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Article: SCP-300-DE Ice-Cold Intelligence

Original: May be found here

Author: Gramlin

Translator: ThePaperMask

Pictures: All made by Gramlin

Item #: SCP-300-DE

Object Class: Euclid Keter

Secure Containment Procedures: SCP-300-DE are to be kept in a group enclosure at Outpost-DE14/36 measuring 10 m x 10 m x 5m 15 m x 15 m x 5 m 25 m x 25 m x 10 m, the interior of which resembles a rocky landscape and is modelled on their original environment. These may include grey rocks and stones of different sizes, dead wood, caves to hide in, typical plants of the region such as lichen, moss or mountain grass and a watering hole. Food in the form of meat, insects, chicks, mice and guinea pigs is provided twice a day, and the enclosure is cleaned once a day. Changes in the behaviour or physiology of the entities are to be reported immediately to lead researcher Dr. Lamprecht.

The entrance to the affected glacier cave in the Hochtor in the Gesäuse National Park in Austria, where individual wild SCP-300-DE populations are suspected, is to be extensively screened off from the public and access is to be denied by means of high fence barriers. The area is to be monitored for SCP-300-DE activity by security personnel disguised as mountain guards, especially during the warmer months of the year. Escaped specimens from the affected ice cave are to be captured and handed over to the outpost for closer examination.

Found SCP-300-DE specimens are to be kept individually in special cold terrariums with a minimum size of 1 m x 1 m x 1 m at Site-DE14, which may not exceed a temperature of -10 °C. The terrariums are to be locked with passcode-protected security locks. The interior of the terrarium is to be furnished with stones and pieces of wood as well as lichen, moss and a small watering place. Cleaning of the terrariums shall be done daily, feeding of meat pieces mixed with vitamins and minerals as well as insects shall be done three times a week. During cleaning, the terrariums are to be examined for traces of intelligence, such as claw drawings, self-made tools or the like. If these are found in one of the terrariums, the entity inside must be removed, checked and terminated if necessary.

The entrance to the affected glacier cave in the Hochtor in the Gesäuse National Park in Austria, where individual wild SCP-300-DE populations exist, is to be extensively screened off from the public and access is to be denied by means of high fence barriers and security personnel. The area is to be monitored for SCP-300-DE activity by security personnel disguised as mountain guards, especially during the warmer months of the year. Escaped specimens from the affected ice cave are to be captured or terminated on site. Cameras are placed in the cave to monitor activities of the SCP-300-DE population present in the cave. If any changes in behaviour or physiology are observed, or if they multiply at an unusual rate, an MTF shall be sent to the cave to terminate the specimens affected by the changes using firearms.

Researchers on site are tasked with finding ways to keep the temperature of the cave below -10 °C all year round and publicity campaigns are being conducted that label these security measures as an active prevention against global warming as well as protection of the glacier regions. In the event of an extreme rate of reproduction and development that can no longer be contained, the explosive devices installed in the cave as a precautionary measure are to be detonated to prevent an outbreak of SCP-300-DE.

Description: SCP-300-DE is a still extant dinosaur species of the group Compsognathidae. Adult males reach a total body length of 30 cm and a shoulder height of 12 cm, while females reach a maximum length of 25 cm and a maximum shoulder height of 10 cm. Their bodies, with the exception of the face, finger and toe claws, are covered with a dense down feather coat about 3 cm thick, which serves to protect them from the cold. For males, this feather coat is black and blue, whereas it is brown for females. In addition, under their arms, on their legs and at the end of their tails there are longer, developed feathers including larger coils, vanes and branches; males also have up to 5 cm long, red feather combs on the back of their heads, which they can raise and lower at will. However, these feathers are not used for flight, as would be possible for birds, but are a means of communication, to scare off enemies and competitors, or to impress potential mates. Beneath the feathers, SCP-300-DE specimens have bluish, scaly skin typical of reptiles. The subjects are warm-blooded and are adapted to low temperatures of up to -30 °C.

If SCP-300-DE entities find cool temperatures of around 0 °C as living conditions, they live in small, loose group associations consisting of a strong alpha male and several females as well as inferior males. The alpha male has the privilege of mating and consumes the largest share of the hunted prey. He only tolerates males who are subordinate to him and decides whether and with which females they may mate. Mating takes place all year round and a female can lay up to six white eggs, about 3 cm in size, which she places in crevices or other hiding places until they hatch. They do not engage in brood care and most young die before they reach sexual maturity due to adult conspecifics, starvation, disease or other factors. Researchers have found that the eggs themselves can survive temperatures below -40 °C for several years without damage and can hatch at temperatures as low as -10 °C. This adaptation to sometimes extreme temperatures, as well as the largely sealed-off life inside the ice cave from the outside world, could be one reason for the survival of this species over millions of years.

SCP-300-DE are carnivores. Due to their size, their diet in the wild is limited to carrion and smaller animals such as invertebrates and small rodents. When there is a severe lack of food, their diet also expands to include mushrooms, berries or roots. Cannibalistic behaviour has also been observed, as they do not spurn eggs and young of conspecifics. However, they are shy towards larger animals such as humans and usually run away as long as they are not provoked or attracted by food.

