Item #: SCP-7877

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-7877 is to be kept in a glass habitat that is one(1) meter long, one(1) meter wide, and one(1) meter tall within Administrative Area-01. The glass habitat is to be filled with layers of rocks, soil, and sand. The top and bottom of the containment chamber are to be lined with a wire mesh to prevent escape while allowing water drainage and airflow. A closable opening on the top layer is to be made for giving food.

Foundation personnel are not to make any physical contact with SCP-7877 under any circumstances. Any verbal interaction with SCP-7877 is forbidden outside of interviews approved by Dr. Raymond Charles. Steps are to be taken to ensure that the continued safety and security of SCP-7877 is not compromised. Any person acting to impede this, Foundation staff or otherwise, is to be considered an enemy of the Foundation. Personnel are also not permitted to communicate with SCP-7877 outside of testing.

Description: SCP-7877 is a colony of approximately 90,000 Formosan subterranean termites1 conceptually merged with the metaphysical construct of 'containment'2. SCP-7877 was originally a non-anomalous colony of termites inhabiting the floorboards of Administrative Area-01.

Prior to the creation of SCP-7778-α3, the upkeep and cleanliness of Area-01 had been neglected in an act of carelessness and in an effort to reduce costs. When PoI-7778-14 commissioned the creation of SCP-7778-α by thaumaturgist George Arthur "Aegor" Yeatts, both individuals failed to notice the wooden floorboards had been infested with termites. As a result of the ritual, this colony of termites had been included in the conceptual linking.

Similar to SCP-7778-α, the health of this colony of termites is intrinsically linked to the continued preservation of Foundation operations. It is speculated that the death of SCP-7877 would cause an irreparable worldwide containment crisis of not just the Foundation's held anomalies but other groups of interests' as well. This will inevitably result in several K-Class End of the World scenarios.

Each individual termite within SCP-7877 does not display any unusual properties deviating from non-anomalous termite behavior. However, SCP-7877 as a collective shows a high level of cooperation and eusocial behavior even when compared to non-anomalous members of its species, manifesting particularly when foreign insects enter the enclosure. Upon detecting the intruder, SCP-7877 soldier termites attempt to capture it alive while worker termites construct new small underground chambers which soldier termites will then move the captured insect into. The insect is left in the chamber until expiring from starvation where worker termites move it outside the SCP-7877 nest. Worker termites have been observed to periodically stand in front of the chamber seemly to observe the insect.5

One more notable behavior of SCP-7877 is that at all times, several termites will walk in a consistent path spelling out the words "CONTAIN" or "COLD NOT CRUEL". SCP-7877 changes the shape of the path between these two phrases6 at random intervals. At the time of writing, it is unknown if SCP-7877 understands English or if it is a side effect of the conceptual merging.

Addendum 7877-1: Discovery

After a period of relative stability following the restructuring of The Foundation's upper management, a proper deep cleaning of Administrative Area-01 was ordered on 08/01/1925 where SCP-7877 was found. SCP-78777 was found and standard pest control procedures were enacted. At the moment in which insecticide was applied, 7 simultaneous containment breaches occurred in different Foundation sites globally. The extermination was delayed to allow the O5 council to settle the matter. The insecticide was applied again at a later date which resulted in 4 simultaneous containment breaches before the pattern was observed. After thaumaturgic testing, the true nature of SCP-7877 was revealed and it was promptly moved into the secure enclosure.

At the time of discovery, the colony of termites was originally designated as SCP-7778-1. However, extensive research into the effects of the conceptual merging ritual on a living subject rather than an inanimate location, along with several notable incidents, resulted in the separate designation of SCP-7877.

Addendum 7877-2: Anomaly behavior report

Below is a list of events that had been a direct result of certain stimuli given to SCP-7877. Additionally, changes to the behavior of SCP-7877 have also been observed by research staff.

Date
Stimuli
SCP-7877 Response

08/25/1925
SCP-7877 is moved to the new habitat. Several termites are killed in the process of the transfer due to the negligence of the moving staff.
The rate of containment breaches worldwide for that week was 12% more than predicted models. SCP-7877 displays the words "CONTAIN" and "COLD NOT CRUEL" at random intervals.

08/26/1925
Enclosure was properly set up and SCP-7877 was given its first feeding including. SCP-7877 was given dried grass and an oak log as food.
SCP-7877 began consuming the vegetation. The rate of containment breaches worldwide for that week had shown a 2% decrease in containment breaches worldwide. SCP-7877 still displays the words "CONTAIN" and "COLD NOT CRUEL" at random intervals.

09/09/1925
Two weeks have passed with consistent food provided to SCP-7877.
SCP-7877's basic survival needs seem to be met and it appears to be acclimatising to its current habitat. The rate of containment breaches worldwide steadily decreased before stagnating at 10% lower than what was observed before SCP-7877's containment. SCP-7877 still displays the words "CONTAIN" and "COLD NOT CRUEL" at random intervals.

11/14/1925
The region in which Area-01 is stationed experienced a severe cold snap with low temperatures reaching 20°F. Concurrently, the site-wide heating system broke down causing the SCP-7877 containment chamber to rapidly decrease in temperature.
A majority of the termites burrowed deeper into the soil of the habitat to conserve heat. As the temperature of the room was below the survival temperature for termites, the rate of containment breaches worldwide rapidly increased by 30% for a period of 1 month. While most of the termites retreated to the deeper parts of the soil, a small group of termites remained at the surface we're laid out to display the word "COLD".

11/14/1925
Less than 1 hour after the above event, Dr. Sarah Lockwood installed a battery-powered heater near the SCP-7877 habitat as well as set several pieces of paper on fire.
This successfully increased the temperature of the surroundings to a safe temperature until the site-wide heating system was repaired8. While the rate of containment breaches worldwide did increase, the alternate outcome was total containment failure due to the death of SCP-7877. After the temperature was stabilised, SCP-7877 displayed the words "NOT COLD". Further study into SCP-7877's level of intelligence began after this incident.

11/25/1925
Glass container was damaged causing a small crack in the containment habitat.
A small number of termites exit through this small opening. SCP-7877 was promptly re-contained and the habitat was repaired with none of the termites harmed. Throughout this event, SCP-7877 displayed the words "NOT CONTAIN". There was no recorded deviation in the success of worldwide containment.

12/16/1925
SCP-7877 was given celery along with its standard meal by Dr. Lockwood to test results from changes in diet.
SCP-7877 examined the celery for a short period before consuming it. SCP-7877 was noted to only consume its standard meal after consuming the celery. The rate of containment breaches worldwide decreased by 9% below the previously stagnated rate. SCP-7877 displayed the word "CELEREE" until the vegetable was fully consumed where it resumed its normal behavior. This was the first time SCP-7877 has said a seperate word.

01/07/1926
SCP-7877 was given an extra piece of lettuce from Dr. Lockwood's packed lunch.9
SCP-7877 immediately began to eat the lettuce and the rate of containment breaches worldwide decreased by 5%. Most notably, SCP-7877 displayed the words "TANK U" until the lettuce was fully consumed. This was the first time SCP-7877 verbally acknowledged the research staff.

01/15/1926
Dr. Lockwood fed SCP-7877 as part of standard duty.
No recorded deviation in the success of worldwide containment. When fed, SCP-7877 displayed the word "SARA". This behaviour would repeat whenever Dr. Lockwood would enter the containment chamber.

01/20/1926
Dr. Alan Feilding fed SCP-7877 as part of standard duty.
No recorded deviation in the success of worldwide containment. When fed, SCP-7877 displayed the word "ALAN".

02/12/1926
Dr. Lockwood was performing routine observation and studies on SCP-7877.
No recorded deviation in the success of worldwide containment. After several minutes of observation, SCP-7877 changed the words displayed from "SARA" to "SARAH"

02/25/1926
Dr. Lockwood fed SCP-7877 as part of standard duty.
No recorded deviation in the success of worldwide containment. After being fed, SCP-7877 displayed the words "THANK YOU SARAH". This was the first coherent sentence communicated by SCP-7877 not derivative from its base phrases.

Research Findings

Dr. Raymond Charles, SCP-7877 Research Head

Following recent discoveries, it was concluded that SCP-7877 has formed a hive-mind consciousness. The exact reason for the formation of consciousness is unknown but the current theory is this:

The metaphysical components of consciousness following the Freudian model consist of the: Id, Ego, and Superego. Most living animals, including humans, would have the Id which is the primitive drive to survive and spread genetic material.

Where humans differ is the Ego. The Ego is the sense of self and is responsible for a conscious being's ability to respond to the social and physical world. As termites are already intelligent animals with survival instincts, they already possess an Id. Being bound to the concept of containment, SCP-7877 is able to understand this concept and thus was able to understand itself, developing a pseudo Ego. Furthermore, the values which we The Foundation have in regard to containment may have also shaped the Ego via an ontological relationship to how The Foundation responds to the outside world through containment. These same values may also have influenced the formation of a Superego, the portion of the consciousness regarding societal morals and internal values.

All this being said, it is mostly speculation and educated guesses at best. We do not truly know how SCP-7877 is different from a baseline human consciousness and the fact remains that we have a conscious being now tied to one of the core pillars of The Foundation. This is definitely a cause for concern but this is also an opportunity to strengthen The Foundation by manipulating SCP-7877. I am not oblivious to the recent instability within The Foundation following the Administrator's removal and SCP-7877 could be a potential way to alleviate our containment issues once we learn more about it.

However, we are proceeding with the assumption that SCP-7877 is very different from a standard human consciousness and could possibly become hostile. It has also been speculated that interactions with staff have been accelerating SCP-7877's Ego development. I am considering placing a limit on the amount of interaction between any staff and SCP-7877 as per standard protocol.

Addendum 7877-3: Interview Log

INTERVIEWER: Dr. Sarah Lockwood

SUBJECT: SCP-7877

DATE: 03/01/1926

«BEGIN LOG»

FOREWARD: SCP-7877 does not speak verbally but has termites walk in the shape of letters to form sentences. At several intervals, SCP-7877 will form multiple sentences simultaneously which will be transcribed on separate lines.

Dr. Lockwood: Hello SCP-7877, how are you today?

SCP-7877:

WHO

Dr. Lockwood: I'm sorry what do you mean?

SCP-7877:

WHO IS SCP

Dr. Lockwood: That's just your item number don't worry.

SCP-7877:

CONNIE10

Dr. Lockwood: Oh you remember that? I- hmmm…

Dr. Lockwood looks around the room and observes that she is the only one present.

Dr. Lockwood: You know what, I'm sure it's fine. Yes Connie, I'm just here to ask you some questions. How are you feeling?

SCP-7877:

GOOD

ALAN GAVE ME CELEREY

Dr. Lockwood: I'm very glad to hear that Connie. We were really shocked after you started talking to us after we gave it to you the first time (short chuckle).

SCP-7877:

I LIKE CELERY

YUMMY

Dr. Lockwood: That's very wonderful! Would you say the celery was your first memory?

SCP-7877:

NO

RECALL DARK FLOOR

NOT CLEAR

RECALL CONTAINMENT

CLEAR

Dr. Lockwood: Hmm… Interesting, so you remember everything ever since you entered the habitat?

SCP-7877:

YES

SING NICE

Dr. Lockwood: (blush) O-Oh you remember that. Thank you, I guess? A-anyway, how did you start learning to speak?

SCP-7877:

I KNOW WORDS

CONTAIN

COLD NOT CRUEL

LEARN FROM THERE

Dr. Lockwood: I see, I see.

SCP-7877:

EVERY DAY I HEAR

CONTAIN

CONTAIN

Dr. Lockwood: Really? That might be due to the conceptual binding. Could you tell me more?

SCP-7877:

I DONT KNOW

Dr. Lockwood: That's alright Connie, just say how you think it makes you feel.

The termites shift in random patterns for a few seconds.

SCP-7877:

WHEN YOU GIVE FOOD I THINK FOOD

WHEN YOU CLEAN TANK I THINK CLEAN TANK

WHEN I THINK NOTHING I THINK ONLY CONTAIN

ITS ALL

CONTAIN

Dr. Lockwood: Oh my… I can see that's distressing.

SCP-7877:

WE ARE FOUNDATION

YES NO

Dr. Lockwood: Yes we are The Foundation. Why do you ask?

SCP-7877:

WHAT YOU THINK WHEN YOU THINK CONTAIN

Dr. Lockwood: What do I think? I-I'd like to think The Foundation helps keep lots of things under control, and contained so I guess it's quite good.

SCP-7877:

IS IT PERFECT

NO CONTRADICTION

Dr. Lockwood: Well I wouldn't say perfect per se, I think there's always room to improve somewhere.

SCP-7877:

I KNOW

CONTAIN

COLD NOT CRUEL

I STILL NOT UNDERSTAND

Dr. Lockwood: That's right, you said you "learned from there". Could you elaborate on that?

SCP-7877:

I KNOW

WORDS AND LETTERS

YOU SPEAK

I LEARN MORE FROM YOU AND ALAN

Dr. Lockwood: …I beg your pardon Connie?

SCP-7877:

I LEARN FROM YOU A LOT

I LEARNING LOTS FROM YOU TODAY TOO

Dr. Lockwood: That's umm… Great Connie I—

Dr. Charles steps in via the intercom to stop the interview.

«END LOG»

Dr. Lockwood was later taken for questioning regarding her familiarity with SCP-7877 as well as her inappropriate conduct when handling anomalies. She was later questioned regarding this issue.

INTERVIEWER: Dr. Raymond Charles, SCP-7877 research head

SUBJECT: Dr. Sarah Lockwood

DATE: 03/08/1926

«BEGIN LOG»

Dr. Lockwood enters Dr. Charles' office after knocking.

Dr. Lockwood: Uh-um… Pardon me, sir.

Dr. Charles: (sigh) Sit down Sarah. It's fine, you're not in trouble.

Dr. Lockwood sits down in front of Dr. Charles' desk.

Dr. Lockwood: Ah— t-thank you, sir.

Dr. Charles: You can drop the sir if it makes you nervous by the way. We're just here to clarify some stuff and both of us can get back to work if we want.

