章 214: A curse or a blessing? -209
Immortality was the dream of many, and many had done much to try and attain it. Yet immortality was truly a rarity. Even then, people never stopped dreaming about living forever or even just another year, another decade, or another century.
In the world of the SCP universe, many people sought to increase the length of their lives to escape death. People like the members of the O5 council of the SCP Foundation were some of those who managed to succeed.
Though they were hardly alone, after all, SCP-349 was a cemetery for so-called immortal beings. And given the recorded length of their lives on there, they had to have somehow increased their natural lifespans.
That was all without taking into account SCP objects, which there were plenty of, which were immortal in some way.
In the Marvel Universe, there were people who sought to live forever. Some, like The Ancient One, sought to live to protect the world from danger, while others, like Xu Wenwu, sought to live only to rule.
Whatever it was, people who wished for it and failed or people who got their wish, people always wanted to live just a little bit longer, not wanting to die outside of very specific situations.
For most people, immortality is a dream, something they wish for. Yet only someone who possesses it can truly understand the burden that comes with it.
Take the ancient One. She had willingly allowed herself to die so that someone else could take on her mantle, someone else who could defend the world in her place.
She had done that because she was tired. For more than half a millennium, she had worked tirelessly to protect the world from threats none understood but her.
She would never get rewarded for all her hard work, and no one even recognized it. She was tired, she longed for peace, longed for the ability to rest, to embrace death.
Most immortals had some obsession with distracting themselves from the endlessness of their existence, like the universal elders of the Marvel universe, the collector and his collection, and the grandmaster and his games.
Members of the O5 Council, too, threw themselves into their work. They, too, were obsessed with fighting against the anomalous and upholding their own goals to secure, contain, and protect.
The reason for this obsession they all had, were naturally the downsides of being immortal. The fact that everyone you knew, everyone you loved, would die around you. And even if you could keep someone alive, would love last forever?
The answer the members of the Foundation found was no, love does not last forever. They had all tried to love, to fill their lives with meaning, but only their work could satisfy them. It was a burden they bore to work endlessly for years, decades, centuries, and millennia.
Though they had chosen this fate and had done so willingly, they could still surround themselves with their empire of a secret organization to give their lives meaning.
But not everyone was so lucky, not everyone chose this fate, and not everyone was as lucky as them; not everyone could enjoy becoming superhuman in their immortality; some instead were far more cursed than blessed.
One such unlucky being was an old man who walked endlessly around the world, forever cursed due to his own luck.
No living person knew his name; the SCP Foundation called him SCP-1440, the old man from nowhere. SCP-1440 was a walking disaster, bringing ruin and misfortune to all who crossed his path.
Unlike the members of the O5 Council, his immortality was not a gift he had sought but a curse he had stumbled upon. His presence alone was enough to cause catastrophic events, and he wandered the earth with the weight of countless deaths on his conscience.
SCP-1440's immortality was not the result of a deliberate pursuit of eternal life. Instead, it was an unwanted consequence of his unique and tragic circumstances. He had become a force of nature, a living embodiment of chaos and destruction. His life was a lonely, endless journey, marked by the inevitable suffering he brought to others.
The Foundation had tried numerous times to contain him, but his curse made it impossible. Each containment effort ended in disaster, with facilities destroyed and lives lost.
In a world where immortality is often romanticized, SCP-1440 is a stark reminder of the potential horrors that eternal life could bring. He is a living paradox, a being who could not die yet brings death wherever he goes. His existence is a cautionary tale, a dark counterpoint to the dreams of those who seek to escape mortality.
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[A small town in Ohio]
SCP-1440 trudged through the outskirts of a small town in Ohio. His weathered face and tattered clothes made him look like any other drifter, but his presence was far from ordinary. He would leave a truly unforgettable mark on this place; one it would never forget nor recover from.
He knew that him being here wasn't a good idea, but he couldn't stop wandering around, nor could he leave this place again, for just as he felt the need to wander, he too felt the need to stay around, to be around people once more.
He was lonely.
As SCP-1440 wandered into the town, he felt a pang of sorrow. He knew the consequences of his presence, yet the desire for human connection drew him in. The town's residents went about their daily lives, unaware of the impending doom that followed the old man from nowhere.
