SCP-7222.

Item #: SCP-7222

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-7222 is allowed free roam of the Kagan Memorial Recreation Center's swimming pool, as the recreation center is within Site-19's SARC (Site-Adjacent Residential Complex). Allowing SCP-7222 to fulfill its purpose improves its morale, and has the nominal benefit of keeping the floor of the pool slightly cleaner than normal.

Description: SCP-7222 is a Pool Blaster CX-1 submersible robotic vacuum cleaner specifically designed to clean the floor and walls of a swimming pool. It is capable of completely digesting any object within its waste compartment and using energy gained in the process to sustain itself without electricity and attaining high speeds exceeding 90 kilometers per hour on land. Additionally, it is sapient; it is hypothesized to have spontaneously gained self-awareness and intelligence due to a combination of its prolonged close proximity to multiple sapient Artificially Intelligent Conscripts employed by the Foundation, its repeated exposure to reality-altering entities and phenomena, and its endearing anthropomorphism by pool patrons and staff. Despite these traits, its performance as a vacuum cleaner is below average for a product of its type.

SCP-7222 in action.

SCP-7222 cannot vocalize and is unwilling to communicate directly with Foundation personnel; its sapience was initially hypothesized due to and confirmed via observation of its other patterns of behavior. It prefers to remain within the swimming pool in which it is employed at all times, and reacts to verbal stimuli from pool patrons and attending Foundation personnel1.

Although most are unaware of its sapience, many pool patrons have been found to refer to SCP-7222 in endearing, anthropomorphic terms. These include referring to it using human instead of object pronouns, assigning affectionate nicknames to it, and encouraging it in its cleaning. Though this was initially conjectured to be caused by a memetic compulsion effect, it is most likely a result of pareidolia2.

Addendum: Relevant Surveillance Camera Logs

For additional context, transcripts of several of SCP-7222's interactions with pool patrons and staff and its reactions to their conversations will be included below. Logs are autotranscribed and updated by NLOCCFL-TESUCOAR-ELAK-ASBSTD.aic.

SCP-7222 appears to be especially receptive to conversations pertaining to Lake Providence, a local landmark 10 miles to the north of Kagan Memorial Recreation Center. As Lake Providence was a popular swimming location before the establishment of Site-19 and its SARC in 1986, older patrons often bring it up in conversation while swimming in the pool; it is also well-known among younger generations for its local historical significance. Since 1955, more than 100 noteworthy artifacts have been discovered within the lake, and a newsworthy event has occurred at or near the lake every year since Foundation record-keeping began in 1967.

Begin Logs

(Security Officer Tyler Umen sits at his lifeguard post. It is 3:30 PM. The pool is at capacity. SCP-7222 can be seen moving across its floor.)

(An elderly pool patron wades towards Umen.)

Patron: Wow. Wow.

Umen: What's up?

Patron: Nothin'. Nothin'. Just taking it in. Feels fuckin' great.

Umen: Especially on a day like this.

Patron: Damn right. Especially for an old motherfucker like me.

(The patron laughs. Umen grins politely.)

Patron: Back when I was a kid it would've been Lake Providence.

(SCP-7222, which is passing by the patron, pauses.)

Patron: Yeah. It used to be more than just a shoe polish factory's dumping grounds. We didn't have to worry about any of the shit that's goin' on now. Just swimming in that cool, clean water.

Umen: Heard someone died there recently. Some kid.

Patron: Yep. The boy got a brain-eating amoeba.

(The patron looks around, absentmindedly stirring the pool water at his waist.)

Patron: Gotta clean that place out. Ain't nothing like swimmin' in a lake. I swear, if they cleaned Lake Providence out like it used to be you'd be out of work. Ain't nothing like it.

(The patron wades away from Umen, and SCP-7222 continues moving across the floor of the pool.)

(A group of people — presumably a family consisting of a grandfather, his children/children-in-law, and his infant grandchild — is gathered on the pool deck. It is 5:03 PM.)

Patron (Father): …like that drought. I remember that.

