The following interview was conducted with SCP-4001-1, the man found living within SCP-4001. Initial processessing of SCP-4001-1 proved difficult, since he spoke no modern languages, and no Foundation staff on site could fluently speak Ancient Greek. The interview was performed within SCP-4001, since the subject's extreme age had left him quite infirm. The interview has been translated from Ancient Greek.

Interviewer: Dr. Gabriel Koudopolis

Interviewee: SCP-4001-1

[BEGIN LOG]

Dr. Koudopolis: For the record, this is Dr. Gabriel Koudopolis, Foundation researcher and anthropologist, interviewing an unknown man found within SCP-4001. (switches to Ancient Greek) Greetings. My name is Philosopher Koudopolis. I'm an anthropologist. I study ancient civilisations.

SCP-4001-1: A philosophical scholar? Or a tomb robber? You know not the danger of this place, invader. If you disturb the shelves you will be cursed.

Dr. Koudopolis: A little of both, to be honest, though I am no invader, and I seemed to be fine reading the books so far. Do you have a name, SCP-4001-1?

SCP-4001-1: Why have you disturbed Alexandria? Who are you invaders with? The Romans? The Coptics? The Hebrews?

Dr. Koudopolis: I am with a group known as the Foundation. We preserve and protect unusual things. We keep them safe, and prevent them from being dangerous to mankind.

SCP-4001-1: You are not with the Roman Republic?

Dr. Koudopolis: No. The Roman Empire collapsed some fourteen hundred years ago.

SCP-4001-1: (Eyeing Dr. Koupodolis warily) Fourteen hundred years? Surely it has not been so long.

Dr. Koudopolis: How long have you been down here? Who was the last ruler?

SCP-4001-1: I do not know how long. I have not seen the Sun, or the stars since I entered. The last I remember, there was unrest about the new queen. Cleopatra VII.

Dr. Koudopolis: Cleopatra VII? That's some nineteen hundred years.

SCP-4001-1: Nineteen hundred years? That is… unfathomable, invader. Impossible. (SCP-4001-1 is silent for a few minutes) You say you have read from the shelves, and partaken of the sacred knowledge?

Dr. Koudopolis: Yes. I have skimmed over a few of the books. We've realised what this place is, and what it represents. The team that encountered you was searching for the book of someone famous, and planning to establish some bases in here.

SCP 4001-1: You have read the sacred texts and not been judged? Perhaps your incursion is not a violation. My name was Theopoles. I am the Watcher of Alexandria Eternal. She is the most important thing in the world.

Dr. Koudopolis: Alexandria Eternal? You mean this place?

SCP-4001-1: Yes. This is our greatest resource. A record of Eternity. All that has ever been, since the very dawn of man. A gift from the gods to us.

Dr. Koudopolis: Which gods?

SCP-4001-1: All of them. The gods of Olympus, the gods of the Nile, maybe even that god of the Hebrews.

Dr. Koudopolis: How long has it been here?

SCP-4001-1: I do not know. There were people here, watching over her when Alexander came and built his city over her. We kept ourselves hidden, and eventually had the Library built over her, an archive over an archive. Only a few of us knew of the secret door that led down here, and we passed the knowledge on to the worthy. Not even the pharaohs knew of this place. By the time I was born, she had taken on the name of the city she hid beneath. I do not know her true name, though I have searched long for it.

Dr. Koudopolis: How did you come to be down here?

SCP-4001-1: I took instruction under the previous Watcher after demonstrating my affinities in the library above, though I suspect that is not what you meant.

Dr. Koudopolis: No.

SCP-4001-1: The Romans came on their ships. They came and burned in their conquest, and the flames spread to the Library. I retreated within here… excuse me. I must attend to myself.

(SCP-4001-1 pauses, and pulls a scroll from within his robes, delicately unrolling the end of it. He draws a sliver of metal from within his robes, pierces the end of his right index finger, and proceeds to write a sentence in his own blood onto the scroll, before rolling it up and stowing it again.)

SCP-4001-1: My apologies. Now, the flames.

Dr. Koudopolis: Sorry, but what was that you just did?

SCP-4001-1: Given myself yet another day.

Dr. Koudopolis: Another day? You can use the books to make yourself immortal?

