Item №: SCP-4887

Anomaly Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Earth has been designated a Category-H1 Quarantine Zone. Instances of SCP-4887 are to be contained on-sight and stored in any available airtight containers, which are then to be transported via drone to Subterranean Storage Warehouse PERIANTH. Human presence within 20 kilometres of SSW-PERIANTH is to be treated as a breach of quarantine protocol, and may result in termination.

Humans displaying signs of infection by SCP-4887 are to be dispatched via orbital strike.

An instance of SCP-4887.

Description: SCP-4887 are numerous organisms physically identical to the larvae of Western honey bees (Apis mellifera). SCP-4887 do not mature into adult bees at any point, but instead crawl constantly towards materials intended for human consumption, into which they bury and lie dormant. There is no known limit to the range of SCP-4887 instances' sense of direction; a single larva can detect a small quantity of food over more than 150 kilometres. SCP-4887 are impervious to physical harm, and can survive for seemingly indefinite periods of time without sustenance, oxygen, or light.

When ingested by a human subject, SCP-4887 affix to the wall of the digestive system and trigger massive alterations in the subject's physiology. All bones in the cranium and jaw will immediately fracture, and muscle and fat in the neck, chest, and arms will move upwards and pack itself around the face; the subject's mouth will then deform to create an opening between 2 and 5 metres in diameter, with elongated teeth spaced evenly around the edge. The subject will involuntarily clamp this opening to the ground, and its tongue will engorge and begin excavating dirt or other materials in an effort to seek organic compounds. This is considered Stage 1 of infection, and full progression through the stage typically takes between 2 and 20 minutes.

If the subject's tongue detects sufficient quantities of organic material (e.g. tree roots, soil, insects, or small mammals), digestive enzymes will be released and the subject will enter Stage 2, absorbing any available proteins and fibres through the lingual papillae. The additional biomass will be used to dislocate the subject's hip joints and move the legs downwards towards the shoulders, leaving the torso extended upwards towards the air. The four limbs (now arranged radially around the neck) will widen and expand, forming rigid sheets of photosynthetic material up to 10 metres wide and 50 centimetres thick. Analysis of tissue samples under ultraviolet light has revealed the presence of intricate fractal spirals on this material, though the purpose of these patterns is unknown. The average time taken to develop these tissue structures is 30 hours post infection. Termination prior to completion of Stage 2 will kill the subject but not neutralise the SCP-4887 instance — it must be retrieved manually from within the subject's abdomen and contained as normal.

Between two days and three weeks after the completion of Stage 2, Stage 3 will begin; the subject's legless torso will engorge and take on a purplish hue as the insides are consumed by newly-formed SCP-4887 instances. Hostile engagement is not advised at this point; the larval sac will not rupture unless provoked, but if burst will eject a highly pressurised, caustic fluid, along with several thousand more SCP-4887. Newly created instances are vulnerable to high-energy impacts, but become functionally indestructible ~5 hours after sac-rupture. There are currently 430 known Stage 3 subjects worldwide.

Addendum | Incident 4887-10A86: On 2050-09-02, the longest-surviving Stage 3 subject (formerly Mr. Randall McAllister, infected 2038-08-22) was the target of an anomalous apian entity (AE-4887-1) approximately 350 metres in length. The entity visually resembled a queen honey bee, but with a more elongated and aerodynamic form, and several dozen more limbs of varying length. No wings were recorded, but eyewitness reports include six translucent discs orbiting the entity as it moved.

AE-4887-1 entered the atmosphere after spending three hours in Low Earth Orbit, and during its passage detached the subject's larvae-filled abdomen from its limbs and neck. The entity then exited through the cloud layer and either demanifested from local reality, entered some form of FTL jump, or employed a hitherto undiscovered cloaking mechanism. Its current location is unknown, as are its nature, species, or anomalous capabilities. Mr. McAllister has been recognised as deceased following the rapid desiccation of his remaining tissues.

Footnotes

1. Full screening of humans and human-consumable substances leaving the planet; restricted entry to planet; globally disseminated documents regarding the potential risks of infection.