SCP-963 - Immortal Dr. Bright Explained

He's fearless. He's eccentric. He's dedicated to the SCP Foundation's cause. In a lot of ways, he's more like a living legend than a regular Foundation employee. His face, voice, gender, and even species may sometimes change, but it's impossible to miss that ornate medallion resting against his chest.

That's right, today we're talking about the infamous Dr. Bright. Can you think of many other researchers who've been cross-tested with the dreaded SCP - 682 and lived to tell the tale? Of course, there's a special advantage Dr. Bright possesses that most researchers don't. It's the medallion he's never seen without, and because of it, Dr. Bright can't die.

How is this possible, you ask? Because, in a sense, he is that medallion. Don't worry - after this crash-course in all things Dr. Bright - including his origin, his present, and his future - you'll be a lot less confused. So, who is Dr. Jack Bright? For starters, he's a decorated researcher of anomalies for the SCP Foundation - and unlike most other researchers, he's uniquely qualified for the job on the grounds that he himself is an anomaly. Just don't bring this up when you're talking to him - it's kind of a sore subject.

Beyond that, who or even what Dr. Bright is, can be a bit of a loaded question with an answer that depends on who and when you ask. What we're presenting to you here is one of the more popular versions of the Dr. Bright story, and the one most closely adhered to by Dr. Bright himself these days. One of our biggest challenges to understanding Dr. Bright is that he has been so prolific in his exploits and achievements within the Foundation that when telling his story it's hard to know where to start.

But as the saying goes, let's begin at the beginning. Starting with the Bright Family. "Bright" was a name that carried a lot of weight around the Foundation even before Jack Bright signed up for service. His parents, Dr. Adam and Evelyn Bright, were both Foundation personnel. His siblings were incredibly numerous and the ones we're aware of are TJ Bright, Mikell Bright, Claire Pierce, and a nameless sister now known only as SCP - 321.

Sadly, you'll soon see that the story of the Bright family is one of consistent tragedy and strife. While the anomalization of Dr. Bright took hold a little later on in his life, his brother TJ was born anomalous, and was designated as SCP - 590.

TJ had the ability to heal any ailment with a touch, with the cost being that he took on those ailments himself. He's now used as a tool for healing at the Foundation, and he's consistently bedridden with the illnesses he takes on. Dr. Bright induced a mental state similar to that of a three year old in TJ, likely in hopes of reducing the mental burden placed on his poor brother, and sadly, that burden goes far beyond healing the illnesses of strangers.

When Adam and Evelyn experienced a tragic stillbirth, they desperately tried to get TJ to help. TJ did manage to save her, partially, but the result wasn't human - and both he and the daughter, which came to be known as SCP - 321, were taken into Foundation custody. SCP - 321 was a highly regenerative and stretched-out abomination that seemed to keep growing with age, but Adam still saw it as his daughter, and spent the rest of his life trying to negotiate her freedom from the Foundation.

When his request was denied as a researcher, he climbed the ranks to personnel director. When his request was denied there, he became a site director, and then a member of the O5 Council - all with the intention of getting his daughter back. But that never happened, and the rest of the Council had him assassinated for his trouble. There's no reward for sentimentality at the Foundation. The other two Bright siblings are believed to be polar opposites.

Mikell Bright is one of the Foundation's best field agents, known to some as Agent Cowboy. His dedication to the cause and incredible aptitude at his job has led some to speculate that he may even be on the O5 Council already. Claire Pierce, on the other hand, disagrees with the actions of the Foundation on a fundamental level - which is understandable given the horrific things they've done to the Bright Family.

She defected and became a member of the Serpent's Hand - a fringe group dedicated to blowing the lid on SCP Foundation secrets. This brings us to the man himself - Dr. Bright, the most well-known member of this sprawling family. Much like most of the rest of his family, he too entered the employment of the SCP Foundation. He was a junior researcher, and a relatively unremarkable one, until his fateful run-in with a certain necklace labelled SCP - 963.

But what is SCP - 963 and how exactly did Dr. Bright come into contact with it? It all started in a small apartment that was raided by the Foundation due to supposed Occult activities. There they found a single body, cause of death apparently from suicide, clutching the medallion that would later be designated as SCP - 963. The walls in the apartment were covered in ritualistic supernatural symbols, and a number of Occult books were also found near the deceased man's body.

