An instance of SCP-5543-1 recovered from an uncontained event and cataloged.

Item #: SCP-5543

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Mobile Task Force Phi-20 ("Phi-do") personnel are to be embedded within population centers located inside SCP-5543's current area of effect. Personnel will be required to prepare for briefing each day at 04:30, local time. In the event that a distinct SCP-5543-1 Hume signature is detected, the nearest MTF personnel shall be dispatched to intercept the SCP-5543-1 instances. All recovered instances shall be scanned and cataloged. Instances are to then be destroyed via incineration.

If an SCP-5543-1 instance appears outside of the current known area of effect, the known area of effect shall then be subsequently updated.

If an SCP-5543-1 instance can't be destroyed before SCP-5543-2 can be contacted, personnel are to take custody of the Target by necessary force until the SCP-5543 event ceases. If an SCP-5543 event progresses to its second phase, owners of SCP-5543-A are to be taken into custody along with their reward money. Upon transmutation of reward money, appropriate cover stories shall be fabricated and disseminated and Class-A amnestics deployed as necessary. Owners are to be held until cognitohazard symptoms cease and are to receive appropriate therapy supplemented by low-level amnestics.

Description: SCP-5543 is a phenomenon involving the anomalous manifestations of a series of lost pet fliers, collectively referred to as SCP-5543-11. On initial examination, the flier appears to be unremarkable in nature; it is printed on neon-colored paper (the exact color may vary between instances of SCP-5543-1), and has an image of an animal (henceforth referred to as the "Target") currently under the care of an individual (henceforth referred to as "the Owner"). Also included is information regarding the supposed disappearance of the Target, a phone number2 to be called in the event of the Target being found, and the promise of a cash reward. All flier text is written in English. SCP-5543's first recorded event manifested in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and subsequent events have generated further from this epicenter at an indeterminate rate3.

The first phase of an SCP-5543 event's primary effect commences upon the Owner's visual recognition and comprehension of an SCP-5543-1 instance. The Owner, along with anyone within the Owner's household during the event, will believe that the Target rightfully belongs to SCP-5543-1's distributor. The Owner will immediately take SCP-5543-1 to their residence and dial the listed phone number. This phone number will connect the Owner to SCP-5543-24, a sentient entity believed to be the source of SCP-5543 events. SCP-5543-2 will arrange to meet the owner at their home the following evening. At the designated time, SCP-5543-2 will manifest outside the Owner's residence and enter upon invitation. SCP-5543-2 will then present the cash reward to the owner in exchange for the Target5. Once this transaction is complete, SCP-5543-2 and the Target will de-manifest. This marks the end of an event's first phase. If this phase can not be completed by 00:00 the next day, all associated phenomena will cease.

At 05:00, local time on the following morning, the second phase of the SCP-5543 event will begin. The entirety of the rewarded currency will be transmuted into biological material with a total mass equivalent to that of the original currency. DNA test results indicate that this biological material matches that of the Target. If this conversion utilizes the entirety of the Target's total mass, genetically similar biological material sourced from within a 80 km radius of the event will make up any remainder6. Most instances of biological material are mutilated with signs of mechanical separation.

Despite the abnormality of this transmutation, the owner will accept the biological material as if it were still a form of currency. Owners under the effect of the second phase of SCP-5543 will display signs of acute paranoia and will become protective of their "reward." Amnestics have proven to be only a partially effective treatment at this stage. This mental state will persist for up to 3 weeks after the transmutation (though the event may leave behind long-lasting mental trauma), at which point, the SCP-5543 event is presumed to have concluded.

Addendum 01: Incident Report #5543/20080823/01

Initially, MTF Phi-20 personnel tasked with SCP-5543 containment were each issued one lab rat with an implanted tracking chip for research purposes. This was done to potentially induce a SCP-5543 event with the MTF personnel as the target. Personnel's homes were fitted with adequate monitoring equipment to properly record an interaction with SCP-5543-2. The following is an excerpt from an audio recording collected from Incident #5543/20080823/01.

Excerpt of Audio Recording from Incident #5543/20080823/01

Subjects: Agent B████████, SCP-5543-2

Foreword: Agent B████████ was under the influence of SCP-5543's cognitohazard properties (he was markedly more amicable while under these effects). The event was allowed to progress uninhibited and the results recorded. Visual recording devices experienced a malfunction for the duration of the event. Excerpt begins shortly after SCP-5543-2 is shown SCP-5543-A.

<Begin Excerpt, 2008/08/23 21:07 CST>

SCP-5543-2: There's the little rascal! You know, I was going to name him "Alfalfa," after the Little Rascal, before I finally settled on SCP-5543-R-277!

Agent B████████: I think I like SCP-5543-R-27 more. I can see why you picked it; it rolls right off the tongue!

SCP-5543-R-27 can be heard enjoying recreational use of its running wheel.

SCP-5543-2: Wow! Look at 'em go! He's really going bonkers! He's always been that way since I got 'em that wheel. And he's real smart, too! He can learn tricks! You should see him when [REDACTED]8.

Agent B████████: That's quite the feat! Makes sense, though. He was able to sneak out on you, cage and all.

Both SCP-5543-2 and Agent B████████ remain silent for 12 seconds, presumably to watch SCP-5543-R-27 in its running wheel.

SCP-5543-2 Say, you're a real swell fella, Mr. B████████! I can't believe you live all on your lonesome. Maybe you use some of that moolah I gave ya to get yourself one of these fine rats!

<End Excerpt, 2008/08/23 21:07 CST>

Closing Statement: During incident, SCP-5543-2 expressed knowledge of sensitive Foundation information. Agent B████████ was rewarded [REDACTED] as part of the transaction. SCP-5543-R-27 tracking chip stopped transmitting information at the moment of de-manifestation associated with SCP-5543-2's departure. When reward money underwent transmutation, the entire population of lab rats at Site-37 was lost. Resulting biological material used to supplement D-Class food supply in an effort to recover costs.

Following the results of Incident #5543/20080823/01 and given the nature of the information breach, Site-37 Director firmly recommended that further testing involving SCP-5543 and Foundation property should be prohibited, citing the potential loss of valuable resources in test animals and the possibility of further informational breaches. This recommendation was accepted.

Addendum 02: Incident #5543/20140621/01

On June 21, 2014 at approximately 08:30 CST, an SCP-5543-1 instance in the form of a missing child poster was intercepted in Dane County, Wisconsin. This is the first iteration of a human Target instance. Initial estimates place the loss of human life roughly equivalent to the population of Madison, Wisconsin had the event been allowed to progress. For this reason, MTF Phi-20 Commander has submitted a formal request for further resources to be allocated for use in containing SCP-5543.

Footnotes

1. Continuous monitoring in affected areas has lead to the discovery that SCP-5543-1 instances emit a distinct Hume level signature upon manifestation that can persist for approximately 3 hours.

2. This phone number appears to be chosen at random, even if the number is already in use.

3. The current area of effect has an estimated radius of 510 km.

4. SCP-5543-2 has been described as a Caucasian male approximately 40 years of age, wearing clothing consistent with the 1950s era

5. If the quantity of currency is too great to be transported easily by a single person, the money will materialize inside the residence of the owner.

6. For example, if a Chihuahua becomes an instance of SCP-5543-A, it will have its remains supplemented with those of other canines with a trend toward other members of the Chihuahua breed

7. Agent B████████ chose not to name SCP-5543-R-27, reporting that it "was just a test subject."

8. Here, SCP-5543-2 explains testing procedures involving SCP-5543-R-27 and SCP-████ in great detail. This represents a critical breach of sensitive information.