streamlines the features of objects while removing color, detail, and 
often function. Animals first lose fur and distinguishing 
characteristics such as length of limbs and tails, presence of 
protuberances, etc., while humans develop more average facial 
features and lose or gain height and weight. This edges towards a 
rough "average" of around 1.7 meters tall with a weight of 76 
kilograms. This is shortly followed by losing facets of their 
personality, with interests, habits, and memories commonly lost first. 


While brief exposure to SCP-980 is not physically harmful, 
prolonged exposure of organic beings with complex circulatory and 
respiratory systems commonly results in the "simplification" and 
fusion of parts located near one another. No subjects have reported 
pain from the process itself. A D-class personnel used to test 
SCP-980's effects was affected on this level after approximately 
thirty minutes within SCP-980's containment area, with heart failure 
occurring almost immediately afterward. Autopsy showed that the 
chambers of the subject's heart had been fused together. Physical 
results tend to be somewhat random, usually affecting the heart, 
lungs, arteries, stomach and intestines, the brain, and the sensory 
organs. While some cases are not fatal or even harmful in the case 
of the sensory organs, further exposure to SCP-980 causes 
transformations at a rapid pace. 


SCP-980 was found at the apartment complex in — 
after several hours of exposure to SCP-980 caused deaths and 
mental harm to nearby civilians as well as color and shape 
simplification to said apartment complex and many objects inside. At 
the time of acquisition, it was wearing heavy winter clothing and a 
hood. SCP-980 has not responded thus far to inquiries as to how it 
came to be, though room 307 seemed to have been affected more 
than other nearby locations. In addition, the tenant of room 307, 

, was unaccounted for among the bodies of SCP-980's "victims". 


Addendum 980-01: The standard SCP humanoid uniform issued to 
SCP-980 shortly after its recovery has remained in close proximity to 
SCP-980 for the entirety of its containment. The uniform showed 
steady results of simplification but was still serviceable until - -20 , 
when a researcher noticed that it had for the most part vanished. A 
thin cloud was present in SCP-980's containment cell and the 


SHEVARDNADZE: Yes, that is consistent with the report that we 
have been given. Thank you. 


THE PRESIDENT: Well, don’t thank me. All we’re doing is giving her 
a ride. Let the folks down there in their igloo, or whatever it is, let 
them figure out what to do with her, that’s the prudent thing to do at 
this juncture. Colin, my understanding is that the boat is ready. 
Would you confirm that? 


POWELL: Yes, sir, the USS New Haven will arrive at the Matochkin 
Strait facility by Sukhoy Nos on August 19, local time, at which 
point... 


THE PRESIDENT: The New Haven, huh? Dick, | know that Yale 
kicked you out, but you didn’t have to waste a perfectly good attack 
submarine to get even. 


CHENEY: I, well, sir, it was ... 


POWELL: Mr. President, Secretary Cheney wasn't involved in that 
decision, and it was the closest boat on station. 


THE PRESIDENT: I’m just pulling your leg, Dick. It's a Bonesman 
thing, ha ha. 


CHENEY: Yes, sir. 


SHEVARDNADZE: George, we are ready on our end. Vladimir 
Vladimirovich and his team will handle loading the subject onto your 
vessel. 


BAKER: Excuse me, Minister. This is the Lieutenant Colonel from 
the KGB whom you introduced me to? 


SACHS: It’s him, Mr. Secretary. He’s also one of ours. Very 
effective, very reliable. 


THE PRESIDENT: And Eduard, the cover operation on your end? 


SHEVARDNADZE: I’m not involved ... hold on [unintelligible, in 
Russian] ... Boris says it’s under control. 


THE PRESIDENT: It’s under control? | can’t greenlight this 
operation on my end based on that. Not gonna do it, Eduard. Now, 
you've seen that our people are getting better and better at 
managing a cover, ah, Desert Storm should be enough to 
demonstrate that. But it’s critical, critical that we keep the world from 
paying attention to her, from knowing about the handoff or the 
transport. 


SHEVARDNADZE: Absolutely. [unintelligible, in Russian] Please 
stand by. [unintelligible, in Russian] ... Da. [unintelligible, in Russian] 
... Boris says there is a plan that is involving KGB Chairman 
Kryuchkov, Premier Pavlov, Minister Yazov and ... a few others. 


PUGO: [unintelligible, in Russian] 
SHEVARDNADZE: [unintelligible, in Russian] 


VALENTINO: [aside to the President] Sir, Minister Shevardnadze 
said “you what,” you know, with a tone of disbelief. And they’re both 
talking at once, sir, | can’t sort it out while they’re arguing. Minister 
Pugo is saying that they’re going to move now that Gorbachev is at 
his dacha. Sir, they’re talking about an overthrow ... 


SHEVARDNADZE: It is ... not a real coup, Mr. President. It is ... 
distraction. 


THE PRESIDENT: Greg, has your team, ah, vetted this plan? 


