Item #: SCP-2194

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Embedded Foundation personnel in health inspection and waste management departments worldwide currently monitor all major urban centers for signs of an SCP-2194 outbreak, while spearheading intensive cleanup and recycling campaigns within these areas. In the event of a confirmed outbreak, Mobile Task Force Gamma-9 ("Cleaners") will be deployed to quarantine the affected area. All instances of SCP-2194-1 are to be isolated within the quarantine zone and neutralized by means of aerosolised VX nerve agent, followed by incineration of remains. All surfaces and remains contaminated by SCP-2194 are to be sealed in expanding polyurethane foam. A new layer of foam sealant is to be applied every seven (7) days, or at the first sign of SCP-2194 breaching the seal.

Affected areas are to remain under indefinite quarantine, maintained by amnestic and cover-up procedures where appropriate. Should an SCP-2194 outbreak affect a great enough portion of an urban area so as to make isolation and cover-up unfeasible, the area will be permanently evacuated under pretense of a major chemical leak or imminent nuclear meltdown (if applicable).

Under no circumstances are personnel to attempt to "clean" SCP-2194 from any surface or organism.

Description: SCP-2194 is a phenomenon affecting densely-populated urban areas, which appears to manifest in the presence of persistently excessive quantities of refuse and waste.

SCP-2194 manifests as an amorphous and partially mobile mass of common refuse, dead micro-organisms, fecal matter, live bacteria, assorted particulate matter and other forms of biological and non-biological waste. It is currently unknown whether the initial mass of SCP-2194 originates as non-anomalous waste that assumes anomalous properties, or forms spontaneously through other means. SCP-2194 propagates via direct physical contact, gradually spreading to adjacent surfaces as a brownish film of waste and particulate. Refuse, waste and dead biological matter becomes incorporated into the mass of SCP-2194 on contact.

Should material affected by SCP-2194 come into direct contact with any surface, including the skin of a live organism, it will leave a "stain" at the point of contact. This stain spreads at a relatively low rate (< 1cm squared per hour) - however, any attempt to abrade, dissolve, corrode or otherwise remove this stain results in the formation of an amount of material roughly double the amount removed. Avian and mammalian subjects exposed to SCP-2194 are invariably distressed by the appearance and growth of the stain, becoming increasingly frantic in their attempts to remove it. This behaviour causes the rapid spread of SCP-2194 material across the body surface.

Once SCP-2194 material covers at least 33% of a live organism's body surface, the organism becomes an instance of SCP-2194-1. Instances of SCP-2194-1 are capable of spreading SCP-2194 via direct physical contact and display extremely unhygienic behaviour, characterized by an obsession with both SCP-2194 and other, non-anomalous forms of waste. These behaviours include, but are not limited to: covering self in waste; covering nearby objects and surfaces in waste; collecting large quantities of refuse and dead material to add to the main mass of SCP-2194; immersing self in SCP-2194; ingesting SCP-2194; and attempting to [DATA EXPUNGED] causing SCP-2194 to spread to other individuals.

Instances of SCP-2194-1 typically expire within 5-7 days of exposure, often due to suffocation caused by the formation of an overwhelming amount of waste material in the lungs and air passages. Larger organisms may remain alive as long as 18 days before expiring from the effects of blood poisoning and necrotizing fasciitis1.

SCP-2194 can be partially removed by sustained exposure to an open flame; however, its regenerative properties in response to attempted removal allow a minimum of 10% of the material to remain on a surface even after several minutes of continuous burning. Incineration is 100% effective in the neutralization of instances of SCP-2194-1.

The most effective containment method currently known is the use of an expanding foam sealant to cover all surfaces affected by SCP-2194. Provided that the sealant is applied thoroughly and within a space of 2 hours, SCP-2194 is capable of spreading to the exterior surface of the seal in no less than 200 hours (roughly 8 days). Timeous reapplication prevents this occurrence.

Open Initial Contact Log: SCP-2194

Close Initial Contact Log SCP-2194

Date: ██/██/198█

Location: █████, India

Personnel Involved: Response Team Apollo

Preliminary report: In response to reports of multiple attacks on civilians, armed response team designate "Apollo" was dispatched to the ████ district of █████, India. Response team arrived on location 17:02 IST.

<begin transcript>

Agent Ahara (Apollo Lead): Apollo Home, this is Apollo Lead, how copy? Over.

Apollo Home: Loud and clear Apollo Lead. Give us your sitrep, over.

