

77.78%

(+42)
22.22%

(-12)

-%

(+0)
-%

(-0)

Item#: 5629

Containment Class: Keter

Secondary Class: {$secondary-class}

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: caution

Precognitive individual influenced by SCP-5629.

Special Containment Procedures

Individuals experiencing precognitive dissociation (PCD) are to be quarantined and dewormed upon discovery. Subjects continuing to show symptoms of PCD post-craniotomy are to be recruited and trained as Foundation-approved mediums through the D.R.E.A.M. Program and assigned according to their preferred discipline. These subjects are never to be reminded of the time spent under the influence of SCP-5629 in order to preserve a heightened level of cognitive function.

Physical contact with SCP-5629 is strictly forbidden for individuals who fail to score 2 or greater on the Helix Precognitive Ability Scale (HPAS). Failure to adhere to these precautions results in termination from a sudden psychedelic onslaught in 100% of cases. SCP-5629 can be interacted with safely using standard PPE such as latex or rubber gloves.

As the sheer quantity of SCP-5629 instances is speculated to be in the millions, complete containment of SCP-5629 has been deemed impossible. Containment efforts are instead focused on isolating areas of higher than average precognitive activity such as locations where tarot is commonly practiced, residences of psychic mediums, and Subway restaurant chains.

Update 5/25/2021

Physical interaction with SCP-5629 while under the effects of 400 μg of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has proven effective in neutralizing the adverse effects of the parasite. Continued research is being led by Umar Hadid of Site-83.

Description

SCP-5629 is a hallucinogenic, parasitic subspecies of Lumbricina suborder1 that are native to the northeastern United States of America. Beyond secreting 5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine2, SCP-5629 instances are nearly physically indistinguishable from standard members of their species. One key physical factor distinguishes SCP-5629 from non-anomalous earthworms; all instances have protruding hook-like extensions on either end of their bodies.

SCP-5629 instances exhibit predatory behavior not found in typical members of their species and will actively seek out prey to consume when not occupying a host. SCP-5629 are social hunters and will often attack a target en masse, with sixty to seventy instances overwhelming their prey3. Attacks by SCP-5629 typically take place at night when the intended target is sleeping. When targeting nocturnal organisms, SCP-5629 instances will instead attack during the day. How the instances are able to discern a given target's sleep patterns is unknown.

SCP-5629 attacks occur in three stages over the course of around fourteen hours:

A swarm of SCP-5629 instances will converge on a sleeping target. The target may awaken once physical contact is made. However, due to SCP-5629's perception-altering secretions, the majority of targets are rendered paralyzed. Targets have cognitive function at this point.

SCP-5629 instances will cut holes into the target's epidermis using their hook-like protrusions and burrow through the target's flesh. Incisions will seal following complete submersion of an SCP-5629 instance within a subject's flesh through a currently unidentified secretion of the entity. Targets retain cognitive function.

SCP-5629 enters the cranial cavity, whereupon all available instances will latch onto the brain and secrete lethal amounts of DMT directly onto the brain matter. Targets have been observed acting irrationally at this point until termination. SCP-5629 instances will consume the target until satisfied.

Discovery

SCP-5629 was discovered following the autopsies of several individuals attending a Bicycle Party4 in Northern New Jersey. The skin of each body was perfectly preserved, although all eyes, tongues, and teeth were absent. Agent Amai was sent in to investigate the corpses and discovered that each body contained multiple instances of SCP-5629. Foundation containment teams were called in and SCP-5629 was classified. Agent Amai, having made brief physical contact with an SCP-5629 instance, was quarantined and later questioned to ascertain her cognitive capability.

Interview - Agent Amai

The following interview was conducted by Researcher Umar Hadid. Hadid was selected to perform this interview due to his frequent use of Foundation approved narcotics for related research.

Interviewer: Researcher Umar Hadid

Interviewed: Christina Amai

Foreword: Interview was conducted on-site just before Mobile Task Force Delta-20 ("Blaze It") and its associated containment team members acquired all SCP-5629 instances present in the area.

<BEGIN LOG>

Hadid: Agent… Amai, right? You're the one who made contact with the worms?

Agent Amai: That's… [She pauses, looks at her hands, then back at Hadid] That's… correct. I made made made made brief contact with that worm.

Hadid: I see… Agent Amai, have you been experiencing any uh, compulsions since you've made contact? Like the need to repeat a certain action or word over and over again?

