Item #: SCP-718

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: No long-term observation is to be made of SCP-718. Any and all observation and interaction is to be restricted to five and ten minute periods, with personnel rotations every twenty-four hours. Extreme care must be taken with SCP-718, and full hazmat suits are mandatory for all personnel. Any damage done to SCP-718 must be reported as soon as possible.

Any personnel observing or interacting with SCP-718 for longer than the advised period must be removed, with force if necessary. Any personnel acting in an erratic or violent manner will be transferred.

Description: SCP-718 is an eye, roughly the size of a baseball. It is supported by a long, thin stalk made of tendon and blood vessels. It stands 1.22m (4ft) tall, and appears to need no nourishment, nor excrete any waste. The eye will turn and follow any living thing in its field of vision. The stalk is capable of limited movement, and will follow living things for a short distance. SCP-718 will also stare at any observational equipment in its containment area if no living things are present. SCP-718 appears to prefer staring at humans more than other animals.

SCP-718's stare can induce discomfort and paranoia in a very short time, often resulting in a subject's attempt to destroy SCP-718. The eye, if damaged, will explode, showering clear fluid on all nearby surfaces before shriveling into powder. Anything the fluid touches will develop a clear blister-like bubble that slowly turns black. After twenty-four hours, the "blister" will burst, and a 20.32cm (8in) copy of SCP-718 will emerge, growing to full size over the course of a few days. This has been shown to occur on all organic surfaces, and many inorganic.

On living subjects, copies of SCP-718 are permanently affixed. Attempts to surgically remove SCP-718 cause extreme pain in the subject, though removal is possible. Aside from a vague and persistent desire to destroy other copies of SCP-718, the host suffers from no ill effects after removal.

If SCP-718 is not removed from a living subject, testing indicates that the subject becomes able to 'see' through SCP-718. Vision with SCP-718 is different, as [DATA EXPUNGED] is now visible, at the expense of more conventional sight. This has an extremely detrimental effect on subjects, drastically lowering mental stability and often leading to suicide. The death of a host will cause SCP-718 to burst.

Eighty-six instances of SCP-718 are currently contained within the containment chamber.