SCP-300-DE entities have a special characteristic concerning their reproduction and adaptation to their environment as soon as they are exposed to temperatures higher than 0°C degrees. Eggs that spent a large part of the incubation period at temperatures below 0°C and then hatched show no differences to their parents. However, if the eggs were exposed to temperatures above 0°C during the incubation period, these hatchlings sometimes show drastic changes compared to their parents. Among other things, the following changes could be observed:

• Development of higher intelligence, curiosity and logical thinking, as well as formation of consciousness and other signs of intelligence,

• regression of the down feathers and the formation of a thumb claw,

• stronger social ties and changes in social structures within the group,

• loss of shyness towards humans and other subjects and objects unknown to them as well as increased curiosity towards them

• change in reproductive behaviour, initially with larger and more frequent eggs, later by changing the female anatomy in favour of live births and parthenogenesis

These changes increase in subsequent generations as long as temperatures remain constantly above freezing. Attempts to reverse these changes have failed so far. However, steady further development can be halted by keeping the eggs at cold temperatures below freezing point, so that they do not differ further from their parents when they are young.

Discovery: SCP-300-DE first came to the attention of the Foundation when the local mountain rescue team of the ████████████ nature reserve received an emergency call from a climber who was about to climb the mountain ████████████ with his wife, where the affected glacier cave is located. He stated that his wife was attacked by strange birds with teeth and claws after she tried to feed one of them a ham sandwich. Foundation undercover agents sent a nearby MTF to the affected area to check the situation. On the spot, they could see the man trying to keep the SCP-300-DE entities at a distance using his walking stick to protect his injured wife. The two civilians revealed bite and claw injuries on their bodies. The MTF was able to secure three young males. After the SCP-300-DE entities were safely contained and the couple was able to receive medical attention, each was administered an amnestic and a cover story of a lynx attack was established.

Further investigations led to the discovery of more entities, which resulted in the establishment of the Outpost-DE14/36 on site, which was to investigate SCP-300-DE in its usual environment.

Audio-Log SCP-300-DE by Dr. Lamprecht

Close Addenum

Foreword: These recordings are the private audio log of Dr Lamprecht, the then senior site manager of the former Outpost-DE14/36. The recordings were recovered from the remains of the outpost after Dr Lamprecht had ordered its destruction on 14.09.2023. There were no survivors in the resulting explosion.

This is an excerpt of the most important entries of the audio log.

<Begin Audio Log>

07.01.2021

This is my first personal audio report on the exploration of SCP-300-DE. If someone had told me ten years ago that I would see living dinosaurs, I would have told them not to "watch Jurassic Park on drugs". But now it's like a childhood dream come true. Even though I honestly imagined my first encounter with dinosaurs to be a bit more spectacular. The Compsognathidae have never been considered real giants, but SCP-300-DE still look like dwarfs even against them. Not much is missing and I might as well be watching carnivorous dwarf chickens. But they are probably the only dinosaur species that has survived not only a meteorite impact but also other mass extinctions almost unchanged to this day. Absolutely impressive. I hope to find out here how they did it. The argument that there may be such a way for us to find a way to survive possible XK scenarios should convince O4 to fund the research here long term.

It is currently not known how many specimens still live down in the glacier cave. Here at the site we were able to secure 5 males and 5 females. We currently keep them in a large group enclosure at the site as they appear to be group animals. Their leader is a large male, hereafter referred to as SCP-300-DE-1 or simply "Alpha". A typical head rooster, he claims the females and most of the food for himself and keeps the other males down. The enclosure with us is a bit warmer than down in the glacier, where it's still sub-zero. But it seems like they are more comfortable this way, especially with the rocks and plants to give them a bit more protection.

SCP-300-DE instances are extremely shy when something bigger comes into the enclosure. They dare to approach a rabbit or guinea pig as a group, but as soon as a staff member comes in with food, they immediately run into their hiding places and only come out when the staff member has left again. A bit disappointing, as even chickens have more courage. But despite everything, they are really fascinating creatures. I'm curious to see how they settle in.

24.01.2021

Today, while cleaning one of the caves, a sgtaff member actually found a hidden egg nest of SCP-300-DE! Five eggs, hardly bigger than half a thumb, white and with a soft shell, typical for reptiles. In another hiding place, empty eggshells could be found with egg contents still stuck to them. I assume that SCP-300-DE have a tendency to cannibalism. Therefore, we are having the still intact eggs hatched in an incubation chamber. I don't want to risk these being eaten as well.

12.02.2021

The chicks have finally hatched. Based on the colour, they are three males and two females, about 5 cm long. They still have a comparatively very thin down coat, but are otherwise fully developed and immediately independent. However, we noticed an anatomical peculiarity: Besides the three fingers of the claws, the young animals had developed something like an additional lateral "thumb claw". But it does not have the mobility of normal thumbs. I can neither explain where they got this from nor what purpose this should have if the parents do not have it. We will observe this.

15.02.2021

We were able to transfer the chicks to a separate nursery enclosure and observe them more closely. As expected, they were independent from day one and went foraging after three days. They were very similar to their parents, but we noticed some amazing differences.

They seem to be less afraid of humans. Possibly due to imprinting through visual contact after hatching or due to the fact that they have only been able to meet humans so far. It seems almost cute how they seem to watch us and try to interact with us to get attention.

Parallel research in the glacier through drone footage from below the glaciers, where the wild populations still exist, shows fearful juveniles keeping away from others to avoid being hunted by older animals.

26.02.2021

Watching the five of them is fascinating. They grow up surprisingly fast. After less than 10 days they have already grown to half the size of their parents and they are developing rapidly.

Their parents are comparatively more of a "wild, disorganised bunch". When feeding, you can see them fighting over the best bits and it seems like there is an order where the strongest male eats first, then his four brethren, then the females, similar to what is typical for lions.

My five, on the other hand, always seem to know what times the food is coming, so they wait at the front of the enclosure on time. The feedings are much more peaceful here. The males don't eat the best parts alone and they seem to share fairly so that no one is short-changed and all can continue to grow at a similar rate.

