unable to die of hunger, thirst, or asphyxiation, despite consistent reports of symptoms related to such things. All other forms of termination work without issue. Subjects are unable to lose or discard SCP-3315 while inside SCP-3315-1, as the tool will continuously relocate itself within close viscinity of the individual if left unattended.
SCP-3315-1 is a single mountain range of unknown size, subject to a dense fog that obscures the surrounding area. Topographical expeditions of this locale have yielded inconclusive data, suggesting that SCP-3315-1 is not located on Earth and is randomly or procedurally generated with each instance of its manifestation. However, certain items and features are known to reappear within different manifestations of SCP-3315-1. Research into how SCP-3315 constructs this reality is still under analysis.
Addendum-3315-A: Discovery and Recovery Log
SCP-3315 was brought to Foundation attention on 05/11/2002 after the hospitalization of trailer park supervisor Francis ████████, who had claimed to have suffered several "episodes" in which he had found himself with lost time and in an unknown location. ████████ states that he had been cleaning out the unit of a tenant who was presumed dead in a house fire three days prior, when he was transported to SCP-3315-1, perishing rapidly due to hypothermia. After reappearing, he attempted to return to work several times before admitting himself to a nearby hospital. A Foundation agent stationed as a nurse reported the claims and an official investigation was deployed.
████████'s tenant records were seized and it was determined that the lot in question had belonged to a █████ ██████. It is unknown if this is a real name or not, as no other records of such individual were registered within █████████████ County nor any of the surrounding counties. ████████ was unable to provide any further details about the individual, stating that the tenant was invalid and that he had rarely interacted with the person in question. No remains were discovered among the wreckage of the trailer. The cause of the fire is similarly unknown.
Foundation efforts to properly identify SCP-3315 took place over the next day, during which its anomalous properties came to light. Anomalous Items Recovery Unit 33B ("Scavengers") was assigned to the location. Records of their debriefing can be found below.
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AIRU-33B/SCP-3315 Debrief Log 001
Note: Following is a transcript of AIRU-33B member Agent Mackenzie Driscoll's debrief post-recovery of SCP-3315 to Site-76 Director Mahmoodah Agarwal.
<BEGIN TRANSCRIPT>
Director Agarwal: Alright, Agent Driscoll, if you would.
Agent Driscoll: Okay—[clears throat]—Agent Mackenzie Driscoll, Anomalous Items Recovery Division, unit thirty-three-bee, May fifteenth, two-thousand and-
Director Agarwal: Just—please describe your experience when you were recovering the object. For the record.
Agent Driscoll: Ah, sorry. We don't really get anything this interesting, usually. Anyway, we were deployed to [REDACTED], some trailer park out there in the pine barrens, and Jacobs—Agent Jacobs—was on the job with me at the time. So, we drove out there and started poking around the burned-up unit. Jacobs was the first to notice something off about the place, I mean it was cold. Like, we stepped into what was left of the trailer and it just felt wrong. Not in a bad way, mind you, but it was weird.
Director Agarwal: Care to go into more detail?
Agent Driscoll: Well, I quickly noticed the smell. It was frigid in there, and it smelled like we were outside. Like, I could taste the snow and the mountains instead of smoke and burned plastic. It was refreshing, but we were not dressed for the cold, and everything in the trailer was damp and covered in soot. Jacobs saw the pick after a minute or so, in perfect condition, and he reached for it, barely picked the thing up off the ground before he just up and vanished. The next thirty minutes were a blur. I radioed in that Jacobs had gone missing and I remember that Site Command was in a bit of an argument about whether or not to dispatch a more, uh, trained group before I heard Jacobs yelling from inside the trailer.
Director Agarwal: And what did you do then?
Agent Driscoll: I went back inside, of course. Jacobs is still pretty green. Not his first roundup, mind you, but this was something different. He was shivering and sobbing, and I just held him until the rest showed up. He kept going on about the cold and the endless snow, babbling like a baby but otherwise unharmed. I'm just glad he was wearing his gloves, because he probably would have lost a few fingers if he wasn't.
Director Agarwal: Alright. What about the pick?
Agent Driscoll: It was just lying there next to him, inanimate. I knew not to touch the damned thing. A little while later more recovery agents showed up, Abernathy and Pierce, and I warned them not to touch it either. They got some tongs and put the pick in a plastic bag, then we brought it onsite.
Director Agarwal: Thank you, Agent Driscoll. That about covers it.
Agent Driscoll: No problem, ma'am.
<END TRANSCRIPT>
Addendum-3315-B: Exploration Logs for SCP-3315-1.
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Exploration Log 3315-1-A
Time: 11:23 GMT, 09/06/02
Subject: D-85748
Supervisors: Agents Langstaff and Wyatt, switching shifts every 12 hours.
Notes: Subject was equipped with a two-way earpiece, climbing gear, and an Osprey-52 Variant extreme environment multi-day supply pack.
<Begin Log>
Subject is instructed to activate earpiece and approach SCP-3315.
