SCP-3876

Item #: SCP-3876

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: The items comprising Lot 76 are to be kept on display in Lab 2-A5 in the Bio Wing of Site-81. SCP-3876 is to be held upright in a stand to facilitate the retrieval of SCP-3876-1 instances. In the event of a SCP-3876-1 manifestation, the Level 3 Researcher on duty should be notified.

Additional Containment Procedures_25JUN2016: In the event of a SCP-3876-1 manifestation, SCP-3876-2 (or the current true copy or transcript on file) should be consulted, and any resulting information be provided to the Level 3 Researcher on duty.

Description: SCP-3876 is an ornate silver-plated bouquet holder. It is conical, approximately 18 cm in length, and approximately 7 cm across at the open end. Attached roughly at the midpoint is a fine silver chain approximately 5 cm in length. This chain terminates in a silver pin, which can be inserted into a small hole near the open end, serving to secure a bouquet placed within.

Through anomalous means, SCP-3876 spontaneously manifests bouquets, collectively designated SCP-3876-1. SCP-3876-1 vary in composition, generally consisting of at least three different floral components. Instances appear usually appear within SCP-3876. If SCP-3876 is not empty at the time of an SCP-3876-1 manifestation, contents will usually be displaced to a nearby surface. Review of high-speed video indicates that these manifestations and displacements are instant.

Beyond manifestation, SCP-3876-1 do not appear to possess anomalous properties; examination of individual components of SCP-3876-1 show them to be representative specimens of their respective species. While SCP-3876-1 instances can appear with no apparent trigger, SCP-3876 has always been observed to produce an instance of SCP-3876-1 when encountering an individual with whom it has not had prior contact; the overall composition will vary, but these SCP-3876-1 instances will always contain yellow roses.

Discovery: SCP-3876 was one of several anomalous items retrieved from an auction warehouse in Indianapolis, IN, after the death of the owner, POI-707249, during an attempted burglary.1 The body of POI-707249 was discovered in the front office by custodial staff on the evening of April 12, 2016. MTF Iota-10 (“Damn Feds”) intercepted the 911 call, and secured the building in the guise of local law enforcement. Certain auction lots deemed ‘evidence’ were re-routed to various Foundation holdings, including ‘Lot 76’.

MTF Iota-10 found little documentation regarding Lot 76 in the paperwork recovered from the warehouse. An intake manifest listed a fan, a broach with several pendant items, a Commonplace Book,2 and a hinged wooden box containing a bouquet holder: SCP-3876. SCP-3876 was noted as the only anomalous item in the collection, and its ability to produce bouquets was briefly discribed. Inside the box with SCP-3876 was a cabinet card portrait of a young couple in Victorian attire.3

Incident 3876-████

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Email from Junior Researcher Jennifer Dresden to Dr. Kate Greenaway,4 June 21, 2016, 11:42 AM:

Hey Doc,

The sequencer sets from last night are still running. You might nudge IT about that software patch they've been 'getting around to' for the last 2 months. I swear the program gets slower every time we use it.

We just got a oner. I’ve already taken pictures (attached), and I’ll start taking samples here in a minute. I think I'm going to have to pull some references to ID all of it, but I’m pretty sure the white flowers with the purple centers are anemones.5

I’m not sure what triggered this one. Dave and Emily did stop by to take Steve to lunch, but they’ve been here before, and there weren't any yellow roses anyway.

-Jenn

Shortly after receiving the above email, Dr. Greenaway was contacted by Security and informed that Steven Mason, a member of her team, had been involved in an altercation in the Site-81 Bio Wing Cafeteria. During the altercation, multiple instances of SCP-3876-1 had appeared in and around the cafeteria, with ‘large piles’ blocking the entranceways. The individuals involved in the altercation had been detained, but the Bio Wing was being placed on Lockdown, due to the apparent breach, and that she needed to report to the Security Office immediately to brief them on the best way to reestablish containment.

Excerpt from interview with Junior Researcher Steven Mason:

Interviewed: Junior Researcher Steven Mason

Interviewer: ██████ ███████

Junior Researcher Mason was interviewed in the Site-81 Infirmary upon regaining consciousness after the events of Incident 3876-████.

<Begin Log>

Mason: I usually grab lunch with Dave and Em, and Mike and Alix.6 Dave and Em had a meeting in the conference room down the hall from our lab, so they stopped by to get me and we were gonna meet Mike and Alix in the cafeteria.

███████: Was Campbell acting strangely at this point?

Mason: Not strange, but definitely pissed. Not talking, real tight-lipped, sorta pale. I just figured that something happened at the meeting, although Em seemed OK. She told me he'd been snappy all day, and probably needed food. Dave just muttered something and walked ahead of us.

███████: Did food help?

Mason: Not really. I mean, he didn't really eat. He just messed around with his lunch, and kept shooting looks at me and Em, made some snide remarks, even after Mike and Alix got there.

███████: What were these remarks?

Mason: Well…I mean…Em’s…God, this is gonna sound…Em’s a toucher, OK? I mean…casually. She’ll put her hand on your shoulder or your hands…you know just like incidental contact when she talks to you. We tease her about it all the time, but this…this wasn’t teasing. He practically called her a slut-which is not like Dave.

