SCP-8598.
Особые условия содержания: SCP-8598 нейтрализован. Процедуры содержания не требуются.
SCP-8598.
Описание: SCP-8598 — это Гэри Морено, профессиональный рестлер и скульптор реальности.
SCP-8598 выступал в периоде между 1966 и 1974 годами, изначально в Японии и впоследствии в растущей World Wide Wrestling Federation. Он стал известен как Джерри «Снайпер» Рулетка, хил1 и охотник за головами, добивающийся «наград» и титула чемпиона мира.
Аномальные свойства объекта начали проявляться после его попадания в автокатастрофу в 1973 году. Инцидент совпал с развитием у него острого депрессивного расстройства, возможной шизофрении, алкоголизма и наркотической зависимости. SCP-8598 начал жить исключительно в образе Джерри «Снайпера» Рулетки. Это проявлялось в ношении им рестлерского снаряжения на публике, игнорировании или агрессивном поведении при упоминании его юридического имени, преследовании дезертиров в качестве линчевателя и проведении профессиональных матчей с представителями общественности.
Лица, находящиеся рядом с объектом, считают данное изменение в поведении SCP-8598 его погружением в Кейфеб2. In short, SCP-8598's frame of reality was through the character of Jerry "Sharpshooter" Roulette, and all events within his life would be altered by his reality warping capabilities to ensure that experience.
Приложение 8598.1: Ранняя карьера и период во Всемирной Федерации Рестлинга
SCP-8598 родился в 1942 году в Эль Пасо, Техас, США. В 18 лет присоединился к тренировочной команде Даллас Ковбойс, однако выбыл меньше, чем через год вследствие травмы колена, завершившей его карьеру. Тренер SCP-8598 дал ему рекомендацию заняться профессиональным рестлингом. После, Морено был зачислен в ту же академию рестлинга, в которой обучался Ларри Хенниг, его друг детства.
В рамках промоушена International Wrestling Enterprise SCP-8598 выступал в Японии под псевдонимом «Джек «Стрелок» Рулетка». В Кейфебе он продвигался в качестве хила, а также играл роль охотника за головами и стремился попасть на финальный чемпионат промоушена. Изначально, SCP-8598 участвовал в командном матче с Ларри Хеннигом, затем вместе выиграли Командный Чемпионат IWE. В 1969 году объект в рамках сценария напал на Хеннига в ринге, после чего их команда распалась. Позже в том же году, SCP-8598 победил Антонио Иноки, бывшего на тот момент чемпионом, и забрал себе его титул.
Далее представлен отрывок из показаний Джима Корнетта, бывшего сценариста World Wide Wrestling Federation и квалифицированного историка рестлинга.
Джим Корнетт.
Корнетт: Что ж, скажу так, он выступал ещё до меня. Всё, что я знал о нём — вычитал из журнала Гонг. Там были большие, глянцевые фото, сделанные Коичи Йошизавой. А в то время, для американских болельщиков это был один из немногих способов узнать, что творится в Японии. Но да, я знал о Стрелке. И у него было всё! Известность, мастерство, аура, называйте как хотите. Вот смотришь ты на чёрно-белую фотографию на весь разворот, на ней мужик делает боковой захват, а он сейчас словно выпрыгнет со страницы и набросится на тебя, потому что ты слишком долго на него пялишься!
Он отлично выглядит, может, чёрт возьми, провести матч по ворку3 и ещё его освещают по всему миру. Да он суперзвезда! Вы, наверное, задаётесь вопросом, так в чём же, блять, проблема?
Проблема была в том, что японские фанаты продолжали за него болеть. Для хила такое раньше было неслыханным. Вы бы привели гайдзина4, и его бы освистали — хил-иностранец, да он столько помидоров словит! А что вы делаете, когда за вашего плохого парня болеют, будто бы он хороший? Меняете ему образ. Ну кроме Йошихары, который букер5. Он не хотел этого делать. Ну они его и отправили обратно в Штаты, навязали его WWWF и сказали Винсу старшему, что Йошихара теперь — его забота.
После того, как SCP-8598 проиграл свой титул обратно Иноки в 1970 году, он подписал контракт с World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF)6. WWWF дала ему новое имя — Джерри «Снайпер» Рулетка, сам персонаж в большей степени не изменился. IWE продвигала SCP-8598 как главного хила, в то время как WWWF использовала его как ступень, которую рестлерам-героям необходимо пройти перед началом борьбы за чемпионство. Ввиду этого, Морено остался на среднем уровне7 и не достиг тех же высот, что и в IWE.
