LOI/POI-3533: /am these people. We are. We 
had a bit of fiasco with one of our competitors 
two decades back? that caused a bit of an 
uproar. Things got out of hand, and, well, a 
whole tank of cleaner just sort of flooded the 
whole complex. We knew what we were 
getting ourselves into, but alas, hubris. The 
destroyer of men. Not that any of us are 
actually dead. | think Jacobs has food 
poisoning. Does that mean | have food 
poisoning too? Mercy. Sorry, this whole thing 
has been a mess. And S. C. Johnson has not 
responded to any of our tickets, we think they 
may have forgotten about us. 


Carden: You've been in contact with the 


A: “S, let it go, it's not-” 
K: “I will-” 

D-11: “-touching my foo-” 
R: “Guys-” 


<Sudden burst of radio static, along with several inarticulate voices 
and the sound of grinding metal. Continues for eight seconds.> 


A: “Jesus...” 
S: “Did we just...rock?” 
G: “A, is there any record of movement in 455?” 


A: “Not one. Guys, can you still see us? Any movement 
from 455?” 


<Base team reports zero movement of any kind from or 
around SCP-455> 


K: “...where is the Class D?” 
<Several seconds of radio silence.> 


S: “... had eyes on him the whole time. He was against 
this wall...what...” 


A: “What is... oh... are you kidding... R, get your pick 
and get that out of the wall.” 


R: “...metal can't do that...it's like it rusted the tooth out 
right along with it.” 


S: “It's like it's been there for ages...” 
<Three seconds of radio silence.> 


K: “D-11 is now missing, presumed dead or unable to be 
retrieved. Proceeding down right hallway. Let's move.” 


outside world recently? 


LOI/POI-3533: Well, no, it's been a while since 
any of us could use a computer. 


Pierce: Wait, if you are somehow the inside of 
the factory as well as yourselves, how are you 
still alive? Don't you need to eat? 


LOI/POI-3533: I'm not entirely sure. We think 
because we're bound to something that does 
not require sustenance, we too do not need 

food. We live on, as the soul of this company. 


Carden: Does that mean the factory is alive in 
some sense? 


LOI/POI-3533: | think you're asking the wrong 
questions. How about the grand tour? Please 

take off your shoes, Michael has a thing about 
germs. 


Pierce: Al-Alright. 


Some shuffling is heard as the agents 
presumably remove their footwear. The hums 
and hisses of machinery grow louder as they 
step inside. 


LOI/POI-3533: O-hoo, that tickles. Sorry, this 
is a first for us too. 


Pierce: Christ. 
Command: Everything okay? 


Pierce: It's this carpet in the entrance. | 
thought it was a wet shag rug, but its like 
they're tendrils. Or little fingers. 


Carden: | can feel them wriggle between my 
toes. 


LOI/POI-3533: Sorry, I'm nervous. We haven't 
gotten outsiders in a decade. Doesn't stop us 
from making more cleaners. We have all the 
precursors here, and some of our corporate 
owned suppliers still deliver crates out back.19 


Carden: Is there any way we can convince 
you to stop production? 


LOI/POI-3533: Lady, you'll have to take that 
up with corporate. This is our livelihood. 
Certainly you understand that? 


Carden: You're still getting paid? 


LOI/POI-3533: Direct deposit. If S. C. Johnson 
really wanted to halt production of 
‘Metaphysiclean!', surely they would have 
taken us off the payroll?"1 


Carden: | see. 


LOI/POI-3533: Look, | Know this is weird, but 
this place is all we have. The fact that you're 
here and asking these questions- | don't know 
who you work for, but | get the feeling it has to 
do with the state of things in here. 


Carden: That is correct. If there is any 
information at all you can give to us regarding 
what happened here, perhaps we can help you 
in some way. 


LOI/POI-3533: Uh, now that | think about it, 
you might be able to get something useful from 
Our server room, it has a hermetically sealed 
halogen fire suppression system that was 
triggered during the spill- it is the only area in 
this place that remains conceptually sound and 
the only place we can't access. 


