Instances of posts created by affected individuals, edited to remove cognitohazards.

Item #: 4457

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Foundation webcrawlers are to monitor social media websites for instances of SCP-4457 and evidence infection. Upon positive identification, the corresponding post or advertisement space is to be taken down immediately. Medical records in Yolo County, CA, are to be monitored for instances of SCP-4457-1. Affected individuals are to be retrieved and placed in isolation until surgical extraction can be performed. Following recovery, individuals are to undergo psychotherapy with a Foundation approved therapist until the primary effect of SCP-4457 has been neutralized. Use of Class-C amnestics is authorized.

Description: SCP-4457 refers to a phenomenon in Yolo County, CA, where individuals are overcome with a desire to "upgrade" the organs of their gastrointestinal tract. SCP-4457 infection is spread through cognitohazardous advertisments and public posts on social media outlets made by other affected individuals. Such posts will mention a local health organization, GoI-2567 ("Chitin Creations, Inc.) that offers "upgrades" to the GI organ system for a low price. Approximately one month following initial infection by SCP-4457, individuals will be visited by a mobile surgery vehicle displaying the logo of GoI-2567 along the side doors, and will willfully enter.

SCP-4457-1 refers to an anomalous species of the order Isopoda bearing resemblance to C. Bathynomus.1 The vehicles are operated by unidentified insectoid entities. Entities prepare the affected individuals for surgery, then, following the administration of general anesthesia, make an incision from below the sternum downwards to the pelvic girdle. A total gastrectomy and colectomy is performed, upon conclusion of which one to four instances of SCP-4457-1 are placed within the abdominal cavity.

One of four SCP-4457-1 instances removed from an affected individual's abdominal cavity.

Following implantation, SCP-4457-1 instances will latch onto the lumbar spine using claw-like appendages. Instances will then affix their mouths to the affected individual's esophagus, and produce 6.5m to 8m of an intestine-like structure that then connects to the anus.2 SCP-4457-1 instances will then enter a symbiotic relationship with the host.

SCP-4457-1, and the structures it creates, function consistently with non-anomalous GI tracts by diffusing digested nutrients into the bloodstream and filtering waste out through the anus. In addition, instances continuously release a biological immunosuppressant to ensure the body does not reject the symbiote. Presence of this immunosuppressant and increased incidence of disease in the hosts are key indicators of SCP-4457 infection.

Discovery: On 2024/12/13 Foundation personnel captured a mobile surgery vehicle used to administer an estimated 15 surgeries. Upon entry, no surgical implements or insectoid entities were located. Of note, however, was the presence of nearly 2kgs of flakes of chitin, scorch marks on the floor, and a clip-on nametag on which "Hello, my name is ANTONY" was crudely written.

Infectious Symptoms: Testing with D-Class personnel has revealed that post-surgical individuals, after an incubation period of approximately three months, experience severe morphological changes, in four separate stages, over the span of 6 to 8 days.

First, the host's eyes will develop a secondary, non-functioning iris. Hemolymph and a modified form of liquid chitin will begin to flow through the host's spinal cord.

Second, the lower mandible of the affected will split along the sagittal plane. The lips remain unaffected at this stage, making it difficult to detect.

Third, the desire to "upgrade" the GI organs will extend to other vital organs. Depending on the organ(s) affected, individuals experience symptoms of paranoia and mania with a common recorded question, "how many more do I need to in order to be a satisfactory consumer?"

Fourth, the resident SCP-4457-1 instance(s) will forcibly exit through the hosts' anal cavity during sleep, leaving behind the anomalous organ analogues. Genetic analysis of the tissues have revealed a 92.48% match with C. exigua.

In approximately 12.78% of fourth-stage cases, SCP-4457-1 replacement has reoccurred, typically in organs affected by third-stage symptoms. Reinfected organs will be replaced in the same way as the gastrointestinal tract was, utilizing similar but nonhuman replacement organs.

Addendum 1: D-Class Infection Log

Patient Details
Symptom Stage Reached
Results

46-year-old male, diabetic.
Second.
Subject's jaw bone cracked along the temporomandibular joints, severing muscle tissue along the face, and expired after 3 minutes due to subsequent blood loss.

51-year-old female, Crohn's disease.
Fourth.
Patient did not undergo SCP-4457-1 reinsertion, and successfully underwent counseling. The replacement gastrointestinal tract displayed no adverse effects, and chitinous fluid was successfully tapped from the spinal cord. Patient requested the jaw not be repaired. The Foundation is now monitoring this individual.

22-year-old female, no preexisting conditions.
First.
Expired due to consumption of rancid meat and subsequent S. aureus infection.

42-year-old female, mild asthma.
Third.
Third stage symptoms spread the delusion to the brain, pineal and thyroid glands. Subject exhibited frequent mood swings and existential crises, eventually expiring from self inflicted wounds to the frontal lobe.

35-year-old male, scoliosis.
Fourth.
Subject developed an appetite for carrion, and frequently requested dung to consume. Subject was bruised upon falling from his bed. During standard first aid, the subject's body 'deflated,' as six SCP-4457-1 instances immediately exited via the mouth, anal cavity, and ear canal. Upon examination, the brain, gastrointestinal tract, adrenal gland, right lung, right kidney, and bladder were missing. A juvenile SCP-4457-1 instance was discovered inside the patient's body, occupying the space of the appendix, though it was unable to secrete immunosuppressants like adult specimens. Of note was the subject being implanted with only one SCP-4457-1 instance initially.

24-year-old male.
Fourth
Subject's mandible halves were successfully reattached and third-stage effects have spread to the brain, heart, and adrenal glands. Following SCP-4457-1 exiting, subject began to vocalize in limited clicks and buzzes. 32 days after initial expulsion, a single laminated business card was produced from the subject's anal cavity. See below for full text.

Index card expelled from patient's anal cavity, after deep cleaning. Area code redacted due to cognitohazardous effects.

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Footnotes

1. A species of giant isopod.

2. In cases of multiple SCP-4457-1 instances inhabiting a single host, these structures will connect to each other, forming a single chain from mouth to anus.