Корнетт: Things petered out. He got pushes, but they were on and off. And the WWWF was running monthly shows— you don’t get booked every month, there was no guarantee the crowd would remember you the next go around. Being a foreigner in front of a Japanese crowd made you an attraction. Over here, when you’re next to guys like Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow, you need to grab one big-ass stepstool to stand out.
And that fucked with him. Not getting the same type of reactions he did in Japan, not moving up the card. WWWF was a babyface promotion— top heels were locked in programs with top faces for months on end. Not a lot of mobility. So there was a lot of downtime for a guy to get shitfaced in every bar in the northeastern corridor.
SCP-8598's girlfriend, Catherine Hobbs, gave birth to twins in December of 1970. The pair would later marry and have a third child by the end of 1971. SCP-8598 floated around the midcard of the WWWF in 1972, and had an upcoming contract negotiation that September.
Корнетт: You have these kids coming in, great shape, good looks, making more money than they thought they ever would, and they're going out and meeting these girls et cetera, et cetera. A baby pops out nine months later, and now, they say, "fucking shit!" because now this profession where you were fucking around with your buddies and traveling the country has to feed a family.
Джим Корнетт, висящий в клетке для акул в рамках рестлерского ТВ энгла8.
He has this contract negotiation coming up. He wants to stay close to his wife and kids, so he's not shopping around at these other territories, and again, he's not a draw. It just so happened, at the time, that one of Shooter's good friends, Ivan Koloff, was champion. So you have Koloff, this three-hundred-some-odd pound Canadian with a sickle and hammer tattooed on his arm pretending to be a Russian, and he's the top heel for about a year at this point.
Bruno Sammartino is booked for the opportunity to fight Koloff for the title, but Bruno ends up snapping his fucking femur in half. So now, Vince Sr. is scrambling for a new all-American, apple pie-eating babyface that will defeat the Reds and bring the title back to the US of A. What do you do now? Vince looks around, thinking, and remembers he has a 300-pound cowboy with whom he's done squat. He finally got his push.
Following Bruno Sammartino's injury in August of 1972, SCP-8598 successfully beat Pedro Morales in a contendership match, which landed him a chance for the championship. The next week, SCP-8598's contract negotiation occurred, and he was resigned for $250,000 per year and booked to win the title from Koloff at the next event in November.
Корнетт: He gets two-hundred fifty grand in 1972, he's booked to be a top champion in a few months, and he's signed for another four years. Knowing he has four mouths to feed, the first purchase he makes is an eighty-thousand-dollar racehorse. I can't fathom it! He'd use it in place of a car. He, (Chuckles), he would ride it backstage and Vince Sr. slipped in a puddle of its piss. He wasn't allowed to bring it around the arenas anymore after that. He starts riding it around on the street late at night, saying it helps get him into character.
These were the things you dealt with with character performers. The real dedicated ones want to make themselves their characters as much as possible. It helps sell the business. If I went up to Shooter on the street and he turned to me and said, 'How ya doing, buddy, the name's Gary,' I'd probably never watch again.
Things like this were not exactly promoted, but they were accepted. And then, you know, he— he took it too far.
SCP-8598.
SCP-8598 purchased a racehorse named Alto Soprano after signing his renewed contract. One week before his scheduled championship match, SCP-8598 rode his horse down a residential street. At an intersection, SCP-8598 was struck by a vehicle, killing the horse and grievously injuring him. He was subsequently moved out of the title match and replaced by Morales.
Приложение 8598.2: Травма и аномальное явление
SCP-8598's left femur was shattered to the point doctors initially thought the leg would have to be amputated. He also suffered a broken collarbone, a skull fracture, a major concussion, and fluid build-up in the brain. Luckily, the leg did not have to be amputated and steel plates were bolted into it instead. Doctors told SCP-8598 that he would likely not be able to wrestle again, or even run, and gave him a timeframe of eighteen months before he could walk again.
The painkiller medication SCP-8598 received as part of his treatment quickly became an addiction and compounded with his preexisting alcoholic tendencies.
The following is a segment from the testimony of Catherine Moreno, the wife of SCP-8598.
Морено: It broke him. It really, really broke him. He used to just sit in his wheelchair and stare out the window of our bedroom, mumbling to himself.
The WWWF took care of all of the medical bills; he probably would've never walked again if they didn't pay for the physical therapy. He made really good progress, but — he reached such a height early in his career, and he spent the rest of his time chasing after it. The fact he got so close to winning the championship at the biggest territory — finally getting that push to the top — and losing it because of some dumb decision destroyed him.
