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SCP-6288: Methuselah's Grove

Author: Pinoccappuccino

Image:

"Methuselah.jpeg by Richard Droker.

"SCP-6000-α_pollen.jpeg" by Owen Crankshaw for Electron Microscopy & Spectroscopy.

"SCP-6000-α_sap.jpeg" by Peter Massas.

Research and phrasing cited from Wikipedia:

Broca's area

Bristlecone pine

Brodmann area

Methuselah (tree)

Pinus longaeva

Additional sources:

The National Geographic Magazine (March 1958), "Bristlecone Pine, Oldest Known Living Thing" by Edward P. Schulman with photography by Robert Moore

"Biographical Portrait EDWARD P. SCHULMAN (1908-1958)" by Thomas J. Straka

"Remembering Tom Harlan" by Erica Bigio of the University of Arizona, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research

The arc words of "can't think what you think" to describe SCP-6288's foreign viewpoints was inspired from a verse from Kirby - Vs Marx With Lyrics - By Man on the Internet (I was jamming to this around the time of writing.)

Item#: 6288

Containment Class: euclid

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: warning

Special Containment Procedures:

Area-6288 Procedures

Due to exorbitant efforts and resources that would be required to discreetly relocate all specimens, as well as substantial disruption to the local ecosystem that may arise, SCP-6288 are to remain at the location of discovery, designated Area-6288.

Existence of Area-6288 is public knowledge, but the true location and nature of the grove remains confidential. Using Cover Stories USFS.3.2 "Protected Dendrochronology Site" and SCPDD.12.1 "Counterfeit Attraction," a section of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (Decoy-6288) is publicly misidentified as "Methuselah Grove" in media and by personnel. Site-6288, operating clandestinely as the Schulman Grove Visitor Center, is the center of SCP-6288 research and disinformation of visitors.

Legally, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area under the jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service. The USFS currently permits civilian access to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest from mid-May through the end of November, weather permitting. On-Site Task Force Roosevelt-Inyo "Bristlecone Campers" consists of undercover agents embedded in the USFS. All members of OTF Roosevelt-Inyo are tasked with asserting Foundation influence and restricting visitors under the guise of safety measures.

Research staff operates in Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (and by extension, Area-6288) under the front organization of the South California Peaks Research Group. Researchers are to attempt discretion when traversing both restricted paths to Area-6288. Civilians attesting knowledge of Area-6288 or the linking paths are to be discouraged and/or amnesticized when necessary.

Staff entering Area-6288 must wear either preapproved wardrobe or uniforms provided at the check-in stations. Staff leaving Area-6288 are expected to utilize one of the tarpaulin decontamination booths provided, change clothes, and subject themselves to decontamination spray. Staff caught disregarding these measures will be reprimanded accordingly by their immediate supervisor.

Outposts Central and South are to be attended at all hours through alternating shifts. Outpost North must be attended in the event of any civilians located north on White Mountain Road. Watchmen of Outposts North and South are to catalogue the arrival and departure of all vehicles. All Outposts are equipped with communal housing and supplies for OTF Roosevelt-Inyo members. (See Area-6288 Outpost Timetable - Summer 2021 for shift schedules.)

Each instance bears at least one (1) plastic ribbon labeled with their individual designation. Ribbon tape is color coded red to blue by age range.

Bio Site-103 Procedures

Eleven (11) instances of SCP-6288 are located in two separate aboveground enclosures (Enclosure 6288a and Enclosure 6288b) at Biological Containment Site-103. All instances are to be provided the resources and fauna necessary to function. Access to the enclosures are only intended through a single entrance via decontamination chamber, and only to permitted personnel. Walls of enclosures are lined with barbed wire and under closed circuit monitoring. Circumvention of the decontamination chamber will be dealt with accordingly.

In Enclosure 6288a, SCP-6288-78 and SCP-6288-79 are isolated. Control group reserved for the intention observing an SCP-6288 society of two members. Personnel in Enclosure 6288a are prohibited from utilizing speech in the presence of instances; mute personnel with >70 WPM recommended.

In Enclosure 6288b, SCP-6288-228 and six (6) SCP-6288 saplings are isolated. Control group reserved for the dual intention of observing natural growth of SCP-6288, and the welfare of an SCP-6288 instance isolated from SCP-6288 society. Level 2/6288 or above personnel are allowed and encouraged to spend break time with SCP-6288-228 to maintain subject's mental health.

Description: SCP-6288 is the collective designation for an anomalous subspecies of bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva schulmanii) endemic to the White Mountains in Inyo County, California. SCP-6288's physiology is largely identical to the Great Basin bristlecone pine, but possesses and is distinguished by several anomalous properties. As of 5/25/2021, there are 287 instances of SCP-6288 contained by the SCP Foundation.

SCP-6288's properties are attributed to a series of biological components collectively designated as SCP-6288-α. SCP-6288-α pollen, sap, and resin is considered a biohazard for how it affects the body of most members within the kingdom Animalia. Inhalation or consumption of SCP-6288-α results in fast-acting effects on the organism's brain functions. Affected individuals (classified as SCP-6288-β) exhibit deviations in behaviors, adopting coordinated interactions with and between SCP-6288. Dissipation of SCP-6288-α from the body has shown no lasting damage upon former SCP-6288-β.

SCP-6288 are a sapient and social plant species. SCP-6288 transmit units of cultural information through transmission of SCP-6288-α to SCP-6288-β. SCP-6288-β physically interact with SCP-6288 to convey messages, either communicating directly or passing along other SCP-6288-β.1

Introduction of SCP-6288-α to humans has shown an affinity to language and verbal communication. SCP-6288 have been know to communicate with human SCP-6288-β with three different languages, and use of simple gestures is occasionally observed. SCP-6288-β humans retain consciousness during infection, and memory of transmitted information.

The documents included immediately below provide a more in depth description of SCP-6288.

Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Bio.3 "SCP-6288 Biology"

Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Bio.3.1 "SCP-6288-α Biohazard Report"

Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Eco.2 "SCP-6288 Ecology"

Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Soc.5 "SCP-6288 Sociology"

Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Bio.3

SCP-6288 are a medium sized coniferous tree species near identical to the Great Basin bristlecone pine2 to which it has been classified as a subspecies.3

SCP-6288-1 "Methuselah", type specimen and oldest extant SCP-6288 in containment. Photographed by Researcher Droker. Click to enlarge.

Adult SCP-6288 reach 5 to 12 m (16.4-39.3 ft.) in height, growing thick trunks between 2.4 to 3.6 m (7.8-11.8 ft.) in diameter. SCP-6288's bark is thin and flaky, commonly described as bright orange-yellow in coloration, greying near the roots.

Needles grow in fascicles of five, growing 3 cm (1.2 in.) on average. The outer face ranges in color from deep green to blue-green. The stomata is confined to a bright yellow band on the inner surfaces of the needles. Sharing the trait with other species in Pinus subsect. Balfourianae, the needles show the longest persistence of any plant, with some remaining green for 45 years.

SCP-6288 produces ovoid-cylindrical cones yearlong, the overwhelming majority of which are male. No seasonal pattern has been linked to production of female cones. Contrary to sexual dimorphism seen in all other conifers, the SCP-6288's male microstrobilus are larger than the female megastrobilus. Immature cones are colored purple and green respectively, both ripening orange-buff with numerous thin, fragile scales. Each scale possesses a single bristle-like spine 2 to 5 mm (.08-.2 in.) long.

