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BY ORDER OF THE OVERSEER COUNCIL

This document describes an ongoing EK-Class "Scorched Earth" Event.

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L4-7002

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Item#: 7002

Containment Class: esoteric

Secondary Class: tiamat

Disruption Class: amida

Risk Class: critical

Sydney Harbour during Incident 7002-146, 18 August 2022.

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-7002's "wish" must not be granted. Personnel found to be working for the benefit of SCP-7002 are considered complicit in the ongoing EK-Class Event, and are to be confined to quarters until Project Ricochet is completed.

SCP-7002-1 has made SCP-7002's approach common knowledge among the general public; no effort is to be expended attempting to conceal it. Instead, main containment efforts are to focus on diverting the anomaly before it reaches perihelion.

Foundation-sponsored comestible supply lines have been established on every continent. Each line currently carries sufficient lab-synthesized food to feed 100 million 200 million 350 million people at least every three days. Victims of SCP-7002-1 compulsion may require force-feeding; consult document 7002.II.v1 for guidance and best practices.

Comet C/2022 I1

Description: SCP-7002 designates comet C/2022 I1, an interstellar rogue comet believed to have entered the Sol system on 3 January. SCP-7002 will reach perihelion on 29 November 2022, and make its closest approach to our world on 9 December. If left unchecked, the object will draw within 2.1 lunar distance (LD), the closest approach by a near-Earth object in recorded history. Preventing this approach is the primary objective of Project Ricochet (see below).

Through an unknown mechanism, an increasing portion of the planet Earth has become subject to desertification as SCP-7002 approaches. An estimated 48% of the planet's fertile soil has already been converted to arid desert; researchers estimate full conversion will occur during or shortly after SCP-7002's December 9 approach. Other effects include:

Crop blight, spontaneous combustion and desiccation of crops

Acidification and salinization of fertile soil

Intercontinental dust and firestorms impacting major population centers

The gradual collapse of the Earth's magnetosphere

These effects have worsened as SCP-7002 nears our planet. See Addendum 1 for a full account of the object's environmental impact.

Spectrographic analysis has shown that SCP-7002 possesses a hitherto-unseen composition for a comet of its kind. The molar ratio of carbon to water in C/2022 I1's tail is 95–105%, in stark contrast to the average ratio of 4-105% for solar system comets. Furthermore, while the object appears depleted in diatomic carbon (C2), it is enriched in refined metals such as iodized copper and silicate (SiO4), compounds not typically found in interstellar objects. Finally, imaging suggests the majority of SCP-7002's interior is hollow. These factors has led researchers to speculate that the object may be at least partially artificial in origin.

SCP-7002-1 refers to the recurring dream experienced by an increasing portion of the human population since SCP-7002 entered our solar system.

SCP-7002-1 is a Class-II cognitohazard: Cognitive Resistance Value (CRV) directly correlates with likelihood of experiencing the dream pattern. Currently, a CRV of 11 or higher is needed to resist SCP-7002-1 manifestation, up from a CRV of 2 in early January.

SCP-7002-1's pattern consists of several associated images and ideas:

A verdant green planet of unknown position and origin.

SCP-7002 itself, typically floating or flying through space.

An ambiguous desire or need, possessed by the comet and/or the unknown planet. This desire is often described by victims as a "wish" which must be granted.

The Sun and Earth from SCP-7002's current location.

Channels of luminous matter or energy, flowing between Earth and the unknown planet.

Repeated exposure to SCP-7002-1 produces conviction that SCP-7002 is a benevolent force, and appears to compel victims to work to fulfill the "wish" expressed in their dreams. Amnestics provide only temporary relief, as subsequent experiences of SCP-7002-1 simply reintroduce these concepts.

Those compelled by SCP-7002-1 typically seek to grow and produce crops, particularly grains, vegetables or other common foodstuffs, using any resources at their disposal. Victims do not consume these products themselves, but instead abandon their fields before harvest, beginning the planting process again at a new location. Victims forcibly resist attempts to stop them from working or to harvest their crops, and often work without regard for their own health or needs. Death by exhaustion and starvation is a common outcome of advanced SCP-7002-1 affliction.