SACHS: Lieutenant Colonel Putin and | have been through it with 
Minister Pugo and the others. Given the time constraints at play 
here, we’re satisfied with ... [unintelligible] 


CHENEY: [unintelligible] ... the chain of command here. These 
cowboys shouldn’t ... [unintelligible] 


BAKER: [unintelligible] ... like the other time, Dick. They need to be 
able to ... [unintelligible] 


POWELL: [unintelligible] ... when are we going to get our submarine 
back? If we ...[unintelligible] 


SACHS: [unintelligible] ... General, we’re not taking your submarine 


away from you, um, that being said, you understand that | can't 
speak as to the receiving team. At any rate, based on the file, it’s not 
clear whether the boat is going to be in condition to be returned to 
service ... 


THE PRESIDENT: You’re OK with this, Greg? 
SACHS: Yes, sir. 


CHENEY: ... is vitally important for us to understand the situation 
there, and how it is expected to unfold. It may be good cover, but in 
the medium term, there are known unknowns and there are 
unknown unknowns, ah, ... it could be bad for business, and that ... 


THE PRESIDENT: Dick, Greg and | go way back, to when | was at 
Langley, and I’m telling you that | am prepared to proceed based on 
the GOC’s assurances ... 


SHEVARDNADZE: Mr. President, let me assure you that Mikhail 
Sergeyevich and | will have things, ah, things will be back to normal 
in a week or two. 


THE PRESIDENT: In that case, then, | think we’re all settled. Do you 
agree, Eduard? 


SHEVARDNADZE: Da. Yes, Mr. President. Colonel Sachs, is clear 
at your side? 


SACHS: We're ready ... and let me add on a personal note, Mr. 
President, Minister Shevardnadze and Minister Pugo, that ... that | 
am truly sorry, on a personal level, that my organization can’t 
continue to hold the line. It’s just ... I'm sorry. We've tried everything, 
really everything since Khruschev turned it over to us, and ... | just 
... Mr. Minister, let me assure you that those Soviet men and women 
up there over the years did not make those sacrifices in vain. 


PUGO: Grigoriy, [in Russian] 


VALENTINO: [aside, to the President] He says, “Gregory, you did 
your best.” 


THE PRESIDENT: Greg, we all recognize that it was either this, or 


call it on Cold Harper, and ... uh, none of us wants to go there. And 
Eduard, please tell Mikhail on behalf of all of us that we will never 
forget what your people have been doing, up there, on behalf of the 
world. I’m sure it must be a great relief to all of you, you know, to let 
the white coats have to deal with it for a change. 


SHEVARDNADZE: Yes ... thank you, Mr. President. Please ... 
please give my best to your family. 


THE PRESIDENT: And Barbara sends her best to Nanuli, Eduard. 
I’m glad we could have this conversation to set this in motion. 
Gentlemen, anything else before we let them go? Very well, thank 
you. 


— End of conversation — 


EPILOGUE 1: 
GROTON, CONNECTICUT 
22 AUG 1991 18:36 UTC 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 


COMSUBLANT REPORTS LOSS OF USS NEW 
HAVEN (SSN-746), ALOS ANGELES-CLASS ATTACK 
SUBMARINE. LAST REPORTED LOCATION WAS 
APPROXIMATELY 230 NAUTICAL MILES SSW OF 
ICELAND. THE PENTAGON INDICATED THAT THE 
NEW HAVEN HAD BEEN DETACHED FROM 
SUBMARINE SQUADRON TO ASSIST NOAA WITH 
SEAFLOOR MAPPING IN THE ARCTIC AND NORTH 
ATLANTIC OCEANS. NO SIGNALLING BUOY HAS 
YET BEEN LOCATED. A SEARCH AND RESCUE 
TEAM HAS BEEN DISPATCHED TO THE AREA. 


EPILOGUE 2: 


Chicago Sun Times, August 22, 1991 


Plotter in coup commits suicide 


MOSCOW Soviet Interior Minister Boris Pugo, a leader 
of the coup against President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, 
killed himself with a shot in the mouth today to avoid 
arrest, a Soviet KGB spokesman said. 


Pugo's wife also shot herself and was in serious 
condition. 


The spokesman for the Soviet intelligence agency said 
Pugo, who won a reputation as a ruthless hard-liner 
during his years as KGB chief in Latvia, had been aware 
a team was on its way to arrest him at his apartment 
after the collapse of the coup ... 


EPILOGUE 3: 
August 23, 1991 
Site 236, Queen Maud Land (71°40'S 02°50'W) 


“Captain Richards? Welcome to Antarctica. I’m Dr. Garcia. We’re 
delighted to have you, we don’t get as many visitors down here in 
Antarctica as some of us would like, yes, especially this time of year. 
Goes with the territory when you take the king’s shilling — or the 
Foundation’s shilling, one might say. Thank you for the delivery, 
we'll take it from here. Why am | wearing the gas mask, you ask? 
Two reasons. The first is that it’s part of our quarantine protocol for 
acquisitions of this type, and as for the second, if you’d care to turn 
this way, and step under the gas hood ... no need to struggle, sir, 
it's just an inhalant amnestic ... see, the rest of your crew are just 
unconscious, they’re fine ... and he’s down. Good. Emilio, 
remember the order that Control sent down? Yeah, get these men 
suited up in the New Haven’s evac kit, then bring them and the 
boat’s SEIE equipment back up to Iceland within the next twenty- 
four hours. No, we’re not recruiting them, we’re going to drop them 
off and let the Navy pick them up. Uh, yeah, it's a perfectly good 
sub, of course we'll keep it. As for the thing in the boat’s hold ... let’s 
see ... You’re quite the ugly thing, aren’t you, SCP-84787?” 