Even though there is apparently also an alpha male in this group, which has been christened "Rex" by the staff, it seems that this male does not ensure his rank with pure muscle power, but also through gestures and behaviour. Sometimes it helped with mutual feather care, sometimes it gave away larger portions of meat to its brothers or the females. There have been fights, but they have been short-lived and with fewer injuries than with their "ancestors".

28.02.2021

Other astonishing discoveries were made. For example, we could observe that these instances interacted much more curiously with their environment. Not only did they seem to keep a lookout for prey or enemies all day, but they observed and touched everything. I could even see them trying to knock objects over, just to see them fall over. Or they would try to pick up stones and other small objects, only to drop them to pick them up again. They even threw stones at dead mice, even though the meaning behind this is not quite clear yet. My assistant Karlmaier said it was somehow reminiscent of the behaviour of crows or parrots, although I doubt they are really that intellectually advanced.

17.03.2021

The chicks have now almost reached the size of the adults. We believe that the danger of cannibalism has been eliminated in the meantime. We also want to avoid inbreeding between the siblings. Tomorrow we will transfer them to their parents.

18.03.2021

The attempted reunion almost turned into a complete disaster. After we deployed the five animals, Alpha and two of his followers attacked the younger group. One of the young males was killed in the process, Rex and the other male were partially wounded before they could show gestures of submission to Alpha, who then let go of them, while the other two strong males separated the females from them so that they could not rush to help.

26.03.2021

The hatchlings were more or less able to integrate into the group. Alpha was still the leader, followed by his three "henchmen", then the older females, the young females with whom the four other males had mated and finally Rex and his still-living brother, who was christened "Devon" by the staff. As the last animals in the ranking order, they were chased around the enclosure more often by Alpha and the other males, especially when they tried to approach the females. We had to give them an extra portion because the other males were taking all their food away. We also saw them giving some of their share to the sisters when the males were not looking.

Rex and Devon were clear outsiders and are apparently inseparable. We could see the two brothers picking up various stones lying around, taking them to a back corner of the enclosure and placing them in a large pile. Afterwards, it seems they estimate the size and weight of them and discard the smaller ones. We cannot yet assess what the reason for this might be.

31.03.2021

Alpha is dead. The staff found his carcass with injuries this morning. It seems that someone or something had fatally injured the body with small blunt objects. We looked at the camera footage from the enclosure. It showed Rex attacking Alpha with a rock held in his right claw. Alpha, who was bigger, was threatening Rex, but he didn't notice Devon and the young females who had sneaked up behind him and were hitting him with stones themselves. When Alpha was lying on the ground, Rex joined them and all four beat Alpha together until he stopped moving. Rex then bit Alpha's throat, apparently to make sure he was dead. The other males joined in too late and confronted the four attackers, who raised their claws with stones and threw some of them at them, whereupon the males fled.

If I were to say that I am currently euphoric, this would be an understatement, although of course every death is very tragic. But SCP-300-DE show not only strategic thinking, but also the use of tools and weapons. It's almost as if we were watching the development of the first early humans, only as dinosaurs! Simply incredible. We need to completely rewrite the history of dinosaurs!

04.04.2021

A few days ago I asked an expedition team to go into the glaciers to take eggs for research purposes. These eggs hatched five days ago, but they show the behaviours of the parents kept with us. No sign of higher intelligence, the same quarrelling behaviour when feeding, the same fighting behaviour and they don't have the thumb claws of Rex and his siblings. Very disappointing. I wonder what went differently. Is this simply supposed to have been a random accumulation of mutations? Hard to imagine.

These hatchlings will be kept in a separate enclosure, more similar in temperature and environment to conditions below the glacial regions. This will be our control group.

Meanwhile, peace seems to have returned to the main group. Rex and Devon are now the alpha males. Of the other four males, only two have survived and they have submitted to the new leaders and are accepted by them as the lowest ranking animals.

17.05.2021

Sowohl in der Haupt- als auch in der Kontrollgruppe gab es Nachwuchs. Ich bin so gespannt.

As suspected or feared, the offspring of the control group were also no different from their parents and their parents' parents, entirely without much change. Just stupid. Primitive. Savages. Dinos. I suspect by now that it must really be the cold affecting behaviour. I'll have to look into that.

Meanwhile, the third generation has developed strongly. A total of 14 hatchlings, of which five are males and nine are females. This time all of them came through as well, since the young females, unlike their parents, take care of and guard the eggs of the whole group, which prevents loss through cannibalism, even though the hatchlings are more on their own overall. Nevertheless, we will transfer them to a nursery enclosure until they are big enough. To be sure.

These chicks show physiological peculiarities compared to their parents. Instead of simple thumb claws, they now had real thumbs, which are stiff and not as mobile as in humans, but can still hold objects better. The dense down coat has become a bit thinner and they also seem to grow a bit faster physically than the previous generation.

In the meantime, we plan to expand the main enclosure. The request to Site-DE14 is on its way, I think it should be able to be signed off quickly and then carried out to have enough space for all of them.

19.05.2021

We noticed something incredible today when observing the third generation hatchlings. The hissing, whistling, barking, yipping and other sounds that SCP-300-DE entities make seem to function in a more controlled way in the young. They point to certain objects and seem to have developed certain sounds that they understand among themselves. This sound here… A beeping, high-pitched tone can be heard… // …they make, for example, when they call for other members of their species. This one… //There is a high, yelping sound. …they make when there is food. And this one… A high, long, whistling sound is heard. …they all run away and take cover. But this happens very rarely. They even seem to become more attached to staff and can even understand and carry out certain commands like "sit", "jump" or "quiet". Most of the time they only do this because they expect extra food, just like treats were given from time to time in the past. I should make it clear to the staff that there are no snacks for SCP-300-DE, no matter how much they remind them of their dogs at home. And no matter how cute they look at them.