Agent Amai: [She scratches her temple.] I have, yes. Quite a few times in fact. I have.

Hadid: That's a common effect of the LSD working its way through your system, Agent. [He laughs] At least you're responding as expected.

Agent Amai: I'm no not, I'm not, no, I'm not.

Hadid: It's okay, Christina. I'm here. I'll guide you through this experience. I don't think you've been exposed to enough of the secretion to be at risk so… hopefully, you'll have a nice, short trip and be back on the field in the morning.

Agent Amai: No, Hadid, I don't— know. That's, you know what fine. You're right, I'm probably fine. I've never done psychoactive pharmaceutical substances before now. It's just really trippy man. Let me just say.

Hadid: I hear you, Amai. How are you feeling?

Agent Amai: [She scratches her head] Um… wriggly.

Hadid: What type of thoughts are you experiencing?

Agent Amai: I… the Black Tree, Hadid. [She scratches her arm] What- no- the leaves, my tongue. I can feel them moving, slapping against one another in that place.

Hadid: The Black Tree? Can you tell me more? I don't see any black trees around here.

[Agent Amai begins coughing violently. She clutches her stomach and her head for several seconds and lets out a prolonged scream.]

Hadid: Are you alright, Agent Amai?

Agent Amai: [Laughing] What?

Hadid: Are. You. All. Right?

Agent Amai: [She claps] Of course, I'm not fucking alright Hadid, look at my god damn fingernails. Fuck's sake. I can feel the worms in my skin!

Hadid: [To Command] Amai appears highly susceptible to the uh, secretions. Please advise.

Agent Amai: The It, Hadid. [She scratches her leg] That's what happened. That's what made the Black Tree of Zalgo. And the It is no longer content to rest within the ego of the human mind. Why aren't… you seem to be taking this a little too seriously. [To herself] It's just a drug-related anomaly of course, why would he be taking this seriously.

Hadid: I-

Agent Amai: Okay, look, listen, look, and for the last time, look and listen. Hadid… I'm going to die, pretty soon. [She places her hands on her temples and rubs them in circular motions] There's some shit going on with these worms in my fucking head and I can feel it. Not just the DMT, but the It.

Hadid: I don't— wait. Do you know anything about… Her?

Agent Amai: Her, the It, the Terrors. The worms know it all, Hadid, for the worms are a byproduct of the Zalgo, a byproduct of Alita, the fallen kingdom beneath the broken stars. They were his last line of defense against the Five Terrors and it failed. Now they've come to eat, and eat us they shall.

[Agent Amai begins convulsing violently for several seconds as multiple SCP-5629 instances emerge from behind her eyeballs, severing the connective tissue from them to her brain. SCP-5629 instances on the ground consume the eyes. Agent Amai collapses in front of Hadid. SCP-5629 instances escape from her facial orifices for an excess of three minutes before all entities have vacated her body. Hadid vomits.]

Hadid: Fuck.

The Medium Incident

In the weeks following SCP-5629's initial containment and classification, Researcher Hadid continued to make regular visits to the greater Northern New Jersey area along with members of MTF Delta-20 in order to contain wild SCP-5629 instances. Over the course of two weeks, the team was able to successfully contain over ten thousand instances without incident.

On 4/24/2021, an individual named Barbara Eubanks claiming to have precognitive capabilities approached Researcher Hadid. At the time, Researcher Hadid was conducting experiments with the SCP-5629 secretions in a secured Provisional Site. CCTV surveillance proved ineffective in determining the methods Eubanks used to gain access to disable the localized reality scramblers5 and enter the Site. When it became apparent that there was a considerable possibility for Eubanks to be precognizant, Researcher Hadid volunteered to interview and screen her.

Interviewer: Umar Hadid

Interviewed: Barbara Eubanks

Foreword: Interview was conducted in an aluminum foil-lined interrogation chamber in an effort to isolate potentially hazardous precognitive activity. Two armed members of MTF Delta-20 were present as well.

Barbara Eubanks

Hadid: So Mrs… Ew-banks? You say you're a psychic medium, is that right?

Eubanks: It's Eubanks, like, "you-banks". Barby works fine. And yes, I am a medium. I'm sure you would have figured that out eventually, and then you'd throw me in a cell never to see the light of day again.

Hadid: I doubt that.

Eubanks: Don't waste your breath on a lie. I can see the future, remember?

Hadid: Right… About that? Can you uh, explain what it's like? Looking into the future I mean.

Eubanks: Have you ever dropped acid before?

