SCP-6369-B

Item #: SCP-6369

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-6369 is held in a standard containment locker. Requests for usage of SCP-6369 can be submitted to the Site Director of the Foundation facility nearest to the requestor's intended location. Personnel are reminded that typical usage of SCP-6369 requires payment ranging from $2 to $30 USD in value; as such, personnel should prepare currency or alternative food items of similar value prior to engaging with SCP-6369.

Description: SCP-6369 is a Nokia 3310 mobile phone, with a single number saved in its contacts list. While the phone can be used to dial other numbers, none of the calls will connect.

The contact listed in SCP-6369 is named ''Rat lost and found'' (this agency's "employees" are hereafter referred to as SCP-6369-A). Initiating a call to this contact connects the caller with an automated selection system, which will ask a series of questions inquiring about a lost personal possession. The caller is prompted to provide information on which item they need found, where they believe they may have lost it, and what form of payment will be given for its recovery. Of note, certain conditions are required for SCP-6369-A services to be available. If these conditions are not met, SCP-6369 will not provide questions, and will instead play a prerecorded message apologising for the inconvenience before ending the call.

The conditions for activating the SCP-6369-A service carousel are as follows:

The item is actually lost to the owner, instead of intentionally hidden. The caller cannot deliberately ''lose'' the item. This includes asking a second person to hide an object for them.

The item was lost within the last 24 months.

The item does not weigh more than 5 kg.

The area that the lost item is present in is devoid of rodent traps.

The area that the lost item is present in is devoid of predator animals (snakes, cats, birds of prey, etc.).

The caller has payment readied before placing the call.

SCP-6369-A personnel are not currently active in an alternate location.

The call is placed on a weekday.

If these conditions are met, an SCP-6369-A associate will manifest outside of the building the SCP-6369 call was placed from, within 30 minutes of calling. SCP-6369-A appear as a variety of fancy rats (Rattus norvegicus domestica), all seemingly directing (or driving) an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner1 (typically, the Roomba series). They will use the aforementioned vacuums to ''knock'' on the door of the building by bumping into it. SCP-6369-A vary in which brand of robotic vacuum cleaner they bring, what breed of rat they are, and what kind of coat the rat has. The number of SCP-6369-A that manifest is dependent on the size of the building the call is placed from. Items lost in small apartments typically result in a single rat appearing. The largest noted response involved 60 rats, accompanied by 10 vacuums, in order to search a school building.

SCP-6369-A, upon arriving onsite, will proceed to dismount their vacuums and search for the item specified as lost. Upon the item being found, the rat(s) will place a call to SCP-6369, and carry the item to its owner, holding said item in their mouths or using their front paws to carry heavier objects. After the item is returned, SCP-6369 rings again, and an automated voice message will request a service payment ranging from 2 to 30 US dollars. Of note: Should a caller not provide payment to SCP-6369-A, they will leave without issue; however, SCP-6369 will no longer function for that individual should they attempt to place further calls.

Experimental results for recorded payments accepted by SCP-6369-A are listed below.

Items accepted as payment in any format: Legal currency (paper money and coins), carrots (frozen, raw and cooked), lettuce, tomatoes, blueberries, Yogies!-brand treats

Items that require preparation to be accepted: Chicken eggs (boiled for at least 8 minutes), chicken (cooked and unseasoned), fish (cooked and unseasoned), walnuts (cracked), beef (boiled, unseasoned), melons (cut into parts)

Items that hold increased value with higher quality: Cheese (more expensive types of cheese usually require a lower volume payment, but multiple rats answering a call will usually only accept food in payment if it can be shared among them evenly), pet rodent dry food, ham, salami, turkey

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Rejected items: Citrus fruits (likely due to potential health risk for male rats), office supplies (e.g., pens, pencils and desk accessories), caffeinated beverages (e.g., coffee, tea, sodas), high-value items (gold watches, cellphones, etc.), products associated with animal testing

SCP-6369 case studies of particular note are listed below.

Caller: Dr. Langford

Lost Item: Dr. Langford's keys, lost in her office.

SCP-6369 Response: One rat (grey dumbo), searched for 15 minutes.

Payment Given: One whole strawberry

Caller: Dr. Marisa Norwood

Lost Item: Dr. Norwood's notebook, Site 19-23

SCP-6369 Response: 20 rats of varying breeds on 4 vacuum cleaners, spread out after reaching the centre of the building, searched for 1 hour and 38 minutes.

Payment Given: 30 dollars in paper bills

Caller: Dr. Arthur Hackett

Lost Item: Dr. Hackett's eyeglasses, Site 19-23

SCP-6369 Response: 17 rats on three vacuums, searched for 38 minutes

Payment Given: 34 blueberries, two per rat

Caller: Dr. Veritas

Lost Item: Dr. Veritas' coffee cup, Site 19-23

SCP-6369 Response: 30 rats on four vacuums, searched for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Of note, the coffee cup was broken into four pieces and seemed like someone tried to crudely glue it back together, leading Dr. Veritas to believe that someone broke the cup and attempted to hide it.

Payment Given: A watermelon, cut into parts to be divided between the rats

Caller: Senior Researcher Laura Michalson

Lost Item: S.R. Laura Michalson's lunch, an apple, a pear, and a peanut butter sandwich. Lost from the breakroom fridge.

