Hey everyone, it's Pacific and welcome back to another episode of SCP Archives. Just as a heads up, this is part two of SCP-2521. If you haven't already listened to part one, make sure you go back and do that first. And if you already have... Stay tuned, strap in, and get ready for this week's episode. First, just a couple of quick announcements. You can get ad-free episodes and bonus episodes on our Patreon at patreon.com.
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John P. Roberts Research Library. Second floor. July 24th, 2015. 2.58pm. So, how did you do all that? Do what? Gee, I don't know. Draw a magic circle that would stop it from seeing us? Throw ice and lightning out of your fingertips? It's in my job description. You're the chief librarian. You have the same academic background that I do. And knowing how to make magic circles that defend against rampaging horrors is not in the job description. I mean my other job. What are you, uh...
Part-time wizard or something? Keep your voice down. The word we use is Thalmaturge. This isn't Dungeons and Dragons. Who's we? A clandestine three-letter organization that keeps shit like this out of the public eye. I'm one of their undercover agents. Bullshit. I'm completely serious. It's called the SCP Foundation. Our motto is Secure, Contain, Protect.
The Foundation. So, it's not Dungeons and Dragons. It's, uh, what then? The Axe Files? Fringe? Yeah, and H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Chambers, Stephen King. Jesus. Hey, if all of this is true, should you even be telling me this? It doesn't matter what I tell you. When we're done with you, you won't remember any of it anyway. What do you mean I won't remember it? Since we're on a roll with pop culture references, we're the fucking men in black.
The Foundation will wipe the memory of the last few hours from every civilian in this place. We use memory-destroying drugs to sanitize minds exposed to this kind of shit all the time. Does that make me Will Smith? I'm serious, Monty. I can't believe this. I don't want to lose my memory. Believe it. The silver lining is that you'll be able to go back to your old life like nothing happened. If you survive.
Here's a secret room in your office hidden behind a bookcase? Keep your voice down. I don't want my colleagues knowing about this. Can't decide if that's predictable or just downright cliche. It's definitely cliche. But sometimes the best solutions are the most obvious. Get in here. Holy shit! Nice sword! Oh, you're such a nerd. Calm down. Chief librarian calling somebody a nerd. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I need to make a call. Pull that lever there, please.
This is Special Agent Patricia Demers. Identification number, Lima, uniform, Romeo Kilo Delta 2015. I need to speak to Dr. Thoreau, Novel Anomalies, Site 201. It's urgent. I'll say. Quiet! Stand by. Andy, this is Patty. Hi, Patty. How's academic life treating you? Not well. We have a situation. Go on. I'm hiding in my office right now. An anomalous entity has attacked the Robarts Library.
The veil of secrecy has been severely compromised. We need an immediate communication blackout for the entire region in full containment of the campus. I think you mean that you want us to turn off communications for the campus? No, the region. The entire city of Toronto. You're talking about cutting off comms for three million people. The administration won't allow it. Listen to me. Hundreds of students are trapped in the Robarts Library building.
Every one of them have a cell phone and I have no idea if any of them managed to capture video of this thing. There's been some damage to the building but the power is still on and I bet the computer network is still online. Civilian first responders are definitely on their way, and when they get here, they're going to find a library that has been magically sealed in stone. If we don't shut down communication services, we have no chance of preventing a lifted veil scenario.
We need to black out the city of Toronto right now. Radio, cellular, internet, the landline phones, everything, Andy. Right now. Okay. I trust your judgment. I'll bring this to the director. Thank you. What are we dealing with? I'm not entirely sure, but there's a weird... anomalous book involved. I'm worried it could be info-hazardous.
I recommend pulling all the security tapes from the library network before you shut down comms. Pay special attention to the 10th floor and the St. George Street Library. Alright. If the blackout is approved, we'll ring your secure phone before we cut communications. I've already messaged our rapid response teams. Upsilon-20 is on the way. Good luck. Stay safe. July 24th, 2015. 3.15 p.m. Dr. Coleman? Ah, it's a row. How's your work going? Slow and tedious.
