SCP-118-PT

Item #: SCP-118-PT

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Due to the anomalous nature of SCP-118-PT, containment is currently impractical. Each acquired copy of SCP-118-PT must be contained in a locker within Site PT5 and only personnel of clearence level 4 or higher may handle SCP-118-PT-A on Foundation premises.

Description: SCP-118-PT is an anomalous phenomenon that creates a network of sharing the fleeting emotional and physical characteristics among affected human beings for an indeterminate period of time. SCP-118-PT is triggered by reading a text, hereinafter referred to as SCP-118-PT-A, present in all continents of the global with an unknown number of copies whose locations are unknown. There are records of its presence as far back as the 1500s BC.

SCP-118-PT can be found on surfaces and objects manufactured for the purpose of becoming receptacles for literary information, always appearing as the only text stored on the objects affected by the anomaly. Objects affected by the anomaly include, but are not limited to, books, tablets, manuscripts, scrolls, tomes and boards. It has no title and its original author(s) are unknown, as well as method(s) of creating new instances. It is known that SCP-118-PT-A has been translated into dozens of languages, some of which are now extinct.

Few historical sources describe how SCP-118-PT-A was transported in antiquity, and no reliable source gives the reason of its existence.The knowledge at the present time is that the anomaly was mostly transported through commercial routes, mainly on the silk route and maritime transport, which was amplified thanks to the great navigations in the 15th century. However, several examples of SCP-118-PT-A were found in distant places without access to major trade routes at the time of their emergence, such as some North American tribes before the discovery of the continent by Christopher Columbus.

Although, hypothetically, dozens of manifestations of SCP-118-PT have occurred through the ages, due to the large number of copies of SCP-118-PT-A, there are only two fully documented cases where the action of the phenomenon is described in detail.


The Greek Case

Source identification: Document-1

SCP-118-PT-A status: Contained

Date: 4th Century BC

Location: ██████ City, current Greece

Description: preceding notes: The italicized text in Document-1 is not an exact citation of the author's words but a summary, translated into Portuguese and adapted to a more current language.

Manifestation of the SCP-118-PT anomaly recorded in a book, in the Greek language of ███████ ██████. The only copy of the text is currently on Site PT5. Document-1 tells the story of a battalion of the armed forces of the city of ██████ and its fighters during the the battalion's period of activity. The text is a compilation of descriptive facts, with poetic elements, which relate the author's experience, who closely followed the group of soldiers and their assistants, as a member of the nursing and equipment maintenance team.

Document-1 reports that the battalion was formed by order of the polis and that a man named Péricles was put in charge of leading the group. The author provides some information: Péricles was tall, had long black hair, his shoulders were broad and his chest was stretched. He was a very kind man, he loved his family and servants. He was loyal to the polis and free of crimes. Nobody objected to his nomination.

A few pages later, the author writes that, before the formation of the battalion, Péricles had traveled to Persepolis and returned with gifts for his family and friends: books, jewelry, spices, among others.

Upon becoming a leader, Document-1 states that Péricles trained in the morning with his men and studied military knowledge in the evenings. It is certain that during this period he came into contact with SCP-118-PT-A. The training that man underwent changed him a lot, he became one of the most virile men in Greece, he supported three times his weight, supported two days and two nights without water and walked five nights without sleep, he was a true disciple of Ares. No other fighter in the platoon had progressed that way, and no Greek man had risen to such power so quickly.

The exact number of people who made up the group is not said, but is estimated, by reports later on, that it is made up of between 90 to 120 men.

Two years after formation, the first battle was fought. Against rebel troops from neighboring city-state ██████, who were marching towards █████████. It was an one-sided battle, almost no allied soldiers were defeated and the enemies constantly retreated. However, at the height of the battle, one of our soldiers received a brutal blow, a piercing weapon pierced his right shoulder. Everyone in the field let out a scream and their clothes were stained with blood. At the end of the battle, the wounded soldier was taken to the group of nurses and healed.

The infirmary was full, although only one man had suffered serious injuries. Upon analyzing the other, all had their right shoulders bruised, some more severe than others. In some soldiers, the blood from their wounds did not stop, while others had only acquired a redness.

From this point onwards, several pages of Document-1 have been lost or damaged to the point where they are unreadable. The pages that make up the end of the book, however, are legible. They report the battalion's dissolution: A soldier fell ill at training at the barracks, he had a high fever, body aches and delusions. At the same time, more than half of the battalion and some nurses fell ill. A plague was suspected, but the symptoms spread too quickly to make this hypothesis correct. Three days later, the soldier died, and along with him, more than 40 soldiers also died. All from the same symptoms. Péricles was one of those affected, who also died. In his last words, which I didn't hear but was told, Péricles said something along the lines of "I've never read a work as inspiring and beautiful as that one, it told the truth, said that all were one and that one was all, and that this cycle of union would continue to repeat itself forever. I wanted to read it again."


The Case of the Asylum

Source identification: [REDACTED]

SCP-118-PT-A status: Destroyed

Date: 1972

Location: [REDACTED], United States of America

Description: On ██/██/1972, the [REDACTED] psychiatric hospital in the city of ████████, received an unmarked white envelope along with the mail. The envelope contained SCP-118-PT-A, in the form of four sheets of white paper stapled together. Its contents were read by Mr. █████, a hospital employee, who did not immediately dispose of the papers and put them in a drawer on his desk. After a few week, for reasons unrelated to SCP-118-PT. one of the employees, a physiotherapist named [REDACTED] won the █████████ lottery. Apparently very cheerful, the man continued to go to work routinely.

In the following days, the number of people being discharged increased. No treatment methods, resources, employees or facilities were changed. The desire for socialization of those emotionally debilitated increased, reports of episodes of hallucinations and outbreaks became less frequent, the administered dose of various mood-stabilizing drugs and antidepressants was reduced. However, several former patients went back to the hospital after being discharged, claiming that they had not been effectively cured, that the illnesses had once again began to manifest.

Twenty-one days later, the physical therapist resigned and SCP-118-PT-A had already been disposed of. However, the number of discharges remained high and the methodology and quality of treatment remained the same, as well as the number of readmissions. Two months later, the main building was renovated, more employees had been hired and the old ones received a salary increase.

On ██/██/1986, [REDACTED] suffered a fire of unknown cause, which demolished most of its structure and destroyed more than 80% of the facilities. After the incident, the rest of the building was demolished and the lot was auctioned off.

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