Item #: SCP-830

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: The location of SCP-830, designated Site-██, is to be barred from access to the public. At no time are non-Foundation personnel permitted on-site without the express orders of Level 3 personnel or higher. No personnel are to come into physical contact with SCP-830 at any time. To heighten Site-██ morale, anyone communicating with SCP-830 is to have a safety line and a designated marksman on hand to terminate the communicator in case of incident. No further constructions directly above or around SCP-830 are to be attempted, after the collapse of a catwalk (Incident 830-13B) resulted in the loss of sixteen site personnel, including one Level 3 touring the facility.

Description: SCP-830 is a shifting pool that initially appears to be composed of oil and sand. Attempts to recover samples from the pool have revealed only inert samples standard to the earth in that area. Researchers hypothesize that an item at the bottom of this pool may be responsible for this and the other effects of SCP-830.

Any humans coming into physical contact with SCP-830 are drawn into the pool itself, and presumably killed. The retracting powers of the liquid are remarkably strong, although with a sufficiently strong subject, severing the point of contact with the liquid of SCP-830 is sufficient to prevent the entire individual from being drawn in. Inanimate objects do not appear to be affected by this 'quicksand' effect.

Individuals drawn into SCP-830 may be contacted by standing within eight meters of the pool (for the safety of designated communicators, closer than six meters is not recommended). Distorted but recognizable faces of those consumed by SCP-830 will form upon the surface, one by one. The communicator may designate which one they wish to address by speaking only when the desired face forms on the surface. This may take some time, as it is estimated that SCP-830 has consumed in excess of 800 individuals in the span of its existence. Communicators should be trained extensively in human psychology and interrogative techniques. Chief characteristics of the faces of SCP-830 include remorse or regret for the actions directly leading to their consumption by SCP-830, and complaints of excruciating pain - it is extremely difficult to change the subject when communicating with a face of SCP-830.

Non-Foundation personnel within SCP-830 are predominantly occultists of the █████████ and ████████ ██████ traditions, apparently eliminated by the Chaos Insurgency from the years of 19██ to 19██, before SCP-830 was seized by Foundation personnel in 19██. Translators are on-site for any volunteers wishing to communicate with these faces, although prolonged exposure to SCP-830 has severely diminished their communicative ability - most faces from this period are incoherent or disjointed in their speech patterns. Over 50% are suffering from various forms of aphasia. Information collected on the █████████ and ████████ ██████ traditions has been catalogued and is available for study upon request to Dr. Jonas DeWitt, head of research for SCP-830.