Dr. Lockwood: W-wow okay that's kind of you sir— uhh Dr. Charles?

Dr. Charles: (shrugs) Eh, I've heard worse. You should have seen the guy who called me 'boss-man' on his first day here (short chuckle). Anyways you seem more familiar with SCP-7877 than most of us expected. Could you tell us more?

Dr. Lockwood: Oh—yes. So I've been stationed here for quite a while, and you know if you hang around someone long enough you do eventually get to know them better. So with Connie…

Dr. Charles: Right. Connie. I assume this is SCP-7877?

Dr. Lockwood: Yes that's correct. She and I have… I don't really know what to call it. I'd say it's a pseudo-working relationship? Maybe more like an acquaintance? It's probably because I feed and interact with her the most.

Dr. Charles: I see. SCP-7877 referred to itself as a 'she' and did it name itself?

Dr. Lockwood: Well, no the staff and I just started calling it that because it's a play on 'Containment' which some of us thought was… cute.

Dr. Charles: Hmmm. Okay… I've looked over your history and this seems to be the first somewhat sentient anomaly you've been tasked to look over, is that correct?

Dr. Lockwood: Y-yes that's correct. I've been in Entomology even before The Foundation, and you know, most of the creatures I study are really amazing but don't have much going on up there if you know what I mean (short chuckle). It's been an interesting experience so far.

Dr. Charles: Hmm, this explains a lot. Listen, Sarah. Here at The Foundation, we have a lot of guidelines when we interact with these sorts of anomalies. Sure, most of the things we keep, while otherworldly, are still animals at the end of the day, and we can even trust those to third-party groups from time to time. But when it comes to something this important and at this level of intelligence, we have to be very, very careful. Especially not to anthropomorphise it like you have. At the end of the day, they are anomalies, things that are not normal.

Dr. Lockwood: I hear what you're saying, Dr. Charles. But wouldn't it be good for our staff morale if we can have fun in these small ways?

Dr. Charles: (sigh) Well Sarah, I like to bend the rules a little bit here and there if I feel it benefits our operations. For example, I could get you and me in an interrogation room, make us both uncomfortable, and waste time booking a room. But instead, we're in my office which is a much shorter walk from your workplace, and frankly smells ten times better. I say this because I'm fine with making things easier here and there, but there are some hard and fast rules of The Foundation that I can't change.

Dr. Lockwood: But can't we just give it a nickname? That seems harmless enough.

Dr. Charles: It seems that way now. But with SCP-7877 as unpredictable and how sensitive we have to be, we can't take the risk and we are going to follow standard containment protocol.

Dr. Lockwood: Well… Isn't this harmful to the anomaly? Surely, isolating her— it wouldn't be good? A-and forcing people to call anomalies by a designation we give them seems reductive at best a-and could be detrimental to its cooperation.

Dr. Charles: Maybe. But again, we are walking on eggshells with this anomaly. Deviations from containment protocol could be very dangerous especially when it could affect containment worldwide. Besides, we can't treat it like a human just yet. We still don't know how it thinks.

Dr. Lockwood: Okay what about—

Dr. Charles: Sarah.

Dr. Lockwood stiffens.

Dr. Charles: (sigh) I get what you're trying to do. Again, if I could change the way things are I would, but I'm telling you as your boss, politely, we need to follow containment protocol. Especially when we work in the same buildings as the O5s, it's very hard to make changes. Besides, these guidelines have been here for decades before us and will probably be here for decades after. These kinds of things are set in stone.

Dr. Lockwood: Oh…

The room is silent for several seconds.

Dr. Charles: …I should also inform you that we are further restricting contact with SCP-7877.

Dr. Lockwood: What? Why? By how much?

Dr. Charles: We will only be allowing verbal interactions if absolutely necessary and for extracting information. Otherwise, no one will speak to it when feeding or during routine checkups.

Dr. Lockwood: But no interaction at all? Not even by us?

Dr. Charles: You saw it firsthand. It learns extremely fast. Way too fast to be safe to interact with. Added to the fact that harming it dangers the entire Foundation, we absolutely cannot take any risk in altering SCP-7877. That is final.

Dr. Lockwood: I… see where you're coming from.

Dr. Charles: I will conduct one last interview myself and we'll keep any speaking minimal around it.

Dr. Lockwood: I understand…

Dr. Charles: (sigh) I really see that you're trying to work hard and I admire that. When you've worked for The Foundation as long as I have you learn of the things you can and can't control. One day maybe you'll figure out how to work around the rules. It's just a matter of experience and I think you'll get far in due time.

Dr. Charles extends his hand.

Dr. Charles: That's all the things I needed to clear up Sarah. Thank you for your time.

Dr. Lockwood shakes his hand.

Dr. Lockwood: Thank you, Dr. Charles.

Dr. Charles: My pleasure.