SCP-6369 Response: 10 rats of varying breeds on 2 vacuum cleaners, 5 minutes, found in Dr. Arthur Hackett's personal fridge in his office.

Payment Given: The apple and pear from S.R. Laura Michalson's lunch, peeled from peels and cut into pieces to share over the 10 rats.

Caller: Maintenance Technician Johnson

Lost Item: Maintenance Technician Johnson's 15mm combination wrench, most recently seen location unknown

SCP-6369 Response: One rat, which immediately climbed up M.T. Johnson's left leg and produced the wrench from one of his pockets.

Payment Given: Five peas

Addendum SCP-6369-1: As of most recent observations, it was noted that SCP-6369 will sometimes contract the same rat multiple times if the caller has had prior pleasant interactions with said rat. For the case of SCP-6369-B, additional unique behaviors were observed:

SCP-6369-B is a black smooth-coated dumbo rat (identified by a white spot on its belly) that initially appeared in front of the containment locker of SCP-6369 after it had been used 20 times since initial containment. Standard screening indicated no anomalous qualities; the rat was assigned to Jr. Researcher Perry's office due to her familiarity with the care of its apparent species.

It was noted that SCP-6369-B manifested wearing a miniature headset. It will not resist the headset being taken off, but the headset itself appears to be non-functional. SCP-6369-B will, however, resume wearing the headset after the device is returned. It is believed that the headset is an indication of authority and/or seniority. Upon subsequent uses of SCP-6369 pertaining to larger search areas, SCP-6369-B was noted to disappear from its cage while SCP-6369-A was active in a nearby location. It would then appear at the active search site, and seemingly direct the other rats' tasks using squeaking and limb gesturing. SCP-6369-B was also noted to handle the distribution of food rewards among all present SCP-6369-A. SCP-6369-B will always reappear in its Foundation holding cage after the SCP-6369-A task is complete.

Interview Log SCP-6369-B-1

Interviewed: SCP-6369-B

Interviewer: J.R. Evangeline Perry (assigned caretaker of SCP-6369-B)

Foreword: Upon SCP-6369-B's initial appearance in front of SCP-6369's containment locker, it attempted to get the attention of nearby personnel. After displaying comprehension of human speech, SCP-6369-B was brought into an interview room outfitted with standard communication assistance tools, including a keyboard. SCP-6369-B displayed interest in the keyboard and was placed near it; the keys pressed by SCP-6369-B, when used for its responses, are transcribed below.

Perry: Can you tell me your name?

SCP-6369-B: IROH

Perry: Thanks. Okay Iroh, are you part of the "Rat Lost and Found" program?

SCP-6369-B: [nods]

Perry: Why do you do it?

SCP-6369-B: GOOD CLEAN RATS FIND STUFF RATS GOOD CLEAN

Perry: Because you want people to know rats are clean?

SCP-6369-B: [nods]

Perry: So you're helping people find things so they remember rats as good?

SCP-6369-B: [nods]

Perry: I see! Well, you're doing a great job, people here really appreciate what you do.

SCP-6369-B: RATS GOOD =]

Perry: Did you have a human companion before?

SCP-6369-B: [nods]

Perry: Do you know where they are now?

SCP-6369-B: [shakes its head]

Perry: Were they the ones who taught you to find lost items?

SCP-6369-B: [nods]

Perry: Did they teach you anything else?

SCP-6369-B: [nods]

Perry: Can you show me?

[SCP-6369-B rolls over, walks 30cm on its hind legs, jumps up, spins around its own axis and looks at Jr. Perry. Perry, having been supplied with treats prior to the interview, presented SCP-6369-B with a piece of apple. SCP-6369-B accepted the snack and started consuming it. The interview continued when SCP-6369-B finished.]

Perry: So why are you here?

SCP-6369-B: GOOD GOOD

Perry: Is it good here? You want to stay here?

SCP-6369-B: [nods] MORE RATS FIND STUFF GOOD

Perry: I'd love that! I'll have to ask, but I can make arrangements for a nice big cage and some toys. Would you also like a friend?

SCP-6369-B: PLS

Perry: You didn't eat all the apples. …Are you going to leave the apple peel?

SCP-6369-B: YE

Addendum: SCP-6369-B has taken up permanent residence in the office of Jr. Researcher Perry, in a 1m x 60cm x 70cm rodent cage. It was given a non-anomalous fancy rat to keep it company. Of note: SCP-6369-B and the rat accompanying it in its cage do not show signs of aging, despite the common short life span of rats in domestication and in the wild.

Addendum SCP-6369-2: SCP-6369 was initially acquired from a second-hand electronics shop. Sales records indicate that the item originally belonged to "Mr. Adrian Silverton", an elderly retiree, who passed away in 2019. Family members, when questioned, described the individual as an advocate against the negative stigma associated with pet rats, as well as an amateur software app developer. A subsequent search of the family's residence uncovered a side room filled with empty small mammal cages; family members confirmed that up to his passing, Adrian Silverton ran an animal sanctuary for surrendered pet rats. The family members claimed that all of the rats "disappeared when Grandpa Silverton passed away."

Footnotes

1. Cross-referencing of serial numbers from SCP-6369-A-driven vacuums indicate that they were legitimately purchased. For some cases, it was noted that the vacuums had malfunctioned and the prior owner intended to trash them.