SCP-3064
Hymn of Courage
Extract of SCP-3064-4
Special Containment Procedures
Due to its non-physical nature, SCP-3064 cannot be fully contained at this time. Research Task Force 3064-Mu are to monitor social media, news sites, radio, television and local newspapers for reports alluding to physical or digital instances of SCP-3064, at all times.
All physical instances of SCP-3064 retrieved by Foundation personnel are to be catalogued and stored in designated Secure Object Lockers across Sites 15, 19 and 301. No more than one (1) physical instance of SCP-3064 is to be stored in the same Secure Object Locker to minimize potential losses in the event of a containment breach.
All digital instances of SCP-3064 are to be copied to a physical medium and stored according to the protocols described above, and all links to the file removed from public access. Foundation personnel are advised to proceed with caution should a digital instance of SCP-3064 go viral. In these instances, personnel with clearance SCP-3064/2 or above should carefully monitor social media trends to identify the effective potency of the SCP-3064 instance and determine risk before proceeding with containment procedures. Final decisions in these instances will be made by personnel with SCP-3064/4 clearance.
Original instances of SCP-3064 are not to be removed from the Secure Object Lockers without approval of personnel with SCP-3064/3 clearance. For testing and experimentation purposes, a copy must be made approximating the same materials. Sites 15 and 301 maintain caches of blank vinyl, CDs, DVDs and MP3 players for this purpose. Copies of a SCP-3064 instance are to be sealed individually using Class-G hazardous material polythene bags and sent to incineration.
Testing with original, physical instances of SCP-3064 must be submitted to the current Lead Research Director (SCP-3064/5) for approval.
Description
SCP-3064 is a melody hypothesized to affect listeners by interfering with the listener’s perception of adverse stimuli. Through an as-yet not fully understood mechanism, this melody provokes a reduced fear response to adverse stimuli. Some instances of SCP-3064 have been shown to nullify fear responses in affected individuals and even reverse pre-existing fear conditioning. Instances of SCP-3064 affect listeners more strongly in live performances. For simplicity of reference, the effects of SCP-3064 on an individual will be referred to as ‘strong’, indicating a complete inhibition of fear and removal of prior fear conditioning, or ‘weak’, indicating an incomplete inhibition of fear with no effect on prior fear conditioning.
Notable instances of SCP-3064 are catalogued below:
Fragment of SCP-3064-6
SCP-3064-6 – "Hymn of Courage"
SCP-3064-6/1, -6/2, -6/3 and -6/4 are clay fragments bearing cuneiform script excavated in 1952 from the Amorite-Canaanite city of Ugarit (present day Ras Shamra) in northern Syria. It originally formed part of the 'Hurrian Songs' collection first reported in literature in 1955, as fragments h.18, h.29, and h.31-32. All details of these fragments have been removed from publically available scientific literature.
The translated text and musical notation of SCP-3064-6 was first published in 1992 by M. Szlezchny, and drew the Foundation’s attention in 1994 when ██████ ██████ published and performed a recital of a 'corrected' translation, resulting in Incident 3064-4. All known recordings of this arrangement of SCP-3064 were taken into Foundation custody and are designated SCP-3064-7. No casualties were reported, and Class C amnestics were administered to all present.
Foundation archaeological and paleolinguistic experts have confirmed that ██████ ██████’s translation of SCP-3064-6 is accurate and represents a hymn to the Canaanite deity Anat, a deity associated in the Ugarit tablets with war and conflict. The lyrics form a prayer to Anat to lend courage in battle to the worshipper. Experimental testing has shown that the lyrics recited as prose do not exhibit the inhibiting effect.
SCP-3064-6 is notable for being the oldest known physical instance of SCP-3064 to exist, and demonstrates that SCP-3064 has been present in human culture since at least 1400 BCE.
In 20██, an article on the Hurrian Songs published in the American Journal of Archaeology caught the Foundation's attention by referring directly to fragments h.31-32 in the context of a partial translation of other artifacts excavated from Ugarit (designated SCP-3064-6/A). Relevant passages from this journal have been reproduced below as Addendum 20██/01.
SCP-3064-1
SCP-3064-1 – "Victory’s Tune"
SCP-3064-1 is a small clockwork music box, measuring 8cm x 5cm x 4cm, made from English ash sometime in the 1930’s, and assumed to have been made by an independent craftsman. On the lid is an engraved image of the goddess Victory, imitating the statue on the Victoria Monument, London. On the inside of the lid is an inscription reading: 'To Johnny – Give them Hell! - B.' It is wound by a small brass key, and once wound will continue to play the first movement of SCP-3064 until wound down. The materials of the music box do not display any anomalous properties and the box has been disassembled and reassembled successfully without diminishing the effects of SCP-3064.
According to eyewitness accounts, the music box was recovered in 1942 from the wreckage of a RAF fighter plane piloted by John Turner (thought to be the 'Johnny' referred to in the box’s inscription), who was shot down near Hamburg on April 8th 1942 and did not eject his plane. The box passed through the hands of several owners before being abandoned in Berlin and looted by an American soldier, Thomas █████, who came to the attention of Foundation personnel following a bar brawl in Boston, MA in 1951 (Incident 3064-1). Mr. █████ sustained severe injuries in the brawl and was arrested on charges of aggravated assault. Police reports record that Mr. █████ was alternately humming and singing 'a curious tune' to himself while in the communal holding cell, and soon another fight had broken out in which Mr. █████ was killed, having fought 'like a madman' and 'displaying no fear'. An investigative agent was sent to Boston, and Mr. █████’s widow corroborated the police report, stating that he possessed a music box that played the same melody.
Foundation research has turned up three individuals who could be the ‘B’ referred to in the box’s inscription, but none have known links to other instances of SCP-3064.
SCP-3064 was redesignated SCP-3064-1 after the recovery of SCP-3064-2 in 1954 and testing proved that it is the melody, not the physical instance, that produces the anomalous effect on the listener.
SCP-3064-23 – "Sugar Sugar Sweet Fear"
SCP-3064-23 is a single produced by the Danish band Fennikelkage. The single, 'Sugar Sugar Sweet Fear' was released in 2002 but failed to be popular with audiences. Foundation observation following the protocols described above tentatively designated the track SCP-3064-23 due to its similarities in melody to known instances of SCP-3064, albeit significantly altered to include a chorus line and to fit the dance pop genre. No preventative action was taken by the Foundation at this time. An agent was dispatched and investigated the band, recovering an instance of SCP-3064-7.
In 2004 the Foundation began tracking increasing references to the song on the internet, originating in a Japanese video pairing the song with a 'chibi' depiction of the Grim Reaper (animation designated SCP-3064-23/A). A small spike in suicides was noted in the latter half of 2004 as the trend peaked in popularity (Incidents 3064-14 and 3064-15). After review, clearance was granted to begin a blanket operation of suppressing online mentions and availability of the video. It was removed from known video hosting services and a new trend was manufactured to distract attention.
The animator of the video, Kiniho Kunihiro, was later found to have committed suicide shortly after the video had first been released.
Addenda: