Item#: 6942

Containment Class: euclid

Secondary Class: {$secondary-class}

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: warning

An instance of SCP-6942 prior to containment. Cognitohazardous elytra markings have been filtered for safety purposes.

Special Containment Procedures: ████ National Park has been claimed by the Foundation and integrated into Foundation Outpost-443. All instances of SCP-6942 are to be separately contained in medium-sized Arthropod Terrarium Units at Foundation Outpost-443. SCP-6942 instances are not to be contained within the same terrarium or brought together for long periods of time outside of testing. Unauthorised civilians who have come into contact with SCP-6942 instances are to be administered Class-C amnestics.

Description: SCP-6942 collectively refers to members of the order Coleoptera found within ████ National Park in Papua New Guinea. It is estimated that nearly 40% of the population of Coleoptera members in the National Park constitute SCP-6942.

Instances of SCP-6942 exhibit signs of numerous anomalous and baseline teratogenesis1, including, but not limited to, abnormally high strength-to-weight ratios, altered intrinsic Hume levels, elytra2 markings with minor cognitohazardous and/or antimemetic properties, and psychokinetic3 abilities. A full list of SCP-6942 instances and details pertaining to their anomalous traits may be retrieved here.

Addendum 6942-A

Discovery

SCP-6942 was first identified by Dr. W. Tamarua on 05/04/2008 after a series of encounters with several instances in the vicinity of his tent. Dr. Tamarua managed to contain 6 instances of SCP-6942 before returning from his camping trip. The following is a description of a video log recorded by Dr. Tamarua after containing one such instance.

+ SHOW VIDEO LOG 6942-WT-1

- HIDE VIDEO LOG 6942-WT-1

<Begin Log>

(Dr. Tamarua can be seen holding a closed transparent plastic container with holes poked through for ventilation. An instance of SCP-6942 is visible inside.)

Dr. Tamarua: Not what I was expecting on my week off, but it is what it is.

(Dr. Tamarua sets down the container, and brings the camera close to it. The SCP-6942 instance can be seen clearly and is visibly pacing about the container.)

Dr. Tamarua: I have here, what I think is a member of the Polyrhanis boisduvali species, or as I like to call it, one of the many bugs that keep me up at night by thrashing foliage.

(The SCP-6942 instance displays an aggressive stance in the general direction of Dr. Tamarua. He does not notice.)

Dr. Tamarua: This is one of 6 anomalous beetles I have identified thus far. This particular instance seems to have some psychoki-

(A loud "thwock" sound is heard. Dr. Tamarua collapses. The SCP-6942 instance can be seen swiftly escaping from a large hole created in the container4.)

<End Log>

- HIDE VIDEO LOG 6942-WT-1

Subsequent investigations and expeditions revealed that SCP-6942 was not limited to the 6 recovered beetles, leading to the commissioning of Foundation Outpost-433 within the vicinity of ████ National Park, Papua New Guinea to contain and conduct further study on SCP-6942 instances.

Addendum 6942-B

Initial Containment and Testing

It was initially hypothesized that SCP-6942 is derived from a secondary anomaly within ████ National Park, however investigations found no evidence of any such anomaly. Despite this, SCP-6942 instances have continued to appear within the area, and efforts were redirected towards more direct testing with SCP-6942.

Cross-testing between SCP-6942 instances of the same species have produced results inconsistent with predicted outcomes derived from the laws of both Mendelian and non-Mendelian genetics, with at least 4 instances developing entirely new unrelated anomalous traits in the process.

+ ACCESS SCP-6942 TESTING LOG

- CLOSE SCP-6942 TESTING LOG

Log ID: 6942-01

Personnel Involved: Dr. W. Tamarua

SCP-6942 Instances Bred: 2 Ischiopsopha bifasciata, exhibiting minor psychokinetic abilities and a translucent structure respectively.

Result: Produced larval SCP-6942 instances exhibited no anomalous properties. Hatched instances had an average intrinsic Hume measurement of 90-95/105-110.

Log ID: 6942-04

Personnel Involved: Dr. W. Tamarua and Dr. A. Koppel

SCP-6942 Instances Bred: 2 Chrysodema radians, exhibiting high strength-to-weight ratio and an anomalous digestive system capable of excreting a solution of propanol and isoamyl acetate.5

Result: Produced eggs capable of levitation. Hatched SCP-6942 instances retained this ability into adulthood. Dissection of expired instances reveals the presence of several anomalous organs containing helium.

Log ID: 6942-11

Personnel Involved: Dr. J. Lim, Dr. A. Koppel, and Researcher H. Stenn.

SCP-6942 Instances: 2 Leptognatha occidentalis, one exhibiting a maximum speed of around 40 m/s and the other a baseline instance.

Result: Baseline instance expired during reproductive process. Test subsequently concluded.

