A ROUNDERHOUSE Joint
Special Containment Procedures: Efforts to trace the source of SCP-5149 are ongoing.
Description: SCP-5149 is a radio signal of unknown origin being received by Lunar Site-34 every 24 hours. Attempts to locate the source of SCP-5149 have been inconclusive, though it has been ascertained that the signal is coming from outside the Solar System.
SCP-5149 consists of a short repeating message in UTF-8. The message is constructed of a series of forty-four dots laid out in a complex position pattern, interspersed with empty space in certain locations. Due to the extrasolar nature of SCP-5149's origin, this is believed to be an extraterrestrial communication or language system. At the moment, decryption of SCP-5149 is considered a Class-A priority; a team of cryptographers, linguists, and radio technicians are stationed at Lunar Site-34 for this purpose.
Attempt Log:
| Attempt # | Date | Comment | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.30.14 | Ran it through all modern language translation systems for similarities. A formality. | Translation Failed. |
| 2 | 2.03.14 | Ran it against dot-based ancient languages — no distinct similarities. | Translation Failed. |
| 3 | 2.07.14 | Ran a new task on the analysis computers — attempting to discern the complexity of a dot-based language. | Translation Failed. |
| [145 lines ommitted ] | |||
| 149 | 5.29.14 | New analysis computers arrived, broke them in by trying to simulate all possible divisions of the message. | Translation Failed. |
| 150 | 6.30.14 | Manipulated base through flips, rotations, reflections, and several stretches and compressions before putting it through previous suite of analyses. | Translation Failed. |
| [96 lines ommitted ] | |||
| 247 | 10.01.14 | Not message at all? Maybe art? Compare for logical consistencies or repetitions of symbols to confirm if even language. | Translation Failed. |
| 248 | 10.13.14 | Connect the dots? Worth a try. | Translation Failed. |
| 249 | 10.20.14 | Greenhorn suggested we run it through nonverbal languages screener — poor guy thinks it'll really be that easy. | Translation Success! |
Within .5 seconds of the scanning, screener had produced an English translation of SCP-5149. It was realized that no individual on the project had recognized the transmission as a form of Braille.