We choose to go to the moon.
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things,
Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
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The Moon.
Item #: SCP-CN-2951
Object Class: Pending
Special Containment Procedures: Moon landings and other invasive research into the Moon have been stopped indefinitely.
Description: SCP-CN-2951 is an anomalous phenomenon affecting shadows, currently only observed on the primary satellite of the third planet from the Sun, i.e. the Moon.
Observation of the humanoid shadows on the Moon's surface is to continue, and are to be categorized appropriately.
I had… a very, very long dream. At that time, I was obsessed with their rumors, mystical and fearsome, and yet different from those ghost stories written to scare children. I believe it truly exists, and that they will come.
It was a hot, humid summer night. It was quiet, and the wind was still. Only the occasional howls of dogs pierced the silence of the old lane. I lay in the darkness, the ghostly moonlight illuminating the willows outside. Projected on the wall before my very eyes was a series of strange images, like human faces — I thought to myself, this has to be pareidolia, and I fell asleep.
In that dream, it was also night, and in the sky there were two moons. With a creak, I pushed open the main gate of our estate, devoid of power, and chased that shining point of light in the sky. I knew what it was. I remember running across empty streets, through school courtyards, over defunct electric fences, into the forest, until I caught that point of light, a silvery disc blocking the moonlight.
I dreamt that from the bottom of that disc a pillar of blue light came down, and a blue humanoid approached me. It had no face.
Addendum CN-2951.1
General Status
Currently Known Structures on the Lunar Surface, ver.22.3
| Structure | Date of Construction | Location | Human Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MFB-1 (USA) | 1970/05/07 | 09°09'03.88''N 21°21'02.19''E | 2~4 | Abandoned |
| Lunar-Area-01 | 1970/12/02 | [REDACTED] | 2~5 | Abandoned |
| MFB-1 (USA) | 1971/02/18 | 01°08'08.46''S 34°27'16.74''W | 2~3 | Abandoned |
| [REDACTED] (GOC) | 1999/04/17 | 23°37'22.37''S 14°24'58.28''W | Unknown | Completely destroyed |
| [DATA EXPUNGED] | [DATA EXPUNGED] | [DATA EXPUNGED] | [DATA EXPUNGED] | [DATA EXPUNGED] |
| Lunar-Area-02 | 2004/08/12 | 29°46'18.46''N 00°26'38.71''W | 2~6 | In operation |
| IUS (International) | 2011/09/01 | 43°25'12.35''S 10°43'42.56''W | 4~8 | In operation |
| Lunar-Area-03 | 2019/03/26 | 65°46'01.24''S 165°33'52.51''E | 3~10 | In operation |
Foundation Internal Recording, May 2012
[Begin Recording]
(Irrelevant data excised.)
A series of images of the Saturn V. The following is the official recording following the launch of the Saturn V, the rocket ascending according to the countdown.
Crowd cheering.
Voiceover: Through close cooperation with NASA, we successfully launched the first manned rocket to the Moon, and welcomed one of the greatest scientific victories of that generation —
Crowded street filled with flowers. The parade of the three astronauts proceeds slowly.
Voiceover: — They have become heroes, and the United States government has officially begun on the path to landing people on the Moon. Of course, we also stand to benefit.
View of the rocket under construction. Part of the living quarters is being loaded. The image zooms in, and on the inside of the door the Foundation logo is visible.
Voiceover: All personnel in the Intelligence Department understand that at least three times more rockets were involved in the Apollo project than were publicly made known. In the following eleven years, humanity built three temporary research stations on the surface of the Moon, two facing Earth, and one on the dark side — our outpost, Lunar-Area-01. We had taken the Moon.
Image of Lunar-Area-01 from the outside, photographed from a chest-mounted spacesuit camera.
(Static. Partial information removed.)
Voiceover: The Moon was decidedly not as we thought it was. In May 1971, the first attack took place.
Voiceover: A UIU astronaut was dispatched to investigate a newly discovered location. Based on the readings from the Geiger counters, it was thought that there might have been radioactive ores. They should have been able to collect some rock and dust samples from the location and bring it back to the lab with their one and a half hours' worth of oxygen supply.
