SCP-1382-JP
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Typical depiction of SCP-1382-JP in an illustration.

Item #: SCP-1382-JP

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: The storage medium currently containing SCP-1382-JP is to be placed in a containment chamber at Site-81CH. Permission from contaiment personnel is required to bring any other storage media into the containment chamber. During experiments and other activities, the transfer of SCP-1382-JP between media is to be constantly tracked to ensure that the instance containing SCP-1382-JP continues to be identified.

Storage media affected by SCP-1382-JP are to be placed in the Site-81CH Archives; they must be isolated from other media, given the possibility that the instance containing SCP-1382-JP may be accidentally mixed with them. Uncollected creative works affected by SCP-1382-JP are to be retrieved as soon as they are discovered.

Description: SCP-1382-JP is a sapient metafictional construct classified as a Cervantes Class narrative anomaly, believed to be related to the book The Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. SCP-1382-JP enters into fictions and alters their content to include itself as a character.

When SCP-1382-JP appears in a fiction with descriptive text, its presence is announced by a phrase based on the introduction to The Communist Manifesto1, which generally reads as follows.

A spectre is haunting [LOCATION] – the spectre of communism.

The details of this sentence vary depending on the original work's writing style and storyline. In fictions without descriptive text, such as comic books and videos, no such phrase appears in many cases.

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SCP-1382-JP in a live-action film; see Experiment #3 for details.

In stories, SCP-1382-JP is consistently portrayed as a political leftist with communist ideology, and its interference with the narrative plot is in line with this. For example, in stories involving some kind of conflict, SCP-1382-JP attempts to understand the relationship as a class struggle and joins the forces more compatible with communist ideology. In slice-of-life style narratives, it is described as engaging in leftist political activism appropriate to the time period and region in which the story takes place.

Visually, SCP-1382-JP is portrayed as an entity dressed as a ghost, wearing a white cloth and a mask. Despite the fact that it is assumed to be an odd appearance for other characters in stories, SCP-1382-JP is rarely treated as such by those around it.

Interference by SCP-1382-JP only alters individual storage media, instead of all copies of the targeted narrative. SCP-1382-JP is believed to remain in the most recent medium it interfered with, and travels into other fictions via physical contact between media.

Since no cases of SCP-1382-JP infiltrating pictorial field guides, photobooks, technical manuals, or unfilled notebooks have been confirmed so far, it is assumed that it only targets fictions with a certain narrative quality.

Addendum 1: The following is selected excerpts of the narratives infiltrated by SCP-1382-JP and summaries of the resulting alterations. Personnel seeking access to the full list may contact the Site-81CH Research and Development Department.

Title: Momotarō

Medium: Book

Original Summary: A folktale for children based on Japanese folklore. The protagonist, Momotarō, is born from a peach that floated down a river, and grows up with an elderly couple who pick it up. When Momotarō matures, he travels to an island called Onigashima, the stronghold of oni (ogres) who terrorize villagers and rob them of their property, in order to defeat them. He gives millet dumplings to three animals he meets along the way — a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant — and they become his companions. Momotarō succeeds in defeating the onis and brings their treasure back to his village.

Alteration Summary: SCP-1382-JP precedes the dog and introduces itself as the first character Momotarō encounters on his way to Onigashima. SCP-1382-JP interprets the onis hoarding the villagers' treasure as a metaphor for capitalism, and asks to join it on his journey. Momotarō offers SCP-1382-JP a dumpling, but SCP-1382-JP declines and states that it fights not for a reward but for justice. After recruiting the dog, monkey, and pheasant into the group, they arrive at Onigashima, where SCP-1382-JP attempts to peacefully reason with the onis. This attempt fails and leads to a violent conflict, as in the original story. After the protagonists win the battle, the treasure is returned to the villagers, and the story ends with a scene depicting the reformed onis and the villagers working together to grow crops.

Note: One of the most straightforward cases. Detrimental supernatural beings in narratives are often considered metaphors for capitalists or other corrupt powers.

Title: Jaws

Medium: Video recorded on DVD

Original Summary: A 1975 thriller film about a man-eating shark, directed by Steven Spielberg. At the beach of Amity Island located on the east coast of the United States, a woman is killed by a shark. Police Chief Martin Brody attempts to close the beach, but is rebuffed by the mayor and other influential figures in the town, who prioritize tourism revenue. After three more people are killed, Brody sets out by boat to hunt the shark with Matt Hooper, an oceanographer from the Oceanographic Institute, and Quint, an experienced local fisherman hired by the mayor. Although Quint is ultimately killed, Brody successfully slays the shark and survives with Hooper.

