SCP-3288

Field Log 01: 10/06/1988

Twelve MTF Sigma-6 operatives patrolled the Leopoldstadt District at 1800 hours while ten maintained watch at positions with unrestricted views of known sewers holes and access tunnels. At 0021 hours, operatives Σ-6(12) and Σ-6(09) reported hearing a muffled scream near the Donaukanal¹⁵ and sought to investigate the matter while requesting backup.

Support arrived three minutes after the initial request and found the mangled remains of both operatives as well as the half consumed body of a local civilian. The decapitated body of Σ-6(12) was pulled from the Donaukanal; although the head was never located, his neck had sustained injuries suggesting that it had been severed or destroyed by a single bite. A trail of blood and entrails led to Σ-6(09), who had been torn in half along the waist; he had successfully crawled into an alleyway before succumbing to his injuries.

The mission was deemed a success despite the loss of life, as Σ-6(09) had successfully struck the SCP-3288 instance with a tracking dart - achieving the mission's primary objective. The entity had escaped into the sewers, its movements tracked until the signal began to fade before entirely disappearing somewhere below the Hofburg¹⁶. Due to the progressively declining nature of the signal, it is believed that the device had been brought far deeper than even the Viennese sewers should have accommodated.

Field Log 02: 10/07/1988

Constructed in the mid 19th century, the Viennese sewers are part of a larger network of subterranean tunnels that include catacombs, abandoned wine cellars, and underground rivers. MTF Sigma-6 operatives were divided into four teams of five; three teams to investigate the sewers and one to remain on standby. By triangulating on the last known location of the tracked SCP-3288, the Foundation hoped to minimize the possibility of escape and public exposure. For this mission, while it is preferable that operatives secure and contain the threat, lethal force may be used at their discretion.

At 0900, MTF Sigma-6 operatives reached their destination without incident but initially failed to discover anything of significance. After several hours of investigation, Σ-6(04) encountered human skeletal remains while wading through waist deep water. Closer analysis of this area uncovered a number of loose bricks whose removal revealed an unrecorded subterranean chamber whose walls were engraved with the House of Habsburg's coat of arms.

The chamber included 24 sarcophagi and was presumably a family crypt belonging to the House of Habsburg despite there existing no records of its creation. The statues primarily depict women wearing veils over their eyes with a single finger held to their lips. The tombs, though intricate and reflective of their status, lacked any indication as to who may have been interred within. Prying open the sarcophagi revealed the skeletal remains of over 300 infants, all displaying severe and likely fatal deformities.

The original entrance had been evidently destroyed, the stairs shattered and buried in soil. At the far end of the crypt was a vault door composed of bronze with no apparent means of access and seemingly impenetrable without proper equipment. The door displayed the House of Habsburg's coat of arms and was engraved with the words "Ad puritatem sanguinis"(English: "For purity of blood"). MTF Sigma-6 operatives were ordered to hold their current location and await the arrival of an infiltration team. Foundation agents organized the temporary evacuation of the Hofburg and the sealing of all sewer access points throughout the city.

Field Log 03: 10/08/1988

MTF Sigma-6 maintained shifts throughout the night, making repeated attempts to open the vault door. At 1200 hours, the surface had been fully evacuated and an infiltration team had arrived at MTF Sigma-6's position. The bronze gate was carved apart via oxy-fuel cutting torches over an approximately 2 hour period, bypassing intricate mechanisms (likely related to its conventional means of access) and revealing a spiral staircase.

An eight-person squad (each operative equipped with an M16 rifle with attached flashlight, heavy tactical armor, and helmet-mounted live audio/video recording devices) descended the staircase, with radio transmission growing increasingly faint as the operatives traveled an estimated 65 meters underground. Red ground flares (fusee) were periodically lit and discarded, providing a clear path of return.

Operatives reached the bottom of the stairwell, where the grey stone halls of the crypt were replaced by masterfully crafted marble floors, carpets, and white painted walls and ceilings. The large chamber was found to be architecturally identical to the Swiss Wing of Hofburg Palace, closely resembling 18th century depictions and reflecting the late Baroque/early Rococo artistic style popular during the era. The location (since classified as SCP-3288-1A) contained various sculptures and Corinthian columns, while paintings and tattered tapestries adorned its walls. All depictions of the human form had been literally defaced, regardless of artistic medium.

