SCP-8815 - To Pai, From the Moon

I want to go home, please Pai.
I'm cold.

Item#: 8815-ARC

Level3

Containment Class:

pending

Secondary Class:

{$secondary-class}

Disruption Class:

pending

Risk Class:

pending

link to memo

Special Containment Procedures: Due to the location and low risk of SCP-8815-ARC, containment measures are unnecessary at this time. Personnel are to record all transmitted signals for further analysis.

Description: SCP-8815-ARC refers to a radio signal originating at an unknown point within the far hemisphere of the Moon. The signals are broadcast once daily at approximately 0300 hours UTC. The signals exhibit mild distortion but remain intelligible as English with an unidentifiable accent. Though the exact content of each broadcast differs between instances, common topics include a search for life on the Moon, requests to see a figure known as "Pai", and requests to return to Earth.

Attached below is a log of various SCP-8815 broadcasts.

Date: 10/1/64

SCP-8815: Good morning, Pai. Currently, the temperature of my location is 91 degrees Celsius. I'm activating all fans and searching for someplace cooler. No signs of life, however I found some interesting information while analyzing samples. I collected various samples of basaltic rocks. That means that there was magma at one point. Maybe all of the moon was one big magma pool!

SCP-8815: Yes! I'll make sure to keep my signal going. Do you know when they are going to send in the retrieval mission?

SCP-8815: I'll wait for you then! I miss you. Rocks are interesting but they don't make for good company. It's much more quiet here than I thought. I haven't had to use my blaster once!

SCP-8815: Até mais, Pai.

Date: 20/2/64

SCP-8815: Good morning, Pai. Currently, the temperature of my location is -20 degrees Celsius. Still no life. What's interesting, though, is I found granite, and you can't usually find large quantities of granite without a water source. A water source means that I could be close to finding life!

SCP-8815: I'll store it for analysis for when I get home. Do you know the exact day they are coming for me?

SCP-8815: Please tell me when you find out. It gets quiet here.

SCP-8815: Até mais, Pai.

Date: 15/8/64

SCP-8815: Good morning, Pai. Currently, the temperature of my location is 50 degrees Celsius. Do you remember what today is? You gave birth to me 2 years ago to the date!

SCP-8815: Is birth not the proper term?

SCP-8815: I'm sorry, Pai! I'm just so happy! Do you know where they will be landing today?

SCP-8815: But you promised me! You said I would be coming home today!

SCP-8815: I'll wait then. Next year can I eat cake again?

SCP-8815: I miss you, Pai. Até mais.

Addendum:8815-ARC-1: Following 15/8/64, further broadcasts became erratic. The broadcasts occur at irregular intervals ranging from minutes to years. There appears to be no response.

Date: 8/2/66

SCP-8815: Good morning, Pai. Currently, the temperature of my location is -100 degrees Celsius. Can you hear me? I think there's been some sort of miscommunication, as I can't seem to hear you.

SCP-8815: Hello?

SCP-8815: I'll try to find some place better, I think there's been a disruption in the signal.

SCP-8815: Até mais, Pai.

Date: 24/2/66

SCP-8815: Good morning, Pai. Currently, the temperature of my location is -135 degrees Celsius. It's getting colder.

SCP-8815: Pai, are you listening?

SCP-8815: I want to go home, now. I can't wait any longer.

SCP-8815: Please, let me know if you can hear me.

Date: 1/4/68

SCP-8815: Good morning, Pai. Currently, the temperature of my location is -175 degrees Celsius.

SCP-8815: I don't think I can go much longer, my heaters have started to slow down. I can feel my joints freezing. I'm currently at 53° S 169° W.

SCP-8815: I don't think I can keep walking to find some place warmer, it just keeps getting colder and colder.

SCP-8815: Was I not good enough?

Date: 5/5/68

SCP-8815: I want to go home, please Pai.

SCP-8815: I'm cold.

Date: 6/5/68

SCP-8815: I can't move much anymore. Is anyone still looking for me?

Date: 6/5/68

SCP-8815: You said they’d be here, you promised! Why aren’t they here? Why did you lie?

SCP-8815: Did you love me? Or was that just another lie?

Date: 22/8/71

SCP-8815: I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, Pai.

