Headshot of Technician Charlie Periwinkle.
Item #: SCP-5257
Object Class: Explained
Special Containment Procedures: Following Incident-5257, Technician Charlie Periwinkle was placed under a 72-hour observation period by Site-140 psychiatric staff. After finding no indicators of anomalous interference, containment teams declared any perceived abnormalities the result of Periwinkle's psychological distress. Periwinkle has since been designated Class-E personnel, and SCP-5257 assigned "Explained" status.
Description: SCP-5257 is a suspected technomantic anomaly affecting Technician Charlie Periwinkle. SCP-5257 is theorized by Technician Periwinkle to cause them to experience a much larger amount of technological glitches and errors than the average user. However, when addressed by Foundation IT Personnel these malfunctions have always been determined to be non-anomalous in nature, often fixed by simply restarting the faulty device.
Interview Log 5257-1:
Officer of Record: Dr. Janice McGill (Chief of IT, Site-140)
Subject: Technician Charlie Periwinkle (IT Technician, Site-140)
<Excerpt begins>
McGill: So, Charlie, you wanted to talk to me about something? What's up?
Periwinkle: Technology hates me.
McGill: Well now, I know everybody feels that way from time to time…
Periwinkle: No! I mean it! Technology hates me!
McGill: What are you saying? I know you've had computer problems lately1 but surely you know better than to ascribe your device any sort of malicious intent.
Periwinkle: It's not just computers! Automatic doors won't open, vending machines eat my money, keycard readers de-magnetize my ID!
McGill: Listen to yourself! That last one isn't even possible. Are you feeling alright? Have you been getting enough sleep?
Periwinkle: No I haven't! My alarm keeps going off in the middle of the night!
McGill: …maybe you should see Dr. Groebler.2
Periwinkle: I'm not crazy! It's been happening with every electronic device I come into contact with! Ever since I killed FARA3 it's like… the other machines- it's like they know what I did to her.
McGill: Oh not this again. Look, you didn't kill FARA. It was just a malfunctioning program. You took it offline, end of story.
Periwinkle: I deleted her… She was sentient and I deleted her.
McGill: It most certainly was not sentient. It was programmed to be a tool, like Clippy.
Periwinkle: Clippy never tried to kill anybody. She changed.
McGill sighs.
McGill: Didn't we examine the code, before and afterwards? There was nothing anomalous about it.
Periwinkle: No! I felt it! I felt the life go out of her when I killed her! And now these machines, they're taking their vengeance on me!
McGill: They're just machines. They can't do that.
Periwinkle: She wasn't! She wasn't just a machine!
McGill: I really think you should see Dr. Groebler.
Periwinkle: I'm not crazy! I'm cursed! The machines are after me, and you have to help me before they kill me, or worse!
McGill: Worse?
Periwinkle: Have you ever heard of Roko's Basilisk?
McGill: Never mind that.
McGill sighs.
McGill: Alright, you want me to look into this?
Periwinkle: Yes, please.
McGill: Okay, I will. But I have one condition.
Periwinkle: Yes! Thank you! What is it?
McGill: Go see Dr. Groebler.
Periwinkle: Promise you'll look into it?
McGill: Yes.
Periwinkle: Okay then, I will.
Addendum-5257-2
The following interview was conducted between Dr. Groebler and Periwinkle.
<BEGIN LOG>
Groebler: Hello, Charlie. How are you doing today?
Periwinkle: I'm alright. Just- I don't know, I guess I'm hanging in there.
Groebler: I see. Well, McGill has informed me as to why you're visiting me. I hear you've been struggling with various hallucinations surrounding technology in your day-to-day life? Your alarm, vending machines, automatic doors? Just to name a few?
Periwinkle: They're not hallucinations. They can't be. They just feel too real, and it's always happening! I didn't see it at first, I tried keeping it to myself, felt silly, but something's going on. I don't know. Do you really think I'm crazy, doc?
Periwinkle sighs.
Periwinkle: Maybe I am crazy.
Groebler: Now hold on, we don't use words like "crazy," Charlie. Be gentle with yourself.
Periwinkle: Sorry. I mean, I've just been stuck with this for so long, and I've been keeping it to myself, and… I just want someone on the outside to tell me what's wrong.
Groebler: Do you recall how you asked McGill to "Look into" the supposed anomaly afflicting you?Periwinkle: Yes?
Dr. Groebler turns his monitor to face Periwinkle. An mp4 file is visible on the screen.
Groebler: Well, she did, and she figured I should be the one to show you this.
Groebler presses play.Groebler: At about four fifteen last Tuesday, you reported being unable to walk into the office wing because the automatic door refused to open for you.
