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To: Director C. Malatesta, Site-72

From: Head Researcher D. Chen, Parazoology

Subject: Re:Re: SCP-7273 containment operation

Date/Time: 2023/07/14, 07:24:01 CEST

Just debriefed the Deep Feeders and I’ve updated the log. I’m afraid Il Fabbro’s perception filters don’t work on the jellies. They just melted into the reef, leaving behind three dead mining company executives and a very confused yacht crew.

I got another very pissed off call from our friends at the GOC, too, telling us to stay out of their way. I just hope we can get this thing contained before they do something stupid.

There is (1) file attached to this message: SCP-7273-iteration8.scp.

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Item#: 7273

Containment Class: esoteric

Secondary Class: uncontained

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: critical

Assigned Site
Site Director
Research Head
Assigned Task Force

Site-72
Carla Malatesta
Dario Chen
MTF Gamma-6

A singular instance of SCP-7273, unknowingly photographed by a tourist off the coast of Civitavecchia, Italy.

Special Containment Procedures: As of 2023/07/14, SCP-7273 has yet to be successfully contained.

MTF Gamma-6 ("Deep Feeders") along with other units specializing in the tracking, capture and transport of anomalous oceanic life is currently engaged to that end. If successful, SCP-7273 is to be transported to the Department of Parazoology at Site-72 on Isola de Montecristo, Italy.

Due to the high-profile nature of SCP-7273's apparent targets and the conflicting interests of the Global Occult Coalition, all containment operations are to be given the highest organizational priority by order of O5 Command.

Description: SCP-7273 is a large swarm of Carybdea marsupialis, a venomous species of box jellyfish native to the Mediterranean Sea. The exact number of box jellyfish in the swarm is unknown.

The physical differences between instances of SCP-7273 and baseline C. marsupialis box jellyfish include:

reddish coloration, with an opaque rather than translucent bell;

a more powerful and painful venom;

an anomalous effect on memory and perception;

the ability to conjoin together to form large shapes such as tentacles or spheroids;

sensory organs that can detect, record and transmit sound and radio waves.

Through presently unclear methods, SCP-7273 is able to determine the location of its targeted prey, (hereafter designated as SCP-7273-A), make their way to their location, and do everything in their power to obtain and consume them.

In order to be targeted as prey, SCP-7273-A instances must possess the following qualities:

be presently in or on water craft currently located in the Mediterranean Sea;1

have a net worth, legally declared or otherwise, exceeding $1 billion USD;

have obtained that wealth through the exploitation of natural resources, either inherited or directly.2

Individuals present that are disqualified from being SCP-7273-A instances survive the attack unharmed and have no memory of the event.

Superyacht Aurelius, after its seizure by the Foundation.

Discovery: On 2023/07/12, Foundation assets within the Italian government reported a large amount of speculation on the whereabouts of billionaire oil tycoon and former politician Aurelio Strabiconi. After a brief investigation, it was determined that Strabiconi was last seen aboard his superyacht, the Aurelius, which had departed Civitavecchia on a week-long cruise of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

However, the Aurelius had since returned to port on schedule, and no crew or passengers apart from Strabiconi himself were missing. Upon interrogation, the superyacht's crew were unable to remember specific details. Security footage on board was obtained and examined, and SCP-7273 was subsequently identified and given classification.3

Following the investigation, the crew and passengers of the Aurelius were administered amnestics, and the media and government were given the cover story that Strabiconi died of cardiac arrest in his bed shortly after returning from the trip.

Given the nature of the anomaly, the Department of Parazoology at Site-72 requested the assistance of MTF Gamma-6 to assist in tracking and containment, and they were deployed to the Tyrrhenian Sea. Efforts to contain SCP-7273 are ongoing.

Addendum 7273.1: Aurelius Security Footage Transcript

<BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION>

Aurelius aft jacuzzi deck security camera

[SCP-7273-A14 is relaxing in the jacuzzi, his back to the yacht's stern and the railing. His eyes are closed, hidden underneath dark sunglasses. A yacht crew steward places a large glass of champagne on the edge of the jacuzzi step. SCP-7273-A1 opens his eyes.]

SCP-7273-A1: Finalmente, cazzo. (About fucking time.)

Steward: Ci scusiamo per l'attesa, signore. (Sorry for the wait, sir.)