Satellite image of the Moon's surface. Red markings are added to show the location of Lunar-Area-01 and the mission's original route. The coordinates at the top right of hte screen have been erased.
Voiceover: The astronaut's wireless communication with Lunar-Area-01 ceased after twenty minutes, when he was nearing the edge of the area, as the relay satellite had exceeded its range. We started waiting.
Voiceover: Two hours later, we once again contacted Lunar-Area-01. The UIU astronaut had died of an unheard of caus —
The slide displays a drawn image, displaying an empty spacesuit and the naked body of the UIU astronaut. His right hand is gripping a pen, with "shadow s here" scrawled on his left shoulder.
Voiceover: We brought together the brightest engineers and medical teams, trying to find a logical explanation for this decidedly anomalous phenomenon. We couldn't do it. Nobody could take off their spacesuit on the surface of the moon, and then strip naked and write a message before dying. We prayed that this was a fluke, and covered up the incident.
Voiceover: But a day later, a Foundation agent reported a "strange feeling of being watched". His colleague reported the same.
Voiceover: And not ten hours later, another two personnel insisted they felt that "evil presence watching", and reported more and more sightings of strange movements in their peripheral vision. At this point, we initiated an emergency recall — but it was too late.
Voiceover: Their panic started to get worse, and three days later we lost contact for good. We separated piercing sounds from the wireless static — something was on that abandoned Moon, something that we did not understand.
Voiceover: After this, the Apollo project was terminated, and Lunar-Area-01 was abandoned—
Pause
Voiceover: Until the day we return to the Moon.
[End Recording]
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I felt shivers crawling up my back, and staring at the pitch black sky, dotted with stars, I screamed and turned around to run. The disc started to make some kind of hissing noise, and the stars in the sky became lines that started to fall. Something came up.
I ran until I coughed up blood. Trees zoomed past me on either side, as something chased me from behind. I could only hear the sounds of leaves crunching under my feet.
I didn't look back, but I could feel that blue-skinned person had caught up to me. I guessed right — Roswell, the total solar eclipse, the Lights over Phoenix — I knew that the ninety-four billion light years of the universe could contain anything.
Addendum CN-2951.2
Aftermath
2022/9/20 09:37:10 UTC: Personnel stationed on Lunar-Area-03 reported an anomaly in the heat generator to Command. 30 seconds later, the Site entered radio silence.
2022/9/20 12:00:00 UTC: Communications partially restored; however, only simple system commands were possible. Following this, the engineering team repeatedly attempted further recovery and contact of personnel stationed at the Site, but failed. The command AI of Lunar-Area-03 continued to send the "101 All Clear" signal every hour.
2022/9/20 13:23:11 UTC: A high-quality satellite image was recovered. Lunar-Area-03 did not appear to be damaged in the image.
Unknown
2022/9/25 23:16:14 UTC: Lunar-Area-03 once again sends a "101 All Clear" signal to Command. This is the last message received from Lunar-Area-03. From this point on, all communications are lost.
Of note is that before this last 101 signal, a white point of light grazed the Moon's surface at high speed. The object could not be traced.
In the following emergency O5 meeting, the Overseers unanimously decided to dispatch two personnel from Lunar-Area-02 to Lunar-Area-03 for rescue operations.
Following this, personnel Andrew and Barric were dispatched from Lunar-Area-02. Based on the records, they would use a moon lander to approach Lunar-Area-03, further investigate the situation and supply fuel, and then return.
2022/9/28 21:42:17 UTC, 2km above the lunar surface
[Begin Recording]
(Engine noise.)
Andrew: Orbital correction, speed 200, fuel 15%.
Barric: All systems operational.
Barric: We see Area Three.
Andrew: Alright. Drifting right, altitude 100.
Barric: Altitude 20… 10… RSS active.
(Landing.)
Andrew: Turning off engines. Propulsion off. Control mode set to automatic.
Barric: Systems operational.