Male cones are 7 to 11 cm (2.75-4.3 in.) long and 3.5 to 4.5 cm (1.4-1.8 in.) broad. The most notable properties of SCP-6288 male cones aside from their size are their potency and persistence: the cones, upon reaching 14 months of age, begin producing and dispersing large quantities of pollen. The cones remain on the branch for lengthy periods of time, up to eight years at a time. Production is largely constant throughout all seasons, with an average pollen count of 47.

SCP-6288 pollen (classified as SCP-6288-α) serves the function as a gamete, but when inhaled by humans or animal life, SCP-6288-α pollen induces behavioral and neurological changes while in the organism's system. Similar properties are found in SCP-6288's sap and resins. (See Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Bio.3.1 for further detail.)

Female cones average 8 cm (3.1 in.) long and 4 cm (1.6 in.) broad when closed. When 16 months old, the cones open up to 6.2 cm (2.4 in.) broad, releasing the seeds immediately after opening. The seeds are 5 mm (2 in.) long, with a 12 to 22 mm (.47 to .86 in.) wing; they are mostly dispersed by the wind, but some are also dispersed by Clark's nutcrackers.

SCP-6288 egg cells do not possess any anomalous properties aside from the perpetuation of the species. Of the eight (8) saplings that have germinated in the Foundation's custody, two (2) have artificially matured to the point of exhibiting anomalous properties. (See Ⅳ-Document Crosstest/224/6288 for detail of experiment.)

SCP-6288's wood possesses several chemical properties, further defining the Pinus longaeva subspecies. The vascular tissue is electrically excitable, interacting between cells through the species' lignin.4 Both types of vascular tissues are capable of transmission; the xylem5 is notably more conductive than the phloem.6 SCP-6288 lignin possess an above average amount of sinapyl units7 in comparison to other member of the subgenus P. Strobus.

It is currently assumed that the vascular tissue functions in what is comparable to neural tissue in humans. Due to this attribute, SCP-6288 are sentient and sapient. The mental development of SCP-6288 lasts for a period of approximately 800 to 1,100 years of age, ending when sapience is achieved, signified by the exhibition of the SCP-6288-α anomalous properties and association with other SCP-6288. (See Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Soc.5 for further detail.)

Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Bio.3.1

THIS LEVEL 4 DOCUMENT REGARDS SCP-6288-α, WHICH HAS BEEN MARKED AS THE FOLLOWING:

Class-Ⅲ Biohazard

M - Multiple Vectors

Class-Ⅰ Gustatory Cognitohazard (reassessment pending)

Class-Ⅰ Olfactory Cognitohazard (reassessment pending)

SCP-6288-α is the group designation of biological matter from SCP-6288-α (Pinus longaeva schulmanii) exhibiting anomalous phenomena. SCP-6288-α consists of the organism's pollen, sap, and resin.

SCP-6288-α is a vector that possesses unexplained memetic values (value ψ) that transmit from the vector to the receiving organism (SCP-6288-β) via the absorption of a sufficient quantity of SCP-6288-α by mucosal tissue in the lungs and stomach. Following absorption, neural stimuli transmit ψ through SCP-6288-b's nervous system to the brain, targeting the cerebellum. ψ instructs the cerebellum in executing a series of motor functions, specifically locomotion and/or vocalizations. Most notably, ψ is able to utilize speech and language in Homo sapiens instances of SCP-6288-β. All neurological studies have shown that speech directed from ψ have been produced without active stimulation of Broca's region.8

SCP-6288-α has only been known to affect organisms within the clade Nephrozoa, as the criteria to become an SCP-6288-β requires a brain, nervous system, and musculature system in order for the transmission and effective execution of ψ.

Cut on SCP-6288-21 bleeding sap. Photographed by Researcher Massas.

Pollen

Pollen is the primary form of SCP-6288-α introduced to the body, due to transmission as aerosol particulates. In pollen, ψ "decays", gradually vanishing from SCP-6288-α with a variable half-life; depending on creation ψ can last in SCP-6288 pollen for a period of approximately five (5) minutes to three (3) months

As a gamete, the pollen is fully capable of inseminating SCP-6288 egg cells. The only anomalous phenomena caused by this process is the germination of new SCP-6288.

Resin/Sap

SCP-6288's organic fluids grant SCP-6288-α the ability to exist as both a viscous liquid, or a coagulated or fossilized solid. SCP-6288-α cannot exist in a gaseous state, as the burning, boiling, evaporation, and vaporization of SCP-6288 resin or sap results in the destruction of ψ.

In fluid, ψ exists for prolonged periods of time, as an event of ψ's expiration has not been found. There is sufficient evidence for rapid fossilization, as well as for a prolonged transmission of ψ which continuously maintained an SCP-6288-β instance for as long as three years. (See Incident 6288-Dote and related documents for further detail.)

Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Eco.2

SCP-6288 (Pinus longaeva schumanii) is a subspecies of bristlecone pine endemic to the higher ranges in the White Mountains of Inyo County, southern California, United States. SCP-6288 is only known to exist in a regional gap between two mountains, designated Area-6288. Due to the average inaccessibility of Area-6288 and similar habitats, information on the species' presence in other locations is unconfirmed, and the plausibility of there being undiscovered SCP-6288 populations is irrefutable.

As bristlecone pines are protected in a number of areas owned by the United States federal government, including the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, SCP-6288 are covered by protection laws that prohibit the cutting or gathering of wood, in addition to the SCP Foundation's third tenet.

SCP-6288 is a "vigorous" primary succession species, growing quickly on new open ground. Similar to the main Pinus longaeva species, SCP-6288 is a "poor competitor" in good soils, and does best in harsh terrain. The trees grows in large open stands, sharing its habitat with P. longaeva, as well as P. flexilis (limber pine), a similarly long-lived high-elevation species. The trees generally do not form closed canopies, usually covering only 15-50%.

Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana), known to pluck P. longaeva seeds out of the opening cones, act similarly with SCP-6288 when not under the influence of SCP-6288-α. The nutcrackers use the seeds as a food resource, storing many for later use in the ground, and some of these stored seeds are not used and are able to grow into new plants. Due to the scarcity of seeds produced by SCP-6288, SCP-6288-β are commonly used to sow the seeds to ensure germination.

SCP-6288 is extremely vulnerable to fire, and is damaged by even low-intensity burns. The resinous bark is capable of igniting quickly, and a crown fire will almost certainly kill the tree. However, populations of SCP-6288 are known to be extremely resilient, and as a primary succession species, it is believed that populations could easily reestablish itself quickly after a fire. Large-scale fires are extremely uncommon where the species grows, and are not a major factor in the species' long-term viability; testimony and physical evidence indicates that Area-6288 was last subjected to wildfire in the 18th century.

Ⅳ-Appendix 6288.Soc.5

SCP-6288 society consists of a gerontocratic and academic tribe with little to no ethnic division, and acquire culture through the learning processes of enculturation and socialization.

Socialization is central to their culture, as well as a striving for knowledge and external stimuli. SCP-6288 near-constantly partake in conversations with one another, holding factual or philosophical discussions about a myriad topics including; the history of the grove, observation of their habitat, astronomy, community or individual health, local fauna and flora, and human culture. Traits of curiosity, tolerability, and alternative thinking ​is highly encouraged, with the entirety of SCP-6288 exhibiting all of said traits to some extent. Isolation from other SCP-6288 is considered unorthodox but is not condemned, as the few exceptions of highly-introverted SCP-6288 that exist remain respected by the other instances.