Hadid: A few times.

Eubanks: So you know that your perception becomes warped, and you start to feel like you're walking on another plane of existence different than everyone else? You can perceive more colors, hear more sounds, taste more flavors, everything is just more. The future is like that. Vibrant, but ephemeral. Things change but they're never really that different from each iteration.

Hadid: The precognitive visions aren't like they're usually shown on television?

Eubanks: [She laughs] Of course not. They're uh, hm. Like, imagine making a cake without knowing the exact recipe. You know the ingredients, you know what to do with them, but the ingredients you have to work with are not always the best, and they are subject to change on a whim depending on what you want that cake to taste like. At the end of the day, you're going to get your cake, but how you get there may differ.

Silence

Eubanks: This analogy has gotten away from me a bit.

Hadid: You lost me at "cake". B-but continuing on, um, how do you feel about the… [He holds his hands next to his head and wiggles his fingers]

Eubanks: The wha- the worms? They just make the things I was already seeing more clear. I can feel them crawling around in my brain meat and under my skin, burrowing their tiny little teeth into my muscles and fat, but it's not so bad. Not at all. I- excuse me a second.

[Eubanks holds open her eye with two fingers. The end of an SCP-5629 instance is present underneath her eyeball. Eubanks does not seem disturbed by this. With her free hand, Eubanks inserts two fingers behind her eye and traces the perimeter of it several times. After a few seconds, she successfully pinches the SCP-5629 instance between her fingers and slowly removes it.]

Eubanks: Can you?

Hadid: Oh fuck, uh, sure.

[Hadid retrieves a small mobile containment unit from outside the interrogation chamber and places the SCP-5629 instance inside.]

Eubanks: Yeah, that happens sometimes. It's… inconvenient at most. But it is the price to pay for the sight.

Hadid: I can imagine. Mrs. Barby, are you aware of something called "The Black Tree"?

Eubanks: The Black Tree of the Zalgo? Of course. It's the first thing every medium learns out of that one book. You know the one. With the flesh and pagan rituals?

Hadid: Would you mind explaining that to me like I'm five?

Eubanks: A long time ago there were gods. Not gods like you know today, but older ones. More, how you'd say, primeval. There were millions before the Feud, and after the smoke cleared only five remained. The Five Terrors, which I can see you're somewhat acquainted with.

Hadid: Yes. I had an encounter with some people who worshiped Her, and before her passing, Agent Amai mentioned an It?

Eubanks: The Second Terror, progenitor of the worm. You'll find out about them when you go to Subway.

Hadid: I'm sorry what?

Eubanks: The sandwich place in town.

Hadid: What makes you think that we're going to investigate a Subway based on your word alone?

Eubanks: [Tapping her temple] Psychic.

<END LOG>

Afterword: Eubanks refused to answer any further questions and was uncooperative with Foundation staff until her eventual escape. Despite Foundation surveillance operatives tailing Eubanks during her time at the Provisional Site, they were unable to locate her upon her disappearance.

The Subway investigation

The Subway Restaurant speculated to be of importance

In the days following the interrogation with Eubanks, several more bodies6 were discovered in Rutherford, New Jersey under similar circumstances to those found at the Bicycle Party. While there was no immediate discernable pattern to the appearance of the corpses, aerial surveillance of the town revealed an increased body count relative to the proximity of the Subway on Park Avenue.

The owners and employees at the establishment were questioned with enhanced physical and telepathic interrogation techniques, although this proved to be a fruitless endeavor. All relevant employees were amnesticized and reintegrated into society in new fields of work, and the Subway was condemned under Cover Story 14 ("Health and Safety Violation"). Foundation efforts continued under the guise of restoration efforts. Foundation agents occupying the Subway were issued multiple varieties of approved hallucinogenic substances in order to facilitate the discovery of normally imperceivable events.

During the field team's occupation of the Subway, a door not listed on any building schematics was discovered within the establishment, sealed with displacement sigils7. Three members of MTF Delta-208, as well as Researcher Umar Hadid, were dispatched to investigate the area. The following video/audio log was edited together from the body cameras of the exploration team.

Exploration Video/Audio Log Transcript

Date: 4/28/2021

Exploration Team: MTF Delta-20

Team Lead: Delta-20 Alpha

Team Members: Delta-20 Beta, Delta-20 Tau, Umar Hadid

<Begin Log>

[Static. Footage begins. The camera is shaking for several seconds but stabilizes. Foundation operatives are consuming various delicacies present behind the counter as they conduct research. Umar Hadid approaches the MTF team and removes a rolled THC inhilation tube from Alpha's mouth. Hadid ashes the tube against the door.]