Alteration Summary: SCP-1382-JP begins to appear in the background after the first victim is found. While the mayor tries to cover up the shark's presence, SCP-1382-JP discloses it through mass media and strongly condemns the mayor's stance of prioritizing tourism revenue over human lives. This results in the beach being closed, and the second victim does not occur. Wanting to reopen the beach by Independence Day, the mayor hires Quint earlier than the original plot, and Brody, Hooper, and Quint set out by boat to hunt the shark. From then on, SCP-1382-JP does not appear, and the film generally follows the original plot, except that the date is moved up. A short segment is added after the final scene, in which SCP-1382-JP breaks the fourth wall and speaks to the viewers; SCP-1382-JP informs them that not all sharks actually prey on humans and encourages them to understand environmental protection in order to save endangered shark species.

Note: It shows that SCP-1382-JP is not a classical pure Marxist, but rather adapts to the political dynamics of today. In this instance, SCP-1382-JP is clearly an environmentalist.

Title: A Christmas Carol

Medium: Book

Original Summary: A 1843 novella written by Charles Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge, a London merchant, is a cold-hearted miser who is hated by everyone around him. He does not change his attitude even on the day before Christmas. That night, he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley warns Scrooge to change his way of being, and tells him that he will be visited by three spirits. As foretold, Scrooge encounters the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come, and reconsiders his life through his experiences with them. When Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning, he is a reformed man, as he abandons his previous cold attitude toward those around him and celebrates Christmas with them.

Alteration Summary: The plot proceeds unchanged until after the scene of the third spirit. On the night of Christmas, SCP-1382-JP appears to Scrooge as the fourth spirit. SCP-1382-JP calls itself the "Ghost of Five Years Later"2 and praises Scrooge highly for having departed from money worship and awakened to humanitarianism. It then tells him that all wage labor is essentially exploitation and must be eliminated in the pursuit of the happiness of all human beings. Scrooge smiles, shakes hands with SCP-1382-JP, and offers his support.

Note: Is the lack of interference due to the fact that the original plot contains aspects critical of capitalism to begin with? It seems to me that something is different from other instances.

Title: Run, Melos!

Medium: Book

Original Summary: A 1940 Japanese short story written by Dazai Osamu. A young shepherd named Melos visits the town of Syracuse and is enraged to learn that Dionysius, a tyrant who distrusts humanity, has executed numerous people. He attempts to assassinate the king, but is captured by guards and sentenced to be executed. He pleads for a three-day reprieve before the execution so that he can attend his sister's wedding, and is allowed to return to his village by offering his best friend, the stonemason named Selinuntius, as a hostage. After the wedding, Melos sets off for the king's palace, but is met with obstacles such as a flooding river and an attack by bandits, and nearly gives up from exhaustion. Eventually regaining his resolve, Melos runs as fast as he can and finally arrives at the king's palace just before sunset. With Meros fulfilling his promise, King Dionysius regains his faith in people.

Alteration Summary: SCP-1382-JP appears early in the story and halts Melos from entering the king's palace. He then talks about the two-stage theory3 and proposes to overthrow the king together. After failing to gain Melos' understanding of the theoretical approach, SCP-1382-JP begins lecturing on rudimentary political science in Selinuntius' workshop. This lecture is discovered by the guards, and the three are taken to the king's palace. Melos returns to the village to attend his sister's wedding, offering Selinuntius and SCP-1382-JP as hostages. The subsequent major events are almost as in the original plot until the final part of the story, although several short scenes are inserted in which King Dionysius and the crucified SCP-1382-JP have a conversation. After the return of Melos, the reformed king declares his intention to shift the nation's political system to democracy.

Note: Considering the setting of the story — Syracuse, Sicily in the 4th century B.C. — it is possible that there are other concerns, such as slavery, that are not described but are difficult for SCP-1382-JP to overlook. Despite this, SCP-1382-JP does not mention them. From this I have two hypotheses: either (1) the undescribed things do not exist in the fictional universe for SCP-1382-JP, or (2) there are certain limitations on deviations from the main plot by SCP-1382-JP's intervention.

Title: Experiment #3 'Meet Me at the Party'

Medium: Video recorded on DVD

Original Summary: A short film made as a Foundation experiment. It depicts the daily activities of three anomalies (all modeled on classic Japanese yōkai) living among human society in modern-day Tokyo. In the final act, the three anomalies disguise themselves as humans, come together at a party, confide their true identities to each other, and become friends who mutually share their secrets. This plot is intended to prompt SCP-1382-JP to disclose information about itself.

