rating: +10+x

The first example of SCP-2568 retrieved.

Item #: SCP-2568

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: Each instance of SCP-2568 is to be contained in a cubical enclosure constructed of 9 smaller cubes. Each smaller box will be 9 centimeters on each side, with an error of at most 0.1 centimeters. It must be kept in a room with walls at least 9 cm thick. Paths from the object to the walls, floor, and ceiling should be kept clear of objects that might be harmed by a steel ball appearing inside them.

Following incident SCP-2568-C, if multiple instances are contained within the same room, they are not to be placed directly in line with each other, to reduce the risk of collisions.

A magnet of sufficient strength to counteract the force of gravity at the center of the central box is to be placed at the top of the containment apparatus, along with variable strength electromagnets placed on all four sides, connected to the in-box sensors, in order to cancel out any virtual velocity the item might pick up.

Each box is to be equipped with three laser or ultrasonic rangefinders, one on each axis, pointed at the center of the box. Note: See Addendum 2568-A regarding the use of ultrasonic rangefinders. The distance measurements from these sensors are to be continuously monitored by an automatic program and used to adjust the strength of the magnets in the case of the item moving. The calibration of the magnets and sensors is to be checked during regular monthly maintenance. Continuous human monitoring is considered wasteful and unnecessary at this time.

An instance of SCP-2568 which acquires a significant velocity such that electromagnetic containment apparatus is unable to contain it will almost certainly lodge itself in the chamber walls or some other solid object, from which it can easily be retrieved. For this reason, it has been classified as Safe.

SCP-2568-1 is non-anomalous anomalous but classified as Safe. It is extremely old; as such, it should be kept in a glass or ceramic case with a neutral pressure argon atmosphere to prevent any degradation, as per normal Foundation Archives protocol. Full transcriptions of its surface markings are to be stored in redundant electronic and physical forms so as to prevent any possible loss of information.

Description: SCP-2568 is a collection of twenty-nine (29) twenty-seven (27) steel balls 3 centimeters 2.9979 centimeters in diameter. Instances of SCP-2568 appear to have no anomalous properties except that they move only in increments of 6 centimeters two times their diameter along their axes and rotate only in increments of 45 degrees around their axes.

Note: Units of Measure.

When a force is applied to an SCP-2568 object, it acquires a "virtual" velocity; that is, if a force were applied which would accelerate it to 1 cm/s, it would rest in place for 3 seconds, then teleport 3 centimeters in the direction in which the force was applied.

Note by Dr. M█████: This is, of course, relative to the planet Earth. If not, each of these things would be constantly hopping about and flashing as the planet turns and moves through space. I'd love to get one of these out into the Moon's gravity well and see what happens!

Note by O5-█: Request denied. That's a little more expense than we can stomach for a Safe at this time.

As mentioned above, these items cannot move except along three perpendicular axes. The vertical axis is oriented upwards (that is, toward and away from Earth's gravitational center), but the two horizontal axes are not aligned to gravity, magnetic fields, or any other obvious means of directional determination. The axes are fixed and cannot be changed by any means so far devised.

When one of the objects does move, it emits a flash of electromagnetic radiation in all frequencies at the destination, the brightness of which scales linearly with the object's virtual velocity. Dr. M█████ is currently working on the initial stages of a test to determine if useful energy can be extracted from this process; for now, he has advised all personnel handling SCP-2568 to be careful not to accelerate them to too great a velocity, as they could theoretically produce harmful levels of ionizing radiation.

Addendum 2568-A: Initial recovery.
Addendum 2568-B: Recovery of later samples.
Addendum 2568-C: Incident log.
Addendum 2568-D: Experiment log.