BY ORDER OF THE FOUNDATION MEDICAL DEPARTMENT

The following file is available to all persons infected by SCP-6621. If you believe you have been infected by SCP-6621 please contact Dr. Phoebe Galena immediately.

6621

Item#: 6621

Containment Class: keter

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: amida

Risk Class: critical

Foundation Agent Santacruz following SCP-6621 infection.

Special Containment Procedures: An exclusionary perimeter has been established surrounding known SCP-6621-1 locations throughout the Yucatán Peninsula upwards into the Mexican state of Chiapas. Searches for SCP-6621-1 locations further north into the continental United States and Canada are ongoing. Any newly discovered SCP-6621-1 instances are to be terminated on sight, and the area scanned for SCP-6621-2 instances. Any SCP-6621-2 instances discovered in this exclusionary zone are to be captured, and security footage reviewed to identify any potential security breaches. No human personnel are permitted within three meters of established perimeter.

All persons exposed to SCP-6621-1 or other infected persons are to be brought to the Foundation Medical Department for care and quarantine. These persons are permitted to know all pertinent details surrounding their condition, including full access to this file. All infected persons should be properly prepared for integration into Dos Hermanos1. Further information regarding care of SCP-6621-1 victims as well as the progression of SCP-6621-1 infection is available by request from the Foundation Medical Department.

Due to public knowledge of SCP-6621-2 combined with the wide spread of the species, containment efforts are focused on discrediting any and all studies that question the veracity of the species' biological record. All civilian research into the genetic profile of SCP-6621-2 are prohibited. The Foundation Zoological Research Department is to continue regularly publishing falsified documents regarding SCP-6621-2 in order to maintain a public cover story. All known wild populations of SCP-6621-2 are to be constantly monitored for any sudden increases in population.

Description: SCP-6621 is a contagious anomalous virus transmitted by instances of SCP-6621-1 and formerly human instances of SCP-6621-2. SCP-6621-1 refers to several plots of maize (Zea mays) superficially identical to pre-Columbian variants of the crop. At the time of writing, there are 30 identified plots located throughout Mexico. Individual plants may be removed from the plot without incident, however all attempts at cultivation in a controlled environment have failed. All plants exist in a constant state of physiological maturity and do not wither. Any humans entering within 3 meters of SCP-6621-1 plots will begin to transform into an instance of SCP-6621-2 over the course of 48 hours.

Current range of SCP-6621-2

SCP-6621-2 is the species commonly known as the coyote2 (Canis latrans). SCP-6621-2 has no natural relatives and does not appear in any fossil or biological records before 1400 BC. Despite genetic incompatibility, all SCP-6621-2 instances are capable of reproducing with other SCP-6621-2 instances as well as wolves (Canis lupus) and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Genetic profiling of SCP-6621-2 instances has revealed genetic sequencing identical to a human's genetic profile.

All humans transformed into SCP-6621-2 instances retain their mental faculties during and after the transformation. All humans infected by SCP-6621 remain contagious for the rest of their lives.

Addendum 6621.1: History and Discovery

The first known mentions of anything resembling SCP-6621 are found in a pre-Columbian Mayan legend3. This legend tells the story of two children tasked with guarding their family's plot of maize, but choose to consume the crop they were meant to protect. Upon consumption, both children are turned into coyotes.

SCP-6621 initially came to Foundation attention shortly after the containment of SCP-1867 in 1983. Several items were recovered from its vault, leading to the discovery and containment of multiple anomalies. One such item was a journal penned by Gerónimo de Aguilar, a notable conquistador initially believed to have been one of the only two survivors of the Santa María de la Barca shipwreck in 1511. The journal bears heavy damage that appears to have been inflicted by a medium sized animal. The few pages that remained legible implied that several men had survived the shipwreck. An interview with SCP-1867 was conducted in order to better understand the journal's contents.

Interviewer: Agent Tyme Sias

Interviewed: SCP-1867 ("Lord Theodore Thomas Blackwood")

SCP-1867: Old boy! How have you been? It feels like it's been ages since we've last spoken!

Agent Sias: It certainly has, Lord Blackwood. I've been well, thank you.

SCP-1867: May I interest you in anything? Tea? Something to eat?

Agent Sias: No, no. Thank you for offering. I'm actually here to discuss another item we recovered from your vault. I know you've spoken with us about a few things already, but-

SCP-1867: Please, it's no bother at all! You know I love recounting my expeditions. Which item is it this time? The Golden Staff of the Pharaohs perchance?

Agent Sias: The Golden…no, not that. It's actually this.