The following description of SCP-7002-1 was produced by memetics researcher Grante Willis on 6 January 2022. Like most of humanity, Willis had experienced SCP-7002-1 for three nights prior to composing this account. However, unlike nearly all other Foundation employees, Willis did not possess a CRV sufficient to resist its effects.

RAISA NOTICE: The below document has been scanned and stripped of memetic corruption by Foundation AiCs, but remains off-limits to any personnel with lowered CRVs. Please view with caution.

Three days ago, I had a dream. The next night I had it again. And again the third night.

Please God, may I continue to have it.

In the dream there is a comet. But it is more than this. It is a celestial fireball beyond words, burning in the depths of space. It is gargantuan, grotesque and beautiful. It is the most wonderful thing I have ever seen.

The comet has traveled far, and must travel further still. I sense its struggle. It burns without end, on through the void eternal. What does it seek?

I can feel that there is something. A great need unfulfilled, purpose beyond my comprehension. I yearn to help it but know not what I can do. I am distraught, for I exist to work for the comet, and for its creators.

Its creators! I see their world, so far away, so much brighter and better than my own. They who have made something so beautiful, and sent it to us. They are entitled to all that I have.

Perhaps this is what I can do? Yes, they are entitled to the sweat of my brow and to my body and my blood, to all I have produced and can ever produce. I give it to them freely and without regret.

They smile upon me! This must mean that I am right. I can see my energy, the spirit of my world, flowing to them. I have not toiled in vein, for they will benefit from that which I make.

I have granted their wish. This thought gives me peace, but it does not sate my desire, for I have a wish also.

I wish to burn as it does. To burn with the comet and to give of myself until there is no more

It belongs to me as surely as I belong to it

i am what it deserves and i will burn with it

it is mine it is mine and i am theirs

and it is coming for me

Addendum 1: Environmental impacts

SCP-7002 is a Class-XI thaumaturgic envirohazard. How SCP-7002 produces its adverse effects, as well as their intended purpose (if one exists) is unknown. However, each effect tracks directly with the comet's approach to our planet.

1. Blight

Corn crops in middle stage SCP-7002 blight.

SCP-7002 causes rapid withering of crops, especially those near harvest. Crops appear to desiccate spontaneously over a period of 3-7 days, though the effect has been observed to occur in as little as 90 minutes. High-yield nutritional crops including soy and corn are most affected.

In the first month after entering the solar system, SCP-7002 blighted a total of 20 million metric tons of agricultural product. This number has steadily increased each month. In July, the object blighted an estimated 250 million cubic tons, approx. 71% of the total output of all the planet's farms combined.

Wheat farmer Muyang Zhao described the visible impact of SCP-7002 on his crops to Foundation researchers on 20 May 2022:

We woke up yesterday morning to a rustling sound, like sticks in a high wind. We couldn't figure out what it was until we looked out at the fields. There we saw every plant, standing on end like it was tied with a string.

The stalks were dancing around and shaking, bumping into each other. The sound they made was bizarre. Twigs clattering around in a cart, maybe, is a way to imagine it. And then there was the steam. Every plant was letting off mist like a hot kettle. Not burning, mind, just drying up. All their water was gone by the end of the day.

First the wheat turned yellow, then brown, then gray and black. It's gone all dusty now. My boy picked some up and hasn't been able to get it off his hand in three days of scrubbing.

Crops produced under SCP-7002-1 compulsion experience blight and withering at a greatly-increased rate.

2. Nutrient depletion

SCP-7002 renders previously-fertile soil unusable. Land is depleted of vital components including potassium, phosphorus and zinc, as well as binding agents, rendering the soil into dusty, granular chunks which break apart on contact. Salinization has been recorded more rarely, and acidification in at least one case.

