SCP-131: The “Eye Pods”

SCP-131:
The “Eye Pods”

 

THE FIRST TIME I saw them, I was walking down a facility corridor with the two researchers I met during The Clockworks incident. Since then, we’d formed a rather amiable relationship. I was helping with their work. On this particular day, I was carrying boxes of stuff they were going to use for an experiment.

Seeing as the SCP Foundation was a secret organization, they were always understaffed. That was especially true regarding work with the most valuable SCP objects, which could only be handled by personnel with high-level clearance. Merely divulging information to lower-ranked personnel was prohibited, making it difficult to find assistants for even simple tests.

They could always resort to using expendable Class D personnel or recruit random handymen and apply amnestics upon completion, but the preparations and cleanup were a hassle. While I had a certain degree of basic knowledge and a bit of authority as Iris’s accessory, I wasn’t so important that it would be a terrible loss if something did happen to me. All told, this put me in a rather convenient position.

It wasn’t as if Dr. Bright implemented experiments using me every day. With more time than I knew what to do with, I actively sought out such odd jobs as a means to kill time. I wasn’t sure if they took a liking to me or if they simply viewed me as a handy helper, but these two researchers in particular started calling on me rather casually to go help with their experiments.

“I can’t help but think when I see Young Girl that God put her on this world as an ironic testament to the violent nature of foolhardy men.” Dressed in soft, white clothing again today, Dr. Selkie made that scathing remark and sharply clicked her tongue. “Tsk, tsk, tsk!” More often than not, that tongue clicking was a warning sign she was in a bad mood. But as far as I could tell, she was almost always in a huff about something or other.

Donned in gold from head to toe (looking closely, I was impressed to find even his matching lab coat held a hint of gold), Dr. Goldman gazed lovingly at Dr. Selkie. He offered her a pleasant smile that revealed his shining white teeth. “Your theory is flawed, my darling Selkie. It’s not just men—women are affected by Young Girl as well. And when you say ‘God,’ to which religion or mythology are you referring?”

“Jeez, it’s not like you’re three years old! Can’t you comprehend abstract expressions?” Dr. Selkie snapped.

“May I consider that a discriminatory remark against three-year-olds or immature children?” Dr. Goldman quipped.

“You’re so quick to change the subject! Take my frumpy puppy death glare! Why do you turn tail and run the second someone finds fault with you?”

“Maybe because you don’t simply point out my flaws, you dig into them with a knife. Now, in short, you’re trying to say men are insufferably violent and foolish creatures. As a man, surely that means I am no different. Correct?”

“Don’t tie it into a neat package with that ‘in short’ crap! You’re getting under my skin! Oh, you drive me batty!” she howled.

The two researchers were having fun (I only just recently realized this, but their foulmouthed banter was actually a form of expressing their affection) chatting like usual. They soon realized I was straggling fairly far behind and turned back in unison to face me.

“Dear, aren’t we walking a bit too fast?” Dr. Selkie asked.

“I believe so. You’re falling awfully far behind, ███. Seeing as my masculinity is under fire at the moment, I would rather avoid emphasizing my brute strength—a symbol of manliness—by taking half of those boxes off your hands,” Dr. Goldman said smoothly.

“Unbelievable! You always have an excuse for everything!”

I hobbled along as the quarrelsome duo looked back at me. I was carrying a bunch of boxes of something or other at their request today. There were a total of six. None were all that heavy on their own, but they were a nightmare to carry when stacked. It wouldn’t be so bad if I could use some sort of cart, but I was stuck carrying them in my arms.

As a normal high school boy without any weight training, this was a pretty exhausting task. Not only were they getting heavy, they were so bulky that it was outright hard to walk—I could barely see around the stack.

The rule of thumb regarding anything related to SCP objects was “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” While I hadn’t asked about their contents, I couldn't help but wonder: What was inside?

“Nothing much. It’s not like we’ve got anything creepy stuffed in there,” Dr. Selkie said as if the question was written on my face. Unable to bear watching me struggle any longer, she stretched to grab the box on top of the stack with both arms as she said, “They’re full of toys, picture books, and—what else was it again?—to give Young Girl.”

“Four of the six boxes are full of candy and snacks,” Dr. Goldman answered. Grabbing two of the boxes, he said, “Look,” as he broke one open to reveal the contents.

