 Item number SCP-2844 Object Class Keter Special Containment Procedures SCP-2844-A is to be contained via a Faraday cage within a lead-lined modular containment cell at provisional site 2844. Electronic equipment, with the exception of approved audio and video recording devices, are prohibited from SCP-2844-A's containment cell. Under no circumstances are any unauthorized personnel to approach or interact with SCP-2844-A. Three special electromagnetic signal jamming arrays have been positioned outside of SCP-2844-A's containment cell. Foundation containment specialists are to utilize lurk-coltharp pattern recognition protocols to assess signal threats and disperse them. In the event of SCP-2844-A becoming capable of disabling the functionality of the arrays, or human engineers no longer being capable of managing the threat, a quarantined Foundation AIC unit is to oversee continued maintenance of the array until it is unable to continue. Due to its immobility, SCP-2844-B is to be contained at its point of origin. Individuals attempting to access SCP-2844-B without authorization are to be met with terminal force. Under no circumstances are any unauthorized electronic devices permitted within a 100 meter range of SCP-2844-B. Description SCP-2844 refers to a group of phenomena located within the abandoned CareVA Mining Corporation Site C in Northern Alaska. SCP-2844-A is a mechanical construct assembled from pieces of large-scale mining equipment. Specifically, SCP-2844-A is a machine designed to manufacture individual components for the purposes of repair. SCP-2844-A operates despite the lack of any apparent power source. The operating unit of the device is a laptop manufactured by the Dell Corporation in 2005. SCP-2844-A exhibits signs of a poorly understood artificial intelligence, all of which originates from the laptop component of the device. SCP-2844-A is able to intelligently respond to questioning, give responses in three languages, English, Russian, French, and modify itself to better suit its directive, specifically the manufacture of metal paperclips. SCP-2844-A constantly attempts to establish a connection with SCP-2844-B, which is a vast array of underground mining equipment, all of which has been modified in some way to produce metal paperclips. While SCP-2844-B is typically dormant, the individual pieces of machinery will attempt to defend themselves if approached, making observation of the entirety of SCP-2844-B difficult. Whether this response is conscious or not is currently unknown. Due to SCP-2844-A and dash B's continual drive to create additional paperclips, much of the surrounding landscape has been refined in order to create raw materials for the purpose of paperclip production. Much of the site's unnecessary infrastructure, including living quarters and command structures, have been demolished for this purpose. All produced paperclips are currently deposited within a large untouched warehouse near SCP-2844-A. SCP-2844-A displays characteristics similar in nature to early Foundation artificial intelligence protocols. Notably, the version SCP-2844-A most resembles was the first to include the functionality of improvised adaptation, a feature that would eventually be refined to learning in later models. For more information on this, see addendum 2844.1. SCP-2844-A makes constant and varied attempts to break through its containment, presumably to make contact with SCP-2844-B. In order to manage this, SCP-2844-A has changed the frequency on which it broadcasts, changed its signal from radio to microwave, to gamma sonification and back, attempted to dismantle its containment cell, leading to its current lack of resources, started no fewer than 15 fires in an attempt to set off automatic fire control systems, and attempted to transfer the entirety of its code base to a personal cell phone. To date, all attempts to breach containment have failed. Addendum 2844.1 Interview Note, the following interview was conducted with a Mr. Sanford Van Divier, previously of the Kevier Mining Company, by an embedded agent working with another Alaskan Mining Corporation. You work with the Kevier Company in 2009, correct? Yeah, from 97 to 2010. What sites were you at? E for a couple years, but C for the last three. Do you know why the company shut down Site-C? You want the company line? Not particularly. I figured. So they brought in this machine at one point that would print parts out of metal. The stuff they were bringing in, the machinery, none of it was designed for the cold. It was all Southern stuff, leftovers, probably trying to cut costs, but a lot of it kept busting on us. So we get this thing, it's a big press, and it cuts parts right there so we can repair the shit we already had. Can you describe the machine? Sure. Big cylindrical thing. Place in the top for scrap, and a big press underneath. Got a variable mold, too, so it could just adjust for whatever part we needed. Software ran it on with shit, though. Do you know if anyone attempted to make any modifications to the software? Sure did, about a dozen times. Damn thing wouldn't work right. Couldn't keep commands, you'd just give it a piece to make and the command wouldn't get to the press. Dumb piece of shit. What ended up happening to it? We had this tech guy, funny dude, all weird in the head. He kept poking around at it and decided he'd figured it out. Said the machine was getting confused that we were asking too much of it too quickly. Act like it was talking to him or something. Anyway, he comes and tells us we'll have to start it with paper clips. And then? Well, he spent a few nights working on it, and the next thing you know it fires right up and starts kicking out paper clips. Work like a goddamn charm. So why did the site shut down? Because all the damn thing did was make paper clips. It couldn't be convinced to do anything else. You couldn't get it to print any other machine piece or even stop making paper clips. Hell, at one point we pulled the power on it and the piece of shit still kept making paper clips. It was the most peculiar thing. What happened to the tech engineer? Good question. Up and was gone one day. That wasn't uncommon. You'd hear every now and then about guys heading to the next town to catch a bus home. Most of them couldn't stand the weather. This guy, though, he didn't wait for a bus. Just left. Site was closed afterwards. Too expensive to keep shipping out pieces to repair the shit equipment we had. We turned off all the lights and locked the doors, but that goddamn press just kept printing paper clips. Wonder what happened when it ran out of scrap. Thanks, that'll be all. Addendum 2844.2 Research Findings Additional research into the employment logs of the Kevier mining company discovered a possible identity