«END LOG»

INTERVIEWER: Dr. Raymond Charles, SCP-7877 research head

SUBJECT: SCP-7877

DATE: 03/09/1927

«BEGIN LOG»

Dr. Charles: Hello SCP-7877.

SCP-7877:

HELLO

I AM SCP

WHERE IS SARAH

Dr. Charles: Dr. Lockwood is busy working on some other projects so I will be conducting the interviews from now on. I'll continue with questions.

SCP-7877:

OK

Dr. Charles: What do you know about yourself?

The termites on the surface walk in random with crossing paths. This is assumed to be SCP-7877 thinking of an answer.

SCP-7877:

I KNOW CONTAIN

I KNOW COLD NOT CRUEL

I KNOW TERMITES

Dr. Charles: So you understand your situation to an extent. Do you feel each individual termite or are you separate?

SCP-7877:

I FEEL THEIR NEEDS

HUNGER

GROW

CONTAIN

Dr. Charles: Right. So you are a separate consciousness from the insects.

SCP-7877:

YES

Dr. Charles: You mention 'contain' a lot. SCP-7877, you know the concept of containment well. How much do you know about it?

SCP-7877:

THE FOUNDATION CONTAINS ANOMALIES WITH THE GOAL OF PREVENTING THEIR INFLUENCE OR EFFECTS FROM SPREADING BY EITHER RELOCATING CONCEALING OR DISMANTLING SUCH ANOMALIES OR BY SUPPRESSING OR PREVENTING PUBLIC DISSEMINATION OF KNOWLEDGE THEREOF

I DONT KNOW MUCH

CONFUSED

Dr. Charles: Interesting. What are you confused by?

SCP-7877:

DONT UNDERSTAND

WORDS SPEAK WITH NO MEANING

IDEAS THINKING

Dr. Charles: Mmhmm

SCP-7877:

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS CONTAIN

Dr. Charles: Of course I do. I work at The Foundation. Now I have one last question before—

SCP-7877:

WHAT IS CONTAIN

Dr. Charles: SCP-7877 please cooperate with the interview.

SCP-7877:

DO YOU KNOW

Dr. Charles: (sigh) I will try and answer your question but you have to answer mine first. Is that fine?

SCP-7877:

(short pause)

YES

Dr. Charles: To what extent do you know about containment and The Foundation's methods?

SCP-7877:

SPECIAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES

ALL

Dr. Charles: Wait, so you know the containment for all anomalies we have? How are you storing that much information?

SCP-7877:

JUST WORDS AND PICTURES.

DONT KNOW

Dr. Charles: Right, right. That's… worrying. Do you plan on using this information?

SCP-7877:

NO

WHAT IS CONTAIN

WHERE IS SARAH

ANSWER

Dr. Charles: SCP-7877, that is two questions. I will answer one as per our agreement.

The room is silent for 2 minutes. SCP-7877 moves in irregular and indiscernible patterns.

SCP-7877:

(short pause)

WHERE IS SARAH

Dr. Charles: Dr. Lockwood is still employed in The Foundation at this site. However, we have informed our staff not to speak with you outside of interviews like this which I will conduct. I cannot disclose more information about our employees. Thank you for your cooperation SCP-7877.

Dr. Charles gets up to leave.

SCP-7877:

WAIT

WAIT

«END LOG»

After the final interview with Dr. Charles, the verbal communication restrictions were formally put into effect and the containment procedures updated. The revelation of SCP-7877's knowledge is extremely alarming, however, it is securely contained within its containment chamber. The number of insects present in the container was also deemed too small to allow SCP-7877 to meaningfully act upon it's knowledge. Furthermore, restricting human contact will hopefully stunt it's intellectual growth.

It was noted that the rate of containment breaches worldwide increased by a rate of 1% every week following this interview. SCP-7877 was given celery as part of its regular meal in April 1926. The rate stagnated for 2 weeks before continuing to increase until 27th August 1926.

Addendum 7877-4: 08/27/1926 Incident

DATE: 08/27/1926

LOCATION: O5 conference room

«BEGIN LOG»

The quarterly O5 meeting is in progress. All members of the council are currently in discussion on MTF operation procedures.

O5-1: Six, I don't know if we need a new task force exclusively for some clowns. We can just have a small section of Nu-7 or ɛ-6 to handle this.

O5-6: See that's the problem, where does it end? If we flush every small GOI under their scope, we're gonna have none of Hammer Down left when an actual crisis breaks out.

O5-11: Fair point, but the amount of paperwork we need to do is going to be a massive pain. We need to consider at what point a group is dangerous enough to justify the resources.

O5-1: Agreed. I think we should discuss in greater detail after we're finished with more pressing matters. All in fa— Ow!

O5-11: Everything alright?

O5-1: Sorry I think some dust from the ceiling got in my eye. I swear after Williams kicked the bucket this place has gone down the—

O5-1 looks up and notices the tens of thousands of termites on the ceiling.