Sure enough, it was stuffed with the brightly colored wrappers typical of foreign candies. There were hard candies, gummies, biscuits, and a variety of chocolates… It was loaded with the sort of candy that most kids would flip out over.

“Sweets are good for when you’re tired. Here, you can have one,” Dr. Goldman said.

Smiling pleasantly as usual, Dr. Goldman peeled off the silver wrapper of a chocolate bar he snatched from the box before unceremoniously stuffing it in my mouth. My mouth was filled with the sweet flavor. With a disapproving glare, Dr. Selkie once again clicked her teeth, “Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!”

“Is it wise to give him a piece on a whim, Dear?” she asked.

“Everyone is so scared of Young Girl right now, they’re increasing her treats in hopes of keeping her happy… One less is no big deal. Don’t worry, it’s fine,” Dr. Goldman assured her.

This had been bugging me for a while now, so I threw my question at Dr. Goldman while he was trying to assuage Dr. Selkie. I wanted to know who exactly this “Young Girl” the two researchers kept mentioning was… It was an innocent question, but their expressions instantly turned grave.

“Even among the SCP objects, it’s an extremely dangerous monster,” said Dr. Selkie.

“You must never go anywhere near it,” answered Dr. Goldman.

It was unusual for the two chatterboxes to come out so harsh and concise. I wondered what the deal was with this Young Girl… But when it came to SCP objects, it was quite literally best to let sleeping gods lie, so I didn’t press any further.

“Oops!” Due to grabbing the boxes and opening one while walking, a piece of candy slipped out and fell to the ground. It bounced across the floor. And just our luck, the candy—a piece of chewing gum, I thought—slipped right under one of the vending machines scattered throughout the corridors.

“Oh, jeez,” Dr. Selkie snapped. “Why must you be such a klutz, dear?”

“Why must you act like I did something wrong?” Dr. Goldman retorted.

I told the constantly bickering couple something along the lines that I would go get it. I put down the cardboard boxes and made my way over to the vending machine.

After carrying the heavy burden for so long, my back and arms were sore and tired. Grunting like an old man, I dropped down to peek under the vending machine. And that’s when I found them. No, perhaps it was the other way around and they found me.

 

***

 

The first thing I saw were eyes. In the sliver of darkness born in the small space below the vending machine, there were two gleaming, giant eyeballs. Certain something creepy was lurking under there, I instinctively screamed and scooted away. Noticing how I was freaking out, the two researchers looked at me with eyes wide in surprise.

“What’s the matter?” Dr. Goldman asked as he put the boxes down on the spot and quickly raced toward me out of concern. He thrust his hand toward the slightly golden lab coat’s inner breast pocket to pull out a handgun of sorts. Due to the dangerous nature of their work, quite a few researchers bore arms on a regular basis. Still carrying the box, Dr. Selkie was timidly inching toward me.

“Is everything okay? Do you see cause for me to call security…?” Dr. Selkie asked.

“No need,” Dr. Goldman replied with a deep sigh of relief upon squatting next to me—I was too scared to stand. He took a peek under the vending machine for himself. “There’s nothing dangerous. The Eye Pods here gave him a fright.”

The Eye Pods…?

“Hey, come here. Come on out,” Dr. Goldman coaxed as if calling cats.

He placed a biscuit from one of the boxes on the palm of his hand and waved it in front of the vending machine. As he did this, I could hear the sound of a small wheel squeaking, and something slipped out from behind the vending machine. Possibly as a safety provision for earthquakes, the vending machine wasn’t pressed flat against the building wall, leaving a narrow space between it and the paint. The thing must have slipped through that narrow crack, just like a cat!

It was a strange creature unlike anything I had ever seen before. The thing was roughly thirty centimeters in height, making it about as tall as a human toddler. It didn’t resemble any other creature that existed on the face of the planet. Overall elliptical, the top of its body gently came to a point. In other words, it was tear-shaped—or you could say it was shaped like an almond. It was a dull orange (I didn’t learn until later, but apparently that color was called “burnt orange”). What appeared to be a massive blue eyeball was located smack in the center of its body.

I wasn’t sure how, but this strange creature was able to move on its own. Upon closer observation, I found a wheel-like protrusion at the base of this mysterious creature, which was how it slid across the floor.

