Item #: SCP-4665

Object Class: Euclid

SCP-4665

Special Containment Procedures: All living specimens of SCP-4665 are to be retrieved and transplanted to an isolated garden plot within Site-103 by MTF Theta-4 ("Gardeners"), where they will be maintained. All other SCP-4665 specimens found by MTF Theta-4 are to be contained in a standard containment locker at Site-103. Containment of SCP-4665-1-1 through SCP-4665-1-6 (named "Ian," "Nancy," "Alex," "Robert," "Paula," and "Eleanor" respectively) has been deferred to GoI-466 (Wilson's Wildlife Solutions) under the Boring Agreement. All other instances of SCP-4665-1 are to be contained in separate windowless containment cells at Site-103. These instances must be kept under video surveillance and standard maintenance of the cells and their occupants must be performed without direct eye contact.

Description: SCP-4665 is an anomalous plant species most similar to Chamaemelum nobile (chamomile) which is marked by a strong floral aroma, a complex fertilization process, and a low yield. Those who ingest a sufficient quantity of SCP-4665 become an instance of SCP-4665-1. These instances acquire a single anomalous property: When direct eye contact is maintained for an average of five minutes, the instance will suffer fatal cardiac arrest.1 No method to remove or to alter this property has been discovered.

SCP-4665-1-3 ("Alex")

Discovery: SCP-4665 and SCP-4665-1-1 through SCP-4665-1-6 were originally discovered on June 6th, 2006 in Gaston, Oregon, when locals observed a Capra aegagrus hircus (goat) experience sudden cardiac death in a public sector. After local officials determined that the goat belonged to Charles Idle,2 an agent was dispatched to investigate. An interview was conducted with Mr. Idle and his property was seized by The Foundation. In total, seven specimens of SCP-4665 (six living and one ground up) and seven goats were collected. As a test to determine if any one of these goats were instances of SCP-4665-1, one had its anomalous property successfully activated, and the rest were designated as SCP-4665-1-1 through SCP-4665-1-6.

Addendum 4665.1: Interview Log

Date: June 6th, 2006

Interviewed: Charles Idle

Interviewer: Agent Matricia

Charles Idle: So, you've found Calvin then?

Agent Matricia: Your goat, yes. We found him by Front Street.

Charles Idle: Front Street you say? Calvin always was a people person… so I shouldn't be surprised by his leaving. How did he pass?

Agent Matricia: Calvin suffered a heart attack. The strange thing is that we weren't able to determine how this occurred. Normally, we wouldn't bother investigating something like this, but given that you were a contractor for the UIU-

Charles Idle: Oh, it's quite all right. There's nothing wrong with wanting to know the details, and I doubt that the UIU provided your organization with the complete picture in any case. I suspect that Calvin's death was anomalous in origin. There's an interesting history there, but I don't suppose you have the time to let an old man regale you with those golden years, do you?

Agent Matricia: While that's a tempting offer, a full rundown won't be necessary at this point in time. We can schedule future interviews if needed, but for now, I just have a few simple questions, if that's fine with you.

Charles Idle: Ah, I understand. Well, ask away. I'm an open book.

Agent Matricia: What is the nature of this anomaly?

Charles Idle: Calvin, Alice, and the other goats that I have out back all possess this same insidious property: maintaining direct eye contact with them for a few minutes will cause their immediate death.

Agent Matricia: I see… and in what way was the UIU involved?

Charles Idle: Well it all started a few decades ago before Calvin was even born. The Red Scare had everyone on their toes and I was being sent all over the globe for increasingly desperate military research projects. Each one was stranger than the last, and it wasn't long before I headed down into the depths of anomalous studies.

Agent Matricia: Where did you discover this anomaly?

Charles Idle: The cloaked Dashain Temple in Nepal, whose monks were hiding from banishment. Their plight had led to the warping of their Buddhist religion into something of a Sarkic-based mockery that derided Hinduism. In their desire to elude the Nepalese government they had developed a wide range of anomalous talents, from suppressing noise to hiding in plain sight, but none of these were as impressive as their ability to kill a man with a stare. The UIU-

Agent Matricia: Men? Not just goats?

Charles Idle: It certainly seemed as much when I first ran into them. However, as my colleagues would later note, they were a cunning lot, and in hindsight, it was difficult to distinguish their magic from their tricks.

Agent Matricia: But is this anomaly only found in goats?

Charles Idle: The UIU came to the conclusion that this anomaly only affects a particular breed of goats, but there was a significant period of time in which they believed that it could affect humans as well.

Agent Matricia: I see… I take it then that you've maintained a stock this whole time, but why?

Charles Idle: I wished to find a cure for their ailment. Sadly, my research has turned up nothing to that end.

Agent Matricia: Good to know. Could you provide a brief summary of the interactions between the UIU and this anomaly?