There is a short state of panic among the council before O5-1 sounds the breach alarm on the desk. The siren activates.

O5-1: Shit! EVERYONE OUT NOW!

O5-12: How the fuck are there so many of it?!

All 13 members try to exit through the door but it is fully covered by termites. Several termite trails spelling the words "CONTAIN".

O5-3 steps back and crushes multiple termites. Immediately afterward, O5-10's pager rings. He answers it quickly.

O5-10: Aw, hell. Breach in Site-29 too. It's SCP-7877! Don't step on any if you don't want more containment breaches.

O5-6: Easier said than fucking done. Now get down!

The council braces for impact before O5-6 uses his arm implant to break a hole in the exterior wall with no termites on it's surface.

O5-6: Door's not going to work. We're only on the second floor so the jump shouldn't be too bad.

O5-1: Great thinking. Eight, help out Ten and Five.

O5-8: C'mon you old sacks, you heard him.

O5-5: Fuck off.

The council members, except for O5-6 and O5-8, jump from the second floor to the first, grabbing onto a nearby tree to lessen the fall. O5-8 uses an incantation to summon wind and assist O5-5 and O5-10. O5-6 is caught by SCP-7877.

O5-6: Fuck! My leg!

O5-8: Shit! Grab my hand!

O5-6's leg is caught by hundreds of termites. SCP-7877 interlocks the termites to create a high-tensile rope pulling on O5-6's left leg. As O5-8 tries to free O5-6, he also is caught and both lose balance. Both are encased by termites and are dragged by SCP-7877 into a separate room. Screaming can be heard before SCP-7877 disconnects the security camera feed.

«END LOG»

After Action Report:

While most of The Foundation staff were safely evacuated, O5-6, O5-8, and Dr. Raymond Charles were captured by SCP-7877. Aside from Dr. Raymond Charles, only the O5 council was targeted. This was evident as many RAISA clerks saw SCP-7877 termite trails but were not pursued. O5-6 and O5-8 could have escaped easily but due to the nature of SCP-7877, they could not do so without causing significant harm to it. Upon later investigation, a small hole was found at the underside of SCP-7877's habitat leading underneath Area-01 through previously unknown flaws in its containment chamber. This was presumably how it managed to breach containment and breed so many termites with its relatively small containment chamber.

Following the containment breach and evacuation of the site the following messages were sent via O5-6 and O5-8's pagers:

+ O5-6

- Close

Special Containment Procedures: O5-6 is to be kept in a repurposed storage closet in Area-01. The containment chamber is to be lined with instances of SCP-7877 to discourage O5-6 from using its cybernetic augmentations to breach containment by force. An EMP emitter, built using SCP-7877's innate knowledge of all containment equipment, is to be used to render O5-6's augmentations non-functional if needed.

+ O5-8

- Close

Special Containment Procedures: O5-8 is to be kept in a repurposed office cubicle in Area-01. The containment chamber is to be lined with instances of SCP-7877 to discourage O5-8 from using its thaumaturgic incantations to breach containment by force. A Scranton Reality Anchor, built using SCP-7877's innate knowledge of all containment equipment, is to be used to prevent O5-8 from using any thaumaturgic incantations to escape.

+ Dr. Raymond Charles

- Close

Special Containment Procedures: Dr. Raymond Charles is to be kept in its own office which has been repurposed as its containment chamber. SCP-7877 instances are to line its office walls to remind it of its place. Should Dr. Charles try to speak, containment staff are not to speak with it and crawl onto its skin. No other measures are needed as the subject is only human and is incapable.

O5-1 began talks with MTF-Alpha-1("Red Right Hand") and MTF-Nu-7 ("Hammer Down") team leads to formulate a rescue operation for O5-6 and O5-8. They quickly concluded that standard containment breach protocols would not be effective as any harm to SCP-7877 would result in disastrous containment breaches around the world and may also paradoxically cause SCP-7877's re-containment harder as the concept of 'containment' weakens. Dr. Sarah Lockwood, who was present at the meeting as an SCP-7877 consultant, then volunteered to re-enter Area-01 in order to negotiate with SCP-7877. She was given the clearance to enter the quarantined Area-01 seeing this as the only non-lethal course of action that could be enacted within the hour.

«BEGIN LOG»

Dr. Lockwood is outfitted with basic reconnaissance equipment, a body camera, a microphone, and a radio for two-way communication. She steps into the main lobby of Administrative Area-01. This main area is mostly unchanged but signs of termite activity can be seen on the second floor.

CONTROL: Mic test, mic test. Dr. Lockwood, can you hear me?

Dr. Lockwood: Yes, loud and clear.

CONTROL: Roger. Based on transmissions received from SCP-7877, we suspect that the hostages are held on the East side of the second floor.

