The entity that is SCP-4840-A is an old man who calls himself the caretaker
of the floating city of Audapaupadopolis. He holds secrets that will change the
Foundation’s understanding of the world forever. The old man was initially encountered by Captain
Francis Pike who first explored Audapaupadopolis for the Foundation. It was here that SCP-4840-A
provided some insight into the city and its mysteries. Over a decade later, the Foundation has
sent Dr. Val Ostrovich to interview the old man. Unbeknownst to her, everything she and everyone
else thinks they know, is about to change. SCP-4840-A walks into the
room where Dr. Ostrovich sits. “Please take a seat,” she says to the old man. He looks around at the barren stone walls and
takes a few steps into the center of the room. Dr. Ostrovich motions to the
chair across the table from her. The old man pulls the chair out and takes a seat. Dr. Ostrovich leans over and pushes a button
on the voice recorder resting on the table. “That’s very impressive,” the old
man says, examining the device. “So, it records everything I say?” “That is correct,” responds Dr. Ostrovich. The old man looks around the room and then
directly into her eyes. A smile cracks his lips. “I wondered when the Foundation
would want to talk… like actually talk. You are a seeker of knowledge.
You reminded me a little of my brother; he may have been the greatest scholar that ever
lived. And now you seek the truth. For that, we will need to take a journey
billions of years into the past.” “Billions?” asks Dr. Ostrovich. “Billions,” the old man answers,
folding his hands on the table. “I was there from the beginning.” The old man
begins to tell his tale. It is so vividly worded that Dr. Ostrovich feels like she is living
in the story; like she’s been transported to a different time and place to experience the
creation of the universe and the fall of man. In the beginning, there was light. The iron god
manifested itself; his sword cut flaming stars into the sky. The god of flesh sprinkled drops
of blood onto the earth creating the first life. The Serpent of sin and its Dark Brother laid
the foundation for what is and what is not. A young boy looked up at the sky as
the Earth began to turn. He watched the creation of everything from the Great Hall of
Audapaupadopolis. This was where humans were born. “Wait, I don’t understand,” says
Dr. Ostravich. “Are you telling me that Audapaupadopolis is like the Garden of Eden?” “I am not telling you that it is like anything.”
the old man says with a wink. “But I think you want to learn more about a different
tale. Something I will get to in time.” In the early days of the universe, there were only
a few humans in existence. For millions of years, they watched through the haze of creation to learn
more about the reality they were born into. They built the very first city and upon completion, it
became the spot where that which IS came to be. There were only ever two true gods: IS and IS NOT.
They were the only truths in the entire universe. IS brought the Serpent into the world. It
searched for whence it came and to learn about all the truths that had been hidden from
it. The IS NOT was the darker shadow of IS. It controlled everything that stretched
out beyond the world and into the unknown. The two gods could not exist without one another. “When you refer to the Serpent do
you mean the entity that resides in the Wanderer's Library?” interjects Dr. Ostravich. “One and the same,” replies the old man. It was during the time after the IS and IS NOT
finished creation that the monsters and demons inhabited the Earth. However, there was order;
the monsters of other worlds were kept separate. These entities would be in the dreams of men but
were never able to cross over to their world. It was the strange folk to the
west of Audapaupadopolis that first opened their eyes to the cosmos. They were
created from the last remnants of the IS, but were not human; they were something
that could not be explained by logic. The humans were looked after by the mothers of
the newly created world. The wolf, the bear, the sow, and the lion were their protectors.
As the days went on more and more men and women walked the streets of Audapaupadopolis.
They met in the Great Hall of the city where they would seek counsel and listen to the First King of
Men. His name was Asem, which came from the word that meant “IS.” His skin looked as if it was
made of gold and he had power beyond imagining. Although Asem was only a man, he could
create mountains with his hands and deep oceans with his feet. He had a
lance that could kill even the gods. Asem was a great leader, but deep
inside of him grew the first vice of man—envy. He would look to the
heavens and desired them to be his. Humans had built the greatest city that would ever
be, and yet, the king wanted more—so he took it. Asem was the first being to seize something
from a world that was not his own. He stole a crown. And when he gathered
the inhabitants of Audapaupadopolis to the Great Hall to show them his new relic,
he declared himself the King of All That IS. He built his seat of power on top of
the spot where mankind first found IS. Asem was still kind to the people of
Audapaupadopolis, but he always desired more. Then the great betrayals came. Asem’s sons
grew up in the shadow of their father’s envy. The first betrayal was by his middle
son who coveted his father’s crown. He demanded that it be passed on
to him, and when Asem refused, the son amassed an army and laid siege to
the world. But the middle son was struck down by his father and locked in a stone tomb
deep under the grounds of Audapaupadopolis. The second betrayal came from Asem’s oldest
son. He went behind his father’s back and spoke passionately to the people using sense
and reason to demand that they make his father give him the crown. The people of the Earth
worshiped Asem’s oldest son as if he were a god. Seeing this, Asem removed the poison that
his eldest son had put into their minds. He then dealt with him by casting his
son to the most desolate place on Earth, where he would wander until
the sun went down in the east. The most devastating betrayal of all
came from the youngest son of Asem. He came into his father’s bedroom while he slept
and took the crown from his head. The youngest son and his followers ran away with the crown.
