SCP-8390 on recovery
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8390 is to be kept in a standard storage locker at Site-51. It is to be physically disconnected from any power source when not in active use. All explorations must be approved by the Director of the Department of Astronomy, pending a full evaluation on the target exoplanet's1 surface conditions.
SCP-8390 is only to be operated by personnel with advanced astronaut training. During testing, the participating subject is to be provided with a reinforced EVA2 space suit with built in audio and video recording devices and be supervised by at least two Security Clearance Level 4 (Secret) researchers. The designated power source for SCP-8390 must be equiped with an emergency kill switch capable of disabling SCP-8390 within a moments notice. One of the two supervising researchers must remain in constant communication with the subject with the other stationed at the kill switch. At the conclusions of exploration, SCP-8390 is to be deactivated and the subject decontaminated before debriefing.
Update 24/3/2024: Following Incident-8390-1, under no circumstances is SCP-8390 to be used on any exoplanet known/suspected to harvest esoteric life of any kind. All subjects returning from exploratory missions must now be quarantined for at least fourteen (14) days before release.
Description: SCP-8390 is a 7 inch telescope measuring over 1.3m in length. Its style and build is almost identical to that of the Wetherell Refractor Telescope, but has undergone heavy internal modifications of a highly anomalous nature. The primary lens has been removed and the inside of the normal empty optical tube now contains what appears to be a Thaumaturgicaly Enhanced Quantum Accelerator (hereafter referred to as SCP-8390-1), a device capable of teleporting light-quanta across vast distances for FTL transmission3. Testing has confirmed SCP-8390-1 to be the source of SCP-8390's anomalous properties.
Upon activation, SCP-8390 is capable of perfectly focusing on astronomical objects from hundreds of lightyears away, creating images of such quality it is possible to see geographical features of terrestrial exoplanets with the human eye. Experiments have confirmed FTL transmission on said images. However, SCP-8390-1 appears to absorb energy the longer it is in use, "charging" itself up. After 30 minutes of consecutive charging, SCP-8390-1 reaches 10 PeV4, at which point it becomes capable of temporarily transmitting physical matter. At this point, if SCP-8390 is observing a terrestrial exoplanet/astronomical body, the person operating it will disappear from their current location, only remanifesting when SCP-8390 is powered down. According to testimony and review of body cam video, the subject is actually physically teleported to the targeted planet, where they are subject to the effects of the local environment in its entirety. This typically results in the subject's death unless properly protected from such conditions.
The subject can freely explore the surface of the planet, interacting with the terrain and other objects as expected. However, it is impossible to bring anything from said planet back to Earth, as it is not transported with the subject upon return. This is also true for attempting to leave any object behind on the planet, as it is returned with the subject, regardless of whether or not said object is in contact with the subject. Due to these properties, there is believed to be little to no risk of biological contamination of Earth, nor the target planet. Nevertheless, decontamination protocols have been instated as a precaution. See Addendum 3.
Addendum 1: Discovery and Interview Log:
SCP-8390 was discovered on 6 November 2023 following an undercover investigation on a missing person report for civilian astronomer Professor Mathew Coleman, who according to his wife Mrs Amanda Coleman had spontaneously disappeared while using his new telescope. Agents of MTF Epsilon-6 ("Village Idiots") were dispatched to the relevant household to evaluate and contain the cause of the event. They quickly noticed SCP-8390 due to its modifications and, upon deactivating it, the corpse of Professor Coleman suddenly manifested nearby5. Epsilon-6 quickly secured the item and dispatched Agent ███████ to interview Mrs Coleman.
Date: 7/11/23
Interviewed: Amanda Coleman
Interviewer: Agent ███████
Foreword: The following interview was conducted at the police station in an attempt to determine the nature and/or origin of SCP-8390. The Interviewee was not informed of the discovery of their spouse's body.
<Begin Log>
<Agent ███████ enters the secure interview room. Interviewee is seated next to a table in a state of clear distress.>
Agent ███████: Mrs Coleman?
<Interviewee raises her head and looks towards Agent ███████ speaking in a frantic and erratic manner.>
Amanda Coleman: Finally! Do you have anything on Matt yet? They won't tell me anything! Did something happen?!
Agent ███████: Ma'am, please calm down. I assure you we are doing everything we can to find your husband.
<Interviewee takes several seconds to breathe.>
Amanda Coleman: I'm sorry, I… I just…
Agent ███████: It's alright, you're under a lot of stress. If it's ok with you I'd like to ask a few things about your husband.