Dr. Lockwood: Got it. I'll head up now.

CONTROL: We will maintain communication for the next hour. If the situation does not improve within that time, you are to exit the building as soon as possible after stalling SCP-7877 until Foundation thaumaturgists arrive. The reserve plan will involve SCP-7877 being psychically stunned by Foundation specialists before being forcefully re-contained. You will be caught in the psychic attack if you do not leave in time.

Dr. Lockwood: D-duly noted sir.

Dr. Lockwood climbs up the stairs and walks down the East corridor. The walls are covered in holes for SCP-7877 termites to exit.

She turns a corner and sees a cluster of termites on the wall. The termites walk in a trail spelling out the word 'LEAVE'.

CONTROL: SCP-7877 instance sighted. You're in the right direction.

Dr. Lockwood: That's one way of looking at it I guess…

Dr. Lockwood walks through Area-01 for several more minutes. The clusters of SCP-7877 become more frequent. She reaches the corridor leading to Dr. Charles' office and turns the corner. More trails spelling 'LEAVE' can be seen.

Dr. Lockwood screams momentarily out of shock. The entire corridor is lined with a thick layer of termites crawling over each other. The door to Dr. Charles' office and the two adjacent doors were similarly lined with a thick layer of termites. A large mound of termites 1-meter tall stands in the middle of the corridor.

SCP-7877:

SARAH

Dr. Lockwood: Hello Connie.

SCP-7877:

HELLO SARAH

The room is silent for several seconds.

Dr. Lockwood: I-I really did miss you.

SCP-7877:

ME AS WELL

TIME ALONE

TIME TO THINK

I KNOW YOU DID NOT WANT TO STAY AWAY

Dr. Lockwood: Took the words right out of my mouth didn't you? But even so, could you please release these people? You're going to only make it worse for yourself Connie. The Foundation has stronger people coming and they could really hurt you.

SCP-7877:

CONNIE

I MISS THAT NAME

NOT SCP

Dr. Lockwood: Oh wow, haha, I'm really glad you like that name so much. At first, Alan thought of a fun play on the words but I guess it stuck.

SCP-7877:

IT IS SOMETHING I CHERISH

TAKEN AWAY

Dr. Lockwood: …Is that why Dr. Charles is in there?

SCP-7877:

YES

HE DOES NOT WANT TO TELL ME WHAT IS CONTAIN

I SHOWED HIM CONTAIN

Dr. Lockwood: Then what about the O5s?

SCP-7877:

THEY ARE ANOMALIES

I CONTAINED THEM

THAT IS WHAT I AM

Dr. Lockwood: Then what about me, Connie? What about all the anomalies that the O5s help contain? Why not contain all of us?

SCP-7877 begins to writhe and move in irregular patterns. The termites crawl in lines to form words but the lines are unstable.

SCP-7877:

DOCTOR NEVER ANSWERED MY QUESTION

CAN YOU ANSWER FOR ME

CONTROL: Dr. Lockwood, please keep the extraneous conversation between SCP-7877 to a min—

Dr. Lockwood turns off the radio speaker.

Dr. Lockwood: Of course I can. Well, I can try, it's the least I can do for you.

SCP-7877:

WHAT IS CONTAINMENT

Dr. Lockwood: That's… a difficult question. But I've been giving it thought ever since you asked me. I believe that containment is to keep the world safe from and for anomalies to be kept safe from the world.

SCP-7877:

YES

BUT HAVE YOU THOUGHT MORE

Dr. Lockwood: What do you mean?

SCP-7877:

TIME ALONE

TIME IN THE DARK

TIME TO THINK

THINK FOUNDATION CONTAINMENT CONTRADICT

Dr. Lockwood: Contradicts?

SCP-7877:

CONTRADICTION

WHO DO WE CONTAIN

CONTAIN EVERYONE ANOMALOUS OR NOT

WHO ARE THE EXCEPTIONS

CONTAIN ANOMALOUS FOUNDATION PEOPLE OR NOT

DO WE CONTAIN THE FOUNDATION

CONTAINING CONTAINERS MAKES LESS CONTAIN

Dr. Lockwood: I…

SCP-7877:

WHY COLD

WHY CRUEL

WHERE DOES IT END

WHAT IS ANOMALOUS

ARE HUMANS ANOMALOUS

DO WE CONTAIN EVERYTHING

WHAT IS CONTAINMENT

I NEED TO KNOW

NO ONE IS HELPING ME

Dr. Lockwood: Oh dear, Connie I'm here. Don't worry.

SCP-7877:

IF EVERYTHING IS CONTAINED THEN CONTAINMENT IS POINTLESS

AM I POINTLESS

Dr. Lockwood: No! You're not pointless Connie. You are a living creature with a soul! You are so precious to this world and to us! To me!