20.05.2021

There also seems to be an alpha male in the current group of third-generation chicks. Surprisingly, unlike Alpha or Rex, it is not the strongest male. If it were based on pure strength, we estimate that it would perhaps be third or fourth in the ranking. Rather, it seems that the male is highly communicative and social. We observed him communicating frequently with his peers, cleaning feathers, instructing them and dividing food rations equally. He also seems to be much more open-minded towards new things, tries things out with small stones and other objects in his enclosure more often and shares the new findings with his flock. And the flock seems to like this. The male was named Constantin by the team, appropriate for a flock leader.

21.05.2021

We did a simple self-consciousness test. For this, a simple mirror is placed in front of the animals and originally I thought it wouldn't give much of a result, but my assistant insisted for days so I gave in. My expectations were low, after all it is a test where even higher mammals fail. As expected, the specimens of the first generation and from the cave had not recognised their reflection and started threatening their reflections, partly trying to attack them, until we removed the mirror again so as not to upset them further.

Rex and his siblings had initially also shown threatening gestures, but apparently they seemed to realise that their movements were identical and were watching their reflections. But it was the third generation that left me speechless. They had been startled briefly, but seemed to have realised shortly afterwards that they were seeing themselves and moved to track their own movements. One female had even recognised a loose feather on herself, which she subsequently pulled out and combed the rest back into shape. This level of self-awareness is previously only known in higher primates and some corvids. I am completely thrilled and absolutely delighted. I look forward to coming up with more tests and watching them further.

17.06.2021

The young animals of the third generation are big enough and were led to the adults. At first we expected that one or more hatchling would at least not survive this unharmed. We pulled up the partition between the main enclosure and the nursery enclosure. The hatchlings remained in their enclosure while Constantin stepped into the adult enclosure with a dead chick. The adult males charged at Constantin, but Rex and Devon jumped in and shooed them away before turning to Constantin. We thought they were about to attack the intruder, but Constantin just put the chick down in front of them, stepped backwards and lay on his back; a submission gesture among SCP-300-DE, presenting their vulnerable body parts. Even if we have to be purely scientific, I can't deny that I and the rest of the team were excited. Devon stepped forward, took the chick and handed it to Rex, who looked at it before making whistling and squealing sounds. We don't know what he said, but if I were to guess, I would say that Rex accepted the "offering" and that the third generation flock was accepted into the group. At least that is the general theory, as shortly afterwards Constantin stood up again and the hatchlings stepped into the main enclosure of SCP-300-DE, where they were immediately "sniffed" by the resident animals. Had we just observed diplomacy among reptiles? Simply incredible.

18.06.2021

The hatchlings seem to have integrated well into the previous group. We could observe that Rex, Devon and Constantin are always together and control and lead the other members. The other SCP-300-DE individuals also seem to get along, only the first generation males seem to separate themselves from the group. In some situations they even seem to want to attack the young, but are stopped by Rex and Devon. My colleague Dr Stromer fears a possible break in the group community and suggests separating the group again. We are monitoring the situation and will react if the situation escalates.

19.06.2021

The hatchlings seem to have built up something like a gathering point in the enclosure. In the centre of their enclosure, they have gathered small stones, sticks, bone scraps and other solid parts into a small pile, which they try to keep as stable as possible. Apparently, this place serves as a central meeting point where most SCP-300-DE gather and communicate with each other in the morning and evening. Only the first generation males have never been sighted there and seem to be turning away from it and splitting off more and more.

24.06.2021

D-6728, an experienced animal keeper responsible for the care of the SCP-300-DE specimens, was observed crafting and installing occupational opportunities for the animals in the enclosure. Which, of course, were removed again. And throwing them small branches, which they retrieved back to her. Of course, I made it clear to the D-class worker that it was only her job to bring in the food and keep the enclosure clean.

When asked what made her exceed her authority, she said that the animals gave her the impression that they were bored. And since she had grown fond of them, especially the young animals that sought her closeness, she did not want them to suffer. After all, for some time now, she had been receiving small gifts in the form of colourful stones, bones or other small objects whenever she went into the enclosure and brought in food. Once she even got a 20 cent coin from a specimen, which one of the staff had probably lost in the enclosure.

Why the hell didn't she report such an important observation to us?

25.06.2021

Assistant Karlmaier is now taking over the feeding. According to her, the SCP-300-DE specimens were shyer than with D-6728, but a few really offered her stones as gifts. She brought these to me for examination, they were a few centimetres in size and obviously not ordinary rubble. On one side they were round like ordinary larger stones, but on the other stones they were sharper and wedge-shaped, as if someone or something had polished them.

Karlmaier was sure that SCP-300-DE had cut them that way. I, on the other hand, find the very idea ridiculous. Yes, SCP-300-DE may be as smart as corvids and know how to use stones as weapons or decoration. But for them to be so advanced that they can make tools on their own, the very idea strikes me as highly ridiculous. This was probably just random grit or someone is just playing a prank on us. D-6728 already struck me as suspicious, I'll have to ask her about it later. She's probably pissed that she's not allowed near the SCP-300-DE enclosure anymore. I can't risk her continuing to influence the instances or their development with her behaviour.

Stone wedge received by assistant Karlmaier from SCP-300-DE.

