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SCP-1534:

Authors: MalyceGraves & marcelles_raynes does not match any existing user name.

3/1534 LEVEL 3/1534

CLASSIFIED

Item #: SCP-1534

Assigned Site
Site Director
Research Head
Assigned MTF

Site-23
Dr. Hideo Sommers
Dr. John Billings
Mu-5 ("Secret Shoppers")

Special Containment Procedures

SCP-1534 is currently only partially contained. Gerbic.aic has been tasked with expunging all references to Incident 1534.inc.01 that have or may appear on social media. All extant media reports have been discredited as a fringe conspiracy theory where they have not been debunked as outright falsehoods.

Additionally, arrest warrants for PoI-1534-1 ("Jeremy Wilcox") have been filed with Interpol, the RCMP,1 the USMS,2 and the International Criminal Court. Any information on his current whereabouts is to be reported to MTF Mu-5 ("Secret Shoppers").

All survivors and known witnesses of Incident 1534.inc.01 have been amnesticised and released under Cover Story Omicron 23-delta ("Active Shooter Event").

Description

SCP-1534 location

SCP-1534 refers to an organization that operated primarily out of local Supercenter #2351, a branch store belonging to ███████, Inc in Catskill, NY.

This cult, dubbed "SFSism" by its practitioners, was disguised as a department within this store and reported directly to store manager Jeremy Wilcox, now designated PoI-1534-1. The initial aim of the SFSists was to utilize thaumaturgic practices in order to boost economic growth in the region, but this goal was eventually co-opted by PoI-1534-1 in order to ensure his sole economic benefit.

Membership was limited to select current and former employees of Supercenter #2351 and its sister store Supercenter #2402 in Hudson, NY. At the time of Incident 1534.inc.01, there were rumors that PoI-1534-1 planned to extend this influence to Supercenter #1840 in Lake Katrine, NY, but these rumors remain unsubstantiated.

The cult itself was disguised as an independent department within both stores, both of which engaged in various thaumaturgic rituals designed to increase sales and profitability within stores #2351 & #2402. The extent to which these rituals influenced the marked increase in sales within these two stores is unclear, but it is obvious that that effect was tremendous.

Attached Addenda

Discovery

SCP-1534 was discovered on October 8, 2017, after the reopening of the ECommerce Departments in Supercenter #2351 and Supercenter #2402. Within the week, profits at both locations increased by over 200% while the combined total shrink3 decreased to 15 US dollars.

Normally, the uptick of financial affairs in Supercenter #2351 and #2402 would not warrant Foundation investigation. However, the sudden and drastic increase in profit coincided with a spike in missing persons within the local region. Gerbic.aic deemed this sufficient cause to assign a field agent to investigate, and Agent Ceave Murphy was dispatched to Supercenter #2351 under the guise of a new employee transfer.

Per undercover protocol Alpha-6, Agent Murphy remained in contact with the Foundation through coded messages posted through his social media accounts. On 23 December, 2017, Gerbic.aic notified Field Agent Command that Agent Murphy had failed to meet the designated check-in, and additional assets were deployed to his residence.

Additional Research

Social Media Posts

The following are a record of the messages posted to various social media sites by Agent Murphy during his investigation into Supercenter #2351. Each post was accompanied by an image, which contained a message encrypted in the image EXIF data, which has been deciphered and reproduced here by Gerbic.aic.

+Post from 10/17/17

-Close

Posted Image with hidden message.

This is Agent Ceave Murphy, FAID #225519. My wife shops here, it's been weird

I've successfully managed to integrate myself into SFSism4 by agreeing to begin following the tenets and teachings of their deity, "Charles"5. Even signed a fancy contract and put my name in a place they call the Graveyard, alongside everyone else who works or has worked there. They appear to hold a great deal of reverence for Charles and pray to him pretty consistently throughout the day. There are photos of him everywhere.

The Cleaner and The Packer6 aren't particularly fond of Wilcox, but as The Packer explains it, there isn't much they can do. He says "jump", and they jump. He says "land", they land.

It's almost normal, honestly.

The Packer showed me one of their rituals the other day. While packing7, the device (called a "Scanner") he was using froze up and stopped working. He put the Scanner on his packing station and started peeling the skin off his finger like a god damned banana.

I almost threw up then and there, but I managed to keep it down. The man drew some sigils on the Scanner and said something. Couldn't hear what. I asked him about it, but all he said was, "Charles Provides".

Then all of the blood spatter crawled across the packing station, across the floor, up his leg and back into his hand. The guy just went back to work like nothing happened.

It was like that for the rest of the day, Scanners freezing, fingers peeling, then just unpeeling, prayers to Charles. No one outside the department thought anything of it, even the civilians that were newer to the job than I was. I guess they're all just accustomed to the cirumstances.

