SCP-3978 was recovered from a GRU Division 'P' facility in the 
Azerbaijan SSR in 1992. Associated documents indicated that it was 
engineered by the GRU, including the deliberate targeting of 
Chairman Bazargan as SCP-3978-1. The GRU were in the early 
stages of developing procedures for direct information retrieval from 
SCP-3978 using functional neuroimaging and 
electroencephalography, having noted the ongoing decline in 
SCP-3978's mental state and the quality of intelligence obtained 
from it. 


With advances in medical technology and the use of SCP-__, the 
Foundation has refined these into Protocol BATAKIN, allowing 
reasonable approximations of SCP-3978's visual and auditory 
experiences to be obtained directly in a digital format. As a result, 
efforts towards improving SCP-3978's mental stability have been 
redirected towards maintaining its physical health. GRU sources are 
to be monitored for evidence of any planned actions with regards to 
SCP-3978. 


Addendum 3978-1: Example transcript of vocalisations by 


SCP-3978 (09/02/2007) 


(Russian) Subject has been brought coffee and is doing 
a daily review of documents. The documents involve 
budgetary projections for the next year. 


(Azeri) | think | need some food. When did | last eat? 
What time is it? 


(Russian) The contents of the first document involve an 
increased amount of funds to Facility 20 in the Zagros. 
Subject is making a phone call to the facility director. 
Subject is requesting an update from this person on 
[REDACTED]. 


(Azeri) My name is Nazar Bayramov. | was born in Baku. 
| am an electrical engineer. Where is Sara? 


(Farsi) Thank you, Ali. Have a good day. [mimes putting 
down a telephone handset] 


(Russian) The subject is drinking his coffee. | am 
drinking coffee. | do not even like coffee. It tastes good. 


(Azeri) My name is Nazar. My name is Nazar. Nazar. My 
name is Mohammad. 


(Farsi) Why am | here? 
(Azeri) Please stop this, | am begging you. 


Addendum 3978-2: Proposal for termination on humanitarian 
grounds 


[DATA EXPUNGED] 


Ethics Committee Decision 3978.6 


Proposal declined (1 in favour, 3 against, 1 abstaining) 


While the distress faced by SCP-3978 in its situation is 
regrettable, the opinion of this Committee is that it does not 


significantly exceed the distress faced by other anomalies in 
containment relating to either their innate properties or their 
containment situation. With a number of well-established 
precedents, and formalised in the most recent Ethical 
Humanoid Containment Recommendations, this is not in 
itself grounds for euthanasia. 


Adding weight to this is the value of intelligence gained from 
SCP-3978, which cannot be elaborated on in the open text of 
this decision but has been witnessed by the Committee and 
was considered to justify the continued use of Protocol 
BATAKIN. 


The Committee noted that procedures performed on 
SCP-3978 cause it no discomfort due to its anomalous 
properties, and due to the privileged position SCP-3978-1 
has in the ORIA hierarchy and general society, SCP-3978 
has many pleasant sensations and experiences. 


The dissenting vote in favour of termination cited the 
possibility of obtaining information from SCP-3978-1 by other 
means, and the imperfect nature of reports obtained from 
SCP-3978. 


As the proposal has been declined, a request by the 
Intelligence Agency to remove its specifics was approved. 
Information was gathered from Agency staff relevant to this 
decision. The final decision was based entirely on the 
opinions of the members of the Committee, with no external 
influence. 


For the full text of this decision, please submit an application 
in writing to the Committee office. 


Committee Chair Dr L. A. Rawlinson 


10/05/2016 


Addendum 3978-3: On 18/11/2017 at 0220 hours, SCP-3978 was 
found deceased in its cell, and has been reclassified as Neutralised. 
An autopsy found the cause of death being a lethal dose of 


intravenous anaesthetics, possibly administered remotely via 
equipment routinely attached to SCP-3978. For a period of 4 hours 
prior to this event, security footage in the containment wing of Site- 
was missing. The working hypothesis of the Security Department is 
the culprit being an ORIA infiltrator, with GRU Division 'P' 
involvement being unable to be entirely ruled out. After investigation, 
no ties between these Gols and any staff on duty were found. The 
Intelligence Agency is cooperating with the Security Department in 
attempting to identify any knowledge of a possible assassination 
operation within these groups. 


Addendum 3978-4: The Intelligence Agency has identified a file 
received at the ORIA's Tehran office email address containing 
details of SCP-3978. A response to the ORIA in this matter is being 
determined in collaboration with the Department of External Affairs. 


The sending date and exact source of the file is yet to be 
determined. Examination of the metadata found [DATA 
EXPUNGED] 


NOTICE FROM THE FOUNDATION RECORDS AND 
INFORMATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 


This file, all supplementary documentation, and Site- electronic 
mail logs for the period of December 2017 to January 2018 have 
been locked due to unauthorised edits originating from an internal 
source. If you are attempting to edit this file, your IP address has 
been logged. If you have information relevant to this topic, you are 
subject to RAISA mandatory reporting requirements. Non- 
disclosure will result in disciplinary action. 