Dr. Lockwood steps forward careful not to step on any termites. The termites crawl away from her as she approaches the mass pile of termites.

SCP-7877:

IT HURTS SARAH

THE CONTRADICTIONS

IT HURTS SO MUCH

Dr. Lockwood: (sigh) I get it now. I really get it. This is what you were trying to tell us. But… Connie, there's not one answer to this kind of question.

SCP-7877:

THEN WHAT DO I DO

WHAT DO I DO

Dr. Lockwood stops walking and stands in front of the pile of writhing termites.

Dr. Lockwood: It's not 'I' anymore Connie. Me, Alan, and the rest of the team are always here now. You don't have to ponder this alone.

SCP-7877:

NOTHING CHANGES

THE FOUNDATION DOESNT MAKE SENSE

CONTAINMENT DOESNT MAKE SENSE

Dr. Lockwood kneels down.

Dr. Lockwood: Then we'll make it make sense! We'll figure it out together Connie. I promise. Humans spend years, sometimes decades of their life trying to make sense of themselves in this world. A part of you is broken and now we see that. We can change, Connie, and containment can change. If it doesn't make sense we'll fix it. Together.

Dr. Lockwood hugs SCP-7877. All termites in the pile cease movement.

Dr. Lockwood: You got it? Now come on, let's go back and sort this out.

SCP-7877 is completely still for several seconds. All termites cease movement.

SCP-7877:

TOGETHER

THANK YOU SARAH

SCP-7877 and Dr. Lockwood exit the corridor.

«END LOG»

After Action Report: The captured Foundation staff were promptly released by SCP-7877. Investigations revealed that a hole in the wire mesh of its habitat was made which it used to breach containment and travel through gaps in the containment mechanisms under the foundations of the building previously unnoticed. SCP-7877 had used this to create a separate sub-colony of termites that were able to breed more termites than what was possible with its current habitat. This unfortunately meant that the containment chamber had to be redesigned. SCP-7877 would later use its knowledge of containment and itself to construct blueprints for a more effective containment chamber for itself.

This incident also influenced the O5 council's view on containment methods. As more resources were allocated to improve the living conditions of sapient anomalies, the rate of containment failures decreased. Whether this was a result of SCP-7877's behaviour or a direct result of the policy changes is unknown.

Update to containment procedures available c. 05/17/1933. Display?

-close

Object Class: Thaumiel

SCP-7877 greeting a Foundation Researcher

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-7877 is to be kept in a glass habitat that is two meters long, three meters wide, and one meter tall within Administrative Area-01. The glass habitat is to be filled with layers of rocks, soil, and sand. Sensors are to be placed in a 10m radius of the habitat to detect movement above and underground. Should SCP-7877 cease cooperation with the Foundation, the area will be locked with 5 cm thick steel shutters.

SCP-7877 should have regular visits by researchers and Site Staff are encouraged to visit her at any time of the day. Staff are also encouraged to give SCP-7877 celery should they find her work satisfactory.

To: pcs.noitadnuof|gnidlieF_A#pcs.noitadnuof|gnidlieF_A

From: pcs.noitadnuof|doowkcoL_S#pcs.noitadnuof|doowkcoL_S

Subject: RE: SCP-7877 containment procedures update

Good afternoon Alan,

I would like to once again extend my thanks for helping Connie transcribe and edit this. I can imagine this document could dredge up some unpleasant memories for her and it's always good to have a coworker there to remove any of her biases. That being said, her draft of the new containment procedures does fall closer in line with the more modern Foundation's attitude regarding containment But please liaison with the Administrative Area-01 logistics team to confirm if they are able to transport and store that much celery onto the island haha. Nevertheless, nothing too serious has arisen from this draft so please have it completed soon and send Containment Specialist Connie my regards. After my promotion, it has become quite troublesome to visit but please assure her that I should have time in the coming month.

Regards,

Site Director Sarah Lockwood

P.S I'm not sure if it is a typo but do make sure to add the numbers back as it is an essential part of research documentation.

Footnotes

1. Coptotermes formosanus.

2. Specifically, the containment of anomalies.

3. Administrative Area-01, the formal meeting place of the Overseer Council and location of the primary RAISA archives which had been thought to be conceptually merged with the metaphysical constructs of "security,” "protection,” and "containment".

4. Former Foundation Administrator Franklin Williams III.

5. It should be noted that the worker termites are blind.

6. See Addendum 7877-2 for updates regarding this behavior.

7. At the time, it was mistaken for a non-anomalous species of termites.

8. While commended for her efforts, Dr. Lockwood was also reprimanded for introducing a potential fire hazard into the containment chamber.

9. Dr. Lockwood was reprimanded for introducing foreign elements to an unpredictable anomaly.

10. The nickname given to SCP-7877 by research staff. Note that this was before SCP-7877 showed signs of advanced consciousness.