SCP-639

Item #: SCP-639

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: All copies of SCP-639 and its supplementary documents, entitled "SCP-639: A Journey to the End of the World", are to be kept at Site-64 for research purposes. Due to potential harm to civilians and Foundation personnel, major public and Foundation events should be avoided until research is complete.

Description: SCP-639 is a physical copy of a children's storybook entitled "Max on a Roller Coaster". The book was published in an edition of ████ copies. All printed copies have been found to be missing their covers, and the printing plates are all damaged and burned as if they had been melted by intense heat. The purpose of SCP-639 is currently unknown. Each page contains colorful illustrations depicting several individuals, with the first being a humanoid male character labeled SCP-639-1 designated Max.

SCP-639 shows no signs of aging and its pages (save for the first) have never been opened. Due to this, the original print format cannot be identified beyond that of a paperback book. Without opening the book, it is impossible to determine if pages exist after the first one, nor if any other documents are hidden within the book when opened.

Each page describes a specific incident that occurs on an unidentified roller coaster. The text and illustrations clearly detail an escalating blood bath, ending with what appears to be Max dead at the bottom of an apparently abandoned rollercoaster car at dawn. The last illustration depicts a partially obscured figure in white robes approaching what appears to be Max's grave and two gravestones bearing dates earlier than the actual death of Max himself. A note attached reads "I only hope I can live up to your expectation."

The Foundation discovered the existence of SCP-639 after several complaints from eyewitnesses involved in various incidents reported by various news media outlets in early 2005. Initial research concluded that these incidents were likely caused by mass hysteria due to moral panic regarding dangerous amusement park rides and subsequent cover-ups similar to those found with SCP-███ and SCP-████.

Following moderate success at suppressing public knowledge of such incidents, Foundation personnel underwent training in psychological warfare and crisis management to focus on suppressing knowledge of SCP-639 itself and subsequent media coverage. After several weeks of training, operatives were given the task of establishing an undercover presence in MSNBC news network talk shows to stop broadcasts related to the incidents occurring at parks across the country. As time went on, additional agents were placed in NBC Moscow offices with orders to spread false information about Russian involvement through rumors originating from Russian defectors living in or near San Francisco, California.

After several months, reports began surfacing in major newspapers regarding mysterious attacks perpetrated against parkgoers by "gruesome masked cultists", which brought about further public panic and outrage. By January 2006, most members of public had forgotten about previous incidents entirely due to lack of media attention devoted to them since leaving office in early 2005; however, most members of Foundation Task Force Sigma (formerly MTF Sigma) had expended months of effort uncovering links between these events and SCP-639 while still remaining undetected by civilians.

Addendum 639-1: The following document, entitled "SCP-639: A Journey to the End of the World", is the supplementary documentation for SCP-639. It is believed that this document was created by an unknown person or persons sometime in late 2004 and early 2005.

I woke up late today. I can\'t tell you why, but it\'s been a really busy week. The new roller coaster at the park next door is gonna be open in a few weeks. It\'s been a hot topic around here lately. You know, that roller coaster where they have those people tied up and rolling down the hill in cages? What\'s it called again? Oh yeah, the Aurora.

See, I don\'t know if you\'ve ever ridden one of those things before, but they are really something else. You think you know what to expect, but you don\'t. One of my coworkers went on it yesterday and ended up getting thrown out of the car right before he hit the ground. It happens all the time, man! They never figure out how to stop it from happening, but it\'s still scary as hell even when you know it won\'t happen to you.

And now there\'s this guy who goes on every weekend with his girlfriend. He\'s called Max by everybody - he works at a movie theater and he likes to watch horror movies on Friday nights. Well, he must be crazy; he got on that ride yesterday and never came back. His girlfriend came running out of the ride with him crying behind her. She was all covered in blood, and she said something about him being dead and somebody burying him.

I don\'t know if I could do that - jump off that ride like that and just walk away without saying anything. I mean, I guess I wouldn\'t mind dying - it would be worth it. But I\'d miss my family. It wouldn\'t be right.

What would happen if we all did that? What would happen to everyone if we just stopped existing and nobody remembered us after we were gone?

I don\'t even know what to say about this place anymore.