Soil is rendered infertile on an exponential cycle as SCP-7002 nears Earth. The progression to date has seen the object move from parching 14,000 acres of land in January to nearly 206 million acres in July alone.

SCP-7002-impacted soil should not be handled with bare hands.

3. Drought:

70% of Earth's surface is currently experiencing extreme drought due to SCP-7002. The comet appears to disrupt rainfall and weather patterns, depriving the soil of moisture on a continental scale.

Drought prevents desertified soil from recovering, and drastically increases the risk of fire and dust storms. Major population centers in 96 nations have been under storm watch for at least six weeks, while an estimated 988 million acres of forest have burned to date.

4. Disruption of the magnetosphere:

SCP-7002 has weakened the Earth's magnetic field by a factor of three. The relationship of this effect to the comet's other impacts is unknown. Disruption of the magnetosphere significantly impacts the planet's ability to resist solar radiation and other disruptive phenomena, imperiling global technology and satellite systems. These factors have led the Foundation to coordinate its response entirely using ground-based communications systems, slowing response by 17%.

Though SCP-7002 affects many aspects of day-to-day human life, mass starvation is the Foundation's primary concern. Approx. 2.5 billion people now experience food scarcity due to the anomaly, and many more refuse to feed themselves because of ongoing SCP-7002-1 compulsion.

Addendum 2: Project Ricochet

Project Ricochet is a joint Foundation-Global Occult Coalition (GOC) effort to deflect SCP-7002 from its current course prior to its December 9 near-Earth approach. Should the project achieve success, it may preserve as much as 33% of the planet's fertile soil from desertification, enabling the continued survival of the human race.

Project Ricochet has two main arms:

Primary arm: Deploy a team of agents directly to SCP-7002 to implant experimental technology.

A manned mission to reach SCP-7002 will allow placement of prototype matter displacement systems (MDS) on the object's surface. Said systems will redirect SCP-7002 away from Earth and into a collision course with the Sun, dispatching the threat. These systems require delicate handling, and may not easily be deployed remotely.

Secondary arm: Prepare backup countermeasures should manned mission fail.

Should placement or operation of the MDS fail, emergency measures must be prepared to destroy the comet prior to its closest approach. These measures include heavy weapons barrage from a second-generation high-energy railgun system developed for deployment beyond Earth: the High-Energy Concentration Interplanetary Railgun (HECIR).

Project Ricochet status is: APPROVED. Joint task force will begin operations 1 October 2022 from Foundation Site-02.

Addendum 3: Project Ricochet timeline

1 October 2022: Task force begins preparations for Project Ricochet. SCP-7002 current distance is 674 million kilometers. 48% of fertile soil on the planet has been converted by the object.

7 October: SCP-1396-1 appears to track SCP-7002 as it moves near Jupiter. Its weapons systems briefly come online, but then de-power. It takes no further action.

18 October 2022: Dust storms cause significant damage to southern Australian infrastructure. Multiple Foundation sites lose contact.

23 October: MDS system and launch vehicle near completion. Concurrently, HECIR begins relocation to L4 Lagrange point to intercept SCP-7002 should primary arm fail. 51% of fertile soil on the planet has been converted by the object.

26 October: MDS and launch vehicle complete. Widespread acidification of crops in Indian subcontinent, due in part to overfarming by victims of SCP-7002-1; mass starvation expected within eight weeks. SCP-7002 distance is 605 million kilometers.

1 November 05:00: Project Ricochet primary team launches toward SCP-7002 aboard GOC Olympus launch vehicle. Expected transit time using sub-luminal warp is 16 hours. Though activation of MDS systems should take little time, team is prepared with supplies sufficient to last six weeks, and equipped with advanced telepathic shielding.

1 November 21:08: Primary team drops out of warp near surface of the object. Despite shielding, team reports immediate nausea and lethargy, but advises that they can proceed as planned.

1 November 22:01: Primary team touch down on surface of SCP-7002. 16% of human population experiences sudden loss of consciousness. Heavy distortion in communications channels.