Operatives described the air as having an odor not dissimilar to rotten meat and stale sweat. The floor and walls were discolored with what appeared to be blood (most of the stains appearing to be exceptionally old).

Traveling through a southeast corridor, operatives entered what appeared to be SCP-3288-1's equivalent of the Hofburg's Imperial Library. One notable difference between this section of SCP-3288-1 and Hofburg Palace is the presence of a working 18th century laboratory. Σ-6(07), the only member of the acting squad to be fluent in both German and Latin, discovered documents involving alchemy, biology, and the occult.

A decorative writing desk and accompanying throne were located at the far end of the chamber. The desk contained documents relating to transactions, contracts, and private journals. These documents, along with those relating to the occult sciences, were gathered and delivered to Field Command. See the SCP-3288-1: Recovered Documents subsection for further details.

Operatives reached the ballroom and opera hall, describing the air as especially fetid; the aroma of perfume was also noted, though its presence did little to disguise the smell of decay. The area contained a number of instruments (standing harp, harpsichord, violins, etc.), all of which displayed evidence of recent use. There were several refectory tables¹⁷ located through the chamber - the ballroom evidently used as a dining hall as well. Atop the tables were human remains in various levels of decomposition and culinary presentation.

A bell abruptly began to toll and was followed by the automatic music of a nearby pipe organ, the discordant song played for approximately three minutes. When the pipe organ ceased its playing, it was followed by the sound of opening doors and an increasing number of shuffling footsteps. Operatives were ordered to find a hidden and defensible position and to deactivate their flashlights. Seven successfully hid behind the curtains of the opera hall but Σ-6(18) fell behind, having tripped over a pile of bones and forced to take cover behind a harpsichord.

Σ-6(01) was able to observe the entire ballroom without obstruction from the far corner of the stage curtain. The ballroom's wide gates opened as video revealed the dim light of lanterns swaying in the hands of their shambling carriers. Closer analysis would show that these figures (SCP-3288) were dressed in the garb of 18th century courtiers. They are followed by others, wearing increasingly extravagant (if ragged) attire. All outfits appeared to contain different shades of red, deeply contrasting with their chalk white skin, porcelain masquerade masks, and powdered wigs.

A pair of diminutive SCP-3288 entered, lagging behind the others. One blew a rusty trumpet while the other acted as standard-bearer, holding a crudely painted ensign depicting a red lion on a black field. The trumpeter appeared to make an announcement, the words unintelligible due to the guttural nature of their speech.

The trumpeter and standard-bearer quickly moved aside, their stunted legs causing them to tumble and roll as they fled. There now appeared to be several hundred SCP-3288 throughout the ballroom. Σ-6(01) activated a silent distress call, requesting heavy support. All SCP-3288 proceeded to kneel and lower their heads.

An exceptionally corpulent instance of SCP-3288 entered the room, carried by other SCP-3288 via an enlarged and reinforced sedan chair¹⁸. The morbidly obese individual (classified as SCP-3288-ALPHA) was dressed in a patchwork of noble finery, stitched together from various fabrics to create a single outfit capable of fitting its frame. It wore a crown that had come to more closely resemble a torture device, too small for its head but held in place by an overgrowth of flesh; in lieu of a masquerade mask, it hid its face beneath a red shroud.

A large iron cauldron was delivered to SCP-3288-ALPHA's table, the container appearing to vibrate of its own accord. A dwarf SCP-3288 climbed atop SCP-3288-ALPHA's shoulder, proceeding to lift its red veil while leaving its eyes covered; a second diminutive specimen removed the cauldron's cover. SCP-3288-ALPHA sniffed the air then proceeded to lift the cauldron and pour its contents down its anomalously large mouth and gullet. Part of its meal wiggled free, revealing that the cauldron contained living infants displaying severe deformities.