What the heck…? I’ve seen a bunch of strange things since I first started living in this research facility, but these weird things never ceased to amaze me.

“It’s SCP-131-A, one of the ‘Eye Pods,’” Dr. Selkie explained with a smile as she came closer. She’d dropped her guard once she deciding there was no imminent danger. “Considered to be biomechanical creatures, they are deemed safe to be left unattended. Much like Builder Bear and Josie the Half-Cat, they are allowed to freely roam this site… I wonder why we have so many running loose here.”

“I imagine the Foundation is intentionally allowing multiple Safe SCP objects to wander around in order to observe how they interact,” Dr. Goldman responded.

I hesitantly interrupted the two researchers as they fell into another scientific-sounding conversation. Uh, it looked like another one of those so-called “Eye Pods” was under the vending machine. It was staring at me with its one big blue eye for some time now. Staring as if it needed help…

“Really?” Dr. Selkie bent over to check under the vending machine and clapped her hands to her mouth. “Good Heavens! Is the poor thing stuck?”

As if to agree, “Yes! This is horrible!” the burnt orange Eye Pod noisily squeaked its wheel as it spun excessively around us. With a shrug, Dr. Goldman thrust his hands beneath the vending machine. He motioned me to help with a flick of his eyes, so I went over to give him an assist.

“For the record, we have only verified the existence of SCP-131-A and SCP-131-B. They aren’t all that bright, so they get themselves caught in messes like this rather frequently,” Dr. Goldman explained.

“They’ve even managed to get stuck in air vents,” Dr. Selkie added.

The air vents…? As in the ducts behind the ventilation fan near the corridor ceiling? What I wanted to know was how the heck they got there to begin with.

“Beats me. They can climb sheer surfaces, so I suspect they accidentally fell in while running along the wall or ceiling,” Dr. Selkie said.

They really weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. I found that adorable, honestly. My heart melted for the little guys.

But moving right along! It took a bit of time, but with Dr. Goldman’s help, I was able to pull the other Eye Pod out from under the vending machine. It got itself jammed in there nice and good, and it took a great deal of strength and perseverance to save it. But it was well worth the effort. We successfully managed to rescue the other Eye Pod, which looked almost exactly the same as the one that popped out from behind the vending machine, albeit a bit dusty. The variation in color was the only true discrepancy, with this one a being dull yellow (supposedly called “mustard yellow”).

Rejoicing over their reunion, the two Eye Pods squeaked their wheels as they spun in place in a strange display of affection (I think?).

“I’m so happy for them. They must be relieved,” Dr. Selkie said, a surprisingly gentle expression on her face as she watched them.

As if in a show of gratitude, the two Eye Pods raced around us and rubbed up against our legs. However, their relief was short-lived. The Eye Pod that was trapped under the vending machine slipped on a dust bunny stuck to its wheel, tripping spectacularly. Racing directly behind it, the other tripped over the first and flipped over like something out of a hilarious slap-stick routine.

They really were stupid… But funny, too. We broke into peals of laughter as we watched their comical yet endearing antics for a while. Here at the SCP Foundation’s research site, this was one of the rare moments that was genuinely jovial and peaceful.

 

***

 

From that day on, I occasionally spotted those mysterious and adorable creatures, the “Eye Pods.” Those little guys (they appeared genderless, but I decided to call them that anyway) truly were harmless by all accounts, and allowed to freely roam the research site on a daily basis. From what I gathered, the on-site personnel treated them along the lines of stray cats. I myself would pet them whenever I came across them.

For the record, these little buddies didn’t require food or sleep. They didn’t even leave droppings! Not only were they free of all the headaches involved with feeding a pet and taking it out on walks, they were friggin’ adorable.

I guess they didn’t have breaks despite moving at pretty fast speeds, for sometimes they would crash into walls and flip over… After helping them back up and having fun holding them, they eventually took a liking to me.

The Eye Pods were constantly trailing behind me as of late. It wasn’t like they were underfoot, and many of my days were filled with nothing to do, so I often spent my time playing with them. For instance, I would use a rubber ball to play fetch, like if they were puppies or something (For the record, they would trip and tumble over the ball. They never got so much as a scratch, so evidently they were super tough). That was how they came to enrich my life as some sort of beloved pet…

Then one day, these guys actually came into my room. Always tagging along at my heels, they simply rolled right in. It didn’t seem right to kick them out, and there was still time before bed, so I decided to play with them.

