A police officer in Italy, who never aspired to be one and is more interested in ancient history, is called to handle a situation involving a man claiming to be a Roman Centurion from the Jugurthine War. The man, agitated and wearing an ancient helmet, is causing a disturbance near the Colosseum. The officer, who understands Latin, attempts to communicate with him but the situation escalates until the man is subdued and taken into custody. It's revealed that the helmet has anomalous properties that allow it to possess wearers with the consciousness of the ancient Centurion. The SCP Foundation intervenes, securing the helmet and interviewing the Centurion, who shares his story and expresses a desire to assist the Foundation in understanding his continued existence.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. The protagonist is a police officer in Italy who used to study ancient history and archeology.
2. He is trained in the Polizia Provinciale and enforces regional fishing laws.
3. He is called to a disturbance in Central Rome, where a man is speaking Latin and brandishing a shovel.
4. The man is wearing an ancient Roman centurion's helmet, which the police officer recognizes from his university studies.
5. The helmet is from the Marian Reforms, roughly 100 years BCE.
6. The police officer talks to the man in Latin, and the man claims to be Publius Carthephilus Aetius, a Roman centurion who fought in the Jugurthine War.
7. The man is taken to a police station and held in a cell, where he becomes violent and is restrained.
8. A group of men in black suits arrives and takes the man away, revealing that the helmet is an SCP (Special Containment Procedures) object.
9. The SCP is a helmet that contains the consciousness of Publius Carthephilus Aetius, who is a centurion from ancient Rome.
10. The helmet needs a host to see, hear, smell, taste, and interact with the world.
11. The helmet was found by a grave robber in Italy, who put it on and was taken over by Publius's consciousness.
12. Publius was a centurion who fought in the Jugurthine War and was tasked with escorting the captured king back to Rome.
13. He was cursed by the king, who wished for Publius to waste away and for his body to be consumed by the spirits of the underworld.
14. Publius died in an alleyway, but his consciousness remained in the helmet.
15. The helmet was buried with Publius's body, but it remained in a state of "darkness" for over 2,000 years.
16. The helmet was rediscovered by the grave robber, who put it on and was taken over by Publius's consciousness.
17. Publius is now cooperative and willing to work with the SCP Foundation to achieve a purpose that he believes is ordained by the gods.
18. The helmet is now contained in a secure box at Site 19, where it is studied by the SCP Foundation.