Agent Sias passes the journal to SCP-1867. SCP-1867's antennae wiggle in apparent confusion.

SCP-1867: This? Let's see here…ah yes I recall now. This was from a Spanish fellow, I believe. I purchased it from a market near Chichén Itzá, a rather impressive site that! It recounts the crew of the Santa María de la Barca. Most people know of two survivors, those being Gerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero with the rest believed to have perished in the shipwreck.

Agent Sias: This journal being penned by de Aguilar, if we're correct.

SCP-1867: Yes, exactly! However, as this journal tells us, there were more survivors than just those two men. Of the twenty man crew, fifteen survived the wreck and were taken into the care of the Mayan tribe that lived nearby. There they remained until eight years later Hernán Cortés arrived and made contact. However, Cortés's accounts refute the common knowledge, that being that only de Aguilar and Guerrero survived. That begs the question- what happened to the other thirteen men?

Agent Sias shrugs.

Agent Sias: My guess was that the journal said as much, but-

SCP-1867: It has been torn asunder, yes. Unfortunate fact, that. The journal was actually in that condition when I initially purchased it. It piqued my curiosity, however, and I mounted an expedition to find the wreck of Santa María de la Barca and discover what happened to those men. I actually recorded the entire adventure in a journal of my own, "Lord Blackwood and the Jungles of the Yucatán". If you're interested in the account, I'm certain it's still in the vault somewhere.

Agent Sias laughs.

Agent Sias: While I would love to read the account myself, I'd really love to hear about it straight from you.

SCP-1867: Good lad! I do love to recount the tale. Unfortunately my party was never able to recover the shipwreck itself, but we were able to make contact with a native tribe that still laid claim to the land. They seemed to have a few stories of their own from the time, specifically regarding a particularly rowdy group of foreign men who appeared from the ocean one day. They mentioned the men being taken in and cared for, however at some point a group of them vanished into the jungle.

Agent Sias: Did they ever explain why?

SCP-1867: No, and I'm not certain they knew why themselves. My personal theory is that they went out searching for another platoon of conquistadors for rescue.

Agent Sias: Did you ever go into the jungle yourself?

SCP-1867's antennae perk up.

SCP-1867: Why of course, my boy! I couldn't leave a theory as just a theory- we had a lead to follow! My men and I ventured out into the jungle and combed through it as thoroughly as we possibly could. We eventually came across a plot of maize, a rather peculiar thing! It appeared well-tended, but we were easily over eight kilometers from the nearest village. I went to investigate closer with two of my men, but as soon as we got close they doubled over in apparent agony.

Agent Sias: But you didn't?

SCP-1867: No, I was perfectly fine for some reason or another. Regardless, we set up a camp and gave the men a thorough examination. We found the strangest thing! They seemed to be developing patches of fur across their bodies! Over the next two days all we could do was watch as these two men transformed into…oh what was the animal called? It's a small canine, larger than a fox but smaller than a wolf.

Agent Sias: Coyote?

SCP-1867: Yes, yes! That's it, coyotes! When the men finished transforming I could see in their eyes that they still recognized us. I'll never forget the horrid panicked yipping sound they made when they came to terms with what happened.

Agent Sias: What did you wind up doing with them?

SCP-1867: Well we were attempting to reach an agreement on that when another member of our party fell ill. Then another, and then another. One by one, every single person in my party fell ill in the same way and slowly turned into a coyote.

Agent Sias: Except you.

SCP-1867: Except myself, yes. The group was in such disarray at that point that I just…left. I felt horrid leaving my men behind like that, but by that point I couldn't even speak with them any longer. I remember their howling screams to this day. Sometimes I can even hear it in my sleep. Some things you simply cannot bury, no matter how hard you try.

SCP-1867 provided the rough coordinates of the village and patch of maize supposedly discovered during this expedition to the Foundation following this interview.

Addendum 6621.2: Initial Infection

Following the interview with SCP-1867, the Foundation launched its own expedition to the provided coordinates to verify SCP-1867's account. The maize patch mentioned was successfully located, however due to a lack of knowledge as to how SCP-6621 operated, Foundation Agent Oscar Reyes became infected. Upon noticing his infection, Agent Reyes contacted the Foundation Medical Department who instructed the party to establish camp and remain where they were for medical personnel to arrive.

Over the course of the following day, every member of the expedition party became infected by SCP-6621.

Medical Department Dr. Riley McHarland arrived with a small team of medical personnel to assess the situation and treat where possible. Dr. McHarland was able to verify sapience in the transformed agents through a series of verbal prompts. Once sapience was established, an interview was conducted using a modified text-to-speech program.