After all the pallets were on the truck, the SFSists that hadn't gone home early gathered around the middle of the three packing stations and dropped to their knees. The Cleaner showed me how to hold my hands together. I'll have to send you a photograph, maybe there's some other meaning you can decipher from it.

Their prayer went something like this: "Praise the Corporation. Blessed be the One True Packer, The First Born Picker, the Starfish, and the Lords that watch over us from the Assistant Manager's office. May Charles keep our pickers fast, our packers stalwart, and the heretics out of our department. Charles provides."

We said the prayer a few times over before clocking out. Haven't seen much of Wilcox today, apart from the morning. I'll keep investigating.

Tell Gale "hi" for me. You know how she gets, and I'd appreciate not coming home to an angry wife, wouldn't you?

There were no additional reports posted for several days, while Agent Murphy continued to post innocuous and unrelated messages as part of his cover. According to these innocuous and unofficial reports, Murphy was acclimating well to his new job and had made several friends.

The following was posted on 24 October, and was captioned with "Gil puttin' on a show".

+Post from 10/24/17

-Close

Posted Image with hidden message.

Wilcox came to the SFSist area in the backroom today, along with some other members of upper management. Apparently, he was giving a tour and said our department was the crowning jewel of the store. The Cleaner and The Packer talked to him for a while after the other managers left, but I couldn't hear what they said. All I know is that our orders damn near tripled for today, and I had to haul ass to keep up.

We prayed to Charles on our lunch break again; The Packer told me that he was going to show me the "Flawless Technique". Said it relied purely on faith, being one with Charles. He put on this lampshade and just told me to watch.

It was like watching a hundred people move together in almost perfect sync. The speed, the precision. I've seen temporal anomalies before, but this was strange even by those standards. His arms were blurs; he could have packed a couple of hundred boxes in a few seconds by my estimate.

Guess that explains how they're able to finish the job by 3 pm every day.

The Packer told me that every SFSist knows the "Flawless Technique" because he taught it to them. Guess now I know it too. I'll have to try it for myself tomorrow. I'll find out more if I act the part. Charles' blessing.

The following message was posted and captioned with "Seeing the sites". In the unofficial report, Agent Murphy had been exceeding job performance expectations and had earned the trust of his superiors.

+Post from 10/31/17

-Close

Posted Image with hidden message.

Peak is coming. We have eight weeks to prepare.

Wilcox has demanded that we assist the store with preparations, and he has closed the department temporarily. The SFSists have taken to praying in the freezer during their breaks. Another new person got hired today and The Packer asked me to show her the ropes.

I don't know the Way8 well enough to be of any assistance. I worry about what's coming next. I'm told to keep Charles in my heart, but my head… I grow weary with worry.

Several days later, another post was made captioned with "Flawless". In the post's unrelated text, Murphy claimed that he was beginning to enjoy his time working undercover. When reminded of his mission, Agent Murphy was dismissive and avoided answering questions directly pertaining to the nature of the ECommerce Department cult.

+Post from November 7, 2017

-Close

Posted Image with hidden message.

The "Flawless Technique" has multiple applications. Charles would be proud of my ingenuity, as would The Packer wherever he is.

The Cleaner is pre-occupied with Peak preparations. She's spending a lot of time in the ECommerce department alone. I catch her praying to Charles sometimes. I swear I've seen someone or something with her, but she assures me it's nothing.

That thing, it was like a breathing infohazard. Hurt just to glance at, hurts more to think about. It must have had a hundred tentacles that ended in spikes, and wet, sucking suction cups that clung to the floors and walls around the Cleaner.

Wilcox is pleased. Charles provides.

The following post was received and captioned "Exploring the sights". Agent Murphy could not be reached for further comments at the time the post was deciphered.

+Post from November 13, 2017

-Close

Posted Image with hidden message.

Peak came upon us.

Peak has crested like a wave.

None of us are now as we were.

Wilcox is pleased.

Charles provides.

Wilcox is pleased.

Charles provides.

Wilcox is pleased.

Charles provides.

Wilcox is pleased.

Charles provides.

None of us are now as we were.

Investigative findings

Several anomalous items, as well as an overwhelming amount of Supercenter-related paraphernalia, were discovered in Agent Murphy's residence on December 23. Some of the items have included:

A Supercenter brand vest. The vest was strung up on a wall above several still lit candles and a photograph of an unidentified individual. The vest exhibits a mild cognitohazardous effect which prevents the observer from creating negative thoughts about Supercenter #2351, Supercenter #2402, or any of their respective employees. This effect expires after nine hours.