1 November 22:03: Primary team transmit photographs of SCP-7002's surface. Photos indicate multiple advanced devices at colossal scale; purpose of same remains unclear. Team advised to proceed with caution.

1 November 22:09: Acid rainfall reported over 71% of North America. Magnetic field distortions. Unconscious portion of human population enters spontaneous REM sleep.

1 November 22:18: Primary team advises that MDS units have been placed and powered on. Activation timer set for five minutes. Team proceeds toward evacuation vehicle.

1 November 22:20: Primary team report loss of two members, including team lead. Heavy distortion prevents team from communicating cause.

1 November 22:21: Communication with primary team lost.

1 November 22:22: Inbuilt monitors indicate MDS systems have been manually disabled. Site-02 unable to reestablish contact with team.

1 November 23:51: Single, continuous transmission received from primary team. Heavily-cognitohazardous message consists of words "its w███" repeated 1,136 times. Radio channels are closed after six hours.

Project Ricochet primary arm declared FAILED 2 November 11:08. SCP-7002 distance is 550 million kilometers. 54% of fertile soil on the planet has been converted by the object.

2 November: Individuals rendered unconscious during 1 November incident wake. Each reports experiencing a modified version of SCP-7002-1: in addition to previous images, those affected also witness Project Ricochet primary team launch and approach. Affected individuals explicitly identify the team, and the Foundation, as hostile.

3 November: Modified SCP-7002-1 replaces the original for all people when they next fall asleep. High-level BK-class "Broken Masquerade" scenario declared.

18 November: HECIR unit reaches L4 Lagrange point. SCP-7002 distance is 363 million kilometers.

19 November: Wildfire breaks out six kilometers south of Site-02 in the ████████ Forest; cause unknown.

21 November: SCP-7002-1 increases in strength. All individuals with CRV below 20 now experience cognitohazardous effects, including some two-thirds of Foundation staff. SCP-7002 distance is 254 million kilometers.

25 November: 60% of fertile soil on the planet has been converted by the object.

27 November: Attacks following BK-class event render Foundation civilian supply lines useless. Alternative measures sought to transport food. Mass starvation events common in most population centers.

29 November: SCP-7002 reaches perihelion. Distance from Earth is 136 million kilometers. Object now within one million kilometers of HECIR's effective range.

29 November: Further modifications to SCP-7002-1. Dream now transmits awareness of HECIR, as well as exact location of Foundation Site-02.

29 November 07:14: SCP-7002 enters HECIR effective range; Project Ricochet secondary arm is GO. Targeting coordinates transmitted.

29 November 07:17: Power outage reported at multiple sites, including Site-02. Numerous figures sighted in ████████ Forest, rapidly approaching Site.

29 November 07:19: Emergency power online. HECIR begins calibration for firing.

29 November 07:20: Site-02 automated defenses trigger as an estimated 17,000 individuals emerge from the forest boundary. HECIR calibration at 50%.

29 November 07:21: 4,000 individuals successfully reach Site-02 perimeter wall. HECIR calibration at 98%.

29 November 07:22: HECIR fires.

29 November 07:24: HECIR volley misses SCP-7002. Investigation confirms incorrect coordinates were sent by Project Ricochet central command.

29 November 07:25: Project Ricochet central command transmits message "gr███ █t" to all Foundation sites within range.

29 November 07:28: Assailants breach Site-02 perimeter. HECIR fails to begin recalibration.

29 November 07:47: Site-02 declared lost.

Project Ricochet secondary arm declared FAILED 29 November 07:47. Alternatives under consideration. SCP-7002 distance is 133 million kilometers.

30 November: Most remaining Foundation sites overtaken by attacks. GOC and other allied Groups of Interest unresponsive or hostile.

3 December: 70% of fertile soil on the planet has been converted by the object.

5 December: SCP-7002-1 increases in strength. All individuals with CRV below 50 now experience cognitohazardous effects, including 98% of remaining Foundation staff. SCP-7002 distance is 49 million kilometers.