Foundation Agent Oscar Reyes.

Interviewer: Dr. Riley McHarland

Interviewed: Agent Oscar Reyes

Dr. McHarland and Agent Reyes enter the interview room. Agent Reyes attempts to sit in a chair and props his front legs on the table to hold his torso upright. After some difficulty, he hops off the chair and sits on the floor.

Dr. McHarland: Thank you for…um…speaking with us, Agent Reyes.

Agent Reyes: Sure.

Dr. McHarland: So my main goal here is to identify symptoms of this infection and identify the source. So! Do you have any idea where this may have come from?

Agent Reyes: I'm sure this is from the corn. At least my case.

Dr. McHarland: What makes you so certain?

Agent Reyes: I was the only one who went anywhere near the corn. I was trying to see if I could get a stalk for research purposes.

Dr. McHarland: Was there anything strange about the plants that you were able to notice?

Agent Reyes: When I got close I heard this horrible shouting in my head. Instant migraine, and it just didn't go away. I felt horrible all over.

Agent Reyes attempts to scratch at his neck with his front paws, but is unable to. He sits, and begins scratching using his back legs.

Agent Reyes: I didn't notice anything all that weird about the corn. I mean it didn't look like the yellow corn I'd eat, but I'm pretty sure I've seen that sort of brown-black type before.

Dr. McHarland: Wait, tell me a bit more about that shouting you heard. Were you able to identify what it said?

Agent Reyes: No idea. Couldn't even tell you if I what I was hearing was even words.

Agent Reyes begins panting.

Agent Reyes: Sorry, I'm really thirsty. Could I…?

Dr. McHarland: Oh, water? Of course!

Dr. McHarland passes a glass of water over to Agent Reyes. Agent Reyes slaps it with his paw, knocking it over. He stares at the spilled glass for a moment before sighing.

Dr. McHarland: …Would you mind discussing some of your symptoms with me?

Agent Reyes: Oh, yeah. Sure. It started with me getting itchy all over, then I started noticing patches of hair. Next was….honestly I don't really remember. It was a ton of this horrible stabbing pain all over. I kept wanting to pass out but my body just wouldn't let me. Then it just stopped, all at once. I tried to stand up but fell right over. I'm covered in fur, I don't have thumbs, I'm this…thing.

Dr. McHarland: Understood. Thank you so much for speaking with us, Agent Reyes. We really appreciate your cooperation here. I'm really sorry that you have to go through all of this.

Agent Reyes: Hey, doctor?

Dr. McHarland: Yes?

Agent Reyes holds up a paw and looks down at it. He flexes his toes.

Agent Reyes: You guys are going to be able to fix me, right?

Dr. McHarland: We'll do everything we can, Agent Reyes. I swear. We'll make you better again.

Following the quarantine of infected task force members, medical team member Abigail Rosario began to display symptoms of SCP-6621 infection. It was later discovered that there was a breach in their hazmat protections that allowed them to become exposed. They were immediately taken into quarantine, and a full inspection of all remaining hazmat materials was performed. Once the fidelity of remaining materials was verified, triage began on Rosario, and the progression of their condition was monitored.

PATIENT REPORT

Attending Personnel: Dr. Riley McHarland, Dr. Veracruz

Patient Details

Name:
Abigail Rosario

Age:
25

Gender:
Non-Binary

Sex:
Male

Symptoms:
Severe itching, rash, development of fur across lower torso. Potential SCP-6621 infection.

Patient is believed to have become exposed to SCP-6621 due to a breach in hazmat gear. Patient was quarantined as soon as this breach was discovered, and began to display symptoms of SCP-6621 infection. Patient considered a Code Red Emergency level patient. The following is a full timeline of care provided.

June 18th, 1990

5:00am: Patient is moved into quarantine. Patient is given an IV with 2.5mg dose of Morphine to ease pain. Patient's pulse is taken, and a heart rate of 120bpm is measured.

5:34am-6:10pm: Patches of fur begin to develop on the upper torso. Patient reports extreme discomfort, and Morphine dose is increased to 3.0mg. Laser hair removal is attempted, but ineffective as fur immediately grows back. Fur eventually grows over patient's entire body, replacing all existing body hair. Patient reports that skin discomfort ceases once fur finishes growing.

Patient remains stable for several hours with no notable changes in symptoms, but eventually begins reporting an aching sensation. Patient is unable to specify where in the body it originates from.

Patient is eventually able to report that aching sensation has localized in their face. Further observation reveals that their nose has begun to deform, flattening out. A dental examination reveals that patient's maxillary canines, as well as patient's maxillary left and right incisors have extended visibly.