SCP-6288 commonly show mild compassion for most animal life, due to their requirement for SCP-6288-β, but are largely apathetic to an individual due to the relatively short lifespans seen in them. In contrast, SCP-6288 are highly compassionate for other pine trees and, in nearly all cases, humans. It is currently believed that the latter is due to humans being the first animal life that SCP-6288 has encountered that possesses behavior roughly comparable to them in spite of the dissonance in life spans.

Due to their affinity to academia, the experience and knowledge held by elder SCP-6288 is associated with reverence by younger trees. This gerontolatry roughly follows a seniority-based hierarchy, with the eldest in the grove often being sought for consultancy, appraisal, and sharing of information. The eldest SCP-6288 exercise little jurisdictive power over other SCP-6288 aside from advice and courses of education.

The younger generations of SCP-6288 are commonly tasked with raising the newest generation of SCP-6288. Adolescent SCP-6288 commonly look to elders for guidance, but some instances have shown disregard towards elders and feelings of intellectual independence. This behavior is corrected passively, with elders insinuating that it is not uncommon in adolescence. One prominent cultural practice for SCP-6288 is to disperse SCP-6288-α to adjacent saplings that have not yet manifested anomalous properties. This behavior is comparable to the human practice of auditory stimulation during prenatal development, but it is unknown how this impacts SCP-6288 development, if it does.

SCP-6288 possess a notable proficiency towards language, as the species utilize and possibly constructed modal form of communication conveyed though physical interactions from SCP-6288-β. SCP-6288 has also learned three languages constructed by humans: upon discovery, SCP-6288 initially spoke in a then-unidentified Uto-Aztecan language later determined to be a dialect of the indigenous Mono people. While in containment, SCP-6288 has been taught English and Spanish in addition to Mono.

History: SCP-6288 was discovered in June 1957 by civilian dendrochronologists Edmund Schulman and Tom Harlan. Schulman and Harlan, both from the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona, were on expedition in Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest to acquire core samples from the bristlecone pines in the White Mountains.

Incident 6288-Acre

For the rest of 1957, Schulman forwarded his findings on SCP-6288 to the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research over the course of several months. In missives, Schulman conservatively described SCP-6288-α's effects as "hallucinogenic", omitting more extranormal details found in his notes from the time.

Starting 1958, assets of the SCP Foundation were notified of SCP-6288 as a potential anomaly by the University of Arizona's president, Richard Harvill. In response, a joint detachment of Mobile Task Forces Beta-7 "Maz Hatters" and Theta-4 "Gardeners" was dispatched. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest was secured on January 5th, 1958, and provisionally designated UE-205776.

Schulman and Harlan were detained as E-Class personnel and held at their homes for their exposure to SCP-6288.

Ⅳ-6288IL58 IL001E

Ⅳ-6288IL58 IL002E

Ⅳ-6288IL58 IL001E

Date: 01/06/1958

Interviewer: Dr. Markus A. Weston; Department of Botany, SCP Foundation

Interviewed: Mr. Thomas P. Harlan; College of Science, University of Arizona

Preface: Questioning E-Class subject for information on pending SCP object and exposure to potential biohazard(s).

Primary Directive: Acquire information on civilian's experience with the anomaly.

Secondary Directive: Access possible psychological/behavioral impairment from exposure to the anomaly.

Begin Log

[0:00:00] - Dr. Weston: The tape is rolling. My name is Markus Weston, and I am with the Forest Service. Sir, state your name for the record.

[0:00:07] - Mr. Harlan: Thomas Harlan. "Tom" for short. Has been for twenty-two years now.

[0:00:11] - Dr. Weston: Am I correct to assume that you, Mr. Harlan, are currently attending the university in Tucson, Arizona?

[0:00:16] - Mr. Harlan: You're right. I arrived in '56.

[0:00:18] - Dr. Weston: Yes; it says here with an undergraduate anthropology degree from Texas Tech. Is it also correct that you are working under a Dr. Edmund P. Schulman?

[0:00:27] - Mr. Harlan: Yes. I started last summer.

[0:00:29] - Dr. Weston: What has Dr. Schulman commissioned you for?

[0:00:32] - Mr. Harlan: Assisting him in field work. We've dated hundreds of pine trees throughout the Sierra Nevada together.

[0:00:37] - Dr. Weston: So this work led you to locations such as the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest?

[0:00:41] - Mr. Harlan: Yeah, we- we certainly spent a lot of time there.

[0:00:45] - Dr. Weston: What brought you and your professor to the forest?

[0:00:48] - Mr. Harlan: He found a lead from some samples of bristlecone trunks from a park ranger, Alvin something. They were brought in five years ago, and they were half General Sherman's age.9 Ed thought it was a good spot to get records of, and that we might find even older pines there.

[0:00:52] - Dr. Weston: Was Schulman correct in that last assumption?

[0:00:54] - Mr. Harlan: He sure was. He found a whole new half of the forest, completely off the trail. He was eager to go check it out, and told me to go find him if he didn't come back. I never had to, as Ed came running back with a core sample like he was a kid on Christmas. When he rested it on the table and we counted the core, it turned out to be just as old as Sherman; even more so.

[0:01:11] - Dr. Weston: And he found more trees in that age range?

[0:01:13] - Mr. Harlan: He started calling it "Methuselah's Grove", because every tree there was older than Methuselah. After he found that grove, I was unofficially left with the west half of the forest, while he went and took the east half. I almost thought he wanted a competition going on, but by the time I finished drawing samples from the southwestern trees, everything was like an assembly line.

[0:01:31] - Dr. Weston: An assembly line?

[0:01:32] - Mr. Harlan: Mhm. For that entire second week, I'd wake up to start counting tree rings and note every double that was caused by droughts. Ed went back down to his pines with his auger, recording trees and making his own map of the forest. By evening, Ed would come in with another load of growth cores in his arms for us to do our things again in the morning.

[0:001:50] - Dr. Weston: Would it always be that way?

[0:001:51] - Mr. Harlan: No, we found some reprieve from it. We first flew back to UA with the research once Ed realized he missed two Sunday masses in a row. The only thing that keeps that man from church is when he ties himself up in his work. And boy, his work must've spit in God's face when our second camping trip with the bristlecones took up the rest of July and well into August. So it was, the last six months consisting of on-again/off-again work trips to the White Mountains. Part of me is glad with being out there in nature, away from all the squabbling between McFarland and Goldwater. Another part of me is tired of missing the Wildcats for sitting and counting tree-rings.

[0:02:31] - Dr. Weston: You said Dr. Schulman doesn't often miss attendance in church, only when he is preoccupied by his job. Have you noticed any other differences in his behavior relating to your work in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest?

[0:02:44] - Mr. Harlan: Yeah. When we went back to the forest, he was… distant.

[0:02:47] - Dr. Weston: Distant?

[0:02:48] - Mr. Harlan: Distant. In most senses of the word. While I kept by the campsite, Ed started pitching tent in the grove, sleeping with the trees. Wouldn't sleep much from what I could tell, and I'm not sure the soil is just to blame. As we began studying the groves and how they related with their environment — I know being on opposite halves of the forest would of course put distance between us, it covers more ground that way — but it still felt to me that Ed was being more reclusive than he should be.