Alpha: Dude!

Hadid: What? Aren't you high enough?

Alpha: Shame man, shame. Fuckin', who the fuck ashes a blunt?

Beta: [Grumbling] Fuggin' wastril.

Tau: Seriously Hadid, who raised you?

Hadid: I'm sorry!

[Perspective shifts, the door is opened. Inside is a tunnel carved out of red stone. A jet of steam is projected from a crack in the stone, obscuring the camera. Alpha wipes the lense, clarity is restored. Dark red liquid runs down the walls and drips from the ceiling.]

Hadid: Shit, let me grab my coat.

Alpha: No time.

[Team enters. Footsteps are accompanied by squelching noises. Cavern is dimly illuminated from the ambient glow of equipment. Flapping noises are heard overhead. Faint shrieks echo from deeper in the cavern.]

Hadid: Astounding…

Beta: [He giggles] Ass.

Alpha: Tau, give us some uh, light, would you?

[Tau activates his flashlight, illuminating the cavern. Bone-like structures of unclear origin protrude from the cavern walls. The structures appear to animate, but movements are too subtle to confirm or deny this. Numerous arthropod-esque entities slither past the team. Some converge on extruded structures and tear them from the cavern walls, allowing dark red liquid to flow from the origin point.]

Tau: Trippy.

Alpha: [He sniffs] Smell that? What is that?

Hadid: Man, that smells like… well it definitely smells like something.

Beta: It shmells like assh! [He laughs]

Alpha: Fuck's sake Beta. God fucking damn-

Tau: [He sniffs] No, he's right. What the hell?

Hadid: Hm?

Tau: The stench.

Hadid: Yeah it's bad. It's, like, really bad. Smells like… [He sniffs] fresh corpse and garlic butter and bad breath.

Alpha: Man, what does that even mean?

Hadid: There's probably some freaky deeky shit going on in this cave. Best uh, just, keep your guns up. Eyes peeled.

Non-Euclidean space within the Subway.

[Team continues deeper into the cavern. There is a slight decline in the terrain. Sounds of rushing liquid are heard. The decline steepens. An unknown liquid substance is present on the slope, causing Hadid and Tau to stumble briefly.]

[Further down, the decline opens onto flat ground. In front of the team is a tree whose trunk is tall enough to obscure the canopy in darkness. The width of the trunk is approximately 13 meters, although exact measurements cannot be ascertained from the footage. The tree roots protrude through the cavern floor and extend in various directions for kilometers. There are black tongues in the place of leaves on the tree that lick the air and each other.]

Hadid: That must be the Black Tree of Zalgo.

Beta: What makes you so sure of that, man?

Hadid: I mean, it's a tree with black… tongues? Eubanks predicted that we'd learn more about an entity called the progenitor of worms down here, likely near the Black Tree of Zalgo. Be wary.

Tau: Wassa play here, Hadid?

Hadid: Collect some tongue samples and bark, then we'll head back and regroup.

Alpha: Righteous.

[Alpha and Beta approach the tree. Hadid takes notes as Tau routinely examines the area for threats. Tree roots become animate and slowly locomote around Hadid and Tau, although they do not notice.]

Beta: This shit's tougher than it looks!

Alpha: Geeze man, you're right. Fuckin', cut it. Use a knife.

[Beta retrieves a knife from his equipment and successfully removes a sample of the tree bark. Viscous clear liquid leaks from the incision. There is a small tremor indicated by slight camera vibrations. A low moaning noise is picked up by audio transceivers.]

Tau: Y'hear that?

Hadid: Definitely. Yo, um, we should probably get going to the surface. Maybe send in a few drones or D-Class later? Do you have the samples?

Beta: Just the bark! We still need a leaf.

[Alpha removes one of the leaves from its branch by cutting the stem. The moaning noise returns in greater volume and tremors increase in intensity. The remaining leaves attempt to assault Alpha with erratic licking motions but are unsuccessful. The frequency of the erratic motion increases exponentially, making it impossible to decipher the leaves from one another as they become too blurry for the cameras to focus on. Alpha and Beta return to Tau and Hadid.]

Hadid: Far out, man.

