snowyowl0's box o' sand

"The Prophet Watch"

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXX is to be kept in a locked storage area monitored by security cameras. No other SCP is to be allowed access to SCP-XXX. Permission to work with SCP-XXX must be obtained from Level 4 or higher staff, to prevent misuse and psychological damage.

Description: SCP-XXX appears as a clockwork pocket watch which opens in a clamshell fashion, and presents all the standard functions of such a watch, including accuracy to approximately 10 seconds per day. The inside lid contains a photographic image which changes whenever SCP-XXX is opened. The image displayed is generally blurred and indistinct, but not always to the point of being unidentifiable. Current theory (unconfirmed due to the ethical problems inherent in setting up a controlled experiment) is that SCP-XXX shows images from the future, specifically from the time and place of death of the person who opened SCP-XXX. Accuracy is unknown. The image is never observed to change, as this only happens when SCP-XXX is closed completely and snapped shut with the built-in mechanism. SCP-XXX has been opened remotely by robotic means; this resulted in a uniform black image.

SCP-XXX is circular, 4.5 cm in diameter, 0.8 cm in thickness. SCP-XXX's exterior is made of 12-carat gold (a full chemical analysis of all components except the image is available in Addendum XXX-01). When opened, a white clock face with black numerals is revealed, protected by a thin layer of glass. The timekeeping components of SCP-XXX have been partially disassembled with no ill effects other than a loss of timekeeping functionality. Internal components are ordinary clockwork powered by a wind-up spring, made of a steel alloy with ruby bearings (see Addendum XXX-01). No special properties have been exhibited by the clockwork components.

Attempts to remove the image or a part thereof for further analysis have so far been unsuccessful, and attempting to do so is prohibited for safety reasons (see Addendum XXX-03).

Although SCP-XXX appears to have no physiological or psychic effects on users, several personnel have developed phobias of the object depicted in the image they received (when said object is recognisable). Counselling has been provided, but future uses of SCP-XXX must be cleared by Level 4 or higher personnel.

All recorded images displayed by SCP-XXX are kept at ██████. For ethical reasons, these images may not be viewed until after the death of the person they pertain to.
Of note: Several staff members have been unable to obtain any kind of image from SCP-XXX other than uniform black. What this means is unclear.

It has occasionally been theorised that SCP-XXX is capable of causing the deaths of people who view it, as opposed to merely predicting them. There is little evidence to support such a theory, but if it is confirmed, further testing of SCP-XXX will be banned.

Origin:

At approximately 0130 hours on ██/██/19██, a thief broke into the jeweller's shop at [DATA EXPUNGED], stealing goods to the value of [REDACTED]. The thief set off a silent alarm and was caught on security camera. The robbery was incompetently planned by all accounts. The thief was apprehended around 0300 the same night, and identified as Mr. █████ ███████. The stolen jewellery was returned to the owner. At this point, it was discovered that one item appeared to have been duplicated; specifically, a pocket watch which was found in the thief's possession (hereafter referred to as SCP-XXX-02) was superficially identical to a pocket watch found in the broken display cabinet in the jeweller's shop (hereafter referred to as SCP-XXX-01). After the jeweller confirmed that only one such item had been in his possession before the theft, both were confiscated by the police as evidence. (The thief was convicted and give a prison sentence. Since his release, he has been monitored at two-year intervals, but has shown no sign of being anything other than an ordinary human being.)

The story was reported in the local newspaper, at which point our agent approached the police to acquire SCP-XXX-01 and SCP-XXX-02 for the Foundation. It soon became apparent that SCP-XXX-01 contained a photograph which changed every time it was viewed, though no pattern was immediately apparent among the images. Detective ███████ of the ██████ Police Department claimed to have opened SCP-XXX-01 several times, and reported having seen the initials █.█., a yellow graffiti on a brick background, a mobile telephone, and a human eye with a blue iris.

██ months later, Detective ███████ gave evidence in court which directly lead to the gang leader known as "█████" receiving a life sentence. Detective ███████ was later killed by members of the gang. Of note: the murder weapon bore the initials █.█., and the murderer had blue eyes. Further investigation by our agent determined that yellow graffiti was present at the crime scene, and that Detective ███████ was using a mobile telephone at the time of his death. While unfortunate, his death provided much-needed information about the capabilities of SCP-XXX-01.

SCP-XXX-02 appears to have no extranormal properties, and was completely disassembled and reassembled several times with no ill effects. It is an exact duplicate of SCP-XXX-01, except that the inner lid contains an empty slot which could house a photograph, as opposed to the image contained by SCP-XXX-01 which earned it SCP status. Furthermore, SCP-XXX-01 does not bear the manufacturer's name on the casing. A chemical analysis of SCP-XXX-02 has been performed; the results are contained in Addendum XXX-01, and match exactly those for SCP-XXX-01.

On ██/██/19██, SCP-XXX-02 was determined to have no properties that qualified it for SCP status, and was returned to the original owner to assist in the cover-up of SCP-XXX-01. SCP-XXX-01 was reclassified as SCP-XXX.

Addendum XXX-01: [DATA EXPUNGED]

Addendum XXX-02:
For personal and ethical reasons, Dr. K█████ requested that all images produced by SCP-XXX be recorded, but that it be forbidden to access them until the death of the person concerned by the image. Request approved; the recordings are now stored at ██████.

Addendum XXX-03:
Dr. K█████ attempted to take a sample of the photographic material contained in SCP-XXX for the purposes of mass spectrography. This resulted in a flash of bright light and heat, which started a small fire (quickly brought under control) and gave Dr. K█████ third-degree burns to his face and right hand, and first-degree burns to the rest of his exposed skin. SCP-XXX was not only unharmed by the process, but apparently reassembled itself. Dr K█████ was treated with SCP-427 and has made a full recovery. Staff are warned that SCP-XXX may have additional properties of which we are not aware.

Addendum XXX-04:
Dr. K█████ has several times opened SCP-XXX without prior permission. His own death appears to exert an unhealthy fascination over him; in particular, he now refuses to eat lunch at the canteen, citing an over-abundance of spoons. He has now been transferred to site ██, and is undergoing psychological testing. He has been diagnosed with koutaliaphobia (fear of spoons).

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