Article: SCP-062-PT – Last Qualia
Author: Proto550 Proto550
Translator: JazonRM JazonRM
Aval: Vintner2 Vintner2 e slashannemoo slashannemoo
"We live as we dream... alone."
- Joseph Conrad
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Special Containment Procedures: The mount where SCP-062-PT is located has been fenced off to prevent civilians from entering. A stationary research team is located near the anomaly under the disguise of government geologists. Any civil records regarding SCP-062-PT and its anomalous properties must be located and destroyed, if they exist.
Tests carried out with SCP-062-PT must occur a maximum of three times a month, with authorization from the current head of research. Individuals employed in the experiments must undergo screening at the Psychology Department of Site PT17 prior to the tests, to be considered suitable for them.
The whereabouts of Diego Monteiro Cavalcante are being investigated.
Description: SCP-062-PT is an anomaly present in a mount located near the city of █████████, Minas Gerais, approximately 750 meters high relative to sea level.
At the top of the mount, which presents an abnormal absence of plant life, there is a single tree approximately 20 meters high, with a cadaver apparently in the beginning of skeletonization sitting next to the tree. To date, the body's decay has not occurred since its discovery by the Foundation. The cadaver is also fixed in its position and cannot be moved by external influence, with only the skull moving sporadically when the anomalous properties of SCP-062-PT are activated.
When SCP-062-PT's tree comes into contact with human tears or blood, they will be readily absorbed by its bark. Five minutes later, the cadaver's eye sockets, missing eyes, will begin to produce a random substance that has varying effects over a period of 5 to 10 minutes, between 25 to 50 ml.
Note: For the sake of brevity, only a few experiments will be described here. For full access to the experiments, contact the doctor responsible for the project.
The testing of substances produced in animals occurred as expected, without adverse effects. Testing with Class-D personnel approved by the Ethics Committee of Site PT17. Electronically signed by Dr. Júlia Cardoso Beltrão, member of the Committee.
Test #: 003
Subject: D-9068, a healthy 29 year old man.
Substance used: Tears.
Result: The cadaver produced a dark blue viscous substance, composed primarily of acetylsalicylic acid and lithium carbonate, in addition to small amounts of compounds currently used in amnestics. Substance sent to Site PT10 for a more in-depth analysis. Individuals in contact with the substance reported no changes, nor were any changes observed in the test subject.
Test #: 018
Subject: D-4692, a woman with chronic depression.
Substance used: Blood, from an incision made in the individual's index finger.
Result: The cadaver produced a slightly greenish transparent liquid, composed of water, table salt and traces of risperidone. The substance remains at a temperature of 55 °C, regardless of attempts to change it by cooling or boiling. When in physical contact with individuals, they report feelings of nostalgia and a recurring desire to visit specific places and people. D-4692 was observed but did not exhibit any of these effects before or after testing.
Test #: 035
Subject: D-5014, a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Substance used: Tears.
Result: A completely white substance was produced with no compounds yet known. Individuals who came into contact with the substance had lucid dreams for a week, involving past events, but with changes caused by the presence of SCP-062-PT's cadaver, which presented advice to affected individuals. It was also stated that the cadaver gave the impression of being a long-time friend of the individuals.
Observation: Current testing guidance prohibits test subjects who "supply" their fluids to the tree from coming into contact with the substances subsequently produced. In all cases observed, the subjects report symptoms of severe stress, supposedly caused by premonitory lucid dreams, in addition to insomnia. To avoid errors in the observations of test subjects, they must have no contact with each other, in addition to no contact with the individual used to activate the properties of the anomaly. Electronically signed by Dr. Alberto Guimarães da Silva, current Head Researcher of SCP-062-PT.
SCP-062-PT was discovered in 1998, after several reports in the region of [REDACTED] regarding a "miracle-work body" that "guarded the blood and tears of sufferers", which was even reported as a form of local folklore, in addition to the production of an amateur documentary and several cases reported in the local news, which were later discredited as sensationalist media, in addition to hiding the location of the anomaly. The Foundation, after discovering the anomaly, began an investigation into its origins, which led to the individual named Diego Monteiro Cavalcante. He turned to Foundation officials who were acting under the guise of anthropologists in the city for possible leads on concrete information about SCP-062-PT.
Interview Transcription
Date: 01/11/1998
Interviewer: Officer Álvaro Saboia das Neves
Interviewed: Diego Monteiro Cavalcante
[BEGIN LOG]
Officer Álvaro: Thank you very much for receiving me, Diego, I imagine you have something for me. It's kind of difficult to hear so many things about the same subject and come up with a good conclusion.
Mr. Cavalcante: There's nothing to thank me for. In fact, I'm doing this more because of someone else's request than because of my own will. Still, in a way, I think it's important.
Officer Álvaro: Right. So let's get start. What do you want to tell me first?
Mr. Cavalcante: To begin with, I met that cadaver they talk about so much here when they remember the mount. He was my friend. At least I think so.
Officer Álvaro: Do you think?
Mr. Cavalcante: Yes, he was a rather eccentric young man. He showed little of what he felt about other people, be it friendship or repulsion. I met him about five years before he died.
Officer Álvaro: I understand. What do you think made him act that way?
Mr. Cavalcante: He spent a lot of time alone. When he came to the city, no one knew who he was, what he did and what his intentions were. He felt isolated, I think. So much so that most of the time he wasn't busy, he liked to sit on the mound where he is now buried. Despite not speaking much, he worked and fulfilled his obligations like anyone else. Still, there was something strange about him.