There was a rope laying around, so we played tug-of-war. I tied a loop at one end of the rope, wrapped it around one of the Eye Pods, and began the endless game of tug-of-war. It was so much fun feeling it resist my tugs and pull at me in turn, that I got totally immersed in the game and lost track of time. It was just an innocent game.

For the record, this was around when Iris offered to let me have half of the room as my own personal space. She brought in a bunch of stuff, like a bed for me to sleep on along with a locker to store my personal possessions. Interior decoration didn’t mean anything to me, so we kept the wallpaper and carpet as they were.

It felt as if I’d upgraded from freeloader to roommate. I still felt it wasn’t right for a mature young man to sleep in the same room as a mature young woman, but apparently I was viewed as nothing more than an accessory to Iris. We even received official orders to coexist in the same room for observation purposes.

Honestly, the idea of living alone in a foreign country I didn’t know anything about made me uneasy. Iris didn’t show any indication she minded my being here, so I accepted her kind offer and complied with the arrangement. We had the occasional, minor mishap that were inevitable in co-ed life, but overall, Iris and I got along just fine as roommates. At least, we did until this day.

“..….”

Iris didn’t come back until late that evening. She occasionally had late days like this. Unlike how I was regarded as little better than a guinea pig, she operated as a researcher (Elements of her job were top secret, so she couldn’t tell me about it. I didn’t know any of the details concerning what she did.). It left her working like a beaver.

Unusual for the typically bubbly and chipper Iris, a raincloud was hanging over her head this day. I wondered if she made a mistake at work, or if something bad happened. Growing concerned, I called out to her after she silently entered the room. I welcomed her back… And then I asked what happened. Was she feeling okay? Did something happen?

“Yes, there is a somewhat…sticky situation,” Iris said, her face slightly softening with relief upon seeing me, only to darken with a frown. “What the heck? What do you think you’re doing?”

I honestly told her how I was playing with the Eye Pods.

“Please don’t let those things in our room… You do realize that just because they’re Object Class: Safe doesn’t mean they aren’t SCP objects, right?” Pressing a finger against her forehead, Iris spat with disgust, “Jeez, don’t tell me you’re wanting to keep them here!” The thought never occurred to me, but it sounded like a wonderful idea. So I basically asked if we could keep them. At this point in time, I was pretty infatuated with the fun and adorable Eye Pods. They bonded to me as quickly as if they were cats, begging for attention in the most adorable of ways. The idea of a future that featured them constantly scooting about our room sounded pretty exciting to me.

“Forget it,” Iris said, arms crossed, a baleful expression on her face. “As the owner of this room, I won’t allow it. Go dump them outside,” she said bluntly. So harsh! It was like she was scolding a little kid.

Growing a little bent out of shape, I brought up a variety of points in hopes to win her over. There were mental benefits to having them in our room. We already made the rule that I could do whatever I wanted in my half of the room. And not to mention, humans had the right to pursue happiness…

“When I say, ‘No,’ I mean it,” Iris said adamantly, refusing to budge.

Ultimately she resorted to force. Marching straight toward me, she snatched up the Eye Pod I was playing tug-of-war with in both arms. Then she roughly tore the rope off the little guy, made a beeline for the door, swung it open, and literally dropped it out into the corridor. Quickly slamming the door shut, she snatched up the other Eye Pod that tried to flee from her when it sensed danger and dumped it outside in much the same manner.

She quickly shut and locked the door, effectively kicking them out. Upset by how outrageously unfair she was acting, I gave Iris a piece of my mind. I felt grateful toward Iris, yes, and she generally treated me nice up till this point. I respected—even loved—this straightforward and kindhearted girl as a person, but the heavy-handed approach she took ticked me off.

“No matter what you say, this is the way it is,” Iris insisted, refusing to hear reason. Not bothering to change into her pajamas, she flopped onto her bed. “This discussion is over. I’m going to bed and you should go to sleep soon yourself,” she snapped.

Grabbing the remote by her pillow, Iris turned the lights off and refused to say another word. Outside our room came the sad sound of the Eye Pods continually bonking against our door as if to say they didn’t understand why they were kicked out.