[SCP-7273-A1 raises a finger, face turning red. Just then, another voice, speaking English, is heard just off the ship's stern, slightly garbled and distorted.]

Unknown Voice5: People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing.

[The yacht steward nods her head in a slight bow, appearing to not have heard the other voice. She turns around, as if to leave.]

SCP-7273-A1: Che cosa? Mi consenta- (What? Excuse me-)

Unknown Voice: We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money-

[SCP-7273-A1 turns around, just in time to see SCP-7273 rising above the edge of the stern, coalesced together into a tentacle made of hundreds of box jellyfish, their stingers exposed.]

SCP-7273-A1: Che cazzo!? (What the fuck!?)

Unknown Voice: -and fairytales of eternal economic growth.

[The SCP-7273 tentacle wraps around SCP-7273-A1 and lifts him into the air. One of his thrashing legs kicks over the champagne glass, which smashes on the deck flooring. The steward turns around and sees the broken glass.]

Steward: Non si preoccupi, ripulirò io per lei, signore. (Don't worry, I'll clean that up for you, sir.)

SCP-7273-A1: (incoherent screaming)

Unknown Voice: How dare you!

[SCP-7273-A1 is completely subsumed into the tentacle, still thrashing. SCP-7273 withdraws the tentacle from the deck, and splashing can be heard as it returns to the water. After several seconds, a red mass can be seen swimming away to port. The steward returns soon after with a dustpan and brush to clean up the glass, and appears to have taken no notice.]

Steward: (under her breath) Sempre a ripulire dopo di lei, signore. (Always cleaning up after you, sir.)

Addendum 7273.1: SCP-7273 Containment Status Logs

2023/07/13, 0730 CEST:

Superyacht Mode 7 returned to Saint-Tropez, France and was boarded by MTF Gamma-6. Missing passengers investigated and classified as SCP-7273-A2 through SCP-7273-A6.6

2023/07/13, 0930 CEST:

The Department of Financial Esoterica, in conjunction with insurers Goldbaker-Reinz, informed Foundation administration that any further disappearances of this type could have a detrimental effect on the global economy. O5 Command escalated containment priority of SCP-7273 and assigned four more task forces to assist MTF Gamma-6.

2023/07/13, 1130 CEST:

MTF Gamma-6 located superyacht 150 Acres Per Minute anchored off the coast of Málaga, Spain, under attack by SCP-7273. Containment was unsuccessful, and the half-digested remains of SCP-7273-A77 were identified and classified.

2023/07/13, 1630 CEST:

Foundation assets were made aware that the Global Occult Coalition had begun deploying PHYSICS Strike Teams at the direct request of three GOC member organizations.8

2023/07/13, 2130 CEST:

MTF Gamma-6 reports a near-firefight with a PHYSICS Strike Team who had already arrived at an attack site near Rhodes, Greece; situation was defused but crew of the vessel in question were forcibly detained and interrogated by the Strike Team.

2023/07/14, 0700 CEST:

MTF Gamma-6 and associated task forces, outfitted with new equipment by Parazoology on Site-72, narrowly fail to contain SCP-7273 near Civitavecchia, Italy. Identification and classification of SCP-7273-A instances in progress.

Will that be all, Director Malatesta?

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Good afternoon, Director Malatesta. You have (2) new messages.

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NEW MESSAGE 1

To: Director C. Malatesta, Site-72

From: Head Researcher D. Chen, Parazoology

Subject: Re:SCP-7273 file update

Date/Time: 2023/07/14, 17:25:02 CEST

Those bastards. It's all confirmed, such as it is. We now have a different kind of mess on our hands.

I've just been sent the new file from RAISA.

Remind me never to fuck with the House of Mouse.

Item#: 7273

Containment Class: safe

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: critical

Drone footage at the edge of SCP-7273.

Special Containment Procedures: The zone that comprises SCP-7273 has been designated as an ecological research zone by the Italian government in order to discourage tourists and fishing. Foundation assets based nearby in Modica are to remotely monitor the site and request assistance from available MTFs if unauthorized access is obtained or if there are any anomalous changes to its boundaries.

Description: SCP-7273 is the designation given to approximately 12 square miles of the Mediterranean Sea off the southern coast of Sicily.9 It is a zone inimicable to life; any living organism that enters its radius immediately dies and enters a state of rapid decay.