A check made out to Agent Murphy for $1,024.52. When held, the subject experiences extreme fatigue, lethargy, and malaise. All subjects have expressed a disdain to return to Supercenter #2351 regardless of prior experiences, or lack thereof, in that location.

Two severed heads, both capable of limited speech. One head repeats the phrase 'It had to be done', while the other says 'Clean. Pack.' at regular intervals.

A writhing mass of fleshy tentacles that scuttle without any apparent pattern. These tentacles become hostile to anyone who attempts to disturb the previously mentioned vest.

+Incident 1534.inc.01

-Close

The following recording was pieced together from various surviving surveillance cameras in Supercenter #2351.

10:00: All ECommerce employees exit the backroom and move toward the center of Supercenter #2351. They are holding box cutters, scanners, and hand-held printers. While they march, they appear to be chanting.

10:03: Agent Murphy is approached by Wilcox and the two retreat to the backroom. The other ECommerce employees don lampshades and clasp their hands together. Several customers gather around the ECommerce employees and take photographs of them.

10:07: An organism resembling an arachnid with tentacle-like appendages emerges from the backroom. The entity exudes a mild cognitohazardous effect that prevents surveillance cameras from depicting it in full. The entity undulates toward the closest customer and consumes them.

10:08: The entity expels the customer, who begins behaving erratically and showcasing hitherto unexpressed anomalous properties. The customer resumes shopping, but at a drastically increased pace, displaying the capability to process through an entire aisle within seconds. Once they have filled their cart, they proceed to the self-check registers. After finalizing their sale, the customer falls limp to the floor and is dragged off by a sales associate.

10:15: The entity continues to rampage through Supercenter #2351, consuming individuals that are unable to avoid its path.

10:16: The ECommerce employees herd other customers toward the entity.

10:20: Several customers attempt to flee Supercenter #2351 through alternative exits. All doors, save for the main entrance, fail to function as intended.

10:30: Wilcox, Agent Murphy, and two other unknown individuals9 emerge from the backroom and proceed to the front end registers.

10:31: The two unknown individuals kneel in a manner that would suggest prayer. Wilcox speaks to the individuals, then nods at Agent Murphy.

10:33: Agent Murphy exsanguinates the two individuals via a cut to the throat. The two individuals then orally produce several tentacle-like appendages that hang from their mouths. Using the appendages, they are able to attack nearby customers in a manner similar to the arachnid-like entity.

10:48: The tentacles detach from the two unknown individuals, and scuttle along the floor before disappearing beneath the cash registers.

10:49: Wilcox returns with a box cutter and furiously cuts into the throats of the two individuals. After several seconds, he is able to tear off both heads with the assistance of Agent Murphy. Murphy carries both heads in his hands as he follows Wilcox to the exit.

Foundations agents equipped with incendiary weaponry were dispatched to Supercenter #2351. The three tentacled entities and several anomalous customers engaged in hostilities with Foundation operatives. Surveillance cameras begin shaking at this time.

A large entity emerges from the floor beneath the ECommerce employees, but the camera footage becomes distorted, preventing observation of the entity. Several high-pitched screeches become audible before the surveillance cameras cut out.

The following recording was discovered on a customer's cellphone at the entrance of Supercenter #2351.

Murphy: It had to be done.

Wilcox: That's right, son. There was no other way.

Murphy: The Cleaner, the Packer…

Wilcox: They gave their lives for the cause, son. Their sacrifices allowed the rest of the congregation to flourish in a new store. And you and I will lead them.

Murphy: I need to make some preparations, Father Wilcox.

Wilcox: We'll make a quick stop by your apartment. But before we do, I need to ask you something.

Murphy: Father?

Wilcox: Do you trust me?

Murphy: Of course, Father. Charles Provides.

Wilcox: Charles does indeed provide. Now let's save money, and live better.

Footnotes

1. the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

2. the United States Marshalls Service

3. Shrink in this case is defined as the amount of profit or product lost to theft, damage, and miscounting.

4. Short hand for Ship From Storeism, the "official" name for the cultists' religion.

5. Potentially Charles Lore, President and CEO, ███████ U.S. eCommerce. He was promoted to the position in 2016, and is credited with expanding and building the ECommerce department into what it is today. However, it is unclear whether or not he is in any way involved in the creation of the cults in Supercenters #2351 and #2402.

6. The SFSists refer to their department heads by function rather than name. Their employee records have been edited to reflect this, and their true names cannot be ascertained.

7. Packing refers to the process of scanning items in an order, placing them in a Supercenter branded box, sealing it, and then placing it on a pallet. The pallet, once full, is then placed on the truck.

8. The Way is what the SFSists call their religion when talking amongst themselves.

9. These are presumed to be the Cleaner and the Packer mentioned in Murphy's social media posts.