Item#: 5679

Containment Class: keter

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: notice

SCP-5679 in the arms of Captain Mossen of the HMS [REDACTED] - 1943

Special Containment Procedures:

SCP-5679 is currently uncontainable. It is to be continuously tracked via the GPS tracker implanted onto the entity. Any ships affected by SCP-5679 are to be decommissioned or purchased by the Foundation and monitored until sinking. The vessel containing SCP-5679 may only be manned for 120 days since the initial manifestation. SCP-5679 is to be fed 50g of tinned tuna daily while the ship is manned, although this is not necessary for its survival.

Description:

SCP-5679 is an entity resembling Felis catus1 with mostly black fur, aside from a small patch of white underneath the chin. It weighs 3.1kg and is marginally smaller than typical Felis catus, though not outside the standard range. It has not been observed to age since initial discovery, and it appears to possess unnatural reflexes that render it effectively immune to damage. When unable to avoid damage, SCP-5679 will demanifest from its current location and remanifest elsewhere on the same vessel. It is possible to sedate SCP-5679 through food (See Addendum 3.).

The primary anomalous effect of SCP-5679 is the ability to predict the sinking of naval vessels. It manifests on ships that are going to sink in approximately 6 months. The average time taken for a sinking is 181 days, with the shortest recorded time being 163 days and the longest being 203 days. SCP-5679 has only been known to manifest on a single ship at any time, which has led to the understanding that it is a single entity.

The sinking has no direct link to SCP-5679 and appears to be purely causal. Each sinking was caused through non-anomalous means, such as strong winds, gunfire, collisions etc. None of the sinkings are noted to have any links, and are appropriate to the time period and location where the vessel was sunk. It is noted however that all sinkings have occured at sea; to date SCP-5679 has not manifested on any lake or river going vessels.

SCP-5679 will demanifest when it comes into contact with the surface of the water once the ship begins to sink. It is unknown how it makes this distinction, as on normal contact with water it will remanifest upon the current target ship, rather than choosing a new target. It also must be the surface of the water; any water that splashes onto deck will not cause the entity to demanifest.

Addendum 1: Discovery and Initial Tracking

SCP-5679 was initially discovered by The Right Honourable Commission on Unusual Cargo in 1795 after evidence placed SCP-5679 on multiple ships belonging to the Royal Navy as well as privateer vessels which had sunk. A snippet from an example letter is included below.

"It was the strangest thing, I was sure I'd triple checked before we left Southampton, all accounted for, no stowaways and the manifest was perfectly up to date, but there it was, a cat! Black as the night sky with a small tuft of white fur like a moon dotting the inky blackness. It's a beautiful creature, but that doesn't explain where it came from. It must have been hiding amongst the stores somewhere I'm sure of it. Besides, they do say a cat is good luck. I've decided to name her Luna, and hopefully she shall be good company through the turbulent weather of the North Sea. "

- Quartermaster Bernard Fairbanks of the Good Fortune, a merchant vessel. 1832

Due to limitations of the time period, it was deemed impractical to contain.

Addendum 2: Suspected reports of SCP-5679

Below is a list of suspected SCP-5679 manifestations.

Date
Ship Name
Cause of Sinking
Sighting Confirmation

09/08/1942

USS Astoria, a New-Orleans class cruiser.

Sunk in the Battle of Savo Island from Japanese shelling
Recovered letter from Ensign P. Bailey mentioning a new ship's cat matching the description of SCP-5679.

04/05/1945

USS Luce, a Fletcher class destroyer.

Sunk by a kamikaze attack near Okinawa.
Note from officers' meeting regarding when they acquired a new cat. Description unknown but given the context it is likely SCP-5679.

14/07/1836

HMS Victorious, a Ship of the Line.

Sunk in severe weather near Cape Matapan.
Ship was commissioned by The Right Honourable Commission on Unusual Cargo who were aware of the entity and kept notes on its behaviours.

20/12/1902

Old Glory, a fishing trawler.

Sunk in collision with another ship in the North Sea.
Captain's diary mentions a ship's cat matching SCP-5679's description. It is noted as the first time the entity is mentioned interacting with humans in a manner similar to a normal Felis catus

22/10/1961

MV Bianca C., a passenger liner

Explosion on board and subsequent fires before being towed out of harbour to sink, near to the Grenada.
Most well recorded SCP-5679 manifestation prior to SCPS Bonaventure. Entity was noted by more than 30 aboard the ship, although none are known to have questioned its presence.

Addendum 3: Incident 5679-01

On 03/09/1997 SCP-5679 manifested itself on the SCPS Bonaventure, a guided missile destroyer in the service of the Foundation. It was quickly identified by the crew and the SCP-5679 research team was brought aboard in order to study the entity. They established much of the known description over the 4 months of time allotted to research before the SCPS Bonaventure was to be abandoned, with SCP-5679 even showing a preference for certain members of research staff.

It was decided to attempt to monitor the entity through use of a GPS tracking chip implanted into the back of the collar. This was achieved through addition of a sedative into the food of the entity, before injecting the tracker.

Just under 2 months later, the unmanned SCPS Bonaventure was lost when it struck the SCPS Vanguard in strong winds in the mid-Atlantic. SCPS Vanguard had been stationed nearby in order to monitor the sinking, and only suffered minor damage, while the Bonaventure suffered catastrophic structural damage on the port side near the bow, shearing it off and causing the ship to sink.

Shortly after the engine deck had begun flooding, as confirmed by video surveillance, SCP-5679 spontaneously demanifested upon contact with the water. The entity's GPS tracker notified researchers that it had remanifested in the Indian Ocean, approximately 200km south of Sri Lanka. This allowed for the identification of the new target of SCP-5679.

At this point, the current containment procedures were enacted, and to date there has only been a single loss of life on the part of SCP-5679, a maintenance technician who was installing cameras upon the trawler Queen's Catch when the effects of SCP-5679 manifested unusually early (163 Days since manifestation). Containment procedures were updated accordingly.

Addendum 4: Interview 5679-01

+ Open Interview Log

- Close Interview Log

Interviewed: SCP-5679

Interviewer: Dr. Luke Mason

Foreword: In an attempt to ascertain if SCP-5679 was sapient, Dr. Mason and Assistant Researcher Danielle Baker attempted an interview with the entity.

<Begin Log, 9:47am 07/03/2014>

Dr. Mason: Hello there, SCP-5679. Can you understand me?

SCP-5679 begins meowing.

Dr. Mason: Is that an agreement?

SCP-5679 purrs and rolls over onto its back. Asst. Researcher Baker Dangles her pen in front of SCP-5679, who attempts to claw at it.

Dr. Mason: I'm trying to help you, can you please cooperate with me?

Asst. Researcher Baker: Luke, it's a cat, this is going nowhere.

Dr. Mason: It's an SCP, and we have to be thorough in our investigations!

SCP-5679 stands up and stretches before brushing itself against Dr. Mason's lab coat.

Asst. Researcher Baker: You know that they won't give you a promotion for interviewing a cat, right?

Dr. Mason proceeds to ask a variety of questions to SCP-5679 which continues to meow and play with Asst. Researcher Baker.

Dr. Mason: You're just a normal cat, aren't you?

SCP-5679 proceeds to knock over Asst. Researcher Baker's glass of water onto Dr. Mason's trousers.

Asst. Researcher Baker: Stifling a laugh Obviously, you fucking idiot.

<End Log, 9:53am 07/03/2014>

Closing Statement: It is the opinion of Dr. Mason that SCP-5679 is not sapient, and displays the normal characteristics of a typical Felis catus.

Footnotes

1. Domestic Cat