SCP-958

Item #: SCP-958

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-958-1 is to be kept in a standard storage locker at Site-17. In order to prevent the objects from spreading, it is advisable that personnel refrain from reading SCP-958-1 directly.

Description: SCP-958-1 is a copy of the English translation of The Book of Dzyan, printed in the United Kingdom in 1476. The original may be found in the British Library in London.

The object is an antique book, but has not been altered or damaged in any way. The pages are thin and unusually supple, as if they were so often opened and closed as to become loose. The cover is made of faded leather sat on wood that appears to have been carved with runes.

When a human being reads SCP-958-1 (both directly and by means of a translator), they are affected by an unknown force. This force alters the reader's memories, adding or changing events to their past and making the reader believe that these alterations are real. In addition, readers will become increasingly convinced that SCP-958-1 is real and that its contents should be taken seriously. Readers can choose to ignore this influence, but doing so causes them to become increasingly convinced that it is happening less and less frequently.

In order to read SCP-958-1, personnel must first use a translator device to translate text from English into Chinese characters. Once the device translates the text into Chinese characters, the reader must pass their hand over the character's corresponding word in English before reading it aloud. When the reader has read through all of the words on a page without skipping any, they may proceed to read each page individually. The effects persist until the reader passes their hand over each sentence on a page without skipping any and reads every sentence aloud; this action also allows the user to reread any page they have previously read.

SCP-958-1 contains information on:

Discovery: SCP-958 was discovered when Foundation agents located a small community living off of the shores of Lake ████, where several dozen people were living under conditions similar to those described in SCP-958-1's description. Agents located several books resembling SCP-958 among their possessions and after obtaining some information regarding these people from interviewing them, agents interviewed other nearby communities for information regarding possible SCP objects as well as other cultural artifacts. A total of six additional individuals were discovered; all had similar experiences to those described in SCP-958-1. All six had been suffering from severe malnutrition for several years before Foundation agents arrived at their homes. After several weeks of treatment and rehabilitation, all six claimed that they had no memory of ever having been influenced by SCP-958-1.