SCP-4001-1: No. I am not immortal. When the Romans came, and the Library began to burn, I retreated within here for safety. I heard the sound of rumbling as the Library collapsed upon her, and I could not muster the strength to dig my way out. I was trapped.

Dr. Koudopolis: How did you survive? Is that scroll…?

SCP-4001-1: Mine? Yes. In the days that followed I did not lack for warmth, or for water, since we kept a few jugs down here, but I began to hunger. Before a moon had passed, the water was drunk, and I was starving. In my desperation and delirium, I sought a way for Alexandria to save me.

Dr. Koudopolis: You used your own book.

SCP-4001-1: I travelled within, found my scroll, and wrote myself back into health. I quenched my thirst. I sated my hunger. I have used my scroll and my blood; cured every disease, every infirmity, and bought myself one day at a time ever since. Whenever I felt the void drawing me, I added another line to my compendium, to stave off the eternal rest for a little longer.

Dr. Koudopolis: How did you find the will to survive for so long?

SCP-4001-1: She needed me. She must have a Watcher. Someone who walks her aisles, who appreciates her texts, who lets her know she is loved. She speaks to me sometimes, when I wander from the light.

Dr. Koudopolis: The Library speaks to you?

SCP-4001-1: She leaves me messages. In my scroll. Whispers to me in the dark and makes notes of her whisperings for my perusal.

Dr. Koudopolis: What does she say?

SCP-4001-1: She tells me to wait. So I have waited. I walked her, end to end, many times over. I have read accounts of lives, some simple, some glorious, some beautiful, some ugly. I have waited through the changes. All of her scrolls, bar mine, became bound tomes, then these little 'books' as you call them. Her torches and sconces turned to candles, and now to these strange oil burning 'lamps', as you call them, and her woven benches became these leather bound and pressed oddities. I waited for so long. Waiting for someone to show up and tell me my task had not been in vain. (SCP-4001-1 falls briefly silent again) Tell me, philosopher, who is the Pharaoh now?

Dr. Koudopolis: There is no pharaoh now. Cleopatra was the last before the Romans conquered Egypt. Egypt has not had a pharaoh since. The Roman Empire grew, collapsed, and out of her ashes multiple empires rose. The Spanish, the English, the Dutch, and so on.

SCP-4001-1: Are they great Empires?

Dr. Koudopolis: They are great. Though they are not good.

SCP-4001-1: I see. That is perhaps true of all empires. Even great Egypt was not a place of kindness, nor were we able to stay the advance of Rome. We were so proud in the city. Alexandria was a great city, and her Library was the envy of the world, but no-one but us understood the true greatness she hid beneath her. Perhaps if we had just… no. I have pondered that alternative many times, and it would never be what she wanted. Philosopher, what do you intend to do with this place?

Dr. Koudopolis: My task is to keep it safe. To discover its mysteries.

SCP-4001-1: To use it?

Dr. Koudopolis: Perhaps. Cautiously if we do, and only if necessary. I've already read some books, and I understand the potential.

SCP-4001-1: These empires you speak of… they must never find this place. They would exploit her without thought.

Dr. Koudopolis: We are taking steps to ensure that it remains hidden.

SCP-4001-1: Good. Good. Philosopher, would you do me a kindness?

Dr. Koudopolis: I can make no promises.

SCP-4001-1: I would simply like to see the sky again. It has been nineteen hundred years since I have seen the stars. Nineteen hundred years since I have seen the Sun. It is eternally dark down here. There is no roof but the black void, and what light she gives us barely stretches the length of a shelf.

Dr. Koudopolis: I shall make a request to my superiors.

SCP-4001-1: Thank you… Watcher.

[END LOG]

Notes: SCP-4001-1 was granted permission to leave SCP-4001. With the assistance of Dr. Koudopolis, he was taken up the stairs to the surface on a clear night. He spoke briefly with Dr. Koudopolis during his time on the surface, died shortly after sunrise, and was buried in a small grave outside the city. Dr. Koudopolis maintains that he spoke of nothing of consequence in his final hours, and has not been persuaded to divulge otherwise.

All tests were authorised and overseen by Senior Researcher Dr. Waylon Henricks, with the assistance of Dr. Avon Travers.

