Photo of the Baker test of Operation Crossroads, circa 1946

Item #: SCP-1264

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-1264 is located 75m below the ocean's surface1 of the South Pacific at 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W. It is to be held in place by 8 pairs of 10kt deadweight anchors chained together and attached to SCP-1264. Mobile Task Force Gamma-6 (aka "Deep Feeders") will be tasked with performing bimonthly examinations done by remote submersibles in order to inspect the integrity of the anchors and chain. 450 naval contact mines will be positioned around, over, and under SCP-1264. The mines will be placed 20m from each other in order to sympathetically detonate in the event of a contact. Shipping lanes and aquatic anomalies, such as SCP-2467, will be diverted in order to avoid the containment area. Since detainment, SCP-1264 has exhibited no activity but still remains buoyant.

Description: SCP-1264 is an amalgamation of once derelict war ships and various pieces of flotsam/jetsam that have been adhered together by organic secretions. The main body of SCP-1264 is made of five WWII era war ships that were used as target ships as part of the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests performed at the Bikini Atoll in 1946. The following ships that make up SCP-1264 were confirmed to have sunk after the tests:

USS Saratoga (CV-3): Lexington-class Aircraft Carrier

Nagato (長門): Nagato-class Dreadnought

Prinz Eugen: Admiral Hipper-class Heavy Cruiser

USS Lamson (DD-367): Mahan-class Destroyer

USS Apagon (SS-308): Balao-class Submarine

Various sections of a Yard Oiler (YO-160)

Survey reports of the wreckage performed at the Bikini Atoll in 1954 showed a number of sunk ships missing from the lagoon. In response, the US Navy built and sunk several 'dummy' ships in their place in order to cover-up any evidence of the missing original ships. The US Government then initiated Operation Castle under the guise of nuclear testing, but was actually intended for the purpose of creating sufficient nuclear fallout as to make the Bikini Atoll area uninhabitable. SCP-1264 was first documented on Jan. 30, 1959, 56km south of Cape Farewell, Greenland when it engaged and sunk the MS Hans Hedtoft during its maiden voyage.

SCP-1264 shows only moderate corrosion and damage in contradiction of US Navy records on the individual ships. The centerpiece of SCP-1264 is the aircraft carrier with several large jib cranes attached to its deck. The other ships are fastened to the sides of the centerpiece by means of hardened secretions. All of the ships are missing their superstructure or conning towers. Other flotsam and jetsam has been attached to fill in empty spaces between the ships and roughly makes up 12% of the SCP-1264's total mass. SCP-1264 is armed with various pieces of artillery, torpedoes, AA guns, and depth charges. However, only several pieces of artillery have ever been seen in use which indicates that either the remaining are non-operational or there are insufficient resources to operate them. SCP-1264 spends most of its time underwater as a submersible. Above the water, SCP-1264 is capable of speeds up to 31 knots.

SCP-1264 is maintained by a crew that has been designated SCP-1264-A. Each fit inside a US Navy standard rubber diving dress and are equipped with a Mark V diving helmet and weighted boots. SCP-1264-A are headless humanoid entities closely related to sea cucumbers (see autopsy report). SCP-1264-A are also connected by a flexible arterial cord roughly 90 meters long that is in turn connected to SCP-1264's interior. SCP-1264-A displays a deep understanding of SCP-1264's mechanical and electrical systems. SCP-1264-A habitually performs repairs and maintenance with what is available within their designated areas. SCP-1264-A are characteristically slow, obstinate, and exhibit no real intelligence of their own. SCP-1264-A also secrete a strong adhesive through their gloves that act as a water-proof sealant, binder, filler, and cement in order to maintain the structural integrity and buoyancy of SCP-1264.

All of SCP-1264's steerage and weapon systems are operated by SCP-1264-A. In turn, SCP-1264-A is commanded by a single entity designated SCP-1264-1. SCP-1264-1's appearance is unknown and the only physical evidence for SCP-1264-1's existence are the arterial cords that connect SCP-1264-A to the ship's interior. These cords are lined with strands of neural tissue that do not originate from SCP-1264-A. This indicates that SCP-1264-A is directly connected to a separate biological entity, or that SCP-1264-1 is actually the collective consciousness of SCP-1264-A. SCP-1264-1 has proven on numerous occasions to be a hostile and skillful tactician of naval warfare. SCP-1264-1 has been reported in some cases to transmit radio signals via ELF radio.

