An SCP-8675 instance created by Jr. Researcher Salam Narjeen.
Item Number: SCP-8675
Object Class: Neutralized
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8675 instances worldwide are to be monitored. Given the large quantity of instances, containment is not feasible at this time. Embedded Foundation personnel within worldwide communities are to trace the sightings and migrations of SCP-8675 instances globally. Instances captured by Foundation personnel are to be transported to Site-58 for further analysis.
Description: SCP-8675 refers to a flock of 6,500 paper birds. Each individual instance is different, but all appear intentionally created. They can be comprised of different types of paper with various designs, colors, or writings on them, and various folding or drawing styles. When exposed to open air or in the presence of other SCP-8675 instances, the entities behave in a pattern much more similar to that of wild birds. This includes migratory and flocking behavior coordinated over long distances. SCP-8675 instances are capable of flying without displaying fatigue and can sustain flight in conditions that would normally be hazardous.
Addendum-8675-1:
On January 4th, at 10:48 AM, Site-58 experienced a disturbance when a pink SCP-8675 instance flew into the hallway from the office of Junior Researcher Salam Narjeen, who entered the corridor soon after, attempting to capture the bird. These efforts subsisted for 25 minutes, until Junior Researcher Cooper managed to contain the SCP-8675 instance using an empty Tupperware container.
Note that the bird was found to possess two names on it. One was the name of Salam Narjeen. The other was a name of a deceased five-year-old, whose name has since been redacted.
Junior Researcher Narjeen was escorted to a secure interview room for a debrief.
<BEGIN LOG>
Foreword: Junior Researcher Narjeen is seated at the interview table, her gaze distant and unfocused. She remains unresponsive until Junior Researcher Cooper enters the room and takes a seat across from her.
Cooper: Salam. Are you okay?
Narjeen: I think so.
Cooper: The bird is safe, by the way. But I have some questions… if you’re ready.
Narjeen nods.
Cooper: Can you tell me who [REDACTED] is? Why was his name on the bird? And… why was yours?
Narjeen: A few weeks ago, I stumbled across this website. I should’ve been working, but I… sometimes I can’t think about anything else. You know what I mean—I’ve told you before.
Cooper: Because of the—
Narjeen opens her mouth to interrupt Cooper, but nothing comes out. Instead, her eyes glisten in the fluorescent lighting as tears threaten to spill.
Cooper: Salam? Look, I need you to focus. Please. This is important.
Narjeen: You know, when you talk with relatives and friends from back home, they ask you what you’re doing. And they say you’re incredibly smart, that you’re going to do something incredible. But the part that goes unsaid is that your family… got out. You are one of the few hopes your home country has for peace. So you’d better do something incredible, or otherwise…
Cooper: And how does that explain your humanitarian arts and crafts project manifesting anomalous properties? Salam, you need to help me understand this.
Narjeen: I've done a lot. But all I can do for my homeland is sit here and make dumb paper birds. I’ve never even been there. I don’t know these people, or this child, and yet…I feel like I’ve failed them.
Cooper: Failed them? Do you even hear yourself? You didn’t fail anyone. But running yourself into the ground like this? That’s not helping anyone either.
Narjeen: You cannot begin to fathom the loss and pain that has been felt there for the last fifteen months, although in all fairness, neither can I.
There is a long pause.
Narjeen: I thought, maybe if I can make a bird, it can fly away and tell my people how sorry I am for not dying alongside them. Isn’t that fucked up?
Cooper: It’s not fucked up—it’s human. It’s messy, it’s painful, and it’s what we do when we don’t have answers. But Salam, you’re here for a reason. Don’t forget that.
Cooper walks around the table and places a hand on Narjeen’s shoulder as she begins to cry.
Cooper: Take a minute. We’ll finish this later.
Closing Statement: The SCP-8675-1 instance created by Junior Researcher Narjeen remains in containment. Global SCP-8675 instances will continue to be monitored for changes. At this time, further questioning of Narjeen did not reveal any additional useful information surrounding the phenomenon.
<END LOG>
Addendum-8675-2:
On January 15th, 2025, a ceasefire was declared along the Gaza Strip after 467 days of conflict. This marked a worldwide change in the behavior of SCP-8675 birds and flocks, including previously inanimate and stored instances. These behaviors were identical to migratory behaviors of real-world birds, coordinated over long distances. Migratory routes were determined to congregate at the Gaza Strip.
Following the heavily-deliberated release authorization of SCP-8675-1 due to this phenomenon, a field observation was conducted to track its behavior after being freed from containment. The instance was released near the Gaza Strip, and tracked via remote-controlled drone as it joined a larger group of SCP-8675-1 instances. Junior Researchers Narjeen and Cooper were permitted to monitor this event.