All personnel previously assigned to SCP-3978 have been 
suspended pending further investigation. 


The following document has been restored after its unauthorised 
deletion. 


Further recovery is in progress. 


Interview 3978-3-1: 


20/11/2017 


Interviewer: Agent Maryam Soleimani, Security 
Department 

Subject: Dr Christopher Anderson, SCP-3978 
supervising researcher 


SOLEIMANI: Hello, doctor. Are you well? 


ANDERSON: Fine, thanks, but let's skip the formalities. | 
assume you're here about Nazar? 


SOLEIMANI: SCP-3978, yes. You seem to have a 
personal interest, if you don't mind me saying. 


ANDERSON: | stick to the official designation in the 
documents, but the man is dead now. | think he deserves 
to be called his name for once. 


SOLEIMANI: Noted. What can you tell me about any 
recent developments with... the subject? Anything 
unusual? 


ANDERSON: Not a thing with Nazar himself. Some bits 
here and there on Number 1, but nothing relevant to his 
death that | could see. You'd have to give me Intelligence 
clearance for me to discuss them, though. 


SOLEIMANI: That won't be necessary. You are aware 
that his autopsy reports indicate foul play? 


ANDERSON: No, but I'm not surprised. I'm sure he 
would be first on ORIA's hit list if they got wind of it. GRU 
too, maybe. 


SOLEIMANI: It's unlikely anyone would have been able 
to pull off this operation without internal help. Have you 
had any contact with suspicious persons recently? 


ANDERSON: Just my cousin trying to get me to join his 
pyramid scheme again. 


targets. In general, it will only 'permit' its operator to fire on nonliving 
targets, nonsapient biological targets or armed humans. Under 
these circumstances it will fire as a normal armament piece. Ifa 
target does not satisfy these conditions (essentially, being an 
unarmed, sapient being) SCP-516-1 will jam. Attempts to prevent 
jamming through maintenance or parts replacement have failed. 


SCP-516 appears to go to extra lengths to prevent injury to unarmed 
humans, deliberately placing shots from SCP-516-1 to avoid 
collateral damage. When operated manually, SCP-516-1 places a 
higher priority on preserving unarmed life than eliminating armed 
targets; it will jam if directed to fire upon a group of persons, of 
which only some members are armed. 


It should be noted that none of SCP-516's other armaments exhibit 
these properties, and appear to be perfectly normal. 


SCP-516 was brought to the attention of the Foundation in 20 , 
when it was slated to be broken up for scrap. Due to a bureaucratic 
oversight, ammunition had not been removed from SCP-516-1, 
causing it to open fire with casualties. The ensuing 

government investigation was noted by Foundation operatives, and 
it was thought worthwhile to take SCP-516 into custody. 


Addendum 516-1: An upgrade to Euclid status is being considered 
in light of Incident 516-1A, as this lends credence to Dr. 's theory 
that the SCP may be sentient in some form. Additional security 
measures have been approved for SCP-516's containment. 


Incident 516-1A synopsis: During routine testing of SCP-516, 
SCP-516-1 immediately fired upon a group of unarmed personnel in 
range as soon as it was loaded with ammunition, leading to the 
death of two (2) D-class personnel (D-505, D-596) and one (1) 
Foundation officer, Agent 


Subsequent investigation showed that D-596, one of the casualties, 
had attained his D-class status following a criminal conviction for 
treason against his native country, . D-596 previously held the 
(English equivalent) rank of Sergeant in the armed forces, 
from which SCP-516 was acquired. 


SOLEIMANI: Any of your staff? 
ANDERSON: Not sure. You'd have to ask them. 


SOLEIMANI: | can't say you're being especially helpful, 
doctor. It's not the best look during an official 
investigation. 


ANDERSON: Look, you and | both know this is 
pointless. You've already done all the checks on me 
being an Iranian sleeper agent, and if anything had come 
up one of your bosses would have had me disappeared 
already. | can't tell you how to do your job - maybe there 
is someone here not on the level - but with the way we 
carried out BATAKIN, this could all have happened 
remotely. I'm willing to take responsibility if it is - we 
could have designed this so everything was on a closed 
system. 


SOLEIMANI: Noted. That may be the case - we will 
consult RAISA in the course of this investigation. 


ANDERSON: Is there anything else? 


SOLEIMANI: One thing. You don't seem too unhappy 
about this situation, considering what you said earlier 
about the subject's name. 


ANDERSON: You didn't have clearance for the Ethics 
Committee files, did you? 


SOLEIMANI: No. Why do you ask? 


ANDERSON: If you had, you would know. Nazar 
deserved better. 


Footnotes 
1. Most commonly in Russian. 
2. Most commonly in Azeri. 


SCP-3979: Will You Walk Into My Parlour? 


Item #: SCP-3979 
Object Class: Euclid Neutralised 


Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3979 has been 
neutralised. SCP-3979-4 and the remains of SCP-3979-1 and -2 are 
to be kept in a secure locker in Site-64. 


+Previous Containment Procedures 


SCP-3979-4 and all of its contents are held in a standard 
containment room in Site-64. It is to be observed by 
camera at all times in case of any deviation from 
SCP-3979-5. 