Restrictions on time spent inside the anomaly are really hampering the field team's ability to collect meaningful data. Put that one aside for now. Ross has an urgent task for you, and I think it'll be right up your alley. There was an... Hell yeah! You know I love murder monsters. I copied the relevant footage onto this disc for you. Try not to get any drool on it. Can you give me your rundown? I don't know much about it.
It attacked the Robarts Library at U of T. Agent on site asked for a comms blackout for the whole city. Chat bad, huh? Robarts? Isn't that where Petrucia Demers was assigned? Yeah. She's our agent in the field. We went through orientation together before she went off to study at Bormaturgy. If you talk to her again, tell her Sven says hi. I will. Just start a new file and get as much information into it as you can.
We need to centralize our data so it can be updated when additional information comes in from the field. Awesome. I'll get right on it. Do we have an item number yet? Yeah. 2521. Oh. One more thing. What is it? Patty told me there may be an info-hazardous element to this thing. Something about an anomalous book. See if you can identify it. Gotcha. Doctor Thoreau. Dr. Coleman, I've got to take this. You have everything you need? Yeah, I'm good. I'll talk to you later. See ya.
Let's get started. Item number SCP-2521. Object clash pending. Special containment procedures. I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. Let's have a look at this footage. Let's take notes. Where did I put my microphone? This is researcher Sven Coleman of Site 201. I'm reviewing footage of an unknown anomaly at request of the novel Anomalies Research Lead, Dr. Emerson.
Your new anomaly has been assigned item number 2521. This is my first time viewing the footage. Okay, let's see what we got here. Looks like shakrati footage of the inside of the library. There's a smartly dressed individual of indeterminate gender pushing a book filled cart down on the island. Man, look at that vest. Definitely a librarian. Ooh, boy. Evidence of antokinetics, of thaumaturgy. A wet book appears out of thin air and lands on the librarian's cart.
That must be our info-hazardous book. Leather-bound gold stitching. Title, Creaking at the Seals. Author's name is invisible. Librarian doesn't notice it appear, but... Here should land. You see it, grab it, and walk away. Okay, they're coming back. Spend your while reading the book alone. Doesn't bode well for you, if that thing's info-hazardous, my endogenous friend. Okay. Just as they finish reading, the bad guy steps right out of the wall. Horsham.
There's a weird pulse as the creature emerges. Books thrown everywhere. Librarian stumbles away. Atomic backlash, maybe. Librarian just takes right off. Description. A humanoid entity, aged ten feet tall, wrapped head to toe in flat black tendrils that ripple out of it in waves. Creepy bastard. The tendrils kind of remind me of electrical tape. What is that?
Man, this job is weird enough as it is without things going bump in the light. Okay, so the librarian noticed she's the monster. It reaches out for them. The creature's hands have long fingers covered in some kind of adhesive mucus, possibly ectoplasm. SCP-2521 is able to walk through walls or... otherwise manifest out of flat surfaces. Oh, man. Look how long we're going to keep this thing locked down. Okay. We'll eliminate any containment procedures.
library cards yes I didn't eat yet for my work you just go ahead Hey everyone, Pacific here with a quick ad break and a reminder. For just $5 a month, you can get early and ad-free access to all of our episodes by visiting our Patreon at patreon.com slash scp. There's also a link to our Patreon in the show notes below. Up next, a quick message from our sponsors. All right, thanks so much for listening. And now, back to the show. You okay, Monty? Yeah, just kind of got the shakes is all.
It's not every day you're attacked by a horrible jet black monster writhing with tentacles. It's the adrenaline wearing off. You'll be okay. How are your hands? Better now that I've got some gauze and ointment on them. I'll recover. Thanks for asking. What do you think it is? I have no idea. I feel like I know. Or I knew something about it. But I can't remember it.
You couldn't possibly know anything about it. Unless there's something you're not telling me. I don't think so. My head is kind of foggy right now. What's up with this room? What is all this stuff? This is a safe room. Our organization deals with a lot of nasty shit. It's helpful to have a place to hide. And to keep sensitive stuff we don't want random people to see. Like the sword? Exactly. Where does it come from?