Officer Álvaro: And what was it?
Mr. Cavalcante: He had a different aura or energy, whatever you want to call it. I think that's what made me interested in him. Most people have that classic fear of someone just by looking at them, even without a reasonable justification, but I had a certain curiosity when I saw him. It was as if he understood things in a way that only he could, while keeping it to himself.
Officer Álvaro: And this curiosity of yours made you approach him. I imagine he must have found it strange that someone would do that all of a sudden.
Mr. Cavalcante: Oh, undoubtedly. At first, he looked at me strangely when I tried to talk to him. Only after months did he talk to me about anything, since I seemed to be the only one at his work who didn't look at him with certain reservations.
Officer Álvaro: I know this question will sound uncomfortable, and it's okay if you don't want to answer, but can you tell me how he died?
Mr. Cavalcante sighs, gets up, takes a paper from a drawer on his desk, comes back and sits down.
Mr. Cavalcante: Honestly, it was the strangest three months of my life. After going to his house for some time, I had a little understanding of why he was the way he was. He liked to be a distant observer of people, he had a huge curiosity about why people did the things they did. It made him feel really different from the rest.
But… I don't think he expected that he would suffer the same fate as all the other men. He was diagnosed with very advanced cancer. And what scared me most about him was his reaction. He didn't despair, much less cried. He had an extremely neutral reaction, it was as if he had heard from the doctor that the rain was heavy that day.
Officer Álvaro: Really, it's a bit strange. And what did he do afterwards?
Mr. Cavalcante: He started to become a little more talkative with the people around him, including me. But it remained the same, in general. He also never sought treatment, he thought it was a waste of time, as if there was something he had to do, before even thinking that he would die one day.
The abrupt change only happened three days before he died. That day, he called me to his house on an afternoon when it was raining heavily. In this situation, I thought it was something important and emergency. But he just wanted company to walk up the mount. To be quite honest, I thought he was delusional, but as he insisted, I thought it would be better to go with him.
Officer Álvaro: So you went to the mount, right. And what happened there?
Mr. Cavalcante: The rain decreased a little as we climbed. He sat on a tree there, the biggest one there was, in fact. He started looking at the grass and saying, "You know, maybe this is the only thing that’s been worth it all this time." And I didn't understand anything he was saying. He continued: "Having a place to go." It was the only time I saw him smile and cry.
That same night, he stayed in bed and never got up. He died two days later. As the local cemetery was having some space problems, I got permission to bury him at the foot of that same tree. I even wrote something for him to say at the funeral.
Mr. Cavalcante hands the paper to Officer Álvaro.
Mr. Cavalcante: At the end of the day, It ended up that only I went to his funeral. There he stayed the same way he lived, I think.
Officer Álvaro: And why are you telling me all this?
Mr. Cavalcante: I think that's what he would like to happen, someone who would listen to him.
Officer Álvaro: I understand. Well, I think you really enlightened me a little. Now I need to go, have a good day.
[END LOG]
Days after the interview with the subject, the area of the anomaly was searched with the aim of finding the tomb described. Although a grave was found, it was empty, with the exception of a faded shirt, which had a hole in the chest area with a small amount of dried blood. A week later, out of sight of the research group, the shirt manifested itself as being worn by the cadaver in the tree. When contacted for further clarification, Mr. Cavalcante could not be found.
Today may be a day like any other, but it is also a day you would like to see. Cloudy and close to rain, as was your style.
Sometimes, someone's presence doesn't need to be sonorous or truculent to be felt. The silence of some people is more than enough for others to see you, even in a large crowd. Observing people like this is difficult, meeting them is a privilege. You always tried to remember the things that made you do what you did, even when there was nothing to do at the table where you worked, or even when I talked to you at your house.
I knew you had something inside you that moved you to be the way you were, but you ended up keeping it until the end of your days. Now, I think I understand what it was: you just wanted to understand yourself, as well as being able to give something to people with your search, and I feel like you achieved that, in your last moments.
I wish I could thank you for your company. To be quite honest, speaking now, it doesn't seem like it was five years, but a lifetime. I'm sorry I was late, didn't take the gun out of your hand and talk some sense into that strange head of yours.
Your silence will be a happy memory, echoing the sound of eternal bitterness.
Addendum: After extensive testing, a pattern of effects of the substances produced by SCP-062-PT's cadaver was discovered.
When the properties of the anomaly were activated by people with psychiatric disorders, the substance produced had mnestic properties when ingested, restoring specific memories to those who ingested it in 95% of cases.
Currently, these substances are being studied at Site PT17, as they show promise for use in combating amnestic effects, whether caused by anomalies or produced synthetically.
PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SITE PT17
APPLIED CONTAINMENT DIVISION
Based on psychiatric analyzes carried out with Class-D's used to report psychological effects of substances produced by SCP-062-PT, theories were developed regarding the nature of the memories restored in the specified cases, with which the following conclusions were reached:
The memories restored in the reported cases are not 100% accurate and real. In all cases, individuals claim that the cadaver related to SCP-062-PT is present in these memories, introducing itself into them in various ways. In them, it is represented as an extremely emaciated humanoid, very similar to the state of the cadaver, but demonstrating sapience and sentience.
In these memories, the humanoid appears to be aware of its location, stating to individuals that it is "fulfilling a role in reconstructing the past", including reporting that it knows of the existence of the Foundation through the tests carried out. Its appearance in these memories is temporary, for a maximum of a month. Later, individuals will report that the humanoid was never in their memories.
Methods of communicating with the humanoid during its period of appearance are currently being thought of.
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