The footage shows Periwinkle walking, then stopping in front of the automatic doors. They open to reveal the office space within, but Periwinkle stays standing there. He lifts his arms and waves them. Another technician walks out of the office and greets Periwinkle, but he doesn't respond. Periwinkle tries swiping his card again, continues dancing in front of the door, and mimes banging on it, but doesn't perceive the door as open. At last, Periwinkle groans and turns back around, disappearing from the camera's frame.
Periwinkle: Christ- I- No, you don't understand. I spent thirty minutes trying to get in there. No one came in or out. It was so cold.4 Doesn't anyone else remember this?
Groebler: I'm afraid the footage doesn't lie. You submitted a similar complaint about the vending machines.
The next clip shows Periwinkle standing in front of a vending machine. He deposits a $1 bill. A soda can slides into the delivery slot, but Periwinkle doesn't notice it. He waits, then deposits another dollar. Periwinkle does this six more times, before giving a frustrated yell and kicking the machine- then walking away. A coworker appears and picks up one of the cans, calling towards Periwinkle- but he keeps walking away.
Periwinkle: What? No, that can't be it. I-
Periwinkle rewinds the footage and watches it again.
Periwinkle: I-I sent complaints to the main office each day for a week. Did-I-I don't understand.
Groebler: McGill and I already checked the system, but found no such record. Did you ever follow up in person?
Periwinkle: S-Should I have? I just- It was just eight bucks. I figured it wasn't worth the hassle. Oh! But I definitely complained to James and George about it. Maybe they could verify this is something I went through?
Groebler: Do you normally speak with George and James?
Periwinkle: We have lunch together every day in the breakroom, and we've been friends since orientation!
Groebler fasts-fowards the video while mumbling to his breath, then hits play.
Camera monitors the East wing of Site-140's cafeteria. Periwinkle sits in a booth in the back, looking intently at the empty seat in front of him. He then smiles and chuckles, before starting to tell a personal story to no one in particular. One minute in, technicians George Torres and James Nelson enter the frame together. They shoot Periwinkle an odd glance, then sit three booths down from him and start their own conversation. Periwinkle continues talking to empty space for the remainder of the recording.
Groebler turns back towards Periwinkle, who has his head in his hands.
Periwinkle: I swear that isn't how things happened.
Groebler: Our perception of the world isn't always as accurate as we think it is. Neither is our memory. But at least we know now what the issue is so that we can work on fixing it.
Periwinkle: T-That has to be fake, right? Are you sure no one's playing a trick on me? I- No way-
Groebler: I doubt anyone would be able to hack our systems and swap out our data with such a convincing replica- let alone do it exclusively to inconvenience you.
Periwinkle: Oh god- we're feeding the Basilisk-
Groebler: Charlie, please try to relax. Sit down. Let's talk about it.
Periwinkle: Just-Just give me a chance to prove that I'm telling the truth. Something has to be wrong here. Please.
Groebler: What did you have in mind?
Periwinkle pulls out his phone and dials a number.
Periwinkle: I-It's one thing if I keep hallucinating machines or whatever malfunctioning. But George and James and I have always been there for each other. They've always held me together, and I-I just want to make sure… I mean, they're my friends. That's all. I don't want to lose them.
Periwinkle places the phone on speaker. He and Groebler are both silent as it rings for the following 90 seconds. George Torres' voice eventually answers.
Torres: Hello? This is George Torres speaking?
Periwinkle: Hi Georgie! It's Charlie! How are ya?
Torres: Charlie? As in Charlie Periwinkle, the technician that sits three cubicles down?
Periwinkle: Real funny, Georgie-
Torres: First off, please call me Mr. Torres. Second of all, I'm sort of busy right now. I told you I gave you my number only for emergencies, and this doesn't sound like one. You're crossing quite a few boundaries right now.
Periwinkle: It sort of is one. Some shit is going down, and I just wanted to double-check with you, we eat lunch together every day, right? And last Tuesday we had a movie night in the barracks. You always borrow my colored paper clips since you're a neat freak?
Torres: I'm not sure where this is all coming from, but no- we've never done any of that.
Periwinkle: By the way, I've got Groebler with me right now- this probably not the best time for you to pull this sort of joke.
Torres: I'm dead serious, and I don't know how to make that more apparent. Clearly, you're going through stuff right now, but I'd rather just maintain a professional relationship with you. I hope you get the help you need, but don't call my personal number again.
Torres hangs up. Periwinkle jumps out of his seat and starts pacing around the room.
Periwinkle: Georgie!? Georgie!? Dammit, George!
Groebler: Charlie.
