The R. H. Commission on Unusual Cargo
Authorized by the Board of Regents of said Commission
Manifest 476
Curator: Dr. James Richard
Storage Instructions:
As the cargo is presently under the control of the Spanish monarchy, it is to be considered libre circulacion in order to prevent conflict with the kingdom. Spies have been placed aboard the cargo to observe the vessel and ensure it does not attempt to reveal its curious workmanship to the common people.
Cargo Description:
Cargo is a Spanish galleon, named "Soy Mi Amante". Records indicate she has been in commission for thirty years, although her workmanship is curious, as she appears to have a make resembling ships from almost a century ago. She is captained by Carlos Ortiz, a man who is confirmed to be within the Spanish monarchy's circle of trust.
The cargo is capable of operating without any guidance. She is able to move, fire cannons, raise sails, and so forth, all independent of any persons on board. Spies within her crew have been unable to determine the mechanism or workmanship by which this is achieved.
Every day, shortly after noontime, the cargo's crew will be ordered off of the ship, and the vessel will spontaneously vanish. Merely a few moments later, she will reappear at the location where she had previously been. Upon reappearance, the vessel will be filled with several tonnes of silver, its origins unknown. It is believed that the cargo is engaging in trade with a foreign entity, although what they are trading or what the entity is remains unknown.
Manifest Remarque 1
July 18, 1675
In order to ascertain the purpose of the vessel, a hidden note was left aboard her, intended to be received by whomever or whatever Cpt. Ortiz had been engaging with. The note was copied for the sake of posterity, and has been transcribed below:
To whom it may concern,
This message is being sent to you on behalf of our organization, and we intend to communicate with you for the sake of research. As you are likely aware, this vessel possesses curious properties, and we would like to inquire as to your relationship with her or her supervisors, seeing as you have been providing her with copious amounts of silver. Our organization is concerned that she or her workmanship may fall into the wrong hands, and we would merely like to ensure the security of the public and our mission.
Dr. James Richard, representing the Commission of Unusual Cargo
Upon remanifestation of the vessel, the following note was found aboard her:
Dear Dr. Richard,
It is a pleasure to meet you, and especially a pleasure to be in contact with the Commission of Unusual Cargo. While you have never heard of us, we are most certainly familiar with you. My name is Dr. Calvin Bold, I'm speaking to you on behalf of the SCP Foundation. Our organization is similar to yours, but we inhabit a future time period, in the year 2018 A.D. I'm in charge of studying this vessel, and have made the decision to facilitate communication with you, for our own research purposes.
As for our relationship with this ship (which we have designated SCP-4456), we do provide her with silver, but only for the sake of necessity. We would prefer not to destroy the ship, but if we do not provide her with precious metal or other valuables, not only does she begin attacking us, but a second instance of the ship also appears (the same ship from a different point in time), and similar demands must be met. Keeping her contained is a costly effort, to say the least.
I look forward to future communications with you.
Sincerely, Dr. Calvin Bold, representing the SCP Foundation
Whilst the message is somewhat difficult to parse, due to its rather poor English, it seems that this Dr. Bold, of the SCP Foundation, is being threatened by force to provide valuables to the cargo. Additionally, he claims to be from the future year 2018 A.D., although this is not verifiable. Communication is to continue, and will be logged in a separate Remarque.
JR
Manifest Remarque 2
July 19, 1675
Within this Remarque we shall be keeping records of our correspondence between Dr. James Richard, of the Commission, and Dr. Bold, of the SCP Foundation.
Dear Dr. Bold,
It is fascinating to learn that such research similar to our own persists even centuries from now. Our goals appear to be aligned, and I see no reason to distrust you as a result, especially seeing as you have attempted no hostilities against us.
In regards to your previous message, I unfortunately can offer no help in containing the vessel. Destroying, sabotaging, or even stealing it risks inciting hostilities against a foreign power, something we would very much prefer to avoid. However, we also cannot risk such a vessel being used for corrupt purposes in our present day. It seems that the both of us could perhaps do with the other's assistance.
Sincerely, James Richard
Dear Dr. Richard,
I am very much in favor of working with you to devise a solution. Unfortunately, I'm unsure what help you could provide, although I do appreciate your willingness to collaborate, and personally, I'm quite excited to do so. Are there any research notes you could provide us? Perhaps if we knew a bit more about how she was made, we could find a way to restrain her properties.
Sincerely, Calvin Bold
Dear Bold,
I am afraid we have very little information on the cargo herself. We have gathered only a little information since our correspondence has begun. The ship was first built approximately a century ago, but was only commissioned thirty years ago. Whoever was responsible for its curious properties is likely not alive anymore.
I understand your desire to research the object, but it seems that there is too much at risk to leave it be. Would you be willing to consider destroying her, on behalf of both of our organizations?
Sincerely, James Richard
Dear Richard,
Although I'm not necessarily opposed to destroying the ship, it's something we'd prefer to avoid for a few reasons. Researching her is obviously a concern, but there are also other risks when handling the anomalous, particularly when trying to destroy them. Oftentimes, doing so can make things worse; sometimes they can react unpredictably, or trying to do so is futile, and ends up hurting people in the process.
However, if we can have greater assurance that there would be little risk in trying to destroy the vessel, perhaps I can make a case to my superiors. We recently did a minor experiment where we removed some small pieces from the ship to see how they would behave; when the ship returned to your time, those pieces returned too, so we believed that each of the pieces could act on their own. If that's the case, then attempting to destroy the ship would definitely be a problem, since we'd probably have a swarm of wood and splinters and things flying everywhere.
I have an idea though. If possible, I want you to remove some small pieces from the ship. Nothing big, boards or whatever are fine. Then, put them in the water around the ship. When the ship moves on its own, tell me if the boards move too. If not, then perhaps my concerns are mitigated.
Sincerely, Dr. Bold
Dear Bold,
We've done what you've asked. The ship moved independently, as it often does, but none of the pieces animated, aside from when the vessel entered your time period. I assume we can consider this a success!
Sincerely, Richard
Dear Richard,
I've made a proposal to my superiors, who have ratified and approved it. I won't bore you with the details, but I will soon be running a department responsible for dealing with situations like these. While I'm somewhat intimidated, I'm also quite excited to move forward with this.
We'll be destroying the vessel in a few days, meaning we will no longer be in contact. I know that we didn't have very much correspondence, but I want you to know that it was an honor and a privilege to work with the Commission. As one of our predecessors, your work has fascinated me, and it's pretty amazing to actually be working alongside you, even if it seems like we only needed to do a little. I wish you all the best.
Sincerely, Bold
Dear Bold,
It has been an honor to work with you as well. I dare believe that corresponding with someone from the future is a privilege few have ever had, and it brings me great joy to know that the future is in safe hands. I'm happy to know that our work continues to prosper and even inspire in your time.
Sincerely, Richard
Manifest Remarque 3
August 14, 1675
On this date, the cargo demanifested per usual; however, at its expected return time, only its charred remains appeared. Its destruction at the hands of the SCP Foundation has been a success.
JR