SCP-1397

Description

SCP-1397-1 through -5 are a set of five travel guides that describe rural locations in former Czechoslovakia. The author of the five books is listed as one █████ ███████; however, linguistic analysis of the text has indicated that each book was written by a different author. As no evidence of a █████ ███████ has been located, the name is most likely a pseudonym. While there is no copyright page or publisher information present, the information within the books suggests that they were written in the early 1950's.

The anomalous effects of SCP-1397 manifest when a human subject falls asleep or otherwise becomes unconscious within five meters of an instance of SCP-1397. Subjects report finding themselves awake and standing in a location described in their particular instance of SCP-1397 upon entering the unconscious state. Despite this, the subject's body does not move or vanish from its original location, and appears to remain unconscious. Surveillance reveals no anomalous activity at the locations the subjects claim to visit. Subjects' reports of their experiences differ, except for the presence of unrealistic and surreal events often referred to as "dream-like." In spite of this, many subjects will emphatically defend the reality of their experiences, even when provided with evidence to the contrary.

Over time, the incidence of these "dream-like" events increases. 92% of subjects awake naturally after a period of eight to twelve hours. Subjects may also be awoken through normal means, with the same results. The 8% of subjects who do not awake after a period of twelve hours will cease all vital signs after being unconscious for a period of time ranging from thirteen to twenty-four hours.

Subjects who awake after having experienced SCP-1397's effects are confused and hostile, and become nervous and upset when questioned about the reality of the perceived events. In addition, subjects express the belief that all of their dreams are in fact real events, accompanied with a fear of said dreams. These delusions may be treated with regular psychotherapy, and often subside on their own within several months. Aside from these psychological effects, all anomalous properties of SCP-1397 cease upon the subject's awakening.

A short message has been written in pen on the title pages of SCP-1397-2 through -5 (See Addendum 1397-D). Handwriting analysis suggests that all four messages were written by the same individual.

Addendum 1397-A: Interview Log 1397-1

Interviewed: D-1397-5

Interviewer: Dr. J████

Foreword: D-1397-5 underwent testing with SCP-1397-1 and awoke after eleven hours. Thirty minutes after D-1397-5's awakening, the following interview was conducted to determine the nature of D-1397's experience during these eleven hours. D-1397-5 was selected for her professed experience with lucid dreaming and her history of calm behavior during her time with the Foundation.

<Begin Log>

Dr. J████: D-1397-5, could you explain what you saw upon becoming unconscious?

D-1397-5: Well, after the tranqs or whatever you gave me kicked in, I figure I'm dozing off, right, but then next thing you know I'm wide awake, standing shin-deep in warm mud. So I look around, and there are a couple of pigs around, and after a little while I realize I'm in some kind of farm.

Dr. J████: And what did you do, once you'd realized that?

D-1397-5: Well, I got out of the fuckin' pig pen, figured I might as well take a look around. I saw the farm house a little while away, but I wasn't going anywhere near that thing. Thought it'd be pretty stupid if the test ended in me getting arrested for trespassing, right Doc? Anyway, there was a barn, couple of cows, and this huge-ass wheat field. Nothing weird about 'em as far as I could tell. So I strolled on out toward the woods on the edge of the fields, and that's when shit got weird.

Dr. J████: Could you elaborate on that?

D-1397-5: Well, I heard someone shouting at me, and I turn around and some lady's standing outside the farm house. Scared me half to death, 'cause I thought she'd be mad at me, but she just told me not to go into the woods because there were wolves in the woods.

Dr. J████: What did you think of that?

D-1397-5: Honestly, I was just wondering how she even knew I was out there. Then I figured, well, wolves are more scared of you than you are of them, right? And I used to climb trees as a hobby, so I wasn't real scared. If anything, I figured it'd be kinda nice to see something interesting like that, so I just ignored her and headed on into the trees. Lots of brush to wade through, a couple birds, but other than that I didn't notice a thing out of place for, well, must've been an hour or so, I dunno.

Dr. J████: What happened after that?

D-1397-5: I started hearing sounds from the bushes. At first I assumed it was a squirrel or a bunny or someshit, but then it kept happening, and I didn't see anything around. And well, I wasn't scared, but I thought, if something is following me I can't just let it get me, so I tried to speed up the pace a little. Except I couldn't. My legs just wouldn't do it. And let me tell you, that was hella weird, but I told myself it was just the weird-ass book doing weird-ass shit and I kept walking for, what, five minutes? Until my clothes went away.

Dr. J████: Went away?

