The SCP Experience - MalO ver1.0.0 | SCP-1471

Episode Date: September 13, 2024

SCP Foundation EUCLID class object, SCP-1471 This story was derived from https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1471 and is released under Creative Commons Sharealike 3.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Author: Andrew E. * * * DISCLAIMER: This episode contains explicit content. Parental guidance is advised for children under the age of 18. Listen at your own discretion. #thescpexperience #scp #scpfoundation #scpencounters #securecontainprotect #scpstories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you have a good birthday, Maddie? I asked. Yeah, I guess so. It was fun. That was an awfully hesitant way to describe the party I'd thrown for my little girl. We'd gotten her ears pierced by our pediatrician in the morning, which, for the record, I still thought 12 was way too young for earrings. But apparently, everyone at school had them, so what could I do?

Afterwards, we'd met up with her friends at a bowling alley, and then I'd taken everyone out for ice cream at a build-your-round Sunday bar. And to top all of that off, I ordered pizza from her favorite pizza place for dinner. Still, I knew why she might be feeling a little sulky. You just guess so? She looked up from her slice of pizza, plastered a grin on her face, and said, It was a lot of fun, Dad. Thank you. The grin faded the second she looked back down at her food.

Ah, bless her for trying to hide her disappointment. All right, I better stop holding her in suspense. Well, there's still some time before bed. Do you think this would be a good time to open your present? Her head snapped up like a grazing deer that had just heard a rustle from somewhere in the forest. My present? We should save it for another time. Wouldn't want to overwhelm you.

I'm not overwhelmed. I knew it. I knew you didn't forget. I laughed and brought up the little wrapped box I'd been hiding on the seat of the chair next to me. I wasn't as good as wrapping gifts as Madison's mother had been, but it wasn't bad for my first time alone. That sad thought nearly let loose a flood of emotions, but I pushed them down and set the box in front of her. Maddie went from deer to wolf, tearing into the wrapping with carnivorous glee. She gasped, a new phone!

She used her nails to rip the plastic covering the box and opened it. A sleek, modern phone was wriggled out of its packaging. It wasn't a top-of-the-line iPhone or anything, but it was the best I felt I could afford on a newly single parent's income. She marveled at it, powering the device on immediately. I thought you could look online for a case you like and I'll get it for you. How does that sound? Maddie nodded, but I'm not quite sure she had heard me.

Do you like it? Her nods turned furious. I love it. Thanks, Dad. She got up from her seat and circled around the table to give me a hug. Her arms were almost able to connect around my waist. I still remembered the days when those arms couldn't get past my hips. I hugged her back tightly, which made her giggle until she fought free. Can I go upstairs?

She asked, holding her new phone in excitement. Sure. You're excused. Thanks, Dad. She called over her shoulder as she sprinted up the stairs and into her room. Be careful, I called. But I knew in my heart that my warning had gone in one ear and out the other. I got my own phone out, a considerably less tech forward model than Madison's,

and saw that I had a text from my friend, Alex. We both worked as lawyers at the same firm. He was asking how the birthday party went. Alex had been a real rock for me since my wife, Lily, had died. He'd picked up my slack at work, talked me through my troubles. Hell, he'd even babysat Maddie one time when I'd been held up at the office by a tricky case. Honestly, it was only thanks to his support that we'd gone from barely surviving to, well, not exactly thriving, but doing okay.

I called him. He picked up instantly. Yeah, everything's fine. Why wouldn't it be? Because everyone else our age texts. Oh, shut up, he laughed. Good. Great, actually. Thanks for talking me into buying her the phone.

She loved it. Though next year, I'm going to give her the present a little earlier, so she doesn't think I've forgotten. Yeah, I said. You were. There was silence on the other line. You say it, Alex said, a playful tone to his voice. I could imagine his stupid grin so vividly.

It felt like he was sitting next to me. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Do I have to? No reply. Fine. I feel like a super dad. There you go. Was that so hard?

