Item #: SCP-3419

Object Class: Safe Keter

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3419 is kept in a sealed vivarium at Bio-Containment Site 84, which has been specially modified to contain a three meter layer of loose dirt and to account for a large group of animals. Otherwise, the vivarium is not unlike other Foundation vivariums, and as such is maintained and cleaned weekly. During cleaning and maintenance, staff will take care not to disturb members of SCP-3419 or their constructs. The entrance to SCP-3419's vivarium is fitted with a standard retinal scanner lock. SCP-3419-Alpha will be allowed to produce offspring until further notice.

NOTICE: Containment staff, please refer to the revised containment procedures as of 6/01/1998:

Updated Containment Procedures - SCP-3419: In addition to the containment procedures originally outlined in the document, SCP-3419-Prime will remain fixed on the "ANT" setting until further notice. Testing involving SCP-3419-Prime's "ADD" button is strictly disallowed. SCP-3419-Prime remains locked in a standard safe-object containment locker fitted with a 5-permutation keypad lock.

A new Mobile Task Force, MTF-Gamma-76 ("The Bounty Hunters"), has been formed to search for other instances of SCP-3419-Prime. All new instances will have their knob fixed on [REDACTED - LEVEL FOUR CLEARANCE ONLY] to allow for ease of recall of affected humans. Following a grace period of 72 hours, all humans affected by the device will be terminated and the new instance of SCP-3419-Prime will be destroyed. As of 6/13/2018, there are still a suspected 99 of 99 other instances of SCP-3419-Prime outside of Foundation control.

Description: SCP-3419 is a group of 51 52 humans with varying physical descriptions. The group displays similar behavior to that of an ant colony, with SCP-3419-Alpha acting as the queen of the group. Of the 35 other females in the group, 29 are sterile, having had their reproductive organs apparently removed. These 29 females, hereby referred to as SCP-3419-Beta, act as the workers of the group. Before containment, nine of SCP-3419-Beta were considered "soldiers." After having been contained, SCP-3419-Alpha determined that the colony no longer needed soldiers, and instead designated all sterile females as workers. Typically, specimens of SCP-3419-Beta spend time digging and collecting dirt, which is then used to build small structures which are analogous to that of a typical ant colony.

The rest of SCP-3419 consists of females capable of reproduction, and males which reproduce solely with SCP-3419-Alpha.

Members of SCP-3419 are not responsive to any intelligent contact, with the exception of SCP-3419-Alpha, which communicates with the rest of the colony telepathically, as long as a given member of SCP-3419 is within a two kilometer radius of SCP-3419-Alpha. Attempting to socially interact with any member of SCP-3419 (with the exception of -Alpha) will not result in any significant response. This is not true, however, in the event of physical contact. Depending on the level of force used by the person, specimens of SCP-3419 may react aggressively. Typically, overly forceful contact generates a violent response, while actions such as unintentionally obstructing a SCP-3419 specimen's path will amount to nothing more than a light shove.

SCP-3419-Alpha is a black adult human female, and is the sole means of communication with SCP-3419, as it is the only member of the colony with the ability to speak. -Alpha serves as the queen of SCP-3419, and is the only female in the group with which males of SCP-3419 will initiate sexual reproduction. Offspring produced by SCP-3419-Alpha have a gestation period of 15 weeks, and will always be born in groups of four or more. Currently, nine of the members of SCP-3419 have been born on-site. Offspring of SCP-3419-Alpha experience accelerated growth, reaching adulthood in less than [REDACTED]. Despite this, -Alpha has determined that the colony does not need to produce more offspring for the foreseeable future. This is likely due to the size of the vivarium in which SCP-3419 is contained.

SCP-3419 was discovered in New York City, New York, when residents noticed a significant number of people (at this time, the group amounted to 42 people) occupying a small house for an extended period of time. Officers of the New York Police Department responded, and entered the dwelling forcefully, immediately being attacked by specimens SCP-3419-Beta, some of which were considered soldiers at the time. There were no civilian casualties during the incident, and all involved civilians were administered Class-C amnestics. SCP-3419 was safely escorted to Site-84, and only one member of SCP-3419 had any identification, that being SCP-3419-Alpha.

The dwelling was destructed as soon as possible following the discovery of irreparable damage to the walls and base-level floor, much of which had been ripped forcefully from the structure. Below the dwelling, a crude tunnel system had begun to take shape, but did not extend beyond the perimeter of the structure and was merely one and a half meters deep at maximum depth.

New and additional information about the anomaly may be found below.

Interview Log: 3419-1

Purpose: To determine the origin of SCP-3419.

Involved Personnel: Researcher Harden (Level 3 clearance)

Notes: This interview occurred within two days of initial containment.

Begin Log

Harden: Good afternoon, SCP-3419-Alpha. Are you able to tell me about your origin?

SCP-3419-Alpha: No. One day, our queen heard the many voices of our colony, and we don't remember anything before that.

Harden: Can you explain why you are speaking in first-person plural?

-Alpha: Our queen, this one, is the brain and heart of the colony, and speaks for us all.