Pierce: That's a good idea. Lead the way, if 
you would. 


LOI/POI-3533: Of course. It's right through the 
door on your left, there's a passage that takes 
you through the production floor and into the 
administrative offices. The server room is on 
the far end. 


Carden: Thank you very much, Mr. Miller. 


Soft footsteps are heard as they proceed to 
the doors that lead deeper inside. There is a 
pause before sounds of struggle are heard 
from Agent Pierce. 


LOI/POI-3533: What seems to be the issue? 


Pierce: The door seems blocked on the other 
side. It is unlocked, but something won't let me 
through. 


LOI/POI-3533: Oh my. This is embarrassing. 
We haven't really needed to use doors since 
we meshed with the rest of this place. 


Pierce: Mind if | use the crowbar? 
LOI/POI-3533: Erm, sure. Go ahead. 


Agent Pierce is heard using the crowbar to 
bend the door outward. The sounds of 
creaking and splintering wood fill the 
background, as well as a wet, indeterminate 
sloshing noise. 


Pierce: Oh, god, what the hell is this? 
LOI/POI-3533: What? What is it? 


Carden: What, you don't see it? 


Command: Report your status. 


Pierce: It's like a, god, like a giant pile of flesh 
and different concepts. | think it's human. Or 
multiple humans at one point. | can't tell, it all 
looks the same to me. 


Carden: Conceptually indeterminate corpses. 
Are you sure you can't see this, Frank? 


LOI/POI-3533: This place is pretty much 
uniform abstraction for us. Wait, corpses? 


Pierce: Not quite. It doesn't smell rotten, and 
it's been twenty years. | think- | think this might 
have been- or might still be some of you guys. 
From when you were trying to escape the spill. 
Wait- can you feel this? 


LOI/POI-3533: Ow! Yes, Karen says you just 
pinched somewhere around her leg. 


Pierce: This is some weird stuff. Uh, okay, it 
looks like we can fit through the doors still, but 
we may have to climb over some of you. We 
apologize in advance. 


Sounds of movement and various grunts are 
heard as the agents climb through the 
doorway and into the passage beyond. 


Carden: [coughs] Okay, we are through. You 
guys alright? 


LOI/POI-3533: | am fine, thanks. 
Carden: Can | ask you something, Frank? 
LOI/POI-3533: Of course. 


Carden: 'Metaphysiclean!’. Why? What does 
S. C. Johnson need a product like this for? 


LOI/POI-3533: Well- | can answer that- Yes, 
thank you. Karen will have a better answer 
than myself. She worked extensively on the 
formula when it was in its early stages- Yes, | 
did. | honestly had no idea what | was getting 
myself into when | was hired. My Master's in 
Polymer Science landed me a job in S. C. 
Johnson's labs doing some heavy work on 
protein weaving- things | never could believe 
they were doing. 


Carden: What is- 


LOI/POI-3533: Biomolecular constructs. I'm 
talking about manipulating the building blocks 
of life, uh- 


Carden: Carden. Elizabeth. 
Pierce: Mark. 


LOI/POI-3533: Right. I'm talking about 
creating compounds with pre-written 
instructions on how to operate. Proteins take 
on certain three dimensional shapes 
inherently, the instructions are already in place 
for all naturally occurring biomatter. It's a real 
wonder, if | do say so myself. 


Pierce: So S. C. Johnson decided to start 
tampering with the code, so to speak? 


LOI/POI-3533: You could say that. But since 
when did playing God become something that 
was too much for the elite? You of all people 
should know the extent of human curiosity. 


Pierce: What exactly do you mean by that? 


LOI/POI-3533: Don't play dumb now. | bet 
whoever you work for has a large stake in 


pushing the limits of man's grasp on the 
universe. 


Pierce: Point taken. 


