High in the Andes Mountains, two miners chip
away at the rock with their mining picks in search of precious minerals when something
strange happens - they hit an impenetrable wall. As they dust off the unbreakable surface they’ve
reached, they see that it’s a mirrored sheet of some strange metal. They start to break away the rock around it,
revealing more and more of the shiny, metallic surface until it suddenly disappears as if
by magic. Behind it is a chamber, with strange machinery
and a mysterious metallic ball inside. The two miners look at each other in disbelief. What on Earth had they just discovered? Hi! I’m Dr. Bob, and THIS is SCP-163, also known
as... An Old Castaway. The Foundation soon caught word of the bizarre
object that had been unearthed in the Andes Mountains and immediately sent agents to secure
the site. When they arrived, they found the metallic
sphere was still there, though approximately thirty percent of the machinery originally
reported to have been in the chamber had been looted before they could get there. Based on analysis of the rock strata in which
it was found, the chamber appeared to be many, many years old and tests on the minerals present
showed signs of a shock-wave, indicating that whatever this was, it had crash landed into
the mountains. Upon examination of the metallic sphere, the
agents found that it was a kind of machine, and one with a relatively simplistic interface. The agents deactivated the machine and were
met with an amazing discovery. The mirrored ball was actually a kind of shield,
and inside was something incredible - a creature that could only be described as extraterrestrial,
and it was soon to be designated SCP-163. The alien immediately lashed out at the agents,
but they were able to subdue it and transport it back to a Foundation containment site for
further investigation. SCP-163 is like nothing that has even been
seen on this planet. It stands two meters tall and is one and a
half meters wide. Its body is roughly cylindrical with a circular
mouth on its lower body and something that resembles a head on top. It has eight legs, each with three joints
that are arranged radially around the middle of its body. It also has multiple specialized limbs including
two prehensile apparatus on either side of its mouth to assist with feeding, two arms
just below the head area that are capable of finer movement and the delicate manipulation
of objects, two larger arms just above its legs that are used for the manipulation of
heavy objects as well as self defense, and the remains of two appendages also near the
mouth that appear to have been amputated at some point prior to its discovery. Thirty centimeters from the top of SCP-163’s
head is a single semi-compound eye which wraps all the way around its head, giving it complete
360 degree vision. The eye is separated into eighty-eight separate
units and is sensitive to ultraviolet-c light, a short wavelength light that’s harmful
to most life on earth. Its skin is transparent when exposed to the
wavelengths of light that humans can see, but turns opaque under ultraviolet light. The strange properties of SCP-163 don’t
stop with what’s on the outside. Tests of the creature’s green colored blood
have revealed that it processes oxygen and carbon dioxide similar to many creatures on
earth, but its circulatory system is nickel based, as opposed to the iron or copper based
systems used by most terrestrial organisms. It also has an endoskeleton composed of tissue
that’s similar to cellulose, the substance that plant cell walls are made of, and its
cells use DNA for instructions just like human’s cells do with the same ACGT bases, but SCP-163
interprets those instructions differently from the way human cells do. All of these differences mean that SCP-163’s
home environment must be radically different from Earth’s, with different types of proportions
of elements present. Certain elements that are perfectly safe for
humans are dangerous to SCP-163 and vice versa. Tests have shown that while it's able to survive
in our atmosphere unaided, it will begin to show signs of illness after one hour. In order to stay alive, it’s vital that
SCP-163 continues to possess and maintain the universal life support device that was
discovered with it, designated SCP-163-1. The device is able to convert basic chemical
elements into subsistence for 163, as well as projecting the protective metallic shield
that it was found encased in. The other technology recovered from alongside
SCP-163 has yet to be fully understood, though research is ongoing. The technology is surprisingly “low tech”
with much of it consisting of transistors assembled into analog computers with seemingly
varied purposes. The processes these computers appear to be
modelling do not match up with any known scientific processes, and it’s theorized that they
have something to do with 163’s life support. It’s still not known how or if it communicates
complex ideas. When in certain states, it produces a steady
sinusoidal wave at approximately 15 hertz that can last anywhere from 15 seconds to
10 minutes, and personnel that have been exposed to the sound have reported experiencing feelings
of paranoia and are recommended to remain in well-lit conditions until the feeling subsides. SCP-163’s main way of expressing emotion
appears to be with the lump of tissue above its compound eye, and depending on how it
feels, it will furrow its brow in a number of different ways. It has also been shown to display a positive
response to something by rapidly beating its delicate upper arms together, and a negative
response by doing the same with its two powerful lower arms. SCP-163 is to be contained in an enclosure
with rooms for living, dining, work, and sleep, as well as a receiving room with an airlock
and seating that’s appropriate for both 163 and a human researcher. The air in the enclosure is to be filtered
and regularly checked for impurities, and there are two lighting systems, one that produces
light within the human visible spectrum and one producing ultraviolet light. Personnel are to wear isolation suits at all
times when in the enclosure to protect both themselves and SCP-163 from cross contamination. Surprisingly, SCP-163, which has been classified
as safe, is also free to leave its enclosure, provided it don its own isolation suit first
and is escorted by a researcher at all times. A number of experiments have been performed
in an attempt to communicate with SCP-163 as well as determine its level of intelligence. In one test, a number of cards with images
printed on them that depicted various human expressions and emotions were shown to 163. It did not appear to recognize any of them,
but it did hold the eighteenth image shown up over the presiding researcher’s face
plate. In another, it was given a test to see whether
it was capable of selflessness and would offer help if given the chance. A researcher brought two wooden blocks and
a box into 163’s enclosure. The researcher opened the box and placed one
block inside before closing the box. The researcher then tried to place the other
block inside the box, acting as if they were struggling and couldn’t figure out why the
block wouldn’t go inside the closed box. After watching for ten seconds, SCP-163 assisted
the researcher and opened the box, a result consistent with how human children behave
when given the same test. But the most unexpected result of all came
when a researcher brought a canvas, brushes, and a selection of ultraviolet colored paints
to 163’s enclosure. 163 immediately began painting after being
shown how, and soon produced a painting of an alien landscape with never before seen
plants and animals. SCP-163 stared at the painting it had produced
for seven minutes before seeming to become angry, knocking the painting to the floor
and retreating to a corner of its room. It furrowed the tissue on its head indicating
distress and all attempts at communicating with it failed. That is until the researcher tried to remove
the painting supplies, at which point SCP-163 beat its heavy arms together to indicate its
unhappiness. The next day, the researcher brought more
painting supplies and SCP-163 continues to paint imagery of what is presumably its home
alien planet. It’s truly amazing, and lucky, that SCP-163
was discovered. The Foundation is now monitoring all excavations
of rock strata that are of similar age to the one 163 was discovered in. Perhaps one day another extraterrestrial will
be discovered, offering 163 potentially a way home, or at the very least, a friend. Now go and watch another entry from the files
of Dr. Bob, and be sure to subscribe as we delve further and further into the SCP Foundation’s
classified archives.