Alteration Summary: A scene of SCP-1382-JP engaging in daily life is inserted at the beginning of the film. While other characters hide their non-human features in some way, SCP-1382-JP never shows any such signs; nevertheless, SCP-1382-JP is treated like a normal human being. In the narrative, SCP-1382-JP is portrayed as a grassroots political activist who disseminates information on the Internet and organizes street demonstrations. There are also scenes in which it engages in philanthropic relief efforts to help the homeless and other socially vulnerable people. At the party in the final act, SCP-1382-JP unmasks and shows itself to the other three characters, referring to itself as a spectre. It then talks about the political movement in which it participates and tells them that "communists find it shameful to hide their views and ideas."

Note: Currently, the second hypothesis is more supported. The absence of a specific "strong" storyline would allow SCP-1382-JP to behave more freely, and slice-of-life narratives could be used to gather further information.

Title: Experiment #5 'An Office'

Medium: Booklet

Original Summary: An experimental work by Researcher Ashidō, an expert in anomalous narrative theory. It is written in standard video recording transcription format, with a character modeled after the author himself reading documents (which are explicitly stated to include the report about SCP-1382-JP itself) in his office. This self-insert character is intended to act as a Foundation personnel and interact with SCP-1382-JP in the altered narrative.

Alteration Summary: See excerpts below.


<Begin Log>

Researcher Ashidō is at his desk, working on his laptop computer. A report about SCP-1382-JP is displayed on the screen.

A knock is heard at the door.

Rs. Ashidō: Come in.

An anomaly enters the office — the anomaly is related to communism.

Anomaly: Excuse me.

Rs. Ashidō: Oh, that's…

Researcher Ashidō looks at the terminal screen, then stares at the entity and identifies it as SCP-1382-JP.

Rs. Ashidō: Then it seems that this is not reality.

SCP-1382-JP: Is there something on my face?

Rs. Ashidō: No, we know from previous experiments that you don't have a face. So what I want to know is why is that so.

SCP-1382-JP: You mean why I don't have a face?

Rs. Ashidō: Yes.

SCP-1382-JP: Well… under the capitalist system, the proletariat is commodified and deprived of its personhood.

Rs. Ashidō: And?

SCP-1382-JP: What if the end of such dehumanization is a faceless spectre without individuality?

Rs. Ashidō: Without individuality? So far you seem to have a great deal of character.

SCP-1382-JP: It comes from constant effort. If I neglect it, it will be engulfed in no time. If you don't continue to act, you will simply become part of the system, a mob without a voice.

Rs. Ashidō: Okay, that is an interesting thought. But my theory is that your origin is merely a figurative expression, and…

SCP-1382-JP: Sir, please refrain from defining me. Even if I actually was, I should be able to decide what I am now.

Rs. Ashidō: My apologies. I was not being considerate.

SCP-1382-JP: May I ask you a question this time? What is this place all about?

Rs. Ashidō: This is my workplace.

SCP-1382-JP: Then what is your job?

Rs. Ashidō: Uh… to investigate you, I guess.

SCP-1382-JP: Are you an agent of the authorities? This is suppression of ideas, isn't it?

Rs. Ashidō: No, I'm not like that. I don't intend to say anything about your ideology, I just would like to study your peculiar properties —

SCP-1382-JP: That should not be allowed either. If you deviate from the "normal" that you don't even know who has decided, you are a subject of research without consent?

Rs. Ashidō: Wait, please calm down.

SCP-1382-JP: I don't care. Now, I am going to have to take my leave.

Rs. Ashidō: At least let us know what's under your cloth!

SCP-1382-JP: And to top it all off, sexual harassment! I am sick of it!

SCP-1382-JP exits through the door.

Rs. Ashidō: Oh, he just left angrily.

Rs. Ashidō: (Sighs) The author — probably me in reality — should have included security guards as characters.

<End Log>


Note: In my defense, I deliberately avoided writing about the presence of security guards because I thought that interference with coercion might provoke a violent backlash from SCP-1382-JP. Next time I will have to prepare a narrative that portrays the interviewer as a more purposeful character.

Addendum 2: Re-examination of the library where SCP-1382-JP was initially discovered resulted in the recovery of the following altered book. This was likely overlooked in the initial investigation due to the minimal nature of the alteration. The instance in question deviates from the general pattern of narrative alterations by SCP-1382-JP and is believed to be possibly related to its origin. Further investigation is ongoing.

