SCP-1984

Item #: SCP-1984

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-1984 is to be secured at Armed Containment Complex-04, ███ km SSE of Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic, Russian Federation. MTF Omega-59 (Nechayeva's Wolves) and MTF Sigma-18 (Chess Masters) are to be permanently stationed at Complex-04.

SCP-1984 itself is to be contained in Warehouse 5-E in a standard humanoid containment cell, modified to be enclosed within a Faraday cage to prevent external broadcasts from reaching the interior. The only broadcasts allowed to reach SCP-1984 are those created by the Information Control Team. All broadcast signals in the vicinity of Complex-04 are to be monitored.

At all times, the Information Control Team shall be staffed with no fewer than fifteen (15) members and housed in Dormitory 3-F, adjacent to Studio 1-A. Among these must be at least one (1) military historian, two (2) personnel with an extensive background in international diplomacy, one (1) economist, two (2) actors with significant stage experience and three (3) personnel with at least ten years of experience in the Soviet/Russian media. SCP-1984 is to receive a narrative, transmitted via radio and television broadcasts, depicting an ongoing state of detente between the Soviet Union and NATO, designed to resemble official releases from TASS, the Associated Press, the BBC and other established Cold War-era news organizations.

Description: SCP-1984 was created by the Soviet Union during the 1980s to serve as its second-strike nuclear deterrence mechanism. SCP-1984 is in fact the system referred to in Western media as "Dead Hand", an automated nuclear response commonly believed to be triggered by the destruction of the Soviet command-and-control structure. However, rather than being a network of sensors and computing systems, SCP-1984 is an autonomous, self-aware entity of varying observable existence with direct access to all Russian nuclear sites and the ability to commence the launch of ICBMs stored therein.

SCP-1984 consists of the embalmed remains of Sergeant Marat Chernikov, a Russian soldier killed during the Soviet-Afghan War in 1982. While Sgt. Chernikov is referenced in Project December documentation, no official Russian Federation records exist regarding him at this time. SCP-1984 serves as the locus for SCP-1984-01.

In its dormant state, SCP-1984-01 is a semi-sentient consciousness capable of receiving and processing broadcast signals. SCP-1984-01 can apparently discern the informational content of any broadcast it receives. During times of what it perceives to be heightened global military tensions, especially those involving the Russian Federation and the former satellite states of the Soviet Union, SCP-1984-01 will begin to manifest, and becomes able to interact with the physical world to varying degrees. Manifestations have ranged from a barely perceptible, hazy human-shaped outline (believed to be related to an unintercepted report regarding the 2004 Russian Presidential election), to a glowing, bright-red apparition in the distended shape of a child missing its legs (Containment Breach 1984-13, 08/07/2008).

When SCP-1984-01 manifests in this manner, its secondary abilities become apparent. These include the ability to directly interface with nuclear command systems within an approximately 50 m radius, and combat capabilities focused on severe disruption of the human nervous system. When SCP-1984 fully manifests, it can move at speeds measured up to 140 km/h, and will immediately attempt to travel to the nearest functioning land-based strategic rocket installation housing R-36M ICBMs (the nearest installation is currently ████████████-██, 81 km NW of Armed Containment Complex-04), access its command system, and launch all missiles at their present targets. It will repeat this process until it has launched all remaining missiles under Russian control.

SCP-1984-01 is extremely hostile to any human it perceives as interfering with it, and will engage any personnel in its immediate path. SCP-1984-01 has shown limited vulnerability to microwave radiation; however, this serves to misdirect and "confuse" the entity rather than directly harm it.

Recovery Log 1984: In early 1984, Dr. Sergei ████████, the Soviet Union's official liaison with the Foundation, contacted O5-█ (Overseer of Eurasian Affairs at that time) to discuss what was characterized as a matter of "grave importance to the continued survival of the human race." At a secret conference in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (coinciding with the 1984 Winter Olympics to provide cover for the presence of high-ranking state officials from several nations), Soviet and United States officials briefed Overwatch Command on the true nature of "Dead Hand" (then assumed by the Foundation to be a traditional nuclear deterrent) and the existence of SCP-1984. In the wake of information obtained by Soviet officials after the suicide of Dr. Anatoly Lavrentyev and subsequent destruction of his research facility, SCP-1984 was revealed to be both increasingly beyond the control of the Soviet government, and designed outside of original specifications; rather than serving as an assured second-strike nuclear response in the event of the complete destruction of Soviet leadership, SCP-1984-01 was actively attempting to initiate a nuclear first strike at targets in the United States, France, West Germany, ███████, and the People's Republic of China. At the request of a joint U.S.-Soviet delegation, the Foundation agreed to assume control of SCP-1984 and immediately commence containment procedures. Dr. ██████ ███████, a surviving senior researcher with Project December and code-named "EZRA" by the Foundation, was appointed as Director of Armed Containment Complex-04.

+ Incident Report 1984-1 - Incident Report 1984-1 Incident Report 1984-1: On 08/11/1984, United States President Ronald Reagan joked that "I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever, we begin bombing in five minutes" prior to a campaign speech. Thousands of media outlets reported on the President's remarks, and in the ensuing signal traffic, an audio recording of the event broadcast by the People's Republic of China's Xinhua News Agency reached SCP-1984. Researcher's Note: We still do not understand how transmissions are able to occasionally bypass the Faraday structure enclosing SCP-1984. Studies are ongoing. Upon receiving the transmission, SCP-1984-01 immediately underwent a full manifestation event with no detectable warning signs. SCP-1984-01 breached containment at 0308 hours, and was immediately engaged by MTF Sigma-18. Upon sighting MTF operatives, SCP-1984-01 assumed the form of a blue, translucent, emaciated woman dressed in traditional Pashtun attire and began attacking. According to video logs, Pvt. ██████, Pvt. ██ and Capt. ███████ began exhibiting signs of neurological trauma, such as profuse bleeding from the ears, seizures, and leakage of copious amounts of what appeared to be cerebrospinal fluid from the nose and eyes, before team members equipped with specialized weaponry could train directed microwave pulses at SCP-1984-01, holding it temporarily at bay. While MTF Sigma-18 attempted to neutralize SCP-1984-01, members of the Information Control Team hastily began recording a simulated television broadcast designed to return it to a dormant state. The first attempt (Video Log 1984-84.42) was interrupted by the sound of a wall collapsing 80 m away, the result of a failed attempt by MTF Sigma-18 members to initiate Emergency Procedure 12. The second attempt succeeded, although footage had to be edited to remove one broadcaster who began suffering what appeared to be a stroke. The resulting broadcast consisted of a staged BBC news update stating that the Politburo had been "in on the joke" and previously-recorded contingency footage of General Secretary Konstantin Chernenko explicitly stating that Soviet nuclear forces were not on heightened alert. Fighting between SCP-1984-01 and MTF Sigma-18 continued for approximately 15 minutes after the Information Control Team broadcast its report; however, SCP-1984-01 soon began to "fade" and its attacks decreased in intensity, until containment was reestablished at 0541 hours. With 13 MTF operatives killed in action, 4 support staff dead and 8 more staff rendered permanently disabled by traumatic brain injuries, Incident 1984-1 remains the deadliest containment breach yet recorded for SCP-1984.