When Asem awoke, his heart broke with what his youngest son—whom he loved more than anyone
or anything in the entire world—had done. An endless rage welled up in the king and he
turned the Earth into a smoking wasteland. Asem searched tirelessly for his youngest
offspring and the crown. His envy knew no bounds, and he desired nothing more than for
his crown to be returned to him. For thousands of years Asem searched but
could not find what he was looking for. The crown had been hidden away
and slowly faded into legend. The world gradually returned to normal. Fields
began to regrow, and forests sprouted from the smoldering embers of the planet-wide siege that
Asem had carried out in search of his crown. The followers of his youngest son spread across the
region, which would later become known as Europe. Then came the time of endless wars. Men fought
demons and monsters; men fought one another. From these wars came the deaths of many and
the ancient ruins that have long since been consumed by the sands of the Earth. But these wars
would lead to the current age of human history. During the great wars, one man hid and watched
from the Great Hall at Audapaupadopolis. He witnessed the world consume
itself. But the worst was yet to come. Xorus the Sky King found his way to
Audapaupadopolis and demanded that he be given the lance of Asem. However,
the lance had been lost long ago with the fall of the First King of Man as
he ravaged the planet looking for his crown. Xorus refused to believe the lance was not in
the city and began to destroy Audapaupadopolis as he looked for it. But before Xorus
could completely demolish everything, a hidden mystery was called upon to
stop the threat. The last of the titans, the great dragon Bharath who slumbered
beneath the city, emerged from the Earth and carried Audapaupadopolis into the sky.
Forever separating it from the men of the world. “You mean until the Foundation
discovered it,” says Dr. Ostravich. “Well… yes and no,” replies the old
man. “There was one before you.” The history of man progressed. Daeva
hero of Gilgamesh killed Sarrus II's only son in single combat on the
fields of Jerusalem. The dreaded sorcerer Noah El Mehtoh flooded the lands until
he was killed by Malidrau the Wrathful. Jorei Apollyon sailed across the great sea
to meet with the king of the Night Children but was buried alive to feed the heart of their
tree goddess. Then, from the east, came Lancelot. “Like the knight from King Arthur’s Knights
of the Round Table?” asks Dr. Ostravich. The old man frowns. “No, that
was a different Lancelot. The one who came to the floating city
was called the Demon Lancelot.” As the Demon Lancelot approached Audapaupadopolis any remaining allies who still walked the Earth
were called upon for assistance. The evil army that the demon commanded would not be easily
defeated. Lancelot first targeted Bharata, the old dragon who had lifted Audapaupadopolis
into the skies, next he battled the sea lord Arkthurus, he made quick work of the hero
Beowulf, and lastly fell the King of David. All that remained between the Demon Lancelot
and the city of Audapaupadopolis was one human. He took up his sword and battled the demon, but
Lancelot was too strong. The demon used the flails attached to his six arms to demolish anything
in his path. He was about to land the deadly blow when with its last breath, the dragon Bharata
ripped the Demon Lancelot’s heart out of his chest and cast him into the Temple of Sunset
where his dead body lies to this day. All was now quiet in Audapaupadopolis.
The gods and heroes of old had been lost or were hidden away. The search for the crown
continued on and even Asem himself is somewhere scouring the Earth for his precious relic. The
floating city of Audapaupadopolis was forgotten. “So, basically most of the SCPs
that the Foundation contains come straight from your history,” Dr. Ostravich says. “Yes, I believe you are correct,” replies the old
man. “Just from this story alone, there must be entities you recognize. And the fact that many of
the gods, early men, and demons are immortal means you will probably hear more about them in time.
The Demon Lancelot may seem dead, but his body still radiates heat; I feel it is only a matter
of time until we must do battle once again.” “There is something I don’t understand,”
Dr. Ostravich says. The old man nods at her. “Where do you fit into this story? I
understand you were there at creation, but you know so much, and I can’t help
but feel you are leaving something out.” The old man pauses. He lets out a long sigh.
“My name is Seth,” the old man says. “Brother to Cain and Able, son of Adam El Asem… the First
King of Men. I was the King’s youngest who stole the crown. I was the one who looked at the night
sky and asked my father for a star all my own. He pulled one out of the heavens for me and it
became the iron crown. It drove my father to madness, my brothers to butchery, and led to the
ruination of our kingdom. The crown is the seed at the root of all evil.” Seth stares blankly across
the room. “And it was meant as a gift for me.” Now watch “SCP 073 & 076 - Cain vs Able (SCP Animation).” Or check out
“SCP-343 - God (SCP Animation).”
