SCP-1109
The Painkiller
Special Containment Procedures
SCP-1109 is to be stored at a Safe-class storage space at Site-██ as per standard procedure and permission must be obtained from the current Level-2 supervising researcher (currently Dr. ████████) before it may be removed from storage for testing purposes.
The edges of any sharpened instruments contained within SCP-1109 are to be covered during storage, so that handling the instruments cannot result in accidental injury. At the conclusion of testing all intact instruments must be placed back inside SCP-1109. Damaged instruments or instruments no longer fit for purpose are to be disposed of, but must not be used. During disposal or transport of instruments the instruments must be kept covered and placed inside a durable container resistant to cutting, in order to prevent accidental exposure to the effects of SCP-1109.
Personnel affected by SCP-1109 must attend regular basic medical examinations to detect any injuries incurred as a result of SCP-1109’s effects. Additionally, those entering the three-month stage of exposure are required to attend regular psychological review sessions. They must be accompanied whenever possible by another staff member who has basic first aid training to avoid injury or damage caused by their actions. Personnel affected by SCP-1109 are barred from participating in any test or role involving handling of fragile materials, which require fine motor skills, or which involve combat.
Description
SCP-1109 is a black leather doctor’s bag, approximately 44cm x 21cm x 22cm, with a metal fastener over the opening and a leather carrying handle. The words ‘Aceso Medical: We’ll take your pain away’ are printed on the underside of the bag. Aceso Medical closed in 19██ and no member of the company has yet been found who knows anything of the object or its properties.
The anomalous effects of SCP-1109 become apparent when any form of instrument or tool with a sharpened blade or point is placed in the bag and the bag is closed. Testing shows the instrument must be left in the bag for approximately 30 seconds before effects become noticeable. Any medical instrument left in the bag is rendered sterile and clean upon its subsequent removal from the bag.
However, when a sharpened instrument is placed in the bag it takes on a second property. Any incisions, injections or other procedures performed using these items on a human being are seemingly painless. Subjects are aware that they are being operated upon and do not report a lessening of tactile sensation or numbing during the procedures, and may describe the experience as unpleasant, but do not register any form of pain.
Approximately two weeks from initial exposure, subjects cease being able to register pain in any context. This suppresses pain-based reflexes, and can lead to accidental injuries and sometimes serious errors in judgement due to the subject being unable to notice that they have been injured. Approximately a month from exposure, subjects lose the ability to perceive any form of physical pleasure. Emotional pleasure is unaffected and subjects can find most normal activities enjoyable, but lose the ability to derive pleasure or enjoyment from any purely physical stimulus. This effect extends to the sense of taste and at least partially to the sense of smell, as evidenced by the inability of those affected to differentiate between tastes and textures in food.
After approximately three months from exposure, subjects begin to suffer from a steady deadening of all tactile sensation. This begins with a gradual numbing of the extremities, but swiftly progresses over the course of several days to the point of being completely unable to feel any form of tactile sensation. Some subjects undergoing this process have been observed to develop masochistic tendencies and may resort to self-harm in an attempt to continue to register physical sensation. However, as the condition progresses even the most violent or severe of physical sensations become completely numb. At this stage, many subjects become severely depressed and begin to feel isolated or alienated from others. This is not considered to be an anomalous effect, and is simply the psychological response to the loss of one of the senses. Only the sense of taste and touch are affected, and no lessening of the bodies' ability to function is observed. The subject loses much of their fine motor function as a result of this as well as a lack of a reflex response to stimuli with a purely tactile or pain-based response. Subjects at this stage may also injure others accidentally due to an inability to register contact with them; many overcompensate when applying force to an object, which can result in damage or injury.
Tools which have been placed in SCP-1109 and have developed these anomalous properties will retain them indefinitely, even when separated from the bag. They lose these abilities when the sharpened edge or point of the instrument is dulled or destroyed in some way. No incidental sharp points or edges on an instrument, such as jagged points caused by damage, will exhibit any anomalous effects: only the primary cutting edge or sharpened point of an item is affected. The effect only extends to items intended to possess a sharpened point or cutting edge capable of puncturing skin. For example, a sharpened pencil placed in SCP-1109 will not manifest anomalous properties even if its point punctures human skin, while a bread knife placed in SCP-1109 will develop anomalous properties.
Addendum 1109-2 Dr. ████████ has received requests to use SCP-1109 on D-Class personnel involved in the handling of certain objects which cause intense physical pain or pleasure. This request is currently pending approval.