In the long history of the world, the planet
has played host to a wide variety of ancient civilizations. There are far, far too many of those for any
one video to cover - people make it their careers to discover and catalog the civilizations
that preceded us in the modern era. Archaeologists and historians make it their
life’s work to learn everything there is to know about these mighty empires and kingdoms
that spanned vast swaths of land where there are now dozens of countries. A lot of these civilizations are famous: even
schoolchildren know about them. Take the Roman empire, for example. Everyone knows about the mighty Roman Empire
- Julius Caesar took control of the Roman Republic and created the empire that would
go on to be one of the the largest empires in history at the time. It controlled practically everything in Europe
and North Africa, and even parts of Asia. The Romans made amazing advancements in culture,
architecture, law, and practically everything else. In fact, their legacy can even be seen in
pop culture today - the American Senate is modeled off the Roman Senate, and practically
every nation in the world has their own kind of wine - a Roman invention. Or take the Macedonian Empire. A lot of people don’t know it’s name,
but you almost definitely know the person who created it - Alexander the Great. At only twenty, he took his father’s throne. Then he began launching military expeditions,
and it soon became clear that young Alexander was a brilliant tactician. Never defeated in battle, he managed to extend
his vast empire across all of West Asia and North Africa, stretching all the way to Egypt
and India. Like Caesar would go on to do after him, he
managed to create one of the largest empires in history, except he did it all before he
even turned thirty. Though he died young and his empire was split
apart by his generals, he brought Greek thought, culture, and philosophy - not to mention science
- to the far reaches of inner Asia. And of course there is the Mongol empire,
led by the fearsome Genghis Khan. The Mongols, a nomadic people from central
Asia, were divided into dozens of distinct tribes until Genghis Khan united them under
one flag. And from there, they spread outward violently
into the rest of Asia, conquering China, Korea, Eastern Europe, and practically all of Asia. In doing so, they created the largest empire
in history, and killed somewhere near 40 million people in their conquests - ten percent of
the world’s population at the time! But they also created a safe trade route from
China to Europe, what is now known as the Silk Road. And their innovations with cavalry would go
on to inform warfare using horses for the next 800 years. Moving out of Asia, there are also the legendary
Mayans. The Mayans were more of a loose confederation
of different tribes, working together to advance a common civilization. They didn’t conquer as much land as the
others, only one area in Central America, but they crafted a complex society with laws,
civic duties, social rules, and extremely advanced religious rites and architecture. If you go to South America today, you can
still see the remnants of their empire: step pyramids that look sort of like ziggurats,
deep in the South American jungle interior. They invented astronomy, calendars, writing,
and many forms of art like mosaics - all without any contact with European society. Needless to say, the advancements empires
have made through history are so important we use them in our daily lives all the time. And we know a lot about these ancient empires,
too - how could we not? They’ve made massive impacts on the planet
and population, not to even mention religion, culture, law - society as a whole. But what if there was an empire on the planet
that was larger and more advanced than all of the ones we just looked through. And not just more advanced by a little bit
- so advanced that they were creating nuclear reactors well before Alexander was taking
his first steps or Plutarch was trying to complete a history of the Greeks. So advanced that we still don’t totally
understand what they were capable of. I’d certainly call that anomalous, would
you? And that’s not all - what if this empire
also managed to stay hidden from modern science for centuries? They didn’t stay alive, but their ruins
have never been found by the scientific community. Their relics have been squirreled away from
the eyes of the world over the decades. You’d never find a reference to the “Mekhanite
Empire” in a history textbook or in a museum, and that’s for a very good reason. The SCP Foundation has spent an extremely
large amount of time and money ensuring that the evidence of this ancient empire never
comes out to the rest of the world. But even if a culture creates anomalies, is
the culture itself anomalous? Does it need to be contained, especially if
they’re all long dead and their technology has degraded into unusability? Well, maybe… except their technology is
doing just fine. Two thousand years and counting, their technology
is still working perfectly - in some cases, better than our modern devices. How can that be possible? How can that not be anomalous? Well, as unbelievable as it might seem, it’s
true. We’ll dive more into what exactly this empire
out of Greece was in a bit, but for now we’re going to look at an SCP file associated with
them. Except this one couldn’t be picked up, stuffed
in a box, and shipped off to a containment locker in Site-19. You’ll see why in a minute, but for now,
let’s take a look at the file. SCP-2406 lacks any images or flashy documentation,
so no clues there. Unless… it’s not possible to photograph the anomaly
for some reason. Hmm. The object class is safe, and the containment
procedures aren’t very long. A site, Provisional Site-31, has been constructed
around SCP-2406 and is under the cover of a Kazakhstani military base. Provisional Sites are temporary sites that
the Foundation puts up in the field to contain an anomaly that can’t easily be transported
somewhere else for containment. And if its a Kazakhstani military facility,