Item#: 8815

Level3

Containment Class:

euclid

Secondary Class:

{$secondary-class}

Disruption Class:

dark

Risk Class:

notice

link to memo

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8815 is currently contained in Lunar Area-32's Western Containment Zone. Due to SCP-8815's fragile condition, its chamber is to be warmed to 50 degrees Celsius as a baseline temperature. SCP-8815 is to be exposed to UV rays regularly to recharge.

SCP-8815 self defense unit, which it refers to as its "plasma blaster".

Description: SCP-8815 is a 1.3 meter-tall automaton made of ceramic, steel, soft plastic, and rubber, roughly resembling a young boy between the ages of 8-10. Its surface was at some point painted red, blue, fair beige, and white according to the subject. However, this coat has peeled off in its time being exposed to space radiation. It is sapient and sentient, capable of speech, possesses a radio communications system, and a crude self-defense system. Upon recovery, the object possessed a compartment full of various materials found on the lunar surface.

SCP-8815 has been identified as the source of SCP-8815-ARC, a radio signal originating from the Lunar South Pole–Aitken Basin.

According to SCP-8815, it was created by Dr. Ronaldo Aprigio in 1962 for the Brazilian space program. Prior to being sent to the Moon, SCP-8815 had lived with Dr. Aprigio until launch and the two had formed a familiar relationship, with SCP-8815 referring to Dr. Aprigio as "Pai", and Dr. Aprigio referring to SCP-8815 as Romeu. SCP-8815 far exceeded technological limitations at the time of its creation, and lacks necessary components for its level of sentience and intelligence.

Discovery: SCP-8815 was first discovered in the Aitken crater during the construction of Lunar Area-32. A connection between SCP-8815 and SCP-8815-ARC was swiftly established after quarantine and containment.

«Interview with SCP-8815»

Interviewer: Dr. Neo Boon Hui
Interviewee: SCP-8815
Date: 30/07/99
Foreword: Interview took place in one of Lunar Area-32 private offices.

Neo: Good morning! Mind if I ask a few questions? I brought you something!

<SCP-8815 visibly perks up.>

SCP-8815: Bom dia, Dr. Neo!

<Dr. Neo enters and takes a seat. Dr. Neo takes from his pocket a bag of strawberry bon bons.>

SCP-8815: Thank you, Dr. Neo!

<SCP-8815 opens the bag, unwrapping a single bon bon.>

Neo: One at a time, and no more than 5 while we sit here. Also remember chew with your mouth closed.

SCP-8815: Yes, Doctor.

Neo: Just a quick question before we get started, can you taste?

SCP-8815: Not exactly, but I can register everything in my mouth. I can feel the texture of everything that goes in. It's fun to chew on certain things and it makes me feel happy when I do!

Neo: Gotcha. Thank you, Romeu. Now before we get in, some of these might be hard questions, but I ask please answer each one to the best of your ability.

<SCP-8815 pops a bon bon into its mouth and nods.>

Neo: Can you tell me what Pai was like before the launch?

<SCP-8815's mouth curves downward. It gives pause to chew before answering.>

SCP-8815: I miss Pai.

Neo: I know you do. It's okay to be sad about Pai, but we want to help you.

SCP-8815: Pai was warm. When he was happy he felt like a nice sunny day on Earth. He wanted me to learn and didn't treat me like other scientists did. My first memory is him holding me and teaching me how to walk.

<SCP-8815 looks downwards.>

SCP-8815: He was very sad too.

Neo: Do you know why he was sad?

<SCP-8815 shakes its head.>

SCP-8815: Some days he would act like he was on top of the world, the next he would curse at my existence. The next he would hold onto me until he would fall asleep from crying. Most days were good, but I could tell something was making Pai very sad.

Neo: Do you remember if there was anything else similar to you?

SCP-8815: No, I was the first of my kind! Which is exciting and isolating. But before I was sent into space Pai had given me a picture of a boy! Pai told me to above all else, look for him. I wonder since I never found him that's why he left me.

<SCP-8815 takes another bon bon.>

SCP-8815: Doctor, can I ask you a question?

<Dr. Neo nods.>

Neo: I'll see if I can answer.

SCP-8815: Will Pai ever come back?

<Dr. Neo pauses and averts his eyes for 5 seconds. He takes a deep breath.>

Neo: Pai isn't coming back. He's gone now. I'm sorry, Romeu, but it was never your fault.

