Item#: 405

Containment Class: euclid

Secondary Class: {$secondary-class}

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: warning

Special Containment Procedures: Infected subjects are to be contained at SCP-405 isolation zones. ███ zones exist in depopulated areas. All field teams encountering SCP-405 are to be informed of the locations of nearby isolation zones. All observation of SCP-405 victims is to be done via video link from a distance of no less than 1 km. If a subject suffering from SCP-405 is in the late stages upon apprehension, they are to be terminated and all individuals within 200 m are to undergo Treatment Protocol 405-Alpha if an isolation area cannot be reached in time. Treatment Protocol 405-Alpha is also to be used on any individuals found in the preliminary stages of SCP-405 infection.

SCP-405-1 are housed at Research Facility ████ in the ██████ Desert. On no account are individuals suffering from SCP-405 to be brought into contact with SCP-405-1. SCP-405-1 are to receive limited human contact from Drs. ██████ and ██████ only and only while Drs. ██████ and ██████ have been dosed with type 3 sedatives. SCP-405-1 are housed in █ adjoining 10 m x 10 m x 10 m cells and are not considered an escape risk: Research Facility ████'s remote location is for their benefit, not ours.

Description: SCP-405 is a contagious phenomenon of unknown origin that causes the uncontrolled development of telepathic capabilities in humans. The typical progression of the disease is as follows. (██% of cases do not follow this pattern.)

Primary stage: 0-2 days after exposure. No noticeable effect.

Initial stage: 2-7 days after exposure. Subject begins to hear higher order thoughts of nearby subjects, seemingly at random. Thoughts about the subject are most common. Subjects rarely realise that the heard vocalisations are not spoken.

Secondary stage: 7-10 days after exposure. Subject now hears all conscious thoughts of nearby individuals. Subject will become aware of their telepathic nature. In some subjects, thought projection is first observed here. Subject will usually complain of ear ache and express a desire for silence. Sleep patterns typically become disrupted due to perceived noise levels.

Escalation stage: 10-14 days after exposure. Over this period the range of the subject's abilities increases, typically to about 200 m but occasionally far further. In a few rare cases where the subject has pre-existing telepathic capacity (as measured on the Mechevik-Luntan scale) range has been shown to grow exponentially out to several kilometres, leading to the early onset of Terminal Stage. Subject hears all conscious thoughts of humans within this range, as loudly as if the individuals were speaking directly in the subject's ear. The first suicide attempts typically occur at this point as a result of sleep deprivation and perceived noise levels. Subjects also begin to uncontrollably project their thoughts to nearby individuals. MRI scans taken at this stage indicate several significant deformities in the audio cortex.

Plateau stage: 14-28 days after exposure. No noticeable change in symptoms is evident at first, although many subjects begin to detect unconscious thoughts towards the end of this phase, including autonomic responses and reflex actions. Subjects typically exhibit a wide range of dementias such as [REDACTED] consistent with sensory over-stimulation and sleep deprivation by this stage and most (██%) attempt suicide, often frequently and with increasing levels of creativity and desperation. Restrained subjects will typically beg for termination or other extreme measures. One Agent at this stage requested being used to examine SCP-███, normally reserved for D class personnel. To date all subjects have been observed to attempt to deafen themselves if able, most commonly by inserting a long thin object, such as a pen, into their ears until the internal structure is destroyed. Towards the end of this phase subjects often experience catatonic episodes and begin to suffer from seizures. These are not apparently related to the telepathic abilities but rather due to swelling in the subject's neural tissues.

Terminal stage: 28 days after exposure until death, typically 32 days after exposure. Subjects slip into a coma and begin to suffer from persistent seizures caused by significant brain deformities. MRI scans taken at this stage confirm audio cortex is still processing vast quantities of data.

Experiments with animals, including higher primates, confirm that SCP-405 is species specific. The vector for SCP-405 is the subject's final mental vocalisation, identified by most observers as a "Death Scream." This vocalisation occurs at the moment of death, regardless of cause, and has a range of at least 200 m, although the more advanced the disease the greater the range. Individuals who hear this telepathic signal are infected with SCP-405.

Outbreaks of SCP-405 appear spontaneously; there have been at least ████ in recorded history. The ultimate cause of these outbreaks is unknown. The earliest believed SCP-405 outbreak was in the town of ██████, a famous ghost town, in ████. The entire population was recorded to have died either by their own hands or at the hands of deranged residents. Written records retrieved from ██████ are consistent with the symptoms of SCP-405. The cause of SCP-405 outbreaks is unknown, although 79% have been traced to some form of educational facility. Only 2 cases have occurred outside the continental United States. Outbreak ██ occurred at ██████, Canada, and Outbreak ██ occurred in ██████████████████, Wales.

Sufferers in the Primary to early Escalation stages of SCP-405 have been successfully treated with Treatment Protocol 405-Alpha. Subjects are administered twice the standard dose of Class D Amnestics and placed in a chemically induced coma for 3 days. This appears to reset brain activity to a pre-infection state and allow abnormal development to subside. Success rate is ██% with greater success in the early stages. No treatment for the later stages exists. For an examination of disease behaviour please see the Infected Subject Interview Log.

The use of Type 3 Disaster Synthesis Quarantine measures are pre-emptively approved to contain large-scale SCP-405 outbreaks.

To date only █ individuals have recovered from SCP-405 naturally. They gained sufficient control of their abilities to deal with small groups of individuals but are still incapable of dealing with more than ██ individuals at a time without exhibiting extreme stress. Seizures and other neurological conditions caused by structural brain deformities are common. Such individuals are referred to as SCP-405-1-A to SCP-405-1-█. They have adopted the designations for themselves and no longer respond to their original identities, perhaps due to the fact that all staff think of them by those designations. The potential value of SCP-405-1 to the Foundation is unclear at this time.

Addendum 405-01: Storing SCP-405-1 in the same area was a bad idea. I am sure their personalities are gestalting. I observed SCP-405-1-█ tapping the desk in her room yesterday in a manner consistent with playing the piano, but only SCP-405-1-█ has any musical talent. Worse, SCP-405-1-█ reported finding himself performing an action unconsciously and wished to know if I recognized it. SCP-405-1-█ was unconsciously field stripping an imaginary ████████. None of them have military backgrounds, they picked that up from us! If you get any more survivors, don't send them here! -Dr. ██████

All interviews with SCP-405 victims or SCP-405-1 are to be recorded in Interviews Log 405.