The other SCP-3288 raised their masks and began to feast with voracious enthusiasm. An exceptionally tall specimen approached the harpsichord and snatched Σ-6(18) from behind it. It lifted him by his head but made no effort to alarm its fellow SCP-3288. Instead, the entity unhinged its jaw and quickly forced the operative down its throat feet first, his screams unheard among the sounds of feasting and discordant music.

The gathering became orgiastic as the SCP-3288 turned to fornication and violence, making no distinction between the apparent age or sex of the participant (willing or otherwise). An explosion rocked the event, causing mass casualities among the SCP-3288. It is hypothesized that Σ-6(18) survived his ordeal and was able to (likely after some struggle and consideration) activate an explosive device, sacrificing himself in order to terminate or otherwise incapacitate a great number of hostile entities.

Panic spread among the remaining SCP-3288. MTF Sigma-6 would exploit this opportunity and employed 3-Methylfentanyl to render the SCP-3288 unconscious. With the arrival of reinforcements, the survivors were secured and contained at Humanoid Containment Site-282. The sheer size of SCP-3288-ALPHA necessitated the use of a specialized crane and the creation of a shaft directly connecting SCP-3288-1 to the surface. Following the removal of SCP-3288-ALPHA (as well as all relevant documents and objects), SCP-3288-1 was filled with cement and reburied.

Interviewed: SCP-3288-ALPHA

Interviewer: Dr. Tobias Moser

Foreword: Despite its corpulent morbidity (1632 kg) and lack of mobility (its atrophied legs entirely vestigial), subject is considered dangerous and to be approached with the utmost caution. Subject is blind and incapable of reading or writing, the interior of its hollow sockets pushed outward to the point of prolapse.

Subject is fluent in Austrian German, preferring to speak the Schönbrunner Deutsch - a sociolect spoken by the imperial Habsburg family and the nobility of Austria-Hungary. Subject has been stripped nude, bound and muzzled, and equipped with electrodes in order to prevent hostilities and ensure cooperation.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Tobias Moser: Hello. Please begin by telling me your name. Your cooperation is not optional.

SCP-3288-ALPHA: The MEAT wishes to speak? It speaks when not spoken to! Meat… Must the meat taunt us? The aroma is… [Gurgles] …*Intoxicating*. [Subject struggles against its bindings and saliva spills from its muzzle]

Dr. Tobias Moser: As I said, your cooperation is not optional. [Dr. Moser activates the electrodes, causing the subject to shudder and growl]

SCP-3288-ALPHA: [Croaks] Impossible! How does meat hurt? How does meat disobey?

Dr. Tobias Moser: You will answer me. [Dr. Moser activates the electrodes again]

SCP-3288-ALPHA: [Subject appears unaffected] Is this how you wish to play? We do not submit. We DOMINATE! We will rape you until your entrails spill! We will devour you and your peasant kin! Do you believe your witchcraft can harm us? [Chuckles deeply] Our blood is pure. Our blood is resilient.

Dr. Tobias Moser: [Turns to security officer] Sir? Would you be so kind as to illuminate the subject? My vision doesn't work so well in these dim cells. [Security officer complies, flashing approximately 32000 lumens at the subject]

SCP-3288-ALPHA: [Subject screams and convulses] NO! NO! NO! WE YIELD! THE FIRE! OUR SOUL SKITTERS FROM THE FLAME!

Dr. Tobias Moser: [To the security officer] That's enough. Yes. I noticed light sensitivity during your transfer. Extreme photophobia, even without eyes. I'll be sure to make a note of that. Now tell me. What is your name?

SCP-3288-ALPHA: The Imperial Majesty, Emperor Maximilian the Great - King of Austria and Patriarch of the House of Habsburg. [Subject attempts a courtly bow] We have not entertained outsiders in so long. Excuse my uncouth ways - you are clearly a superior creature and have asserted yourself. We are at your mercy. Does our guest wish to feast upon our flesh? To rape the festering wound?

Dr. Tobias Moser: [Taken aback] Good God, no! Why would you even… [Dr. Moser takes a deep breath] No. That won't be necessary. I see that our customs differ quite significantly. Might I ask, were you blind from birth or did you lose your vision accidentally?

