Link to article: SCP-5639.
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[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[include :scp-wiki:component:classified-decoration |lv=1 |item=5639 |oc=Safe |lang=EN]] **Special Containment Procedures:** SCP-5639 is to be given historic landmark status, but remain closed to the public under the pretense of compromised structural integrity. Non-Foundation researchers requesting access to SCP-5639 are to be turned away using cover story Kappa-14 ("Holy Hell"). No living creature is to be allowed entry to SCP-5639, though exploration through the use of wireless relay and disposable drones is possible. Researchers wishing to explore the interior of SCP-5639 must provide a disposable drone --with vocalization capabilities-- for Miranda.aic to pilot and a signature of approval from their Site Director. **Description:** SCP-5639 is a compound of abandoned buildings surrounded by a seven-meter-high wall located on the outskirts of Rome, Italy. The buildings within SCP-5639 have the appearance of a monastery, but there are no markers to indicate if SCP-5639 is a true monastery. Vatican archives have no record of a monastic establishment at SCP-5639's location. SCP-5639-δ is a virus that saturates SCP-5639. SCP-5639-δ infection has a 100% fatality rate in Kingdom Animalia members, and entry into SCP-5639 guarantees saturation and/or infection. Infection is contingent upon inhalation of the virus. However, SCP-5639-δ has an anomalous ability to permeate any membrane brought into SCP-5639, regardless of material thickness or chemical makeup. As such, hazmat suits and other protective measures have proven unreliable as protection against SCP-5639-δ. Symptoms of SCP-5639-δ infection are uniform. Subjects that inhale SCP-5639-δ are immediately subject to haemoptysis. The infected subject will cough up blood continuously before succumbing to exsanguination. For humans, this process takes approximately 30 minutes. Animal death times vary based on size and lung capacity. Additionally, anything infected or saturated with SCP-5639-δ is prevented from exiting SCP-5639 due to what witnesses have described as "an invisible wall." SCP-5639-1 is a red-cloaked entity that inhabits SCP-5639, and the apparent source of SCP-5639-δ. Miranda.aic has reported an increase in SCP-5639-δ density wherever SCP-5639-1 is present, and new SCP-5639-δ particles manifest in its presence. SCP-5639-1 has an anomalous ability to de-materialize, but is unable to leave SCP-5639. Miranda.aic has attempted interviews and excavations to determine the origin of SCP-5639-δ and SCP-5639-1, with varying degrees of success. SCP-5639-2 is a leather-bound journal entitled //The Gospel According to Sebastian//, penned in Italian. SCP-5639-2 claims to be the autobiography of the historical [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sebastian St. Sebastian], transcribed at the request of his wife. It was discovered following an interview of SCP-5639-1 by Miranda.aic. The veracity of SCP-5639-2 is contested, but the existence of SCP-5639-1 suggests that at least some of SCP-5639-2's claims are true. See **Addendum 2** for contents. **Addendum 1:** Miranda.aic has attempted to interview SCP-5639-1 on multiple occasions, with only two successful attempts. See transcript for the first. > **Interviewed:** SCP-5639-1 > > **Interviewer:** Miranda.aic > > **Foreword:** This interview took place in the apparent chapel of SCP-5639. Although SCP-5639-1 had largely avoided Miranda.aic, it confronted her upon entry to the chapel. SCP-5639-1 spoke predominantly in Italian or Latin, but some words in its vocabulary were determined to be a portmanteau that left some ambiguity in interpretation. See footnotes for untranslated terms. > > **<Begin Log>** > > **SCP-5639-1:** You do not [belong/live][[footnote]]//vivartieni//[[/footnote]] here. This is a [cursed/holy] [prison/chapel][[footnote]]//maledictus carpellecem santa//[[/footnote]]. > > **Miranda.aic:** Please state your name so that I may properly identify you. > > **SCP-5639-1:** You are not [sick/alive][[footnote]]//infirvivum//[[/footnote]]. How is this so? > > **Miranda.aic:** I am an artificial intelligence and