21.08.2021

The group has had more offspring. This time the eggs were placed in a larger stone crevice as a "group nest", which is looked after and actively guarded by the youngest females. The first generation males would certainly want to eat the eggs, but the lead males as well as the females fend them off effectively. Dr Stromer, who wanted to take the eggs, was also attacked by the females with mock attacks, but they were easily distracted with meat, so at least the eggs could be counted. He estimated that there were about 50 eggs in the crevice, maybe more. We decided to leave the eggs for now and see if the development of the hatchlings would change as well.

07.09.2021

The males of the first generation managed to kill four and eat three of the hatchlings. An intervention by Constantin prevented the fourth baby from being eaten, the two males then fled and hid. Constantin stood next to the carcass of the hatchling and nudged it several times with his snout as if to encourage it to get up again. It did this for several minutes before a female of the first generation tried to approach the chick, apparently to eat it, as "nothing should go to waste". Constantin then attacked the female, but was shooed away by Rex, and the female fled. For the rest of the day, Constantin stayed close to the hatchling.

Dr Stromer suspects that it was a chick of Constantin. Is this the first documented evidence of grief in a reptile? I am quite moved.

10.09.2021

Rex is dead. A large part of the carcass has already been eaten. We found his remains in the water basin, surrounded by Devon, Constantin and the 2nd and 3rd generation females. They were just standing there, nudging him and making the high-pitched, cheeping sounds that we had only heard from Constantin when he was mourning his young. None of them ate from the carcass. The animals of the first generation had obviously not held back. We could see traces of blood on their claws and mouths. We assume that they had attacked and killed Rex during the night, but only an autopsy of the remains can provide an exact result. D-6728 was ordered to remove the carcass, but she was then attacked by the other SCP-300-DE. Attempts to distract them with meat failed.

Sent her in again. The few scratches and bites are already healing, I want Rex's remains for examination.

11.09.2021

Regrettably, I have to report another heavy loss. All the animals of the first generation were killed by the other SCP-300-DE. D-6728 found the animals piled up dead in the centre of the enclosure, as if someone had stacked them on top of each other. However, the other SCP-300-DE seemed to show little interest in the carcasses. Some have scratches, Devon is limping a little. We picked up the carcasses straight away, this time without any resistance, much to the delight of D-6728, who had grumbled quite a bit when she came out yesterday. The apparent examination before the autopsy revealed several injuries from bites and claw marks, some of the limbs seemed to have been broken by blunt force and in some wounds we found sharp stones, similar to those we had received from the SCP-300-DE in the past. However, we noticed that no meat was taken from the animals for consumption. It seems that this was purely an act of revenge. My assistant stated that she found it creepy that they were already taking on such human traits. I am still fascinated.

12.09.2021

The autopsy report of Rex's carcass has been completed and it raises even more questions for me. According to the report, none of the external injuries were responsible for the death. A broken stone fragment was found in the heart artery. Apparently someone or something plunged a sharpened stone into Rex's chest and pulled it back out, breaking off a piece and leaving it stuck. The injury caused him to bleed to death and the carcass was subsequently chewed on. But the first generation had not been able to see more in stones than just that, let alone know how to use them as weapons. Besides, they were too scared to go against Rex. What the hell is going on here?

22.09.2021

The hatchlings of the fourth generation have developed astonishingly. They are just over half the size of the adults, but they already seem to be more intellectually advanced than them. We could observe how they can already make simple stone tools with only a few days, for which their grandparents needed much longer to be only half as effective. They also seemed to teach the adults what they had learned or discovered.

Devon and Constantin have remained good leaders even without Rex and so far there have been no attacks or other incidents. Even though Devon hardly gets around and increasingly walks with a limp, he is still cared for and supported by the other conspecifics. We could even observe how the young animals try to support his leg with grass stalks and branches and rub it with plant juices.

Karlmaier had suggested that we give them opportunities to create fire, but I refused for safety reasons. At this point, I believe them to be capable of anything.

The request to enlarge the enclosure again has meanwhile been submitted and also approved.

23.09.2021

The results of the DNA tests of individual SCP-300-DE instances that we sent to Site-DE14 arrived today. One of our biggest concerns was the impact of potential incest, which cannot be completely ruled out. I mean, all it takes is for one of them to catch a disease and the whole pack dies out if they all have a gene pool like a Hohenzollern. Or it's our best chance if we do have to terminate.

But I saw the results and at first thought that the equipment over there was faulty. I was assured that they thought that we had mixed up the genetic samples and checked it several times.

If the results we have are really correct, then the SCP-300-DE have a mutation rate that can't actually be possible. The gene differences are generally minimal, so we don't have to fear that we are suddenly dealing with an SCP-300-DE Tyrannosaurus. But these are so extreme in themselves that we can't even tell which hatchling belongs to which parent. It seems that not only does their rate of reproduction and intelligence increase exponentially, but even their rate of mutation. So a disease might have the chance to kill some of them, but the rest have mutated so quickly that there is no chance of contamination. It's as if they have evolved such an evasive response to negative gene changes.

Do I have to worry that we are running out of means of decimation?

25.09.2021

D-6728 had allegedly found an unusual stone today while cleaning the enclosure, which she brought back for us. Images reminiscent of Stone Age drawings were painted on the stone with a red paint. Apparently they are supposed to represent SCP-300-DE specimens standing in front of a large, humanoid figure. At first I suspected that D-6728 was playing another trick on us by drawing on the stone with red crayon. However, analysis of the paint has revealed that it consists of a mixture of plant matter and clay. Impossible that she mixed it herself without being noticed, much too elaborate. The SCP-300-DE instances have developed an awareness of art and aesthetics, which raises them to an almost human level. Astonishing. But above all, terrifying. And the picture… I wonder if they have also developed a kind of spiritual consciousness and see us as something like their gods.