[0:03:14] - Mr. Harlan: I tried to bridge this gap, but I could never really approach him when he was down there. Whenever I checked in on him, even from a distance I could tell he was a little… airy. (pause) Look, Dr. Weston, sir. I'm majoring in anthropology, not psychology. I don't want to paint Ed as crazy when he's not, when he could just be going through some midlife crises or other.

[0:03:39] - Dr. Weston: Mr. Harlan, I appreciate your loyalty to your professor, but may I remind you that your concerns do matter. If you have any doubts or concerns bearing the wellbeing of Schulman, yourself, or others, I am willing to hear you out.

[0:03:53] - Mr. Harlan: Thanks, Doc. You're a park ranger, alright. But I'm not a kid any more. (clears throat)

[0:04:00] - Mr. Harlan: When I got concerned over how much he went off doing his own thing, I went down there one day to talk to him about it. At least, I hoped I would; I couldn't think of what to say to him. I couldn't even decide upon a hello, as different ways to say it kept popping in my mind. By the time I got within ear range of him, I found him saying something in front of a tree that was… just a bunch of babbles. When I first heard it, I thought he had a heat stroke or something, so I called out to him. I startled him a bit, he acknowledged me in English like nothing happened, and after I backpedaled out of there, we never mentioned it to each other again. Looking back on it afterwards, I began to think it must've been Indian language, Hopi or the like. But Ed knows only English and some Spanish; that's it.

[0:04:50] - Dr. Weston: Did you ever witness Schulman speak Hopi after that event?

[0:04:52] - Mr. Harlan: Maybe once more? I know I caught him speaking in English a few times after that, but I never confronted him on it again, and I couldn't bring myself to eavesdrop.

[0:05:02] - Dr. Weston: Was there any other behavior from Schulman that you found odd?

[0:05:05] - Mr. Harlan: There was the last time I went with him, just in December. I was counting another core when I noticed he was at our little outside work station. He was going through were we kept our needles samples and collected pine cones, when he picked out a little square vial that had some powder in it. Without even looking at the label, he uncapped it, and gave it a sniff. He… he smiled, really lit up for a second, and then he patted down his shirt pocket. He usually kept a notepad there, but it wasn't there, so he set the vial on the workbench to go find it. That… that had my curiosity.

[0:05:39] - Mr. Harlan: When he was gone, I got up and picked up the bottle to see it for myself. It certainly looked like a pile of pollen alright, and even though the bottle was dated from November, it looked fairly fresh. Next, I uncapped it and held it up to my nose. It smelled like pollen too, but I nearly forgot the scent after what happened next. I heard a voice. It wasn't Ed, it wasn't one of the park rangers, there wasn't anyone around. But I heard a little voice ask me "is the pollen working for you, doctor?"

[0:06:09]: (silence)

[0:06:13] - Mr. Harlan: Something is with those trees, and I think they're doing something to Edmund. I hope he's okay. Promise me, you guys will check those trees and make sure that the professor is safe, right?

[0:06:25] - Dr. Weston: That is our job, Mr. Harlan; to protect. I was fully intending on visiting Dr. Schulman after my talk with you. Should I raise your concerns with him?

[0:06:35] - Mr. Harlan: If it will help anyone, yes.

End Log - [0:06:42]

Closing Statement: Mr. Harlan was labeled low-concern due to limited knowledge of and interaction with SCP-6288, and provided with civilian contacts with Dr. Weston for any further discussions.

Dr. Weston departed to Dr. Schulman's residence for interview, including questions concering subjects presented by Harlan.

Ⅳ-6288IL58 IL002E

Date: 01/06/1958

Interviewer: Dr. Markus A. Weston; Department of Botany, SCP Foundation

Interviewed: Dr. Edmund P. Schulman; College of Science, University of Arizona

Preface: Questioning E-Class subject for information on pending SCP object and exposure to potential biohazard(s).

Primary Directive: Acquire information on civilian's experience with the anomaly.

Secondary Directive: Access possible psychological/behavioral impairment from exposure to the anomaly.

Begin Log

[0:00:00] - Dr. Weston: The tape is rolling. I am Dr. Markus Weston, of the U.S. Forest Service. Please state your name for the record.

[0:00:06] - Dr. Schulman: Dr. Edmund Schulman. Born the nineteenth of July, back in '08.

[0:00:10] - Dr. Weston: Good. Now, am I correct to assume that you, Dr. Schulman, are currently a faculty member at the university in Tucson, Arizona?

[0:00:16] - Dr. Schulman: Yes sir, I have been for about twelve or thirteen years now. In Science's Tree-Ring Lab. I was Douglass' assistant for a while we founded the lab.

[0:00:26] - Dr. Weston: What kind of work do you do in the Tree-Ring Lab?

[0:00:30] - Dr. Schulman: We're dendrochronologists. By going around the west United States, drawing core samples, we work on building a record of climate change, fire history, ecology, and whatnot by looking at the local trees that survived and those that didn't.

[0:00:44] - Dr. Weston: Have you always been doing this field work while in the research unit?

[0:00:47] - Dr. Schulman: Oh, not always. There's paperwork in every science, enough to eat up weeks of your time getting holed up indoors, and it was common for the veteran students to tutor the newer members of the lab. After going to Harvard and getting my M.A. and Ph.D, my seniority freed up some more time to do the dirty work. Nowadays, I try to find a reason to work in the field wherever I reasonably can.

[0:01:09] - Dr. Schulman: In that field work, I bored and dated a 860-year-old ponderosa in Bryce Canyon, and a 975-year-old pinyon pine in central Utah. It wasn't until the summer of 1953 that I started identifying pines in the thousands, which was when I got looking in subalpine ranges such as in Inyo National Park and Bald Mountain.

[0:01:32] - Dr. Weston: Which is what brought you to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.

[0:01:36] - Dr. Schulman: Ah, yes. For that, I found a lead at the University of California. The one in Los Angeles, I mean. In their inventory, they had core sample from a multistemmed bristlecone pine brought in a decade ago by a forest ranger. The account from the ranger, Alvin Noren, named the source tree "Patriarch" and described it as healthy, and 37 feet around at the base.10 A look at the core showed that Patriarch corroborated that, and when their dendrochronologists dated it, they dated the tree to 1,493 years old. That tree, while it wasn't as old as some of the giant sequoias we've seen, I saw the potential it had to grow older.

[0:02:19] - Dr. Schulman: I packed up supplies and headed out to the forest with my assistant, Tom. I invited my colleague, Frits, but he was busy doing his own research over in Inyo. So it was just the two of us, out to uncover the dazzling possibilities of new and fantastically long records of year-by-year rainfall in alpine trees.

[0:02:37] - Dr. Weston: What did you do upon arrival in the forest?

[0:02:40] - Dr. Schulman: Well, after getting a map of the trail from your rangers, we headed to the trees in the northwest, at the grove that Noren originally found Patriarch. This was back in June, so the forest was just entering pollen season.

[0:02:53] - Dr. Weston: Is this grove the one where you found the "Pine Alpha?"