Test Subject: D-0546, a healthy 35 year old male.

Procedure: Book pertaining to D-0546 was located. Pen was used to write the phrase "lost all hair" in the book on the last page.

Result: D-0546 started shedding their hair, becoming completely bald after 75 seconds.

Test Subject: D-0567, an incapacitated and bedridden 27 year old female, crippled 3 weeks prior to the test.

Procedure: Book pertaining to D-0567 was located. Pen was used to scribble out the line "back painfully broken while fleeing from SCP-████". (Line located on the last page of the book.)

Result: D-0567 suffered a slight nosebleed and headache. After 150 seconds, D-0567 sat up and exited their bed. D-0567 does not remember their injury, and demonstrates ongoing symptoms of amnesia.

Test Subject: [REDACTED]

Procedure: Book pertaining to [REDACTED] was located. Pen was used to write the phrase "suffered heart attack and died" in the book on the last page.

Result: [REDACTED] was reported dead in the newspapers the next day, having died of a sudden heart attack.[16]

Test Subject: D-0120, a healthy 22 year old male female.

Procedure: Book pertaining to D-0120 was located. Pen was used to amend the phrase "hearty and loud baby boy born, 8 lbs 6 oz" to "hearty and loud baby boy girl born, 8 lbs 6 oz" (Line located on the first page of the book.)

Result: D-0120 suffered a severe nosebleed and headache, as did 26 Foundation staff, including all researchers involved in testing. D-0120 flickered in and out of existence briefly, their appearance shifting from that of a young man to a young woman, before stabilising and falling unconscious. D-0120 was administered first aid, and Class-A amnestics.

Notes from Dr. Henricks: D-0120 has since shown gender dysphoria, continues to identify as a male, and has requested genital reconstructive surgery.

Test Subject: D-0245, a 45 year old male with a history of sexual assault.

Procedure: Book pertaining to D-0245 was located. Book pertaining to one Maria Hermez (█ years of age at death) was located. Pen was used to scribble out the line "callously stalked, brutally [REDACTED] and slowly [REDACTED] Maria Hermez". (Line located on the second last page of the book.)

Result: D-0245 suffered a severe nosebleed and headache, as did 7 Foundation staff, including all researchers involved in testing. D-0245 then disappeared, leaving no physical evidence behind. Both books also immediately disappeared, and returned to their places upon the shelves. Details of the books after the edit had changed. D-0245 was later tracked down and found to have died three years prior in a violent altercation. Maria Hermez was found to have died in a car crash three days after the event originally happened.

Notes from Dr. Henricks: Her untimely death is unusual here. Possible Schmidt-Luhrmann effect[17] in play?

Test Subject: Researcher Dr. Claire Williams, 32, suffering from third stage lymphoma.

Procedure: Book pertaining to Dr. Williams was located. Pen was used to write the phrase "was spontaneously cured of cancer" on the last page.

Result: Dr. Williams showed immediate signs of recovery and better health.

Notes from Dr. Henricks: Lymphoma symptoms returned 7 months later.

Test Subject: Henry Adams, a fictional man whose life story was written into a book matching the style of those found within SCP-4001.

Procedure: Book pertaining to Henry Adams was collated, then inserted onto a shelf inside SCP-4001 pertaining to the expected location for his chosen birth date. The book detailed an ordinary life, healthy constitution, complete lack of any connections to any historically, politically or culturally significant figures, and culminated in a line explaining his appearance within SCP-4001.

Result: A semi-opaque red haired man appeared in SCP-4001, showing signs of disorientation. After 3 minutes, he curled into a ball and began rocking back and forth, before vomiting blood. Meanwhile, the book placed into the shelf rapidly began adding lines, detailing multiple tumours, mass organ failure, and instances of necrosis all across his body. Henry Adams died 110 seconds later, confirmed by the line in the book "died horribly, agonisingly, and justly from his organs doing what they were always meant to".

24 hours after the book was added to the shelf, it disappeared, and has not been seen since.

Notes from Dr. Henricks: We are NOT trying that again. I am deeply wishing this place had its rules posted clearly, like every other damned library in the world. Also, are the books mocking us?

Test Subject: D-0900, a healthy 22 year old male.