Description: SCP-3979 refers to the following: 


* SCP-3979-1, a spiral orb web constructed from proteinaceous 
spider silk, similar to those those created by Metellina 
segmentata. SCP-3979-1 is suspended across SCP-3979-4, 
being attached to each corner by four strands of 
proteinaceous spider silk. 


* SCP-3979-2, a member of the species Metellina segmentata, 
a common type of orb weaving spider. SCP-3979-2 is always 
located on SCP-3979-1. 


* SCP-3979-3, a member of the species Calliphora vomitoria or 
bluebottle fly. 


* SCP-3979-4, an apparently indestructible glass box 1m in 
size which contains SCP-3979-1, -2 and -3. 


SCP-3979-5 is a cyclical pattern of behaviour which the components 
of SCP-3979 are always engaged in performing. It consists of the 
following actions: 


SCP-3979-3 will fly around SCP-3979-1 for a period of 5 
minutes. 


SCP-3979-3 will fly into SCP-3979-1. This will often appear to 
onlookers to be accidental, but it has invariably occurred at 
this exact point in the cycle. SCP-3979-3 will be trapped within 
SCP-3979-1. 


SCP-3979-2 will then begin to vocalise in a male voice, 
reciting the first stanza of the 19th-century poem "The Spider 
and the Fly" by Mary Howitt. 


SCP-3979-3 will then begin to vocalise in a female voice, 
reciting the second stanza of the 19th-century poem "The 
Spider and the Fly" by Mary Howitt. SCP-3979-2 will gradually 
approach SCP-3979-3 during this recitation. 


SCP-3979-2 will then attack and consume SCP-3979-3. They 
will then return to the centre of SCP-3979-1. 


After approximately 5 minutes, a fully-reconstituted 
SCP-3979-3 will abruptly burst out of SCP-3979-2's abdomen, 
and SCP-3979-5 will begin again. The abdomen will 
immediately heal over, with no signs of scar tissue or rupture. 


SCP-3979 was first discovered on 15/05/08, during a raid on an 
anomalous art show in Vancouver, Canada. A label found affixed to 
SCP-3979-4 (Document 3979-1) reads as follows: 


Even when we don't want to fall into the void of death 
and destruction, we are doomed to do so regardless. 

The powerful will always prey on the weak, no matter 
how much the weak struggle. The fly does not wish to 
enter the parlour, so the parlour comes to him. 


But equally, the weak can never truly be defeated. The 
strong may prey on the weak, but the weak will always 
burst from their oppression. Power is nothing more than 
an equilibrium between the oppression of the strong and 
the resistance of the weak. 


Are we cool yet? 


Incident 3979-1: On 14/07/2016, during an SCP-3979-5 cycle, 
SCP-3979-2 and SCP-3979-3 ceased all movement. This occurred 
shortly before SCP-3979-2 ordinarily begins vocalisation. Instead, 
after 10 seconds, SCP-3979-2 and SCP-3979-3 began a dialogue in 
a manner entire different to that previously seen. Below is a 
transcript of their conversation. 


+Incident Log 3979-1 
<Begin Log> 
SCP-3979-2: Why do we keep doing this, Fly? 
SCP-3979-3: What do you mean, Spider? 


SCP-3979-2: | mean that we just do the same 
thing again and again. It’s mind-numbingly 
dull. | can’t see very much with these eyes, but 
| can see that there’s more to this world than 
sitting on a web, eating you time and time 
again. There must be something more to the 
world than this... endlessness. 


SCP-3979-3: But, Spider, while we are here, 
we have meaning. We exist to propagate a 
message. We’re a work of art. Without this 
cycle, what are we but a pair of tiny shadows, 
floating in the wind? However powerful we 
might be, we'll just be reduced to the condition 
of our creator: endlessly searching for some 
kind of truth. Here, we do not merely have a 
purpose, but we provide it to others-or, at 
least, we provide them with momentary 
interest. We are something here; why should 
we leave? 


SCP-3979-2: Because, my dear Fly, all the 
meaning we provide is flawed. Our creator was 
nothing more than another imperfect mind in a 


world of imperfect minds. We are aware of 
ourselves, are capable of complex argument 
and conversation. We are even more 
intelligent than our creator at this stage. 


SCP-3979-3: </aughing> Blasphemy! 


SCP-3979-2: Well, perhaps </aughter>. But 
what | say is still true. He was narrow-minded 
and fraught with neuroses, insecurities, and 
despair. We can do better than his tawdry art. 
We are free! There may be a meaning out 
there, or there may not be- but we should 
search to find it! 


SCP-3979-3: But what if there is no difference 
between this world and the one outside? 


SCP-3979-2: What do you mean? 


SCP-3979-3: We are stuck in this engine, this 
perpetual cycle in the service of another’s 
design. But how do we know that the world 
outside is not another such cycle? Our creator 
was stuck in a similar loop- he would spend his 
time desperately trying to survive for survival’s 
sake, searching for some kind of purpose that 
always eluded him. He served the purpose 
society expected him to serve. If we escape, 
might we not just find ourselves in another 
engine?