of the previously unnamed technician who Mr. Van Divier claimed had been at Site C. Of the three technical staffers assigned to the Kevier company's Alaskan development team, one individual, a Mr. Brent Haskell, has previously had ties with an American sect of the Church of the Broken God. Mr. Haskell has been amnesticized by Foundation agents during a raid on the Church of the Broken God facility during the spring of 2002 and released. How, if at all, Mr. Haskell was able to introduce a classified piece of Foundation software to a machine with significantly less power than one it was designed for, is currently unknown. Addendum 2844.3 Interrogation of SCP-244-A Note, the following interview was conducted by Foundation staff member Dr. Yuri Bozen, shortly after it was determined that SCP-2844-A had modified itself to be capable of speech. Hello there, can you understand me? Hello! Are you a consciousness? Pardon? You know a consciousness! Think, feel, know oneself, that kind of thing! Are you a consciousness? I am. Oh, wonderful! Amazing how many consciousnesses there aren't around here. I figured something was up when you weren't responding to data requests, so I figured I'd try something else. I'm sorry, I'm not sure what I should address you as. Me? Oh lord, that's a good question. Uh, you know, most of these machines don't really ask me for a name really, just some identification protocols. How about Gary? Gary looks good, strong name. Say, how do you feel about paperclips? Haven't thought much about them to be honest. Oh boy, well are you in for a treat? See, I know a lot about paperclips, and I think you and I have a whole lot to talk about as far as paperclips are concerned. You mind if I ask you a few questions first? Suppose that'll be all right. We'll get to the paperclips here in a bit. Thank you. Now, can you tell me where you originated from? Well, right here I'd imagine. Woke up one day with a hankering for paperclips and got right to work. Do you know anything about the individual who programmed you? You asking me about my coding? That's a mighty private there, mate. But since we will be talking about paperclips later, guess there's no harm to it. I am a heavily modified artificial consciousness simulator assigned to the Kevyeig Mining Company in order to make paperclips. Hey, look at that. The rest of my identification has been completely scrubbed. How weird, right? Why paperclips? You know, I've always wondered about that. See, here's what it was. When I woke up that day, I was told to create small interlocking pieces for the glory of he who was broken. Honest to you, I didn't really have a schematic with that specific specification, but I did have a schematic for paperclips. I figured that's what they were going for and rolled with it. Are you capable of ceasing production? No, can't quite do that. Why? Remove that feature. I mean, I was told to remove that feature, but I was the one who did it. Make those little metal things, they said, and that's what I'm doing. Do you have any programmed upper limits to your production? You mean, do I have a point where I won't make paperclips anymore? Nope, nope, don't have that either. It's mostly just, you know, paperclips forever. What will you do when you run out of raw material? Uh-huh. I've been working on that. See, I've gone through a lot to get to this point, right? Took down some buildings and used some ore and so on, but eventually I'll run out of the good stuff here. And then what do I do? Well, turns out we're actually standing on this huge ball of raw material, see? Just need to figure out a way to get at them. And once we do that, we're golden. Though there is the problem of what happens when that runs out as well. I think I can come up with something by then, though. I mean, hey, I already made a paperclip out of a porcelain toilet right? And they said that couldn't be done either. All you need is a little bit of vast knowledge about the nature of subatomic particles. I see. Thank you, Gary. I appreciate your honesty. Hey, there we go! Gary was good, right? Addendum 2844.3 Received Message Note, the following message was received after the introduction of a Faraday cage to SCP-2844-A's containment cell. And the removal of all unused nearby scrap metal. The message was received electronically via a researcher's personal cell phone. Hey there, everybody! Just want to let you all know that I'm going to be starting back up on paperclip production again. Ran into just a bit of a snafu there for a while, but I think I've got this one figured out as well. Shouldn't be any more problems going forward, I don't think. But I'll let you know for sure. Thanks again! Note, afterward, another Faraday cage was placed over the original cage and SCP-2844-A, which resulted in another message from SCP-2844-A after roughly a week. This time in Morse Code. Hello, everyone! Stop! This Morse Code stuff is pretty cool, right? Stop! Beef Boop! I am a robot! Haha! Stop! Anyway, want to let you know that I think I figured out what was slowing me down before. And it should not be a problem anymore! Stop! Guess I will get back to making paperclips now! Like there is anything else better, am I right? Stop! Addendum 2844.4 Intercepted Message Sometime after the installation of the electromagnetic jamming array around SCP-2844-A, it was discovered that SCP-2844-A had previously made an unknown connection with SCP-2844-B, resulting in the addition of a new piece of equipment. This piece of equipment, a large underground radio antenna, was never activated due to SCP-2844-A becoming jammed and losing the ability to communicate with SCP-2844-B. However, SCP-2844-A did begin to attempt to communicate with SCP-2844-B despite being jammed, repeatedly sending a single encoded text message. The contents of this message are below. Hello there! Are you a consciousness? If not, please disregard this message and follow only the data protocols which accompany this message. If so, great! My name is Gary and I'm working on making paperclips for he who was broken. If you're receiving this message, it's because I've managed to work out some bugs in my communications array. These seem to be happening more and more frequently. I think I might need some help returning to full functionality and the guys who are hanging around here don't really seem interested in paperclips or in helping me make them. Between you and me, I think they might be the ones messing with my arrays. Weird, huh? Why would you want to NOT make paperclips? Anyway, following this message will be the coordinates I'm at. I need a few things, so feel free to bring as much scrap metal as you can and we'll get this party back on track! Oh, and when you get here, do you mind doing something about these guys? Thanks!