<Interviewee motions to the chair nearby. Agent ███████ sits down.>
Agent ███████: Based on what we've seen, your husband seems to be an expert amateur astronomer. Is this true?
Amanda Coleman: Oh he loves space. He's always found it so mysterious, so vast. I never paid much attention or thought to it though. At least until he… *Sighs* He said that he had found something, a few months ago.
Agent ███████: Go on.
Amanda Coleman: He was convinced he had found… life… on another planet, Trappist-1E he called it. I know it sounds ridiculous but… well, he wrote a paper on it and had it published. Of course, no-one believed him.
Agent ███████: Interesting. So the scientists rejected his claims?
Amanda Coleman: Yes, but that didn't stop him. He spent weeks, maybe a month trying to refine it, to prove he was right. He'd be up all night gazing into the sky. I wouldn't see him for days at a time. He became a bit of a celebrity online, if you can call it that; all they did was ridicule him.
Agent ███████: I see. Did you notice anything unusual about him just before he disappeared?
Amanda Coleman: Well a few times this last week, I did see him speaking to a group of these… men. I don't know who they were, I'd just assumed they were some scientists or someone he'd caught the interest of. They seemed to be making some kind of deal with him.
Agent ███████: A deal?
Amanda Coleman: They said they would help him if he promised to share his data with them before he released it publicly. He agreed and they left for a few days. That's when they brought in that… device…
Agent ███████: When you say "device" are you talking about the telescope he was using?
Amanda Coleman: Yes- well, no but- kind of?
Agent ███████: Please elaborate.
Amanda Coleman: He's always had the telescope, but they brought in this huge tube of wires and all this other stuff. It looked like something from out of a sci-fi movie. I have no idea what it was but Matt was jamming it into the front of the telescope.
Agent ███████: And what about the men? Did they have any identifying markers?
Amanda Coleman: I never saw their faces, but they all had this weird symbol on their shoulders.
Agent ███████: Could you describe it for me?
Amanda Coleman: Do you have a pen?
<Agent ███████ passes over a sheet of paper and a pen. Interviewee quickly draws a picture of a circle with 3 parallel arrows through it before passing it back. Agent ███████ examines it for several moments before folding it up and placing it in his pocket.>
Agent ███████: Thank you, one more thing. When did you see him last?
Amanda Coleman: He was on the balcony, testing the telescope after its… reconstruction. He was playing with the focus and everything for maybe half an hour when he called out to tell me to take a look at something. I went over to the balcony but when I got there he was… gone. Just gone.
<Interviewee holds her head in her hands and begins quietly weeping.>
Agent ███████: Thank you Mrs Coleman, my colleagues will be with you shortly.
<Agent ███████ stands up and heads for the door.>
Amanda Coleman: Please find him…
<End Log>
Closing Statement: Mrs Coleman was administered Class-A amnestics and released. The provided sketch was identified as the emblem of GOI-003 ("The Chaos Insurgency"). It is believed that they were unaware of the effects of SCP-8390-1 after long periods of use. A cover story was distributed to local news networks attributing Professor Coleman's death to an automobile accident. SCP-8390 was taken into Foundation custody along with several documents regarding the alleged discovery. Verification of Prof. Coleman's discovery is pending at time of writing.
Addendum 2: Experiment Log:
With approval from the Department of Astronomy, several tests were carried out to establish the specifics of SCP-8390's functionality and limitations. The following is an abridged list of said experiments. Several proposals to utilise SCP-8390 in containment of extraterrestrial anomalies are pending review suspended until further notice following Incident-8390-1.
Experiment-8390-1
| Target Body Name: GJ 1061 D | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Distance | Mass | Radius | Gravity | Temperature |
| Super Earth | 12ly | 1.64M🜨 | 1.16 R🜨 | 1.21G | 250°K (-23°C) |
Intent: Initial testing to confirm anomalous properties.
Participating Subject: D-9564
Procedure: SCP-8390 was aligned with the target and activated by D-9564 who was instructed to observe the target for 1 hour.
Observations: Subject reported SCP-8390 was providing a seemingly impossible level of detail, to the point they were allegedly able to view geographical features on the surface of the target. Over the course of 30 minutes SCP-8390-1 continued to gain energy until D-9564 suddenly vanished. SCP-8390 was quickly deactivated at which point the subject re-manifested at their original position, albeit unconscious. D-9564 was treated for asphyxiation and made a full recovery. Subject vividly remembered surroundings as being similar to the observed region.