Patient remains stable for several hours with no further change in symptoms. Patient reports aching pain throughout.

11:48pm: Examination of patient reveals that their nose has notably grown further outwards. Dark skin resembling a rhinarium4 has begun developing on the tip of the patient's nose.

June 19th, 1990

12:23am: Patient begins reporting an extreme, stabbing pain across their body. Morphine dose is increased to 3.5mg, however patient reports no notable change in pain. Due to the anomalous nature of the disease, Morphine dose is not increased further.

1:13am-6:37pm: During this period, patient begins to undergo several major physiological changes. Patient's ears migrate to the top of their head and begin to grow outwards. Patient's lower lips are lacerated as canines continue developing within their mouth. These lacerations are made more severe as patient's face continues developing into a snout. Standard oral laceration care is provided.

Patient's arm and leg bones are heard cracking and recorded as breaking as they deform and reform themselves into a set of canine legs. The base of the patient's spinal column extends and begins developing into a full tail.

As patient's torso develops, patient begins to wheeze. Attempts at verbal communication past this point fail, however due to the patient's hands having yet to change and the patient's fluency in American Sign Language, patient is able to communicate that they are having severe breathing difficulties. Patient is provided with oxygen.

The final physiological changes occur at approximately 6:32pm. Patient's fingers and toes detach from their hands and separate from their body as their hands and feet develop into paws.

Patient is monitored for any further developments until 5:56am on June 20th. No further developments are noted during this time.

Closing Notes: Blood, urine, organ, and spinal fluid testing was performed on the patient throughout the transformation process. These tests were able to confirm SCP-6621 infection as viral in nature.

Research was performed into the genetic sequencing of SCP-6621 infected persons and the genetic sequence of wild SCP-6621-2 instances in an attempt to find a cure. It was during this research that it was discovered that the genome of wild SCP-6621-2 instances was identical to the human genome. Likewise, it was discovered that every SCP-6621 infected individual's genetic profile remained unchanged from when they were identifiable as human.

It is currently unclear if a cure for SCP-6621 is possible.

Addendum 6621.3: Incident Report

On January 3rd, 1991, the Foundation received several reports of a sharp increase of the coyote population outside of ████████, Washington. Investigation revealed that the local coyote population suddenly doubled in size over the course of 72 hours. Personnel were dispatched to the location, where an uncontained instance of SCP-6621-1 was discovered growing near a local playground. This was the first such instance discovered since the initial discovery of SCP-6621.

Upon debriefing, it was proposed that an anomalous quarantine community be established in order to house all SCP-6621 infected individuals. An O5 Council vote followed.

COUNCIL VOTE SUMMARY:

YEA
ABSTAIN
NAY

O5-01

O5-02

O5-03

O5-04

O5-05

O5-06

O5-07

O5-08

O5-09

O5-10

O5-11

O5-12

O5-13

STATUS

APPROVED

Following O5 approval, construction began on the former town of ████████, Washington to convert it into a community capable of supporting SCP-6621 infected individuals. Once construction was completed, all known infected individuals were relocated to the new community, and the community was renamed to Dos Hermanos, and former Agent Oscar Reyes was assigned as a Foundation liaison with the community. The following interview was conducted with him shortly after.

Interviewer: Dr. Riley McHarland

Interviewed: Agent Oscar Reyes

Dr. McHarland: Good morning, Oscar. How are you feeling?

Reyes: I don't know. I just don't know how I feel right now, doctor.

Dr. McHarland: That's understandable. There's a lot of stress on you right now, and-

Reyes: I need you to be honest with me, doctor. Is a cure for this actually possible?

Dr. McHarland: Well, discovering a cure for an anomalous disease is a complicated process-

Reyes: Don't give me a runaround. Have you guys made any real progress on a cure for this or not?

Dr. McHarland: I-I'm sorry, Oscar, but while we've gotten a lot of research done we just don't know yet. We don't know.

Reyes: Doctor, you all…the Foundation, has effectively put me in charge of Dos Hermanos. I'm now the person that every single soul in this community looks up to. There's over three thousand people in Dos Hermanos. Do you know how many of them are kids?

Dr. McHarland tenses up.

Dr. McHarland: About 30% if I remember correctly.

Reyes: Yeah! 30%! That's a lot of kids! 935, to be exact. Some of them are just babies. There's people here who will never know what being human is like. Thousands of people who went through 48 hours of the worst physical and emotional agony that a human being could possibly experience in their lives and came out the other side as a dog.