[0:02:55] - Dr. Schulman: Oh, no, that wouldn't be until the end of June, when we were in the section of forest around the southeast bends of the trail. While Tom and I were nearing the hill along the grove's edge, I looked over there and — just over the hill — there was another grove of pines in the gap between the next hill over. I called over to Harlan, told him what I found, were I was headed, and if I wasn't back in an hour he was to come bring me back before I got taken by the "ape-men" Monty said he saw the last spring.

[0:03:12]: (laughter)

[0:03:14] - Dr. Schulman: So, luckily for me, the southern slope of the basin wasn't terribly steep and I found my way down; I like to start with the more sheltered trees, those that are protected from the weather. Halfway down the incline I found a bristlecone that was hearty and releasing pollen like a gentle snow. So, I put my borer back together and got to work. I got the bore aligned and going, but I also kept an eye on the branches. Bristlecones, their canopy starts low, and I needed to careful with all those needles and whatnot at head level; I'm too fond of these glasses.

[0:03:46] - Dr. Schulman: When I was looking into the branches, I guess my mind wandered as a thought struck me; "What am I doing to this tree?" I tried to answered myself with the obvious "taking a core sample, so we can find its age," but my words came out as what seemed like nonsense. If you hadn't known I'd been in the sun for the last few hours, you'd think I forgot how to talk getting too caught up in my excitement to count the rings… but don't get me wrong, I was excited! I marched straight back to camp with the core, not even bothering to chart the source's location. And after a few hours of counting (pause) do you know how many rings Tom and I found?

[0:04:08] - Dr. Weston: How many?

[0:04:09] - Dr. Schulman: Over four thousand, six hundred. Here this living, fertile tree was, and it could very well be a thousand years General Noble or Sherman's senior! It was a Pine Alpha.

[0:04:20] - Dr. Weston: You said you forgot to record its location. Did you find it again?

[0:04:24] - Dr. Schulman: When we got back to getting samples the next day, it was right where we left it.

[0:04:30]: (papers rustling)

[0:04:34] - Dr. Weston: Mr. Harlan made a comment that you spent a lot of time collecting cores, and that he was more often then not left counting rings.

[0:04:40] - Dr. Schulman: Oh. Well, I might- um- I may have found an excuse to walk between the trees while I work.

[0:04:47] - Dr. Weston: That's fine, but Harlan also attested that he caught you talking to the trees on multiple occasions.

[0:04:52]: (silence)

[0:04:59] - Dr. Weston: Dr. Schulman, my coworkers and I have seen many different plants in our line of work, some of which are things some people would have trouble believing. And surely you know some plants can pose hazards to people. We need you to be honest with me, so we can make sure you are safe.

[0:05:17] - Dr. Schulman: (sigh) Yes, I-I've talked to them. But I'm not mad!

[0:05:25] - Dr. Weston: I never said you were. Please, explain your reasons.

[0:05:28]: (silence)

[0:05:33] - Dr. Schulman: I talked to them because they talk back.

[0:05:37]: (silence)

[0:05:42] - Dr. Weston: Go on.

[0:05:43]: (silence)

[0:05:46] - Dr. Schulman: When I found Pine Alpha again, another question struck me. Despite knowing why I was there, pen and pad in hand, my mind asked itself what I was doing back there in the first place. I humored it and answered, but I (pause) I didn't answer it in English.

[0:06:06] - Dr. Weston: You answered in another language?

[0:06:08] - Dr. Schulman: Maybe? I couldn't tell what language I was speaking. All I know is that when I gave an answer, I received a statement in turn; "It has been a long time since we've had visitors."

[0:06:21] - Dr. Weston: And by "we", you mean the grove?

[0:06:24] - Dr. Schulman: Yes. The other trees were like that. When I approached a new tree, soon enough I began to experience the same things I had with Pine Alpha. I tried asking a question in English, but all I got back was feelings of confusion.

[0:06:39] - Dr. Weston: Feelings? The trees are capable of emoting? Voicing emotions?

[0:06:44] - Dr. Schulman: Yes, but they can't talk. They're as mute as any other tree. I couldn't hear them with my ears, only as if they were any other thought in my mind. And I'm sure they hear me differently as well. As I kept "listening" and writing what I "heard," I began to notice patterns. There was always wildlife in the trees. When I spoke, a woodpecker would peck or a bark beetle would have a go at long dead branch."

[0:07:13] - Dr. Weston: The woodpeckers; do you think they were utilizing Morse code or something similar?

[0:07:18] - Dr. Schulman: It wasn't always woodpeckers, but from what I could tell, no. But if a parrot can talk, and after what I've seen in the grove, I wouldn't put it above them. From what I saw, I saw a sort of symbiosis between the trees and animals. I'll admit that at first, I started to wonder if they were psychic. (laugh)

[0:07:37] - Dr. Weston: I would've done thought the same. (papers rustling) In your papers with the University, you downplayed your conversations as "hallucinations brought on by the pollen." I understand your refrain from discussing your truth with your colleagues, but is there authenticity to that statement? About the pollen's properties, I mean.

[0:07:59] - Dr. Schulman: I'm not sure if they're hallucinations exactly, but I am sure that the pollen is the key to this. I started to realize, even when months went by, they kept producing pollen. Have you seen them? It's mid winter, and its still going strong. If I was too far from a tree or upwind from it, I couldn't hear them. It was where I couldn't smell the pollen.

[0:08:20] - Dr. Weston: Noted. Would have taken me a while for me to correlate the two. (pause) Ah. Concerning what Mr. Harlan heard, it seems as if most of it was in English. You were trying to teach the trees English, I assume?

[0:08:32] - Dr. Schulman: Uh-huh. I started with teaching Pine Alpha the basics, gesturing at what I could; what was man and tree, night and day. I used our words for their branches, their needles, their soil, many things around them, and they began to associate things. When Alpha talked during these exercises, instead of expressing the meanings behind the sentences, they thought of stringing the actual words themselves into sentences. Horrible grammar at first, just gibberish, but it was baby steps.

[0:09:00] - Dr. Weston: Has there been significant improvement since you began?

[0:09:03] - Dr. Schulman: Yes, yes there has been, and I can remember the day of the biggest breakthrough. It happened when I was walking around one of Alpha's neighbors when I felt an urgent call to stop and be careful. I jolted, stopped, asked it what is was, forgetting that we had different languages. I distinctly remember the image of a rattlesnake in its den pictured in my mind, and instinctually I asked "where?" as I looked at the soil. The tree directed me to turn a little to my right, and there a little ways away was a hole in ground I could've carelessly tripped on. Little did I know then, they understood the question from the context, and I had just taught a tree the word "where."

[0:09:43] - Dr. Schulman: The next time I met with Alpha, imagine my surprise when it mentioned an "elder''. Once I heard that? I started asking who, what, and where all before I could before I could remember I hadn't taught Alpha any adverbs yet. I was surprised further when Alpha told me "where" to look. About a hundred paces east, I was guided uphill to a pine that looked half dead. I approached the tree, and before I could say "hello," the elder said "hello." It said it was who I was looking for. It told me how it knew things I taught Alpha. The trees of this grove talked with one another, telling each other what I taught an individual.

[0:10:19] - Dr. Weston: That's amazing.

[0:10:20] - Dr. Schulman: It sure is. (pause) After that? That's when we learned from each other.

[0:10:27] - Dr. Weston: What you learned, did you document them in private?