Andrew: Houston, we have landed.
[End Recording]
2022/9/28 22:01:49 UTC, lunar surface, 100 m from Lunar-Area-03
[Begin Recording]
Andrew: Communication test.
Barric: Testing, testing.
Command: All systems operational. You may begin.
Andrew: Note, mission time 5 hours 30 minutes, the team is approaching Area Three, currently beginning operations.
The group proceeds towards the nearby Lunar-Area-03, circling part of the path to avoid a rubble-dense area. Following this, they perform a full visual check of Lunar-Area-03, placing a low-frequency vibration device. However, no personnel respond.
Barric: I don't think anyone's coming out. Let's go in.
Andrew: Help me with this— alright, let's see… the pressure is… about 0.9. No major leakage.
Andrew: Use the password.
Silence
Andrew: It's no use.
Andrew jumps in through the airlock. He looks at Barric and shakes his head.
Andrew: Power's out. We'll try manual activation. Give me that handle.
Barric: This?
Andrew: Over here, good. The airlock valve is here. You watch the entrance.
Barric: Got it.
Andrew opens the manual activation panel on the airlock, inserts the handle, and turns it. Mechanical sounds are audible. This process takes 5 minutes and 10 seconds before the airlock is fully open, during which Andrew rests.
Barric: It's open. Let's go.
Andrew: Next manual operation is on you.
5 minutes 40 seconds manual activation process. Andrew activates a flashlight and illuminates the interior of the Site through the opening door. No response.
Barric: Safety disabled.
Andrew: Foundation! Emergency keyphrase Fox Two, we're here to save you!
(Communications device buzzing.)
Andrew: Nothing. Let's go left.
Barric: Cleared.
Andrew takes out a small crowbar and pries open the airtight door
Andrew: Cover me.
Barric: Roger.
(Piercing metal scraping noise)
Barric: We're safe.
Andrew: Living quarters cleared, all cleared — Houston, we're here. No life signs, situation's not looking good.
Command: Roger. Be careful.
Andrew: Current air pressure 0.86 atmospheres, oxygen content 19%.
Command: I would not recommend taking off your helmets.
Andrew: I wouldn't either.
Barric: Geiger counter's not looking good. There's heavy radiation here.
Andrew: How much?
Barric：800 microsieverts per hour. Quite high. Houston?
Command: Roger. You'd better be quick.
Andrew proceeds to the core chamber. A pillar of white light is visible, and objects in the room are neatly placed. No signs of disorder or an incident are present. Barric approaches a control panel at the side and supplies emergency power.
Barric: The AI's turned off. I'll try to restore some of its functionality.
Andrew: (quietly) What happened here?
Irrelevant data excised, 2 minutes 15 seconds.
Andrew: Hey, I found the facility's last personnel diary.
Barric: Huh?
Andrew: The last record is March 20, at eight.
Andrew: This means… no, this means the facility already shut down on the 20th. The power, the life support, all stopped. Only the radioisotope battery was keeping the communications going.
Barric turns and shines light at a corner of the room. The corner has not previously been illuminated; rather, the shadow of the corner has been raised 80 cm, which he does not notice.
Barric: So why did the AI keep sending that 101 signal?
Andrew: Dunno. It would be ridiculous if it went rogue.
Barric: And the people?
Further shadow misalignments occur. Stationary frames from the video feed indicate that compared to non-anomalous conditions, Barric's shadow has shortened by approximately 20%.
Andrew: I don't know. I always thought there was something in my peripheral vision. Let's hurry up and get out of here.
[End Recording]
Barric was unable to restore the facility's AI. As an alternative measure, he retrieved the Area's black box and uploaded the encrypted data. Following this, the two agents left Lunar-Area-03.
2022/9/28 23:07:00 UTC, Lunar Surface
[Begin Recording]
Image from Barric's camera. At this point, Andrew's shadow is facing the wrong way.
Recording begins on the lunar surface. The two personnel are proceeding towards the moon lander. At this point, Andrew's shadow begins to show anomalies. A short while later, they reach the lander. Andrew sets down the devices in his hand and approaches the door.
