4/4709 LEVEL 4/4709
CLASSIFIED
Item #: SCP-4709
Keter
Special Containment Procedures: The land containing SCP-4709 has been seized by the Foundation and a 200-meter perimeter has been established around it. In light of the public profile of SCP-4709's planning and construction, a cover story about the resort's financial troubles and ultimate failure was disseminated.
Fringe media and web postings regarding the existence of SCP-4709 or its history are to be either discouraged, ignored, or destroyed as per the guidelines set forth by the 'Iron-Curtain-IV' information protocols. Consult the Department of Miscommunication's External Communications Handbook for additional guidance.
All personnel assigned to SCP-4709 are to be equipped with a passive listening device which has been configured to detect Frank Sinatra's 1967 rendition of 'The Girl from Ipanema'. Any positive identification of the song is to trigger an evacuation of SCP-4709 to a minimum safe distance of 30-meters. Normal activities may resume at the discretion of the ranking safety officer or after 60-minutes.
Description: SCP-4709 is a temporal and spatial instability within 'The Grand Tahoe Resort & Hotel', near Tahoma, California. Although the effects of the anomaly are wholly contained within the building, the presence of the hotel itself is anomalous and is to be considered an inert component of the object. See Discovery.Log.4709 for additional details.
Exposure to SCP-4709 results in the rapid fluctuation of baseline reality including the inconsistent passage of time, an inconsistent internal topography, alterations to fundamental constants, and involuntary ontokinesis. As no pattern or consistency in such events has been established, these incidents are collectively designated as SCP-4709-1.
A humanoid entity designated as SCP-4709-2 has been observed within the boundaries of the anomaly and demonstrates broad ontokinetic control over SCP-4709. As the nature and disposition of this entity are currently unknown, further contact is inadvisable and is to be reported immediately.
Discovery.Log.4709:
In the Fall of 2005, POI-4709 Jacob Pendleton announced the acquisition of several acres of real estate on the California shore of Lake Tahoe. An already-established real estate developer, Pendleton was able to secure a number of investors in order to break ground on construction in early March of 2006.
During excavation, crews reported to the job site on the morning of 2006-03-23 and observed the presence of a seven-story hotel fully completed to the specifications set forth by the developer, despite having broken ground only three days prior. A number of calls were made to POI-4709 as well as various third parties before Foundation assets in the area were made aware of the event.
Monitoring Task Force Rho-3 ("The Hills Have Eyes") was able to control and stem the flow of information and affect containment.
Close Secure Connection
[Dateline: 2006-04-09]
Assignment: MTF Epsilon-6 ("Village Idiots")
Foreword: MTF reconnaissance agents equipped with standard-issue field gear. Stated objective is to enter the building and check for the presence of hostile entities or areas of primary concern and follow-up.Footage begins as three agents complete an equipment check and approach the hotel. As they walk, a distant scream startles the MTF. The camera jerks upward in the direction of the sound and tracks an object falling from somewhere near the roof of the hotel; the object impacts the mud several meters in front of the MTF.
The agents ready their weapons and approach the impact zone. Steam or smoke can be seen rising from the crater. As it clears, the camera observes the calcified remains of a human body. The only discernible remains are the head, neck, left shoulder, and left arm; the rest of the anatomy has shattered beyond recognition. A small black device is clutched in the corpse's hand; it is consistent with a Foundation issue bodycam.
Corpse and accompanying equipment were secured. Mission was aborted at this time and rescheduled for later in the day. Bodycam has been sent back to Site-19 for decryption.
[End Log]
Close Secure Connection
[Dateline: 2006-04-09]
Assignment: MTF Epsilon-6 ("Village Idiots")
Foreword: MTF reconnaissance agents deployed an aerial drone to explore the interior of the hotel. The drone is equipped with digital and optical cameras as well as .22 caliber firearm with rubber bullets.Drone footage begins as the device takes flight and heads toward the hotel. MTF agents standing near the door remove a locking mechanism. The drone is allowed egress into the interior and the door is closed behind it. The camera pans left to right before drifting further into the main lobby.