[The tree uproots itself through unknown methods. A wide crack manifests across the width of the trunk that loosely resembles a smile. Instances of SCP-5629 larger than previously documented9 descend from the cavern ceiling near the tree and writhe against one another for several seconds. The tree emits a bellowing noise. All leaves detach themselves from their branches and crawl toward the team.]

Tau: Fuggin' hell!

[Many typical-sized SCP-5629 instances burrow into the cavern floors and walls, disrupting the stone and causing large chunks of debris to fall. The instances that remain pursue the team as they flee in the direction they entered. Alpha fires multiple clips worth of ammunition10 into a single large SCP-5629 instance to no avail.]

Unknown: FOOL. I AM THE IT, DESTROYER OF ALITA. PROGENITOR OF THE WORM.

Hadid: God fucking damn it!

Alpha: Keep firing!

Beta: Like we have much of a choice, boss! I am not high enough for this shit!

[Team continues to flee while maintaining suppressing fire on the instances to no avail. They arrive at the door leading into the cavern and move through it.]

[Foundation agents occupying the Subway are confused and slow to react. Hadid attempts to seal the door using thaumaturgy from the third circle of displacement magics but is unable to complete the sigils before he is blasted backward by an SCP-5629 instance slamming into the door from the other side. Several on-site occultists attempt to assist Hadid in sealing the door but are unsuccessful in completing the sigils in time. Four large instances of SCP-5629 emerge from the other side of the door, accompanied by dozens of the tongue-like leaves.]

Beta: Fucking dip y'all!

[Non-combative personnel exit the Subway onto Park Avenue, including Hadid. Outside, Eubanks is sitting down, casually reading a book. Tau is thrown out of the Subway through a piece of plywood near her. Eubanks remains unfazed.]

Eubanks: Find what you were looking for?

Hadid: Y-yes. How do we stop them?

Eubanks: How well can you handle your psychedelics, Hadid?

[Inside, Alpha and Beta are utilizing incendiary projectile weapons against the SCP-5629 instances. Fire suppressant systems within the Subway activate and hinder the effectiveness of their weapons. An SCP-5629 instance attempts to entrap Beta by coiling around him, but Alpha successfully ducks beneath a slightly raised portion of the entity's body and escapes.]

[Hadid enters, carrying two tabs of quick-acting LSD. He distributes them to Alpha and Beta while avoiding the SCP-5629 instances. The MTF members ingest the tabs and are revitalized.]

Beta: This is some weird, freaky deeky frog shit, Hadid.

Hadid: I know, but, yes, your perception is altered significantly and so too are the worms.

Unknown: YOUR FEEBLE HUMAN INGENUItY IS NOTHING COMPARED TO MY POWER.

[Although ballistic rounds previously proved ineffective against the SCP-5629 instances, they are now capable of damaging them. The exact reason for this is unknown.]

Unknown: WHAT THE FUCK.

Alpha: Yeah-ha-ha! Fuck you!

Beta: Get fucked, It.

Unknown: THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE.

[Alpha and Beta maintain a steady rate of fire on all SCP-5629 instances and gradually force them to retreat back into the cavern. All remaining leaves follow suit. Once all hostile entities are on the other side of the door, Hadid completes the sigils and seals the cavern. The door fades from camera perception.]

<End Log>

Footnotes

1. Common earthworm

2. DMT, a psychedelic substance.

3. Which consist of larger mammals, such as canines, felines, and humans.

4. In honor of Albert Hofman, a Swedish researcher credited with the accidental discovery, and subsequent intentional first use, of LSD. In 1943, Hofmann rode his bicycle home after taking a large dose of LSD, taking the world's first intentional acid trip. April 19th has been henceforth known as Bicycle Day to some, with Bicycle Parties often being hosted in Hofmann's honor.

5. Technology designed to remove objects from normal perception.

6. The bodies were later discovered to belong primarily to homeless individuals who would sleep on benches or in other outdoor areas.

7. Later confirmed to be sigils consistent with those found in tomes and scripture commonly associated with the Hermetic Order of the Black Tree.

8. Members of this Mobile Task Force have been granted express permission to use Foundation-approved narcotics in order to alter their perception in the field. This allows for members of the team to perceive anomalies that aren't quite anti-memetic, but still exist just beyond baseline reality. ~A Comprehensive Guide to Mobile Task Forces

9. Witness testimony and video evidence suggest that these particular instances were anywhere from 3 to 5 meters in length and 2 meters in height. However, exact measurements cannot be ascertained at this time.

10. 7.65mm rounds.