(An older patron in the group, presumed to be the former patron's father, nods.)

Patron (Grandfather): Just what I'm talkin' about. That was a hell of a time. My uncle — he was a farmer — had to come over and sleep in our guest bedroom. Everything just dried up! But then-

Father: At Lake Providence-

Grandfather: On the bottom of Lake Providence. You know what they found? A fuckin' dinosaur! A fossil! The most perfectly preserved one ever found in this state. And when they sold it to the Natural History Museum in Philly, they got enough to pay for better irrigation systems. And back 20 years ago, remember that?

Father: The old briefcase?

Patron (Mother): Now what are you on about-

Father: Don't tell me you don't remember that. It was in all the newspapers.

Grandfather: Some young boy was out swimming, having a good time, and his foot brushed up against somethin' — and when he hooked it in his foot and pulled it up-

Father: It was his grandpa's briefcase. Had all sorts of shit from the war in it.

Grandfather: Old passport, army bible, Japanese flag he took as a trophy — his family'd been lookin' for that shit for years. And it was preserved! Nearly perfect! That's what I'm talking about. There's been more, probably tons of shit we don't know about it. And that's why they shut it all down.

Father: All right, I was with you 'til now.

(The older patron scoffs.)

Grandfather: Of course you don't know what's really goin' on. Why do you think we can't swim there no more?

Mother: The brain-eating amoeba.

Grandfather: Now, somethin' doesn't quite add up. 'Cause I was over there dippin' my whole head under every week when I was — since I was Niveah's age, and I didn't get no brain-eating ameoba or plankton in my head or nothing. And the shoe polish factory only came to town after the dinosaur, and the briefcase, and loads of other shit made the news.

(The older patron taps his head with his finger.)

Grandfather: Lake Providence was a gift from God. And they don't want nobody gettin' any closer to God or nature. That's why we can't go there no more.

Mother: Who's "they?"

(The older patron ignores her.)

Grandfather: That's why we gotta go to the pool. They want our kids to go in there and get that chlorine all in their brains so they don't wanna go out no more and get addicted to League of Legends or World of Minecraft or that Satanic Grand Theft Auto bullshit. It's all part of their plan to control us all.

Father: (To mother) This is what I was warning you about.

Grandfather: Laugh at me all you want! Laugh at me all you want. But the fact is — we gotta take matters into our own hands. Someone's gotta clean out Lake Providence himself, 'cause the government ain't doin' shit.

Mother: Whatever you say.

(The younger male patron points at Security Officer Darryl Hayman, who is sitting at a lifeguard post adjacent to the pool's shallow end. Hayman turns to him.)

Father: Careful now. You never know who they've got listening to you.

Hayman: What?

(The older patron shakes his head and sits back.)

(For the past few minutes, SCP-7222 has been clinging to the wall of the pool closest to the family and bobbing at the surface of the water. When their conversation ends, SCP-7222 returns to the pool's floor and continues moving across it.)

(Drs. Jeremiah Cimmerian and William Wettle stand in the pool next to the rope delineating the shallow and deep ends. It is 6:20 PM — adult swim. They and an older civilian are the only people in the pool.)

Cimmerian: …short notice. Still, it's good to be able to relax before getting into it.

Wettle: Sure. If that's what you want to call it.

(Cimmerian glances at Wettle.)

Cimmerian: I was the one who twisted Simmons' arm into letting us have a little break, you know. I've been briefed on everything else you've had to do. I mean, it's no lake day, but you could at least pretend you're enjoying yourself more than usual.

Wettle: All right. This is better than a day at the lake. I'll give you that.

Cimmerian: I know Lake Providence isn't as nice as it was when I was a kid, but it'd be better than this. No chlorine, no strangers' bodily fluids — a lot bigger and deeper, too.

Wettle: Are you sure you know who I am?

(Cimmerian shrugs.)

Cimmerian: What's the worst that could've happened?

(Cimmerian turns away. SCP-7222 passes behind him. It runs over Wettle's foot, then turns in the direction of a nearby penny.)

