The SCP Experience - The Infinite Walled City | SCP-184

Episode Date: July 27, 2026

Deep beneath Kowloon Walled City, an SCP is reshaping buildings from the inside, creating rooms and hallways that should not exist. The deeper the Foundation goes looking for it, the harder it becomes to tell whether they’re still exploring the city—or something far larger. This story is derived from ⁠The SCP Foundation Database⁠ and is released under Creative Commons Sharealike 3.0.⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ ⁠⁠⁠ Author:  Hayley Vandermaarl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What did you call this place again? Lev asked with a glance toward Agent Parks. Calhounwald City, Parks replied. It's disgusting. Henry said what we were all thinking regarding the garbage-infested city. Walls of trash were piled between shanty houses, and the place smelled like sweat, machine oil, and excrement. I only knew that because I made the mistake of cracking my suit open,

thinking the outside air would smell better than my breath. I was very, very wrong. You'd better get used to it, Park said. We could be here a while. None of us are leaving until we found whatever it is we're looking for. The thing that could look like anything and be anywhere? I couldn't help asking. Um, yes.

There was a pause as the weight of our mission settled on our shoulders. Henry visibly shivered. Right. Let's keep exploring. Agent Parks led the way through the muck-lined streets while the rest of us trailed behind. It would have been hard to imagine how the city could accumulate so much garbage if it weren't for the sheer number of people everywhere. Groups of mangy men and women gathered outside their houses and glared at us as we walked by. Children rushed through the crowds, their clothes and faces dirty. They watched us with big eyes and gave us a wide berth.

I tried to smile at a young girl when we made eye contact, but she quickly looked away and disappeared down an alley. One thing was abundantly clear. We were not welcome here. I wasn't expecting a parade or a feast, but we were here to stop whatever was warping their city from the inside out. You'd think that would earn us something other than hatred. Then again, one look around made it clear these people had learned not to trust outsiders.

As we rounded a corner, something hit my visor. And all I could see was yellow-brown sludge. I wiped it away to find the remains of a rotten banana at my feet, the peel almost completely brown. I glanced around to find a man now aiming a tomato at Paul. Hey, knock it off, I shouted. The man turned his attention back to me, and the malice in his dark eyes sent a chill down my spine.

Leave. He spat. Lev grabbed my elbow and urged me forward before I could respond. The man was still staring at us when I glanced back. I don't like this, I said as we caught up to the rest of the group. Let's just hope we find this thing quickly. He barely finished saying the words, when Henry let out a shout as the trash walkway fell apart beneath him, sending him tumbling to the ground.

He rolled down the slope and disappeared into a pit filled with human waste. I flinched as he made impact with a sludge, stopping with a terrible squelch. He quickly rose to his feet, his suit covered in muck, then his shoulders hitched. For one awful second, he gagged inside the sealed helmet, clawing at the release before he could vomit into his own breathing space. A second later, he ripped it off and vomited into the pit. I scrunched my face and disgust and looked away. Keep moving, Henry, Agent Parks called.

Henry lifted his head. His hands still on his knees for support. His eyes were glassy and his face was pale. I've got to get out of here. He said with a gasp before heaving again. I can't do this. Agent Park sighed. Wait here.

I'll send someone. The rest of you, keep moving. I spared a glance at Henry before following. Something told me that pit wasn't the worst thing we'd find. and if he couldn't even handle that, well, maybe he wasn't cut out for this. The crowd only thickened, the closer we got to the center of town, where the houses became more tightly packed, each one leaning into the next like dominoes. They were all single-story shanties that couldn't contain more than two rooms at most.

Where do they all sleep? Love asked the question I was wondering. I shrugged, just as confused and astounded as he was. Right. Agent Parks paused and gestured at the mess around. us. Let's split up for recon. You've all got your radios, so let the rest of us know if you see anything odd. What do you mean by odd? Paul asked, Agent Parks grimaced. You'll know it when you see it. Lev and I exchanged uneasy glances as Agent Parks assigned each of us to a group of homes,

if they could be called that. The first one I entered was merely a room stuffed with furniture and trash. It was the same with the next one. Unfortunately, the third home was occupied, and the family was not about to let me in. Two children cowered in the corner as the husband stood in the doorframe, his wife behind him. I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose at the state of them. The man's shirt was dirty and hanging from his frame, while the woman's dress was full of holes. They had greasy hair, and I could only imagine what they smelled like. They were fiercer than I expected. The pair shouted at me in a language I didn't understand, and the man even raised his fists when I took a step forward. A quick glance over his shoulder showed me the whole room.

One stained mattress, a cracked table, two terrified children, and no doors leading anywhere deeper. Whatever we were looking for wasn't there, so I ignored their shouting and moved on. Found something weird. Paul's voice sounded over the radio. The rest of us met him outside the house, eager to see beyond the door. Paul was pale as he gestured us inside. I ran into Lev as he stopped, dead in front of me. What?