The Foundation gathered that the man was attempting to perform some kind of magical ritual, but had apparently failed, leading to his own demise. The Foundation soon learned that the recovered medallion appeared to be utterly indestructible, and they placed it under the care of a junior researcher - one Dr. Jack Bright. Dr. Bright studied the medallion for years, with very little to show for it, until one fateful day when he was tasked with transporting the medallion to a different area of the containment facility.

While Dr. Bright was carrying out his simple transport task, he made a simple decision that changed the entire course of his life forever - He held the medallion in his bare hand. He also happened to be walking past the containment chamber of SCP - 076 - 2, aka Abel, just as a containment breach was about to occur. Abel is an immortal, hyper-violent warrior who can summon blades out of interdimensional portals.

Dr. Bright, following in the tradition of Bright family bad luck, happened to be right in the path of Abel's rampage. The ensuing battle between Abel and the assembled Mobile Task Forces and guards resulted in the destruction of the entire wing of the facility, and Dr. Bright was cut down in the brawl by the warrior's supernatural blades. It seemed like the story of Dr. Bright was short and simple - cut down in his prime in the line of duty.

But a few days later, as several members of D-Class personnel were cleaning up the mess caused by the containment breach, one unlucky D-Class - known as D1-113 - happened upon the medallion that Dr. Bright had been holding when he died. He leaned over and picked it up, and instantly underwent a sudden and drastic change in personality. D1-113 was now insisting that he was Dr. Bright, and since this D-Class had no reason to even know of the recently deceased researcher's existence, he was immediately brought in for an interview.

After a brief evaluation, it seemed clear that somehow this D-Class really did have the exact mind of Jack Bright. But how? Well, after some experimentation - including from Dr. Bright himself - they found the answer. The medallion's purpose was to act as a kind of vessel for the consciousness of the person killed holding it. Its original creator had hoped to use it as a way to attain immortality, and took his own life in order to complete the ritual. This was a mistake though.

The correct way to complete the ritual was being killed by someone else while holding the medallion, something that had happened to Dr. Bright by total accident. In a sense, he'd been given a second chance at life, but this came with some anomalous side effects. As it turns out, coming into direct contact with the necklace - now known as SCP - 963 - 1 - is a death sentence. It causes your mind to be totally wiped and replaced with that of Dr. Bright.

If the necklace is then removed, you become a lifeless husk until the necklace is placed back onto you. If the medallion remains in contact with its host for a period of thirty days, Dr. Bright's consciousness becomes permanently bonded to the body without any contact from the medallion. If the medallion then comes into contact with someone else, even if a permanent version of Dr. Bright is already inhabiting another body, they too will be infused with his consciousness. That means that if Dr. Bright wanted to, he could have multiple versions of himself existing at once.

Initially, the anomaly that Dr. Bright had become was treated with suspicion and fear by the Foundation. They were dealing with an intelligent and now immortal consciousness capable of replicating an unlimited number of times. In theory, he could even place his consciousness into dangerous SCPs and gain even more power. Dr. Bright was placed under strict rules - like not being able to interact with certain anomalies, and having his hosts killed and switched at thirty day intervals to prevent him from building replicas of himself.

However, this caution proved to be misplaced. Dr. Bright was an extremely intelligent, loyal, and devoted researcher for the Foundation, and as a result, his restrictions were slowly lifted by the O5 Council. Much like his father before him, Dr. Bright rose through the ranks, becoming both a celebrated researcher and a director of various sites during different periods of time. While this may seem like a win-win scenario for all involved, this is a slightly more complex situation for Dr. Bright himself.

In a routine psychological evaluation led by Dr. Simon Glass, Dr. Bright shared feelings of frustration about his current situation. He felt as though he was treated differently compared to the other researchers and given less trust due to a situation he didn't choose to be in. But for Dr. Bright, the psychological effects of having been fused to SCP - 963 - 1 actually extends far beyond workplace frustrations and the boredom and sadness of un-asked for immortality.

In a conversation with Level 1 Researcher Dr. Frederick Heiden, Bright told him that, in a sense, he truly was the heart of the Foundation rather than just one small part in it. When asked to elaborate, he said that, because of the gift and curse of immortality, he would go on to outlive all the other human operatives working for the SCP Foundation. He would remain with the organization for generations to come, perhaps centuries even, and in that sense would be the one constant from now until the Foundation meets its end.

When all else is gone, only Dr. Bright will remain. Of course, this is just an overview and we've only just scratched the surface of Dr. Bright's actions and activities across the SCP Foundation multiverse. But for now, all you need to know is that Dr. Bright is still out there, and he'll be carrying that doomed name long after everyone else with it has fallen. Whether that's a good or bad thing, is up to you to decide.