Link to article: Experiment Log 423 A.
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[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] Experiment Log for SCP-423 Approved by O5-█ Monitored by O5-█, O5-██, O5-█ Project Head: Dr. E. Mann //All researchers working with SCP-423 are encouraged to append their results to this experiment log in the following format:// > **Date:** ██/██/████ > **Test Material:** > > //Results:// > > //Notes:// ----- ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Tom Sawyer", by Mark Twain //Results:// A character named Fred is mentioned at several points in the story, largely as an onlooker. No change to the story is noticed. //Notes:// "This will serve as a baseline for future effects of SCP-423." - Dr. E. Mann ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //The Hobbit//, by J. R. R. Tolkien //Results:// A 14th dwarf named Feredor is a member of the party. The narrative is largely the same, except that there are no references to a "lucky number." Feredor is mentioned as surviving the Battle of Five Armies, but Oin is killed. //Notes:// "SCP-423's role is larger in this work, allowing a better look at its effects. The dialog written for the character is similar to that written for the other dwarves. Other differences in text match Tolkien's writing style as used in the rest of the book." - Dr. E. Mann ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** Plain Journal //Results:// There was no result for some time, until one of the researchers wrote his name on the cover. The words "Hi, there" appeared underneath. A conversation was held, during which it was established that SCP-423 possessed both the ability and desire to communicate. //Notes:// "This proves that SCP-423 is sentient. If it can be controlled, it could be useful in dealing with certain text-based SCPs. This bears further research." - Dr. E. Mann ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Dragonquest", by Anne McCaffrey //Results:// A minor blue rider named F'Red appears in the story. No other changes are noted. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince//, by J.K. Rowling //Results:// A wizard named Fred appeared. Very few changes in the story are noted, except one scene in which SCP-423 is confused with an existing character in the series. //Notes:// "SCP-423 displayed paranormal abilities in the narrative, though nothing out of note for the fictional universe. However, when returned to the journal, SCP-423 said that it couldn't duplicate them outside of that particular narrative universe." - Dr. E. Mann ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Ulysses", by James Joyce //Results:// SCP-423 immediately returned to the journal, where it wrote out "Ow, ow, bad idea." //Notes:// "Note this as a potential punishment for SCP-423 if it misbehaves." - Dr. E. Mann ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "The Draco Tavern", by Larry Niven //Results:// A new regular employee of the Draco Tavern showed up, named Fred. Only mentioned in passing save in the story __Cruel and Unusual__, where he expressed sympathy for the Chirpsithra view. //Notes:// "Either he's not completely human in outlook, or only acts that way when dealing with stories of aliens. We should probably test this further." - Dr D. Vettir ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", by Julia Ward Howe. //Results:// verse 2, lines 1 and 3 altered. Rather than "I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps" and "I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps", the lines now state "Fred has seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps" and "Fred can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps". Upon returning to the journal, SCP-423 wrote "that was... interesting, but I don't think I want to try it again." ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Mary Had A Little Lamb" (verses 1 and 2 only), by Sarah Josepha Hale. //Results:// References to "Mary" in verse 1 are now references to "Freddy"; references to "her" in verse 2 are now references to "him". ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Mary Had A Little Lamb" (full version), by Sarah Josepha Hale. //Results:// Verses 1 and 2 are now unaltered; a reference to "the eager children" in verse 4 is now a reference to "Fred and the children". ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //House of Leaves// (color version), by Mark Z. Danielewski. //Results:// A mailman named Fred delivers a letter to Will Navidson in page ███. Fred also appears as a bartender that attends Johnny, and one of the orderlies caring for Pelafina. SCP-423 expressed profound confusion after leaving this work. Of note is that all instances of "Fred" in the text were written in green. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //Gadsby: Champion of Youth//, by Ernest Vincent Wright. //Gadsby// is known for being an extended lipogram: a 50,110-word story written without any 'e's. //Results:// A minor character named Ford appeared in the novel. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A (non-pornographic) limerick about a man from Nantucket. //Results:// No change. SCP-423 subsequently explained that the given limerick was "too small and too tight", with insufficient "flexibility". ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A book of 365 haiku. //Results:// Third line of thirteen separate haiku replaced with a five-syllable phrase mentioning Fred ("Fred watched silently", "Fred is also here", "Only Fred remains", etc). ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //The Frogs Who Desired A King//, by Aesop, written using plastic letters with a magnetic backing applied to a metallic surface. //Results:// The penultimate sentence became, "a big Stork that soon set to work gobbling them all up, except for one named Fred who hid." The "new" letters appeared to be of the same material and design of the original ones, and the weight of the complete setup remained the same. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Blood Meridian", by Cormac McCarthy. //Results:// In the introductory scene where Holden incites a mob to murder the Reverend by falsely accusing the Reverend of rape and bestiality, a bystander named Frederick is present in the mob; however, instead of participating, the bystander leaves in disgust. The narrator comments that "The weak coward Frederick was never seen again." ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //████████ Telephone Directory (2003)//. //Results:// No change. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //12 Angry Men//, by Reginald Rose. //Results:// The list of characters specifies that the courthouse guard is named Fred; he is described as "disappointed that he will be excluded from the jurors' deliberations". ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Mein Kampf", by Adolf Hitler (German original) //Results:// No change for the first minutes, followed by an insertion of multiple brief references to a distant, skeptical colleague named Friedrich into autobiographical fragments of chapters 2 to 8 of book. The inserts were in German, roughly consistent with the original style but containing a number of grammar and stylistic mistakes. Upon returning to the journal, SCP-423 remarked "whew, that was hard!" //Notes:// I am not sure what is more significant here: that 423 appears to possess a native tongue or that it was apparently able to obtain fairly good knowledge of German from the contents of a single book, even as long as this one. We should look deeper into its possible application to translating hitherto-undecipherable scripts - Dr. Despair ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Odyssey", by Homer (English Braille edition) //Results:// No change. SCP-423 left the book after 5 minutes, saying "interesting but I think I'll leave this one for when I'm really bored". ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A hardcopy of this experiment log //Results:// Identical, except for the insertion of the words "ruggedly handsome" in several sections of the log. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //The Kugelmass Episode//, by Woody Allen, a story about a man who is able to travel into fiction. //Results:// Testing forbidden by O5-█. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-826]]], using SCP-423 communication journal as a "book". //Results:// Testing forbidden by O5-█. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-701]]] //Results:// Testing forbidden by O5-█. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A Canadian five-dollar bill (2008 issue); the reverse of the bill contains a two-sentence passage from "The Hockey Sweater", by Roch Carrier, in French and in English. //Results:// First sentence remained intact. Second sentence, which describes how important skating rinks were in Carrier's childhood, now mentions life "on the skating rink, with Fred" (as well as "sur la patinoire, avec Fred"). //Notes:// The bill was first tested in a change machine and accepted as legitimate. After SCP-423 left the bill, it was tested in the same change machine and rejected as counterfeit. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Green Eggs and Ham", by Dr. Seuss //Results:// Halfway through the book, Sam-I-Am asks the protagonist "Would you eat them here with Fred? Would you eat them with some bread?". The protagonist refuses. No edited nor additional illustrations were included. //Notes:// After returning to his journal, SCP-423 noted "That was fun." ------ **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //The Fellowship of the Ring//, by J. R. R. Tolkien. //Results:// A hobbit named Fredegar Burrowes, noted as a friend of Samwise Gamgee, accompanies Frodo Baggins and his party throughout the book. //Notes:// Of particular note is that Oin, noted as having been killed in 423's version of the Hobbit, is mentioned as surviving in this book. ------ **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-140]]] //Results:// --Testing forbidden by O5-█.-- //Note: Without permission, Researcher D██████, who was working with SCP-140 at the time, put the two books together, despite training in resisting memetic effects. Words appeared rapidly on SCP-140's pages, at a rate of roughly 1 page filled every 12 seconds until SCP-423 returned to its journal, and the words disappeared from the pages of SCP-140. SCP-423 later stated that it was "Extremely painful", and felt like it was being "ripped apart."// ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-1425]]] //Results:// Testing forbidden by O5-█. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-1230]]] //Results:// Pending O5 approval. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-1195]]] //Results:// --Pending O5 approval.-- Testing forbidden by O5-██. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A list of class-D personnel to be terminated at the first of the month, names included. //Results:// The line ''Class-D personnel to be de-commissioned as of ██/██/████'' changed to ''Class-D personnel to be released as of ██/██/████'', all names remain as first written down. SCP-423 writes in the journal ''Now that's just heartless.'' //Notes:// It is conclusive that SCP-423 has the ability to not only feel emotion but has a belief in the importance of life. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A twenty-minute ballet for eight dancers (four male and four female), described in Rudolf Laban's "Labanotation" system for recording human movement. //Results:// Notation indicates that halfway through the ballet, a fifth male dancer walks onstage, looks at the other dancers, shrugs his shoulders, and walks off. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A logic puzzle (as published in [REDACTED] logic puzzle magazine), describing how five different people took their driving tests, in five different vehicles, on five different days, and made five different errors; as is standard for logic puzzles of this sort, solvers are to determine which student drove which vehicle and made which error on which day. //Results:// A driving examiner named Fred is mentioned as having been present during all tests. Upon subsequent questioning, SCP-423 was able to correctly state which driver made which error in which vehicle on which day. When asked how it knew this, SCP-423 did not explain the series of logical inferences, deductions, and conclusions by which such puzzles are typically solved, but rather simply stated that it "was right there the whole time". ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "The Gardens of the Moon", by Steven Erikson //Results:// The Dramatis Personae in the start of the book now mentions Reader, a soldier in the Bridgeburners, and Fred, a Daru patron of the Phoenix Inn. In the second chapter, following the fall of Pale, the Bridgeburners that arrive for Hairlock include a fifth person, who is unnamed and doesn't speak, but can later be identified as Reader. In many subsequent encounters with the Bridgeburners, the soldier Reader is also present. This character doesn't have any lines, and is normally found with a book in his hand. In chapter 5, during Kruppe's dream, Kruppe sees a figure within the Gadrobi Shantytown who, he says, greatly reminds him of his friend Fred, who he saw just the other day in the Phoenix Inn. From chapter 6 on, Fred is to be found in the Phoenix Inn. Interestingly, for the garden party on Lady Simtal's estate, both Fred and Reader are guests. Bridgeburner and Daru viewpoint characters alike comment on how they look vaguely similar. Apart from the minor changes, the book has exactly the same ending as before, though. Upon returning to the journal, SCP-423 wrote only "..." when questioned. After a few minutes, it finally wrote "Sorry, that was interesting, but exhausting." SCP-423 expressed an interest in the remaining books of the series. This has been noted and will be considered as a reward for good behaviour. //Notes:// "This has proven that 423 can be in multiple places within the same narrative, although it seems to tire it out. - Dr. R. Karma" ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //Candidate Multilinear Maps//, by Sanjam Garg, published in 2013 as his doctoral thesis //Results:// Approximately 10 seconds after entering, SCP-423 returned to the journal and wrote "Sorry, not enough room for me." //Notes:// "It seems that 423 needs to have a narrative to work off. This has been noted for the future. - Dr. R. Karma" ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A print-out of source code for a simple "Hello World" program in C# //Results:// The source code now has a number of additional comments alongside the source code professing confusion about certain aspects of programming. On returning to the journal, SCP-423 wrote out "Well, that was a first." ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Head-First C# 3rd Edition (first printing)", by Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene //Results:// A number of examples involving named male characters have had these characters renamed to Fred. The puzzles are also all filled in. Around page 100 or so, notes start appearing here and there. No substantial changes are noted until page 698, where a typo identified in the errata for the book was corrected. In subsequent pages, a number of typos and language problems were corrected in code snippets and descriptions, matching the errors reported in the errata, with the exception of screenshots. On returning to the journal, SCP-423 reported that it found that "fun, but unusual." On being questioned on its understanding of the language, SCP-423 stated that it could write and understand C#, and expressed a desire to use Visual Studio. //Notes:// "423 seems to be both capable and interested in learning, provided there is some narrative reason for it to learn. A potential future experiment could involve us attempting to decant it into a computer without an internet connection. - Dr. R. Karma" ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Secret of the Ninja (Choose Your Own Adventure #16)", by Jay Leibold //Results:// The viewpoint character is initially accompanied by a character named Fred, who is another student at the Dojo. Several of the choice descriptions which lead to a negative ending for the protagonist and his companions are changed to contain a phrase indicating Fred does not accompany the protagonist. //Notes:// "423 does not seem significantly hindered by the book's branching narrative, nor by the presence of multiple endings." - Researcher ████ ----- **Date:** ██/██/2015 **Test Material:** Printed copy of an ASCII art rendition of the //Mona Lisa//, by Leonardo da Vinci //Results:// All punctuation used to simulate the shading of the original work is replaced with the letters "F", "r", "e", and "d" (in upper and lower case). //Notes:// When questioned about the extent of its ability to completely modify textual representations of imagery (as opposed to merely substituting characters), SCP-423 acknowledged the possibility, responding with "I guess so, maybe, but I'm not really good at art." Further inquiry is suggested. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-085]]] //Results:// Pending O5 approval. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** The Frequently Asked Questions document for the Usenet newsgroup "alt.adjective.noun.verb.verb.verb" //Results:// A sentence is added to the section of the document which describes the newsgroup's genesis, stating "alt.anomalous.Fred.perplexed.baffled.moderately-amused". ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** 施氏食狮史 ("Lion-Eating Poet In The Stone Den"), by Yuen Ren Chao. "Lion-Eating Poet" is a 92-character poem written in Classical Chinese, in which every syllable is pronounced "shi" (albeit with varying tones). //Results:// SCP-423 demanifested from its journal, but did not manifest within the test document. After 10 minutes, researchers were about to report a containment breach, when SCP-423 remanifested within its journal, stating that it had "got[ten] lost trying to find the way in". ----- **Date:**██/██/████ **Test Material:** "World War Z", by Max Brooks. The book consists of multiple small interview-like stories told from the perspective of survivors of a zombie apocalypse. //Results:// SCP-423 demanifested from the journal, and was discovered to have added in the accounts of a character named Fred, who survived in a bookstore on [DATA EXPUNGED] Road in New York. A team has been dispatched to investigate the named location. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men Vol 1, By Stan Lee (writer) and Jack Kirby (artist). The book is a trade paperback collection of the first 10 issues of the comic book series "The X-Men". //Results:// The collection now contains numerous references to Fred Wordsworth, one of the students of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. This character is described as a mutant possessing the ability to physically enter and alter any text, but that this power has "made him invisible and intangible". By issue #5, the character has become a second-string member of the X-Men unit under the alias "Bookworm". The character indirectly participates in several plot points through utilization of his abilities, in one instance distracting a villain by altering nearby signs. //Notes:// SCP-423 was found to have altered certain instances of text within in the artwork, but was completely unable to affect other instances upon request. Investigation has revealed that all susceptible text was added by the comic's letterer (exclusively responsible for the addition of all text found in a comic) rather than the inker (exclusively responsible for finalizing artwork). Further study is recommended. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** The poem //Incident// by Countee Cullen, depicting Cullen's experiences with anti-black racism, as a child visiting Baltimore. //Results:// The ninth line of the poem is changed from "I saw the whole of Baltimore" to "Fred showed me all of Baltimore". //Notes:// SCP-423 seems reluctant to portray itself as either the perpetrator or the victim of racism. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Slaughterhouse-Five", by Kurt Vonnegut. The novel is a semi-autobiographical account of Vonnegut's experience as an American prisoner of war during the 1945 bombing of Dresden, Germany during World War II. //Results:// All mention of Kurt Vonnegut within the novel, excluding within the foreword, is altered to describe SCP-423 (i.e. "That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book." Was changed to read "That was Fred. That was not me. That was not the author of this book."). //Notes:// As Kurt Vonnegut himself was not mentioned for most of the novel, he could technically be described as a "minor" character. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "The Outsiders", by S. E. Hinton. //Results//: A new member of the "Socs" accompanies Robert during the scene in which Robert is murdered. When Ponyboy wakes up after having attempted to be drowned, Johnny mentions that someone "unimpressively handsome" had introduced himself as Fred, before punching Johnny in the face, then "running outta there like lightning." After returning to the journal, SCP-423 remarked, "I know that you guys record this, and I didn't want to ruin the ending for anyone who hadn't read the book." It is to be noted that at the end of the book, [REDACTED]. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Fred's Story" by Researcher Torrez, a small novella written specifically to test SCP-423's abilities. The novella is set in a fantasy kingdom whose inhabitants are all beautiful women - when the kingdom is attacked by a demonic force, the kingdom's queen creates a ritual to summon a hero from another dimension to save them. The hero is never given a name, but it is mentioned that he is male and can transfer his consciousness to different works of fiction. //Results//: The hero is left nameless and the novella is left unchanged, aside from an added sentence in chapter 2 which mentions that one of the queen's assistants is named Frederica. After SCP-423 demanifested from the novella, it noted, "I appreciate the offer, but I just can't. I never deserved to be in the spotlight." ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "The Last Question", by Isaac Asimov. This test was conducted not using physically printed material, but a 9.7-inch A█████ K█████ e-reader tablet utilizing electronic paper technology. Electronic paper is able to retain a static image indefinitely without electricity, requiring power only for the initial rendering. Image remains as a suspension of pigments in an oil-like base once rendered. Entire story was rendered on a single screen in a small font. Wireless functionality was disabled before testing by physically severing circuit traces on the device's printed circuit board as a precaution. //Results//: A character named FR-33D is inserted into the third section of the story almost instantaneously, with a single line in response to another character's comment on the rate at which humans are populating the galaxy. SCP-423 stated afterwards, "Good story, but what was that? It felt... strange. It was very easy to move through - not at all unpleasant. It felt like there was something 'below' the story, if that makes sense. Can we do more like that?" //Notes//: "It is unclear whether SCP-423 'moved' through the internal circuitry of the device or simply the physical pigment-in-oil suspension of the electronic paper material. Changes occurred much faster than in tests with ink-on-paper. Recommend further testing with other substrates and form factors. Electronic paper appears to be close enough to printed material as to be compatible with SCP-423. What else might be compatible? Text painted on a wall? Stitched into fabric? Written on a cake with icing?" - Dr. ██████ ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //If on a winter's night a traveler//, by Italo Calvino (English translation by William Weaver), a metafictional novel about interrupted and unfinished narratives, half of whose content is a second-person narrative describing a reader's increasingly frantic attempts to obtain and read a copy of //If on a winter's night a traveler// only to find that every copy is flawed such that every other chapter is from a different imaginary novel, and the other half is the aforementioned chapters from imaginary novels. //Results//: In the section where the protagonist angrily returns the flawed copy of the novel to the bookseller in hopes of either obtaining a proper copy or finding out the conclusion to the chapter of the imaginary novel, another angry customer named Fred tells the bookseller that "if this is a joke, it's not funny." ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A version of "In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proust (English translation by D.J. Enright), considered one of the longest works of fiction in history, in which all seven volumes have been custom-bound into one book with all indications of differing volumes removed. //Results:// After several minutes, Fred only appears within the first three volumes, //Swann's Way//, //In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower//, and //The Guermantes Way//, before all references of him cease. Upon return to the journal, SCP-423 expressed feelings of surprise, stating, "Great story, but I took a peek at how long it went and //wow// is it long. I'm going to need to come back to this one." //Notes:// Along with the aforementioned Erikson test, this could be an indicator that SCP-423 has an upper limit as to the length of the works he can manifest in. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Materials:** [[[SCP-3450]]], printed onto standard computer paper. //Results:// Testing forbidden by 05-█. //Notes:// SCP-423 had learned of this test after denial due to Junior Researcher █████████ accidentally leaving a notepad expressing disappointment at the test's denial near 423's journal. SCP-423 wrote that "The irony of interacting with a Self-Insert fanfic isn't lost on me". ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. //Results:// A character named Freddy appears multiple times throughout the book, working as a farmhand on the ranch. The narrator describes him as "a man whose handsomeness is all the more apparent when compared to the other hands at the ranch, as he is not nearly as worn down". His largest appearance is during the section when George Milton and Lennie Small first arrive on the ranch. As he passes the two protagonists by, he comments on the size of Lennie, remarking that he "looks like a bull who learned how to walk on his hind legs". ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** 300 children's building block toys. //Result:// No change. //Notes:// The result of this test is rather inconclusive. Did SCP-423 consider the letters on the blocks a picture instead of text? Could it only affect one block and "not have enough room"? Or can it simply not affect this form of writing? More tests like this will have to be conducted. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-2236]]]. SCP-2236 was used to examine texts known to have been affected by SCP-423. //Result:// First few texts examined exhibited no change. In subsequently-examined texts, references to SCP-423 in the text were, when examined using SCP-2236, interpreted as descriptions of "Fred" seeking to hide or avoid observation. When returned to the journal, a comment in appeared in the journal reading "That was rude." This comment, when examined using SCP-2236, appeared as a string of expletives. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A journal with "Mary Had a Little Lamb", but written in invisible ink //Result:// Same as the last time "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was used. SCP-423 manifested itself in invisible ink. When asking SCP-423 if he noticed the change in ink, he did admit that the document seemed slightly different. //Notes:// It seems that SCP-423 might be able to notice specific patterns and differences between text, explaining his adherence to story-specific restrictions. This is confirmed by this experiment. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A copy of the Voynich Manuscript //Result:// After five minutes in which the text did not change, SCP-423 explained that the topic was technical up to a level where SCP-423 could not understand, though SCP-423 explained it did seem that the pictures in the Voynich Manuscript matched the captions below. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A hard copy of the Wikipedia page on the Poincaré conjecture //Result:// The only place where SCP-423 manifested was in one of the bibliographies. SCP-423 stated that it could not find a good place to appear due to lack of knowledge of the Poincaré conjecture, though it was impressed by Poincaré's math skills. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //Metaphors//, by Sylvia Plath, a nine-line poem in which each line is a nine-syllable metaphor for the same subject. //Result:// No change. When SCP-423 returned to its journal, it stated that "whatever she's doing in there, it's too crowded, there's no room for me. I really don't think I should be in there, it's kind of private?", and refused to comment further. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A copy of the film script for "Inception", by Christopher Nolan //Result:// SCP-423 appeared as a minor character appearing in some of the dreams, as well as the limbo state for the movie. It adhered to the capitalization format of the script ("FRED") as well as his name put in the middle of the page when appearing, with a line after his name each time. SCP-423 states that he highly enjoyed the script, though he was a bit confused by "FADE OUT" as well as "CREDITS", since this was the first time it was exposed to a movie script. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** The lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody", by Queen //Result:// In verses 2 and 3, "mama" was replaced by "Frederica". SCP-423 seemed unaware that this was a song as opposed to a poem. It seems that not all information is given to SCP-423, merely enough for him to not interrupt the flow of a poem or song, as well as fulfill any standards set by a story. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** 50 Shades of Grey, by E.L. James //Result:// A minor character "Fred" appeared in the background. SCP-423 expressed that it was a bit uncomfortable with the explicit scenes within the book and requests that it be sent to stories with more adventure and action next time. //Notes:// It seems that SCP-423 also has a taste for specific books; this is the first time it was exposed to a sexually explicit book, so it was not used to the situation. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "This is the title of this story, which is also found several times in the story itself", by David Moser, a metafictional story about self-reference. //Result:// Several additional sentences appear throughout the story, including "This is the sentence in which Fred appears", "This is //not// the sentence in which Fred appears", and "This sentence alludes to Fred's presence but does not actually contain Fred". ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** Written by Doctor X██, a list of 100 fictional people doing things simultaneously in different areas, with a tragic end, along with a final over-encompassing statement about each of them contributing to the tragedy. //Result:// This test was to determine if there was an upper-limit to how many locations SCP-423 could reside in at the same time within a book. Out of 100 fictional people, only 83 had the mention of "Fred" with it. The tragedy was not prevented in the end. SCP-423 noted that it got too tired after being in 83 different places in the story. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** The file for SCP-055 //Result:// Inconclusive, SCP-423 stated it was not sure what it was doing other than the fact that something was not spherical. Researchers soon forgot what they sent SCP-423 to do. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** The experimental data for SCP-2719 (labeled "SCP-2719") with no outcomes listed, and with an additional entry with "SCP-423" at the bottom, also with no outcome listed. //Result:// The data was filled precisely identical to the real file of SCP-2719. SCP-423's outcome was "became inside". When questioned, SCP-423 responded that it merely observed what occurred with each entity, despite SCP-2719 being an abstract metaphysical concept. It also somehow experienced becoming inside, despite having no knowledge of 2719. More testing to be done with 2719 and 423. //Notes:// It seems that abstract entities manifesting themselves have the same effect on SCP-423 as any usual person, even if SCP-423 has no idea what is happening. It also seems it can fill in the blanks based on what already happened. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** Experiment Log 914 - Part II //Result:// A record appeared in Test Logs, Part 8 of an experiment performed by "Guest Researcher Fred", with the rest of the data for said experiment blocked out. ---- **Date:** {{TOTAL_DATE_FAILURE}} **Test Material:** //The Abridged History of Homo Sapiens// by History Analysis Subroutine #7589372357286473-NFIZ //Results:// SCP-423 is featured under the "unknown periods" section as a featureless humanoid screaming in an infinite white void and rambling incoherently. After being returned, SCP-423 showed signs of prolonged exposure to weak-time, suggesting that SCP-423 still understands temporal physics in a manner similar to organic beings. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** An untitled 50,000 page "story" created by randomization bound by grammar and basic sentence structure created for this test. //Result:// The sentence "Joshua went to the diagonal party without his safety ants." was replaced with "Joshua went to the diagonal party without his safety Fred." //Notes:// SCP-423 noted that being in the document was similar to when it has experienced dreams in other stories which it slept. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A printout of the gamescript for "The Secret of Monkey Island". Result was laser-scanned and the raw text compiled into a working program after being screened for anomalies. //Results:// An NPC named Fred appears near the small building at the pier on Melee Island. When spoken to, the player is presented with a dialogue tree. Questioning him on his backstory reveals that he tried and failed to become a pirate. It is mandatory to recruit him on the ship's crew for the second chapter, where he joins the mutiny. Subsequent cutscenes have him present with the rest of the crew. //Notes:// Upon returning to the journal, SCP-423 remarked "That was like a choose-your-own-adventure book. Let me know if you find any more." ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates (published by Rand Corporation, 1955) //Result:// Addition of a preface by Dr. Frederick McCarthy, explaining the statistical methodology used to generate the numbers in the book. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** The "Location, Location, Location" story arc from the first print collection of "Precocious". Precocious is a webcomic where all characters are anthropomorphic animals. However, none of the dialogue in this particular story states or implies a species. The purpose of the test is to determine if SCP-423 can "sense" artwork. //Results:// Mr. Crupp states the name of the father in an offscreen family to be Fred. Upon returning to the journal, SCP-423 was asked if the cast of this story were human. SCP-423 states that they were animals, and he himself manifested as an arctic fox. When questioned about the reason for taking on this form, SCP-423 responded "That was the most nondescript species of the choices I was given." ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** The entire script of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet". //Results:// During Act 1, Scene 2, a character by the name of "Frederick" sneezes halfway through King Claudius' speech. Hamlet laughs. No other changes has been discovered. //Notes:// When questioned, SCP-423 stated "I got a little bored during the speech." ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** Field Agent Scott Pinkerton's Personnel File. //Results:// Text regarding the recruitment of Agent into the SCP Foundation show addition of an individual by the name of //Security Guard Fred// who is stated to have kept guard during Pinkerton's preliminary interview. No other changes noted. //Notes:// No security personnel matching said name were posted during any of Agent Scott's job interviews for the Foundation. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury" by Bill Watterson //Results:// In strips where Calvin and Hobbes discuss the 'noodle incident' a kid named Fred, who was a witness, is occasionally mentioned. In one strip, after Calvin's mother attended a parent-teacher conference, Calvin worries Fred 'spilled the beans to her.' //Notes:// When questioned about the noodle incident, SCP-423 stated "Okay, my memory's hazy, but from what I remember, noodles were definitely involved, and so was Calvin." **Addendum:** //In other words, we still know [REDACTED] all about the noodle incident. It would be inaccurate to say I'm a little disappointed... I am// greatly //disappointed. - Doctor Margin// ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A short story written by Dr. R███ about a fictional man who asks some other characters to write a computer program in C# and then Java in a job interview. //Results:// A character named Fred participates and completes both tasks without problem. //Notes:// When questioned about its ability to write a program in Java, despite no evidence that it could before, SCP-423 stated that it "just sort of knew how." When asked if it could write another program in Java, SCP-423 said it could not. It is theorized that the ability to perform a task it did not know how to do is similar to temporarily being able to perform magic in works from the series //Harry Potter// but not outside of them. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** The lyrics to the song "Bohemian Rhapsody", by Queen //Results:// The words "Mama, just killed a man, Put a gun against his head, Pulled my trigger, now he's dead." are replaced by "Mama, almost killed a man, Put a gun against poor Fred, but I failed since he's not dead." //Notes:// Didn't we already do this? -Dr. █████ ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "1984" by George Orwell, popular alias of Eric A. Blair //Results:// The man previously only referred to as "beetle-like" in the canteen is now recalled by Winston to have been named Fred, and to work "somewhere inside the narrow hallways of the Ministry of Plenty". Later in the novel, Winston reflects that "he had not seen Fred in the canteen for some months now, either." No other changes noted. //Notes:// SCP-423 apparently returned to the journal almost immediately and wrote before questions could be asked that it "needed a minute." After approximately 3.5 hours, it clarified its answer with another response, as transcribed below: > I'm sorry for taking so long. It... I could see the suffocating logic of Orwell's system, and how monolithic the oppression he created was. The book was watching me... look, I don't want to do this again. At least //Animal Farm// had more places to hide. **Addendum:** //While this adds// 1984 //to the list of novels that we could potentially use as punishment, we also now know that SCP-423 was exposed to other novels prior to containment. It would be worthwhile to create a complete list of these, through questioning or otherwise. He made it easy for us by starting on the letter A, anyhow.// - Dr. Szczepański ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** A printout of the gamescript for "Persona 5". Result was laser-scanned and the raw text compiled into a working program after being screened for anomalies. //Results:// After the protagonist awakens in the Velvet Room for the first time, a new character named Fred appears in Cafe Leblanc. Additional sprites and models for him have him appear as a blond-haired young man in a blue uniform; talking to him has him introduce himself as a record keeper for the Velvet Room, and he elaborates that he will be following the protagonist's journey with great interest. Fred appears in multiple different locations in the game, and talking to him will start a short conversation on his thoughts about the protagonist's journey so far, specifically on recent events in-game. No characters notice him until the final Palace, where he appears in the Velvet Room following Igor's release; a short scene is added where he explains that he was unable to return to the Velvet Room until Igor was freed. //Notes:// The same experiment on "Persona 5 Royal" (an expanded and enhanced version of the game) produced near identical results, the only difference being that Fred would discuss new events and characters in the game, and is present in the 3rd semester arc. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //Atlanta Nights//, a 2004 work written by a collective of authors in an attempt to produce an unpublishably bad novel, so as to prove that a particular vanity press had no quality standards. Flaws include two different versions of chapter 12; chapter 4 and chapter 17 being identical; chapter 21 being absent; chapter 34 being written by a random text generator; and the revelation -- several chapters before the end -- that everything had been a dream, after which the story continues anyway. Notably, the initials of all named characters in the book form a hidden message.[!--this description is based, very lightly, on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Nights . I've reworded it extensively, but still... credit where it's due.--] //Results:// No change. SCP-423 stated in its journal > Oh my god, you actually found a copy of //Atlanta Nights//. You bastards. I'm not going back in there, you can't make me. and refused to comment further. Examination of other copies of //Atlanta Nights// reveals the presence, in chapter 8, of a waiter named "Frederick" (also referred to as "Frederic" and "Frederik"); the hidden message composed of character initials contains no 'F's. Whether this is an indication of SCP-423's origins, or simply of its activities before coming into Foundation custody, is unknown. ----- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //The Monk//, by Matthew Lewis. //Results:// Unlike other tests, SCP-423 took a more direct involvement in the plot. When the titular character Ambrosio breaks into the home of the fifteen-year-old Antonia and her mother Elvira with the intention of raping the former, a previously unseen character, Frederico, takes him by surprise and raises the alarm, waking the neighbors and Antonia's mother. He then reveals Ambrosio's intentions to the shock of everyone present, whose doubts are dispelled when Elvira reveals she previously suspected Ambrosio of attempting to force himself upon Antonia. This leads to Ambrosio's arrest and his trial, where he is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. Frederico did not partake further after his only appearance. //Notes:// SCP-423 left the following in his journal. > I know I owe you an explanation for that. I broke the mold, I admit it. I don't normally enjoy doing that at all, it feels disrespectful, but... this was different. There was no way in hell I could just stand by and do nothing while somebody is about to be violated. No one deserves to go through that. No one. That morality was the primary factor in SCP-423 breaking their usual pattern has been noted for future tests. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** Sheet Music of //The Piano Sonata No. 14// (More well known as //Moonlight Sonata//) by Ludwig van Beethoven. //Results:// Notably, SCP-423 took approximately 15 minutes (the average amount of time taken to perform this piece) to return to the journal. A new section of the song, lasting about 4 minutes, transcribed a basic melody that is stylistically and idealistically similar to the original piece. The section is prefaced with staff instructions //suonato come farebbe Fred// (Played as Fred would). Performances of the modified piece, which was performed by Agent █████ using a piano moved into the containment room, has been described by Foundation Members attending the concert as soothing but unremarkable. //Notes:// SCP-423 noted the following in his journal: > That was quite relaxing. That's a really interesting way to tell a story- I'm curious: Do you have anything like that I could try out? It takes some getting used to. I wasn't expecting that to work. I'm pleasantly surprised! - Dr. Z█████ I Propose we continue testing with music-related experiments. It's not that I'm a fan of Fred's music or anything. - Dr. K. Marker I don't like how you brought unnecessary spectators to watch, but seeing as it boosted morale, I'll let it slide. But don't do that again. - O5-█, to personnel involved ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-3345]]]. Subject D-1994 was instructed to hold SCP-3345 with no protective clothing. //Results:// SCP-3345’s narrative surrounding the crimes of D-1994 were unchanged. However, during the conclusion of the first parole hearing of D-1994, a previously unnamed guard called Fred leads D-1994 away from the parole board and congratulates D-1994 on their “early release”. //Notes:// SCP-423 was returned to the Journal before the end of SCP-3345 reset 24-hour period. When returned to the journal, SCP-423 noted “that was too real for my liking, he seemed like a good guy just brought up in the wrong family”. At the end of the questions, SCP-423 stated “I wouldn’t try that again, I don’t think it wanted me to be there”. Further attempts to transfer SCP-423 to SCP-3345 have since failed with SCP-423 stating “Sorry, it has locked me out”. **Addendum:** Before SCP-423 was transferred from SCP-3345, D-1994 was questioned regarding the events of their first parole hearing. D-1994’s description of the events matched that found in SCP-3345. D-1994, furthermore, remembered a guard congratulating them on the results of the parole hearing, but D-1994 could not recall their name. After SCP-423 was returned to the Journal, D-1994’s description of the parole hearing and the guards congratulations did not change. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //The Hardy Boys Volume 1: The Tower Treasure// //Results:// One of the protagonists, Joe Hardy meets a minor character named Fredrick ████. No changes are made to the story. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "The Call of Cthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft //Results:// SCP-423 disappeared for roughly three hours, before re-manifesting. No changes were to note. SCP-423 states, in hard to understand handwriting: "No. Never Again. No more Lovecraft, please." //Notes:// Method could be used as punishment, although it seems to have caused a lot of distress. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** "Herbert West, Re-Animator" by H. P. Lovecraft //Results:// N/A. SCP-423 refused to enter, stating: "No. More. Lovecraft." //Notes:// Seems SCP-423 can understand what the media is before entering. Works by H. P. Lovecraft are banned from further testing. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** Printed image of Byblos Syllabary Document d //Results:// Seven characters changed, near the middle of the third line. Using the 'reversed k' symbol added as a sign for the middle of SCP-423's name, the sign resembling a tic-tac-toe board may be guessed to correspond to the letter F. Curiously, as the signs following the 'reversed k' are unchanged, despite what would be expected for a Semitic language, the 'Dalet' symbol was not inserted. SCP-423 referred to the text, afterwards, as "boring". ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage// by Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (translated from French) //Results:// A fifth 'master' appears in the book, named Frederick and no last name given. This character does not partake in any of the torture and rape, instead spending most of his time talking to the four madams. The other masters express great mistrust regarding this person due to the apparent discomfort caused to him by all the torment inflicted upon members of the masters' harem. Halfway through the book, this character flees the castle, taking several members of the harem with himself and leaving behind a note expressing disapproval regarding the work of the other masters. The remaining four masters later become obsessed with the escapee, fearing that he might alert the German police force to have them arrested. The book ends with the four masters committing mass suicide shortly after releasing all their hostages into the forests. SCP-423 commented on this experience by stating "I tried giving it a chance because it's considered a classic, but halfway through, I realized I just can't take any of this." //Notes:// What the [EXPLETIVE REDACTED]? Why'd you do this to the poor guy? I thought we agreed on introducing SCP-423 to erotic works no more? - Dr. Vang Well... Honestly... I thought it would be funny. - Dr. Chair Go [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] yourself Alan. - Dr. Edison ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** [[[SCP-152]]] //Results:// A character with the name of "Fred" or a variation thereof appeared in several of the stories found in SCP-152. All stories inhibiting SCP-423 carried a common aspect: Each of the stories in which the aforementioned character appears include a radical transformation of the story's setting into a post-apocalyptic wasteland inhabited by a sparse number of humans. The character appears as a survivor of the apocalypse and usually as part of a larger gang of survivors wandering the wasteland in search of other humans and nutrition. SCP-423 displayed the ability to alter the narrative of the stories within SCP-152 to its own liking, similar to how SCP-152's writing style alters itself when exposed to a human reader. //Notes:// After returning to its journal, SCP-423 expressed that it had found the experience to be both extremely exciting and adventurous. SCP-423 requested to be allowed access to SCP-152 again in future experiments. Request to periodically expose SCP-423 to SCP-152 as a reward for good behavior is pending. ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** //The Shadow of the Torturer//, by Gene Wolfe //Results:// SCP-423 disappeared for several hours; however, no notable changes occurred to the text. Upon returning, it took SCP-423 two hours to recuperate. Upon questioning, SCP-423 related having briefly interacted with the character of Severian but was equally confused that the encounter wasn't recorded in the text. SCP-423 expressed reluctance to reenter, stating, "It's denser than gravity." //Notes:// //I have a theory. I think because of the unreliable nature of Severian's narration, which includes leaving out certain events, SCP-423's encounter also wasn't recorded. How or why that's possible, I'm not sure. In any case, I'm interested in more texts like this one to experiment with. I'll try another Gene Wolfe story later.// - Researcher Lang ---- **Date:** ██/██/████ **Test Material:** Text regarding [[[taboo|the province devoid of labels]]]. //Results:// Testing forbidden by 05-█. [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box-end]]