Is it real? Hell yeah, it's real. It's a genuine crusader sword from the 14th century. It's in great condition, too. Don't touch it. Nice! I wrote an awesome paper on the Crusades in first year. Hey, what's all this? Just the regular stuff you find in a thaumaturge's private collection. Books full of esoteric knowledge.
Spell catalysts and more than a few tools for identifying and analyzing anomalous things. Anything that would help with our monster? What's in this case? Please don't touch that. It's heavy. What is it? That's a Veritas Resonance Imager. Careful with it. They cost a fortune. Here. That looks kind of like something out of Johnny Pneumonic. You're not far off.
It isn't virtual reality, though. It allows the user to see the Eve emitted by living beings. What's Eve? Well, living beings emit Elan Vital Energy, or Eve for short. You can learn a lot about something by the type of Eve energy it emits. For example, here, put it on. There we go. What do you see? Just the room. My hands are glowing. They look kind of red.
Is that the, um... Elan Vital Energy. Yours is blue. Magic users give off a blue signature on the VRI. What do you think that creature would look like on this thing? I suspect that it's thematic, actually, so it'll probably be blue, too. Huh. Say, do you think I could learn to use magic? Hold that thought. That must be Ross calling to update me on the blackout. Demers.
Patty, Andy Thoreau here. I have some new information. I'm listening. Dr. Sven Coleman is dead. Sven? No! He says hi, by the way. Fuck, how did this happen? He was attacked in the computer lab after I gave him the security footage from the library attack. Wait, he was killed by the new anomaly? Yes. Coleman was taking notes on the security footage at the time, preparing a file for the database.
The lab was destroyed. His computer is also missing. Does that mean what I think it means? Yes. There is an info hazard here, but it's not that weird book. It's the other thing. Ross has some D-class lined up to see if you can learn anything about its triggers. I'll call you again when I know more. Wait a minute, Andy. Monty and I have been talking about the creature for the last few minutes, and it hasn't... Oh, shit! It's coming! Get the door open! Don't run
Zem. What? It's something I remember. Z's non-binary. Like me. How do you know that? I'm not sure. I think I read it somewhere. The anomalous book, did you read it? Was there anything else in it about the monster? I... I'm not sure what you're talking about. Damn it, we need to get it back. Follow me. on the table in the second study room on the left. You won't be able to see it. Look for it with your hands. Go. I'll buy us some time. Woda miestu.
That door won't hold some for long. I remember now. I remember what I read. I can't stop me. Sure, I... He's coming. Let's go. If you remember anything that can help us, now's the time. Uh, uh, okay. Um, their name is T-A-Aid. Uh, their name... wizard. Uh, the story is Tiaga's memory of Zara last moments before becoming deathly.
Hopefully it's Hogtown Garrison. We need to stay alive long enough for them to help us. Monty, look out! Shit! Quickly, is there anything else you remember? Anything about weaknesses? Anything we can exploit? Uh, Z? Had a meeting? with someone named Percival Dark, one of their rivals. Zee mentioned that someone was using iron trains and irilite bullets to keep their people at bay. Iron and irilite? Holy shit, I think I know what Zee is. Zee's allergic to iron.
That's exactly what we needed. You gonna fill me in? There's no time. We need to get downstairs and try to link up with Hogtown Garrison. Fuck. I wish I had this info sooner. Their default loadout isn't gonna cut it. Sorry. You were the Hog... Salon 20, a mobile task force, Foundation Special Forces. Think they can kill this thing? Unlikely, but they might be able to get us the hell out of here. They'll probably try to breach the building on the ground floor. We've got to reach them.
City of Toronto, July 24th, 2015, 3.40 p.m. Listen up, team! We're on our way to the John P. Robarts Research Library! of the University of Toronto. There's been a major incident there and an active... entrances with stone, trapping civilians and Foundation Special Agent Patricia Demers inside. Building is sealed. Awesome. You know what that means. It's a breaching clear, baby. My favorite. Booyah. The anomaly is secondary.