I peered around his tall frame, expecting to see a similar home to the ones I'd inspected. At first glance, everything looked normal, from the wooden table in the center of the room to the six chairs around it, and the children's drawings stuck to the wall. But there was an open door on the far side of the room, and from what I could see, the room inside was exactly the same. What the? What did you find? Agent Parks didn't sound surprised. This? Paul gestured toward the open doorway.

I haven't gone radioed as soon as I saw it. Park's nodded. That's for the best. We'll need a solid plan before venturing further in. Mark it on the map and keep searching for more areas of interest. He moved towards the front door, but Levin and I didn't move. Sir, can't we, you know, poke around a little bit? Park sighed.

Fine. Look around, but if you get lost, I'm leaving you here. Clear? We nodded. We entered the room as a group and found more doors on each wall. I opened the one on the right while Paul and Lev went to the other two. It's the same room, I called out. Here too.

Lev responded. And here, Paul said. Lev's voice sounded further away as he added, I'm going further in. I chose the door on the right again and did the same. Unsurprisingly, the room contained a wooden table, six matching chairs, and identical children's drawings on the wall. The stained carpet and faded walls were also the same. How far did these rooms go?

I kept walking, sticking to the doors on the right to keep from getting lost. One after the other, each room was the same. I lost count of how many I'd been through when they started to change. It was little things at first. The room shrank in size, only a few feet, but enough to notice. Then the wooden table wasn't made of wood anymore, but paper. There was something strangely compelling about the rooms. They lured me in, door after door.

I finally stopped searching when I opened a door that led to a blank wall. It was probably for the best. Who knows how long I would have been exploring otherwise. It would only be a matter of time before I lost track of the doors and got stuck in there. The mere thought sent a shiver down my spine. The next night, during our first extended sweep of the city, Lev and I were assigned sewer duty. I wasn't even mad about it. I was grateful to get a break from all the trash and the horrible stairs we received Topside.

It was almost a relief to climb into the blissfully empty tunnels, no matter how gross they were. We didn't find anything in the sewer system, but we received a shock when we reconvened with the rest of the mole rats as we called ourselves. It was a suitable name and more creative than the standard Zeta 9 designation. But nothing about the assignment felt fun when we returned. Henry's dead. Paul stared at us with dead eyes as we went to greet him. What? Henry was assigned to the city center with Paul.

He had seemed a little off the last time I saw him, and I could have sworn I heard him muttering, but Lev assured me he was fine. What the hell happened? It was horrible. One minute we were going in and out of houses, and the next, some crazy mob attacked us. They were like animals, clawing and ripping at any part of us they could reach.

Paul looked away and took a deep breath before continuing. They grabbed Henry and dragged him away. My suit got all torn up, and I had some nasty gashes on my arms and legs, so I couldn't go after him right away, but he was screaming on the radio. Didn't you hear it? Lev and I exchanged dark glances, and I shook my head.

We lost signal for a while down in the sewers. Probably for the best. Paul muttered. It was awful, but it was worse when his radio cut out. A few of us went searching for him, but we couldn't find him anywhere. Then his radio came back on. Paul stopped talking and looked at the ground.

What did he say? Lev whispered. He wasn't making any sense. At least not to me. Maybe you guys can make some sense of it. One of the agents has a recording. Paul waved over one of the men in white suits and asked him to show us the recording.

Lev and I listened patiently as Henry's voice came through the speaker, fast and tense. The recording ended there, and silence followed as each of us remembered the young man the voice belonged to. Finally, the agent shrugged. Make any sense to you? Levin I shook our heads. The agent nodded and left us to hear the rest of the story from Paul.

His radio cut out again after that, Paul said. I thought he was gone then, but he got worse. I leaned in, torn between wanting to know more and running away to avoid hearing the rest. But my feet wouldn't move if I wanted them to. After his radio cut out, we searched for him for nearly an hour. Eventually, the other spread out, and I ended up alone. near the center of the city. I know I shouldn't have gone off by myself, but I heard something to the walls, not a scream exactly, more like someone whispering my name from the other side of the buildings. I followed the sound through three or four connected rooms before I realized none of them should have connected at all. Every doorway opened somewhere new. A kitchen, a hallway, a room full of broken chairs, another hallway that sloped upward even though I hadn't climbed any stairs.

I called Henry's name, but my voice just bounced back at me. I must have been deeper in than I realized when I heard him scream behind me. I turned, and there was Henry. For a split second, I was relieved, but then I realized his helmet was off, and he was running, not to me, but past me. Paul gulped and looked down again. His voice shook as he continued. He didn't stop. He was screaming his head off, and he ran straight into a wall that shouldn't have been there.