Agent Langstaff: Alright, can you read me?
D-85748: Yeah. Loud and clear.
Agent Langstaff: Great, please proceed to pick up the object in front of you.
D-85748: Right.
Subject bends over and grabs SCP-3315, disappearing from testing area a moment later.
D-85748: Holy hell.
Agent Langstaff: Please describe your surroundings.
D-85748: I-I don't like this, I'm not a fan of heights.
Agent Langstaff: Please try and be more descriptive of your surroundings.
D-85748: Okay, well, I'm on a mountain in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, there's snow and ice and it is windy as—agh—Jesus take the wheel. [loud rustling] Alright. Sorry about that.
Agent Langstaff: Are you okay?
D-85748: Yeah-Yeah, I nearly ate it right there, but I'm good—[cough]—It really is something beautiful out here, even if I'm absolutely terrified. Whew. Its gotta be well under freezing. This suit is a wonder, alright. [muffled noises] Okay, which way should I go?
Agent Langstaff: Please check your attached compass.
D-85748: [shuffling] uh, no good. The pin is spinning constantly around. Any ideas?
Agent Langstaff: Do you see any identifying landmarks?
D-85748: Nothing—or, I think I see some higher peaks peeking through the clouds, maybe I should just follow them then? Have a good look around?
Agent Langstaff: Good idea, please proceed.
Sounds of wind and shuffling can be picked up for several minutes.
D-85748: Alright, I think I see some trees in the distance. Nothing much else. Lots of fog.
Subject proceeds in this manner for some time, until 14:40, where loud sounds of scraping and movement can be heard.
D-85748: Wha—Oh fuck—[muffled] Ah, ah—I can't—[sounds of struggle and a sharp whine in the microphone can be heard]—Ow. [groans] Okay. Okay.
Agent Langstaff: D-85748, are you alright?
D-85748: Yeah, but I'm stuck. Some snow moved and I-I'm caught underneath. Oh god, you have to do something. [panicked] You have to send someone to help me!
Agent Langstaff: I'm sorry, but that is not possible at this time. Can you dig yourself out?
D-85748: [breathing heavily] O-Okay, let me try again. [strains]
More movement and struggling.
D-85748: Shit! No, I can't get out, and I think I'm stuck for serious.
Agent Langstaff: Okay, remain calm. We are going to talk you through this.
Agent Langstaff remains in contact with D-85748 for the remainder of his shift, instructing him on how to conserve his body heat and remaining oxygen while aiding him in melting snow for drinking. Soon after, Agent Wyatt takes over.
Agent Wyatt: Hey, D-85748. This is Agent Wyatt. So, I don't know if this is good news for you, but you aren't going to die like this, especially not by thirst.
D-85748: [exhales slowly] Well that isn't helping me right now. I still feel the pain, I'm so goddamn hungry. Everything is so cold, I can barely move my toes anymore.
Agent Wyatt: Don't worry, we will get through this.
D-85748: [chuckles] Yeah, we. Sure.
Agent Wyatt: Poor choice of words. Sorry.
D-85748: It—[cough]—It's fine. I will persevere.
Agent Wyatt: Hey—yeah, that's it. Have you still got your pick?
D-85748: Huh? Oh? Oh, yeah. Could've sworn I lost it a ways back but it's half-buried next to me.
Agent Wyatt: See if you can get yourself out, okay?
D-85748: Urgh, let me try.
Sounds of movement are heard, followed by a large groaning sound, likely more snow displacing.
D-85748: Oh, crap-
Noises of movement grow louder until D-85748 is no longer decipherable.
D-85748: [muffled screaming]
Contact with D-85748 is lost several minutes later. After four hours, Subject reappears in testing area with SCP-3315. Audio recording equipment determined to have failed due to moisture damaging the microphone. D-85748 is inspected and found to be physically healthy. Subject is prepped for further testing the following day.
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Exploration Log 3315-1-B
Time: 21:15 GMT, 09/08/02
Subject: D-85748
Supervisors: Agents Langstaff and Wyatt, switching shifts every 12 hours.
Notes: Subject was equipped with a two-way earpiece, climbing gear, and an Osprey-52 Variant extreme environment multi-day supply pack, as well as a small digital camera.
<Begin Log>
Subject is again instructed to retrieve SCP-3315, which is accomplished with some effort.
D-85748: Alright, so here I am again. Somewhere else, and—oh, I can see the same ridge. Looks like I'm on the opposite side of where I was before. A bit.
Agent Langstaff: Please continue your ascent up the mountain.
D-85748: Here we go.
Subject is heard climbing for the next sixteen hours.
D-85748: [huffs] I just made it up the top of one of the bigger ones. Oh, wow, this is just picturesque. Let me get a shot of this. I'll put it in my cell since it has no goddamn windows.
Agent Wyatt does not respond. After a moment, subject proceeds to traverse the next highest ridge. Subject pauses after the fifth hour.
D-85748: I'm at the next cliff, but this looks pretty sheer. There's a crag here that goes down pretty far. [pause] I can't see the bottom. Visibility is shit. Uh, lets try going up.