« Transcript of meeting, June 2 1972 | COLD HARPER » 


Translated From Palauan 


They've stopped coming. They used to come four times a day, to 
feed me, to keep me furnished, sometimes to test me. It was horrible 
some days, especially when they slipped up and | started hurting. 
But they used to come. Now the room's dirty beyond belief, all the 
electronics have stopped working, and the hurting won't stop. Why 
aren't they coming? 


It's getting dark, too. Did they cut the power? Or is that me blacking 
out? Or the burning fluid getting in my eyes? | don't like the dark; it 
scares me, it has all the feelings that hurt me in it. | want them to 
bring back the lights. 


I've tried the door a few times. | thought the burning stuff would eat 
through it if they had turned the power off, but it only hurt me. | can't 
force the lock. There's no other way out. Everything's decaying 
around me, and I'm feeling worse, and | feel bad about that and I'm 
hurting myself more and more. 


It must be really bad out there; I'm hurting more than my own 
emotions could make me. | used to burn every so often, but now | do 
it everyday. My skin feels like it's peeling off, and | can't even 
scream sometimes, because my throat's so clogged up. | need them 
to come back. | need them to make the burning stop. 


And my head hurts. Not like the burning stuff makes it hurt, but like 
there's a vice on it. Something's squeezing my head in, taking my 
memories. It's like there's a giant sponge in the walls, eating away at 
everything | am. But that's not possible. They said the things they 
put in the walls stop me from hurting. 


Why can't | remember my name? 
They told me they're always watching. They Know I'm suffering. In 


the past, when | hurt, they came and saved me. But now, | just hurt 
alone. 


It's like they threw me away because I'm not good enough. 
John. You brought me here. Please, get me out. 


Help. 


Transmissions 


To: Director 
From: Researcher 
Subject: Species XC-1105 


After 2 months of testing both standard and specialized, 
my research team and | have come to the conclusion 
that Species XC-1105 as a whole is entirely non- 
anomalous and do not warrant any special protocols. 
Testing has revealed Species XC-1105 to be on par with 
our own race in terms of intelligence, as was expected, 
but any meaningful progression in their civilization or 
technology is not expected to occur if our current rate of 
societal development is maintained. However, it is of our 
opinion that the full nature of Species XC-1105 should 
not be made public at this time, so as not to cause 
unneeded distress. 


As members of Species XC-1105 have shown to be 
relatively easy to breed and command, we propose for a 
population to be kept in possession for general 
experimental purposes. This would remedy the poor 
turnout of test subjects seen in recent years. Decision is 
awaiting council approval. 


To: Researcher 
From: Director 
Subject: RE:Species XC-1105 


The council has officially approved the proposal. All sites 
will be receiving groups of XC-1105 in order to facilitate 
experimentation requiring live subjects. You and your 
research team will be appropriately rewarded for your 
findings. 


Incident Report 


On [REDACTED], a breach broke out during attempted 
transportation of - - (ahigh threat reality-bending 
entity) from Site 43 to Site 52. XC personnel had faltered 
while performing procedures, allowing the entity an 
opportunity to kill the agents supervising the process. 
The entity then caused a event, causing severe 
damage to a large portion of Site 43 and killing 
additional personnel. The remains of the XC personnel 
present during the event could not be found. See full 
document for more details. 


»at least, thats what he told me 

»hmm 

»| personally wouldn't trust him. You know how he can 
be in situations like this. 

»true 

»i guess ill have to get my own answers then 

» That would be the best way to handle this. 

»agreed 

»well i gotta get some sleep. really shouldnt be up this 
late anyway. but im glad we got to talk. its been a while 
»Sure has been. 

»see ya 

»See ya 

»hold on 

»What 

»oh no 

»oh my god oh my god 

»What?? 

»i see a huge fire outside my window 

»Are you being serious? 

»yes im serious ill send you a picture 

»did you get it 

»...Oh my god... 

» That's not close to you at all though, right? 

»its spreading fast. fire should not spread THAT fast 
»What are you gonna do?? 


composition of the cell's air was noted to contain 0. % more 
hydrogen. 


Addendum 980-02: Lead was found to be one of few substances 
that is highly resistant to SCP-980's natural effects on its 
surroundings. As such, SCP-980's containment cell is constructed 
entirely of lead, with leaded glass used in its windows. In a recent 
test leaded glass showed increased resistance to SCP-980's effect, 
requiring replacement every two weeks. 


Incident Report 980-04