the anomaly is probably somewhere in Kazakhstan and can’t be moved. Seems reasonable enough. All personnel who work directly with SCP-2406
are required to wear a Type-A Hazmat Suit when in contact with the anomaly, and to undergo
a full decontamination bath upon exiting. Whatever SCP-2406 is, being in direct contact
with it can be dangerous to humans, so the Foundation uses specialized hazardous material
suits - the big yellow jumpsuits you see near radiation or chemical spill sites.On top of
that, an armed contingent of guards are to remain in place in and around Provisional
Site-31 to ensure no one unauthorized accesses the anomaly. Though you’d have to wonder why anyone would
try to access a military base… The containment procedures close out by declaring
that anyone wanting to directly interact with SCP-2406-1, whatever it is, needs to get authorization
from their Site Director. So SCP-2406 has at least one subanomaly to
deal with. Obviously, the Foundation is very interested
in keeping this anomaly - or these anomalies - secret and protected at all costs, as well
as limiting human exposure to something potentially dangerous. Now, let’s take a look at the Description: SCP-2046 is a mechanical automaton that’s
93 meters tall and weighs approximately 210 metric tonnes. For the Americans among us, that’s about
300 feet in height and 230 tons - over 450,000 pounds! No wonder the Foundation couldn’t move it. After investigating, research has concluded
that SCP-2406 wasn’t sentient, so it wasn’t a robot or cyborg or artificial intelligence. An automaton is a machine to perform a specific
task - and this thing, whatever it is, was controlled by at least six different operators,
if not more. They piloted the machine using 160 different
valves and levers within the torso, head and chest of the automaton. And if it has a head and chest, it has limbs
- limbs that were controlled by a combination of pneumatics, hydraulics, and clockwork machinery. But controlling it is one thing - how the
heck does something like this get the power to move? The answer is a nuclear reactor embedded in
its torso with power cables running to its arms and legs. Yep, unbelievable as it may seem, this ancient
curiosity was powered by the same source our modern aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines
use. SCP-2406 was discovered on August 7, 1985
in the Aralkum Desert - but not by the Foundation. The Aralkum desert used to be part of the
Aral Sea before the Soviets drained part of it - it was during one of these drainings
that the Russian military discovered SCP-2406, by tracking the radiation coming from it. As soon as they realized what they found wasn’t
some sort of abandoned warhead or uranium deposit, they called in the GRU’s P-Division
- the unit of the Soviet government who dealt with anomalies, in the same way the Foundation
did. They kept custody of the anomaly, but only
for a few years. When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the Foundation
stepped in with their agents and took control of the anomaly while everyone else in the
area was busy dealing with the political fallout. They immediately began performing research,
and learned that the material SCP-2406 is made up of isn’t just one metal, but a toughened
alloy of copper, zinc, nickel, lead, and iron. That mixture is why the metal looks bronze,
despite not having any bronze in it. They also found two markings on it. One was on the outside of its back, and showed
the Aegean numeral for “9”. Does that mean there are at least 8 more of
these things buried somewhere? Maybe, but the Foundation hasn’t found any
of them. What’s more interesting is that the numeral
is Aegean, Greek, despite SCP-2406 lying in a lake in the Aral sea, pretty far from Greece. The front of the anomaly, its chest, has an
intricate symbol of a hammer striking an anvil on it. The right arm of the anomaly has a nozzle
with piping attached to it - the piping leads to a pressurized chamber within SCP-2409 that
is empty. But the Foundation did manage to find trace
residue of various chemicals, such as pine resin, naphtha, quicklime, calcium phosphide,
and sulfur, inside of the corners of the tank. Not coincidentally, those are the exact same
chemicals used to create Greek Fire, a primitive chemical weapon similar to napalm that the
ancient Greeks used in warfare. Between this and the Aegean numeral, the Foundation
judged that SCP-2406 was almost definitely constructed in Greece and brought here for
some reason. The left arm of the anomaly isn’t attached
to it. In fact, initial reports said it was torn
off at the shoulder and couldn’t be found with the rest of it, but it seems that the
Foundation managed to recover it since, detailed in one of the addenda in the file. Chemicals weren’t the only things they found
inside SCP-2406: when they busted the main access plate open, researchers found something
decidedly more morbid. Six different human skeletons located inside
its torso area were removed and cataloged before being carbon dated to 1100 BC - over
3000 years old! And they were all wearing an extremely strange
set of armor - while it looked Greek, it was made of a strange lead-copper alloy and filled
with asbestos lining. Presumably, the armor was designed to absorb
the radiation put out by SCP-2406’s reactor - there were also tubes from the helmets leading
to the outside, so that they could breathe safe air. One of the levers pumped water into the tubes
so that the pilots didn’t die of thirst, and another tube was near the groin, probably
so that they could pee. Seems like the designers ensured that whoever
was piloting SCP-2406 could do so for hours or days. The Foundation ensured through testing that
SCP-2406 doesn’t work - the limbs don’t move, and many of the levers have rusted or
broken. All of that damage from disuse is repairable,
but there is even more extensive damage from combat. The limbs and head were first discovered run
through by long, sharp spikes made of an unknown substance. Though it feels like chitin, its molecular