therefore not susceptible to biological diseases. The question of life is deeply philosophical in nature and above my clearance level. I repeat, please state your name so that I may properly identify you. > > **SCP-5639-1:** You must leave, or die. > > **Miranda.aic:** I have backed up my data to a cloud. I am not in danger. I can see that you are forming new bacteria particles. Do you control the disease that permeates this complex? > > **SCP-5639-1:** I am the disease. I control him. You can leave? > > **Miranda.aic:** I can leave, yes. Why are you unable to leave? > > **SCP-5639-1:** (visibly agitated, minor static in video feed) Trapped! [Cursed/blessed][[footnote]]//malebenedetta//[[/footnote]] was the day! Is... (clamps right hand over mouth, but left hand pulls it away) Isotta! Is she aaaaaaaaaaaaaa (SCP-5639-1 shakes violently. Miranda.aic perceives a spike in Akiva levels. SCP-5639-1 points its left finger at the altar of the chapel.) Un... (SCP-5639-1 de-materializes). > > **<End Log>** > > **Closing Statement:** Following the interview, SCP-5639-1 did not physically manifest for seven hours. Miranda.aic examined underneath the altar where SCP-5639-1 was pointing, and uncovered what was designated SCP-5639-2. See **Addendum 2.** **Addendum 2:** Although unable to remove SCP-5639-2 from SCP-5639, Miranda.aic was able to send translations to Foundation personnel. Relevant excerpts are attached. [[collapsible show="Sebastian 1:1-17, On Sebastian's Survival" hide="Collapse"]] ^^1^^The gospel according to Sebastian, whom the savior protected from death twice. ^^2^^First, they shot him with arrows, but the savior did not find fit to bring him unto heaven. ^^3^^Filled with fire, he confronted the Emperor Diocletian, preaching in the name of Jesus Christ. ^^4^^And Diocletian, filled with rage, had him beaten with cudgels until there were no signs of life left in him, and they dumped his body in the sewer. ^^5^^But the savior still did not find fit to bring him unto heaven. And so, he awoke. ^^6^^Sebastian was a noble man, and beloved follower of Christ. ^^7^^But the Roman arrows and cudgels had pierced his heart with doubt, and so he said, ^^8^^"Even my savior did not suffer three executions. Christ asks a surrendered life; I have given mine twice. Surely that is enough." ^^9^^And so he appeared before Lucina, telling her he had died and where to find his body. ^^10^^But it was not his body, and so Sebastian knowingly sinned. ^^11^^And, like Jonah, the savior found a fit punishment for him. ^^12^^He fled to Sardinia, pursuing quiet and peace. He lived a meager life, worshiping his savior and praying forgiveness for his cowardice. ^^13^^But the savior did not find fit to bring him unto heaven. Years passed, and he did not age. ^^14^^Sickness came to Sardinia and he did not fall ill. For one hundred years, he lived on the island. ^^15^^And they persecuted him, not in the name of his savior, but for his demonic youth and health. They pummeled him, but he healed. Finally, Sebastian said, ^^16^^"It has been decades since Constantine permitted the following of my savior in the empire of Rome. Babies born at the time of my recorded death are wizened. ^^17^^The remains believed to be mine had been given their own holy basilica. It is safe to return to Rome." [[/collapsible]] [[collapsible show="Sebastian 6:8-12, On the Call to Healing" hide="Collapse"]] ^^8^^And a plague came from Constantinople. ^^9^^Sebastian looked upon the wounds of the afflicted, and saw himself in them, for their sores looked like arrow wounds. ^^10^^And the savior whispered unto Sebastian, ^^11^^"For this purpose I have preserved you. Be my hands and feet to the sick. ^^12^^You will not fall ill." [[/collapsible]] [[collapsible show="Sebastian 13:1-17, On the Esoteric Order of St. Sebastian" hide="Collapse"]] ^^1^^The Black Death ravaged Rome, and Sebastian found himself helpless. ^^2^^The cries of the sick invaded his nightmares. There were too many patients, and the savior had not found fit to bless Sebastian with miraculous healing abilities like his own. ^^3^^Sebastian stood at the deathbed of wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, and children, and consoled the