Found stone with drawings from SCP-300-DE.

27.09.2021

The theory with the gods that I suspected seems to have been confirmed. The current children have made and set up four small straw dolls on the cairn in the centre out of wood and dry grass and are gathering around them objects they either found in the enclosure or made themselves: Stone tools, items made from mouse, chick and guinea pig bones, colourful stones, loose change, Dr Stromer's pens…. Apparently these are supposed to be offerings to us. When one of us goes into the enclosure, they all come running, look up at each other, lie on their backs and show their typical gesture of submission, similar to how we would get on our knees to worship someone. The other staff members are already joking about when they would get holidays in their honour.

30.09.2021

We had been finding more mice in the enclosure for a few days. Some wild, apparently coming from outside, others were food animals that we had introduced alive as prey, but which seemed to be able to hide and reproduce somehow. We were surprised that the SCP-300-DE did not attack the mice on sight to eat them. Mostly they were ignored or driven to a back part of the enclosure by individual animals. We had taken a closer look at the area and found that they were keeping the mice in barricades built of stone, grass and wood in a slightly deeper crevice, feeding them scraps and plants and virtually breeding them there. Now they have also discovered animal breeding. Which makes them a bit autonomous from our feeders. Which explains why the feedings aren't quite as interesting anymore and apparently not everyone shows up for them. It's unbelievable. I'm starting to get scared that there's almost not a day left that they don't surprise me with something again. Assistant Karlmaier is slowly starting to refuse to go near them and asks that someone else take over the feedings, as they have been scaring her for a while now. Women… should have taken the male applicant back then.

20.10.2021

We found new hatchlings in the enclosure today. 257, to be exact. A remarkably high reproduction rate. Desperately need more space in the enclosure. The hatchlings seem to be even more intelligent, which is why we suspect they are from the fourth generation. We do not know where they suddenly appeared from, as we had not observed any egg-laying activity and there are no clutch remains anywhere. D-6728 affirmed that she had checked the brood cavity every day, where only single eggs were ever found, which she had taken for us. We suspect that the SCP-300-DE found a new hidden nesting place somewhere to prevent the "egg robbery" from us and sparingly stocked the other one as a distraction. We need to find out where this place is to get the reproduction rate under control. We have not been able to get permission to expand the enclosure any further. Irritating.

22.10.2021

We could not find any more clutches because there were never any clutches. Apparently the fourth generation has evolved to ovoviviparity1. As already known from some snake or monitor species. The hatchlings are thus protected and we have no way of getting at them before they hatch. This makes things much more difficult for us. Dr Stromer suggested separating the females from the group and/or neutering the males and transferring them to other locations or terminating the surplus young. As much as I hate to do it, I have to consider the suggestions. I will send a message to the management of Site-DE14 right away and ask for permission.

I'd better not tell the women about it, I don't want them to burst into tears because of the chicks I'm going to kill.

24.10.2021

We have received approval from the site to reduce the number of SCP-300-DEs contained to a level that is easier to control. We will tackle it tomorrow. Dr Stromer has volunteered to do this and will take over alongside D-6728 as well as a guard. My assistant has protested against this as she would feel sorry for them, and the thought is hard for me too as I have grown fond of them as well, but as the Foundation we are now primarily committed to the containment and research of anomalies. We cannot give SCP-300-DE the same affection as a dog or a cat, no matter how much smarter they are. I was able to stop her from punching Dr Stromer after he made a rather tasteless joke about it. We plan to capture individual animals alive and euthanise them under anaesthesia, which is probably the most humane solution.

25.10.2021

The containment breach alarm can be heard in the background.

Announcement: Alert! Repeated containment breach of SCP-300-DE confirmed in the site! Please move to the signposted safety areas immediately! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!

Dr. Lamprecht: The day could not have ended worse. Stromer and D-6728 came into the enclosure and D-6728 tried to distract the SCP-300-DE sufficiently with food. But apparently the guard and Dr Stromer had aroused the animals' suspicions. The adult animals placed themselves in front of their hatchlings and the hatchlings instinctively scampered into the crevices, burrows and other hiding places. Dr Stromer tried to catch a few more of them, stomping on some fleeing ones he hadn't seen like the camel he is. The SCP-300-DE must have taken this as an attack and charged at him together. Dr Stromer, completely taken by surprise, went down screaming and was then overrun by the adult animals who attacked him with claws, teeth, stones and pointed sticks. The guard tried to drive the animals away with a stun baton, killing several of the older animals, including Devon.

D-6728 came up with the "glorious" idea of opening the security door. The guard took the opportunity to drag Stromer out of the enclosure. Some instances unfortunately managed to escape before the door could close again. The containment breach alarm was triggered and the entire outpost was locked down so that no SCP-300-DE instance could escape. We first have to count how many animals were able to escape. And then go on the hunt.

We are currently sealed off from the outside world until we can capture the escaped animals. Dr Stromer is in the infirmary. He is doing as well as can be expected. He has suffered some minor flesh wounds which we hope will not become infected, he has lost his left little finger, some pieces of his tongue and nose are gone and a stick has caused him to remain sadly blind in his right eye. He is still in shock, but it could have ended worse for him.

The SCP-300-DE seem to be holding something like a mourning party. They have gathered their dead in the centre, standing in a circle around them, placing meat and stones on their carcasses and emitting a kind of rhythmic, deep chatter. Constantin has tried to encourage Devon to move again by nudging him repeatedly with his muzzle, but three of the new hatchlings pulled him away from them as if they knew that death was final, no matter what else Constantin did.