We chatted for a bit longer about Madison's birthday and then some work drama that was brewing that Alex always seemed to be in the no-on. But eventually we set our goodbyes. I poked my head into Madison's room. She was glued to her new phone screen, browsing through some apps. But I said good night and reminded her to brush her teeth before bed.

I turned in for a good night's sleep. You never know how it's going to turn out, parenting a kid. You can do everything to the best of your ability, and things still turn out bad. Like Madison's mom dying. But on the other hand, sometimes you know you've done a good job, and you can sleep easy.

Tonight was one of those nights. putting some slices of bread in the toaster the next morning when Madison sat down at the table, setting her backpack against the leg of her chair. She didn't say good morning. In fact, she looked a little down. The day after your birthday is always kind of a drag, but I got this sense that it was something different. She didn't have her phone with her, which I thought was strange. Honey, what's wrong? Nothing, she said, not making eye contact with me. Sometimes a nothing is really nothing. But my dad instincts were telling me that this nothing was something.

Come on, you can tell me. I tilted my head and stooped a little to get a better look at her face. Her eyes were watery and red. She'd been crying. Where's your phone? I asked. I think I broke it. She blubbered, tears starting to fall. Oh, ready?

I thought. That had to be a record. Did you drop it? She sniffed and shook her head. Did you get it wet? Another shake of the head. Then what? I don't know.

I woke up and it was sending me these weird, scary texts. Weird scary texts? That sounded less like a technical issue and more like a virus. Maybe she'd downloaded some kind of shady app. If that was the case, I would have to have a talk with her about technology safety. but it wasn't the end of the world. I mean, it was brand new. We could reset it to factory settings if we had to.

Okay, well, tell you what, I said. Why don't I take a look at it while you're at school? I'll see if I can fix it. Can you use your old phone today? She peaked out from under her bangs. My lips twitched, threatening a grin. But I didn't want to dismiss Madison's emotions. No, I'm not mad.

She stopped sniffling and dug into her backpack. retrieving the phone and handing it to me. I opened it and was greeted with a number lock. What's the password? I asked. My birthday. When's that again? Dad! She cried, finally giving me a smile. I smiled back at her.

Oh, right. Yesterday. I unlocked the phone and started browsing through it. There was nothing too unusual. I mean, I didn't recognize half the apps, but they didn't set off my scammer alarm bells. I'll look through this when I'm at work, okay, and see if I can figure out what's wrong. Now let's get moving. We don't want either of us to be late, do we?

We scarfed down the food and hopped into the car. After I embarrassed Madison with a hug goodbye in front of the school building, I high-tailed it to work. I set my briefcase down on the cheap wooden desk and sat in my past its prime roller chair that didn't roll so well anymore. I was sifting through Madison's phone, just about to check out the weird, scary text messages she'd mentioned when Alex sat down next to me.

How's life, Superdad? You can't make fun of me for saying something you forced me to say, Alex. I think you'll find I can, he chuckled. Is that Maddie's new phone? Why do you have it? She said it's broken. I think she might have accidentally downloaded a virus or something. I opened her text messenger. There was only one thread in her inbox. So that must have been where the texts were coming from. Instead of weird messages, there were only images the other person had sent in the thread. The most recent one was of Maddie's school. It looked to have been taken on the sidewalk leading up to the main entryway. The photo was in black and white, but it was clearly taken in the daytime, though it must have been on a weekend, because

no children were present. But there, behind the double doors, there was a figure. An adult surely. They stood facing out towards the camera, but their face was obscured behind the metal frame of the door. The person's body was covered head to toe in some sort of black outfit with tassels hanging off of it. With my thumb shaking a little, I swallowed and scrolled up to the next image. It was of a ball pit, also in black and white. I think it was the one at the bowling alley I'd taken Madison and her friends to, that we hadn't used it. A creature was standing in the center of it. It was human-shaped, but what I had mistaken for tassels was actually fur.