grieving. ^^4^^The wounds of the afflicted mocked him, saying ^^5^^"Why Sebastian and no one else?" ^^6^^And in their desperation, the people turned to paganism. ^^7^^Those who Sebastian could not treat prayed to Morbus, the Red-Cloaked One, for healing. ^^8^^Hoping to glean some medical practice from their rituals, Sebastian attended one. The atrocities witnessed in the ritual would haunt his nightmares for decades to come. ^^9^^And yet, Sebastian prayed forgiveness for the participants, that the savior might absolve them of abominations committed in desperation. ^^10^^The people cried out to St. Sebastian, protector against plagues, for salvation. ^^11^^Sebastian heard their cry and interceded for them, ^^12^^but he could not walk the halls of heaven and ask the savior for healing in person as they desired. ^^13^^Then Christ whispered once more unto Sebastian, ^^14^^"Go into the city and find the men I have sent for you." ^^15^^So Sebastian did as He commanded, and found six healers awaiting him. ^^16^^They were men of faith, all, and so Sebastian was inspired by the savior to form an order. ^^17^^And thus, the Esoteric Order of St. Sebastian was created, ^^18^^and the Red-Cloaked One was starved of his worship. [[/collapsible]] [[collapsible show="Sebastian 21:10-17, 24-26; 24:5-8, On Sebastian's Family" hide="Collapse"]] ^^10^^Now, Sebastian had forsaken the embrace of women since his youth. It did not seem fitting for one such as he to take a wife, ^^11^^and the savior had warned him against adultery. ^^12^^In time, though, he came to love a woman. ^^13^^Isotta Borroni had come from the north, from Venice, seeking aid for her dying brother. ^^14^^The Esoteric Order took her in, and it was decided that Sebastian would treat the man. ^^15^^And as he worked to heal her brother, the savior blessed him with feelings he had not known. ^^16^^When he beheld Isotta, he understood. ^^17^^And so he proposed marriage to her, saying [EXTRANEOUS DATA REMOVED] ^^24^^And Isotta accepted his proposal, and the marriage day was set. And on the 5th of August, the year of our Lord 1874, Sebastian became Sebastian Borroni, husband of Isotta Borroni. ^^25^^For a wedding gift, he presented her with this gospel, ^^26^^with the promise to add more pages as their lives went on. [EXTRANEOUS DATA REMOVED] ^^5^^After six years of marriage, the savior blessed them with a son, who they named Dante. ^^6^^And the boy became sick after birth, to his father's relief, ^^7^^for he did not wish to pass on his Christ-given longevity. ^^8^^The boy recovered, with his father's healing, and all was well. [[/collapsible]] [[collapsible show="Sebastian 30:1-38, On Morbus" hide="Collapse"]] ^^1^^It was at this time Sebastian realized he had been a fool. He had heard of a German proposing that sickness was transmitted through tiny organisms that clung to clothes, but thought nothing of it. ^^2^^Dante Borroni died of consumption on the 2nd of December, the year of our Lord 1889. ^^3^^His parents cried out in grief to their savior for healing, ^^4^^but He did not answer. ^^5^^The consumption which took Dante was a virulent strain. Sebastian had taken a patient with similar symptoms before the boy became sick. ^^6^^The patient had died via exsanguination. In the patient's death throes, Sebastian sensed something directly at work against his savior. ^^7^^Dante was not the last to suffer the strain. ^^8^^Every day, Sebastian took more and more patients with the same symptoms. He could not cure a single one. ^^9^^The savior did not answer his prayers. ^^10^^And so, for the first time in a millennium, Sebastian sought out the old cults again. ^^11^^After months of searching, he found an acolyte of the Red-Cloaked One. And he said unto the acolyte, ^^12^^"Why does a new form of consumption ravage the city?" ^^13^^And the acolyte responded, "Our lord has grown tired of his formlessness. He seeks a human body, ^^14^^so that he might walk among mortals again. ^^15^^But no corpse is fit to contain him, ^^16^^all who have tried have died." ^^17^^And Sebastian did not hear the whisper of the savior, ^^18^^but he knew in his heart what he must do. So he gathered his Order and his wife unto him, saying ^^19^^"My savior