LOI/POI-3533: S. C. Johnson was doing a lot 
more than playing with amino acids. They had 
private contractors all over the world looking 
into some of the farthest reaches of science. 
Some of the things | could hardly consider 
science at all. 


Carden: What would you consider it? 


LOI/POI-3533: You'd laugh if | said 'magic', so 
let's say they were messing with some pretty 
arcane stuff. | mean, look around. What do you 
see? 


Carden: | see a well managed factory, | think. 


LOI/POI-3533: Well thanks- | mean, what do 
you really see? Do you see a skilled workforce 
of hardworking Americans? Or do you see the 
souls of the damned, a group of forgotten not- 
quite-people whose lives have been twisted by 
the foils of a faceless corporation? Sorry, that's 
the ennui talking. Company morale wasn't 
great when the spill happened, and that sort of 
just stuck around ever since. 


Carden: | can understand. You've all been 
through so much. 


At this point, LOI/POI-3533's voice, which had 
been of indeterminate quality but singular 
nature previously, shifted to the sounds of 
multiple voices at once. 


LOI/POI-3533: You understand? | don't think 
you understand, and, honestly, | don't think 


you have the best interests of the company at 
the heart of your agenda. We have been here 
for twenty years! All we do is exist and 
produce. And for what? 


Carden: Mr. Miller- er- Karen, please. We 
honestly just want to help you. 


LOI/POI-3533: | don't think you can help us. 
And you- you want to shut us down. 


Factory noises swell in volume. Miscellaneous 
scraping and metal bangs can be heard as 
LOI/POI-3533's voice takes on a harsher tone. 


Pierce: Frank, what are you doing? 
Command: What is going on? 


Carden: The walls feel like they are closing in, 
and we are dead center in this complex. | think 
we should go, now. 


LOI/POI-3533: Leave? No, no, no, you'll just 
come back, won't you? With more? And you'll 
try to shut us down and destroy everything 
we've worked for. 


Pierce: We aren't going to shut you down, we 
swear. 


Carden: We just want to help you get better. 
LOI/POI-3533: Don't you understand? This is 
what we are now. No. You can't leave. Not 
now. 


A large bang is heard in the background. 


Pierce: Christ, there goes our exit. Carden, 
I've got an idea. 


Carden: What? 


Pierce: Remember what he said earlier? The 
only place they can't touch? 


Carden: The server room. 


LOI/POI-3533: Oh, no, you're not allowed 
access to our records unless you go through 
corporate! You lost that chance when you 
threatened to destroy this company- Hey! 
Wait, stop! 


Sounds of hurried movement are picked up, 
although LOI/POI-3533's voice does not 
change in terms of distance from the two. After 
fifteen seconds, sounds of splashing can be 
heard, followed by grunts emanating from 
Carden's microphone. 


Carden: Agh, crap. 
Pierce: Liz, what is it, we have to go- Oh, fuck. 
Command: What is happening? 


Carden: It looks like there is a leak in this vat 
here, | stepped in a puddle. | thought it was 
water, but that's obviously not the case. It's 
soaked through my sock. | took a few steps 
but now | can't move. Markus. What do | do? 


Pierce: | don't know. This stuff lasts a while. 
Command, | think you may need to send in 

some backup. Carden isn't going anywhere 
any time soon. 


LOI/POI-3533: Sorry, guys. It says on the 
bottle to avoid getting it on the skin. Some 
folks just won't listen to the warnings! Looks 
like you're stuck with us for the long haul, 
miss. 


Pierce: Frank, | really think you're going to 
have to let us go, buddy. Think about what 
something like this would mean for your 
company- 


LOI/POI-3533: Frank isn't here. Well, he is, 
but stop talking about us like we aren't all here, 
too. And don't play with us. No one has come 
in two decades. | don't think anyone will be 
coming for you either. Get enough of this stuff 
on you and you won't even be a memory 
anymore. 


Metal creaking noises are heard, followed by a 
loud crash. 


