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Created for the 144-Hour Jam Contest Two

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An instance of SCP-5969

Item #: SCP-5969

Object Class: Safe Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-5969 is to be contained in a climate-controlled, blast-resistant containment cell at Site-27. Relative humidity inside the cell is to be maintained between 30-40%, and MUST NOT rise above 50% for any extended period of time. Any personnel entering SCP-5969's containment cell are required to wear a Foundation-issue Level 3 Bomb Protection Suit.

As of Incident I-5969-A, all testing of SCP-5969 has been suspended. See Addendum for details.

Description: SCP-5969 is a collection of 20 19 Mk 2 hand grenades1 (designated SCP-5969-1 through -19) stored inside a standard World War II-era wooden storage crate. Markings on the crate and each instance of SCP-5969 are consistent with other grenades manufactured during this time.

SCP-5969's anomalous effect manifests when the object is exposed to any amount of liquid water, or has been sufficiently exposed to humid air. Once exposed, SCP-5969 will immediately detonate, regardless of if the pin and spoon have been removed prior. The explosion created is equivalent to other standard Mk 2 grenades, however, instead of propelling metal fragmentation, SCP-5969 expels a number2 of seeds that, on contact with a solid surface, instantaneously sprout into a variety of small, flowering plants. Only four plant species have been observed: Aubriet deltoidea, Dianthus caryophyllus, Anemone nemorosa, and Achillea millefolium3. Testing has confirmed that the plants produced in this matter are not anomalous.

NOTE: Following Incident I-5969-A, the description of SCP-5969 has been amended.

+ View Amendment

- Return to original description

The flowers produced by SCP-5969 (designated SCP-5969-B) display no anomalous properties when sprouting on an inanimate surface. Conversely, if contact is made with the skin of a living individual, SCP-5969-B instances will begin to draw blood from the individual into themselves at a rate of 15 mL/s. SCP-5969-B instances will expand to contain any blood they absorb, and will continue to draw blood until the individual expires via exsanguination, at which point the anomalous properties will cease. Multiple instances of SCP-5969-B attached to a single individual will accelerate this process.

If the stem of an SCP-5969-B instance is cut while attached to a living individual, they will continue to bleed through any remaining stem of the SCP-5969-B instance.

Discovery: SCP-5969 was discovered on 05/12/1968 during a raid conducted by local law enforcement agents on one Andrew Werther's apartment in Tucson, Arizona, after a tip was called in regarding a potential bomb threat. Upon entering the apartment, Werther was observed dropping a glass of water onto an instance of SCP-5969 on his kitchen table, causing it to explode, killing him and injuring one police officer.

A Foundation agent embedded in the Tucson Police Department accompanied the raid team, and was able to contain the scene until MTF Epsilon-6 ("Village Idiots") could take over. The police raid team were administered amnestics, and Andrew Werther's death was reported as suicide by gunshot. Upon a search of the rest of Werther's apartment, the crate containing the remaining 24 instances of SCP-5969 was discovered.

Addendum 1:

+ Interview Log 5969-1

- Close Interview Log

Interviewed: Agent Argyle, Foundation Operative embedded within the Tucson Police Department

Interviewer: Dr. Robert Trooper, Lead Researcher, Site-26

Foreword: The following is an excerpt of a debriefing performed on 5/13/1968 following the containment of SCP-5969

<Begin Log>

Dr. Trooper: Tell me about Andrew Werther.

Subject takes a long drag from a cigarette.

Agent Argyle: The kid? Yeah, locals had been trailing him for weeks at that point. Joined up with a bunch of other students looking to do a protest at UA4. And not the usual hippie shit either. Something bigger.

Dr. Trooper: They weren't with the SDS5?

Agent Argyle: Nah. A small splinter group, thought the SDS wasn't going far enough. They talked a big talk, but up until today, we had no idea what the fuck their plan was.

Dr. Trooper: Do you know who might have called in the bomb threat?

Agent Argyle: Not a goddamn clue. Even if we had wanted to run a trace, guy sure didn't talk long enough. Just said 'Andrew Werther has a bomb, he's gonna use it at the protest today', and hung up.