The lobby features a vaulted ceiling with ornate bronze molding, marble pillars, and a polished granite floor. Numerous lights are on and music can be heard coming through overhead speakers, although distortions have made the sound quality insufficient to distinguish.
Drone continues onward, checking behind the reception counter and the remainder of the lobby and encountering nothing of note. The camera pans to observe block-letter words that spell 'Continental' above an open double door within the lobby. The drone enters the room.
The interior of the 'Continental' room features cracked and warped wood paneling, showing signs of advanced decay inconsistent with new construction. These pieces of paneling sit next to and blend with other pieces that appear to be new suggesting either a serious fault in manufactury or the consequences of an unobserved environmental anomaly.
The drone approaches the paneling to take pictures. As it does so, the space around the drone begins rapidly expanding. Walls, ceiling, and floor rush away at tremendous speeds until they are no longer distinguishable from the horizon. The sounds of plastic and metal stretching and being warped are heard as the housing of the drone sheers.
The digital camera mounted to the drone separates from its housing and falls away. As it falls and begins to tumble, the drone can still be seen above. A red haze enters the frame from the right, moving left, and obscures the drone. The haze continues to advance, eventually reaching the falling camera as small droplets begin to collect on its lens. Soon, the lens becomes occluded.
The falling digital camera impacts something unseen and begins to move at a high rate of speed in a perpendicular direction. The velocity is such that the material covering the lens begins to thin, bead, and run off of the glass. The distorted image of the hotel reception desk is visible through the red material for a split second before the camera strikes the counter and stops broadcasting.
The digital camera and recording device were successfully recovered from the lobby having apparently been ejected from the 'Continental' room. Recovery personnel noted there was no additional observable debris within the area.
[End Log]
Close Secure Connection
[Dateline: 2006-04-10]
Assignment: MTF Zeta-9 ("Mole Rats")
Foreword: Spatial disruptions and inconsistent topography observed. Further exploration was aborted until the arrival of MTF Zeta-9. The first deployment occurred at 0900 with the stated mission objective of reconnaissance of the first floor. Agents Mariota, Day, and Angelos reporting.Bodycam footage begins with standard equipment checks and communications protocols. MTF is outfitted with standard tactical weaponry, subdermal transponder/receiver, and astral GPS transponder.
Mariota: "Alright, Ops. We're inside the lobby and walking around the middle kiosk. The front desk lights are on but it's unattended."
Day: whispering "Am I…am I hearing elevator music?"
Angelos: "Affirmative. I believe that's Ipanema."
Day: "Yeah I wouldn't forget that tune. That's a little cliche isn't it?"
Mariota: "Let's mind the chatter. Ops, we're approaching the elevator bank. There's a plastic sign on the wall. Convention center to the left. Gym, pool, laundry to the right."
Angelos: "What'll it be first?"
Day: "Let's hit the nice big open convention rooms first. We can see more at once."
Mariota: "Good thinking."
The MTF breaks left but just as they turn, a ding is heard and the camera snaps back to the elevator. The door opens to reveal three humanoids wearing gear matching the deployment of MTF Zeta-9; this is a presumed instance of SCP-4709-1.
Angelos: "W-uhh…Is that? Is that Mariota?"
SCP-4709-1: "Oh, fuck. Fuck! No, no no no no!" SCP-4709-1 repeatedly mashes a button inside the elevator until the door closes. The two in the back of the elevator appear confused or disoriented.
Day: "Okay, let's calm down. What did we just see? Who did we just see?"
Agent Mariota dashes to the elevator panel and presses the 'call' button repeatedly, attempting to stop the elevator's departure.
Angelos: "Knock it off, Mariota. You can't go after them. That looked like you. You know what happens if that was you and you two meet."
Mariota: "Yeah but those other two weren't you guys. We have to stop them before they get stuck in a loop. We have to! Saddle up. We have to follow them NOW."
Day: "We can't do that, Sarge. If it is a causal loop, you're going after them is part of it. The only way we stay safe is by ignoring it."
Mariota: "And I would know that, so clearly ignoring it just sets it off. We have to stop it now."
Angelos: "You're over-thinking this and you need to back down." Agent Angelos unholsters his sidearm and disengages the safety.