 

***

 

From that day on, Iris and I pretty much stopped talking to each other. No morning salutations for us upon waking in the morning! Every morning we ate breakfast together without fail, but now our breakfasts were silent as we stuffed the cereal into our mouths, refusing to so much as look the other in the eye.

Despite our rocky relationship, for some odd reason, Iris pushed off her usual obligations to constantly hang over my shoulder. She was in a rotten mood the whole time, barring any hope of working things out with her silent brooding.

Whenever Iris saw the Eye Pods, which would affectionately race toward me if I entered their line of sight, she would chase them away with threatening behavior such as stomping her feet or yelling at them. When I asked what would possess her to do such a thing, she refused to tell me. I was getting the royal silent treatment.

As she grated on my nerves more and more, our relationship grew increasingly strained. The air between us was constantly heavy. Clueless how to repair our failing relationship, things grew so brutal even the high-handed Dr. Bright asked, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” out of concern.

The mere memory of these never-ending bleak days was enough to make me feel depressed… After roughly two weeks passed, my long fight with Iris suddenly came to an end.

 

***

 

Iris and I returned to our room at the same time that day. Dr. Bright had discontinued all testing until such time as our relationship returned to normal. If ordered to continue the tests while our relationship was still unstable, there was no telling what sort of accidents could ensue. That was the official excuse Dr. Bright offered, but I bet they simply didn’t want to get caught in the awkward atmosphere we created. Our Dr. Bright was the type of person to alter the schedule for important tests over such trivial personal whims.

As a result, I spent day in and day out in a mindless daze… At times like this, the hands on the clock seemed to move at an agonizing crawl. It felt like this was one of those “times that try men’s souls.” Even though I wasn’t really doing anything, I felt completely drained.

Iris was in no better shape than I; it wasn’t unusual to find faint rings hanging under the usually energetic girl’s eyes. But our relationship was so chilly that I couldn’t even bring myself to show concern.

Darn, I hoped we wouldn’t stay like this forever… Now that I had lost Iris and the Eye Pods—the two things that set my heart at ease—harsh reality suddenly came crashing down upon my shoulders all at once.

What was going to become of me? Would I have to spend the rest of my life in this shady research facility? What was my family doing? If I continued to skip school, would I be forced to withdraw? Even if I wasn’t kicked out, wasn’t it just a matter of time before one of these dangerous SCP objects took my life, anyway? The more I thought about it, the darker my prospects seemed. I couldn’t help but drop my head despondently.

I wanted to recover my peaceful life. If I couldn’t have that, I wanted something to lighten my heart, even if only a little. I was reaching my limit—on the verge of bursting into an unwarranted fit of tears.

“Gah…! I can’t take it anymore,” Iris suddenly groaned.

Turning toward Iris out of curiosity, I saw she was sprawled across her bed on her stomach, kicking her feet wildly. It looked like she was practicing the flutter kick.

“It should be fine now. Yeah, this has extended well beyond the prescribed timeframe. I’ve personally determined the problem has been resolved,” she whispered nonsensically to herself before lifting her head up.

Realizing I was watching her, Iris broke into a broad grin and apologized, “I’m so sorry!”

Uh, what…?

Sitting on her knees atop her bed, Iris’s face turned bright red as she trembled in anger. “First, hear me out! The inhumane way that I, Iris Thompson, have treated you these past two weeks was under orders by Dr. Bright and by no means of my own accord!” she cried.

I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “inhumane…” But hold up! What was going on here?

“That’s what I’m telling you!” Iris fervently insisted, pounding the bed several times like a child throwing a tantrum. “I stopped greeting you first thing in the morning, holding decent conversations with you, and overall ignored you! I threw out the Eye Pods when I knew you’re fond of them! But I didn’t do any of those things because I wanted to!”

Iris practically tumbled off her bed and walked up to me. While I stared at her dumbstruck, she grabbed my hand and held it tight. It was a painful, bone-crushing grip.

“Please believe me! I care for you greatly!” she insisted.

Simply hearing that was enough to make me forgive and forget all that transpired. As I felt the warmth of her body, I strived to fully understand the weight of her words.