What can you tell us about the structure? It's a big, ugly-ass building with a triangular footprint 100 meters to a side. There are 14 floors... Our HUDs are already equipped with the layout. Jeez, it's never easy. You want easy? I hear JTF2 is looking for recruits. is hazardous to the health of the people providing it. So it's a we'd tell you, but it'd kill us situation. Exactly. You'll recognize the anomaly when you see it.
If we do encounter it, expect to be administered Type-C amnestics after the mission to prevent pre-emergence. If needed, the VRIs built into our optics will help identify the... target but be aware that our agent is a thaumaturge and will show up blue as well use of lethal force is authorized but there's a lot of potential for collateral damage so
Check your targets. If any of you shoot a civilian or our agent, I will personally break your fucking balls. Are bullets even gonna work on this thing? No clue. We might have to get creative. Life would be so much easier if things would just die when we shoot them. Seriously. Coming in low over St. George Street. There's the building.
Oh, Christ. Looks like a fucking turkey or something. I think it's supposed to look like a peacock. If that's a peacock, it's the ugliest one I've ever seen. It's called brutalist architecture in YAM. It's not supposed to be pretty. We've entered the AO. Fast rope in 10 seconds. Look alive, team. Check your gear and prepare for deployment. VRIs online. Fire team one is go for deployment. Keep your weapons tight Stack up Set charges Deploying charges Breaching charges Ready up Ready Breach
and clear. Go. Jesus, this place is amazing. Site 201, Medical Wing. Room 105. July 26th, 2015. 6.01pm. How are they doing? Same as ever. Procedure went okay, I guess. Me too, but sometimes it's the best way to protect everyone. Are you sure Class C was the way to go? It's pretty unusual to insist on surgical memory removal in a case like this. They earned it.
Last thing they did was try to copy the creature's own magic. They pulled it off, sort of. Talk about a Hail Mary. I'm not sure how they did it. Sure, technically anyone can use magic, but I never thought watching me trade blows with their adversary would be enough for them to learn how to do it themselves. Smart kid. Oh, sure. It was a pretty game-changing gamble.
Innovative, even. Channeling a thalmic pulse into a sword thrust? I'd say it was brilliant, but dumbass over here didn't know you can't just throw magic like that around without bracing for the backlash. We almost lost them. Newton's third law is a callous bastard. You can say that again. Broke both their legs and every single one of their ribs. They're lucky they didn't end up paralyzed or smashed their own head in. That's why you let them keep most of their memories?
The experience was traumatic for them, I'm sure, but they really stepped up. And this win wouldn't have been possible without their help. They deserve to remember how hard they fought. Even if they don't remember what they were fighting against.
We need more people like Monty. You sure they're going to want to join us after everything that happened? They had the courage to rush something with a sword that couldn't be taken down by bullets. They did it to protect me, Epsilon 20, and the other students who were still fleeing the building. They're definitely one of us, and I want them beside me when I go back to Robards. Any idea why the sword worked? Are you familiar with the unnamed children? I can't say that I am.
Around a century ago, in the early 20th century, there were a group of... let's call them magical humans. There was a terrible catastrophe. I'm sure the Foundation has records of it, but it's way above my pay grade. Anyway, they lost their names. The survivors reside inside the forest behind the red brick chimney. Do yourself a favor and don't look it up or try to talk about it. It requires special training to avoid ruining your life with a nomenclative hazard.
Look up protocol 4000 Ishu if you have the clearance. Anyway, they lost their names, which to them was like losing their souls. They were deathly allergic to iron. I think we were dealing with a survivor. The sword Monty was carrying is a relic of the Crusades from the 14th century. It's made of steel, technically, but it's over 90% iron. Did Monty know that? I think so. As you rightly pointed out, they're smart as hell.
They told me about the iron after reading it in that damn book. They probably also noticed how effective the sword was the first time they swung it. Incredible. We'll have to see what they actually want when they wake up, of course. There's no telling what they'll want to do. If they decide to go back to civilian life, the rest of their memories of the incident will need to be erased. Monty, you okay, buddy? My head.