Mariota: "Knock it off. You're not going to fucking shoot me." The elevator dings and the door opens to reveal an empty interior. Agent Mariota steps inside but the other two agents do not move. "Really? That's an order, boys. Come on."
Agents Day and Angelos do not move.
Mariota: "Suit yourselves." The elevator door closes and the floor numbers begin to count up. The two remaining agents regard each other before continuing their exploration of the first floor.
[End Log]
Close Secure Connection
[Dateline: 2006-04-10]
Assignment: MTF Zeta-9 ("Mole Rats")
Foreword: After the departure of Agent Mariota, the remaining two MTF agents regroup and continue to the convention center as per their previous parameters.Footage begins as the two agents walk down a hallway. Nearby light fixtures sequentially flare brightly and the bulbs are heard burning out and shattering. As the last bulb in the sequence pops and shatters, the first light fixture illuminates again and the process repeats itself.
After recording multiple loops of the event, the MTF agents continue on, their boots crunching over the shattered glass which continues to pile up. A set of double doors is seen on their right. Above the doorframe are the block letters which spell out 'Convention Center'. Agent Day puts his hand on the door and pushes it open. Agent Angelos, firearm at the ready, scans the room side to side.
Angelos: "Okay, clear. No signs of life."
Agent Day opens the adjacent door and steps into the convention room, immediately losing contact with the ground and falling upward. Agent Day's bodycam ceases to function upon impact. Footage from this point on is solely at the vantage point of Agent Angelos.
Angelos sticks his upper body into the room and looks 'up', regarding Day sprawled out on the ceiling. As he withdraws, the overheard PA is heard abruptly transitioning songs to 'The Girl from Ipanema'.
Angelos: "Uh, are you okay up there buddy? Are you still good to move or do I need to call for a medivac?"
Day: "Ugh, my everything hurts. But I'm in one piece. Can you…find me a rope or something to grab onto? Help me climb out of here."
Angelos: "If I could just…maybe there's…"
Agent Angelos sticks his upper body into the room again attempting to grab a chair sitting near the door. As he leans out he too begins to 'fall up'. He grips the frame of the door in an attempt to hold on but his gloves lose their grip and he falls the rest of the way landing next to Agent Day. The two pick each other up and check themselves for injury.
Day: "You okay, dude? So how do we get back up there now?"
Angelos: "Don't know. We might be able to kick holes into the drywall and kind of…climb those like footholds. Kind of weird the furniture didn't fall too, isn't it?"
Day: "Yeah it sh—" Agent Day is cut off by a loud crash as all of the tables, chairs, and other pieces of furniture fall 'up' into the ceiling and onto the agents. The camera cuts out.
Footage resumes as the Agents assist each other in freeing themselves from the furniture, again checking each other for injury.
Angelos: "Maybe we can like…use this pile to climb up. We only need a few of these tables to—"
Agent Angelos is cut off as the furniture beneath them begins to shudder and shake. The pieces move and levitate seemingly of their own accord, swirling around each other in a vortex as the MTF agents retreat against the wall. Furniture continues to collide until, several minutes later, they settle into a makeshift pile leading up to the upside-down doorframe. The MTF agents slowly climb up the pile and out of the door, falling 'down' into the hallway from which they originally entered.
Day: Out of breath "Hey Angelos."
Angelos: Also out of breath "Yeah."
Day: "Can we get the fuck out of here?"
[End Log]
NOTICE: Due to safety concerns, Exploratory Missions 4709.5 through 4709.8 were attempted with drone reconnaissance and automated monitoring equipment. These missions resulted in the complete loss of deployed resources and a return-on-information ratio well below acceptable levels. RAISA has deemed these records immaterial to the documentation of this anomaly and has archived them in a 'raw' format. See Archive-Tape-GR887546 for relevant information.
Close Secure Connection
[Dateline: 2006-04-20]
Assignment: MTF Zeta-9 ("Mole Rats")
Foreword: Agents Diaz, Brown, and Kerig were deployed at 0700 with instructions to take the elevator to the Penthouse, observe, and report for a maximum duration of 60-minutes.Footage begins as the MTF members perform an equipment check and enter the hotel lobby. They proceed directly to the elevator bank and press the 'call' button. A short time later, the elevator opens as expected and two of the three MTF members enter; Agent Diaz has turned his head and is looking down the hall. Agent Kerig holds the elevator door open for him.
