 SCP-232 Object Class Safe Special Containment Procedures SCP-232 is to be kept in a locked safe in the Canido Hazard Wing of Site-73. When not in use for testing, its batteries are to be removed. When batteries are not installed, SCP-232 may be handled safely by any authorized staff member. The Foundation is to monitor online auction houses and dealers of vintage toys and acquire any products of the same model of SCP-232 for testing and disposal. Any under instances of SCP-232 discovered are to be archived appropriately. When batteries are installed, personnel other than D-Class are not to handle SCP-232 for any period longer than necessary to install and remove batteries. Staff members who have been exposed to works in the Jack Proton franchise in any format are not to handle SCP-232 for any period of time while batteries are installed. D-Class carry and SCP-232 for testing purposes are to be monitored at all times and terminated SCP-232-related behavior should pose a security risk. The copyright publication and merchandising rights of the Jack Proton novels and all spin-off media are to be held by Springfield Crown Publishing, a Foundation front company for the purpose of keeping the works out of print, thereby preventing activation of anomalous properties in any SCP-232 instances that may exist outside containment. In the event of any public occurrences of SCP-232 behavior, the Foundation shall liaise with local law enforcement authorities to recover the artifact and issue Class A amnesiacs to affected parties as appropriate. Description SCP-232 is a children's toy of early 1950s manufacturer, composed primarily of tin and a battery-powered electric light apparatus with an exterior painted to resemble a laser gun of the type featured in popular science fiction of the early 20th century. A hinged section at the base of SCP-232's handle opens to accept two standard AA alkaline batteries. When batteries have been installed correctly in the triggers pooled a small red electric light and a barrel lights up, SCP-232's cognition affecting properties become active whenever SCP-232 is picked up and held or carried by a human being while it has working batteries installed. Within 5 to 30 seconds of picking up SCP-232, the person handling will begin speaking in English regardless of any previous fluency with the language or lack thereof, in a manner resembling the speech patterns of pre-teen and or adolescent American youth culture of the 1950s. Persons so affected will deny that anything is unusual about their manner of speech and will insist that they have always spoken thusly. This behavior continues until approximately 15 to 20 seconds after the test subject is induced to a relinquished possession of SCP-232, after which speech patterns return to normal. In test subjects that have had no exposure to any work with the Jack Proton franchise, SCP-232's effects do not continue past this stage and the subject retains no memory of their behavior while under its influence. Patent information embossed on the handle of SCP-232 and historical analysis of non-anomalous artifacts identical in appearance indicate that SCP-232 is a mass-produced atomic zapper toy produced by the ██████ Corporation from 1953 to 1958 as a licensed merchandising tie-in to the Jack Proton Space Cop, a series of young adult science fiction novels by American author M. K. Snyder. Approximately ████ units were manufactured and sold during the toy's production run, of which an unknown quantity remained in existence today. The Foundation has acquired 138 units since containment of SCP-232 began, all but three of which have shown no anomalous properties under testing. Thorough examination has indicated no discernible differences between anomalous and non-anomalous units. The Jack Proton series, consisting primarily of 15 novels and several dozen short stories written between 1940 and Snyder's death in 1973, revolved around the eponymous Major John Patrick Jack Proton, an officer of the Galactic Police Department in a 27th century setting where the human race has colonized the entirety of the Earth's solar system. The setting is typical of early 20th century juvenile science fiction and relies heavily on soft sci-fi depictions of space travel common and literature of the time, including the existence of intelligent life and planets within its solar system, a breathable atmosphere on the moon, and other heavenly bodies faster than light travel without relativistic complications and sapient artificial intelligence and computers based on vacuum tube technology. The novels were additionally adapted into a nationally syndicated radio program from 1947 to 1952, a television series aired by the NBC network from 1953 to 1954, and a black-and-white movie released to theaters in 1956. The Jack Proton franchise bears no demonstrable anomalous property itself, and may be red, viewed or listened to safely provided the person doing so does not come in contact with SCP-232. In subjects who have previously red-watched or listened to any installment of the Jack Proton franchise, SCP-232's secondary effect begins to manifest after approximately 90 to 120 seconds of physical contact with the toy. During this stage, the