Agent Ahara (AL): We're sweeping the area now. Streets are empty. There's some sort of brown substance coating the doors and interior of multiple vehicles, trailing out into the alleys; almost looks like its spreading over the asphalt. No sign of activity on — scratch that Home, we've got seven… no, eight individuals down an alleyway; looks like civilians. Please advise, over.

Apollo Home: Roger Lead, move in and confirm; over.

Agent Ahara (AL): Wilco, over. Daniels, Hunt, Banderker, with me. And try not to touch that stuff, whatever it is.

[Agents can be heard acknowledging Apollo Lead's command and taking position]

Agent Hunt: [grunt] The smell! What in God's name is that shit they're rolling in?

Agent Ahara (AL): Apollo Home, we have eight possibles. Five of them are rolling around in this… mass. It's filling the alley, and creeping up the walls too. Three of them are carrying stuff from down the street and dumping it into the thing; looks like garbage, mostly. Over.

Apollo Home: Roger Lead, approach with caution and attempt communication; over.

Agent Ahara (AL): Wilco Home, over. [pause] This is the police! All of you, stop what you're doing right now and put your hands in the air. Hello? Do you understand me? [pause] Banderker.

Agent Banderker: (Hindi translation) <Hey, this is the police! Hands up, all of you!> [pause] No good, sir.

Agent Ahara (AL): Individuals are not responding to verbal communication, Apollo Home. Firing a warning shot, over. [a single gunshot is heard; several seconds elapse] Well, that got their attention.

Agent Banderker: Look at their faces. That infection is eating away at their skin, under all that… brown stuff.

Agent Daniels: Why are they just staring at us? Are those rats crawling around in there with them?

Agent Ahara (AL): Keep it together, Daniels. Banderker, try speaking to them now. Tell them we need them to cooperate.

Agent Banderker: <Listen, we don't want to hurt any of you. All we require is your complete cooperation from this point on. Nod if you understand. [pause] Good, now we're getting somewhere.>

They're listening. What now, sir?

Agent Ahara (AL): Tell them to get up with their hands in the air and form a line.

Agent Banderker: <Okay, all of you put your hands in the air. You two back there, that means you too - drop what you're carrying. Good. Now all of you on the ground, get up slowly. Yes, just like that. Now step out of that pile of… just take a few steps towards me. Form a line so I can see you all.>

Agent Ahara (AL): Good work, Banderker. Apollo Home, individuals are… cooperative. How copy?

Apollo Home: Solid copy, Apollo Lead. Standby for the arrival of the containment team; ETA in five mikes. Apollo Home out.

Agent Ahara (AL): The containment team will be here in five guys, sit tight. Try to keep them occupied, Banderker.

Agent Banderker: Will do, sir.

<Listen, people; we're going to be taking you all somewhere safe, away from this filth. We will get you cleaned up and—>

[loud vocalisations of distress are heard]

<Hey, calm down! You, stop that! Get back in line!>

Agent Ahara (AL): What did you say to them, Banderker?!

Agent Banderker: I don't know, all I said was we were going to take them somewhere safe and clean that shit off of them!

Agent Ahara (AL): Well, get them back in line! Threaten them if you have to - just do it!

<Hey! Hey! All of you get away from there and line up right now or you will be shot!… [three gunshots are heard] This is your final warning! Get in line or I swear I will burn this disgusting pile of excrement with all of you in it!>

[sudden silence, followed by an unidentified chattering sound]

Agent Banderker: <What is th— [UNTRANSLATABLE EXPLETIVE]!>

Agent Ahara (AL): Open fire, open fire!

Agent Banderker: GET THEM OFF ME! GET THEM— [further speech is muffled]

[multiple gunshots]

Agent Ahara (AL): Apollo Home, come in! Where the hell is that containment team?!

<end transcript>

Open Post-Operational Interview

Close Post-Operational Interview

Date: ██/██/198█

Interviewer: Dr. Glen

Interviewed: Agent ███████ Ahara

<begin transcript>

Dr. Glen: Good morning, Agent Ahara. How are you feeling?

Agent Ahara: I'm fine, Glen. I don't need a psych evaluation.

Dr. Glen: I understand. Could you describe to me the events that transpired yesterday in Delhi? More specifically, what happened to Agent Banderker.

Agent Ahara: Well, we rounded up eight affected individuals in the alleyway; most of them were crawling around in this mass of god-knows-what, covered in the same brown stuff we saw on the walls and the streets before. Like pigs in the mud on a hot day. We managed to get their attention, eventually. Banderker spoke Hindi, so he was able to talk to them and get them to cooperate. After that, we were just waiting for the containment team to arrive.