Harden: So, as I understand it, by speaking to you, I am speaking to the entire colony?

-Alpha: That is correct. This one is the mind of our colony.

Harden: When we escorted you to containment, a wallet was found on your person. We were able to identify you as ████ ██████. Does that name sound familiar?

-Alpha: No. We were here one day. And this is how we have been since then.

Harden: Surely you aren't saying that you materialized out of thin air? Have you all always been together, or…?

-Alpha: We did not just appear. None of us remember anything before being in that house together, beginning work on our first nest. And yes, we have always been together.

Harden: I see. Thank you, Alpha. The guards will now escort you back to your colony.

End Log

Addendum-3419-1:

One week after the house from which SCP-3419 was recovered had been completely destroyed, an on-site post-anomaly agent recovered a small mechanical device and returned it to Site-84 for analysis. This device will now be known as SCP-3419-Prime. Its description follows:

Description: SCP-3419-Prime is a small piece of handheld mechanical hardware consisting of a plastic-control knob which allows for ten settings. Below the knob is a small green button, with text below it reading "ADD." Extending from SCP-3419-Prime is a .15 meter long antenna, which terminates with a small illuminated round bud. When pointed directly at a human within 20 meters, the bud will change coloration to green. At all other times, the bud remains red in coloration. The power source for this light is indeterminate.

The ten settings on the knob are all labeled with various social or eusocial fauna. Most notably, the settings "HUMAN" and "ANT" appear, alongside other settings, including "BEE" and "WOLF." Upon recovery, the knob was fixed on "ANT," and has remained this way, barring Test-Log-3419-2.

On the rear side of SCP-3419-Prime, there appears text which reads "ANIMALIA SUBCONTROLLER 82/100." As a result of this discovery and its implications, SCP-3419's object class has been upgraded to keter. While the colony in containment poses no threat to Foundation staff or its own containment, the superorigin of the colony in containment may cause a combination of an LK-Class Species-Transmutation event and a CK-Class Dominance Shift scenario. Please refer to the current project lead for more detailed information.

Test Log: 3419-1

Purpose: To confirm the suspected function of SCP-3419-Prime's green button.

Involved Personnel: Researcher Harden (Level 3 clearance), D-239-1 (Female, age [REDACTED]).

Details: Researcher Harden and D-239-1 enter a room in close proximity to SCP-3419's vivarium. Researcher Harden points the antenna of SCP-3419-Prime at D-239-1 and presses the green button. At this point, D-239-1 immediately ceases to respond to any social interaction from Researcher Harden. D-239-1 gets up and proceeds to the locked door of the room, which Harden immediately unlocks. D-239-1 proceeds further down the hallway and reaches the door of SCP-3419's sealed vivarium. After a brief explanation to the HMCL supervisor on duty, Harden opens the vivarium, where D-239-1 begins to perform basic worker tasks associated with members of SCP-3419-Beta. Follow up analysis revealed that D-239-1 no longer possesses reproductive organs.

Interview Log: 3419-2

Purpose: Indeterminate.

Involved Personnel: Researcher Harden (Level 3 clearance)

Notes: This interview was not authorized by the project lead, and took place directly in SCP-3419's vivarium, immediately after Test Log 3419-1. Researcher Harden recorded this log with his cell phone and later uploaded it to the SCP database.

Begin Log

Harden: Hello Alpha. Do you see that woman?

Harden points to D-239-1.

SCP-3419-Alpha: We see it. That one is us.

Harden: As I suspected. Do you know where she came from?

-Alpha: The interrogation down the hall.

Harden: Right. But do you know how she became a part of your colony?

-Alpha: We don't know, but we are happy to have that one.

Harden: That's all for now, Alpha. Thanks. And sorry to pop in unannounced.

End Log

Harden here - I didn't reveal SCP-3419-Prime to -Alpha, as much as I wanted to show her where she came from. We've got one more test to run. Doctor Mann, I fully accept any punishment for the unauthorized interview. But we know the colony's safe, that's why I did it. We need to run tests on SCP-3419-Prime. Formally requesting to oversee the testing on SCP-3419-Prime's knob settings.

Approved. I would have done the same, Harden. -Doctor Mann

Test Log: 3419-2

Purpose: To discover the function of SCP-3419-Prime's knob settings.

Involved Personnel: Researcher Harden (Level 3 clearance)

Details: Beginning with turning the knob to the "HUMAN" setting, [DATA EXPUNGED] and as a result, the original personalities of each member of SCP-3419 are likely permanently lost. Although the "HUMAN" setting did make each member of SCP-3419 indistinguishable from any other human, the ethics committee has determined that [DATA EXPUNGED]. Therefore, the knob will remain fixed on the "ANT" setting for the time being, and the on-site ethics committee will review the most humane way to proceed. As a result of this test, SCP-3419-Alpha has changed and is now an adult human female of middle eastern origin. The previous instance of SCP-3419-Alpha has seemingly downgraded in status to be a member of SCP-3419-Beta, and is no longer capable of reproduction.