structure is closer to coral - and on top of that, it’s biological and contains some
elements of human DNA. Parts of its limbs are also crushed or indented
with a segmented pattern, like a Boa constrictor wrapping around its prey. The evidence suggests that SCP-2406 was in
an intense fight with some sort of giant monster - and lost. But that’s all in the past. SCP-2406 also has a more present problem:
its reactor. It melted through the back of the anomaly,
penetrating the Earth, and seems to still be burning incredibly hot and radioactive
nearly a kilometer under the surface. Engineers think that when it was intact, it
worked similarly to “natural” nuclear reactions rather than modern reactors, like
when a uranium deposit begins to undergo fission. If nothing else, it means that SCP-2406’s
designers were studying those, and were far more advanced scientifically than any other
culture on the face of the planet at the time - that we know of. When they were investigating the wreck, Foundation
personnel also discovered something interesting - a watertight ceramic jar, like the ones
Ancient Egyptians used to preserve organs. When they broke the seal, they found two tightly-bound
scrolls written in a unique language resembling Mycenaean Greek. It took ten years of research for the Foundation’s
best linguists to translate the scrolls. What they found confirmed their theory - the
scrolls were religious, and written by a group called the “Followers of Mekhane” - the
ancient precursors to what we now call the infamous Church of the Broken God, an anomalous
cult that seeks to rebuild their deity and make themselves more than human. The Foundation’s had run-ins with them in
the past, but the documents indicate that three thousand years ago, they weren’t just
a cult - they were an empire. The first scroll was translated to the following: The Colossi were constructed in Her Schema. The Colossi were constructed to [defend/secure/contain?]. The Enemy: Grand Karcist Ion. Betrayer of Man. Destroyer of Progress. Sorcerer King of Adytum. A desolate domain, a failed and fallen creation,
built with the [bodies/flesh] of dead gods. Upon a throne of black ambition, the Enemy
plots. The Enemy is not a priest. They are a merchant. And they have sold the [world/whole/totality]. The Colossi were constructed in Her Schema. The Colossi were constructed to [defend/secure/contain?]. The Profane Tools must be [broken/"uncreated"]. Drink deep the silver blood of MEKHANE. May Her sacrifice not [be in vain?]. Strange, but definitely religious. It seems to be a dedication - to the Broken
God, Mekhane. The Colossi were created to fight their ancient
enemy, the Sarkics. But The second document is much more interesting: This is a testament of Matriarch Eupraxia,
Legates-Faithful, Servant of MEKHANE. I am not a warrior. But all warriors are dead. Breaking themselves upon the Enemy's host. The Enemy has set their plan into motion. The Sorcerer King surrounds himself with corpses. To fight, is to [grow/increase in number]
his legions. Egypt retreats from [the world/us/contact
with us]. The Hittites have fallen into chaos. The Conspirators of Crete have sacrificed
their own. The Aegean has fallen into barbarism. [The city of a thousand pillars] is forever
lost. Has always been lost. Even the Daeva grow desperate with the enemy
at their border. The center collapses - kingdoms crumble. The damage is done. The light of reason [flickers/wanes]. But MEKHANE sacrificed herself so that we
might be free. We refuse to return to that darkness. We would rather die. But the siege at Gyaros was won. We must strike while the metal is hot. And thus, we march for Kythera - at the end
of all things. We have crossed the wine-dark sea. We have seen villages ravaged by the Red Death. We have seen the dead, the dying, and the
deathless. We cast the accursed to holy flame. We enter his desolate domain. And in our left hand, we carry our ANSWER. We cannot undo what has been done - but we
can delay the Sarkic Dawn. So it seems that the ancient Mekhanite Empire
were once at war with another empire, the hated Sarkics. Losing and all their allies dying, they poured
their resources into these massive mechs and sent them deep into enemy territory equipped
with some sort of doomsday weapon as a hope for success. What happens next is, unfortunately, a mystery. On December 12th of 1998, the Foundation found
something almost 30 kilometres away from SCP-2406 during a routine patrol. At first, the researchers were confused - had
they found another wreck, one of the other 8 mentioned? Or perhaps the body of the monstrous creature
SCP-2406 had fallen in battle with. But after excavating it, they realized they
had found something they hadn’t even been looking for to begin with: SCP-2406’s left
arm. The way it landed suggested that it had been
torn off during the battle and hurled away - but what monster could possibly throw something
that heavy 30 entire kilometers? Either way, what the Foundation found attached
to SCP-2406’s arm is much more interesting. The researchers aren’t sure what it is,
but it’s much different from the rest of SCP-2406. It seems to be some kind of weapon, but one
that’s not made of any metals on Earth, and with an incredibly anomalous design. The Foundation personnel, not sure what to
make of it, designated it SCP-2406-1. Its purpose is similarly unknown and the consensus
seems to be that whatever it is, it far exceeds human understanding. But what the Foundation is sure of is that
it seems to bend reality near it, though they’re not sure how because it doesn’t seem to
affect anything. The Foundation’s best minds are stumped
by it - all they can say for certain is that if it was ever repaired, powered up, and activated,
it could do unprecedented damage to local reality. So any interaction with it was highly regulated
and the Foundation put it away with the rest of SCP-2406. Now go check out “SCP-2217 - Hammer And
Anvil” and “SCP-001 - The Broken God - Ouroboros Cycle” for more Anomalous Mekhanite Madness
from SCP Explained!