Reyes stares directly at Dr. McHarland. His tail is alert.

Reyes: There are at least two pregnant mothers here, and we don't even know yet what they'll give birth to. Do you know what that's like? No, better question, can you even imagine what that's like?

Dr. McHarland stammers, but is unable to respond. Reyes sits back on his haunches.

Reyes: No, of course you can't. And now I need to go back there and tell all of them that there's no cure for this, and probably never will be.

Reyes rises to his feet, initially attempting to stand on his hind legs before falling down to all fours.

Reyes: Listen, doctor. There's a lot of people in Dos Hermanos. I've met all of them now, and I've been doing everything I can to help them adapt. I don't know what I'm doing here. None of us do. Please, give me some hope that we can get some sense of normalcy out of this.

Dr. McHarland sighs, placing a hand to her forehead.

Dr. McHarland: I…I don't want to lie to you, Oscar. I don't want to pretend I have a clue what's going on and make you all think there's something we can do. I'm sorry.

Reyes: You had best hope this doesn't spread further.

Due to the sudden manifestation of an uncontained SCP-6621-1 instance in a populated area, SCP-6621 was upgraded to Keter designation.

Addendum 6621.4: Incident Report

Following the establishment of Dos Hermanos, large amounts of wild coyotes began to migrate to the area. These individuals were quickly integrated into the community. An interview was conducted with Dos Hermanos liaison Oscar Reyes in order to understand this phenomenon, and to follow up on his prior interview with the Medical Department.

Interviewer: Dr. Riley McHarland

Interviewee: Oscar Reyes

Dr. McHarland: Good afternoon, Oscar. How have you been feeling?

Reyes: Fine. I've been fine.

Dr. McHarland: That's good! I'm glad to see you've become accustomed to your new body.

Reyes: I didn't have much of a choice.

Dr. McHarland: Oscar, I'm sorry. I really, truly am. I should never have-

Reyes: Doctor, it's ok. It's ok. I'm not going to lie and pretend that this is all ok. I'm not going to say I'm not frustrated by all of this. I'm not the only one that feels like this, you know?

Dr. Harland: I know, we'd never ask you to-

Reyes: But we also can't blame you for it. It's not your fault, you did what you could. And I'm sorry. I've blown up at you, and you never deserved it. That wasn't fair.

Dr. McHarland is heard sniffling. Reyes forms the closest approximation of a smile he can manage.

Reyes: You wanted to ask about those other coyotes, right?

Dr. McHarland: Y-yes, yes. I did, yes. Why are you letting them in?

Reyes: They asked to join us.

Dr. McHarland wipes away a tear.

Dr. McHarland: Pardon?

A young resident of Dos Hermanos playing with a wild SCP-6621-2 instance.

Reyes: They asked. That's about all there is to it. They saw our community and were interested in it, said we were the first transformed they'd seen in generations. They've been sharing their own culture with us actually. It's funny, you know? We have that old myth about people turning into coyotes, but they have it too. It's a creation myth for them actually.

Dr. McHarland: Really? How so?

Reyes: So you remember that myth, right? About the two kids eating corn? They have basically the same thing, just a little different. In their version, the boys' father appeals to the god Hun Hunahpu for something to guard his maize since his children are useless. In return, Hun Hunahpu turns his sons into strong coyotes so that they might defend the maize. Because of his sons' transformations, the father was able to have bountiful harvests and expand his fields.

Dr. McHarland: Thank you for sharing that with me, Oscar.

Reyes: Anytime. We're learning a lot from the coyotes. They're teaching us how to actually live as coyotes. The kids out there are taking to it fast, but I admit it's taking some of us a bit longer to get used to still. We're planning some community events to give people a chance to practice things like running, hunting, and manipulating things with your mouth. It's an adjustment for sure, I still find myself trying to use my paws for things.

Reyes looks at his paws, then back to Dr. McHarland.

Reyes: It's weird, actually. When I'm around them, I start to feel more normal actually.

Dr. McHarland: Them?

Reyes: The coyotes. Well, more than the coyotes. Everyone here in Dos Hermanos. When I'm with them, I don't think about what I don't have anymore and what I can't do anymore. I feel almost human again, in a way.

Footnotes

1. A Foundation run community dedicated to caring for SCP-6621-1 victims who have completed their physical transformations.

2. While the coyote was long known by the Foundation to be anomalous, direct connection between the species and SCP-6621 was not established until 1991 (see Addendum 6621.3).

3. It is unclear specifically how old this legend is, due to the spoken word tradition of the Mayan people.

4. The furless skin on surrounding the nostrils of many mammals.