• Published 22nd Oct 2013
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SCP-███ - Journeyman



Why does Equestria seem so peaceful? Because it's our job to lock up all the monsters. Behind our walls lie demons, darkness, and all the keys to set them loose. Welcome to the Foundation.

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SCP-293 — The Cage

Item #: SCP-293

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: Any item contained by SCP-293, hereby referred to as SCP-293-1, must have its documentation freely available with this report at all times. Documentation for SCP-293 must likewise be available alongside any anomaly treated as SCP-293-1. Any transfer or study of SCP-293 or SCP-293-1 must be preceded by alerting the Site Director and site security.

Neither Keter-class SCPs nor any SCP that can produce a temporal effect are to be contained by SCP-293. Threat level of SCP-293-1 cannot exceed Level-3. Despite the safety net SCP-293 generates, it is required to have on site the full security measures necessary to contain SCP-293-1 at all times. Inability to do so renders any SCP exempt from containment via SCP-293. If not in use, SCP-293 is to be moved to secure containment storage at Site-07 with two posted guards. All four keys are to remain stored and secured separately when not in use.

The four individuals bound to SCP-293 must remain on site or readily available at all times during transfer, termination, or testing of SCP-293-1 or SCP-293 (See Document-293-299X for a complete list of past and present wielders).

Description: SCP-293 is a 3x3x7 meter iron cage and a set of four rusted iron keys. The cage bears several marks of minotaur craftsmanship.

In order for SCP-293 to function, each key must be bound to a single owner. Ownership is assigned by willingly shedding blood upon a key, and can only be relinquished upon death of the owner. Should there be less than three living owners and all use their keys, SCP-293 works as expected until all four keyholders die; SCP-293 is thusly rendered inert and the doors open. A new key cannot be reassigned until all four original owners have died, and the effects of SCP-293 cannot be reinstated until all four keys have been reassigned.

Upon using all four keys to close SCP-293, whatever is inside the cage is suspended in temporal stasis until the doors are opened. In such a state, SCP-293-1 does not emit heat, light, magical spellcraft, or any other radiant effect. The cage’s effects also suspends otherwise normal physical laws as well; SCP-293-1 will not possess mass or weight of any kind while contained. In short, SCP-293-1 becomes completely and utterly immobilized until the door opens.

Photograph of SCP-293 while empty.

Containment History:

02/23/████: A group of eight Minoan archaeologists begin excavation eighteen miles southwest of ████████ (coordinates ██°██'N ██°██'E) after discovering buried architectural remains.

02/26/████: Discovery of SCP-293 carvings (See Addendum).

02/28/████: Discovery of SCP-293 and its keys.

03/02/████: One archaeologist (Doctor █████ ██████, Ph.D), assigns himself to a key. Declared reason remains unknown.

03/06/████: SCP Agent █████ assists in partially translating the wall carvings. █████ calls for backup and requests amnesiacs for all parties involved.

03/07/████: Memory alteration of the translators, archaeologists, hired help, and official backers is successful. The SCP Foundation takes unofficial custody of the site under the guise of volunteers assisting with heavy workload.

03/15/████: SCP-293-01EX “Rosetta Stone” is partially translated (See Addendum). SCP-293’s general function and rules are outlined.

03/16/████: Trace amounts of blood, fluids, and desiccated viscera are found on site.

03/19/████: Testing to assign all four keys fails.

03/26/████: All archaeologists are brought in to eliminate the possibility that one of them was assigned to SCP-293. █████ ██████ is discovered to be linked to one of the keys. Remaining archaeologists given amnesiacs.

04/04/████: Review to keep █████ ██████ as official Foundation employee is denied. █████ ██████ is terminated.

All four keys are assigned to D-Class.

04/09/████: SCP-293 undergoes general testing and its effects are documented over the course of several days.

04/19/████: D-Class assigned to SCP-293 are terminated. Keys are assigned to Foundation personnel and the item is moved to Site-07.

04/20/████: Wall carvings are photographed and destroyed.

04/26/████: The dig is released to local scholastics upon concluding neither the location nor any artifacts within possess any paranormal effects.

05/12/████: Carving SCP-293-07EX’s and SCP-293-08EX’s partial translation warrants restrictions on what is allowed to be contained within SCP-293. Security measures are upgraded accordingly.

06/28/████: Biological samples partially identified. Trace amounts of Minoan genetic material make up very minor amounts of recovered samples, and are seemingly confined to where SCP-293 was held. Several animal remains are identified with varying genetic differences. The vast majority of recovered samples include genetic markers of ███████ descent. No known species present or currently studied has similar genetic markers with the sole exception of SCP-1945.

Addendum
Throughout the unearthed complex were eight wall carvings related to the recovery site and SCP-293. Analysis of the length and depth of each carving suggests that there were several different authors.

SCP-293-01EX

[Minoan?] hath commanded me to build [tomb/prison]
By iron blood I have done as he [missing text]
I used its [resolve/iron] against it
None may escape my [design/plan]
[Stuck/frozen/displaced] be the bull
I fear what may [missing text]
But my [design/plan] cannot fail

SCP-293-01EX was written in five different languages. Three are still being analyzed, one is partially translated but bears remarkable similarities to the dead ██████ language, and the last is an archaic Minoan dialect. All texts are written in the language currently undergoing translation (See Addendum 293-LOG127 for current lexicon).

SCP-293-02EX

[Minoan?] hath discovered our trespass
Imprisoned [missing text] [with/within] the beast

SCP-293-03EX

[TEXT REDACTED]

SCP-293-04EX

The beast speaks [missing text]
[missing text] lands of the gods
Was [Minoan?] mistaken or bearer of false witness
Speaketh does the beast of others

SCP-293-05EX

[TEXT REDACTED]

SCP-293-06EX

[TEXT REDACTED]

SCP-293-07EX
Text is sloppily written as if done in a great hurry. Traces of ██████ genetic material are calcified in the surrounding rock.

It hath discovered mine flaw

SCP-293-08EX

I am free.


SCP Foundation Homesite
Prison image link HERE

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