Where are we? In a safe place, a hospital. Did we win? Yeah, Monty, we won. How long has it been? Two days. Shit. There's something wrong with my head. I remember everything that happened, but not whatever that thing was. It was an info hazard. Everyone involved had their memories wiped so that it can't come after us anymore. We remember certain details, but not what the creature itself was like. It's very dangerous. Is it dead? I don't think so. No.
But it can't hurt us anymore. Okay. I can live with that, I guess. Shit. Did I really use magic? You did. You're type blue now, like me. You haven't risen to the level of an actual Thalmaturge yet, but you have the potential. Wow. I'll say, you surprised everybody. And your bravery saved a lot of lives. I just didn't know what else to do. I had the sword, and I was still wearing the VRI, and I saw this blue thing, and I just stabbed it, and it's all foggy now.
Don't strain yourself too hard. The amnestic block is there to protect us. You have it too? Yeah. I still remember certain things, but the dangerous stuff has been wiped out. What happens now? That depends on you, Monty. Who are you? This is Dr. Andy Thoreau. He works with Site 201's Novel Anomalies Division. A pleasure, Mix Chambers. We want to offer you a job. What?
Really? Yeah, you kicked ass out there, and we... I want you on my team. It's so awesome! Am I going to be able to finish school? Definitely. But you'll start to receive formal training at Site 201 to become a Thalmaturge, if you want to. Oh, that's so cool! I'm gonna be a wizard! You earned it. You should get some rest. You've been through a terrible ordeal, and you need time to recover. Yeah, I'm really tired. We'll let you get some rest.
There's a call button next to your bed if you need anything. The doctors and nurses will take care of you. Thanks, Patty. No, thank you, Monty. You're a hero. But don't let it go to your head. Oh. I think it already has. We have some more tests to run. Fully containing this thing is going to be exceedingly difficult, and we still need to figure out its triggers and how the hell we're going to document it. Hmm, when Coleman died, his PC was taken, right? Yeah. What about the security footage?
Well, the DVD was already in the computer when it was taken. Were there any copies? Yeah, we've still got them all. Maybe only the written data was of interest. You're suggesting images and video aren't a trigger? Hmm. Interesting suggestion.
I'll look into it. Great. I'm gonna go get some rest myself. I have more cuts and bruises than an MMA fighter after a bad night. Good idea. I'll update you on any progress I make. That's alright. I really don't need to know. Fair enough. Enjoy your time off. You earned it. This week's episode was possible thanks to our patrons. Joining us this week was... Jacob Hurley. Renpon. Zach Hollis. Stinny Time. Nika. Cooper Burger. Siechtart. Marjan Behrens. Dustin Luke.
Ashton, Wolf Lord, Alec Van Buskirk, Paint Guzzler, and Sweet Bean Babe. Thanks so much for your support guys. You help us do what we do and we couldn't do what we do without you. Thank you so much for supporting the show. SCP Archives was created by Pacific S. Obadiah and John Grylls. SCP-2521 was written by Lurka D. Creaking at the Seams was written by Ralston.
and our script was by Kevin Whitlock. Our narrator was Dustin Parsons. Hammerhead was Risa Montagnets. Stitch was Steven Indrasano. Midnight was Madeline Moore. Monty Chambers was Kayla Temschiff. Dr. Thoru was Daisy McNamara. Patty Demers was Nicole McKnight. Chopper Pilot was Alyssa Park. Dr. Coleman was Chris Harris-Beachy. And Tyadot Ein was Vic Collins. Again, I think I butchered that name, but oh well. Our arts was by Eduardo Baldez-Hebbia. Our dialogue editing was by Daisy McNamara.
Our theme song and original score was by Matt Royberger. Our sound design was by Chris Harris Beachy. Our showrunner is the illustrious Daisy McNamara. And I'm your creative director, Pacific S. Opedaya. Our executive producers are Tom Owen and Brad Miska. And this is a bloody FM show. For more information, visit SCP archives.com. You can also find a link to our social media like blue sky, Instagram.
our website, and our Patreon in the show notes below. As always, thanks so much for listening to the show and for tuning in. And hey, if you're still here listening to the credits, thanks for stopping by. That's all for this week. We'll be back next Thursday with more SCP Archives. Stay tuned!