Black, waxy fur. Its head bore not human features, but a bone-white skull of a creature I'd never seen before. It looked vaguely dog-shaped, with an elongated snout and sharp teeth. The eye sockets were completely black, giving no hint of what, if anything, lay behind them. Shit! That's creepy, man. Alex said. It's more than creepy. Someone's fucking stalking my daughter.

I shouted, drawing the attention of some of our other colleagues. I ducked down while Alex mouthed an apology to them. Fuck. Some psycho had been following my daughter around and I hadn't noticed. Were they watching her right now? Was she safe? Oh God, I couldn't lose her. I had to keep her safe.

I'd made a promise to Lily. Hey, Peter, calm down. I don't think that's it, man. He said. I hadn't realized I was hyperventilating until Alex started patting his hand on my back. What do you mean? I think there's a sketchy program on the phone. It probably scrubs the photo gallery and then alters an image to be black and white and photoshopps that thing in them, you know, to freak people out. It probably uses some kind of AI. You think so? Yeah, I used to work at a cell phone repair shop in college. Not every hacker is trying to steal your social

security number. Some of them just think it's funny to scare you. I took a few deep, calming breaths. I really hoped Alex was right. I started tapping my wedding ring against the table. The sound had always calmed me down, even before Lily had died, but even more so after. Let me take a look at it, Alex said, already maneuvering the phone out of my hands. He tapped away at it for a few minutes while I caught up on emails. Bingo! Alex said after a while. Recognize this program? Alex showed me the screen. On it, there was an app called Mallow version 1.0.0. The icon was just a black square. No, I shook my head. And I'm pretty sure I would have noticed it when I was scrolling through Maddie's apps this morning. Yeah, this program is listed as an app in the phone's memory,

but it doesn't create an icon or shortcut. That's a pretty common tactic for hackers and scammers. It wants you to forget you ever downloaded it. I'll just delete it. He pressed the options button next to the app and hit the trash can. And just like that, it was gone. That's it? I asked. It felt weird for something that had nearly given me a panic attack to be solved so neatly. That's it! Alex's grin faded when the phone let off a little bloop sound. The black image faded back in. The program was back. A notification dropped from the top of the screen. A text message from Mallow. I took the phone from Alex and tapped on the notification.

It opened and we held our breath as the screen loaded. I'd been sent another image. The creature was much closer in this photo, staring directly into the camera lens, giving its bony face a strange, narrow appearance. I was so focused on the creature, I failed to notice the background. It was some generic office building. There was a desk and a roller chair, very familiar ones. Alex gasped at the same time I did. We both looked behind us, but nothing was there. Did? Did you take any pictures of the office by any chance? Alex asked. He already knew the answer, but I shook my head anyway. Nope, not once. Not ever. Alex took the phone back and started tapping at it with more intensity than before.

I'm going to do a factory reset, all right? Might take an hour. I nodded. He set the factory reset in motion, and we both got to work, trying to put the unsettling image out of our minds. We were dragged into multiple meetings and slowly got absorbed by the day's workload to the point that neither of us checked on the phone, until the end of the day, that is. I unlocked it as I was packing up to go pick up Madison from her after-school program. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw there were no apps on Maddie's phone. All the icons were gone. Check the app list in the settings, Alex said.

I wasn't as tech-adept as Alex, so it took longer for me to navigate to the list in the settings, but... Shit! That's not possible, Alex said. There it was. Black Square still intact. Mallow had, impossibly, survived the factory reset. What now?

I asked. I don't know. An exorcism? Come on, be serious. I mean... Alex said. I think I am being serious. I've never heard of a virus capable of writing itself into the factory setting of a phone.

I know someone who's good with weird stuff. I could introduce you if you want. You mean a tech guy? A spiritual. list. She... We met. Okay, fine. Sometimes she does terror readings for me, okay? I raised an eyebrow at Alex, who had folded his arms and was staring at me. You believe in that stuff?