test subjects' memories and personality are radically altered to the extent that the subject believes him or herself to be a resident of the fictional 27th century of the Jack Proton novels. Test subjects in this stage refuse to answer to their given names and will during interviews describe life stories and career experiences of life in the 27th century, which are internally consistent with themselves and with canonical details about the setting. Often describing themselves as close associates of Jack Proton and other major characters featured in the franchise. Some examinations given to the test subjects in the state had consistently indicated that the test subjects believed these accounts to be true. In the third and final stage of SCP-232 exposure, occurring approximately 30 to 45 minutes of first contact, test subjects begin to experience severe sensory hallucinations to the effect that they now perceive the world around them to be the fictional setting of the Jack Proton franchise. In this state, test subjects almost invariably believe that they are members of Jack Proton's junior action squad, and have been assigned a mission of utmost interplanetary security, which researchers and security personnel of the Foundation are involved in or are attempted to prevent them from completing. Though attempts to neutralize Foundation personnel with SCP-232 have invariably proven futile, test subjects have been known to resort to physical violence on occasion. Persons afflicted by the later stages of SCP-232 exposure will resist any attempts to remove SCP-232 from their person, and, if separated from it, will attempt to recover it by any means available to them. Six of the later stages of exposure were off gradually over a period of approximately three to six hours after SCP-232 had been removed from the subject's person, and approximately ██████ percent of tests involving long-term exposure, test subjects have retained memories of their artificial persona at the dissipation of the effect, resulting in cognitive dissonance and associated psychological impairments. SCP-232 came to the Foundation's attention on ████ following the arrest of Martin ██████, a retired steelworker living in ██████, Pennsylvania, where it is orderly conduct following an affray at a shopping mall ██████, who insisted on referring to himself as Space Cadet Max Mars, was taken into custody after confronting several mall patrons and brandishing SCP-232 that managed to know the location of the Phobos Ruby, an artifact that depth of which from the Martian Museum of History drives the plot of the novella Murder on the Io Express. According to Briefing prior to amnesiac therapy ██████ stated that he had owned one of the toys of the child and had been a fan of the series, and purchased SCP-232 from an online auction site with nostalgic value because he had so much fun playing cops and aliens with it in his youth. Interview Logs All interviews conducted by Dr. J. Andrews, test subjects had no exposure to the Jack Proton franchise prior to the acquisition by the Foundation. All interviews conducted three hours after initial exposure to SCP-232. Interview Logs 232-1 Test Subject D-65203 Caucasian Male 37 Years Old Franchise Exposure Six Jack Proton Novels Jack Proton Space Cop Jack Proton Goes to Mars Humans Must Die The Great Callisto Caper War in Space The Night the Lights Went Out in Ganymede Begin Log ██████, 12.38 PM Good Afternoon D-65203 How are you today? D-65203 Excuse me, sir? D-65203 I'm sorry, what is your name? D-65203 Billy, sir? D-65203 Billy McMurphy You're speaking more politely than usual, Billy. Billy McMurphy Gosh, sir. I wouldn't dare sass off to a real-life scientist. D-65203 I see. How old are you, Billy? D-65203 14. What does it mean I'm not a real space cop? D-65203 See? Jack Proton gave me this official space deputy badge himself. D-65203 Gesture to the D-Class Identification Badge, pinned to his jumpsuit. D-65203 I see. Do you work for Jack Proton then? D-65203 Golly, sir. I sure do. I'm part of his junior action squad. D-65203 And what does that do for him? D-65203 I'm on a super-secret mission right now. I'm not sure I'm even supposed to tell you. D-65203 I'd better check with him first. Is there a hyperphone in the next room? D-65203 Where do you believe you are at the moment, Billy? D-65203 Looks around the interview room, including out a window overlooking the Site-73 parking lot. D-65203 Gee, sir. There's a window. This has to be Space Station Delta. D-65203 Points out of 1989 Buick Le Sabre, owned by Dr. Graham. Say, is that Admiral Joe's flagship doctor? Please say you'll let me get his autograph. We'll see. N-LOG 1241PM Interview Log 232-2 Test Subject D-11503 Caucasian Male 47 Years Old Franchise Exposure Six episodes of the Jack Proton Hour radio program, encompassing the two part stories Marooned on Mars, The Prince of Neptune, and A Pioneer's Homecoming. Begin Log D-342PM Good Afternoon. D-11503 begins to speak in a monotone robot voice without natural inflection. Greetings, humanoid. Would you please identify yourself for the record? I am D-Bot, Unit Model-11503 at your service. Footnotes The radio program is the only version of the Jack Proton Franchise to