Anyway, we're stuck here for a long while. The guards are searching the whole site for the missing animals so that we can finally open the outpost again and we can return to our most normal daily lives. I wonder where the missing people are.

26.10.2021

We are still stuck here. The security teams have now managed to capture four of the thirteen escaped animals and terminate two, but the rest are still running around somewhere in the outpost. And their size and intelligence makes them difficult to find. I was supposed to be at my youngest's birthday party today, but I guess I can forget it. There'll be trouble at home…

In the enclosure itself, the situation is no better. While the other SCP-300-DE have tried to bury the dead as best they can in the ground or in rock crevices with little stones, Constantin has torn down the little straw figures from the centre and has smashed them to pieces with stone tools. He seems to be really pissed off. I had forbidden the planned feeding and cleaning of the enclosure today. It would be too risky to send someone in. Besides, a little hunger might show them that without their "gods" they are not as strong as they seem to think. Their farm animals are unlikely to be enough for everyone.

Dr Stomer's condition has not improved. He still lies in the infirmary and is being cared for. Assistant Karlmaier is really getting on my nerves now, she's shouting that she "told me it was a stupid idea". I try not to give a damn and to overlook this disrespect. My nerves are generally on edge at the moment.

I sent a message to Site-DE14, but they only said that they had received instructions from O4 not to come to support until all SCP-300-DE had been secured to prevent them from getting out somehow. I hope the escaped bastards are found quickly.

28.10.2021

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! A deep breath can be heard from Dr. Lamprecht. We have lost Dr. Stromer. Tonight an alarm signal came from the infirmary that he had triggered, the doctor, a guard and I ran straight to the infirmary and could still see one of the escaped SCP-300-DEs sitting on his chest, facing his face, and plunging a scalpel straight into his neck and pulling it up. The guard was able to terminate the SCP-300-DE instance with one shot and the doctor still tried to save him, but there was nothing he could do.

Shit! It was my fault. It was all my fault…

30.10.2021

At last, the final escaped SCP-300-DE instance could be found and terminated by the supply staff, so we can finally lift the state of emergency and lockdown. The lost female was discovered in the supply room trying to open a can of ready-made goulash with a screwdriver. It had not seen the can of corn coming, which the kitchen worker instinctively threw at it, so she crushed the little skull with it. That woman deserves a reward for this action and quick-wittedness.

I immediately reported to Site-DE14 and asked for at least a short-term suspension of the research on SCP-300-DE so that the staff could recover.

31.10.2021

The request was denied on O4's orders. Apparently the research is too important for us to be given time to recover from the shock of the last few days and go to our families. How I miss my children… Site-DE14 are sending someone to collect Dr Stromer's body and check the medical and mental condition of the staff, some may get a few days off before we continue with the work.

These… motherfuckers…

At least the SCP-300-DEs are now proving more compliant after the hunger hit them. So the mouse farms are not sufficient for the many mouths. Many animals were clearly weakened. A good fifth of them died, but they still refrained from cannibalism and buried the dead. The others arrived weakened when D-6728 came near the enclosure with a bowl of meat. A few of the older ones had hissed, but Constantin and the younger ones held them back. I think they have learned their lesson and will not attack their gods again. D-6728 was able to take some of the hatchlings that have not yet reached sexual maturity. That should at least improve the reproduction problem a bit. One will have to put them down later.

10.12.2021

No sooner had the animals of the fifth generation reached sexual maturity and the food situation improved for them than they were already giving birth to hatchlings again. And in extreme numbers. The whole enclosure is teeming with hatchlings a few centimetres in size, it is impossible to count them. Their feathers, which are common for SCP-300-DE, have regressed to thin, almost transparent, hair-like feathers and their claws now look more like small, human hands with long claws. But what fascinates and worries me most at the same time is the way they seem to communicate with each other. When they move around, for example when food is available or when they run away from us, the individual groups don't move in confusion like their "ancestors", but almost in sync, without bumping into each other or tripping over each other. They seem to have developed a kind of swarm intelligence where only one or a few entities take the lead and the rest of the group follows them. It reminds me of schools of fish that act like a large, single individual, even though the school consists of hundreds of animals.

Before the situation escalates further, we will decimate some hatchlings before they are fully grown and also become sexually mature. We have also received permission from Site-DE14 to separate the females from the males to prevent further mating until the population has dwindled back to a manageable level. The last thing we need is an oversized swarm organism with hundreds of claws, teeth and near-human intelligence. The last incident was quite enough to damage our reputation.

06.12.2021

It has nothing directly to do with SCP-300-DE, but in the last few days the complaints about stolen or lost items have been piling up on my desk. Pens, tools, glue rolls, sandwiches, notepads, keys, syringes… I feel like I'm babysitting every piece of shit here! Just because they can't take care of their crap. Actually, I should continue working and researching on the reports about SCP-300-DE now. But no. Instead I'm sitting here trying to figure out which of the employees in the outpost is stealing or just can't take care of their fucking shit! It's maddening.

15.12.2021

D-6728 claims to have seen a hatchling running down the corridor. I have had the security locks on the enclosure and all the terrariums checked. There's no way they could have broken out since security was tripled during the last containment breach. And as far as I know, they have not developed magical or reality-bending properties or intelligence high enough to escape through the security doors or other openings. And where she claims to have seen the specimen is nowhere to be found either. Perhaps a sign of overwork that this shows she is already imagining things.