It looked solid, but it shattered like plaster over empty air. Then he was gone, six stories down. A second later, I heard the impact echo up through the broken wall. I ran to the opening and looked over the edge, but I almost wish I hadn't. It took us an hour to get his body untangled from all the metal junk at the bottom. I don't know exactly what happened, but this place is even more fucked up than we realized. We need to find whatever the hell is causing this and get out of here. I thought of the photo Henry kept tucked inside his suit,

his beautiful wife, his two kids, all of them smiling like they still lived in a world that made sense. Then I imagined him lying broken in the middle of that filthy street, and something inside me hardened. I agree. What's our next step? Agent Parks suddenly appeared beside us, as if he'd been there the whole time. He glanced between Levin me, his face serious as he replied, We get answers. Hear that? It's your money calling. It wants a promotion. Elevate your savings with the Scotia high-interest savings account.

Always earn high regular interest rates that grow the more you save and invest. Conditions apply. Visit scotiabank.com slash h-I-S-A to learn more. Scotia Bank. You're richer than you think. The man in the chair couldn't have been older than 21, but he was tough. Tattoos covered every inch of his skin, and even Agent Parks couldn't intimidate him.

He didn't flinch when Levin I walked in with hammers. But the second we used them, that toughness disappeared. He screamed like a wounded animal as we simultaneously broke his legs, snapping bones like toothpicks. I thought of Henry as I swung at his legs with everything in me. Parks didn't give him a second to react before he was in his face again. Tell me what you know. The man whimpered. His face extremely pale, but he stayed conscious as blood trickled to the floor.

We call it the builder. He gasped. A flicker of a smile crossed Agent Park's face. When did it get here? I don't know. I raised my hammer again, and he winced, speaking louder this time. I swear, I don't know. I don't know anything about it.

I was just told to stand guard outside where it was working. That's all I can tell you. I don't know anymore. I was starting to feel somewhat bad for the kid, but Parks wasn't done with him yet. He rested his hand on the guy's leg, right where it was broken and asked. Who does know? Any remaining color fled his cheeks as he choked out. Long went.

Talk to Longwen. Parks leaned back, satisfied. But the boy kept talking. Please don't take it. We need it. We're nothing without it. I'm sorry about your friend. It wasn't supposed to happen.

It's just the way of things. At the mention of Henry, my fist swung of its own accord and landed on his jaw with a loud crack. He was lucky, Parks ushered me out before I could do more. Long Wen was the oldest man I'd ever seen. His skin was nearly translucent. and I could barely see his eyes past his sagging, wrinkled skin. His gray hair lay in a ponytail along his back,

which he kept rigid, no matter what we did or said to him. He sagged in the chair, beaten and bloody, but silent. Levin I remained behind Parks, ready to do his bidding, while he shouted obscenities and threats until he was red in the face. The old man acted like we weren't even there. The only sound he made was an occasional groan of pain. I was about to suggest we give up, When Parks revealed his final trick,

I may not be able to get to you, old man, but the same can't be said for your family. Long Wen paled and pressed his lips together. That wife of yours probably isn't as tough as you, and I bet those grandkids would be easy to... Stop. His voice was soft and gravely when he finally spoke, eyes filling with terror at the mention of his family.

We probably wouldn't actually harm women and children, but the threat did the trick, and I had to hand it to Parks. He was smarter than I thought. It's in a temple. Long Wen rasped. In the oldest part of the city, it started small, but it grew and grew and made wonderful things, but it is only for the worthy.

What happened to Henry? The question popped out of my mouth before I could stop it. He was not worthy. You mean he saw it? We showed him. We thought he could stop you, convince you not to take the builder from us. It belongs here. It belongs to us. It chose us. But it broke him. Tell me exactly where it is. Park sparked. Long when shook his head.

It's no good. It's buried now. Too deep to find. We moved it when we knew you were coming. You won't get it back. Like hell we're not. Tell me where it is. Or I'll rip your wife's throat out. I didn't know Agent Parks could talk like that. His ferocity startled even me, but the old man didn't seem afraid. He sighed and hunched his shoulders. Fine, I will show you. The temples seemed normal at first. We set up a rendezvous point in the main hall before setting out as a group.