Andrew: Huh?
Barric: What's up?
Andrew: The door's locked. It's not letting me do anything.
Barric: Let me try… Huh? This can't be right. The interior is pressurized again.
Andrew:Let me try manual gas release.
Barric: There's no such feature. Moon landers aren't made that way.
Andrew: There's gotta be a way. We can't just die here like this.
Barric: Calm down, let me try.
The two repeatedly try to access the interior, with Andrew slowly beginning to panic.
Andrew: Houston, we can't open the door.
[End Recording]
Command immediately began to think of ways to resolve the situation. The team was instructed to sit down and remain calm to conserve oxygen supply. During this period, software engineers uploaded a temporary patch to the lander, allowing the door to be opened while the interior is pressurized; however, it was ineffective.
After various failures, the team disabled real-time communications with Command to save energy.
20 minutes later, the team sent an emergency message to Command; however, due to unknown signal interference, the video feed could not be retrieved.
2022/9/29 00:11:26 UTC，Unknown
[Begin Recording]
(Heavy breathing.)
Barric: Houston, can you hear me? Over.
Barric: Houston?
(Buzzing)
Andrew: Houston, please respond. Over.
Andrew: It's not working.
Command attempts to establish communication with the team; however, the team does not respond.
Andrew: So, what is that thing? Two suns?
Barric: I don't know, it doesn't seem right. I'm very sure the sun is there… that one, but I don't know what the other one is.
Real-time satellite imaging did not show any signs of the unknown luminous object described; however, one frame shows a black human shape in the corner.
Frame photographed by satellite imagery. Notice shadow indicated.
(Shaking)
Barric: What do you think?
Andrew: I don'tk now, maybe it could be a nuclear test? The sun is also just a nuclear reaction, isn't it?
Barric: I never liked it one bit. We're too far from home. The moon is a place humans were never meant to be.
Barric: I hate the moon.
Andrew: Barric, what is that?
Barric: What?
Andrew: Your… shadow.
Barric: Where, left or—
Andrew: (Gasping) Oh my god—
Barric: No, please, no no no no no… (static) Tha t's—
Andrew: (Faint) I had a dream.
Heavy interference. Communications terminated.
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At that moment, I woke up. I realized I was screaming.
My mom was at the side of the bed staring at me. Her hair was curled, and her apron gave off the scent of meat pies. She looked at me, still as if time had stopped — I don't like that kind of feeling. On the verge of tears, I described my dream to her.
She laughed, embracing me in her arms, as if what I had experienced was just a joke. She said I should quickly eat breakfast and go to school, that dreams are the opposite of reality, and I shouldn't be afraid. I'd probably heard that last part a million times by now.
I pulled away, went to the bookshelf and picked up that book on unsolved UFO mysteries — it doesn't deserve to have its title mentioned — and threw it into the gap between the closet and the wall, as if it would make all the memories disappear into the darkness. That morning I ate my breakfast, put on my uniform and went to school. Third grade, class A. I opened my Literature textbook, and there was a poem, Observing the Moon by Li Bai:
小时不识月，呼作白玉盘。
As a child, I knew not what the moon was, and thought it to be a plate of white jade.
又疑瑶台镜，飞在青云端。
Or perhaps a precious mirror, floating amidst azure clouds.
At that point, I thought back to what my mother told me. Dreams are the opposite of reality. What would be the opposite of being chased by an alien? I stared at the moon outside the window, thinking to myself. But I couldn't come up with an answer.
Addendum CN-2951.3
Ending
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As this incident occurred, the moon began to pulsate in the night sky as the shadows on its surface constantly changed. At the same time, all facilities on the Moon, without a single exception, were lost.
As time went on, the rate of this pulsation slowed, and an unnatural shadow began to cover the surface of the moon, the point that it was no longer visible.
The above phenomenon continued for 7 hours and 50 minutes, and eventually dissipated. During this period, over a hundred thousand children went missing in the night.
They have not been found.