SCP-1195

Description

SCP-1195 is a leather-bound book (approx. 25cm x 17cm) of indeterminate origin and age; carbon-dating on the pages has given inconsistent results, and forensic examination of the leather matches no known species. It seems to have a variable number of pages, averaging approximately at 400.

SCP-1195's anomalous properties become apparent whenever it is opened. Most often, the first page is found blank, and after a moment, the object will attempt to communicate via written text "bleeding" onto the page. It will always initially communicate in Euskara, but upon being responded to in any other language, it will continue to interact with the spoken/written one instead. Its method of instantaneously understanding and learning new languages is unknown, and recommended for further study. SCP-1195 has demonstrated an ability to converse in Braille in experiments with blind test subjects.

Upon being "activated" in this way, SCP-1195 will make one of various requests (see document 1195-W37 for full list of requests); the most common request is to be told a story.

When a story, allegory or other similarly descriptive speech is directed towards it, SCP-1195 will begin transcription. If the story is not told in a general readable format, SCP-1195 will reformat without noticeable loss of speed in the process. If allowed pauses during the story, SCP-1195 will offer criticism, encouragement, or other comments, depending on the oratory skill, imagination or interest of the speaker. Generally, SCP-1195 is willing to continue this process indefinitely, creating new pages as needed for extremely long stories. The maximum number of pages observed has been 3189, at which point SCP-1195 stated that it was "bored" and that the experiment in progress was "stupid". SCP-1195 then closed itself, and upon being re-opened was observed to only have 120 pages; however, whether this was due to dissatisfaction with the experiment, or with the quality of the narrative, is unknown.

SCP-1195 has no direct means of locomotion; however, it can close itself with up to 15 N of force, and turn its own pages. It generally allows itself to be handled by anyone, save those who have physically damaged it or angered it previously.

All attempts to coax SCP-1195 into divulging information about its origins, history or other personal data have met with failure, as SCP-1195 states that it would need "permission" to share its personal history.

Stories transcribed into SCP-1195 will in most cases not remain long, with the exception of stories of subjectively high quality or substantial length, which may stay for up to █ weeks. Most often, any previous story is erased as soon as a new subject arrives. SCP-1195 appears to remember certain individuals, and, based on previous story quality and other experiences, will show varying levels of excitement and cooperation during subsequent sessions.

Attempts to damage the book have met with varied results. It is clear that cosmetic and superficial damage to the exterior is lasting. As such, experiments must adhere to a guideline that they do not cause further damage to this area. The pages, however, seem able to be replicated with no upward limit. SCP-1195 generates additional pages as needed. In the event that a page is physically removed from the object, text fades from the excised page immediately, and kerning on the remaining pages is adjusted so that the original full text is accommodated.

Writing into the book has the same communicative results as speaking orally during initial interaction. Once the recitation process has begun, however, text handwritten in will be absorbed after a moment, and responded to. For example, a written-in note about SCP-1195's choice of formatting a particular paragraph will be considered, and either disregarded, or the format changed.

Document 1195-W37: Requests made by SCP-1195, as of ██/██/20██

• "Tell me a story" (8985 times)
• "Tell me a better story" (1158 times)
• "No kissy stuff" (972 times, in response to narratives featuring erotic or romantic content)
• "Tell me a joke" (604 times)
• "Leave me alone, I'm sleepy" (411 times)
• "Leave me alone, you're stupid" (293 times)
• "Come back! I'll be good! I promise!" (74 times, made in response to reading sessions being aborted, or to certain readers being replaced mid-session)
• "I want my mommy." (1 time)