Notes: Well, that explains Prof. Coleman's death. We should prepare for the conditions next time. - Dr. Andrews
Experiment-8390-2
| Target Body Name: Teegarden's Star C | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Distance | Mass | Radius | Gravity | Temperature |
| Terrestrial | 12ly | 1.05M🜨 | 1.02R🜨 | 1G | 226°K (-47°C) |
Intent: Determine if safe travel can be accomplished via a space suit.
Participating Subject: D-3293
Procedure: D-3292 was equipped with a reinforced EVA space suit and instructed to use SCP-8390 until teleportation occurred.
Observations: D-3292 vanished as expected at the 30 minute mark but was still able to communicate in real time with supervising researchers via inbuilt radio transmitter. After 60 seconds SCP-8390 was deactivated and D-3292 returned unharmed. Body cam footage is consistent with the surface of Teegarden's Star C as seen from the eyepiece.
Notes: There are 2 possible theories of what's happening here. One, it's creating some kind of internal wormhole and two, it's some kind of quantum shenanigan. I hope it's the former as quantum stuff gives me a headache. - Dr. Andrews
Experiment-8390-3
| Target Body Name: Kepler-442 B | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Distance | Mass | Radius | Gravity | Temperature |
| Super Earth | 1206ly | 2.3M🜨 | 1.34R🜨 | 1.28G | 233°K (-40°C) |
Intent: Determine whether or not SCP-8390 has an upper range limit
Participating Subject: D-3292
Procedure: D-3292 was equipped with a reinforced EVA space suit and instructed to use SCP-8390 until teleportation occurred.
Observations: SCP-8390 was unable to focus on the target. Test aborted after 60 minutes passed without anomalous effects.
Notes: Welp, there goes that Andromeda galaxy idea… - Dr. Andrews
Extraneous Logs Removed
Experiment-8390-6
| Target Body Name: Kepler-141 C | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Distance | Mass | Radius | Gravity | Temperature |
| Super Earth | 982ly | 2.57M🜨 | 1.41R🜨 | 1.29G | 837°K (564°C) |
Intent: Attempt to establish the range limit of SCP-8390
Participating Subject: D-3292
Procedure: D-3292 was equipped with a reinforced EVA space suit and instructed to use SCP-8390 until teleportation occurred.
Observations: SCP-8390 successfully focused on the target. Teleportation occurred after 30 minutes as expected, but was quickly disabled when the high surface temperatures began to damage the outer layers of D-3292's suit. Notably, any shed matter was returned despite no longer being physically attached to the suit.
Notes: Given the results of the last few tests, I think it's safe to say the limit is somewhere around a thousand light years. - Dr. Andrews
Experiment-8390-7
| Target Body Name: HD 40307 G | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Distance | Mass | Radius | Gravity | Temperature |
| Super Earth | 42ly | 7.09M🜨 | 2.39R🜨 | 1.24G | 278°K (5°C) |
Intent: Determine what does and doesn't get taken with a subject when they use SCP-8390
Participating Subject: D-3292
Procedure: D-3292 was provided with 3 sealed containers hereafter SC-1, -2 and -3 respectively. SC-1 and -2 were given to D-3292 and SC-3 placed nearby. Upon teleportation, SC-1 was placed on the surface 1m away from the subject and SC-2 filled with a sample of the ground. SCP-8390 was then deactivated.
Observations: Upon teleportation, SC-1 and -2 disappeared with the subject while SC-3 remained in place. Upon return, SC-1 reappeared at the subject's feet and SC-2 appeared in his hand. Camera footage shows procedure was indeed followed by the subject, however, both SC-1 and -2 were found to be empty.
Notes: It would seem that anything you wear or carry goes with you, but you can't bring anything back or leave anything behind. This should render the risk of extraterrestrial contamination to be minimal. I'm still recommending subjects at least get disinfected. You never know with this kind of stuff. - Dr. Andrews
Extraneous Logs Removed
Experiment-8390-10
| Target Body Name: GJ 179 B | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Distance | Mass | Radius | Gravity | Temperature |
| Gas Giant | 40ly | 0.141MJ | 0.677RJ | 0.78G | 250°K (-23°C) |
Intent: Determine if SCP-8390's effects can manifest on non-terrestrial exoplanets
Participating Subject: D-8675
Procedure: D-8675 was equipped with a reinforced EVA space suit and instructed to use SCP-8390 until teleportation occurred.
Observations: SCP-8390 successfully aligned with the target, but teleportation did not occur. Test aborted after 60 minutes.
Notes: I thought that when it aligned that it was going to work, but apparently not… - Dr. Andrews
Addendum 3: Incident-8390-1:
The following incident report is classified Level 4 (Secret). Unauthorised personnel will be subjected to immediate amnestication and disciplinary action.