Ornate bow and arrow (Open Clip Art)
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Item #: SCP-5093
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-5093 is to be stored in a standard reinforced security safe It is should only be accessible to Level 4+ staff, excepting those with permission to access from Level 4+ staff.
Description: SCP-5093 is an ornately decorated arrow that measures 110 centimeters in length. The arrow shaft is made from ficus religiosa. The shaft is inset with with sapphires and rubies. The arrowhead is composed of an unknown metal, tested to be at least as hard as wurtzite boron nitride. The fletching is made from particularly large feathers of unknown origin.
SCP-5093 was recovered just south of the Himalayas, located in the epicenter of a smoldering crater measuring 138 meters in diameter and 14 meters in depth.
SCP-5093 exhibits noteworthy properties when fired under certain circumstances, which are shown in the experiment logs below and accessible only to Level 4+ staff. These properties are entirely dependent on the user wielding the arrow, and range from a simple increase in force applied to the arrow, to the arrow instantaneously reaching its target upon firing.
Experiment Log #001-00A
Class D Personnel skilled in archery instructed to use standard compound bow to fire arrow down outdoor testing range. The arrow was wildly inaccurate due to its size but otherwise exhibited no anomalous properties.
Experiment Log #002-00A
After over 100 experiments failing to activate the arrow, Dr. █████, who practices Hinduism, personally volunteered to be a test subject after seeing the arrow. After picking up the arrow, Dr. █████ chanted a prayer in Hindi, which caused the arrow to emanate a yellow glow. Upon firing, the arrow was measured to have an initial velocity of 1200 meters per second, creating a sonic boom at the point it was fired. The arrow was embedded into the target with reasonable accuracy. The properties exhibited here are consistent with some astras appearing in Hindu texts.
Experiment Log #003-00A
The foundation enlisted the aid of a skilled Hindu archer, Mr. █████, for the purposes of the experiment. After identifying SCP-5093 as the Aindrastra, Mr. █████ was reluctant to fire the arrow, repeatedly explaining to staff that he was not worthy of it. Mr. █████ was eventually convinced by Dr. █████ to fire the arrow.
When Mr. █████ chanted a prayer and fired the arrow, it created no sonic boom. Rather, a loud shrieking of the air reverberated across the testing grounds, retaining a constant volume regardless of distance from the epicenter. The shriek was detected from up to 1km away from the testing point. Furthermore, the arrow seemed to have instantly arrived at the target as no detection devices monitoring the testing point which were capable of detecting near light-speed objects, could detect the arrow midflight.
Experiment Log #003-00B
The test was repeated, but with a steel barrier between the target and Mr. █████. Upon firing the arrow, the the arrow once again instantly hit the target, but the steel barrier was destroyed after this. The results of this experiment suggest that the arrow is capable of causality reversal. Further experimentation has been requested.
Author's Note: I wanted to do a kind of SCP story like this but with an astra since around the start of the semester. It's a weird writing style from what I'm used to and it feels kind of like I'm writing a report. Anyways this is a story about the Aindrastra, the astra that Lakshmana used to behead Indrajit. In the story, it was said that the arrow was flying so fast that Indrajit, although seeing it coming, could not physically react fast enough to dodge it. I decided to have it go a step further and create an Aindrastra that not only went super fast, but reached its target so fast that it reverses the nature of cause and effect. I thought adding in the shriek for when it did this would give the Aindrastra a more intimidating and powerful nature. The arrow fired by the Doctor was really powerful and broke the sound barrier, causing a loud crack in the air. I thought "If the arrow were made even more powerful, shouldn't the noise generated be even crazier?", so I made a really loud noise that sounded the same regardless of how far they were and how much stuff was between them and the arrow.
Bibliography: The Ramayana by Krishna Dharma
I really like the style of this. The logs give it a very science fiction/fantasy feel, but still maintaining a realistic setting! If you really wanted to, you could even make it a horror science fiction story, where Lakshmana is the only one who can wield the Aindrastra and becomes the antagonist. Having an ominous log that's only a sentence or two can give the audience an uneasy feeling and also create tension. I look forward to reading more of your stories!
ReplyDeleteI really like the style of writing you did. The blackouts gave it a very Area 51 feel to the already sci-fi theme you had going. One thing I would've liked is for at different points, to have a few more black outs if possible.
ReplyDeleteHey Tyler! I really like the format of the story. I have always loved oddly formatted stories. I think they are really hard to pull off well, but you seem to have had no problem writing this one! I though the redacted names were a really nice touch as well as the arrow shaft material. Overall great story! I am looking forward to reading more of your work!
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