feature intelligent robots capable of speech. A robot sidekick originally planned for the television series was scrapped due to budget concerns. Novels published in the radio program was introduced to acknowledge their existence of robots, but stated as the building of sapient robots have been restricted by the robotics laws instituted by the Space Congress, a nun or ever directly introduced to the reader. You're a robot, you say. You look very lifelike. I was programmed to appease humanoid sensibilities. And how old are you? I was activated at the Advanced Robotic Facility at Old New Hampshire on Earth on January 12, 2592. What is your purpose? I am a fully modular service robot. My purpose is to assist Major John Patrick Proton of the Galactic Police Department in the apprehension of dangerous criminals. When you say you're fully modular, what does that entail? My body has been designed to make use of a wide variety of customizable limbs. I may be removed by factory-installed appendages at will and replaced them with those designed for specific purposes. Could you please demonstrate now by removing your left arm? Affirmative. D-1103 grabs his left arm with the shoulder with his right hand and attempts unsuccessfully to remove it by unscrewing it from his socket. I seem to be experiencing a malfunction. Please refer to my operating manual for information on how to resolve the difficulty. Nevermind, D-bot. Are you capable of solving logic problems? I am programmed to answer any and all queries directed at me. A man has been sentenced to death. The morning of his execution, the executioner tells the condemned man he is to be either hanged or drowned, and tells the man to ask him one yes or no question, which he has compelled to answer truthfully. If the answer to the question is yes, then the man will be hanged. If the answer is no, then the man will be drowned. The man asks, are you going to drown me? Will the man be hanged, or will he be drowned? D-1103 is signed up for 38 seconds. D-bot? Error, error. I beg your pardon? If answer is equal no, then result equals drowning, but no equal incorrect if result equals drowning. Therefore, drowning equal impossible. Result equal hanging. Hanging equal impossible. If answer equals no, error, error does not compute. System overload. System overload. Consult operating manual for D-1103 slumps over and ceases responding to outside stimuli. Interview log 349-PM Interview log 232-3 Test subject D-67539 Caucasian female, 26 years old Franchise exposure, one short story collection, Starship Days, one unauthorized fan fiction short story, Major Sarah. Forward None of the official Jack Proton stories feature female characters as protagonist or action-oriented suit-supporting characters. Prior to Interview 232-3, all experiments with female test subjects have resulted in the subject developing the personality of a damsel in distress or innocent bystander persona. Major Sarah, an unauthorized piece of short fan fiction, published in 1972 by the Fanzine Junior Action Squad, which details the experience of the first woman to join the Galactic Police Department and her subsequent forbidden love affair with Jack Proton, was introduced in order to determine what her third-party fiction set in the Jack Proton universe would have an impact on the result of exposure. Begin log T-1038AM Good morning. Sir, good morning, sir. D-69539 rises to her feet in salute. Dr. Andrews returns to salute. As you were, please state your name for the record. Sir, Lieutenant First Class Samantha Marie Van Satternberg, sir. No need to be so formal, Lieutenant. Please relax. Sir, I didn't get where I am today by relaxing, sir. I am not an officer. You need not call me, sir. D-67539 pauses. Sir, I… Yes. Sir, yes. You mentioned getting where you are today. Where is that? I am currently the youngest officer in the Galactic Police Department. How old are you? Seventeen. You were commissioned at seventeen? Not bad for a girl, huh? Why did they accept you so young? Because I wasn't wasting my time wearing frilly dresses and playing with dolls. That's why. You must have been very goal-oriented to make it so young. Why did you want to be a space cop so badly? To work with Jack Proton, of course. Why him specifically? Because he's the best there is. He's smart, and he's strong, and… can I tell you a secret? Everything we discuss here is strictly confidential, Lieutenant. Well, he's dreamy. Dreamy. Those beautiful blue eyes that rock solid jaw with those bulging biceps. Can't you just imagine him holding your hand on the walk home, sharing a malt with you at the drugstore, dancing close together at the spring formal? I can't say it occurred to me. I just have to meet him. I'll introduce myself, and he'll be so impressed by how much I accomplished and will talk about work and space ball and music, and maybe he'll ask if I'll go with him for dinner in a movie at the Hover Inn. Wouldn't it be a dream come true? I'll wear my hair down to put on the prettiest dress. I mean, I don't wear dresses like some little girl obsessed with princesses and space ponies, but that doesn't mean I can't wear a dress for him. I bet he loves a girl who knows how to dress up. End log. 1042 AM.