The first day in the town passed without incident. SCP-1440 found a quiet corner in a local park, sitting on a bench and watching the world go by. People gave him curious glances but paid him little mind. Children played nearby, and the sounds of laughter filled the air. For a moment, SCP-1440 allowed himself to feel a semblance of peace.
By the second day, subtle signs of trouble began to appear. A sudden storm rolled in, bringing torrential rain and strong winds. The town's power grid, unprepared for such a storm, faltered, leaving several neighborhoods in darkness. Trees were uprooted, and streets were flooded. The townspeople were puzzled by the unexpected weather, but they carried on, unaware of the true cause.
On the third day, the situation worsened. A series of inexplicable accidents occurred throughout the town. A gas line ruptured, causing a fire that damaged several buildings. The local hospital saw an influx of patients with bizarre injuries and illnesses. Rumors of a curse began to spread, and the once lively atmosphere turned tense and fearful.
By the fourth day, the town was in a state of panic. The town's infrastructure was failing, and emergency services were overwhelmed. The mayor called for outside assistance, but help was slow to arrive. SCP-1440 remained in the park, a silent witness to the unfolding chaos. He felt the weight of his curse more acutely than ever, but he could not bring himself to leave.
On the fifth day, SHIELD finally took notice. Reports of the town's inexplicable decline had reached their ears, and Nick Fury decided to investigate. He dispatched a team to Ohio to assess the situation and provide assistance.
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[Triskelion]
Nick Fury sat at his desk, reviewing the reports from Ohio. The incidents were too numerous and too coincidental to ignore. "Maria, get me a team on the ground in Ohio. We need to find out what's happening there."
Maria Hill nodded, tapping into SHIELD's network. "We're on it, sir. Local authorities have reported a series of bizarre accidents and a general sense of unease in the town. We're pulling up live feeds now."
The screen flickered and resolved into a live feed of the town's center. The once bustling market was now deserted, and the streets were eerily quiet. "What do we know about the source of these incidents?" Fury asked.
"Nothing concrete yet," Hill replied. "It all seems normal enough, but the scale of it all is highly suspicious; someone or something is likely causing this, so I can't even start to guess about it; there is nothing special about that town."
Nick Fury frowned, leaning closer to the screen. "Keep me updated. I want a full report from our team as soon as they touch down."
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[The small town]
By the time Shield got down to the small town, there wasn't much left standing. They arrived to find nothing but ruins and death. Everyone that hadn't been smart enough to leave had all died, the entire place completely destroyed, looking like something out of a warzone.
Agents Jackson Stone and Laura Quinn surveyed the devastation with grim expressions. The town, once bustling with life, was now a ghost town. Buildings were reduced to rubble, and the streets were eerily silent.
"This is worse than we thought," Laura said, her voice tinged with sadness. "Whatever happened here, it left nothing but destruction in its wake."
Jackson nodded, scanning the area for any signs of survivors. "We need to find out what caused this. There might still be some clues left behind."
The SHIELD team spread out, carefully picking their way through the debris. Yet they found nothing but death left in that place, it wasn't before they took the search to outside the town that they spotted the figure of a suspicious individual walking away from the town.
"Look over there," Jackson said, pointing towards the figure in the distance. "That might be our guy."
Laura squinted, her eyes narrowing. "Let's approach with caution. We don't know what we're dealing with here."
As Jackson and Laura got closer to the figure, they could see it was an old man, his clothes tattered and his face etched with sorrow. He moved slowly, as if carrying an immense weight on his shoulders.
"Excuse me, sir," Laura called out, trying to keep her voice steady. "We're with SHIELD. We need to ask you a few questions."
The old man stopped and turned to face them, his eyes filled with centuries of sadness. "You shouldn't be here," he said softly. "There's nothing left for you in that town."
Jackson stepped forward, his tone firm but respectful. "We need to understand what happened here. Can you tell us your name?"
To this question the old man shook his head and started walking away again. Something the agents took as a sign of guilt or just further suspicion.
"We can't let him go," Laura said, stepping in front of SCP-1440 to block his path. "Sir, we need you to come with us. It's for your safety as well as ours."
The man just sighed and nodded his head. Hoping that maybe these people could do something to help him, he wasn't confident, but he didn't have much of a choice. And so, he was loaded into a jet headed straight for D.C.
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