Carden: Shit, Markus, run! 


Pierce is heard breathing heavily, Carden is 
heard screaming but the noises are drowned 
out by the sounds of liquid flooding the area. 
Carden's microphone ceases function several 
seconds later. 


Pierce: Server room... server room... c'mon. 


Several seconds of rustling and miscellaneous 
background noise is picked up. 


Pierce: Ah, here. 


LOI/POI-3533: No, don't go in there! | will call 
the police! 


The sounds of the door opening and closing is 
heard. LOI/POI-3533's voice is heard to 
become muffled. 


LOI/POI-3533: You can't stay in here forever. 
And there's plenty more of 'Metaphysiclean!' 
where that came from! 


Pierce: Okay, command, I've located their 
data storage, and | can say for certain that 
servers are the only thing in this room. Thank 
Christ. My head hurts. Don't ever assign me 
more of this conceptual bullshit, | hate it. | hate 
all of this. 


Command: Duly noted. 


Pierce: There's a terminal over here. Let me 
see what | can find. 


Pierce is heard operating the computer for 
several minutes, while miscellaneous bangs 
and thuds are heard outside. 


LOI/POI-3533: Oh, wait, I've got an idea. 
[laughs] 


Pierce: That doesn't sound good. Alright, | 
found some ledgers, precursor lists, what is 
this? They're talking about some sort of 
alchemical plants. Essence of Raskovnik?1!2 
There's also a large archive of emails here, I'll 
send all the information to you guys ina 
moment- 


A loud sealing noise is heard in the room. 


Pierce: What was that? Nearly gave mea 
heart attack. 


LOI/POI-3533: Markus, |'m real sorry we had 
to do this. You won't understand, but we need 
this place. 


At this point, a female voice is heard over the 
loudspeaker of the factory. 


Intercom: Attention all factory workers, please 
evacuate immediately. 


<Team proceeds down hallway, followed by Marv 2. Video data 
shows hallway slightly tilted to the right, with 80% flooding. Team is 
equipped with wet suits and air tanks. All equipment appears to be 
working normally.> 


A: “... Shit... we have contact.” 


K: “Let me... oh. Reporting: water appears to end 
abruptly at the end of the hall. It appears some sort of 
force is keeping the water out of the next chamber... the 
division is very precise, and can be crossed without 
incident. It's like an invisible force...” 


S: “Christ... the room's so damn blue... it's really bright, 
almost looks fresh...” 


R: “Dead end, too... looks like we go left after all, bu-” 
G: “The hallway's gone!” 
A: “The fuck do... shit.” 


<Visual contact with team is suddenly lost for two seconds. Once 
contact is resumed, Marv 2 shows a flooded cargo section of 
SCP-455. No trace of team is seen anywhere. Marv 2 is 
unresponsive to controls for twenty two seconds. Marv 2 suddenly 
accelerates at a much higher velocity than it is capable of, impacting 
with a rusted wall. Video continues for four seconds after impact. 
Plant matter observed during the last two seconds of video matches 
no known species and appears exceptionally hostile. Base team is 
unable to send transmissions to exploration team.> 


K: “The, ah, entry hall is now gone...it appears the door 
now opens on to a shaft, with several ladders going 
down. The top of the shaft is in line with the top of the 
hatch door...there appears to be water leakage from 
several seams in the roof, with-” 


G: “I can't see bottom...| mean at all...that thing goes 
down a mile-” 


K: “With some flaking rust falling as well. The Marv 


Pierce: What did you do? 


LOI/POI-3533: No, you did this. You forced us 
to do this. 


Intercom: Halogen suppression system 
activated. 


Pierce: Oh, no. 


A mechanical whirring is picked up, followed 
by the sounds of ventilation. 


Pierce: Command, you need to send 
someone immediately! 


Command: They are en route to your location, 
but- 


Pierce: But what? 


Command: Did you secure the files and send 
them to uplink? 


Pierce: Yes. What should | do?