The SCP Foundation personnel at Area-142
didn’t understand what was happening. For days, researchers and guards had been
complaining about headaches and nausea. Soon the on-site water
purification system broke down, a researcher experienced multiple organ failures,
and the on-site hangar completely collapsed, causing the deaths of multiple airmen.
What was happening at Area-142? Hi! I’m Dr. Bob, and THIS is SCP-1440,
also known as... The Old Man from Nowhere. SCP-1440 has the appearance of a human male
but its ethnicity and age are both unknown. When asked any details about itself, or its past,
including its name, birthdate, or place of birth, SCP-1440 refuses to answer, though it’s unknown
if it is refusing to give this information, or if it simply does not know
the answer to these questions. The aptly nicknamed Old Man from Nowhere appears
to be around eighty years old, but in the fifty years that the SCP Foundation has been aware of
its existence, SCP-1440 has not shown any signs of aging at all, and it has yet to be determined
whether it is aging too slowly for a difference to be perceived in that time or if it does not age
at all, and this is its permanent appearance. But SCP-1440’s lack of aging is not even the
strangest thing about it. It’s true anomalous nature reveals itself once it comes into contact
with a human population or any man-made objects, and remains in contact with them for more than
a few days. After several days of exposure, an acute adverse effect on anything and everything
directly connected to humanity occurs in the vicinity of SCP-1440. Destructive events begin
to happen and grow increasingly disastrous until the man-made objects are destroyed
or the people in close contact are killed. The only exceptions to these
destructive events are SCP-1440 itself and its few possessions which consist of its
clothes, a sack made of unidentified material, a pack of worn playing cards, and a small glass cup.
It's unknown whether these objects are somehow protected from the destructive anomalous effects
or whether they are not actually man-made items. SCP-1440 seems to be aware of its anomalous
effects on human populations and objects, and appears to attempt to avert destruction
of them by avoiding human contact as much as possible. However, SCP-1440 is for some reason
compelled to travel in what looks like a highly complex pattern, one that always eventually
leads to it running into human populations, whether it wants to or not.
The particulars of this pattern, both its shape and the reason why SCP-1440
feels compelled to follow it, are as of yet unknown. And just like the other details of its
origin, The Old Man from Nowhere has not been able to provide any additional information or
help. SCP-1440 has explained that the growing size of the human population and its expansion
into previously uninhabited areas has made it harder and harder to avoid contact with humanity
as it follows its complex pattern of movement. SCP-1440 is not actively hostile, nor will it
resist or fight back against attempts to contain it. Unfortunately for the SCP Foundation, all
attempts to contain SCP-1440 have so far failed. These containment attempts have led to large
losses of personnel life and Foundation resources as a result of the destructive
anomalous effects that follow SCP-1440. The Old Man from Nowhere first came
to the SCP Foundation’s attention after SCP-1440 itself approached a foundation
researcher who was on her way to work. SCP-1440 somehow knew that this researcher
worked for the Foundation and requested her assistance. When the researcher asked
what kind of assistance it was looking for, it replied that it hoped the
foundation would be able to destroy it. It was brought to an SCP Foundation
site for further questioning and study, which is where the destructive
anomalous effects were first witnessed. The entire site was destroyed,
killing multiple site personnel, as well as causing the destruction of six
Safe and Euclid-level SCP objects. So far, all other attempts to content SCP-1440 have
resulted in similar destructive events. SCP-1440 doesn’t resist the SCP
Foundation’s attempts to contain it. During the fourth such attempt by the
Foundation, SCP-1440 was brought to Area-142. The Old Man from Nowhere applauded
the Foundation’s ongoing efforts, but also expressed that it was for the best
that it be allowed to leave, as the results for the researchers would be the same as the
previous three attempts - death for all involved. SCP-1440 told the researcher interviewing it
that its First Brother had already arrived and was standing behind the researcher. It went on
to explain that the brothers are different, but one and the same. They are all cruel, vengeful,
and capable of holding a grudge for a long time. They are the cause of SCP-1440’s misfortune,
and therefore the cause of anyone who comes into contact with it. It then told the
researcher that the Second Brother had arrived and that time was running short, if it wasn’t
released soon then the destruction would start. The researcher asked about the Third Brother, and
questioned how much time they had since the third had apparently not yet arrived. SCP-1440 explained
that the third, despite being the cruelest of all, never arrives, and that it's actually the
appearance of the last brother that will somehow set The Old Man from Nowhere free. SCP-1440 has
spent countless months and years searching for the Third Brother trying to return something
that he won from the other two. It then made a reference to challenging Death itself to a game
of cards for its life, and that if the researcher is ever in such a situation, they must not
do what The Old Man from Nowhere did… win. At that very moment, the on-site nuclear device
stored at Area-142 detonated despite it having multiple failsafes in place that should have
made such a detonation impossible. Area-142 was destroyed and all on-site personnel were
killed. SCP-1440 was spotted a week later over 3,000 kilometers away from Area-142, showing no
signs of having experienced any harm. After three additional containment attempts were made and all
ended in a similarly disastrous fashion, future attempts to contain SCP-1440 have been suspended
indefinitely until a suitable containment procedure that doesn’t involve an unacceptable
loss of resources and personnel can be found. Research and analysis of SCP-1440’s
travelling pattern continues, with a focus on minimizing civilian
exposure to it, as does research into a way to hopefully permanently
contain it in the future. Unfortunately, SCP-1440’s location is currently unknown and
it has been given the object class Keter.