Discovery: On 2023/07/14 at 11:03 CEST, while MTF Gamma-9 "Deep Feeders" were tracking the previous iteration of SCP-7273, MTFC Callaghan notified containment operation command at Site-72 that SCP-7273 had suddenly altered course and was en route to intercept a Global Occult Coalition PHYSICS Strike Team. Calculating that they would not be able to intervene, Site-72 ordered the MTF to halt and deploy a long-range nautical recon camera drone.

«TRANSCRIPT BEGINS»

Foundation MTF recon drone 3GC39-21R

[Nightvision activated. GOC recon vessel comes to a complete stop. Ten individuals identified on board: vessel pilot, eight armed PHYSICS Strike Team personnel in Black Suits, and one possible GOC-aligned thaumaturge in black robes and hood. SCP-7273 swarm is dead ahead of GOC vessel and accelerating. It is emitting an audible transmission.]

SCP-7273:10 In the past, a series of climate disasters like these might have seemed like a silly plot in a bad movie about the apocalypse. Unfortunately, however, this is not a movie.

[The thaumaturge stands, walks to an open prepared space towards the bow of the vessel and draws a casting pattern on it in black ink.11]

SCP-7273: We will see more floods, more rising sea levels, more extreme weather disturbances, more ocean acidification…

[SCP-7273 forms a single tentacle that reaches forward, up out of the water, venom delivery limbs at full attention. The thaumaturge reaches out and removes a glove to display a wrinkled, liver-spotted hand for it to touch.]

SCP-7273: …think about what they will say when they look you in the eyes and ask, why did you allow this to happen?

[Contact. There is a brief thrashing in the water from the furthest extremities of SCP-7273, before the entire mass freezes in place and turns dark. The tentacle touching the hand of the thaumaturge crumbles immediately into dust, which spreads into the water at an alarming rate.]

SCP-7273: (repeating, getting fainter) …why did you allow this to happen…

[The thaumaturge stands a little straighter, turns around, and removes his hood, revealing an imposing face with an aquiline nose and thin moustache, his skin now smooth and youthful. He gives a signal to the GOC vessel crew, and they start up the engines in full reverse.]

[The water around the rapidly decaying remains of SCP-7273 turns black and opaque, and dead fish begin to float to the surface. Just as the GOC vessel begins to move, the thaumaturge appears to look directly into the drone camera. He winks.]

Thaumaturge: It's kind of fun to do the impossible.

[A dead starfish bubbles up from the surface and obscures the drone camera lens.]

<TRANSCRIPT ENDS>

NEW MESSAGE 2

To: Director C. Malatesta, Site-72

From: Head Researcher D. Chen, Parazoology

Subject: Oh dear.

Date/Time: 2023/07/14, 17:27:02 CEST

Director, we may need a new file again.

I've just seen live Instagram footage of some billionaire's beach party being torn apart by coconut crabs, as well as some YouTube video just uploaded of a North Sea vanity expedition being rammed by the largest pod of orcas I've ever seen.

We've re-mobilized the MTFs. Looks like the rest of the ocean just joined the union.

Footnotes

1. Currently, SCP-7273-A instances have been attacked as far west as Málaga, Spain and as far east as Rhodes, Greece.

2. NOTE: This last point may be redundant given the previous quality, will make a final decision in the next revision. - D. Chen

3. See Addendum 7273.1.

4. Aurelio Strabiconi (age 76). Net worth: ~$9 billion USD.

5. Audio investigations would determine that it was the recorded voice of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

6. American tech billionaire Everett Lark (65); his shipping heiress wife Sofia Lagarde (45); and their three adult cryptocurrency-linked sons Tucker (24), Carlton (22), and Slade Lark (20). Combined net worth: ~$219 billion USD.

7. Brazilian logging tycoon Eduardo Aríete (61). Net worth ~$4.2 billion USD.

8. The Vanguard Group, PepsiCo, Inc., and the Walt Disney Company.

9. The zone is centered around 36°41'40.3"N 14°46'17.7"E.

10. Voice identified as a recorded speech by United States Senator Bernie Sanders.

11. Pattern resembles one large circle partially intersected by two smaller circles at 30 degrees and 330 degrees clockwise respectively.