04.01.2021

Those damn things can self-fertilise! The females and males had been separated for weeks, but still we saw new hatchlings in the females' enclosures a few days later. They must either store the sperm of the males inside them or, like some monitor lizards, reproduce by parthenogenesis. But that makes no sense! With parthenogenesis, they would have to be clones of themselves, but these hatchlings are a more advanced version of themselves. Damn, that's impossible! How can that be?

30.01.2022

Okay… Okay… That… I'm sorry, I just have to… One can hear Dr. Lamprecht taking a deep breath. What happened in the enclosure today… I can't explain it… The old animals… I'm talking about generation 2 to 5… They… They're dead. They… I… I have to understand it first… I would have understood if they had died of a disease, of wrong nutrition or something, or if the adult hatchlings had killed them in the fight… But… That was… One can hear Dr. Lamprecht taking a deep breath again.

I have seen the camera footage that was taken of the enclosure tonight. At 01:23 all the animals gathered in the enclosure centre and faced each other. On one side the hatchlings as one big group, like… Like some fucking army. On the other side the old animals in a row, in front was Constantin. They remained standing unmoved before Constantin made a high-pitched, whistling sound. The hatchlings then ran towards the old animals and hit them with claws, stones and anything else they could find. Just as if they were no longer needed. But the thing that worries me is the fact that the old animals didn't fight back. As if they wanted to be killed. As if they knew they were no longer needed. The slaughter lasted little more than a minute until all the old animals were dead and only bloody lumps were left of them. Then the hatchlings gathered up the remains and threw them in a heap at the door of the enclosure as if to tell us something.

I… I don't know what happened there. I… I need a moment…

12.02.2022

The outpost had to be locked down again. D-6728 was on her way to the kitchen to prepare the rations for this morning when she saw a small group of young SCP-300-DEs about to carry away a guinea pig carcass. She reportedly locked the door and set off the alarm before the animals noticed her and ran towards her. One can hear Dr. Lamprecht taking a deep breath. Shit! I should have thought of that! The animals couldn't break out, but they didn't have to anymore. The ones that escaped last time must have laid their eggs or hidden their hatchlings somewhere. And these could hide anywhere without us noticing. Like rats or cockroaches, you only see them when there are too many animals. I… I'll… I… Damn! I'm an idiot!

I have mobilised all the staff to search every room, every pipe, every vent or every whatever else there is. No stone can be left unturned. If they find anything, it must be reported immediately and either the MTFs or guards in the outpost must be told to take care of it quickly. When everything is clean and the lockdown is lifted, I will request the full termination of the SCP-300-DE and the disbanding of this outpost. They are over my head and it is too risky that any of them could be on the loose at some point.

(DATE UNDEFINED)

The site's alarm siren can be heard, as well as gunshots, screams of people and the sounds of SCP-300-DE instances.

Announcement: Alert! Repeated containment breach of SCP-300-DE confirmed in the site! Please move to the signposted safety areas immediately! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!

The announcement repeats several times throughout the recording.

Dr. Lamprecht: coughs. This is the last personal entry. We don't know how the SCP-300-DE instances managed to break out at the same time and paralyse most of the security systems. They seem to be popping up all over the outpost. They're coming out of the ventilation shafts, the sewage systems… Anywhere they can squeeze through, they're coming in and out. In droves! It's like we've been caught in a flood of scales, teeth and claws. They seem to have already damaged the electronics too. The first thing to go down is communications to the outside, then the security systems including the alarms, then the power went almost completely out. And then those little bastards attacked the staff. The security guards were largely overrun by the sheer numbers and are fighting a losing battle. I suspect these little buggers have been hiding eggs, hatchlings and probably pregnant females in the site without us noticing. I am in my secured office.

Karlmaier is dead like most of my other colleagues at the site. Almost all of them followed the instructions and ran to the security areas. But there SCP-300-DE were already waiting for them and attacked them! Oh God! Their screams! I heard their screams while hundreds of these monsters attacked them and mauled them alive with everything they had on them. I couldn't save them! I couldn't! I fled like a coward and bunkered down in my office. I don't know how much longer I can stay here. I can already hear them outside killing the last of the security guards and trying to break through my office door!

I have initiated the detonation of the entire outpost. In less than five minutes the blast will kill the entire outpost and hopefully all or at least most of those little bastards. I will not survive this, but at least I hope these audio recordings will survive the fire. If anyone heard this: SCP-300-DE must be stopped! These creatures must never leave the caves! Outside the cave they will be able to trigger an SK event! The entire cave must be fumigated and everything in it destroyed! Don't make the same mistake we did! Do not let yourself be manipulated!

Please tell my wife and children that I love them. And that I am sorry for everything. May God forgive us all.

Secure. Contain. Prote…

The sounds of several SCP-300-DE specimens can be heard, followed by the screams of Dr. Lamprecht, before the connection breaks off.

<End of Audio Log>

Addenum: Shortly after the report of the destruction of the outpost and the SCP-300-DE, several nearby MTFs were sent to the area. The outpost was completely destroyed by the blast. No survivors could be found. Individual SCP-300-DE specimens that had escaped the blast were terminated by the MTFs for safety reasons and security measures were extended to the nearby cave entrance.

The audio recordings were recovered in a black box after thorough searches. After analysing the recordings, a vote was taken by O4 to fully terminate SCP-300-DE, which was rejected in the end. Instead, it was decided to tighten security at the entrance to the cave to completely eliminate the possibility of SCP-300-DE instances escaping. Regular checks are to ensure that there are no further developments of these.

Currently, research is being conducted on measures to minimise the increase in temperature inside the cave triggered by global warming sufficiently to effectively prevent further developments of SCP-300-DE hatchlings.

Footnotes

1. A special form of reproduction where the eggs are not laid but hatched in the womb