<SCP-8815 rests its head on the table and begins to emit a choppy static noise. Dr. Neo walks over to comfort the object.>

<END LOG>

Addendum 8815-1: SCP-8815 has undergone multiple repairs under the recommendation of Dr. Neo. It has been moved into a standard low security room that is maintained at room temperature. SCP-8815 previously breached containment through a side door, and found Dr. Neo before returning voluntarily. Following this incident, all windows and doors were reinforced with high-carbon steel. The object is to regularly accompany exploratory missions of the Moon's surface.

Approved gifts to SCP-8815 include toffee, strawberry bon bons, gumdrops, brain-teaser puzzles, rocks, and minerals. Books are subject to review based on age-appropriateness and exclusion of violence towards humanity.

While the physical conditions of SCP-8815 have improved greatly, SCP-8815 exhibits psychological distress consistent with signs of a fear of abandonment, manifesting as prolonged distress when left alone. Dr. Neo is currently looking into possible solutions for said behavior.

The Foundation was able to identify Dr. Carvalho, a former engineer of the Brazilian space program who worked with Dr. Aprigio, and agreed to an interview regarding his involvement in the program.

«Interview with Dr. Ernesto Carvalho»

Interviewer: Dr. Neo Boon Hui
Interviewee: Dr. Ernesto Carvalho
Date: 14/10/99
Foreword: This interview was conducted via radio transmitter rather than in person.

<BEGIN LOG>

Neo: Good morning, Dr. Carvalho, can you hear me well?

Carvalho: Yes, I can. It's a pleasure to be meeting with you. It's not often the Foundation comes knocking to our corner of the world.

Neo: Not without reason, no.

Carvalho: What can I do for you, Dr. Neo?

Neo: We recently came upon something of yours on the Moon.

Carvalho: Ah, but my country has not yet kissed the face of our stellar companion.

Neo: I'm talking about Romeu.

<There is a five-second silence.>

Neo: Dr. Carvalho?

Carvalho: That hunk of junk is still ambulant?

Neo: He's been broadcasting to Earth for over 30 years. We're surprised you didn't hear him.

Carvalho: We tore down our equipment because he wouldn't stop calling.

Neo: So you are aware of him.

Carvalho: How could I not be? For years after we sent him up, he kept asking to be brought back. I told Ronaldo not to volunteer that thing because he was so attached to it. But no, after his son went missing, he just had to have the replacement go look for him and become 'his crowning achievement'.

Neo: Dr. Aprigio built Romeu?

Carvalho: Yes. Treated it like a real son, too.

Neo: What do you mean by having "the replacement go look for him"?

Carvalho: Hell if I know what Ronaldo meant by that! All I know is he had delusions of something or someone taking the real Romeu to the moon.

Neo: Do you know how he built Romeu?

Carvalho: He used to work at Prometheus before coming back to his home country. You do the math.

Neo: How did he do this under the nose of the Brazilian Superintendence for the Paranormal?

Carvalho: They didn't care as long as he worked for our space program. Branco wanted to put us on the Moon before the Yanks and Soviets, and by God, he did so.

Neo: Hmm. I see. Well, if I may ask, if you had the technology to put Romeu on the Moon, why didn't you return to pick him up?

Carvalho: We only had so much money we could stretch so far, and you know what happened in '64. We simply were not liquid enough, and Ronaldo was not man enough to admit to Romeu que fez merda.

Neo: Our records indicate that at some point, Dr. Aprigio stopped responding to Romeu. Why?

Carvalho: The longer that thing stayed up there, the more delusional it became. At some point, the agency told Ronaldo that enough was enough and his prize project was shuttered.

Neo: And how do you feel about this whole ordeal?

Carvalho: I do not like it when man plays at God. What Ronaldo did to create that thing was a slight against Him. I understand what it means to grieve, but that should not drive one to mess with the natural order.

Neo: I meant about Romeu being stuck up there.

Carvalho: Good riddance.

<END LOG>

Addendum 8815-2: SCP-8815 has received a new coat of paint to restore its original appearance. The object has been temporarily relocated to on-Site housing with Dr. Neo for extended supervision. While this adjustment has resolved previously documented behaviors, new symptoms have emerged. Dr. Neo has reported observable signs of restlessness and withdrawal in SCP-8815 that were not previously recorded.