Log ID: 6942-32

Personnel Involved: Dr. W. Tamarua, Dr. H.Nazaryan, and Researcher C. Park.

SCP-6942 Instances: 2 Polyrhanis innocens, exhibiting intangibility during flight and metachrosis6 of the elytra respectively.

Result: Test interrupted by containment breach. SCP-6942 instance that was capable of intangibility during flight expired during the event.

Log ID: 6942-75

Personnel Involved: Dr. G. Kariuki and Researcher L. Davis.

SCP-6942 Instances: 2 Papuana angusta, both baseline instances.

Result: Larval instances of SCP-6942 produced developed cognitohazardous markings within hours of hatching. Cognitohazardous markings did not persist into adulthood. Researcher L. Davis incapacitated during test.7

Log ID: 6942-229

Personnel Involved: Dr. J. Ferrier and Researcher D. Valerio.

SCP-6942 Instances: 2 Ischiopsopha bifasciata, both exhibiting intrinsic Hume values 90-95/105-110.

Result: Produced SCP-6942 instances measured at an average Hume value of 75-80/120-125. Eggs were incinerated without incident due to concerns of a potential containment breach.

In addition to testing with SCP-6942 instances, baseline beetles sourced within the vicinity of Foundation Outpost-443 have successfully bred with each other and SCP-6942 instances to produce anomalous offspring on several occasions, suggesting that the anomalous traits present within SCP-6942 instances may be derived from recessive or latent genes. At time of writing, Dr. Blom of the Department of Genetics has been reassigned to SCP-6942 to assist with genomic analysis.

The containment of SCP-6942 has proven to be difficult at times, due to the challenges that come with accommodating several hundred insects with varying anomalous traits, as well as ensuring that the more skillful instances remain securely contained. Several containment breaches have occurred since the creation of Foundation Outpost-443, and proposals to transfer disruptive instances of SCP-6942 to more secure facilities are being considered.

Update 27/08/2011:

Genomic analysis of SCP-6942 instances was carried out to verify if the anomaly truly is genetic, with negative results. SCP-6942 instances do not possess any outstanding genetic variation compared to their baseline counterparts.

Note: It is quite clear that SCP-6942 instances may pass down their "anomality", so to speak, to a fraction of their offspring. The only problem is that any vehicle of inheritance is, for all intents and purposes, non-genetic. It is not an aberrant chromosome, it is not a recessive genotype, the genetic variation between instances of the same species are effectively negligible, and that's inclusive of the beetles that can shapeshift.

There must be something we're not seeing here.

- Dr. Blom

Following numerous containment breaches at Foundation Outpost-443, as well as a notable increase in hazardous anomalous traits being displayed by newer SCP-6942 instances, the facility has been upgraded and redesignated as Site-443.

+ ACCESS INCIDENT REPORTS

- CLOSE INCIDENT REPORTS

Addendum: Incident Report 443-O-5

Date: 09/05/2009

Personnel Involved: Dr. W. Tamarua, Dr. H.Nazaryan, and Researcher C. Park.

Summary: An instance of SCP-6942 displayed a previously undocumented anomalous trait during testing. The instance emitted high frequency sounds uncharacteristic of its species that shattered all unreinforced glass in the room, and stunned Drs. Tamarua and Nazaryan, and Researcher Park. 16 other instances of SCP-6942 present in the room for testing managed to escape.

Update 14/05/2009: All breached instances have been successfully recontained, with the exception of one instance, which was found to have expired while phasing through the floor.

Addendum: Incident Report 443-O-8

Date: 18/02/2011

Personnel Involved: Dr. G. Kariuki and Researcher L. Davis.

Summary: A larval instance of SCP-6942 developed cognitohazardous markings within hours of hatching. Researcher Davis seized after viewing the markings, while Dr. Kariuki managed to safely relocate this particular SCP-6942 instance to the on-site cognitohazard containment area.

Update 12/03/2011: The aforementioned SCP-6942 instance has developed into an adult without any anomalous properties. Researcher Davis' request for reassignment after recovery has since been approved.

Addendum: Incident Report 443-O-21

Date: 04/10/2013

Personnel Involved: Researcher H. Stenn.

Summary: Contact with Researcher Stenn was lost during his attempt to contain an SCP-6942 instance within the vicinity of Site-443. The aforementioned instance was contained by a remotely controlled drone later that day, along with a baseline beetle that shared an exact genetic match with Researcher Stenn. No further action was taken.

Addendum 6942-C

Paragenetic Research

On 14/03/2014, a proposal regarding the creation of a Department of Paragenetics was submitted to the O5 Council for their consideration. The proposal was drafted by Drs. Blom, Koppel, Nazaryan, and Lim, from the Department of Genetics. A number of studies and journals have also been published and/or co-authored by these personnel prior to the drafting of the proposal.