He barely said a word to me in that first six months. He would shake his empty bottle of whiskey in my direction when he wanted a new one, and that was the most of our communication. I wasn't in a position to really stop that. He was hurting, and if liquor made it feel the slightest bit better I wasn't going to take that away.
(Pause.)
I wish I did.
Лагю: Did he start improving at any point?
Морено: In a vacuum, he did. He started walking with crutches about six months after his injury. He only mumbled to himself still. I kept the kids away as much as I could, and we had the guaranteed money he signed for, so it wasn't like he needed to get back, but he wanted to. Around the seven month mark was when I noticed he was losing it. I was yelling across the house for him; 'Gary,' I said. Then I hear something shatter in our bedroom, so I run up. He's waiting for me, standing straight without any crutches in his full Sharpshooter outfit and asks me 'What's my goddamn name?'
I said 'Gary, you're drunk.' and he charged over to me and asked that question again, 'What's my goddamn name?' I didn't answer; I was scared. He looms over me and, through gritted teeth, says, 'I'm the Sharpshooter Jerry Roulette,' and leaves the house.
Лагю: Was there any abuse?
Морено: No, no, he never hit me or even shouted at me other than this one time. I don't know what it was, but the character Jerry Roulette became who Gary was, and Jerry was a heel. He was so sweet and loving to me and the kids. But he put on that hat and that coat, and he'd lose that part of him. He had the wherewithal to keep it out of the house.
SCP-8598's mental health issues and anomalous capabilities reared their head following the injury. Despite being unable to walk, whenever SCP-8598 wore his ring gear, his injuries healed and he returned to a performance-ready state. He made a drunken, unannounced appearance backstage during a WWWF event only to be escorted out and ordered to remain home until he was fully healed.
SCP-8598's reality warping manifested in the world around him being affected by Kayfabe. Any altercations between SCP-8598 and members of the public became official professional wrestling matches. His theme music would play upon him entering any location, and his official records would be updated to reflect the events in his life.
Хенниг: He was fucked up. It— it was sad to see; really sad. I became estranged from him for that reason. Once, he showed up at my hotel room in full gear, like he was ready to wrestle then and there. He was mumbling and slurring his words — I thought he was drunk, and I knew that the best course of action in dealing with a drunk Shooter was to get him cooled down and put him to bed. I had him take his coat and hat off, and I saw the needle marks in his arm.
I told him to leave, I wasn't going to deal with that. He kept repeating himself, 'The hangman needs his dues, the hangman needs his dues.' Real sad shit. I just couldn't deal with it. I had my wife in the room. I— I couldn't do it. I called Vince Sr. and told him Shooter needs an intervention fast. We organized it, all this stuff, and he shows up in his gear. We tried to sit him down, and I made the mistake of calling him Gary. He picks me up and throws me against the wall, then pins me and wins our match.
He turns to the group and, I'll never forget, says, 'God sends traitors to the twelfth circle, but the devil sends traitors to me. I have your bounties, and I hate keeping the hangman waiting.'
In another incident, SCP-8598 approached five would-be robbers attempting to mug an unknown man. The robbers turned their attention to SCP-8598 and pointed their weapons at him. In turn, SCP-8598 began cutting a promo, 9 ending with his catchphrase, "Dead or alive. Step in this ring, and you'll go home cold." Simultaneously, one of the robbers, John McLeary, had climbed on top of a dumpster and performed a frog splash onto SCP-8598. The other four attempted robbers then ambushed SCP-8598. At a certain point, a referee was brought to the street and began officiating.
SCP-8598 would win by hitting five bodyslams on each of the attackers, pinning all five in a stack. None of them had any wrestling training or recollection of their "matches" from when they attacked to being pinned.
Далее представлен отрывок из показаний Ореаля «Ивана Колова» Перраса, бывшего рестлера и партнёра по tag team SCP-8598.
Ореаль «Иван Колов» Перрас.
Лагю: Горилла?
Перрас: Ага.
Лагю: Как это возможно?
Перрас: В полицию сообщили о том, что Снайпер вломился в Филадельфийский зоопарк. В три утра его нашли в снаряге возле вольера гориллы с микрофоном в руке, он снимал с ними рекламу. На следующую ночь два охранника зоопарка завидели его прямо в вольере, но он вышел целым и невредимым.
Лагю: Вы делаете вывод, что он, получается, боролся с гориллой?
Перрас: Нет, друг мой. Он боролся с гориллой и победил.
SCP-8598.