Brown: "Hey. Diaz. Earth to Diaz, you okay?"
Agent Diaz continues to look down the hall for several seconds before snapping his attention back to the elevator.
Diaz: "Sorry. I…I thought I saw something. This place is creepy all empty like this."
Brown: "Yeah, that's the job. Let's go, in and out. Only 58 minutes left."
Kerig: "Let's just hope we don't run into the ghostly concierge I keep hearing about."
The elevator door closes as Agent Brown presses the button labeled 'P'.
Diaz: "Shit, you been having lunch with those eggheads and listening to all of their ghost stories? The fact of the matter is hauntings aren't a thing. As much weird shit as we put up with, ghosts are bullshit and if yo—" Agent Diaz is cut off.
Brown: "If you two could not gossip right now that'd be awesome."
Transcriptionist's Note: Approximately thirteen seconds after Agent Brown's comment, the elevator PA is overtaken by static and the song transitions to 'The Girl From Ipanema'. The MTF agents visibly react to and acknowledge the change but do not seem alarmed. They do not comment directly.
The elevator ride continues for another 120 seconds. 'The Girl from Ipanema' loops again.
Kerig: "Slowest elevator ride ever…"
Brown: "Yeah no kidding. I guess they don't build 'em like they used to."
The elevator ride continues for another 19 minutes. 'The Girl from Ipanema' continues to loop.
Brown: "Okay, this is getting really fucking old. Ops, are you copying this?" Agent Brown pauses for a response but receives none.
Diaz: "Okay, not good. What are our options? We could climb out of the car. We could do an emergency stop. We could try to use the elevator fire button or something."
Kerig: "I'm not sure I trust the buttons in here but they're probably worth a try."
Brown: "Well it hasn't been that long so if we could just—" The elevator shudders and comes to an abrupt stop. The interior lights flicker but remain on. The PA continues to play 'The Girl from Ipanema' however the volume has increased substantially and the audio quality is severely distorted.
Diaz: Yelling over the PA, "We should try to pry the door open!"
Agents Brown and Kerig nod and attempt to pull the elevator door open with their hands. Shortly after starting, a light blinks to life above the door, a ding is heard, and the elevator opens of its own accord to reveal the penthouse plaza.
All three MTF agents offload from the elevator and pan around the plaza. Three primary hallways extend from this area. Directly opposite the elevator is a double-door with the block letter word 'Continental' above it. Agent Diaz approaches the door, turns the handle, and opens it. The interior appears dark although the silhouette of various pieces of furniture can be seen.
Diaz: "Is that…do you guys hear that sound?" Agent Diaz turns his head, angling his ear to better listen to something in the 'Continental' room.
Kerig: "I hear something but I'm not sure what it is."
Brown: "It's a buzzing humming, like wings or a rotary fan or something."
Diaz: "It sounds kind of big. Almost…almost like a…I'm going to kick on my headlamp and check it out. If you g—"
Agent Diaz crosses the threshold of the room and disintegrates from front to back into a fine mist of blood. The other two agents stand by, mouths agape, for nearly a full minute.
Kerig: "D-Diaz?"
Brown: "He's…We've gotta move on. We can't lose it here, not now."
Kerig: "With all due respect, screw that. Elevator, now. We're not going to do this down one when this shouldn't have even been authorized in the first place."
The two agents hit the 'call' button and get back on the elevator. The audio distortions are gone. 'L' is pressed and the elevator ride lasts for approximately twenty seconds. When the door opens again, it opens to the Penthouse level although no 'Continental' room is visible.
Kerig: "What the fuck…"
Agent Brown mashes the 'L' button again but as the doors close, a humanoid hand shoves its way between the doors, interrupting. A humanoid dressed in MTF Zeta-9 standard-issue gear, audibly out of breath, pulls itself into the elevator and collapses.
Mariota: "M-Mariota. The name's…Mariota…Separated…from the others. I was…chasing…temporal loop. I…"
Brown: "Whoa, Mariota? You've been gone for ten days, bucko. We thought you were dead!"