“I realize you might find this strange since we haven’t even known each other for a full year yet, but you’re my family! You don’t mind if I think of you as family, do you?” Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at me straight on. “I no longer have a real family. I was torn from them when I was identified as an SCP object, and I can never reach out to them again. But you and I are like two peas in a pod. We stay in the same room and dine at the same table—we’re family!”

Family. They were part of my distant normal life now… I guess the same was true of Iris as well. Branded an anomalous entity—an SCP object—the normal, peaceful life she enjoyed was ripped away from her.

“The two of us are bound together by the name SCP-105! The concept of ‘SCP’ that stole everything from me now serves as a bond between us! And that honestly, really makes me happy…!” Unable to hold it back any longer, Iris began sobbing.

 

***

 

It took a hefty amount of time offering Iris words of comfort and reassuring physical contact such as holding her hands to get her to stop crying. But through it all, I finally came to understand the situation. This was what I gleaned between sobs…

The Foundation restricted growing too attached to SCP-131, also known as the “Eye Pods.” There were a variety of reasons for this, which included an SCP object I still didn’t have any dealings with (she mentioned something about an SCP-173…) that went right over my head. Oblivious of the Foundation’s regulation, I displayed strong affection for the Eye Pods. In order to contend with this problem, Iris acted under Dr. Bright’s orders and followed the semi-standardized protocol on how to terminate amiable relationships with the little guys.

The protocol was essentially ensuring the Eye Pods absolutely never got near me. With temperament akin to domestic cats, they were quick to bond with people who treated them well or played with them, but would lose all interest in the bonded individual if ignored for roughly two weeks.

Come to think of it, I didn’t so much as hear the unique sound of their wheels once since I woke this morning, let alone catch sight of them. I guess they lost interest in me…probably.

They moved at rather high speeds—from what I heard, they averaged anywhere from five to thirty meters a second, but could go even faster—so Iris was constantly on high alert to ensure they never got anywhere near me. That took so much focus, she was evidently too preoccupied to chat. All the questions weighing on me melted away.

“That was part of it. At the time, I was also trying to squeeze in any paperwork—whatever I could complete over my PDA—so I simply didn’t have time to talk,” Iris said, looking dejected. She was such an earnest girl, she probably tried to stay on top of her work as best she could rather than taking time off from her usual duties.

“Plus, I was basically ordered to ignore you as much as possible. I’m not really sure why, but that is what Dr. Bright instructed. That’s right, this is all Dr. Bright’s fault,” she spat.

I felt that was too harsh—not that I blamed Iris for dissing that depraved researcher. In fact, I had a hunch I knew where Dr. Bright’s true intentions lay. This was a threat. If I didn’t learn my lesson after enduring this hell and still sought to befriend the Eye Pods for temporary solace again, Dr. Bright would enact this protocol to tear me from them once more. They would throw us into another war of frigid silence. They was warning me never to befriend the Eye Pods again if I didn’t want that to happen… That was the nature of the threat. No, it was more like punishment.

I didn’t feel alive these past two weeks. Simply being unable to chat with Iris made my heart gradually fall into decay. I never wanted to go through that again.

I felt like a prisoner who’d committed some sort of crime, received his sentence, and was thrown into the slammer… I was to reflect and mend my ways, resolving never to act in defiance of the rules again. That was the nature of this threat, punishment, and mandate.

Henceforth, I would adhere to the rule I learned though this incident. As I promised that to myself, Iris gave me a strained smile and said, “It’s okay, ███. I realize it is truly sad and upsetting to push away something that likes you… I felt the exact same way these past two weeks.”

Huh? By any chance, did Iris think of me as some pet along the lines of an indoor dog…? Even if it wasn’t intentional, that was how it sounded.

“I will bury the space—the hole—in your heart that you used the Eye Pods to fill,” Iris said as she drew her face close to mine, her proclamation making my heart go pitter-patter.

She pulled a rope out from somewhere. I recognized that rope! It was the one I used when playing with the Eye Pods.

“Here, you take that end. I’ll hold this end,” Iris said happily, back to her usual chipper self. Wrapping her fingers around the rope, her eyes sparkled adorably.

“We tug over the rope, right? And that’s supposed to be fun? I don’t really get it myself, but I’ll do my best!” she declared and began yanking at the rope… The sight of that alone was enough to blow the dissatisfaction and depression accumulated in me to smithereens.