In 1973, WWWF doctors deemed SCP-8598 healthy enough to compete. During a contract extension negotiation with the WWWF, SCP-8598 threatened to hogtie and drag Vincent J. McMahon behind his horse "until the sun charred [his] skin" due to a perceived lowball offer. Despite this, WWWF management wrote this off as SCP-8598 remaining in character, and the contract was signed.
SCP-8598 was pushed back to the main event scene following his return. After attacking Koloff in an on-screen segment at the Boston Garden, SCP-8598 stole his spot in a championship contendership match. During his entrance, SCP-8598 was attacked by a knife-wielding fan. Despite the gash slicing the femoral artery and SCP-8598 losing enough blood to expire, he continued to the ring. The attendee, 17-year-old Gregory Kaplin, jumped the barricade, climbed into the ring, and began performing multiple wrestling moves on SCP-8598. Kaplin was notably overweight and never had wrestling training, but despite this, the pair went 15 minutes, resulting in an SCP-8598 victory. SCP-8598 received stitches and the originally-planned match was held, resulting in an SCP-8598 win.
SCP-8598 finally won the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in May 1973, becoming the fourth man in company history to hold the title.
Addendum 8598.3: Death and Legacy
SCP-8598 was scheduled for a championship match in November against Koloff as a follow-up to the stolen contendership opportunity. He would fail to make his call time at the arena.
Perras: Going back to the '50s, every promotion has a call time for any show. If an event starts at 8 PM, everyone had to be there by 2 PM at the latest, you should actually be there by 12 PM. By 3:30, Shooter didn't show up. We thought he had bought another horse and was fucking around on it, who knows. I talk to Vince, and he goes to Jim in talent relations, and he asks me if I know the hotel he's staying at.
Perras and SCP-8598.
I call it; 'Hello, I'm a wrestler for the WWWF, and one of our wrestlers hasn't shown up for the show we're having. Do you know what time he checked out? His name is Jerry Roulette.' (Chuckles) I knew the last thing he'd do was check in as Gary Moreno. And, uh, and, god damn it.
(Koloff sniffles.)
'Sir,' the lady says back, 'The police are here. Mr. Roulette is dead.'
Awful. I couldn't believe it. I still can't. […] Just awful.
SCP-8598 died of a massive heart attack at the age of 32. While evidence of painkillers and alcohol were found in his blood, they could not be deemed the main factor in causing the heart attack. A tournament in SCP-8598's name would subsequently be held, and Bruno Sammartino would win, dedicating his championship victory to SCP-8598 in a post-show promo. SCP-8598's hat and boots were brought to the ring by Sammartino, and the championship was laid alongside the gear.
Cornette: It's very obvious when a wrestler has problems and they can't perform. That— that wasn't the case with Sharpshooter. No one could tell where Sharpshooter ended and Gary Moreno started. Things were allowed to slide, maybe a bit more than they could with anyone else.
I still think about this every day. Someone so dedicated to this business, to their craft, to their art; how does that heart stop beating? He wasn't done. He wasn't even close to done, and […] he didn't get a chance to finish his story. He had his issues, but it wasn't a drug overdose or alcohol poisoning, his heart just stopped.
Maybe he could've beaten those addictions, and maybe he could have come slightly back down to reality, and maybe he would've been a great champion. But— but he never got that chance. I think about all that potential and how much he contributed in the five years he was in the business. I can only imagine what he could've done in the next decade.
World Wrestling Entertainment inducted SCP-8598 into their Hall of Fame in 2012. Larry Hennig delivered the induction speech, a segment of which as been transcribed below.
Larry Hennig.
Hennig: You'll notice I haven't been calling Sharpshooter 'Gary Moreno,' and that is for damn good reason. Sharpshooter truly, genuinely lived as the outlaw, the cowboy, the bounty hunter, Jerry Roulette. Anytime he was around anyone, public or in the business, he was The Sharpshooter, and he expected to be treated as such.
I've seen many of the boys backstage meet the true Sharpshooter after giving him a mistaken "How're you doing, Gary." He'd give you your one warning, and after that, he'd make you a wanted poster and pin it up in his locker. He was going to get that bounty, dead or alive.
Wrestling is stageplay. Wrestling is entertainment. Wrestling is scripted. Today, we have newsletters and reporters ready to pounce on any talk from the people backstage, and it breaks the magic; it breaks the magic Sharpshooter protected for the seven short years he was in this business. He fought his ass off to make sure he was the Sharpshooter, inside and out, and that was his greatest accomplishment — to embody a character so masterfully that he became one with it. Sharpshooter may have passed, but Kayfabe lives on, and that's all he would have wanted.