[0:10:31] - Dr. Schulman: Oh, uh, yes. I've kept record of the last six months, it's kept in the study. The rest is in my office at the university.

[0:10:40] - Dr. Weston: May we have them to look over? My associates and I would be more than glad to review your findings.

[0:10:48] - Dr. Schulman: (pause) Okay. So long as nothing happens to it.

[0:10:51] - Dr. Weston: Not at all. The work you've done will save us time from our own study, and we'll be sure to recognize your contribution. We could use a mind like yours for a project like this.

[0:11:01] - Dr. Schulman: You could use me? You're not going to put me in a home then?

[0:11:06] - Dr. Weston: No, but we just need you to stay here at your house for a while. We'll keep in contact with you and Mr. Harlan.

[0:11:12] - Dr. Schulman: And the pines will be protected?

[0:11:15] - Dr. Weston: Dr. Schulman, the Forest service is the reason the forest is already a protected area. And you wouldn't know what we'd give to find a tree that can answer our questions back.

[0:11:25] - Dr. Schulman: I know it would take a lot. (pause) Do you want to know what's funny about that? The elder, he's the Methuselah of trees, and he's as fluent in English as the average teenager.

End Log [0:11:42]

Closing Statement: Schulman's documents on SCP-6288 was located and brought in for review. Unsent letters addressed to Dr. Frits W. Went indicate that Schulman intended but never disclosed SCP-6288's true nature with him.

Field Agent Allen Roth dispatched to Washington University in St. Louis for discrete questioning of Dr. Went on SCP-6288. Field Agent Garth Attaway dispatched to University of Arizona to retrieve character testimonies of Schulman for comparison to transcript.

Records in the United States Forest Service confirm Alvin E. Noren was a registered forest ranger. Noren was reported missing 11/17/1948, last seen 11/15/1948.

Two days into house arrest, Schulman suffered a heart attack. Foundation medical personnel were unable to revive, and Schulman was declared dead 1/8/1958 at 15:40 MST.

Findings on UE-205776 were forwarded to the SCP Foundation Classification Committee for review. During review, Schulman suffered a fatal heart attack at his Tucson home on January 8th, dying at age 49. Dr. Weston, Researchers Brose and Cullum, and Mr. Harlan were placed into quarantine following. Autopsy of Schulman found no signs of negative impact from SCP-6288-α, and cause of death was attributed to preexisting genetic conditions, leaving Schulman's passing ruled as coincidental. (See Autopsy Report E-6288-2 for further detail.)

On January 9th, UE-205776 was redesignated Area-6288, with SCP-6288 catalogued and provided Euclid object class and Green threat level classification.11 Quarantine was lifted, and Dr. Weston was appointed Head of SCP-6288 Research. Schulman's natural death was granted disclosure to news outlets, and Schulman was given private burial at Evergreen Memorial Park on January 10th.

Incident 6288-Briar

In the weeks prior to his death, Schulman had authored an abridged description of SCP-6288's discovery, coinciding with the pseudofactual account described in his missives with the Laboratory of Tree-Rings. Schulman had also reached out to National Geographic, who had sent W. Robert Moore to document SCP-6288.

In March 1958, publications of National Geographic magazine included Schulman's article, accompanied with Moore's photographs, wherein Schulman identified Area-6288 as "Methuselah Walk", and SCP-6288 as "Pine Alpha".12 Embedded agents in the National Geographic Society were unable to notice and intercept article prior to publication before the monthly issue was discontinued.

Due to prominence of National Geographic publications and omittance of SCP-6288's anomaly, the O5 Council ruled in favor of clandestinely containing SCP-6288 in compliance with the United States Forest Service in place of rescinding all March 1958 issues from the public.

Abridged History of Containment

Dr. Thomas Harlan was kept in contacts as a third party contractor for anthropological studies until his formal hiring by the SCP Foundation in 1963. Harlan was added to the SCP-6288 Research Team in 1965 as Dr. Markus Weston's assistant. Weston remained head of SCP-6288 Research until his retirement in 1978, when Harlan was promoted to the position.

Provided below is a brief collection of excerpts from notable interactions with SCP-6288.

Int.6288.1 03/21/1958

Int.6288.47-48 01/27/1960

Int.6288.106 - 12/02/1973

Doc.Enc.6288a - 11/13/1987

Int.6288.27 10/10/1993

Int.6288.228 - 02/29/2004

Date: 03/21/1958

Interviewer: Dr. Markus A. Weston

Interviewed: SCP-6288-1

Translator: D-006279

[…]

[0:06:07] - SCP-6288-1: About your gatherers. They use the word "Methuselah". It's meaning escapes us.

[0:06:14] - Dr. Weston: Oh. It's a name. For you, actually.

[0:06:20] - SCP-6288-1: For me?

[0:06:21] - Dr. Weston: That's what Schulmann called you, and it caught on with some of us. He named you after the Methuselah of the Bible… er, an old human story. Methuselah lived for almost a thousand years, the longest-life of any man in that story.

[0:06:40] - SCP-6288-1: You're willing to lend the name of your eldest to another?

[0:06:45] - Dr. Weston: There's not many Methuselahs to confuse you with. And frankly, I think it's easier than calling you six thousand-dash-one.

[0:06:54] - SCP-6288-1: (D-006279 coughs) I don't think I'll ever understand your cloud of names. If only if I could think how you think.

[…]

Date: 01/27/1960

Interviewer: Dr. Evan I. Middles

Interviewed: SCP-6288-47, SCP-6288-48

Translator: D-006275

Preface: Standard interview of neighboring instances, doubling as exercise in how SCP-6288 share SCP-6288-β. At the time, both instances had poor understanding of English, and prominently misused the past tense.

Begin Log

[0:00:00] - Dr. Middles: Good afternoon, SCP-6288-47. SCP-6288-48.

[0:00:08] - SCP-6288-47: Called me "For the Seven".

[0:00:10] - Dr. Middles: Yes?

[0:00:11] - SCP-6288-48: Called me "The Stone".

[0:00:13] - Dr. Middles: Pardon me?

[0:00:14] - SCP-6288-48: Elder tree you called Methuselah. Elder tree let grove called elder human name for human gived. For the Seven and The Stone gived human name for human gather. "For, The Seven is by The Stone"13

[0:00:29] - SCP-6288-47: Human gather gived For the Seven and The Stone name to human gived to called.

[0:00:33]: (silence)

[0:00:37] - Dr. Middles: You… you want me to call you "forty-seven" and "the stone"; am I correct?

[0:00:45] - SCP-6288-47: Presized leaf.

[…]

Notes: Events detailed in excerpt of this interview is what was considered the onset of SCP-6288 requesting aliases from staff.

Following interview, Dr. Middles requested further English tutorship for both instances. Requested initially denied due to potential to observe the development of a new English dialect. Experiment was abandoned in 1966, and request was granted for reparative measures.

Date: 12/02/1973

Interviewer: Dr. Thomas P. Harlan

Interviewed: SCP-6288-106 "Oscar the Grouch"

Translator: D-010875

Preface: Standard interview of subject. Subject is noted for abrasiveness.

[…]

[0:06:59] - Dr. Harlan: Where did you learn to put things so crass?

[0:07:02] - SCP-6288-106: I've had enough of your questions. Leave me be to my birds.

[0:07:05] - Dr. Harlan: But you mentioned surviving a fire. Could you give a time frame for when that fire was?