Wettle: Ow! Shit!

(SCP-7222 passes over the penny but fails to pick it up, instead launching it upwards with such force that it exits the pool and arcs perfectly into Wettle's mouth. Wettle begins to choke and clutches at his throat.)

Wettle: Help.

(SCP-7222 turns around and quickly moves away from Wettle before disengaging itself from the pool floor and colliding backwards with Wettle's lower abdomen. Nothing happens; Wettle continues choking, and SCP-7222 moves away from him again. Taking a longer running start, it rams Wettle again with more force — the penny is dislodged from his throat, but he loses his footing and falls backwards onto the rope delineating the deep and shallow ends of the pool. The penny bounces off Cimmerian's head and lands on the pool deck in front of him.)

Cimmerian: Oh, look.

(Cimmerian picks up the penny and turns to Wettle. The latter man is in the process of attempting to disentangle himself from the rope.)

Cimmerian: Did something happen? I was dozing off.

(Wettle glares at Cimmerian. SCP-7222 begins to move away from the two men.)

(SCP-7222 is moving across the pool floor towards an orange object, presumably a rubber hairnet. It drives over the object and fails to pick it up. It repeats this several times before turning away.)

(A pool patron — a young man — passes by, watching SCP-7222.)

Patron: Come on, little buddy. You can do it.

(SCP-7222 turns back towards the hairnet and passes over it without picking it up again. It repeats this five more times, driving backward and forward. On its sixth try, it finally picks up the hairnet and sucks it completely into its waste compartment. The patron applauds.)

Patron: There you go! Good job!

(Security Officer Umen, sitting at his lifeguard post, laughs and addresses the patron.)

Umen: Don't patronize him. It'll go to his head.

Patron: How? He hasn't got one.

(Both laugh. SCP-7222 continues slowly away from them into the pool's deep end.)

(It is 6:54. Five patrons remain in the pool. Security Officer Umen stands by the poolside, looking at his phone with his whistle in his mouth. At 6:55, Umen blows the whistle.)

Umen: Almost 7:00! Everyone out the pool! It's closing time!

(The patrons leave the pool and begin to pack their things. SCP-7222 appears to pace across the bottom of the pool. Security Officer Hayman unlocks a gate to a walkway leading to the recreation center.)

Hayman: Make sure to grab your clothes, your keys, and don't forget your kids!

(SCP-7222 climbs up the wall of the pool, exits, and moves towards the end of the pool deck farthest from the patrons and the two security officers. It pauses before moving back into the pool — it appears to have left a necklace and two mismatched hoop earrings on the deck.)

(The patrons have all exited. Umen and Hayman begin to clean the pool deck and fish trash and leaves out of the pool. Umen notices the jewelry from afar and walks over to retrieve it.)

Umen: Hey, Darryl. Someone left some jewelry here.

Hayman: Give me it. Might still be able to get it back to whoever lost it.

(Hayman walks to Umen, converses with him for a few seconds, and takes the jewelry.)

(While the security officers are occupied, SCP-7222 exits the pool and quickly moves to the open gate.)

(Hayman brings the jewelry to the pool's front gate, shouts after the patrons who remain in the recreation center's parking lot, then places the jewelry on a table next to the entrance. He shouts at Umen.)

Hayman: I'll just leave it over here. Whoever lost it's gotta come back for it tomorrow.

Umen: Sounds good.

(Umen returns to cleaning the pool. After a few seconds, he stops, scans the pool and the pool deck, then shouts at Hayman.)

Umen: Where's 7222?

(Umen and Hayman are reviewing security camera footage on the recreation center computer. SCP-7222 can be seen exiting the recreation center's parking lot and hesitating before turning right.)

Umen: Where could it possibly be going?

Hayman: It's probably gonna show up somewhere. All we've got to do is report the breach. I don't-

(Umen sits up and snaps his finger.)

Umen: Oh, my god.

Hayman: What?

Umen: Lake Providence. It's going to Lake Providence.

