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No further tissue samples may be taken from SCP-1389 without explicit permission from the site director.
Description: SCP-1389 is a gilded icon of a Christian saint (presumably Mary Magdalene), rendered in the Russian Orthodox tradition. The subject of the depiction has an expression of great distress, and its image is raised approximately one millimeter from the background of the icon.
The icon was retrieved from an Orthodox monastery near [REDACTED], Russia.
SCP-1389's anomalous properties went unnoticed until increasingly large numbers of pilgrims were reported to be congregating there to see the "living saint". When asked about SCP-1389's origins, the resident monks claimed that the icon was given as a gift to the monastery by an anonymous artist, and that it had been in their possession for centuries.
SCP-1389 has no abnormal visual attributes, but the figure it depicts is slightly warmer than standard facility temperature, at 35 degrees Celsius. X-ray imaging reveals a complete human skeleton directly underneath the surface of the image, flattened and to scale with the figure's form.
No dissections have been carried out on SCP-1389 due to the possibility of destroying it, but CT scans indicate that fully functional circulatory and nervous systems exist underneath the "paint", implying that it is a living organism. Neurological tests have proven that SCP-1389 has an emotional reaction when spoken to, and is likely intelligent. Development is underway on potential methods for SCP-1389 to communicate.
Addenum 1389-01: Testimonies of SCP-1389 It was initially believed that SCP-1389 had no capacity for movement, but the figure has shown that it is capable of moving its eyes to follow an object. An interface based on those utilized by victims of full-body paralysis has been installed in front of SCP-1389, consisting of a panel of Cyrillic letters and common Russian phrases that are activated when it makes eye contact with them. After demonstrating the device's functionality to it, SCP-1389 has proven to be capable of communicating with testing personnel through this interface, but has thus far refused to respond directly to questioning. SCP-1389's statements can happen days apart from one another, and are often only semi-coherent.
The following transcriptions have been translated from their original Russian.
3/17/██, 10:25 AM: i was born of my mothers womb not cobbled together by the clumsy hand of the artisan in this cage of wood and flesh 3/17/██, 11:54 AM: i am undone i have broken my vows i am undone 3/19/██, 9:38 PM: those fools took a sinner to be their saint and i obliged them 4/18/██, 2:18 AM they held me prisoner as an example to the others they rang their thunderous church bells praising god yet i often wonder which god it is they prayed to █/██/██, █:██ ██ i cannot get out █/██/██, █:██ ██ you are not my liberators « SCP-1388 | SCP-1389 | SCP-1390 » ‡ Licensing / Citation Cite this page as: "SCP-1389" by Inkshooter, from the SCP Wiki. Source: https://scpwiki.com/ scp-1389. Licensed under CC-BY-SA.
For information on how to use this component, see the License Box component. To read about licensing policy, see the Licensing Guide.
Filename: mary%20magdalene.jpg Name: Mary Magdalene by Constantin Tzanes (17th c.).jpg Author: Constantin Tzanes after engraving of J. Sadeler License: Public Domain Source Link: Wikimedia Commons _cc_licenseboxaliveartistichumanoidreligioussafesapientscp page revision: 16, last edited: 01 Oct 2022 19:32 Edit Rate (+119) Tags Discuss (30) History Files Print Site tools + Options Edit Sections Append Edit Meta Watchers Backlinks Page Source Parent Lock Page Rename Delete Help  | Terms of Service  | Privacy  | Report a bug  | Flag as objectionable Powered by Wikidot.com Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License Click here to edit contents of this page.
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