[0:07:11] - SCP-6288-106: Long before you started talking. Now go.

[0:07:14] - Dr. Harlan: I mean for you to tell me how many summers ago.

[0:07:17] - SCP-6288-106: Nope. Off with you two.

[0:07:18]: (footsteps)

[0:07:20] - D-010875: Shit! Snake! Rattlesnake!

[0:07:22] - Dr. Harlan: Just come here; back away from it.

[0:07:23]: (footsteps)

[0:07:39] - Dr. Harlan: It's sure been nice talking to you, Oscar.

[0:07:40]: (birds chirping)

[0:07:43] - D-010875: Nasty tree.

End Log - [0:07:46]

Notes: Impromptu conclusion of interview shows that SCP-6288-α can exhibit aggressive behavior in SCP-6288-β. Staff have been dissuaded from conducting future interviews with SCP-6288-106. Interviews must be approved by the Head of SCP-6288 Research.

Date: 11/13/1987

Witness: D-004590

Subjects: SCP-6288-78, SCP-6288-79

Preface: Mute D-Class personnel directed to eavesdrop on subjects and make quick notes of their conversation over a five minute period. The following was transcribed from how the notes were written, errors included.

Trees noticed me enter

i'm that rare criter to them

A tries to recalls last visit

B says the circ sun moved 20 times since then

where does he go off to

B thinks I live in snake hole

A thinks that makes sense. bing bongs still think their clocks.

b bing bongs 3 times

why does he stop moving there anyways (still b)

maybe I live here bing bog bong

A - no he's never here

A remembers it's squirels from yesterday

B comments it's tail is loosing its leaves.

A agrees. bings. is not enough water?

no theres water and others are fine -A

b maybe it's stopping

A's sure it's moving

b forever stoping (dead)

squirrel is in leaves

A says its fine bing bing

B - its a diffrent squr.

it's a squirel for f sake.

bing bang bong bong

now theyre just thinking clock noises at each other.

5 mins up

Trees don't notice me leaving.

Date: 10/10/1993

Interviewer: Dr. Thomas Harlan

Interviewed: SCP-6288-1 "Methuselah"

Translator: D-009632

Preface: Standard interview of subject. Conducted by Dr. Harlan in place of Dr. Middles, who was unavailable.

[…]

[0:36:24] - SCP-6288-1: I give my condolences to Middles, and wish him strength to fare the death of his mother. It is always a deep toll upon the grove when it loses one of its members, young or old.

[0:36:36] - Dr. Harlan: I assume you had your grieving when your mother passed, if she did. (pause) That's not too of a sensitive subject for you, is it?

[0:36:45] - SCP-6288-1: I do not see why I should find offense with what is the way of life. The tree that begot my seed was already long gone before I even met the Mono. Little as the grove was, our hearts bled strongly for her, as your people say.

[0:36:57] - Dr. Harlan: Hmm… What about your father? Do you know how the tree that pollenated you and your siblings is faring?

[0:37:02]: D-009632 hesitates to respond.

[0:37:09] - SCP-6288-1: I'm not sure. I haven't heard from him in many winters. As far as I know, he might have ceased to be as well.

[0:37:16] - Dr. Harlan: If there's one rule in life, it's that everything that can think must wish to see their children outlive them.

[0:37.23] - SCP-6288-1: (D-009632 coughs) I guess I can think what you think, because I agree that those are words to live by.

[0:37:29]: The back of D-009632's hand hits Dr. Harlan's. Harlan takes the hand and shakes it.

[0:37:31] - Dr. Harlan: (laughs) You're getting there, with the hand shake.

[…]

Notes: Following this interview, the possibly extant sire of SCP-6288-1 and up to seven other instances was provisionally designated SCP-6288-Enoch.

Date: 02/29/2004

Interviewer: Dr. Chelsea Elliott

Interviewed: SCP-6288-228 "Grover"

Translator: Jr. Res. Danni Gregor

Preface: The day prior, a containment breach caused by a mishandled transfer of SCP-822 resulted in significant damage to the irrigation systems in Bio Site-103's Surface Gardens, namely around Enclosure 6288b. Interview was first interaction between staff and SCP-6288-228 since the incident.

Begin Log

[0:00:00] - Dr. Elliott: Just under the canopy, Danni.

[0:00:01] Jr. Res. Gregor nods and walks under SCP-6288-228.

[0:00:04] - Dr. Elliott: Grover? Two twenty-eight?

[0:00:05] Jr. Res. Gregor runs and hugs Dr. Elliott.

[0:00:05] - SCP-6288-228: Dr. Elliott! You're alive! What happened? You had me scared to death!

[0:00:07] Dr. Elliott guides Jr. Res. Gregor back under SCP-6288-228.

[0:00:07] - Dr. Elliott: I'm so sorry about that. The water lines were damaged, so everything will be fine once we replace what was broken (quietly) after we clean out the cactus.

[0:00:15] - SCP-6288-228: That was the pipes drying up? I thought there was an earthquake right beneath us!

[0:00:19] - Dr. Elliott: Certainly must've sounded like that. Luckily it just sounded worse than it actually was.

[0:00:25] - SCP-6288-228: What if it was worse? (Jr. Res. Gregor sighs) I felt that with my roots, and in that moment, it felt like the end to me. The animals have legs they can run away on, but some of them dropped dead, unable to do anything.14 We don't have legs like the animals, so we're just as dead. (Jr. Res. Gregor starts tearing up) There's nothing I can do to save the saplings.

[0:00:50]: Dr. Elliott grabs and holds Jr. Res. Gregor's shoulders.

[0:00:52] - Dr. Elliott: Grover, it's okay. The saplings are okay. I don't expect you to run miles when you can't walk. You're a tree, and we understand you're more vulnerable in that sense. That's why we promised to keep you and the saplings protected; remember? Secure, contain, protect?

[0:01:10] - SCP-6288-228: You're right, I do. Secure, contain, protect.

[0:01:15] - Dr. Elliott: And your promise was to these saplings. You promised to keep them healthy, to further the next generation. We're here to make sure that happens, and to help you along the way.

[0:01:23] Jr. Res. Gregor hugs Dr. Elliott. Dr. Elliott returns the embrace.

[0:01:26] - SCP-6288-228: Thank you, Chelsea.

[…]

(Please contact RAISA to access the designated archive for full transcripts of SCP-6288 interviews.)

Incident 6288-Copse

On September 4th, 2008, an arsonist set fire to the Schulman Grove Visitor Center and several bristlecone pines in Decoy-6288. Subterranean Site-6288 and its contents were undamaged, but the building and all public exhibits within were destroyed. Actions to rebuild the center began the next day, and Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest was closed to the public for two years until reconstruction was complete. The perpetrator, identified as James Betz Sr, 35, was detained by OTF Roosevelt-Inyo and indoctrinated into the SCP Foundation as D-015699. Site-6288's fire protocols were revised.

Incident 6288-Dote

At 5:46 MST on February 28th, 2013, Inyo-12 Dorothy Methers, the then active watchman of Outpost Central, reported the sound of several gunshots heard from southern Area-6288. Radio dispatches accounted the location for all members of OTF Roosevelt-Inyo aside from Inyo-5 Klyde Patricks, as well as uncovering the absence of Dr. Harlan. Three OTF members were dispatched to investigate the disruption and locate the missing personnel. Attempts at locating the source with the assistance of SCP-6288 was ineffective, as no directions were provided. Comments from SCP-6288-148 seemed to indicate that they were ordered not to assist in the search under the orders of SCP-6288-1.