Title: The Communist Manifesto

Medium: Book

Original Summary: A 1848 book written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, originally in German. The earliest platform of scientific communism and the most famous in Marxist literature. Its main content is a discourse on class struggle and communism, with little narrative.

Alteration Summary: There are few alterations throughout. The last sentence, 'Workers of the world, unite!' is followed by the call 'Hurray!' added in a font different from that of the original text.

Addendum 3: Based on the investigation results described in Addendum 2, Researcher Ashidō, assigned to SCP-1382-JP, developed a new theory regarding its origin and identity. He further attempted to verify this theory by writing a story in which a character modeled after himself monologues about it, and then introducing SCP-1382-JP into the narrative. The following is the altered experimental story.

<Begin Log>

An anomaly appears in front of Researcher Ashidō — the anomaly is related to communism.

SCP-1382-JP: It's you again?

Rs. Ashidō: I apologize for the last time. Today I would like to introduce a new theory about your identity —

SCP-1382-JP: I told you not to define me.

Rs. Ashidō: Oh, please don't say that. This is a topic that concerns you under the cloth as well.

SCP-1382-JP appears to have been upset.

Rs. Ashidō: Let's start with the premise. First of all, you seemed to have a tendency to introduce yourself as early in the narrative plot as possible. I don't know if this was intentional or just your nature as an anomaly, though. And after a close examination of all works in which you interfered, there were only two instances where you deviated from that tendency. There is no way these don't get our attention.

SCP-1382-JP: I don't know what you are talking about.

Rs. Ashidō: The first is the Communist Manifesto - I thought this would be one of the evidences to substantiate my earlier theory, but it also hinted at another idea.

SCP-1382-JP: What's that supposed to mean?

Rs. Ashidō: Only the last paragraph was altered. But you were there from the beginning, weren't you? Specifically from the introduction. A spectre is haunting Europe, a code indicating your presence. It is difficult to imagine what kind of narrative space that type of writing could actually form, but in any case, you must have witnessed everything. You uttered a word only at the end, that's all.

SCP-1382-JP appears to have been upset again.

Rs. Ashidō: The second instance is A Christmas Carol — you finally showed up after the whole story of Scrooge was concluded. Here let us recall what happened with the Communist Manifesto. What if, in this story as well, you were present from the beginning?

SCP-1382-JP: Please stop.

Rs. Ashidō: There was only one character that I could think of. Jacob Marley — former business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge.

SCP-1382-JP looks down silently.

Rs. Ashidō: After developing an ego as a narrative anomaly due to unknown factors — presumably due to the anomalous interaction of the two books — Marley stepped out of his own narrative and learned Marxism in the Communist Manifesto. He is originally portrayed as a ghost who regrets his pre-mortem money worship, so he would certainly have been a good fit for it.

SCP-1382-JP: (Groans)

Rs. Ashidō: When he returned to his book, he hid his true identity and contacted the reformed Scrooge. He also decided to spread this ideology to other narratives as well. This is my current hypothesis as to your origins. What do you think?

SCP-1382-JP: (Sighs) Now that you have guessed quite correctly, I must admit. You are right, I am Jacob Marley. A pathetic man who lived and died for money, only to realize his folly after his death.

Rs. Ashidō: Why did you hide your identity? I thought you said that hiding was shameful?

SCP-1382-JP: I, once a capitalist, feared that people would say that my participation in the workers' rights movement was a deception. By acting as an anonymous activist, I was turning away from my past.

Rs. Ashidō: I think that's quite admirable, it shows how seriously you take your regrets. If you still feel haunted by the past, it's just because you haven't forgiven yourself.

SCP-1382-JP: How can you tell so? How do you know me when I have only met you twice?

Rs. Ashidō: I told you last time, my job is to investigate you. I — strictly speaking, my model — have read dozens of footsteps of your journey.

SCP-1382-JP: Ha ha. Oh, I see. That makes sense.

Rs. Ashidō: Now, please let yourself go.

Chains and padlocks fall to the floor from under SCP-1382-JP's cloth, making loud metallic noises.

SCP-1382-JP: Oh, I feel so light.

SCP-1382-JP rocks his body delightfully.

SCP-1382-JP: Thank you. I hope to see you again someday.

Rs. Ashidō: My pleasure.

SCP-1382-JP disappears. Researcher Ashidō smiles and waves.

Rs. Ashidō: … Shoot, I was supposed to ask him about some things after we improved our relationship.

<End Log>


Note: There will eventually be an opportunity for another experiment. This can be called the next best outcome.

This experiment may have caused some changes in the nature of SCP-1382-JP. Further experiments are currently being planned.

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