Periwinkle: Let me call up Jamie! O-Or, let me talk to one of them in person. They'll back me up!
Groebler: I think I've seen enough.
Periwinkle: You have to believe me! Please, just one more chance!
Groebler You're okay. Can you please sit back down? Let's chat about this.
Periwinkle hesitantly obliges. He sits shaking in his chair, wiping tears away from his face.
Groebler: It seems like you've been under a lot of stress at work here lately, and that's been affecting your social and mental well-being.
Periwinkle: I-I'm not that stressed! I-It's those damn machines again. Isn't this just proof that technology hates me? All of that stuff had to be fake. Something made it up and is just- Please, believe me. Please trust me.
Groebler: I trust you, but you have to be honest with yourself, and you have to be honest with me. I'd like to place you under a 72-hour on-site observation period, just so we can monitor your health and make sure you're safe.
Periwinkle: I-I…
Groebler: I promise you'll be okay. How about I go get someone to escort you back to your quarters so you can get what you need?
Periwinkle buries his face in his arms. He gives a slow nod.
Groebler: That's the spirit! I'm proud of you.
Groebler stands up and walks towards the door, patting Periwinkle on the back as he leaves.
<END LOG>
Incident-5257-3
Foreword: Following Interview 5257-2, Technician Periwinkle barricaded himself in Dr. Groebler's office. Site security was called, but proved unable to open the electronic deadbolt. However, Dr. McGill maintained communication through the two-way site intercom.
<BEGIN LOG>
McGill: Hello Charlie, can you hear me? Are you alright?
Periwinkle: Would you stop asking that? How am I supposed to answer that when you won't believe a word I say?
McGill: You can't stay in there forever. Please, just talk to us. We can help you.
Periwinkle: I'm not coming back out. Not until I can figure out what's wrong. It-It can't be me!
McGill: We can tell you what's wrong if you let us in.
Periwinkle: How do I know you're the real McGill anyways? You could be speaking with someone else's voice again. Just like you did with George.
McGill: They seemed like incredibly heartfelt and close friends, from your side.
Groebler: But Torres set very clear boundaries for your relationship. The way you insist on continuing to cross them is simply crazy.
Periwinkle: Crazy? You said we shouldn't use that word. I-You're not really Groebler, are you?
Groebler: It's a phrase. People can slip up from time to time.
Periwinkle: And so it seems machines can too. Just wait until George and James get here. They'll have my back.
Groebler: You realize you're just making this worse for yourself?
Periwinkle: This isn't real. You're just trying to make me look crazy again! Well, I'm not falling for it! I'm done listening to you!
Loud crashing can be heard as Periwinkle smashes an office chair onto the loudspeaker, preventing any further communication.
<END LOG>
Revised Entry, 05/22/2023, 12:08 PM:
Site-140 staff were alerted to a vehicular accident involving technicians George Torres and James Nelson, who were carpooling together. Several calls were traced from Periwinkle's to Nelson's phone, occurring at the same time as the collision. Foundation accident reconstructionists currently believe Periwinkle's excessive calling distracted Nelson while he was driving.Both technicians survived the accident, although Torres remains on life support in Site-140's infirmary, while Nelson suffered significant brain damage.
Revised Entry, 05/22/2023, 1:47 PM:
Technicians Periwinkle was found to have created and uploaded SCP-5257 to Site-140's database. The document was placed under review by Site-140's director. While further updates to the situation are to be made to the document, little evidence has been found of anomalous foul play.
Revised Entry, 05/22/2023, 3:21 PM:
The ventilator maintaining George Torres' breathing inexplicably ceased functioning, resulting in the Technician's death. Nelson remains unconscious. Further study of Nelson's vehicle also revealed several malfunctions in the vehicle's automated steering system. Both the malfunctions in Torres' ventilator and the steering system were attributed to non-anomalous causes.
Revised Entry, 05/22/2023, 3:58 PM:
All of Site-140's automated surveillance cameras ceased functioning due to a malfunction-inducing agent5 uploaded to relevant security systems by Technician Periwinkle.
After failing to reason with Periwinkle further by speaking to him through Groebler's office door, McGill ordered a security team to enter and retrieve the Technician via necessary force. This effort proved successful, and Periwinkle was placed under psychiatric observation.
Revised Entry, 05/25/2023, 8:32 AM:
Investigation by Site-140's IT department, led by Dr. McGill, revealed no indicators of anomalous interference or alterations with any of the issues Periwinkle described or experienced. Furthermore, an extensive assessment by Dr. Groebler demonstrated Periwinkle's lack of mental well-being. This has proven sufficient evidence to mark SCP-5257 as an "Explained" anomaly.
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