Procedure: Book pertaining to D-0900 was located. D-0900 was given a lethal dose of morphine, and expired after 45 minutes. Immediately upon the line "died through cruel and unnecessary morphine poisoning" appearing in the book, the phrase "morphine disappeared from system, resulting in spontaneous resuscitation" was written after it.

Result: D-0900 coughed violently, and regained consciousness. D-0900 was administered Class-B amnestics. No behavioural or physiological consequences were noted, though D-0900 tested lower on cognitive tests after the experiment, possibly due to damage caused by anoxia to the brain.

Test Subject: D-0989, a 43 year old female killed in SCP-███ containment breach 3 days prior.

Procedure: Book pertaining to D-0989 was located. Pen was used to scribble out the line "fatally struck, torn in half, and crushed by rampaging monster". (Line located on the last page of the book.)

Result: D-0989 reappeared immediately in D-class quarters. D-0989 did not respond to any questioning regarding their state of being or memories, nor did application of Class-A amnestics result in any change in demeanour. D-0989 suffered from severe headaches for 8 days afterwards, and showed moderate disorientation for a further 15 days before committing suicide. The only words spoken by D-0989 for the entirety of the time period were "send me back, let me go."

Test Subject: Researcher Dr. Claire Williams, 33, suffering from second stage lymphoma.

Procedure: Book pertaining to Dr. Williams was located. Pen was used to write the phrase "was spontaneously and permanently cured of cancer and all other diseases" on the last page.

Result: Dr. Williams showed immediate signs of recovery and better health.

Notes from Dr. Travers: Dr. Williams has remained in remarkably good health for 2 years, before mild lymphoma symptoms returned. She's going to need to keep doing this, it seems.

Test Subject: D-0323, a 29 year old male killed in SCP-███ containment breach 28 days prior.

Procedure: Book pertaining to D-0323 was located. Pen was used to write the phrase "returned back to life" on the last page of the book.

Result: D-0323 reappeared immediately in D-class quarters, suffering from cerebral hemorrhaging. D-0323 died 13 minutes later, with such information being confirmed within their book.

Test Subject: D-0310, a 36 year old male killed in an accident during routine construction duties 2 days prior.

Procedure: Book pertaining to D-0310 was located. Pen was used to write the phrase "returned back to life in full and proper health, free from all infirmities physical, physiological and psychological" on the last page of the book.

Result: [REDACTED][18]

Overseer Note: As of ██/██/████, all testing related to the resurrection of the dead through any means is strictly forbidden. For all its potential, SCP-4001 does not enable us to bring back the dead, though it can act potentially as a short term lifesaver, and a long term life extender if other options are voided. Never forget that there's limits to just how much we can mess with chronology.

- 05-9

On ██/██/19██, a team of researchers and engineers led by Dr. Abrams completed the development of a simple AI and two corresponding robotic bodies, with the intention of compiling a complete record of the estimated 120 billion books within the archives, and making acquiring specific books from within the collection easier. Dubbed "Marvin" and "Molly" by Dr. Travers, they were originally set to the task of compiling a database by scanning every name on every book within the archives, a task they took a little over 12 years to complete[19]. Currently, "Molly" is permanently stationed adjacent to the Camp A boundary, adding new names to the database as they appear. "Marvin" acts as an aide to staff, and if requested for a specific book, will locate and collect the book for staff, usually within a few hours depending on the distance needing to be travelled. "Marvin" has had wings installed on his body and his programming updated to enable flight at speeds of up to 250 km/h within SCP-4001 by flying above the shelves.

Note: On ██/██/20██, staff discovered a book entitled "Marvin and Molly." After reading the book, the decision was made to temporarily remove the robots used in the Cataloging Assistance System, whereupon the book disappeared 24 hours later. The robots were returned to SCP-4001 the next week, and the book reappeared in its original position, containing the line "Marvin and Molly were returned to their true place of belonging, undoing the cruelty and callousness of their departure". The decision has been made to designate "Marvin" and "Molly" SCP-4001-2 collectively.

Researcher Note: We're a tight little group down here in the dusk. It's not hard to get lost down here, it can get pretty lonely, and we rely on those two more than we care to admit. They're very much considered a part of the team. My best guess is that Alexandria considers them honorary librarians of a sort. You feel like they almost have personalities some days.