Mariota: "Huh? Ten days? Maybe ten minutes tops. The elevator opened in the lobby and two agents were in it plus some other version of me. They closed the door, I took the next car, followed. I just went down the hall and, jeez guys, there's some real shit up here. We have to get back."
Kerig and Brown help Mariota to his feet. The audio distorts and warps until the song that had been playing has changed into 'The Girl from Ipanema'.
Kerig: "Not that fucking song again. I know elevator music sucks but come on."
Mariota: "You guys have noticed it too? It seems to be the same song again and again. I keep hearing it all over the place up here."
Brown: "Yeah, what gives?"
The conversation is interrupted as the elevator dings and comes to a stop. The door opens and three armed MTF agents are waiting outside.
Mariota: "Oh, fuck. Fuck! No, no no no no!" Mariota repeatedly mashes several other floor's buttons until the door closes. Kerig and Brown regard each other, appearing confused.
Kerig: "Did you just—"
Brown: "Yes. That was Mariota in front of Mariota. Let's not talk about it. Thinking about stuff like this is how people go nuts." The elevator begins to move again. Static interference overwhelms the footage until the recording ends.
[End Log]
Close Secure Connection
Foreword: The following recording was recovered from the bodycam of the decedent per the events of Exploration.Log.4709.1. Decryption was performed and this log has been transcribed and attached. A positive match for the dental records of MTF Agent Kerig was made and her remains have been interred.
Footage begins as the elevator door opens. Agents Mariota, Brown, and Kerig leave the elevator to scan the immediate area. Believing the area to be clear, weapons are lowered and the three agents regard each other.
Mariota: "Okay, so, we need to find stairs or something. Something more reliable than that stupid deathtrap waiting to teleport us to hell."
Brown: "Agreed. I'd assume stairs are at the end of either hall but there should be a fire escape plan plainly visible on the wall around here. What I need you the two of you to do is—" All of Agent Brown's clothing and gear dissolves into thin ribbons of material and falls onto the floor, including his helmet, weapons, camera, and undergarments.
Mariota: "What the fuck?!"
Brown: "I don't know it's just gone!" Agent Brown attempts to reconstitute or mend the clothing but there are too many pieces in too small a size. It is a fruitless gesture.
Agent Kerig begins to back away from the others.
Mariota: "Kerig, you alright?"
Kerig: "Y-yeah I just…It's…"
Brown: "Spill it."
Kerig: "It's just, he's so…ugh, when he takes charge like that I…my mind wandered and then, boom, it happened."
Brown: "Are you saying you fucking did this?"
Kerig: "No! Never! …Not intentionally anyway. Thoughts were just…and then I thought the thing and now, boom, you're like that. I'm sorry I just-…Look, I didn't mean to do it."
Brown: "Well I'm willing to kick your ass later in favor of getting out of here alive. So what we need to do is minimize our impact on one another as soon as possible. We should take separate routes to maximize the search effort and minimize the risk of repeating…whatever that was Kerig just did."
Kerig: "Sorry."
Brown: "Save it. Split up."
The three agents split up. As Brown's equipment was destroyed there is no footage from his POV. Agent Kerig's camera records her walking down the hallway taking several turns. At one point, she makes eight consecutive left-hand turns in short succession but notes the room numbers continue to count up. After the eighth turn, Kerig enters a long stretch of hallway that continues on beyond her field of vision.
Agent Kerig continues to walk down the hall and the faint sounds of music can be heard. She stops when she notes the music but elects to continue on, albeit at a slower pace. The music continues to increase in volume until it is clear it is a loop of 'The Girl from Ipanema' punctuated by the sound of a record needle before each playback.
As the agent walks down the hall, she slows down and faces each door, taking a step closer and listening at the threshold for a few seconds before moving on. Kerig eventually stops outside of the suite numbered 795.
"Hey, can you guys read me? The music…I…It's coming from this room. 795. I'm going to check it out." Her comms device lights up with a distorted and unintelligible reply.