<BEGIN LOG>
Cooper: Salam?
Narjeen: Yes?
Cooper: You mentioned something about a… a website, I believe, when we first talked about SCP-8675. If you're okay with telling me, I wanted to ask if there was any other thing you felt we should know before we go any further.
Narjeen nods slowly.
Narjeen: Good a time as any, I suppose.
13:04: SCP-8675-1, having been released from containment, joins a group of approximately several dozen other SCP-8675 instances in coordinated flight above a refugee camp located in the northern Gaza Strip. The camp is densely populated with displaced humans and livestock. Below, individuals on the ground appear initially unaware of the presence of the SCP-8675 flock overhead, with many focused on collecting flour that had spilled from their bags onto the streets following recent aid drops. A significant portion of the population is observed in a kneeling position, attempting to gather the scattered supply from the ground, despite its contamination. Approximately fifteen SCP-8675 instances descend and begin pecking at the grain alongside the refugees.
Narjeen: I told you before that I can't focus sometimes because all I can think about is Palestine? Well, I stumbled upon this site. And there was a kid on there… just five years old. And no one else had made him one yet.
Narjeen chuckles.
Narjeen: It was impulsive. I grabbed some post-its from my desk, sketched something quickly, and folded it together. I thought I’d just put it away, but as soon as I finished, I looked away—and it was gone. And you know the rest.
13:06: The flock moves towards a nearby building, now reduced to rubble, with debris dispersed across a large field behind the remains of the structure. No signs of human life are detected in the area. Despite this, seventeen SCP-8675 instances descend and position themselves in rows of five within a small section of the rubble. The remaining instances continue in formation, passing over the site. Subsequent analysis confirmed the structure to have been a former schoolhouse.
Cooper: Do you have any idea why it came to life?
Narjeen: Grief, perhaps. Or memories. Just the devastating idea that there was a child who didn't get to grow up to be something other than a genocide statistic.
Cooper: So- your theory is that it was the child's spirit?
Narjeen: I didn't make the bird as a vessel for some poor, dead kid's soul. Muslims don't believe in ghosts or reincarnation or anything like that. I instead made it as… as a kindness. You know? The kindness of saying he existed, and his life was precious, and that his story was felt outside the now-cruel corner of the world where they live.
13:09: The flock shifts its flight path again toward a nearby residential area. Several houses are visible, many of which are severely damaged or destroyed. SCP-8675-1 is observed gliding toward one particular house with a collapsed roof. The bird approaches and enters the house through a large broken window on the second floor.
Narjeen: Now that I think about it, Ya Allah, it's not even a true kindness—barely an acknowledgment. Just a paper bird with a dead child's name.
She scoffs bitterly.
Narjeen: And I'm just throwing it out into the world hoping it makes someone feel better!
Cooper: Salam…
Narjeen’s eyes well up with tears, though she doesn't cry.
13:12: Inside the house, dust is suspended in the air, slowly settling over the furniture and debris. A thin layer of dust coats every surface, indicating the house has been abandoned for an extended period. Scattered remnants of personal belongings are visible, including disheveled toys, broken picture frames, and fragmented decorations. Exposed rebar is evident in several areas, suggesting structural collapse. The room appears to have been abandoned suddenly. The only recent sign of human inhabitation is the phrase "لدي أمل" drawn in the dust covering a painting still affixed to the wall.
Narjeen: I — it's not like I know this kid. I don't know any of these kids but it doesn't matter that I don't know them because someone does, someone did and — I just can't stop thinking about how unfair it all is. And… that makes me want to imagine a different reality for him, for a little while. A reality where the children went back to their families. Where they stayed in the clouds just long enough and then came back down—to draw on the walls, break vases, and refuse to go to sleep because they were so happy to be home.
13:17: SCP-8675-1 flies into an adjacent bedroom. The room contains two beds, placed at opposite ends of the space. The bird makes several laps between the bedroom and house, inspecting what remains. One bed is visibly damaged, its frame bent and mattress torn, while the other remains relatively intact, with a pillow still positioned neatly at the head. SCP-8675-1 settles onto the intact bed’s pillow and ceases movement.
Narjeen: I believe the children are in the clouds. But I know they’re not coming back.
13:39: SCP-8675-1 remains stationary on the pillow, offering no further signs of activity.
<END LOG>
All known SCP-8675 instances returned to specific locations along the Gaza Strip, predominantly school buildings and residential homes. Upon arrival, all SCP-8675 instances ceased movement. A subsequent survey of inanimate SCP-8675 instances conducted by Foundation personnel revealed that the number and distribution of the birds corresponded roughly to the 6,750 Palestinian children who had perished as a result of the Palestine-Israel war.
- Ghassan Kanafani