Room after room appeared, each one a perfect recreation of the main temple, built entirely by the thing we were searching for. We passed one golden altar after another, crossed, tasseled carpet after tasseled carpet. Then the hallways appeared, an endless array of doors, each one leading to another identical space containing nothing but a small Buddha in the very center. I lost track of time as we walked through one door and then another. I expected the mission to take one day at most, but we still hadn't found anything when we decided to take a break for the night. The next day was more the same until the hallways got weird. Some of them were a drastic ramp,

while others twisted and turned at strange angles. The rooms began to vary in size, too, with some of them barely big enough to fit in. Our spirits remained decently high, although dimmed from the previous day. Another day passed, and my feet were aching. My calves were sore from all the climbing, and my brain started to go numb. I would have given my right arm to never see another door or hallway again, but they just kept coming. Eventually, we reached a split, and we had to each go our own way. Paul Levinai shook hands and promised each other we would find the builder and meet back at the rendezvous point. At the time, I believed it. But now, now I'm tired and lonely, wandering these empty, never-ending halls like a ghost looking for the afterlife. The walls are

made of stone, and sometimes I feel like a caveman, sometimes like a prisoner sealed inside a tomb. Most of the time, I feel like I'm the only person in the world. I keep stumbling along, but I've almost forgotten what I'm looking for, what I'm doing here, who I am. I think of Henry, of what happened to him. I think of that horrible rotten city and imagine it burning to the ground, people and all. I think of long when laughing maniacally, telling me I'm a fool, telling me the builder belongs to them, and that I'll die before I ever find it. One foot in front of the other, just keep walking. I'm fine. Everything is fine. I stumble into a room of Jade. It looks like all the other rooms, except everything is made of jade, the floor, the walls, the furniture. I sit on the

bed. It feels normal, but it, too, is jade. I don't know how long I've been sitting here, long enough to forget what other colors look like. I grabbed the jade lamp, hold it in my hands like something precious. Then I throw it on the floor. I watch it smash to bits and scatter across the floor. I'm sick of this room. I'm sick of seeing the same furniture in the same place over and over. I'm sick of this place. But something compels me to move forward, to keep going. Time to move on. I find a hole in the middle of a hallway where the floor should be, not a crack, not a pit. A perfect black circle cut straight through the stone, so smooth it looks intentional. I crouch beside it and drop my empty canteen in, waiting for the clatter. It never comes. Not after five

seconds, not after 30, not after a full minute of holding my breath. My boots feel too tight, too heavy, like they're nailed to me. I don't remember deciding to take them off, but suddenly they're in my hands, slick with sweat, and I'm throwing them into the hole after the canteen. They vanish without a sound. I look down into the darkness, waiting to join them, but I can't. No matter how hungry I am, no matter how little water I have left, I have to find this thing. I have to stop it, stomp it, crush it. It's calling me. It wants me to find it. I walk and walk. I'm on my way. I'm on my way. When I enter their next room, I wince in pain. The floor is no longer carpet, but jagged stones.

I keep going. Every step in new agony. Blood trails in my wake like a memory. I hate this. I want to leave, but I have to find it. You're almost there. I stop walking. Henry?

You're going the wrong way. I tell him to stop it. I tell him he's dead. So are you. He says. I keep walking faster, but his voice follows me through the walls. Sometimes it comes from behind me, sometimes from the room ahead.

Once, it comes from inside my helmet. So close, I almost tear the damn thing off. Hell is heaven. Henry whispers. Heaven is hell. Shut up. I say. Left, he says. I stop walking. There is no left.

Only a blank stone wall. Left. Henry says again. I press my hand against the wall, and the stone gives slightly beneath my palm, soft as wet clay. A seam appears where there wasn't one before, thin and black and breathing cold air into the hallway.

I'm getting closer. I can feel it. The hallway feels endless, but I keep moving. There are so many lights blinding me, making me want to shut my eyes, but I must keep them open. I must find it. I must kill the heart. It's here. It's beautiful. No wonder they didn't want us to take it. I couldn't if I tried. It doesn't want to go. Neither do I. Hell is heaven. Heaven is hell. Life is wonderful. SCP-184 is a small smooth metallic object, 10 centimeters tall and 10 centimeters wide, in the shape of a dodecahedron. Each face of the figure has a circular hole in the center, and a small sphere is attached to each vertex.

SCP-184 is made of an unknown but highly magnetic alloy about as hard as brass. When inside an enclosed structure, SCP-184 expands the structure's inner dimensions without all altering its outer dimensions. SCP 184 will increase the inner dimensions of any enclosed structure by several hundred meters each day, beginning one hour after entry into the structure. Initially, SCP 184 only extends the walls out, causing rooms to become much larger without adjusting the height of the room. The expansion continues until the original dimensions of the room have been tripled. At this point, SCP 184 starts creating wholly new rooms,

SCP 184 is apparently able to copy items from inside the structure, creating furnished rooms consistent with the rest of the structure. After a period of time, however, the expansion process appears to break down. For example, items will be made from inappropriate materials, glass books, a wooden microwave, rooms will be oddly shaped, doors will open into blank walls, and hallways will be tiny or twist back around in long mazes. The new inside structures continue to be more and more odd, while the outside remains unchanged. Thanks for listening. Be sure to click that follow button with all notifications on to get notified every time a new episode is released.