8 December: Satellite imaging suggests nearly all remaining landmass has been co-opted for use as farmland by victims of SCP-7002-1 compulsion. Continental-scale dust storms complicate further imaging past this point.

8 December: Foundation Site-01 overtaken by attacks. SCP-7002 distance is eight million kilometers.

9 December: Earth's magnetic field depleted to 1/100th of original strength. Solar radiation disables global communication and positioning systems. SCP-7002 distance is three million kilometers.

9 December: Entirety of human population believed to be under SCP-7002-1 compulsion. Automated tracking systems engage.

9 December 10:00: SCP-7002 distance is 950,000 kilometers.

9 December 11:00: SCP-7002 distance is 900,000 kilometers.

9 December 12:00: SCP-7002 distance is 850,000 kilometers.

9 December 13:00: SCP-7002 distance is 800,000 kilometers.

9 December 14:00: SCP-7002 distance is 750,000 kilometers

9 December 15:00: SCP-7002 distance is 700,000 kilometers. Closest approach distance in two hours.

9 December 16:00: SCP-7002 distance is 650,000 kilometers. Closest approach distance in one hour.

9 December 2022 16:31: Two members of Project Ricochet primary team, suspected killed-in-action during initial landing attempt, re-establish radio contact. Attempts to hail Site-02 are met with automated response. SCP-7002 closest approach distance in 29 minutes.

9 December 2022 16:38: Monitoring indicates MDS units placed by primary team have been reactivated.

9 December 2022 16:46: Return vehicle launch detected on SCP-7002's surface.

9 December 2022 16:48: MDS systems placed by Project Ricochet primary team activate. SCP-7002 displaced.

9 December 2022 16:49: SCP-7002 confirmed neutralized in direct collision with the Sun.

9 December 2022: First rainfall in 16 weeks recorded on the planet Earth.

Addendum 4: Primary team debriefing

ATTENTION: Level 5 EYES ONLY

_

–Proceed at your own risk–BIOSIGNATURE ACCEPTED

Project Ricochet primary launch team members Alpha and Bravo returned to Earth on 9 December 2022, after surviving on the surface of SCP-7002 for 39 days. After a two-week quarantine, the pair was debriefed. They indicated team members Charlie and Delta, presumably under telepathic compulsion, had attacked them shortly after they placed the MDS units:

Alpha: They'd been acting weird ever since we dropped out of warp. I think their telekill was faulty.

Bravo: We'd split our equipment up, and Charlie had all our weapons. She got me pretty good with her knife when I turned my back, but the suit saved me. I owe Engineering big time for that.

Alpha: We fought back, of course, but they were stronger. Not just normal strong, either. No offense to them, but I'd take myself in a scuffle any day. But once whatever got in their heads took over, they went wild. I took a punch from Delta and it was like getting hit by a car. Must have knocked me 30 feet in that low grav.

Alpha and Bravo escaped down a tunnel in the surface of SCP-7002, but were trapped when their teammates sealed the entrance. Unable to clear the way, the pair decided to explore the interior and await the second stage of Project Ricochet:

Alpha: We knew HECIR was going to blow that comet to kingdom come in about a month. But we also knew command's main plan had failed pretty much immediately, and we weren't convinced Charlie and Delta wouldn't do something to mess with the backup plan too.

Interviewer: You were correct. They found a way to send information about the Foundation through 7002-1.

Alpha: Right. So we decided to wait it out. Stay hidden, explore what we could, and be around to try something if HECIR didn't get the job done. We had our rations, thank god, and enough oxygen to keep us going until the end.

Interviewer: You would have died when HECIR destroyed the comet.

Bravo: Yeah, well, we were dead anyway. We thought Charlie and Delta would destroy the MDS units, and probably the return vehicle too. And even if they hadn't, getting back to the ship would have meant fighting, and I didn't fancy my odds in a disagreement with Charlie's guns.