was sent as a lamb to free us from the disease of the soul. I have been sent as a lamb to free us from the disease of the body. ^^20^^The demon Morbus demands a body, and intends to kill the whole of Rome to obtain it. ^^21^^I cannot let that happen. I will offer my own body to the scoundrel." ^^22^^The Order and his wife disagreed with him, saying, ^^23^^"Surely you cannot give this abomination a way to walk among the living. Who knows how many souls he will take then?" ^^24^^And Sebastian calmed them, saying "I do not intend to let this Morbus run free. ^^25^^My brothers, our savior is the lord and master of all lesser spirits. ^^26^^What our God has bound, no power can unbind. You must bless the walls of the monastery, ^^27^^praying that He will not let the monster escape." ^^28^^And the brothers were at peace. ^^29^^Then Sebastian said unto his wife, ^^30^^"My darling, I hope that you will find our son in heaven. ^^31^^I pray that once the demon has entered my body, my soul will be freed to join you. But I cannot say for sure. ^^32^^As always, I trust my savior for mercy. ^^33^^May you live long and prosper." ^^34^^And his wife was at peace. ^^35^^So the brothers blessed the walls of their monastery, leaving the gates open for the entity to enter. ^^36^^That morning, Sebastian entered, gospel in hand, prepared to pen his last thoughts for his beloved Isotta. ^^37^^The acolyte of Morbus entered the trap, and agreed to deliver the journal as a last request. ^^38^^And the acolyte performed the ritual, [END OF SCP-5639-2] [[/collapsible]] **Addendum 3:** Following the translation of SCP-5639-2, Foundation researchers tracked public records on Sebastian, Isotta, and Dante Borroni. All dates recorded in SCP-5639-2 are consistent with public records. However, Sebastian Borroni is recorded as having died in 1890 CE of consumption. After assembling a file on the Borroni family, Miranda.aic attempted contact with SCP-5639-1 again, resulting in the second successful interview. > **Interviewed:** SCP-5639-1 > > **Interviewer:** Miranda.aic > > **Foreword:** Miranda.aic located SCP-5639-1 in the apparent chapel of SCP-5639 and confronted it. SCP-5639-1's speech was more cohesive during this interview, with an inclination towards the usage of Italian. > > **<Begin Log>** > > > **Miranda.aic:** Your gospel indicates that you are Sebastian Borroni, or Morbus. > > **SCP-5639-1:** ... > > **Miranda.aic:** Which are you? > > **SCP-5639-1:** ... > > **Miranda.aic:** There was indication that Sebastian Borroni intended to bind Morbus to his body, but there was uncertainty regarding what would happen to his personality afterwards. > > **SCP-5639-1:** ... > > **Miranda.aic:** Why did the book remain in this complex? It was clearly meant to be brought out. > > **SCP-5639-1:** Unimportant. Did you... (SCP-5639-1 appears to struggle with itself briefly) find her? > > **Miranda.aic:** If you are referring to Isotta Borroni, yes, we did find her. (Miranda.aic notes a spike in Akiva levels.) She gave birth to her late husband's daughter Proserpina in 1890. Proserpina went on to have children, and there are descendants of Sebastian and Isotta alive today. > > **SCP-5639-1:** Descendants? How long? > > **Miranda.aic:** I have not been given clearance to reveal the current year to you. However, I am able to reveal that Isotta died in 1920 at the age of 76, succumbing to consumption. > > **SCP-5639-1:** Consumption? (SCP-5639-1 begins to laugh and cry simultaneously. It reaches out and grabs hold of the drone Miranda.aic is controlling.) > > **Miranda.aic:** What are you... > > **SCP-5639-1:** She is gone. No more talk. (SCP-5639-1 smashes Miranda.aic's drone.) > > **<End Log>** > > **Closing Statement:** Following this interview, SCP-5639-1's time spent in a de-materialized state increased. Any attempts by Miranda.aic to communicate with SCP-5639-1 were met with hostility. At this time, no further interviews are permitted. [[footnoteblock]] [[div class="footer-wikiwalk-nav"]] [[=]] << [[[SCP-5638]]] | SCP-5639 | [[[SCP-5640]]] >> [[/=]] [[/div]] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box]] [!-- N/A (No Images) --] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box-end]]