To date, SCP-1264-1 has engaged ██ civilian and military vessels and has sunk ██ of them, though SCP-1264-1 has shown a preference for passenger ships over other vessels. After the destruction of a vessel SCP-1264-A will then throw fishing nets on top of survivors floating in the water. These nets are then attached to the hull of the sinking vessel or an anchor so that it will drag down the net and its contents. Post-incident recovery teams using submersibles are unable to locate any corpses underwater after they are dragged to the bottom. In 20██, SCP-1264 was involved in a protracted engagement with MTF Tau-11 (aka "Can Openers") and was effectively suppressed. In its impaired condition, SCP-1264 was then towed out under armed escort to its current containment area for indefinite detainment.

[LEVEL-2 ACCESS REQUIRED]

[ACCESS GRANTED]

Partially recovered lower extremity of SCP-1264-A-1

Autopsy Report1264-A-8

ID: BPD110094-67F

Decedent: SCP-1264-A-1

Age: N/A

Race: N/A

Sex: N/A

Length: 177.0cm

Weight: 111.3kg

Location of Autopsy: Research Site-45

Autopsy Authorized by Dr. W. Hermes

Recovered post incident (1264-12-D)

Clothing/Equipment:

Mark V diving helmet

Standard US Navy diving dress (rubber)

Weighted boot

External Examination:

Multiple blast and fragment injuries to the chest and abdomen including amputation of one of the lower extremities. There are multiple penetrating fragment injuries of the anterior thorax. Bilateral symmetry is present in the physical appearance. Four extremities branch out from the central body, 2 upper and 2 lower. The upper extremities branch out again into four smaller distal appendages. This allows the subject to operate inside the suit, by taking on a nearly humanoid form.

History:

Injured by explosive munitions.

Gross Description:

Skin: A membranous epidermis and dermis are both present. A thin layer of calcified structures lies below the dermis and is made of isolated microscopic ossicles joined by connective tissue.

Head and Neck: Head is totally absent. Mark V diving helmet is only filled with sea water and detritus. The open neck actually serves as the anus, expelling waste into the helmet.

Skeletal System: An endoskeleton made of reinforced calcareous rods, plates, and bulbs provides upright support to the body and extremities. These structures are not true bones as they lack marrow, nerves, endosterm, and periosterm. Structures are held tightly in place by the surrounding radial muscles.

Muscle Tissue: Tissue is dark brown in color and formed in a circular pattern around the endoskeleton. A water vascular system is present to allow elongation and introversion of the muscle tissue. Water is not actually used in the hydraulics but rather a coelomic fluid.

Circulatory System: Hundreds of miniature ampullae are present within the muscle tissues that pump the coelomic fluid. Phagocytic coelomocytes, somewhat similar in function to the white blood cells of vertebrates, are formed within the haemal vessels, and travel throughout the body cavity via coelomic fluid. The coelomocytes also seem to be responsible for carrying the haemoglobin.

Respiratory and Digestive System: Oxygenated and deoxygenated coelomic fluid is circulated via the arterial cord protruding from the dorsal side. This cord is the body's lifeline for both oxygen and nutrition, similar to a fetus connected to the mother's placenta. Body cavity lacks gills and stomach. The cord directly branches off into the intestines and major vessels once inside the body.

Nervous System: Brain is completely absent. Nerve tissue stems from the thin notochord-like structure that is included in the arterial cord. Small eye spots are present on the distal upper appendages.

Other Comments: A system of interconnected glands fills the entire ventral thoracic cavity. These glands are responsible for secreting the specialized adhesive. Secretions are then pumped through the upper extremities and out the distal orifices.

Other Lab Procedures:

Toxicology, Photography, X-Ray, Microscopic Examination.

Disposition of Evidence:

Toxicologist: Vitreous, Fluids

Lead Investigator: Clothing, Equipment

Morgue Custodian: Body

NOTE: Items not specifically stored in the Lab-62 vault are to be incinerated. - Dr. W.H.

Summary:

Body exhibits strong physical and anatomical traits with Echinoderms, especially Holothuroidea or sea cucumbers. Though the body includes many independent systems, it is completely dependent on this cord for sustenance and direction. Control of the body is granted through the cord through some other intelligence as it is evident how the neural pathway ends inside the body cavity but originates elsewhere. The body should be considered as a physical extension of this intelligence. This entity must be made of the same anatomical characteristics as SCP-1264-A-1 in order to utilize and manipulate these extensions. This entity, if it is in fact a singular consciousness, would have to be extremely adapt to handling an enormous amount of input and output signals simultaneously in order to manage all of SCP-1264-A.

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>:/ your temporary password: azure.cesium.salmon.21

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Footnotes

1. Below 75m is considered to be SCP-1264's crush depth based on engineering analyses.