-Dr. Avon Travers, Archivist

On ██/██/████, [REDACTED] entered SCP-4001, and requested that "Marvin" collect a specific book for them. They had recieved appropriate clearance to enter the site, but not to perform any experimental procedures. 7 hours later, 43 other Foundation staff suffered from nosebleeds, and complained afterwards of severe headaches, prompting a response team to enter SCP-4001, whereupon [REDACTED] was found standing alone in the shelves, disoriented, with a nosebleed and a book at their feet. They were escorted from the premises and detained for questioning. The book in question referred to one "Dr. Junifer Peters", the contents detailing a number of successful missions within the Foundation and multiple promotions to the rank of [REDACTED], as well as a romance, falling out, and eventually a spiteful rivalry with [REDACTED]. The first page of the book had been torn out.

An immediate attempt to repair the book was made using materials on hand (a needle and spool of thread). The attempt was temporarily successful- an unidentified woman appeared spontaneously in Foundation headquarters, flickering in and out of visibility, and alternating between confusion and disorientation, and screaming in panic. She disappeared completely after ███ hours, and has not reappeared since.

After the event, Foundation records were searched. No documentation related to a Dr. Junifer Peters was found, nor could any Foundation staff recall ever meeting her.

Researcher Note: A reminder that following incident SCP-4001-F, no non-archivist personnel, no matter how highly ranked, is permitted to be alone while in the archives. All it takes is one nutjob to tear out one early page and all of human history breaks.

-Dr. Lincoln Abrams, Archive Manager

Addendum 4001.5:

On ██/██/████, clearance was granted by a vote of the 05-Council for an attempt to explore below the floor of SCP-4001. Carpet knives, axes and a jackhammer were brought inside SCP-4001 under careful supervision of the archivists, and a patch of carpet measuring 1m x 1m was cut from the floor near Base Camp. The carpet was raised without difficulty, revealing a concrete floor covered in a layer of ash.

Under the advice of Archive Manager Lincoln Abrams, the ash was sampled, the carpet was replaced, and the exploration attempt was aborted.

Subsequent carbon dating of the ash suggests it to be between 70,000 and 80,000 years old, and spectrometric analysis of the ash suggests it resulted from the burning of wood and paper. Further testing performed at randomly selected locations within SCP-4001 suggest that the ash is located beneath most, if not all, of the flooring of SCP-4001. No records within Foundation archives or SCP-4001 itself describe a major combustion event within SCP-4001.

Researcher Note: I've spent more than half my life down here in these shelves and will likely spend the rest of it in here as well, as did my dozen-or-so predecessors. I've always been aware that within here lies both potentially the greatest tool for the Foundation's success, and the greatest weapon for the destruction of humanity, as has everyone else who has stepped into these hallowed halls.

Old libraries tend to develop personalities of a sort. Inviting and cozy, majestic and regal, aged and dusty; you must know of what I speak. This one, though, is unique. It has power, and it doesn't let you forget that. It permits us to fiddle with some of its rules, while harshly reminding us when we step out of line. Anyone who reads any of these magnificent volumes can't help but realise that the Library has a personality of its own, and passes its own judgments upon the actions of those whose lives are interred within.

Waylon, after you went and did all of those experiments, where you pulled those books from their shelves and wrote all over them to mess with the lives of those beneath you, I went and had a look at your book. I saw what the Library wrote about your actions. I saw how it expressed its disdain for your attempts to play God, to rewrite reality to our will. I saw its disgust for all of your sins. Yes Waylon, I now know every dirty little thing you've done, but more importantly, so does this place. It considers you arrogant, and it looks down upon you, with far more disdain than I could ever muster.

Yes, I've read my own book too. And Avon's. And the book of nearly everyone who has worked down here. On the whole, I consider the plentiful judgment levied upon myself and the rest of us fair. The Library judges not just actions, but intentions, and it knows intimately how much the rest of us care for it, and how much we've tried to ensure it isn't abused.

Never forget that this place is permitting us to be here, and never forget to respect it. Lest Alexandria could doom us all.

-Dr. Lincoln Abrams, Archive Manager, Watcher of Alexandria Eternal