SCP-490

Item #: SCP-490

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-490 is to be contained in a 10x10x10m chamber with a previously unknown entrance located near Belize. Walls and ceiling are made of concrete; the floor is dirt (with a 1cm layer of salt and water). The chamber should be kept at a constant temperature (22 °C) and humidity (55%) with no alternate sources of heat or air circulation except for procedures to prevent damage to the anomalous properties of SCP-490.

No personnel are allowed within one meter of the walls, ceiling, or floor in any direction without proper authorization from at least two Level 4 personnel.

All personnel entering the chamber must wear full body hazmat suits with full face protection.

Description: SCP-490 is a small carved wooden idol of a Pan-like deity. The icon has an average height of 1 meter, but has a slightly larger width and depth. Small holes have been drilled into the wooden body, giving it a similar effect to that of a sealed glass jar with air holes.

Upon one's initial entry into the chamber, however, if one looks down at SCP-490's icon for more than 5 minutes as if about to touch it, they will see the portrait within it changing into that of a human woman wearing traditional Mayan clothing. She appears to be standing on an incline with two statues of suspected god-figures and a large tree behind her. She is holding a large club in her right hand, pointing forward with the other arm extended to form an arch.

After this initial impact, any subjects who touch SCP-490 or look at its icon will only see the Mayan woman until another person enters the chamber; at which point they will once again see the likeness of the Pan-like deity in the icon until such time as they leave or enter the chamber again. This effect does not repeat after multiple persons have entered the chamber together.

Personnel entering or exiting SCP-490 do not experience any anomalous effects; thus there are no reports of hallucinations or delusions caused by SCP-490.

The effect is not limited to just people touching SCP-490; when watching footage taken by researchers inside SCP-490, subjects have reported seeing depictions corresponding to their own personal experiences within the affected area. The change in perspective made possible by this anomaly may lead to further investigation.

Addendum 490-1: SCP-490 was recovered from the ruins of a temple in Belize. During the recovery, a civilian named Thomas Clifton claimed that he had seen something similar in a Pan-like idol he had been hiding in the ruins. He claimed that it had been taken away by the police. Foundation agents attended the scene, and after questioning Clifton, they recovered SCP-490.