SCP-5420
rating: +107+x

Item #: SCP-5420 Level 2/5420
Object Class: Safe Classified

meta-overview-circle-fixed.png
LEFT: Pictures of SCP-5420 (Meta) taken by the VLT. RIGHT: Orbit of SCP-5420 in relation to surrounding planets. <Hover to Enlarge>

Special Containment Procedures:

As SCP-5420's orbit is outside the orbit of Mars, active containment is currently impossible. A temporary alliance between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Foundation has been created in order to suppress public knowledge of as well as to explore SCP-5420. Through this agreement:

  1. SCP-5420 containment is to be put under the jurisdiction of Site-196, Foundation Home Base (FHB).
  2. SCP-5420-A is to be constantly observed by NASA-Foundation Probe 7-B.
  3. Foundation web-crawlers are to monitor any information regarding SCP-5420.
  4. The LANCER Project is to be established in order to determine the source of SCP-5420-A.

Probe 7-B is to be in geosynchronous orbit with SCP-5420-B in order to take scans of SCP-5420 every ten minutes; these scans are to be compiled into a video feed and archived in storage at FHB. FHB and NASA Central Command (CenCom) are to have joint control over the LANCER Project.


Description:

SCP-5420 is an asteroid in orbit between Mars and Jupiter, in the outer region of the Asteroid Belt. An analysis of SCP-5420 revealed that its orbit is slightly decaying - it has been theorized that SCP-5420 may have originated from the Kuiper Belt. The apogee of SCP-5420's orbit occurs approximately every 13 years; the One-Way Radio Time (OWRT) at this point is 5.1 minutes. However, SCP-5420's main purpose appears to be a vessel for SCP-5420-A. SCP-5420-A is a high-frequency radio signal which has yet to be meaningfully deciphered and has no auditory effect on humans.

Scans from Probe 7-B revealed a structure resembling a double-tiered mortuary temple from the Egyptian Middle Kingdom era, designated SCP-5420-B. SCP-5420-B appears to have been relief carved into a hill on SCP-5420, and a flight of stairs from the surface leads to the second tier. It also appears to continue subterraneously, although that cannot be confirmed at the present time.

The official NASA designations for SCP-5420 and related objects are below:

  • SCP-5420: 1737 Meta
  • SCP-5420-A: Meta Signal
  • SCP-5420-B: Surface Anomaly 114-Y6
  • Probe 7-B: Meta Probe Four

Foundation documentation will use the prior designations; NASA ones will use the latter.


signal-scan.png

ABOVE: Plasma scan of Meta, 08 Aug. 2019.
BELOW: Plasma scan of Meta, 13 Sep. 2019.

Item History:

SCP-5420 and SCP-5420-B was discovered in early 1966 during primary surveying of Mars and surrounding bodies. It was originally designated Meta, the 1737th minor planet discovered. Meta's other anomalous properties (SCP-5420-A) were not known at that time.

SCP-5420-A was discovered during the tenure of the SETI program in the late 1970s; the Arecibo Observatory radio-telescope in particular.

In 1980, a Foundation-NASA joint mission attempted to reach SCP-5420, but it was concluded that neither party had the expendable technology at that time to complete a round trip1.

Probe 7-B was launched in 1992 and became fully operational in 1993. It was also at this time that long-range telescopic imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope was used to enhance the quality and confirm the presence of SCP-5420-B.



WARNING: THE FOLLOWING ADDENDA ARE LEVEL 3/5420 CLASSIFIED


ANY ATTEMPT TO ACCESS THESE ADDENDA WITHOUT LEVEL 3/5420 AUTHORIZATION WILL BE LOGGED AND WILL LEAD TO IMMEDIATE DISCIPLINARY ACTION.



Addendum 01: LANCER Project Proposal


Addendum 02: Lancer II Radio Communications


Addendum 03: Lancer II Recovery/After-Action


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