The artist's pen

September 12, 2009

http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-067

An interesting read... All fictitious, of course.

Item #: SCP-067

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: When not in use or the subject of study, SCP-067 is to be stored in its felt-lined wooden box. The nib is to be corked, and all art and writings are to be submitted to SCP Research command for analysis and further experimentation.

Description: SCP-067 is a fountain pen made by a German supply company called Pelikan during the interim between World War I and II. It is pale green in color, with a single red line going straight down along the side. The shell is oak and the nib is extremely sharp, capable of piercing human skin if pressed even lightly. Though it apparently lacks a reservoir, the nib never appears to run out of fresh ink. In addition, the pen writes in Iron Gall ink, which is suitable for artists but would normally corrode typical fountain pens quickly.

Research has surmised that any subject holding SCP-067 loses all autonomy of the hand and arm that grasps it. Full sensation is intact, but the arm below the elbow is controlled by unknown forces, theoretically centralized within SCP-067. One effect is that the "controlled" hand will start to use the pen to write a detailed biography of the individual holding the pen. The biography will include such information as the person's name, age, date of birth, criminal record, fears, etc. Other times the pen has been known to write such things as an occurrence that happened in the person's lifetime. For example, when Test Subject 1204M held SCP-067, he began to write a detailed record of a motor vehicle accident he had been in the year before. Later, the subject admitted that many details penned in the biography were not readily available to him at present time (i.e. the subject had forgot many memories, including his previous car's license plate number, the other vehicle's color, and so on). The subject stated that his memory of the event was so fresh in his mind during the transcription that he "could taste the blood in his mouth."

Subjects holding SCP-067 have also been known to create intricate works of art, despite the subject never having any formal art training or previous tendencies toward drawing. For example, Test Subject 1102F, a young woman with no previous artistic experience, was able to draw a winged creature resembling SCP-███, described by researchers present as [DATA EXPUNGED]. When subjects are asked to explain what happens when they hold SCP-067, the typical response is that the subject freely relinquishes control of their appendage to SCP-067 so that it may complete its work unimpeded (see Quoted Response-01). Despite being instructed to not draw or write, subjects describe feelings of empathy, admiration, and cooperation with SCP-067 that coerces them toward a will not their own.
Quoted Response-01: "I don't really know how to explain it, it just kind of happened. When I picked up the pen, it seemed as if my hand wasn't my own anymore. I knew I could move it if I wanted to, but I chose not to because I loved the picture I was drawing. It was like my hand had life. Suddenly, my hand stopped and I realized I had complete control over my hand again, and I put the pen back down. I looked at the drawing and saw how beautiful it was. I guess the pen decided it was done, and was finished with me."

Tests and Experiments
On 19 May 2007, a test was done to see how the pen affected living creatures other than humans.

Experiment 001:
The test subject, a young primate (rhesus macaque) was left in a room. He was under the surveillance of 3 scientists through a thick glass window. The monkey was left alone, with SCP-067 and a sheet of paper on a table before him. The monkey, having experience with pencils, picked up SCP-067 in his hand. He put the pen down onto the paper, when he suddenly froze in place. Seconds later, he began to tap the pen against the table repeatedly, with no known motive. He also began tapping on his own self with the pen. The tapping soon turned into aggressive whips with the pen against his self. He seemed to have seen the ink that had splattered onto his fur, and immediately threw the pen onto the floor, making strange muttering sounds and rubbing his arm. He picked up his sheet of paper, which had nothing more than splatter marks from the ink on it. He "staggered" to the glass window towards the scientists and slapped the paper into the mirror. He began to smear the ink onto the window with aggressive strokes. He then dropped the paper and sat down where he stood.

"It seemed as though he was angry at us, and shoving the paper into our face," reported Professor Brown. "And those muttering sounds… I have never heard him make a noise like that. It was almost… human. Like he was saying something but didn't know how to make the right sounds."

All 3 scientists agreed SCP-067 had a negative effect on the monkey, but why is not known. After being released from the room, the monkey displayed no abnormal behavior.

The sheet of paper was filed away in [DATA EXPUNGED].