Agent Kerig puts her hand on the door and turns the knob. It does not open. She takes a step back and kicks the door just above the keyhole; the sounds of splintering are heard as the door implodes into the room and disappears. The hallway immediately inside the door is devoid of light, appearing featureless and black. A few meters inside the room, a standing lamp, a highbacked leather chair, and a phonograph are visible; these are the room's only features.
Sitting in the chair is a humanoid appearing as a late-middle-aged man dressed in a style consistent with 1960's America. He stokes a pipe and regards Kerig with a smile. The phonograph at his side appears to be the source of the music that was heard from outside.
Kerig: "Frank…Sinatra?"
SCP-4709-2: "Don't be silly, he's been dead for years. Come on in!"
Kerig: "Who are you and what is this place?" Kerig slowly walks into the room. Although no floor is visible, the sound of her boots is consistent with walking on wood flooring.
SCP-4709-2: "I am older than the land, and this is my tomb." The entity smiles and lights his pipe.
Kerig: "Alright, but that's not a name. How am I to address you and why do you look like Frank Sinatra?"
SCP-4709-2: "Think of me and no name is necessary. We live in each other's memories now. The rest of the package is for your benefit; it's not who I am."
Kerig: "This is very vague and cryptic and I don't really like where this is heading. What answers can you give me? What's with the music? Why is everything here so weird? Not much makes sense and I need something to grab onto."
SCP-4709-2: "I told you, I'm older than the land. This is my chapel. Everything that descends from this place…each possibility, each dream, each and every intimate thought flows through me and through this place. Including yours and including you. This is too much for you, I can see."
Kerig: "So like, are you some kind of faerie thing? Like a witch or a genie?"
SCP-4709-2: "I'll just say it again: I am older than the land. Older than your names, older than your 'hotels', old enough to know that some things should stay buried. And old enough to recognize when greed overpowers common sense and man tramples the land he depends on. Manitou! The earth and sky sing my name!"
Kerig: "Oh. Well then, Manitou, with all due respect, do you just want us to leave then? We can demolish this hotel tomorrow if that's what it takes to make this right. I just need you to be direct with me so I can communicate this to my superiors."
SCP-4709-1: The entity smiles weakly, then takes the record needle off of the phonograph. "If that were possible, we never would have had to meet. It's too late to go back to sleep. I must dream while awake until time lulls me back into that soft nothing. I wish you well, Agent. If you want, you can stay here and dream with me too."
Kerig: "I have no idea what that's supposed to mean so if you could just rephrase that I'll be—" Kerig is cut off by a sharp cough and choking sound. Some sort of thick liquid is expelled from her mouth and cascades down past the camera. Agent Kerig collapses onto her hands and knees vomiting a thick, off-white substance onto the floor.
Kerig sits back up slowly, regarding her own hands which tremble severely. She clears her throat and spits out another mouthful of the substance.
Kerig: "What's happening to me?"
SCP-4709-2: "Let's call it the check-in procedure."
Kerig: "…I don't feel well…I need to go, stop this, please. Right now."
SCP-4709-2 uncrosses his legs and stands up, continuing to stoke his pipe as he slips a hand into his pants pocket.
Kerig further regards her own hands; the white material which had splashed onto her skin is spidering and expanding covering more of her body. The sound of the material tightening, hardening, and cracking becomes louder and more pronounced. Agent Kerig screams, leaping to her feet, and runs from the room. She takes a right down the hallway at a full sprint.
As she continues to run, her stride is frequently interrupted by loud crunching and cracking sounds which are punctuated by sharp cries of pain from Agent Kerig. A window and the end of the hallway both come into view. Her pace continuing to slow, Agent Kerig pulls her bodycam off and holds it in her hand.
The camera captures several additional frames of Agent Kerig's face, now mostly covered in the off-white substance which is hardening into a porcelain-like finish. As Kerig nears the window, she pulls back her right arm and attempts to launch it through the glass but her arm snaps, detaches, and falls to the ground still holding the camera. She screams out in pain, collapsing onto the floor next to the camera but she is unable to cry any further.
As the last visible portion of her face hardens, she uses her still-mobile left hand to pick up the camera. Agent Kerig approached the window and auto-defenestrates.
Recording ends as Agent Kerig collides with the ground.
Agents Brown and Mariota have yet to be recovered.
[End Log]