Photograph on paper of SCP-240 in flight.
Item #: SCP-240
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-240 is to be kept in an atmosphere-controlled container in the Secure Artifact Storage Facility of Site-77. To prevent air infiltration into SCP-240's rotor, its pipe must be permanently covered with standard adhesive tape. Because of the gradual deterioration of the materials making up SCP-240, a technician is responsible for inspecting the metal structure twice a week.
In order to keep the general public unaware of SCP-240, a cover story has been established regarding the circumstances surrounding PoI-240's demise.
Description: SCP-240 is a handmade vehicle built by PoI-240 from the wreckage of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning military aircraft, designed to travel through the air using breath as fuel. The object is made up of an octahedral base of metal bars and beams joined to four wheels and a central rotor, allowing the rotation of a mast to which two propellers are attached. The metal structure of SCP-240 has been assembled in such a way as to provide a place for a pilot to sit facing the rotor.
The part of the rotor facing the pilot contains a pipe, upholstered with parachute fabric, which connects the exterior and interior of the rotor. Any expired breath that enters the pipe will flow into a sealed bag that is woven from parachute fabric and situated inside the rotor. When the pilot exhales into SCP-240, its propellers start rotating immediately, allowing it to take off with much greater force than should be possible.
SCP-240 systematically maintains an upward trajectory, as its direction cannot be controlled due to the fact that it possesses no rudder. Nevertheless, it poses no danger to its pilot, as the object automatically glides to a landing as soon as it is no longer powered by breath.
Addendum 240.1: Discovery
PoI-240.
SCP-240 was discovered on 08/07/1944 in the Sahara desert in southern Morocco, following several reports to the local authorities of an unidentified flying object. Inside was the body of author and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (PoI-240),1 who had been reported missing on 07/31/1944, a few days after taking to the skies in a Lockheed P-38 Lightning on a reconnaissance mission for the WWII Allied Forces.
It was established that PoI-240 was at an extremely high altitude aboard SCP-240, resulting in his asphyxiation, which was later revealed by the autopsy estimated to have occurred outside the Earth's atmosphere. The cessation of SCP-240's breath supply had caused the object to descend for a prolonged period, during which it had been seen and reported to the authorities.
Addendum 240.2: Recovered Material
Upon the discovery of SCP-240, the corpse of PoI-240 was found to include a draft epilogue to the poetic tale The Little Prince, written a few hours before the first lift-off of SCP-240. As The Little Prince was published after its author's death in 1946, the Foundation was not aware of the semi-autobiographical nature of the book in 1944. Given the place that PoI-240 occupies in the narrative through his alter ego 'the Aviator',2 the following draft can be seen as a fictionalised account of the events leading up to the death of PoI-240 and the creation of SCP-240.
Years had passed since the Little Prince was fatally bitten. If one were to look up, they could still see me traversing the sky and its clouds with my mechanical companions. Alas, times had changed. The weight of years and the scars of war had left an indelible mark on my soul. As I sailed through the air, lost in my thoughts, yet another airplane accident was about to occur without warning. I do not know if destiny was playing tricks on me, but history seemed to be repeating itself.
I sat there amidst the wreckage and debris of the plane, a mix of melancholy and odd gratitude enveloping me. My friend was indeed robust, but the accident had taken its toll; action was needed if I wanted to save it. So, I leaned towards it, my lips brushing against its still-warm metal frame, and in a desperate gesture, I began to blow fervently. In a frantic mouth-to-mouth, I blew as best I could, again and again, until I had breathed into it all the life I wished for it. Perhaps most people do not know, but the friendship between a Plane and its Aviator is deep, even transcendent. It goes beyond flesh and metal.
In a matter of moments, my lungs were dry. The work was far from finished, of course. I pondered how I would repair it. Damaged. Not damaged. Broken. Not broken. Each piece passed meticulously between my hands and my expert eye. I blended its old carcass with my wildest dreams. The Plane needed to breathe, walk, and above all, fly again. Day and night, I set to work with a childlike fervor to heal it until the wreck took on a new form, embracing renewal.
And finally, one morning, when the first rays of the sun touched the horizon, I stood before the Plane, transformed, a perfect fusion of cold metal and the lost magic of adults, ready to defy the immutable rules of gravity.
Without a moment's hesitation, I climbed onto the shoulders of my faithful companion. It was time to leave behind a world that had nothing but war to offer us. In a final breath, the Plane soared into the skies. Its trajectory guided towards the stars, where the one who had once awakened the childlike soul within me resided, the Little Prince!
And in the infinite silence of space, among the sparkling constellations, the Little Prince and I were finally reunited. Bound forever by our shared love for adventure, friendship, and imagination, transcending beyond the boundaries of time and space.
Despite the novelistic nature of the text, it has been established that it describes the creation of SCP-240 by bending reality. Following the same logic, it is likely that the Little Prince represents an anomaly that enabled PoI-240 to acquire these abilities when they met in the past. The anomaly may have been neutralised even before the Foundation discovered it, the Little Prince having lost his life to reach his asteroid as indicated in the novel. Research is ongoing.
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Addendum 240.3 : Satellite Photography
On 2005/05/24, a Foundation satellite used to map the interior of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter spotted what appeared to be a replica of SCP-240 lying on an asteroid. Despite multiple undertaken attempts to locate it, it has not been photographed again. Consequently, due to the lack of information available, it is currently impossible to draw any conclusions or establish a direct link between SCP-240 and this supposed replica.
Some researchers claim to see two humanoid silhouettes in the photograph, one tall and one short, while others maintain that these are defects or artefacts. Further investigation is needed to determine the validity of these claims.