(nervous laughter)

Mason: So then, Em starts playing it up, to, like, make a joke out of it. But I think she was a little pissed herself, since Dave was being an asshat. So maybe she was hoping he'd stalk off, or blow up at her. I don't know, break the tension. So she starts leaning into me, and kept touching my hands, and talking in a really fake flirty way, and the whole time I’m looking at Mike and Alix, sorta like ‘get me out of this’, but they didn’t know what to do, and Dave’s just getting madder and madder, and Em is on, like, a mission.

███████: And this is when the SCP-3876-1 instance appeared?7

Mason: Smack in the middle of the table. We all jumped back, except for Dave, who just sorta…snarled? I heard Em mutter something like 'Christ, Dave.' and snort, and then she said “Why, Stevie-kins! Are these for me?” and fluttered her eyelashes.

███████: Is this when Campbell physically threatened you?

Mason: This is when Dave decked me.

(pause)

Mason: It’s fuzzy after that. Mike and Alix dragged me away, and I was fading in and out, but I saw…I think…he grabbed Em and started biting her. And then I was here.

<End Log>

Security was dispatched to the Bio Wing Cafeteria, where they found the entranceways blocked by multiple instances of SCP-3876-1. After securing the area, they were able to retrieve Mason, who was taken to the infirmary and treated for a minor concussion. Campbell was subdued with some difficulty and taken to a holding cell. Choi was taken to the infirmary and treated for several bite wounds, given a sedative, and monitored.

Campbell eventually had to be sedated, as he began hurling himself at the door of his cell. Dr. Kevin Chandler, the SCP-████ lead, examined him after being notified of the altercation. Chandler took blood samples, but said that they were a formality: Campbell was displaying classic symptoms of Stage 2 ████ infection; the 3876 Lockdown needed to remain in effect until everyone in the Wing was screened for ████, Choi and Mason being priorities.

Choi and two other SCP-████ researchers tested positive for SCP-████, and were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics known to be effective in the early stages of ████. Campbell recovered after undergoing more vigorous treatment for several weeks. During this time, the containment protocols for SCP-████ were re-evaluated.

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Addendum_25JUN2016: SCP-3876-2

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After Incident 3876-████, Dr. Greenaway contacted the Site-81 Archives, requesting a reexamination of Lot 76. She wanted to see if there might be information regarding the apparent ability of SCP-3876 to detect the presence of SCP-████ within infectees, as well as remotely manifest the SCP-3876-1 instances that lead to the Bio Wing Lockdown and subsequent discovery of the SCP-████ Breach.

Archivist Erina Carson had been assigned to examine and catalogue the remainder of Lot 76 and was in the process of transcribing the Commonplace Book. She had completed the first third or so of the book, consisting of handwritten quotes, lists of books, poetry, recipes, and the occasional sketch. After speaking to Dr. Greenaway, Carson skimmed through the rest of the book and found two sections of note: ‘Floriography’ and ‘Crises and Curiosities’.

‘Floriography’ consisted of several pages containing an extensive list of plants and flowers, each with a detailed description of their symbolic meaning(s). Further notes and jottings in the margins served to cross-reference several entries, and provide alternate meanings depending on other flowers contained within the same bouquet. After comparing the SCP-3876-1 instance file to the Floriography notes from the Commonplace Book, it was discovered that the yellow roses that appeared when SCP-3876 encountered a new person indicated an offer of ‘Friendship’. The rhododendrons, anemones, and mandrake that appeared during Incident 3876-████ meant “Danger”, “Sickness”, and "Horror" respectively.

‘Crises and Curiosities’ consisted of several pages with pasted Ephemera: postcards, carnival flyers, newspaper articles, pages from letters. All described something unusual or unexplained, and were accompanied by extensive handwritten notes including further details, and how they had been overcome or constrained. Next to an newspaper clipping: ‘Drastic Closing Order Issued to Prevent Epidemic’, was a detailed description of all stages of SCP-████ infection, with notes on treatment, the alleviation of symptoms, and the manner in which the bodies of victims should be disposed.

Further examination of the Crises and Curiosities Section of the Commonplace Book, now designated SCP-3876-2, has led to the realization that three of the entries may refer to SCP-███, SCP-███, and SCP-███. In the case of ███, the information provided led to extensive revisions to the Containment Procedures. Research into the other ‘Crises and Curiosities’ detailed, and the provenance of Lot 76 are ongoing, as are attempts at establishing direct communication with SCP-3876.

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Footnotes

1. POI-707249 was a known procurer of anomalies; the POI-707249 Dossier may be made available to Researchers with Level 3 Clearance upon submitting a request to Records.

2. A book in which extracts, poems, aphorisms, etc. are copied down for future reference, often together with one's ideas and reflections; may include clippings or other ephemera.

3. The backstamp of the of card reads: Artistic & Practical Photographers, Cadwallader & Fearnaught, Established Aug. 19 1872, Indianapolis, IND. ‘I await your reply, My Chatelaine' is written below in faded brown ink.

4. Lead Researcher for SCP-3876.

5. SCP-3876-1.35 was comprised of anemones, rhododendrons, and mandrake leaves.

6. David Campbell and Emily Choi, researchers assigned to SCP-████, Michael Green and Alix Evans, Site-81 Asset Management.

7. SCP-3876-1.36 was also comprised of anemones, rhododendrons, and mandrake leaves.