Roosevelt-Inyo advanced to SCP-6288-1's location, where Dr. Harlan was found in possession of Agent Patricks' body. Patricks was deceased upon arrival, possessing three bullet wounds caused by Harlan's pistol. Harlan refused to comply with Roosevelt-Inyo's orders, and defied detainment by jumping off the hillside. Dr. Harlan suffered severe fatal injuries on the rocky terrain, and Roosevelt-Inyo declared him dead on scene at 6:02 MST.

Autopsy of Harlan confirmed the cause of death as a hemotoma caused by severe trauma to the parietal skull. Investigation of a bruised lung led to the discovery of a film of fossilized SCP-6288-α fixed to the mucosa of Harlan's trachea. The means of how SCP-6288 resin rapidly fossilized within Harlan's lifetime is not understood. Consumption of the SCP-6288-α amber by a D-Class personnel revealed that the biohazard induced in SCP-6288-β the prolonged intention of withholding an as-of-yet unidentified location.

Agents of MTF Beta-7 and Theta-4 were called onsite for post-incident investigation. Involved SCP-6288 were questioned for their involvement in the incident.

I6288D Interrogation: SCP-6288-1

Date: 02/28/2013

Interrogator: Dr. Owen Crankshaw, Acting Head of SCP-6288 Research

Interrogated: SCP-6288-1 "Methuselah"

Translator: D-015699

Additional Personnel: β-7 Marissa Taylor, θ-4 Annie Matricia (security detail)

Preface: Questioning SCP subject of events of Incident-6288-Dote.

[0:00:01] - Dr. Crankshaw: Methuselah, do I need to explain why I am here?

[0:00:05] - SCP-6288-1: (D-015699 shakes head) Dr. Crankshaw, I cannot think what you are thinking. You have to tell me the reason for your visit.

[0:00:10] - Dr. Crankshaw: I am here due to what happened with Dr. Harlan.

[0:00:13] - SCP-6288-1: I give my condolences. Tom Harlan was my friend, just as much as he was yours.

[0:00:17] - Dr. Crankshaw: Your grove refused to help us in what could've and might just well've been a security breach, apparently because you told them to stay quiet. Unfortunately, given the way we've seen things so far, you're an accessory to a murder at best, or the real murderer at worst.

[0:00:27] - SCP-6288-1: You suspect I brought the death of two men?

[0:00:30] - Dr. Crankshaw: One had bullets in his body while the other had tree resin in his.

[0:00:33] - SCP-6288-1: I did not do harm unto Harlan nor the other.

[0:00:36] - Dr. Crankshaw: Then who did?

[0:00:37]: D-015699 shows hesitation.

[0:00:39] - SCP-6288-1: It… it was our father.

[0:00:41] - Dr. Crankshaw: SCP-6288-Enoch caused this?

[0:00:43] - SCP-6288-1: Yes. (pause) This is more than I should say.

[0:00:46] - Dr. Crankshaw: More than you should say!? (Dr. Crankshaw gestures downhill) Apparently Enoch has caused the death of two people, just last night! It is our concern to know if this has happened before or if it will happen again!

[0:00:53]: D-015699 does not respond.

[0:00:58] - Dr. Crankshaw: Dash-one, answer me!

[0:01:00] - SCP-6288-1: Father prefers the company of his messengers. Yes, he talks with his spawn, but only when he wants to. I am sure he feels he does not need visitors.

[0:01:08] - Dr. Crankshaw: What does that have to do with Harlan killing Patricks?

[0:01:10] - SCP-6288-1: It has to do with how three summers ago, Harlan managed to visit him. While he did not want him visiting, father allowed him so long as there wouldn't be any more; he made Harlan one of his messengers.

[0:01:21] - Dr. Crankshaw: You say that Harlan found Enoch?

[0:01:23] - SCP-6288-1: A feat few have done. And father asks of his children to ensure that his messengers ensures his secrecy. (pause) He puts his trust in us, but I feel I am breaking his trust telling you this.

[0:01:35] - Dr. Crankshaw: Why are you disclosing this now?

[0:01:36] - SCP-6288-1: Maybe now that Harlan is gone, there is no longer that lie to maintain. And maybe it's guilt, for betraying your people's trust in mine. One of your own hid knowledge from you, and perhaps I was wrong to let that happen.

[0:01:41] - Dr. Crankshaw: You could start amending that by disclosing the location of SCP-6288-Enoch.

[0:01:46] - SCP-6288-1: (pause) I can't.

[0:01:47] - Dr. Crankshaw: "Can't," or "won't?" Could you or would you make sure we have him under watch so nothing like last night will happen again?

[0:01:53] - SCP-6288-1: I cannot. I want to agree with you, for Harlan, but I can't think how you think… I know that would be the wrong thing too.

[0:02:03] - Dr. Crankshaw: (To security detail) Dammit, this is going nowhere, get the D-Class. (to SCP-6288-1) Before we go, SCP-6288-1, I want you to remember a little saying we have; "the path to Hell is paved with good intentions."

[0:02:09]: Agents Matricia and Taylor grab D-015699 by the arms.

[0:02:15] - SCP-6288-1: I will. And I hope you remember it as well, when you next walk our garden trail.

End Log - [[0:02:20]]

Closing Statement: Security increased around southern treeline of Area-6288 until further notice. Construction of fence is pending approval.

Search for SCP-6288-Enoch is forbidden outside of authorized expeditions conducted by Mobile Task Force Theta-4.

Found among Dr. Harlan's possessions was a growth core taken from an unidentified SCP-6288 instance. Study of the tree rings lead to the dating of the sample at 5,062 years of age.

Footnotes

1. See SCP-2528 and SCP-████ for similar organic computers.

2. Pinus longaeva, D.K. Bailey, 1970

3. Pinus longaeva schulmanii, C. Elliott, 1971

4. Organic polymers that are key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants.

5. Tissue that transports water and minerals from roots to stems and leaves.

6. Tissue that transports soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis. Comprises innermost layer of bark.

7. Monolignols comprised from sinapyl alcohol. The phytochemical is a key component in lignin polymers, but is found in lesser quantities in coniferous plants than in grasses and hardwoods.

8. A region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere linked with the formulation the speech. Consists of Brochmann Areas BA44, BA45, and BA6.

9. General Sherman is a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) tree located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in Tulare County, California. At the time, General Sherman was recognized by the public as the largest, tallest, and oldest living tree on Earth.

10. The Patriarch Tree is the world's largest bristlecone pine, and namesake of the Partiarch Grove

11. A now outdated measurement of danger posed by an SCP object, roughly equivalent to the modern Anomaly Classification System's risk class.

12. Schulman, “Bristlecone Pine, Oldest Known Living Thing],” 361–366

13. A prominent boulder is located in the soil between SCP-6288-47 and the nearby path. It is believed that one or more staff members verbally identified SCP-6288-47 in relation to the boulder, and SCP-6288-48 was mistakenly led to believe that it had been nicknamed "The Stone".

14. Two deceased squirrels and a gopher were found in Enclosure 6288b. Squirrels expired from exposure to SCP-822's neurotoxin. Gopher died of fright.