After HECIR failed to eliminate SCP-7002, Alpha and Bravo reassessed their situation. They realized they could use their remaining backup oxygen canister, kept under enormous pressure, as a makeshift explosive to free themselves from the cave. From there, they would attempt to fight their teammates and repair the MDS devices if possible.

The pair successfully detonated their oxygen canister, clearing a path out but leaving them with only a few hours of remaining air.

Alpha: We didn't know what to expect when we got back topside. We couldn't hear much from underground, but we got the impression Charlie and Delta had been making something. There was a lot of scraping and digging, and we could feel the ground shift from time to time.

Interviewer: What did you find?

[Alpha and Bravo glance at each other.]

Bravo: Well… I guess you could call it a farm.

Interviewer: On the comet? How is that possible?

Bravo: It wasn't much of a farm, put it that way.

Under intense compulsion from SCP-7002-1, Charlie and Delta had attempted to produce crops on the comet's surface. Alpha and Bravo estimated that their colleagues had converted as much as 35% of the object's crust using their bare hands alone.

Alpha: They'd dug neat rows, one after the other. When they were done with that they'd started dropping pebbles in the dirt like seeds. Just stuff they'd gathered from the ground, you know? And then they'd cover it up and start a new row.

Bravo: Had to have gone on that way for weeks. Everything we could see to the horizon was covered in their "fields." So close up to 7002, they must've gotten the itch real bad.

Interviewer: I see. Were you able to overpower them?

[Silence.]

Interviewer: Alpha?

Alpha: As they dug, they'd… done a lot of damage to themselves. It wasn't much of a fight.

Alpha and Bravo found that their teammates had not damaged the return vehicle or the MDS units. They were able to activate the MDS and escape, a mere 15 minutes before SCP-7002 reached its closest approach to Earth.

Alpha: By the way, we took plenty of photos down in that cave. You had a chance to look those over?

Interviewer: Yes, we have. Thank you.

Alpha: No problem. Can't say they mean anything to me, but maybe you all can make something of it that we couldn't.

Addendum 5: Nature of SCP-7002

SCP-7002 interior tunnel. Photo taken by Ricochet landing team.

Both analysis of prior imaging and the photographs collected by Project Ricochet's primary landing team suggest that SCP-7002 was created by an intelligent, non-human race for the purpose of resource gathering. Key evidence includes:

Radiographic sonar: object hollow beyond depth of 75 meters.

Spectrography: object was composed largely of synthesized metallic materials beneath a thin, rocky crust.

Photographs: object possessed multiple gigaton-scale energy collection and storage systems of unknown make and purpose. Equipment bore similarity to SCP-█████, suggesting capacity to remotely harvest chemical potential energy.

Photographs: object housed components for long-distance travel and communication with unknown, extrasolar entities.

Foundation exophysicists speculate that SCP-7002 was intentionally directed toward a developed planet, and that its cognitohazards were intended both to prevent obstruction of its goals and to compel its victims to produce additional harvest. Further research is ongoing.

SCP-7002 desertified 75% of Earth's surface before its neutralization. However, with the effects of the comet now absent, researchers believe that the majority of this soil can be restored to fertility within 15-20 years. Furthermore, the conversion of much of Earth's remaining soil to farmland by victims of SCP-7002-1 has had an unexpected benefit: food scarcity in the wake of the event has decreased substantially, as a greater number of territories now rely on locally-produced resources.

Addendum 6: SCP-7002-1 final transmission

On 31 December 2022, most of Earth's remaining population experienced an additional instance of SCP-7002-1. As SCP-7002 had been neutralized several weeks prior, the origin of this dream is unknown.

7002-1/31-Dec-2022 description:

Dream depicts a verdant green planet in the distance. Ahead of it, traveling away into space, is a group of at least 200 comets.

Upon waking, all those who experienced the dream recall hearing the phrase "grant our wish" spoken in their native language.

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