D-1397-5: Uh-huh. Just went away. Like that fuckin' dream where you go out in public and realize, woops, forgot my pants, except Doc, I was walking through some pretty thorny plants right before that, and I'm damn sure I noticed the exact moment I didn't have pants and shoes to protect me. So I stopped walking and had like, five peaceful seconds to think about this before the shit hit the fan. You see, Doc, turns out the trees were the wolves.

Dr. J████: Could… could you explain that further, D-1397-5?

D-1397-5: I don't fucking know! (D-1397-5 pauses, takes several deep breaths) Sorry. I just, I brushed against one of the trees, and it all hit me at once. It wasn't a tree, none of them were trees, they'd never been trees, they were wolves, a whole shitload of 'em, and they were staring at me with spit gleaming on their tongues and I could see every hair on their faces and they were laughing at me, I swear. I could run again, and the moment I started running I knew I wasn't dreaming. I'd never been dreaming.

Dr. J████: How can you be sure of that?

D-1397-5: Doc, you know how in dreams, you can just accept the bizarro shit your mind throws at you, like it's just another part of the experience? This felt… foreign. Contrived. Like it was trying too hard to be weird, y'know?

Dr. J████: I suppose. What happened after you ran, then?

D-1397-5: I got back to the field and… and it was more a blur of images than anything. I saw my mom, standing there trying to talk to me, but all I heard was cawing, like she was a fucking crow or something. Then I looked down and I saw that I was fucking pregnant, and suddenly there was this… this armchair next to me and I knew that I'd given birth to it. And it talked to me, and it told me that I was running out of time. (D-1397-5 rests her head in her hand for several seconds before continuing) Then the ground gave out under my feet. I fell, and I… woke up, I guess. In the testing room.

Dr. J████: Can you tell me how you felt when you woke up?

D-1397-5: (D-1397-5 is silent for about fifteen seconds before speaking) Relieved.

Dr. J████: And can you tell me why that is?

D-1397-5: I got out. It let me get out.

Dr. J████: It?

D-1397-5: The… the dream, or whatever it was, Doc. I knew it wasn't a dream. And I think it knew that I'd found out, and that's why it got so… so weird at the end. It was trying to convince me, that it was a dream. It felt… frustrated, I guess. And if I'd stayed much longer, I don't think it would've let me out.

Dr. J████: Thank you, D-1397-5. That will be all for now.

<End Log>

Addendum 1397-B: SCP-1397-1 Recovery Log
SCP-1397-1 was originally recovered in 195█ during a Foundation investigation of a group of Czechoslovak surrealist authors, after reports indicated that the writers may have been involved with reports of "unusual ritual activity" suspected to relate to SCP-████. While the original reports were proven false, one member of the group, A██████ H████, confessed under interrogation to involvement with creating an anomalous item, and willingly handed over SCP-1397-1, at the time believed to be the only one of its kind, to the Foundation. Mr. H████ expressed disgust towards the item, referring to it as his "great failure," but refused to elaborate further. Mr. H████ was eventually administered Class C amnestics and released; as his associates were not, at the time, believed to be involved with the item, they were administered Class A amnestics and released. Samples of Mr. H████'s writing taken from his apartment suggest that he was the author of SCP-1397-1. As of ██/██/199█, Mr. H████ and his former artistic associates have been confirmed as deceased.

Addendum 1397-C: Incident 1397-1
On ██/██/200█, ██ students living in the dorms of Charles University in Prague reported symptoms similar to SCP-1397 exposure, and █ fatalities occurred within these dorms. The Foundation successfully prevented media from learning of the event, and administered Class-B amnestics to surviving victims and witnesses. SCP-1397-2 through -5 were recovered from the hallways of the affected dorms, where they had been deliberately placed to expose a maximum number of students within to SCP-1397's events.

Over half of the affected students were discovered to have attended a lecture on "Solipsism and the Psychology of Dreams" given by a Professor ████ █████ the previous day. Mr. █████ was fatally shot by Foundation agents after attempting to resist detainment with deadly force. Mr. █████'s fingerprints were later found on SCP-1397-2 through -5. Analysis done on papers found within the apartment suggests that █████ is the author of the written message on the title pages of SCP-1397-2 through -5.

A match has yet to be found for the writing styles of SCP-1397-2 through -5. Investigation is underway to determine whether any of Mr. H████'s █ known associates had any involvement with SCP-1397.

Addendum 1397-D: Transcript of Message in SCP-1397-2 through -5

If they wanted us to see that dream and reality were one, was it to say that reality was a dream, or to say that a dream is a reality seen in a different light?