SCP-082-IT
  • rating: +16+x

⚠️ content warning
Elmo.jpg

SCP-082-IT

Item #: SCP-082-IT

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-082-IT is to be contained inside of a standard containment safe at Site Minerva, in the Mind and Memetic Studies Section wing. The item can be used only for testing purposes, with prior authorization needed from the research coordinator. Knowing the hypothetical risks related to the use of the object, SCP-082-IT can be worn only by D-Class personnel. Given the absence of anomalous activity when not used, its containment does not require any additional safety measures.

Description: SCP-082-IT is a bronze helmet of Corinthian design; although its creator and origins are still unknown, thermoluminescent dating1 traces the origin near the 8th-century BCE., at the beginning of the Archaic Greece period. As shown by repeated experiments, SCP-082-IT seemingly appears to be devoid of any anomalous properties; once worn, however, it will enter its active state.

An inscription written in Greek will appear on the front of the helmet, which reads: "Και o σοφός και o δυνατός" ("Both the wise and the powerful", which can be interpreted as "The one who knows is the one who holds power"). The individual wearing SCP-082-IT will experience a hyperfunction of their cognitive processes, mainly affecting vigilance, ideation, memory, and intellect. The nature and intensity of these alterations vary according to the time spent on the head.

  • From the start of the test to 6 hours (the "maniacal" phase): the subjects will show hyperactivity, rapid speech and low attention span; when given freedom of choice they'll prefer to dedicate themselves to activities that require the use of creativity (i.e.: writing or drawing), switching from one to the other in a disorganized manner.
  • From 6 to 48 hours (the "performative" phase): the subject behaves more coherently and is now capable of focusing on specific activities. Standardized tests reveal an improvement in logical-mathematical, linguistic, visuospatial, and procedural intelligence performances, with every score being above average. 3-4 hours of sleep seem to be enough for adequate rest.
  • From 48 hours to 5 days (the "wise" phase): the subject reaches intellectual levels no longer measurable through tests conceived for normal human beings, being capable of learning enormous quantities of information in a very short time period and executing any task with maximum efficiency (i.e.: learning from scratch to play an instrument or solving complex mathematical equations); they also develop an eidetic memory, allowing them to remember even the most insignificant details. The need to sleep is abolished altogether.
  • From 5 to 7 days (the "encyclopedic" phase): the subject is capable of "remembering" information that they have never come to know before, which is virtually the entirety of human knowledge; notions are verbalized in response to specific questions but are also capable of emerging spontaneously, in the form of intrusive thoughts that interfere with the normal flow of thoughts.
  • For information about longer duration tests see Incident 082/1971.

EEG highlights an uninterrupted and increasingly higher Beta and Gamma2 wave brain activity, even with closed eyes; sedative and hypnotic drugs have little to no effect. Part of the waves originate from SCP-082-IT itself as if they "overwrite" those of the host; it's therefore not clear whether SCP-082-IT merely influences the minds of others or whether it possesses some form of consciousness itself. As soon as SCP-082-IT is removed, the alterations will cease and the individual will appear confused and disoriented, reporting memory loss regarding the period of use.

Addendum 082-IT (Recovery): SCP-082-IT was part of the private collection of [REDACTED], a rich and well-known collector of ancient artifacts, who purchased it on the black market from an unknown seller. Its anomalous properties have remained unobserved for a long period of time, until the man's child, 9 years old, decided to casually wear the helmet for fun; when the parents discovered him after several hours, the child had begun to manifest signs of an IQ far above the norm. The rumors about the "little genius" and the "miraculous helmet" reached the Foundation's agents, who then proceeded to cover up the news and confiscate SCP-082-IT.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License