SCP-3288-ALPHA: Ah. But the pleasantries have yet to reach completion and you now have us at a disadvantage. What is your name, outsider? You are fluent in German but your accent is distant and strange.¹⁹

Dr. Tobias Moser: I am, ah, King Tobias Moser of the Foundation.²⁰

SCP-3288-ALPHA: A king! Yes, yes, of course. It all makes sense now. We sensed nobility. A duke, we mused. Can you believe that? A DUKE! But certainly you have proven yourself far stronger than a simple duke.²¹ We've heard of this "Fondaishun"; a marvelous land and people, well known for its many cheeses and wines. As for our eyes, our *royal* true seeing eyes… [Gurgles] Alas, we were hosting a banquet and our eyes, it seems, were too big for our stomach! Have you heard that one? Oh the mirth…

But yes, you see - the meal? The meal was too big. They warned us, of course. "Oh His Imperial Majesty, let us cut this meat for you" but NO! WE ARE KING! WE ARE EMPEROR! WE WANT TO SWALLOW IT WHOLE! WE WILL DEVOUR EVERYTHING! And well, you see - our eyes, our eyes burst forth from their sockets. Not enough room! He he he. Feh! They served us little. And the dangling orbs, yes, yes, of course, they plummeted down our royal gullet. Gone forever. Unmissed.

Dr. Tobias Moser: I see. Well. That was quite a story. Tell me of your court and the House of Habsburg.

SCP-3288-ALPHA: We are of the same noble blood. But some… [Subject lays their left hand over their stomach] …are more noble than others. Our bloodline is pure - untainted by outsiders.

Dr. Tobias Moser: I must ask this but why eat human?

SCP-3288-ALPHA: We do not eat human. We eat peasants. We eat undesirables. We devour life undeserving of life. That is the nature of nobility. What else would be the point?

Dr. Tobias Moser: Understood. I must take my leave. We will speak again soon.

SCP-3288-ALPHA: Yes. We will think of you, King Moser, in your absence - over and over. We are eager to… [Snort] …sample your flavor. So delightful. So delicious.

<End Log>

Afterword: We may be able to glean more information by playing to his delusions but it is difficult to say how much of it is true. However, DNA analysis has revealed that SCP-3288-ALPHA does in fact descend from the House of Habsburg and this so far appears to be true for all SCP-3288.

Leopold I, painted by Guido Cagnacci (1657-1658)

Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Felician; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was the Holy Roman Emperor as well as the King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. Generally regarded as an intellectual, he was known for his interest in astronomy, alchemy, and the early sciences.

10th of November, 1700

And with the death of Charles²², so dies our noble line in Iberia. I will restore our rightful place. My claim is valid and will not be denied. I already hear the intoxicating drums of war.

But his disease, his curse, concerns me greatly. Despite the purity of our blood, untainted for generations, Charles was a sickly creature with the mind of a child; I too was a sickly youth.

But my mind remains sharp. I must make use of this blessing before my dynasty succumbs to madness and cretinism.

4th of August, 1701

The Jesuits have exhausted their usefulness. Against my better judgement, I have chosen to seek out those with knowledge of the so-called "abominable" sciences; scholars of the forbidden mysteries, both great and terrible.

And I have found someone who knows the dark. A woman of rare, almost beguiling beauty. She is older than she appears, for she speaks with the experience of a hundred lifetimes on subjects I had only just begun to grasp. She is a creature of the wild - a living embodiment of all that is pagan.

I am a stranger in her world.

And I am afraid.

22nd of October, 1701

She says she will teach me but for a price she will name upon the completion of her tutelage. A strange request but all she presently asks is that I uphold my end of the bargain. I have more power and wealth than any man alive - payment will not be difficult.

I will not allow our venerable House to fall.

But my laboratory is ill suited for such a task. I have hired workers to begin construction on a new site; something away from the prying eyes of sycophantic courtiers.

19th of December, 1701

My tutelage, though difficult, progresses well. A universal essence - the way of all flesh - it all begins to make sense! My eyes are now open and I see with such clarity.

I will cleanse my family of this curse. The essence is malleable - subject to change.

But one piece moves the other, you see - resulting in an often unpredictable transmutation. My current experiments make use of the the simplest of God's creations; rodents and insects, primarily. I have formed living things; creatures whose very visage would sunder even the most resolute of minds.

