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SCP-1285. Photograph taken during root penetration testing.

Item #: SCP-1285

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: When not in testing, SCP-1285 is to be placed in a fenced off plot of land outside of Site 56. While testing, SCP-1285 is to be contained in a concrete containment area fitted with a bed, unless testing protocols require otherwise. While indoors, SCP-1285’s roots are to be inspected and trimmed on a daily basis to prevent potential degrading of the containment chamber. Testing is to be conducted only after Level 4/1285 approval, and must be submitted two weeks in advance to allow proper growth, if necessary. After testing, all instances of SCP-1285-1 are to be removed and incinerated.

Following Incident 1285-AB, no instances of SCP-1285-2 are to be refined. Personnel found attempting to produce refined SCP-1285-2 are to be reassigned to a different project. Should this fail, the offender is to be terminated, and resulting instances of SCP-1285-3 are to be destroyed with extreme prejudice.

Description: SCP-1285 is a wooden sculpture depicting an armless and headless humanoid sitting on a concrete pedestal. Projecting from its shoulders are root-like structures. “Nature's Embrace” is engraved on the back of the pedestal.

The object’s anomalous properties manifest when placed in an indoor environment. The roots of the sculpture will begin to grow, with a rate of 1 meter per day being observed when unobstructed. Should the roots reach a surface composed of non-organic materials, they will begin production of pigments to match the surface and will attempt to grow through any cracks present.

Experimentation shows that SCP-1285’s roots grow towards the nearest “bedroom”, defined as any room containing an implement used for sleeping1. Once inside, the roots will not continue to grow until a human subject falls asleep in said room. At this point, SCP-1285’s roots will begin a period of rapid flower growth, followed by an attempt to dislodge one of the subject's eyes, leaving a flower (hereby designated SCP-1285-1) in its place. MRI scans show that SCP-1285-1 connects directly to the subject's brain2. Survivors of this process report it as “mildly unpleasant” and will show a marked decrease in aggressive behavior. This process has been observed to take between sixteen (16) and thirty-two (32) seconds.

SCP-1285-1 will attract nearby insects3, which will "pollinate" SCP-1285 through use of SCP-1285-1. This will cause the production of sap, hereby designated SCP-1285-2. SCP-1285-2 can be refined into an alcoholic beverage by utilizing [DATA EXPUNGED]. When consumed, side effects do not appear for six hours, at which point stomach pains, headaches, hemorrhaging, and vomiting have been known to occur, increasing in intensity over a 72-hour period. Should the afflicted survive, root-like structures will rapidly begin to grow out of available orifices, eventually covering the afflicted's entire body. The subject in question is now considered an instance of SCP-1285-34.

Instances of SCP-1285-3 are hostile towards all mammalian life, and will attempt to wound them to the point of immobility. At this point, SCP-1285-3 will bite the target, at which point victims will display symptoms identical to those caused by SCP-1285-2, but at a highly accelerated rate5.

Addendum: SCP-1285 was discovered in a back room in “█████’s Bar and Grill” in ██████, Colorado on ██/██/19██ after reports of “tree-people” (revealed to be instances of SCP-1285-3) in the area. The owner of the bar, ███████ █████, was amnesticized along with the remaining witnesses, and all instances of SCP-1285-3 were eliminated. A note (Document 1285-A) was found among ███████ █████'s possessions.

Document 1285-A:

To my dearest fan, Jared █████:

A sincerest thank you for your help in making my latest movie, "Attack of the Root Men!"6, a reality. I hope you understand how much your acting brought out. You were the perfect lead, and for that, I sincerely thank you. But look at me go on! As a token of my gratitude, I'll relinquish ownership of the main prop (The Statue of the Forest God, if you weren't aware) to you, and let you in on a little secret.

Do you remember how the dastardly Dr. Arhbur extracted the Forest God's sap to create his tree-creatures? Well, just between you and me, you too can produce it, all with the help of my darling prop. All you need do is place that statue somewhere you can sleep, invite someone into that room, and let the magic unfold!

Now all you have to do is take the resulting sap, [DATA EXPUNGED]

C'est magnifique!

Be careful with that stuff, though. It's alcoholic, and I wouldn't want a young man such as yourself driving their career into ruins so early!

I can assure you that your talent will make you go far. I am entrusting you this marvelous art in hopes that you can bring out it's full potential, just as you did on the set.

Expect a package in the mail soon!

Best regards,

CtM

Footnotes

1. If placed in a bedroom, no growth will be observed.

2. It is currently not known how the connection occurs, as no stems have been observed on instances of SCP-1285-1 before being applied.

3. Insects have been observed to appear even in areas previously free of them.

4. Testing reveals this process occurs when any mammal drinks SCP-1285-2, although humans appear to be the most suited to the change.

5. No consistent rate was found, with the observed process taking anywhere from 9 to 36 hours.

6. No evidence of this movie has been uncovered.