I downvoted this one.

I've said before that I can't stand body horror skips, so I thought I'd try to overcome that (and maybe come to understand them a little better) by doing one of my own.

Special thanks to several folks who helped me with this on IRC.

Item #: SCP-2065

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: All 14 known copies of SCP-2065 are currently in Foundation custody. They are to be kept in a high value containment vault on floor 26 of Site-88. Research involving SCP-2065 is currently prohibited. Under no circumstances are copies of SCP-2065 to be reproduced.

Any SCP-2065-1 instances in Foundation custody are to be kept in individual standard humanoid containment cells. Under no circumstances are any SCP-2065-1 instances to be allowed to progress to stage 3 of SCP-2065's effects. Any SCP-2065-1 instance that fails to maintain its daily caloric intake for any reason is to be reported to the SCP-2065 project director.

Any SCP-2065-1 instances that are found to be suffering from second or third phase SCP-2065 effects and are not part of a current test are to be immediately terminated. This termination should include incineration of all remains associated with SCP-2065-1 instances.

Description: SCP-2065 is a book titled Eat Whatever You Want… and Still Lose Weight! by Christian Paulman. If an individual reads any portion of pages 9-23 of SCP-2065, that individual will be converted into an SCP-2065-1 instance. The remainder of SCP-2065's content is superficially similar to most "fad diets".1 When followed, the advice leads to little to no weight loss (and has been observed to lead to an increase in weight). SCP-2065-1 instances undergo three distinct phases of SCP-2065's effect.

The first phase of SCP-2065's effect creates an additional requirement of approximately 4600 calories to maintain the weight of an SCP-2065-1 instance. If this additional caloric requirement is maintained, the SCP-2065-1 instance will suffer from no further anomalous effects. Caloric intake related to this anomalous increase has no effect on the SCP-2065-1 instance outside of maintaining their current weight. The volume of caloric intake and measurements of defecation have shown that the additional mass does not continue through the SCP-2065-1 instance's digestive system. Despite attempts at observation, the destination of this additional mass has not been determined.

SCP-2065-1 instances that do not maintain their weight through additional caloric intake will begin phase two of SCP-2065's effect. Weight loss associated with SCP-2065 appears to initially target the fat stores of the individual SCP-2065-1 instance. However, weight loss will continue even if there is no longer any fat to draw from as internal organs begin to act as sources for the continued maintenance of SCP-2065's effect. The epidermis of an SCP-2065-1 instance and most organs contained in the head of an instance remain immune to this effect.

During the second phase, SCP-2065-1 instances will lose mobility and suffer from expected problems associated with the loss of organs as those organs are consumed. Instances suffering from second stage effects will not expire regardless of organ loss (though termination via damage to the brain has proven partially successful). Pain medication has only proven partially effective in comforting individuals in this phase, likely due to the degeneration of the majority of organs associated with blood flow.

Once internal structure associated with an SCP-2065-1 instance has been consumed, the instance will enter into the third phase of SCP-2065's effect. The remaining skin will become, through means which are currently not understood, capable of independent motion. This motion includes an ability to stand, sit, and jump. In addition, organs located in the skull (including any remaining bone) will become capable of significantly more elasticity than in an unaffected individual.

SCP-2065-1 instances in this third phase of effect are generally hostile to living individuals. The provision of daily nutrition approximate to the instance's previous activity levels and accounting for an additional 14,000 calories has proven sufficient to reduce aggression levels to a manageable point. SCP-2065-1 instances in their third phase have proven difficult to terminate, and in most cases application of high levels of heat has been required to permanently terminate an instance.

Stage Three SCP-2065-1 Instance Behaviors:

Stage three -1 instances are capable of remarkable stealth, and possess strength far in excess of that which would be expected, given their lack of musculature. Instances appear to differentiate between living and non-living entities, and will consume any dead or non-living food prior to killing and consuming a living individual if both are present.

If not provided with additional caloric intake to suppress their aggressive nature, instances will begin to display predatory behavior. It appears that these instances continue to possess knowledge associated with the individuals prior to their conversion, as they have been shown to operate doors, and in at least one case were capable of utilizing a keypad to enter a restricted area.

The primary attack of a stage three -1 instance is often focused on the head of an individual, suffocating victims by forcibly entering the airway via the mouth. Following a successful attack the instance will remove itself from the airway of the victim, and begin a process of consumption similar to that found in large snakes (again starting with the head of a victim).

Instances have shown an ability to consume individual victims possessing a circumference far beyond what would be expected. This is accomplished through a stretching of their own tissues in a manner which is not completely understood, but which allows for consumption of whole human bodies. The digestion process occurs in a manner similar to the consumption of internal organs in a stage two SCP-2065-1 instance. Unlike a stage two instance, this process often leaves no remains.

+ 2065-5 Incident Report

Hide Incident Report

Prior to the establishment of current procedures involving SCP-2065-1 instances, a number of stage three instances were retained by the Foundation for testing. During a scheduled feeding, a single instance was found to be missing from its holding area.

Despite a full site lock down, the instance was not recovered for several days. This instance was eventually found in the office of Nicholas Miller behind several locked doors (including at least one that required keypad entry).

This instance had consumed several office staff over a period of several minutes. The instance was difficult to remove from the area due to its bulk, and a decision was made to monitor and effect capture once its mass had been reduced through its anomalous nature.

However, after several hours, the bulk of this instance had not reduced in a manner that was consistent with previous knowledge of stage three instances. Shortly after a decision to terminate the instance on location through incineration was made, it began to regurgitate several additional SCP-2065-1 instances. All instances made immediate attempts to subdue and consume staff, but were rendered incapable of motion by the response team.

All remains were then incinerated, and the containment procedures for SCP-2065-1 instances have been updated to reflect this incident.

Footnotes

1. Several similarities to the Atkins Diet were found, including several pages which appear to be directly lifted from literature on that subject.