Hayman: How do you- oh. Oh, that's gotta be it.

(Umen and Hayman stand up. Umen retrieves a shepherd's hook3 from the side of the pool and follows Hayman to his car.)

(Security officers Umen and Hayman are in Umen's car. Hayman drives; Umen holds the shepherd's hook out of the car and uses his free hand to hold his cell phone.)

Umen: …surprised this didn't get through earlier, considering we've got an active containment breach on our hands, so — look. All we need is a task force equipped for nonlethal small entity capture on Access Road 19-03. That's all I'm — which one? SCP designation 7222. Are you… stop laughing!

(Umen huffs and throws his phone into the backseat.)

Umen: She hung up.

Hayman: Figures.

(Far ahead of the car, SCP-7222 becomes visible moving down the shoulder. Hayman points.)

Hayman: We don't need 'em. Get ready.

(Umen leans out of the window, holding the shepherd's hook in both hands. Hayman accelerates the car, and they quickly gain on SCP-7222.)

Umen: Is it getting faster?

(SCP-7222 accelerates, and Umen swipes at it with the hook. He misses, and SCP-7222 overtakes the car.)

(The car and SCP-7222 pass a sign: LAKE PROVIDENCE — 1 MILE.)

(The car trails behind SCP-7222 by approximately three meters.)

Umen: Speed up!

Hayman: On this road?

Umen: We can't let this thing break containment.

Hayman: Come on, man. They don't even care.

Umen: We can't.

(Hayman sighs, stares grimly forward, and accelerates the car. It closes in on SCP-7222 by one meter before the entity quickens its pace. The car now trails behind SCP-7222 by approximately five meters.)

Hayman: I'm not getting us in an accident over that thing.

(Lake Providence becomes visible. SCP-7222's pace becomes faster as it rounds the last curve to the lake.)

(SCP-7222's speed is such that its treads begin to melt. It leaves long lines of burnt rubber behind it as it continues forward.)

(Approximately ten meters from Lake Providence, a large portion of the left side of SCP-7222's casing spontaneously shatters. SCP-7222 continues forward unimpeded.)

(Approximately six meters from Lake Providence, SCP-7222 crosses from the road into the grass. The change in terrain and the entity's speed cause it to tumble end on end before coming to rest upside down approximately three meters from the edge of Lake Providence. Officers Umen and Hayman stop their car, exit, and run towards it.)

(SCP-7222 twitches, rocks itself back and forth, and rights itself. Umen dives at it, but it narrowly escapes and moves the remaining distance to Lake Providence.)

(As Umen and Hayman look on, SCP-7222 moves into the lake. It activates its vacuum, and plumes of soil from the lakebed are sent up by the motion. As the soil settles, SCP-7222 becomes partially buried. As it continues deeper into the lake, it buries itself further.)

(After one minute, SCP-7222 is no longer visible. Umen and Hayman stand by the lakebed. Umen curses, turns away and begins to brush grass off of the front of his shirt and pants.)

Hayman: I'll call them this time.

Umen: Thanks.

End Logs

Addendum: Updated Containment Procedures

SCP-7222 is most likely still active within Lake Providence, as is evinced by the frequent detection of small upwellings of soil consistent with its exhaust patterns from the bottom of the lake and the fact that it still has not been found despite extensive sweeps of the surrounding area. As its presence within the lake is hardly noticeable and it does not and likely will never exhibit any desire to leave, its containment procedures have been revised to allow it to roam freely within Lake Providence.

Of note: since SCP-7222's introduction into Lake Providence, the lake's Naegleria fowleri (colloquially known as "brain-eating amoeba") population has declined considerably.

Footnotes

1. Due to Kagan Memorial Recreation Center's location within a SARC, all employees — recreation center staff, pool maintenance assistants, and lifeguards — are low-level security personnel employed by the SCP Foundation.

2. The human tendency to observe patterns — in this case, a face and seemingly intelligent behavior — in random, disordered visual stimuli.

3. A tool used to aid drowning individuals in exiting a pool.