Charles Idle: They saw potential in the Dashain arts and provided me, along with my cohort, Eleanor Sutter, with the resources necessary to create a small research lab and training facility of sorts within the temple itself. The months that followed were frantic. The higher-ups didn't care about how it worked. All they wanted was a team of highly trained individuals who could take out their enemies with surgical precision without being caught. What followed next was… a comedy of errors.

Agent Matricia: What sort of things went wrong?

Charles Idle: I would be long gone before I could even scratch the surface of the answer that you seek. However, I believe that every problem stemmed from my team's initial decision to fully rely on goats as target practice.

Agent Matricia: Did your team only run tests on goats?

Charles Idle: I do recall a rather furious staring contest between Ian and a chicken. No, no. Of course, there was a small handful of other animals, people included. However, the cause of their deaths was questionable enough that they were deemed to be outliers.

Agent Matricia: Wait a minute. This is reminding me too much of a story I heard about the U.S. military's attempts to kill goats by staring at them. There was no mention of monks nor Nepal.

Charles Idle: While our team spent a large amount of time in Nepal, we did move around and there were some other groups within the military who took interest in our operations and acted independently. What I've been telling you is strictly confidential, of course. I'm only letting you in on this secret because I've grown flippant in my old age, although I'm sure the UIU would corroborate my ludicrous story if you harangued them enough.

Agent Matricia: (Sighing) I will have to do that then. So, I take it that after your team failed to produce the results that the UIU was asking for, it was disbanded?

Charles Idle: That would be correct.

Agent Matricia: And the UIU were fooled… by goats. Did the monks have an ulterior motive here or did they actually believe that they could kill a person by staring at them?

Charles Idle: (Chuckles) I honestly never did figure that one out. Their motive, I mean. Their "death stare" actually did work on people, however.

Agent Matricia: That can't be right. This anomaly only affects goats… right?

(Silence)

Charles Idle: In all my years as a researcher the only truth that I've uncovered is that everyone loves a good story and will do anything to play a part in one that could be true.

Agent Matricia: What is that supposed to mean?

Charles Idle: Have you ever stared into the face of death? She's beautiful and spry, but her expression is always one of impatience. Her judgmental inquiries are the only ways she can cope with her implacable hindsight. In the military's haste to weaponize the anomalous scientific reasoning was neglected and they became susceptible to the playwright's pen. Several good men and women died. Paula and Nancy… Robert and Alex… I shouldn't have… I…

Agent Matricia: …How did they die?

Charles Idle: (Heavy Breathing) Chamomile tea.

Agent Matricia: I- What?

Charles Idle: You need…

Agent Matricia: Are you all right?

Charles Idle: …Not…

Agent Matricia: Shit.

Charles Idle: …Forgive me…

Agent Matricia: Site Command: Get an ambulance over here. He's having a heart attack.

Charles Idle: …But…

Agent Matricia: Do you have any medication on you? Aspirin?

Charles Idle: …Please…

Agent Matricia: Stay with me!

Charles Idle: …Take care of my goats.

Closing Statement: Agent Matricia performed CPR on Charles Idle until emergency services could arrive at the scene. An emergency medical responder later confirmed his death.

[Level 4 Clearance Required]

[Access Granted]

Addendum 4665.2: Recovered Documents

Multiple hidden documents were discovered around the residence of Mr. Idle which described SCP-4665 and its uses in detail. Documentation on failed attempts to inhibit the effects of SCP-4665 was also discovered. In addition, the following document was found beneath a floorboard in the bedroom:

MISSION STATEMENT DIVISION "P" DEPARTMENT I

06.I.1956 D.NR:06-I-1956

ATTACHED TO DOCUMENT 16-VI-1956

SENDER: Ivkin Ilyich

RECIPIENT: Charles Idle

DETAIL: Hello, Mr. Idle. I would once again like to thank you for providing me with your research into this plant-based anomaly. However, my higher-ups are of the opinion that there is too high of a risk to utilize this anomaly proper while our enemies are so close to unveiling its secrets. If we can persuade the UIU to drop all research into this subject, and alter what they know of it, I believe that we will be able to move forward.

This mission, should you accept it, is to convince your employer that this plant is non-anomalous and to disband your research team. For this, you will be rewarded with $20,000. This is the bare minimum that my organization expects.

What my organization desires is complete silence from your team's more well-known members. I know my higher-ups well enough to know that these people are not long for this world, one way or another. Your Nepalese base is far from civilization, however, and I am thinking that it would save us both some time and heartache if your team faced a series of embarrassing accidents. The kind of accidents that no self-important organization would ever want to recall. It would certainly improve your job security.

If you truly desire to go for the gold, I ask that you covertly eliminate the individuals listed below:

Alex Darkins

Nancy Nier

Robert Nunes

Eleanor Sutter

Paula Underland

Alice Evans

Ian Davis

Calvin Eagleton

For your efforts, I will provide you with $1,000 per person, and a good word.

Thanks,

Ilyich

Footnotes

1. Tests have shown interruptions of eye contact less than one second do not reset this timer.

2. A retired anomaly contractor that had worked for the UIU.