| Name | SCP-1200 |
| Alias | Clockwork Teleporter |
| Status | Object of ongoing study and concern due to incompletely understood powers and risks |
| Abilities | Teleportation across space • Teleportation through time |
| Utilization | Exploration • Espionage • Other purposes |
| First encountered | 1642, Holy Roman Empire |
SCP-1200, also known as the "Clockwork Teleporter", is a highly anomalous device first encountered in 1642 by a group of alchemists in the Holy Roman Empire. Rather than simply teleporting objects across space, as was initially believed, subsequent study has revealed that SCP-1200 is capable of transporting both matter and energy through time as well as space.
In 1642, a circle of occult alchemists working in the court of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III reported the discovery of a strange clockwork mechanism with the ability to instantly relocate objects from one location to another. After extensive study and experimentation, the alchemists determined that the device, which they dubbed the "Clockwork Teleporter", was not merely a spatial transport system but could also move objects backwards and forwards in time.
The alchemists attempted to gain the Emperor's favor by demonstrating the device's abilities, sending small test objects into the past and future. However, Ferdinand III saw the device as an affront to divine power and had the alchemists executed, confiscating SCP-1200 for his own use.
Over the following centuries, SCP-1200 passed through the hands of various European royal houses, religious orders, and secret societies who sought to leverage its temporal and spatial displacement abilities for exploration, espionage, and other ends.
Documented uses of SCP-1200 include:
The unpredictable and potentially dangerous nature of SCP-1200's time travel powers made it an object of great fascination but also fear among those who possessed it. Most owners went to great lengths to conceal the device's existence, fearing the disruption it could cause if its full capabilities were widely known.
In the late 20th century, SCP-1200 fell into the hands of various intelligence agencies and paramilitary groups who sought to study and weaponize its anomalous properties. Efforts to control and contain the device have met with mixed success, as it has repeatedly been lost, stolen, or activated in unexpected ways, with often chaotic results.
Contemporary researchers remain uncertain about the full scope of SCP-1200's abilities and the mechanics underlying its time travel function. Theories range from quantum tunneling and trans-dimensional displacement to the device acting as a wormhole or portal between parallel universes. The potential to alter the past or future in unpredictable ways makes SCP-1200 an object of great concern, as even small changes could have cascading effects on the timeline.
Ongoing containment and study of SCP-1200 is coordinated by a classified international consortium, who seek to better understand its properties and develop safeguards against its misuse. However, the device's long and complex history, and the uncertain consequences of tampering with the flow of time, continue to pose serious challenges.