No, well, I didn't. The first time, I just went for a laugh, you know? And then everything she said started coming true. So I've been going off and on since then. She might be able to help you. I cocked my head. trying to square this new detail with what I knew about Alex. He'd seemed so rational and down-to-earth in our other conversations. But this?

Well, whatever, he was entitled to his beliefs. I certainly wasn't going to turn to a psychic for help with a malfunctioning phone. I checked my watch and saw that I was going to be late to pick up Madison if I didn't rush out. So I said my goodbyes to Alex and raced off to her school. I didn't know exactly what to tell her. I explained to Maddie that the phone would take a few days to fix, but that it wasn't a big deal. That satisfied her and gave me a few days to come up with a plan. Or so I had thought, but honestly, I kind of forgot about the phone for a few days.

I stashed it in my bedside table drawer and only looked at it once to see that, yes, Mallow was still sending me creepy images of itself in places I'd been. Still, out of sight out of mind, right? until it wasn't out of sight anymore. I was brushing my teeth at the time, getting ready for bed. Maddie was already asleep. I stared into my bathroom mirror, methodically dividing my teeth into quadrants and brushing each one for 30 seconds

before I leaned over to spit the foam into the sink. I turned on the faucet and rinsed my mouth before spitting that out as well. As I stood up and looked back into the mirror, I saw that it was there. Mallow was standing behind me. With its bone grin and furry body, it stood over my shoulder, staring into the mirror just as I was.

Acting on instinct, I swung around with my arm outstretched, hoping to knock it down, or at least surprise it, so I could grab Madison and escape. But instead, I hit empty air, and my momentum carried me off balance. I stumbled into the toilet, which caused me to tip over and crack my ribs against the lid. The world spun for a few minutes. spun for a few minutes as I did damage control.

There were bruises, but no breaks. The second I felt able, I marched to my bedside table and opened the drawer. Sure enough, I had a text only a few minutes old from Mallow, showing him standing in the bathroom, staring at the mirror. Though, eerily, I wasn't in the picture. Its hand was up, as if it was trying to get my attention. I shoved the phone back into the drawer and tiptoed to Mattis. She was out cold and breathing peacefully, which eased my racing heart.

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You are here for a reason. The spiritualist, Rosemary, more told than asked me in a distinctive, husky voice. We were seated at a table in her living room.

My main impression of psychics and tarot readers and that sort of thing came from movies and TV. So I had been expecting an over-the-top eastern European accent. This woman, who had no trace of an accent, and, judging from the green, white, and red design on one of her pillowcases, was of Mexican descent. This was not what I had expected. Her hair was a deep, shiny black, and her face bore a scar on her cheek. Alex had advised me not to stare, so I shifted my gaze before she was.

caught me looking. Yes, I said eventually, producing the phone. This phone I bought for my daughter, it's been sending me text messages, images of a creature. It looks humanish, but it's covered in black fur and wearing a bone mask that looks kind of like a dog's head. And I trailed off. Rosemary raised an eyebrow, bidding me to continue. And I've been seeing it in real life. the creature. Out at the corner of my eye, I... I can see it now.

By the time I'd gotten an appointment with Rosemary, things had deteriorated. Mallow constantly appeared in my peripheral vision, but whenever I turned to look directly at it, it vanished. I know this sounds crazy, but... Rosemary raised her hand slightly, stopping me. It doesn't sound crazy. Not to me. Even though I still didn't really believe in psychics, or whatever Rosemary called herself, it was still a relief to hear someone say those words. I had been worried that I had some sort of delayed psychotic break due to the stress from Lily's death nearly a year ago.

I touched my wedding ring. So, what happens next? First the payment. Oh, right, of course. Uh, Alex didn't say... That, she pointed to my hand, or more specifically my finger, the finger that bore my wedding ring. You want this? I said, holding up my hand. She nodded. It's not worth very much. I'm sure I could pay you the same amount in cash, double even.