Audio feedback registers movement as D-85748 scales the side. Several minutes pass before a loud cracking sound is heard.
D-85748: Hm? Oh. Oh, no-
Microphone registers miscellaneous scraping and background noise.
Agent Wyatt: You alright over there?
D-85748: [panting]—I'm holding onto a ledge. I think it's going to give out—[grunts] Oh-
Another large cracking sound is recorded, followed by some panicked vocalizations from D-85748. Loud scraping and several thuds and groans are picked up over the next several seconds as D-85748 presumably falls off the side of the cliff.
D-85748: Agh, I-I think I broke my fucking leg—w-what? What the fuck? What the fuck is this?
Agent Wyatt: What is happening?
D-85748: [sobbing]
Agent Wyatt: D-85748, please report your status.
D-85748: I-I fell into the crag—It-It's- full of bodies. They're so p-pale. They-They're broken into p-pieces, like porcelain—[sobbing]
D-85748: Fucking hell, th-this is—I—[stammering]
Agent Wyatt: D-85748?
Contact with subject is maintained for the next few hours before expiration, though subject was mostly unresponsive and was heard crying and whimpering for some time. Subject cause of death presumed to be complications of shock. D-85748 reappeared in testing area unharmed and was cleared for further testing the following day.
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Exploration Log 3315-1-C
Time: 15:48, 9/10/02
Subject: D-85748
Supervisor: Agent Wyatt and Agent Langstaff, who switch shifts every 12 hours.
Notes: Subject equipped with two-way earpiece, climbing gear, similar Osprey-52 variant extreme environment multi-day supply pack, and one hiking pole.
<Begin Log>
Subject once again starts at Site-76, experimentation hangar.
Agent Wyatt: Alright. Can you hear me?
D-85748: I-I can. Let's just get this over with.
Subject obtains SCP-3315 and the test proceeds as prior. Subject continues on for an hour.
D-85748: I can see some footprints here. This path is a bit less treacherous than last. I wish I had seen this before.
D-85748 proceeds unhindered for the next twelve hours.
D-85748: There's something at the top of this peak. It looks like—shit. It looks like a cabin.
Agent Langstaff: Please continue and report anything unusual.
Subject does not respond and climbs for another three hours.
D-85748: Okay, I've made it. Finally. Fuck you, mountains.
Subject is heard breathing deeply.
D-85748: There's a house up here. It looks—well, it's rustic, but it will do. No light on inside.
D-85748's footsteps are heard to change from snow to something hard.
D-85748: This place is well made. Door's unlocked—hello?
Microphone picks up silence and background noises for several seconds.
D-85748: No one is home. It looks lived in, though. Some candles here, let me light them up.
Silence for fifteen seconds. Subject is heard sighing.
D-85748: And I said, let there be light. [chuckles]
Subject is heard moving, the sounds of wind can be heard blowing outside.
D-85748: Would you look at this—potatoes, canned goods, even some booze. Someone really wanted to make themselves at home here.
D-85748: This place is actually quite nice. One small prize, but a prize nonetheless.
Agent Langstaff: Don't get too comfortable. Investigate the rest of the house, D-85748.
D-85748: Don't you think I deserve some rest? [sighs] Fine.
More sounds of movement can be heard. The cabin creaks under pressure from strong winds.
D-85748: There's a bedroom here. Small bed, probably made for one or two. Little nightstand too, let me check the drawer—oh.
Agent Langstaff: What is it?
D-85748: There's a note. And-And a gun.
Agent Langstaff: A gun? What does the note say?
D-85748: A revolver. It looks old. It's loaded. The note reads—'O wanderer, found atop these icy peaks, climb the bodies broken over perseverance's knee. May your stay be as well and rested as you so choose to be, for you and only you now are the one who sets you free.'
Silence for five seconds.
Agent Langstaff: D-85748, please exit the house.
Subject does not respond.
Agent Langstaff: D-85748, follow the command or you will face repercussions upon your return.
D-85748: You know what? No. Screw you. Screw you and screw your whole Foundation. I-I climbed this mountain, the whole range—I conquered it! I fucking broke bones to get to the top of this place. You-you wouldn't even let me keep a photograph. Now that I'm up here, I understand. The ridges weren't meant for you. They're meant for me.
Agent Langstaff: I'm sorry, but what do you mean by that?
D-85748: What I mean is that you can go fuck yourselves, I'm staying here.
At this point, subject removes earpiece and ceases contact with Agent Langstaff. SCP-3315 is reported missing and D-85748 is considered MIA.
Following Exploration Log 3315-1-C, SCP-3315 does not reappear in Site-76 for three years, six months and fifteen days. Radio contact with D-85748 was attempted daily, however, the subject remained uncooperative, leaving his earpiece disabled for most of the time, occasionally activating the headset to goad personnel and reiterate his "victory". D-85748 and SCP-3315 are both recovered without hassle. D-85748 was then terminated, following his arrival and subsequent interrogation.