8th of February, 1702

Construction of the new laboratory goes well. I predict its completion within the next three months. Equipment has been delivered from Damascus; if there is one thing those Mohammedans know, it is the occult sciences.

More often than not, my teacher leaves me to my own devices. She appears only at night, though I cannot say from where; she comes and goes as she pleases, my servants seemingly unaware of her presence.

27th of March, 1702

The new laboratory was finished ahead of schedule; the workers merely need to install my equipment and I can take my experiments to the next tier. But fresh materials are required and pests will no longer suffice. I am not yet willing to experiment on my own blood but perhaps there is another way.

The workers promised secrecy but in my dreams I see betrayal. I have come too far to allow such an interference. If the Church learns of this, it could ruin everything. These dreams are an omen and I know they will consume me unless I take swift action.

I know what must be done.

15th of April, 1702

My teacher is less understanding than I had expected. For even her heathen heart does not dissuade the disgust and contempt with which she now looks upon me.

I did what I had to. For my family - for the purity of our blood - for the IMMORTALITY of our chosen line! How could this witch understand my burden?

She vows to return tomorrow for her payment. I would just have this over with. I am still a man of my word.

16th of April, 1702

I watched her burn.

Her sorcery slew many of my guardsmen, but in the end she was detained and delivered to the Church. The zealots, having heard my testimony, proved just as eager to see that wretched bitch be consigned to the flames. I know such methods have fallen out of fashion, thus we committed the act under the cover of darkness and secrecy.

I would have granted her land or made her rich as Crassus! But no, that wicked creature sought to be clever. She said I could never save my family without her aid and demanded - DEMANDED!- that I end my rule, destroy all titles and deeds, delivering my land and wealth to the common folk! Did she really believe I would plunge my kingdoms, my EMPIRE, into anarchy? Truly, she was mad. But now, nothing remains but ash and cinder.

And I may return to my Great Work, no longer bound by her ethical inflexibility.

There is so very much to be done.

Interviewed: SCP-3288-6971

Interviewer: Dr. Elizabeth Varga

Foreword: Subject is restrained and muzzled and its cell is equipped for enhanced interrogation. Due to the severity of the circumstances, personnel are encouraged to use all possible means of information extraction. Interview conducted in German.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Elizabeth Varga: Are there other victims? Where are they located?

SCP-3288-6971: [produces a chattering noise and begins to laugh]

Dr. Elizabeth Varga: We don't have time for this. Use the light. [Security officer complies, flashing approximately 32000 lumens at the subject]

SCP-3288-6971: [Subject shrieks] You wretched whore! I will pluck out your eyes and sku-

Dr. Elizabeth Varga: Put the screws to it.

SCP-3288-6971: [Subject continues to shriek as its bones begin to break]

Dr. Elizabeth Varga: Tell us everything.

SCP-3288-6971: I yield! I yield! Parley!

Dr. Elizabeth Varga: Tell me what you know.

SCP-3288-6971: [Subject trembles] You wish to know about the vessels? I am but a duke! The Empress!²⁷ You want the Empress!

Dr. Elizabeth Varga: Tell me about these "vessels". Now.

SCP-3288-6971: We are merely claiming what is ours - by the divine right of kings!

Dr. Elizabeth Varga: The women you raped…

SCP-3288-6971: The Empress! She said it was time. For a thousand years, our blood has been pure. Untouched by the taint of outsiders.

Dr. Elizabeth Varga: Why change? Why now?

SCP-3288-6971: Our blood! It is strong now. So strong. It overwhelms the blood of the wretched and mud-bound. Our line will never die. It will never fade. We will rape every last one of you. Our blood line will never die, no no no… it will become everything. It is our gift. Our blessing.

Dr. Elizabeth Varga: What do you mean?

SCP-3288-6971: The meek will beget the strong. The doomed will beget the chosen.

Don't you see? The greedy will devour the charitable, the merciless will ravage the peaceful, and the fornicaters will rape the chaste.

We will make the world as perfect as us. We will all be aristocrats in the end.

And our Dynasty will never die.

<End Log>