She shook her head. I'm not interested in money. I'm interested in things with value, true value. That ring is a symbol of your. your love for your dearly departed wife, yes? A token far more valuable than money. Did Alex tell you my wife died? She could have been lying, but I don't think she was. Her explanation for why she wanted the ring didn't make sense to me, but I got the feeling she would accept no substitute. I handed it over. You'll give it back if this doesn't work? She scoffed and said, it will work. Hand me the phone. She then pulled a small wicker bowl up from under the table and placed the phone in it.

After that, a cloth was draped over the phone. It bore a pattern with celestial bodies, specifically the moon and several planets. What's the cloth for? I asked. Protection. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and mumbled something under her breath. The words were unintelligible, but they sounded rhythmic, like a prayer. Her eyes then flew open, and she produced a hammer from under the table. She stood up, and with a cry, began beating the phone through the cloth.

I flinched back and raised my hands over my face. It was over in seconds. When I uncovered my face, Rosemary was already setting the hammer down. What the hell was that? This object was frightening you. I have destroyed the object. Wait, you said the cloth was for protection. Yes, Rosemary said.

You should never break anything glass without a cloth covering. If any shards come flying loose, you could lose an eye. I could have sworn, for just a tiny split second, that Rosemary grinned. But it was gone too quickly for me to be sure. Forget the fact that if it was that simple, I could have broken the phone myself for free. There was a bigger problem. It's still here, I said. I can still see it.

Mallow was sitting on the nearby couch, watching us with apparent interest. I fought hard not to turn and look at it, instead focusing on Rosemary. She turned and, to my shock, affixed her gaze to the exact place Mallow was sitting. She couldn't. Could she? I was just getting to that, she said. The spiritualist took the bowl over to Mallow, and, making sure it was looking at the bowl, removed the cloth. The broken remnants of the foam littered the bottom of it.

It is time to move on, little one. Mallow looked over at her, then at me. I turned to face its bone-white stare, and, for the first time, it didn't vanish instantly. Instead, it slowly evaporated, like water vapor slowly dissipating in the air. After a few moments, Mallow was gone. I slumped back into my chair,

shaking with relief. At some point, Rosemary handed me a mug. What was it? I asked, staring into the cup of hibiscus tea Rosemary had made for me. She took a sip from her own cup. All she would say was, SCP 1471 is a free 9.8 megabyte application for mobile devices named Mallow version 1.0.0 in online application stores. SCP 1471 has no listed developer and is somehow able to bypass the application approval process to go directly to distribution.

SCP 1471 is also able to avoid removal by other program manager applications. After SCP 1471 is installed, no icons or shortcuts are created for the application. SCP 1471 will then begin to send the individual images through text messaging every three to six hours. All images will contain SCP 1471-A, either within the background or foreground. SCP-171-A appears as a large humanoid figure with a canad-like skull and black hair. During the first 24 hours following the installation of SCP 1471, the mobile device will receive images taken at locations commonly frequented by the individual. After 48 hours, the mobile device will receive images taken at locations that were recently visited by the individual.

After 72 hours, the mobile device will receive images of the individual in real time with SCP 1471-A, appearing within close proximity to the subject. Individuals with over 90 hours of exposure to these continuous images will begin to briefly visualize SCP 1471-A within their peripheral vision, reflective surfaces, or a combination of the two. Continued exposure to SCP 1471 after this point will cause irreversible and sustained visualizations of SCP 1471-A. Individuals at this stage have reported periodic attempts made by SCP 1471-A to visually communicate with them, but fail to understand or comprehend these actions. Currently, the only known treatment to reverse SCP 1471's effect

is to eliminate the individual's visual exposure to these images prior to 90 hours after installation. To date, no apparent hostile activity has been reported regarding S.C. CCP 471-A.