Item #: SCP-8260
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8260 is freely available to anyone already exposed. Otherwise, access requires Level-4 clearance or higher.
Description: SCP-8260 is a slender blue book with a soft velvet cover. The cover and pages are blank. Although the pages are made of ordinary paper, any markings fade within seconds (See Notable Test Case: Subject 2 for the only known exception). When opened to the first page by any individual who has experienced the loss of a loved one, the current date will appear in the upper-left corner as if printed. Immediately after, a journal entry will be written word-by-word in the handwriting and voice of the loved one, describing what the deceased would be doing on this day if they were still alive.
SCP-8260 will generate a daily journal entry for the deceased, replacing the previous one, provided the affected individual reads the entry every day. Pictures and copies of the entries only show blank pages. If the individual does not read SCP-8260 in a given 24 hour period, SCP-8260 will lose all anomalous properties for that person, with the exception that the individual's attempts at writing still fade.
SCP-8260: Notable Test Cases:
Subject 3: Dr. Nicolas Lessing, a self-proclaimed "proud misanthrope."
Result: Dr. Lessing stared at the journal for six minutes before reporting the first two pages were increasingly covered in slobber and muddy paw prints. Dr. Lessing continued reading the first two pages for an additional fifty minutes.
Subject 2: Dr. Kate Martin's four-year-old grandson, who has yet to know loss.
Result: Pages remained blank. When the child requested and was provided with crayons, the date appeared in the upper-left corner as usual, and he was able to doodle on the first page.
Subject 1: Lead Researcher Dr. Liliana Li
Result:I heard what my mom would say if she lived long enough to hold her grandchild for the first time. I heard how much she wished my husband and I stayed with her for our fifth anniversary, instead of us going out of state. I read about how much she enjoyed it when I took her to the movies. I read about how proud of me she was and how full of life she felt. There were times when I believed she was alive. I organized my life to make sure I could read this every day for years because it felt like it was on me to keep her going. I missed a day, which had to happen eventually. I missed half of the life I lived over the past few years because my mind was so focused on tonight's entry and then it was all gone.
I do not know if it's better to know her like this or not at all. I've learned everything I could about the life she actually led, and this seems like an impossibly idealized version of her life. But I also want to believe it all could have happened if she hadn't died giving birth to me.
I had accepted that she was long gone, but then I grieved her every night when she inevitably signed off with "Talk to you tomorrow!" I guess this doesn't matter if it's wrong or unfair or selfish, it matters that it's inevitable.
It really doesn't seem right that a little more would hurt this much. I guess we should be grateful for what we get.
Oh well.
Addendum.8260.1: SCP-8260 is slated for incineration on 8/8/2024 at the latest.
