Interviewed: Richard Wright
Interviewer: Dr. Gears
Foreword: Richard Wright is identified as a survivor from the small community near the initial recovery location of SCP-882.
<Begin Audio Log, [13:04]>
Dr. Gears: Please, take a seat. State your name for the record please.
Mr. Wright: Richard Logan Wright… everyone calls me "Rich" though.
Dr. Gears: Excellent, thank you. Mr. Wright, do you recall the date when you first saw the object in question?
Mr. Wright: God, when was it… I'm not really sure, it was a while ago… Allen found it first, wrecked his boat on it. He told a few of the other fellas about it, said they could sell it for a bundle for scrap. We all thought it was a chunk off a jet or a cargo ship.
Dr. Gears: At what point did the device start operating?
Mr. Wright: The next day. Damn thing shook off rust like a dog with fleas. Started spinning slow, then sped up. By the time I saw it, it was really running. Jimmy tried to get closer, try and see what was powering it, or why it was so quiet, but he slipped. Got a bad cut over his eye and got the hell out of there. Allen seemed kinda off. Kept asking us if we were hearing anything. Ms. Parker thought part of it was gold, even tried to jam part of it with a pipe to get at it. That pipe stuck fast, and smacked her a good one when the gear it was on spun around. After that, people mostly kept away.
Dr. Gears: Were there any other incidents of people being injured or hearing noises?
Mr. Wright: Not at first. That's the thing, it was so damn quiet, everyone kinda forgot about it for a while. Allen was keeping it in an old storeroom by the dock, and nobody really went out there much. He started looking bad. Said he couldn't sleep, that he kept hearing that thing grind away. Father Pat started dropping by, tried to talk to him, told him to get rid of it. He was gone for a couple days, then suddenly the two of them turn up together, happy as clams… (subject trails off, shaking slightly)
Dr. Gears: …Mr. Wright?
Mr. Wright: (subject rubs face, and shakes head) I'm fine, sorry. So Father Pat and old Allen show up, fresh as daisies. Say they've got the thing figured out. I wasn't paying that much attention, this whole thing had me spooked. Been hearing stuff from the store room… grinding and squealing, really quiet. Anyway, they said some damn thing about it being from somewhere else… that God made it. That was it for me, and I left.
Dr. Gears: Did you believe them?
Mr. Wright: What, that it was from God? No, no… I don't know… I didn't really know what to think. This damn machine kept spinning away, no power to it, and eating metal too! That pole Ms. Parker hit it with? It turned into a giant screw shaft, looked like it had always been there. More people started getting interested, started listening to Allen and Father Pat. Told everyone to bring metal to it. Told them the gears were the voice of God, that it grew louder as we turned away, and softer as we brought it offerings.
Dr. Gears: Did you bring metal to it as well, or spend any extended period of time near the object?
Mr. Wright: (subject is silent for several seconds) …The hell does that matter? You could hear this thing all over town, got to be folks couldn't even sleep! Just clanking, grinding, screaming at all hours of the night… giving it metal helped. God damn it, I didn't want to, I know it wasn't God, I never said it was! Everyone else was falling over themselves to make Allen and Father Pat happy, I just wanted some damn sleep! There's not a god damn thing wrong with that! (subject bangs table with hands, is highly upset and breathing heavily)
Dr. Gears: Sir, I will request that you calm yourself. I am asking questions, not accusing. Please return to your seat.
Mr. Wright: (takes several deep breaths) I'm sorry. Over a couple of weeks, everything got fed to that thing. It was just… how things were. We were pretty isolated, you know? It's not like we had much else. You'd just make a couple trips out to the storehouse and toss any metal you happened to find in. Always seemed to be people there, just watching it. It tore a hole in the roof after a while. Father Pat started getting strange, telling us it wasn't enough. I think the noise was getting to him. Said it needed something more meaningful… (subject trails off)
Dr. Gears: …Mr. Wright?
Mr. Wright: (is silent for 48 seconds) I came in one night, because I heard people shouting from the storehouse. Father Pat was leading a prayer to this thing, but it didn't sound like any prayer I knew. People were coming up, and he bent over them. They screamed, and then he turned to that big mass of metal. I… I thought he was giving communion… until I saw the pliers in his hand.
Dr. Gears: I'm sorry, pliers?
Mr. Wright: He was yanking out people's fillings. He was pulling out their fucking teeth and feeding them to that thing! (Subject is shouting, appearing highly upset) He started screaming about it not being enough! That it needed more, but there wasn't any more, there was barely any metal left anywhere! Then he pointed at Allen. He said he was hiding metal from the great machine. Allen screamed that he didn't have anything. Father Pat said he had a metal joint in his hip. Everyone got up at once. Oh god, oh god… they grabbed him, everyone just grabbed him… he started screaming… (subject is crying and shouting) He kept screaming and screaming, and nobody cared… I saw his arm go in, saw all his fingers break and pull the rest of the arm in… and I ran. What could I do? Jesus, I couldn't stop it, there were too many, and that thing was screaming and screaming and Allen was screaming and Father Pat… (subject falls to the floor, sobbing and shouting)
Dr. Gears: This interview is concluded. Thank you Mr. Wright. Security, please see Mr. Wright out.
<End Log>
Closing Statement: Mr. Wright attempted suicide shortly after interview. Subject is currently being held on suicide watch and for observation.