SCP-442

Description

SCP-442 is a gold-plated pocket watch three (3) centimeters in diameter with hands showing the hour and minute. Along the edge of the watch an inscription reads, "To my good friend, a helping hand." While no apparent seams allowing SCP-442 to be opened without damaging it have been found, scans of the interior of SCP-442 have revealed nothing unusual in its workings.

As long as SCP-442 is wound it will set itself to the correct time. Crossing time zones or winding SCP-442 while it displays an incorrect time results in SCP-442 making rapid motions to adjust itself. The owner of SCP-442 is granted intrinsic knowledge of the time and can recite the precise time to an arbitrary precision as long as SCP-442 is on his or her person. Additionally, the owner of SCP-442 will never be late as long as the watch remains wound and on their person. Attempts to force the owner to be late have never succeeded while SCP-442 is wound. When SCP-442 is left unwound or removed from the owner's person, the owner will be incapable of being on time. The severity of incidents causing this increase as SCP-442 is left unattended, invariably becoming fatal within a week. Ownership of SCP-442 passes through normal means, and can be sold or gifted to another party. SCP-442 has never been left unowned, death of the previous owner results in SCP-442 instantly transferring to a new owner. A will leaving SCP-442 to someone close to the previous owner upon their death has never failed to surface; attempts to prevent a will from coming into being have met with the same failures as attempts to make the owner of SCP-442 late. The new owner is instantly aware of the existence of SCP-442 and is drawn to it, although the effects of owning the watch only manifest after initial contact with SCP-442.

SCP-442 was brought into Foundation control by J████ S████, a junior technician working at Site 19 when he inherited it as a family heirloom. S████'s superiors noticed an immediate change in work habits after he received SCP-442; S████ had a prior reputation for his lack of time management skills and was regularly written up for being late to his station. When questioned by Dr. J██████, S████ showed SCP-442 to Dr. J██████ and said that it was a "lucky charm." He then told Dr. J██████ pieces of family lore attached to SCP-442 which later experimentation would reveal to be mostly true. Testing was performed to confirm SCP status, after which its history of harmlessness was cited and S████ was allowed to maintain possession of SCP-442 on the condition he willed it to the Foundation on his death. S████ was subject to observation and regular psychological evaluation during his possession of SCP-442, during which further effects of SCP-442 were discovered.

Extended ownership of SCP-442 slowly rewrites the subject's personality. Within two years, regardless of previous attitude, the owner exhibits unusually high self-control and reacts to situations in a timely manner. S████'s motor control increased dramatically during this period, scoring in the 99 percentile of every test at the two-year mark. During this same time the owner will become increasingly annoyed at tardiness; S████ broke ties with several friends over increasingly small infractions. After a decade of owning SCP-442, J████ S████ had completely changed. While S████ displayed a level of professionalism commendable of any member of the SCP staff, his private life had suffered tremendously. Unable to tolerate tardiness, S████ had pushed away all his friends and had been diagnosed with clinical depression. After S████ committed suicide, O5-█ reported ownership and had it transferred to him. A D-class personnel was then chosen for experimentation and given SCP-442.