+ ACCESS O5 VOTE SUMMARY

- CLOSE O5 VOTE SUMMARY

COUNCIL VOTE SUMMARY:

In Favor
Abstained
Against

O5-01
O5-03
O5-09

O5-02
O5-05

O5-04
O5-06

O5-07
O5-11

O5-08

O5-10

O5-12

O5-13

STATUS

APPROVED

Comments:

The Foundation would benefit more from concentrating resources in existing Departments, not from diverting them to create new ones.

- O5-03

Despite the implication that anomalous traits and properties may be genetically inherited, genomic analysis and testing conducted on several SCP-6942 instances reveal that there exists no discernable nor predictable vehicle for the inheritance of most, if not all recorded anomalous traits. Due to this, the Paragenetics Department was formed to identify the laws of inheritance vis-à-vis anomalous traits. An excerpt of Dr. Blom's speech during the opening ceremony of the Department of Paragenetics is attached below.

+ OPEN EXCERPT

- CLOSE EXCERPT

DR. BLOM: In a way, the study of paragenetics is the study of that which conventional genetics cannot explain. In the past, we have attempted to use genetics to explain a variety of biological anomalies, with varying degrees of success. What my colleagues and I have achieved, is the discovery of genes, so to speak, for anomalous traits.

Now the details for it are complex, dare I say abstract, and I'm sure you all would appreciate not having to sit in this hall for another 4 hours while I drone on about it. Consider the baseline gene, instructions for the synthesis of proteins. Paragenes, however, they do not code for proteins, but rather intrinsic rules the organism must follow in baseline reality. Still with me?

Paragenes are not inherently anomalous. We've identified paragenes within every organism we've ran analyses on thus far. Generational and interspecific paragenetic variance between baseline subjects are few and far between. In short, our paragenes do not undergo significant transformation over time, unlike conventional genes, and the vast majority of organisms do not possess enough suitable or viable paragenetic combinations to express anomalous traits.

SCP-6942 remains an exception to this. Over 90% of all paragenes identified have originated from the paragenetic analysis of SCP-6942 instances alone, and the number of viable paragenetic combinations are approximately 5 times greater than that as a result of the amount of paragenes within the local gene pool. The reason for this paragenetic diversity is believed to be one or more paragenes that enable changes within its structures and arrangements during the inheritance of these paragenes.8

We've ran comparison tests between one such paragene and every other that we've discovered in baseline organisms, and have arrived at the conclusion that its development was the result of a paramutational event, due to similarities between the paragenetic differences with that of baseline gene mutation. To put it simply, there is strong evidence to suggest SCP-6942 arose as a result of jumpstarted paragenetic mutation. We're still looking into the how and when, but this is the consensus we have reached as of now. Any questions?

Update 10/11/2016:

Paragenetic analysis has confirmed that numerous anomalous traits present in SCP-6942 instances can be attributed to the presence of complex paragenes within their genome. A number of these bear strong resemblances to those found in SCP-239, SCP-4778, and SCP-████. However, markers for paragenes within the gene pool of SCP-6942 suggest that unlike most biological anomalies, which have static paragenomes, the anomalous traits of SCP-6942 have origins in the gradual ongoing variation of specific paragenes. It is believed a combination of mutation and paragenetic drift prompted the sudden increase in anomalous biodiversity within SCP-6942.

Update 24/01/2017:

Paragenetic tests and analysis conducted on recently discovered populations of anomalous arthropods and fish return similar results to that found in SCP-6942.

Note: It took quite a bit of time for us to notice this, since we can't be monitoring every single organism in the Pacific Ocean 24/7. Believe me, we've tried. As for whether these populations have any relation with SCP-6942, anyone's guess is as good as mine. We've already ruled out paragenetic transmission via vector, viral or otherwise, and last I checked, fish and beetles cannot breed with each other to produce viable offspring, so as of now the leading theory is independent mutation.

If these populations really have independently mutated anomalous paragenes into existence under entirely different environments, how many more SCP-6942s could have gone unnoticed?

- Dr. Lim

LEVEL 5 CLEARANCE DETECTED. A NEW FILE REVISION IS AVAILABLE. UPDATE?

Footnotes

1. Abnormalities in physiological development of an organism, such as defects.

2. Hardened forewings that serve as protective wing-cases for hindwings.

3. The psychic ability to influence physical systems without direct interaction.

4. The aforementioned SCP-6942 instance was later recontained after Dr. Tamarua regained consciousness.

5. Commonly known as banana oil.

6. The ability to change pigmentation of part or the entirety of a surface.

7. See Incident Report 443-O-8.

8. For more information on paragenetic inheritance, see "Principles of Paragenetic Heredity: A Non-Mendelian Perspective" by A. M. Ong, U. Salzmann, et al.