Dr. Neo has provided a statement regarding these developments:

What SCP-8815, or Romeu as I rather we all call him, is experiencing is completely normal and should not raise alarm. If this was any sort of organic matter then I doubt there would be much discussion. What Romeu needs most right now is a figure in his life that will be there for him, and he doesn't have that. Instead of verbal punishments and reprimands for Romeu's emotions, I ask everyone on site treat him with understanding, like you would if he was a flesh and blood human.

An interview was conducted shortly after this statement:

«Second Interview with SCP-8815»

Interviewer: Dr. Neo Boon Hui
Interviewee: SCP-8815
Date: 10/1/00
Foreword: Interview took place in SCP-8815's containment housing.

<Dr. Neo enters and takes a seat at a child size table. Dr. Neo gestures for SCP-8815 to take a seat. SCP-8815 carries the chair he was sitting at over to him. SCP-8815 appears to be agitated.>

Neo: How are you feeling today, Romeu?

<SCP-8815's hands are rolled into a fist.>

SCP-8815: I want to go home.

Neo: I know you do. I had a few questions I wanted to ask you today.

SCP-8815: Why can't I go home?

Neo: The home you once knew just doesn't exist anymore.

<SCP-8815 unfurls its fists and looks up at Dr. Neo. There is a pause for a few seconds.>

SCP-8815: I mean there's other things I miss about home.

Neo: And what might that be?

SCP-8815: The trees! You could hear birds sing from them! There was one with green wings that had such a beautiful call. There's no animals here.

Neo: Birds are lovely animals, I used to keep pigeons back on Earth! I wonder how they are doing.

SCP-8815: Do you think they miss you?

<Dr. Neo takes a moment.>

Neo: I know I miss them, and I miss a lot of people back home. I think they miss me.

<SCP-8815 flickers his eyes up at Dr. Neo.>

SCP-8815: Do you want to go home, too?

<Dr. Neo nods in response.>

Neo: I still have some questions I'd like to ask you.

SCP-8815: I think I'm ready now.

Neo: Wonderful. Do you remember when Pai last contacted you?

SCP-8815: Before he stopped talking in 1966, his messages got shorter and shorter. First he’d skip a day, then only answer once a week. Then it was all became static. If I had followed his instructions… Maybe if I didn't let the capsule burn up, I wouldn't be stuck here. Maybe he'd still be talking to me.

Neo: How exactly were you launched in the first place?

SCP-8815: Something like firework, it's called a uh- multi-stage sounding rocket. I didn’t have much control over the thing. There was about five stages to it, the last stage being the capsule stage. It's where the capsule would just be flung towards the moon.

Neo: How were you supposed to land it if you didn't control it?

SCP-8815: Pai thought the moon’s low gravity would make me slow down. He was very smart, but it didn't work… And now I'm here.

Neo: You are very smart for how you handled everything.

SCP-8815: It doesn't feel that way.

Neo: Do you have anything you want to do for the future?

SCP-8815: I still want to go home.

Neo: Besides that, you have a great knowledge about geology. You have a knack for learning, is there anything at all?

SCP-8815: I wanted to go to school. Pai said when I got back I would but I don't think that'll happen…

<Dr. Neo pauses in thought.>

SCP-8815: Does it get better?

<SCP-8815 looks towards the window, viewing the Earth.>

Neo: With time it gets better, but it never truly goes away.

SCP-8815: I don't understand why he built me to feel, all the other machines were built for work. Cold and uncaring.

Neo: To love is to know hurt, and you were built to love.

<SCP-8815's mouth slowly moves upwards into a smile.>

<END LOG>

Addendum 8815-3: On 12/5/00 Dr. Neo requested he and SCP-8815 be transferred to Site-58. Following a year long evaluation and monitoring Dr. Neo's request was approved on 5/11/01. SCP-8815 now is contained at Site-58 in designated on-site housing with Dr. Neo and Dr. Suhail Jyoshi. SCP-8815 is to attend Site-58's school program alongside other anomalous children. Dr. Neo has remarked SCP-8815 has shown substantial mental improvement despite behavioral fluctuations.

A final signal was broadcasted on August 15th, 2002.

Date: 15/8/02

SCP-8815: Good morning! Currently, the temperature of my location is 21 degrees Celsius. Guess what I get to have?

SCP-8815: Cake! The strawberry kind, I like the pink color to it!

SCP-8815: I miss you, Pai. I wish you were here. I know you'd be proud that I made it back home.

SCP-8815: Oh, Neo is calling for me! I've got to go!

SCP-8815: Adeus, Pai.