Item #: SCP-1271
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Fencing is to be constructed around the area containing SCP-1271, with a space of 75 m between the fencing and SCP-1271. This perimeter is to be monitored by no fewer than five (5) guards at any given time, who are to deny all civilians access to SCP-1271. Guards are to be equipped with high-powered cameras with telephoto lenses and are to be trained in their use. SCP-1271 is to be monitored via video surveillance at all times. During a 1271-A event, all guards are instructed to prevent the commencement of the 1271-A event and detain all civilians involved. observe the 1271-A event and attempt to detain all civilians involved. maintain a distance of 25 m or greater from SCP-1271 during the event and make no attempt to interact with any civilians involved.
During 1271-A events, guards are to take as many close-in photographs of the faces of civilians using SCP-1271 as possible. No fewer than twelve (12) parabolic microphones with diameters of 17 m are to be trained on the field at any given time; during 1271-A events, microphones are to be focused on individual civilians and all spoken dialogue is to be recorded to aid in identification of affected civilians. All audio and visual data for each civilian are to be compiled and cross-referenced against all available databases using facial recognition software. Under no circumstances are Foundation personnel to enter within 25 m of SCP-1271 during a 1271-A event. Under no circumstances is any Foundation technology to be left within SCP-1271 except during authorized testing.
All individuals identified as having participated in any 1271-A event are to be detained at Site 34 and questioned.
Description: SCP-1271 is a square tract of land approximately 20 m on each side, roughly landscaped into a functional kickball field. The field comprised a portion of the grounds of Sheckler Elementary School in Catasauqua, PA, before the school was closed in 1967. The grounds have been abandoned ever since.
Approximately once per year, typically within two weeks of the summer solstice, SCP-1271 will become occupied by sixteen (16) civilians, ranging from five to eleven years of age. The means by which these civilians, identified here as SCP-1271-(1-16), travel to SCP-1271 is unknown; civilians have been noted originating from every continent and 124 countries. All affected civilians demonstrate symptoms of a trance state and are unwilling or unable to communicate with or acknowledge Foundation researchers in any way. Most children who are located, identified, and interviewed later claim to have no memory of their activities involving SCP-1271 and are unable to contribute to Foundation understanding of the mechanisms underlying SCP-1271.
Upon arriving at the site of SCP-1271, civilians will begin carrying out a game of kickball according to accepted conventions of game rules; these games are referred to as 1271-A events. Civilians will divide themselves into two teams of eight apiece and play three full innings. Throughout the game, the civilians will display body language indicating pleasure and enjoyment, including smiling faces, laughing, and excited speech. The speech itself typically involves a syntax and vocabulary closely resembling the Unami language of the indigenous American Indian population of the region. At the conclusion of the game, the players will bow in the direction of the pitcher's mound and conduct a brief chant in the Unami language1 before dispersing. As the affected civilians reach the perimeter of SCP-1271, they disappear from the area via an unknown form of teleportation.
Two additional anomalous effects have been noted with regards to SCP-1271. First, when individuals not summoned to SCP-1271 enter to within 25 m of the field during 1271-A events, these individuals will begin participating in the game. This participation will divide evenly between the two teams, either substituting for exhausted players or carrying out work such as supplying water or towels to players. At the conclusion of the game, individuals affected in this way disappear in the same manner as affected civilians. No affected Foundation personnel have yet been recovered. The second anomalous effect associated with SCP-1271 is documented in Addendum 1271-1.
Addendum 1271-1: Documented patterns of affected civilians
Since the Foundation began monitoring SCP-1271 in 1972, four hundred eighty (480) civilian children from around the world have been affected by SCP-1271. Efforts to determine the identities of affected civilians began shortly thereafter, and was aided by the digitization and computerization of Foundation records and databases during the 1980s. Through the use of facial recognition software, the Foundation has been able to identify one hundred twenty-six (126) of the civilians affected to date. During standard correlational analysis of the identified civilians, certain patterns were detected relating specifically to the position played by affected civilians. For purposes of this analysis, the team that begins the game on offense is designated "Red," while the team beginning the game on defense is designated "Blue". To date, only 10% of recovered civilians have any memory of their experiences with SCP-1271.
Addendum 1271-2: Interview Logs
