SCP-674

Description

SCP-674 is a "Zapper" light gun peripheral for the Nintendo Entertainment System, consistent with other models that were bundled with the NES in North America after 1985. SCP-674 displays typical wear and tear and some indication that previous owners tried to pry the casing open unsuccessfully. The device is not indestructible and has responded to stress tests as expected. Disassembling and reassembling the device has revealed no anomalous parts or internal tampering. Cleaning and maintenance of its parts appears to have improved its accuracy but has not removed a blind spot that begins on the extreme right side of any screen it is aimed at.

When SCP-674 is aimed and fired at any video screen, the user perceives that he or she has fired a shot into the displayed scene. Any physical object within the scene, whether live or previously recorded, will react appropriately in context. People who are shot will appear to die or be wounded, and other people in the scene will duck, take cover or flee off camera. It must be noted that this will not correspond with reality outside of the video and no one beyond the user of SCP-674 will perceive the change. Results will vary depending on the context of the video. Fictional characters in a television show will react consistently within the established parameters of their setting, while firing into news reports or documentaries will produce a realistic reaction. Therefore, shooting at an actor in an interview will produce a different result than shooting at the same actor who is currently portraying an invincible cyborg in a science fiction movie.

Animated cartoons can also be affected, although "cartoon logic" produces wildly unpredictable results ranging from causing a character to momentarily be obscured by a puff of smoke and be covered with soot afterward, to [DATA EXPUNGED]

The most notable result of use of SCP-674 is that it is permanent and can lead to very unusual experiences for the viewer. If a subject uses the device to shoot a character in a television series, they will forever perceive that they have changed the continuity of the series. A character will remain wounded or dead, and other characters will respond in context. This will continue even if SCP-674 is only used once and the viewer is never exposed to it again. At a certain threshold, fictional characters will begin to make broadly expositional statements to each other or through the "fourth wall" regarding the actions of the viewer, potentially divulging sensitive information. See Addendum for details.

Addendum: SCP-674 was recovered from the home of M████ S███████, a reclusive 33-year-old Caucasian male. Mr. S███████ came to the attention of the SCP through posts on his fringe political blog, in which he had claimed to have assassinated then-President ██████ █ ████ and then-Vice President ██████, along with half of Congress, four members of the Supreme Court, and a wide range of news anchors, talk show hosts and political commentators. Questioning of the subject revealed that he never left the house and honestly believed the news reports he was watching and using SCP-674 upon were real. Mr. S███████ claimed that he was using SCP-674 to stave off a military police state; however, using the device to "assassinate" so many high profile figures had the opposite effect on the video reality he was experiencing. His final blog posts described an increasingly unstable global order, martial law, and detailed descriptions of catastrophes consistent with the hypothetical release of SCP-███ and SCP-███, among others.

Mr. S███████ claimed prior knowledge of the Foundation and was laying in wait for agents, attempting to ambush them by firing SCP-674 into monitors attached to his home security system upon their approach. This, of course, had absolutely no effect on the agents who immediately took him into custody and seized SCP-674. Under questioning, Mr. S███████ said he had discovered the properties of SCP-674 when he idly aimed and fired it at an episode of the cartoon ██████████, when one of the main characters was wearing a graduate's cap and singing about geography. He claims that after the character recovered, it wagged a finger at him and specifically warned that the SCP Foundation was "going to get him" if he continued to fire the device before returning to its song.

Mr. S███████ perished while held in confinement. Security tapes show he had been alone and engaged in a heated one-sided argument with the security camera in his cell before being struck down by three .38 caliber handgun bullets.

Testing Log SCP-674-1

Note, this text log was retrieved from the hard-drive of Dr. ██████'s partially melted laptop in his private quarters. Dr. ██████ had checked SCP-674 out for testing and it was also recovered from his quarters. Dr. ██████'s whereabouts are unknown.

[DATA CORRUPTED]
-extending to approximately 13% of the length of the screen itself. Wide screen televisions therefore have a larger blind spot than smaller screens-
[DATA CORRUPTED]
-yelling at me from the corner of the screen where I could not shoot h-
[DATA CORRUPTED]
-irk would not go down no matter how many shots were fired, they always hit his shoulder or one of the nearby Red Shir-
[DATA CORRUPTED]
-cotty is pressed against wall to his left, safe in blind sp-
[DATA CORRUPTED]
-pock claims he has "reversed the polarity" on a phas-
[DATA CORRUPTED]