Subject takes another drag from the cigarette, then leans in close to the microphone.

Agent Argyle: And here's the fishy part. Kid was a fuckin' business major! From San Francisco! No fuckin' way he'd know how to make a bomb in less than a day. And it wasn't even a bomb, it was a box of goddamn frags! Kid's dad didn't even serve in World War Two! So where the fuck did he get his hands on a full crate of 'em?

Subject leans back and takes another drag. Dr. Trooper clears his throat.

Dr. Trooper: Let's skip ahead to when your police team entered Andrew's apartment.

Subject lets out a short laugh.

Agent Argyle: Oh man, you wanna talk about some hippie shit? Cause that was some next-level hippie shit. Locals bust his door in, kid jumps, dumps the fucking glass of water he's holding onto the goddamn frag he had lyin' on his kitchen table. Then boom! Flowers fuckin' everywhere. The floor, the walls, the fridge, the ceiling. Even the kid. I mean, he's blown to shit, but he's still got flowers all over him, too.

Dr. Trooper: And what about the officer who was also reported injured?

Agent Argyle: Oh, man, that's how I knew something weird had gone down. I was still out in the hall, couple guys down from the door. We hear the bang, see the guy in the doorway flinch. And we're thinking 'oh shit the kid just offed himself, didn't he?'. Then the guy backs up a bit, turns to us, pale as a damn ghost, and he's got a fucking flower in his fucking vest. We just heard something explode in this apartment, and he's got a flower in his fucking vest. Ah, man, I just about lost it then and there.

<End Log>

Addendum 2:

+ Incident Log I-5969-A

- Close Incident Log

Incident Log I-5969-A

Log Date: 10 March 1969 1014 hours

Foreword: Incident I-5969-A occurred just prior to test 5969-D, after initial testing was delayed due to inclement weather. Relative humidity readings were approximately 82% at the time of the incident. This log is a transcript of video footage recovered from the camera used to record the test procedure. Site-26 Lead Researcher Dr. Robert Trooper and Researcher Dr. J███ Prescott are present at the time of the incident.

<Begin Log>

[10:13:08] Dr. Prescott enters the testing area, holding a clipboard and an instance of SCP-5969. She walks to the center of the testing area and places the instance on a steel podium.

Dr. Trooper: (Off-screen) Glad the rain stopped when it did. I was just about to suspend testing for the day.

[10:13:40] Dr. Prescott is seen fanning herself with the clipboard.

Dr. Prescott: I thought the rain was supposed to make it cooler, not make it even more unbearable out here.

[10:13:43] Dr. Prescott steps towards the camera. She stops when she is handed a metal stand from off-screen.

Dr. Trooper: This shouldn't take too long, thankfully. If you'll finish up in here, I'll get the recording set up.

[10:13:47] Dr. Prescott nods and begins to walk back towards the podium. Dr. Trooper steps in front of the camera as she does, obscuring the frame. He can be heard making adjustments to something off-camera

[10:14:01] Dr. Trooper steps away from the camera. Dr. Prescott is briefly visible walking toward the left of the frame before being obscured again by Dr. Trooper.

[10:14:03] The SCP-5969 instance detonates spontaneously. Flowers are now spread around the testing area. Dr. Trooper visibly flinches. Dr. Prescott's legs are visible from behind Dr. Trooper, prone on the ground. Several flowers are embedded in her legs.

[10:14:03-10:14:06] Silence.

[10:14:07] The flowers embedded in Dr. Prescott begin to inflate. Dr. Prescott begins screaming.

Dr. Trooper: Oh my god. J███!

[10:14:08] The camera is knocked over. Recording ends when it impacts the ground.

<END LOG>

Closing Statement: Dr. J███ Prescott expired approximately two minutes after recording ceased. Cause of death was determined to be exsanguination. Dr. Trooper has been placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.

Footnotes

1. Commonly referred to as "Pineapple Grenades"

2. Approximately 50 - 80

3. Aubrieta, Carnation, Windflower, and Yarrow respectively.

4. The University of Arizona

5. Students for a Democratic Society, an anti-war organization