Dr. Glen: And then?

Agent Ahara: Then he said something they didn't like. Told them we'd take them away, get that foul shit off them, clean them up. Something else as well. Don't remember. First they started crying and wailing like kids, throwing themselves back into the mass; desperate, like they were trying to bury themselves in it so we couldn't take them away. I told Banderker to make them get back in line, threaten them if necessary. So he yelled and screamed blue murder at them, and they just went on wailing… until they heard something he said right at the end there. They all went quiet, just staring at him. Then they started making this chittering noise with their teeth, all together. Christ, it got loud. That's when I realised it wasn't just the people making the noise. That's when the swarm came down on us.

Dr. Glen: The swarm?

Agent Ahara: Rats, flies, cockroaches… every kind of vermin you can think of. They erupted out of the mass, covered in that brown shit, and kept on coming like a river. The vermin and the people together went rushing for Banderker; I swear they were moving like one big angry animal. Three of those guys got to him before we could even react - two of them held Banderker down while the other one climbed on top of him and started… retching. More brown shit came pouring out of the guy's mouth, all over Banderker's face. He was screaming for help the whole time. Right 'til his mouth filled up…

Dr. Glen: What did you do then?

Agent Ahara: We gave the fuckers every bullet we had. Got all eight of the human targets, maybe a few dozen rats too. The containment team got there just in time; I'm not sure how they knew fire would do the trick, but it did. All the vermin, human or otherwise, burned to a crisp. Banderker too.

Glen, the way that stuff was spreading, the way those things came for us… you're going to classify this thing Keter, right?

Dr. Glen: Classification is currently pending, but I think it would be safe to say yes.

Agent Ahara: Good… good…

Do you think there's more of that stuff, doctor? Elsewhere, I mean?

Dr. Glen: I don't know. I really don't.

<end transcript>

Addendum 2194-01:

As of ██/██/2015, ███ SCP-2194 quarantine zones exist. No means of permanent removal or disposal of SCP-2194 have yet been identified. Research is ongoing.

Open Experiment Log 2194_01

Close Experiment Log 2194_01

A sample of SCP-2194 is currently housed at Biological Containment Site-66. The following experiments making use of this sample are aimed at determining effective methods of removing and/or containing SCP-2194.

Means of removal
Application
Result

█████ ████ brand industrial stain remover
Stain remover applied using mechanical arm and disposable cloth to an SCP-2194 contaminated surface area of approximately 5cm squared.
SCP-2194 partially dissolved into solution, and proceeded to cover all areas the cloth made contact with. Contaminated surface area increased to approximately 28cm squared. Cloth sealed in biohazard storage unit.

Concentrated hydrochloric acid solution
Acid solution applied to contaminated surface with hose.
SCP-2194 partially dissolved into solution and spread to all areas solution made contact with. It is recommended that further tests explore the use of non-corrosive agents.

Industrial belt sander
Belt sander attached to mechanical arm and applied to contaminated surface.
SCP-2194 began to spread rapidly across the surface. Belt sander ceased functioning after 1 minute 23 seconds of use. Deconstruction revealed machinery to be jammed by large quantities of SCP-2194. Components sealed in biohazard storage unit.

Industrial blowtorch
Blowtorch attached to mechanical arm and applied to contaminated surface.
SCP-2194 reduced to approximately half of its original surface area in 2 minutes 3 seconds. Complete removal could not be achieved.

Sealant
Application
Result

Concrete
Concrete mix applied to contaminated surface.
SCP-2194 dissolved into liquid component of concrete mix, contaminating a large amount of the material. Seal ineffective.

Molten iron
Molten iron applied to contaminated surface.
Seal initially appeared to be effective. However, a large growth of SCP-2194 was observed to expand rapidly beneath the layer of molten iron. 52 seconds after application, the growth broke the seal and erupted, expelling SCP-2194 material onto the walls of the test chamber. It is theorised that SCP-2194 reacted to the extreme heat of the molten iron as it would to attempted removal, but was not affected by the heat level as it would be affected by an open flame.

Expanding polyurethane foam
Foam sealant applied to contaminated surface as a spray.
No accelerated growth observed. Seal remained effective for approximately 200 hours before outer surface began to show signs of contamination. Effective containment method identified.

Footnotes

1. Flesh-eating bacteria syndrome.