Item #: SCP-1563
Object Class: Safe Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Specimens of SCP-1563 are contained in a sealed vivarium at Bio-Containment Site 84 built to emulate a temperate forest environment, and ten Odocoileus virginianus (White Tailed Deer) are to be released into the cell on a weekly basis. Any further specimens of SCP-1563 found in the wild are to be terminated. (See Addendum-1)

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In light of recovery log 2, any new specimens are to be handled with extreme caution, and will be stored in a sealed vivarium at Bio-Containment Site 84. This vivarium is separate from the original vivarium used to store the pink specimen of SCP-1563.
Any civilians involved with the capture of a new SCP-1563 specimen are to be given Class-C amnestics.

Description: SCP-1563 is a predatory organism resembling plastic property boundary markers commonly used in rural areas. Specimens of SCP-1563 usually exhibit pink coloration (with orange and blue coloration being recently discovered), though more types of coloration are thought to exist. SCP-1563 has very durable and sharp tooth-like structures measuring 1.5 mm covering the ventral side of its body. These teeth are used to puncture the skin of its prey.
SCP-1563 exhibits behavior of ambush predators, attaching itself to trees or other standing wooden structures. When a prey animal passes by, SCP-1563 will detach and leap onto its target, then wrap around its prey's neck and strangle it to death before puncturing its neck using sharp teeth and feeding on its blood. SCP-1563's preferred prey appears to be Odocoileus virginianus (White-Tailed Deer) and as such poses minimal threat to humans unless provoked or malnourished. SCP-1563 is able to survive for at most two weeks without nourishment.
SCP-1563 has two organs; a small capillary system which is presumably used to process and distribute the consumed blood throughout the body, and the aforementioned teeth, which are structured so that when blood is introduced onto the surface of the teeth, the blood will diffuse into a set of capillaries located immediately under the first layer of the teeth. SCP-1563's mean of locomotion is unknown, as no muscle tissues have been discovered. By extension, the means by which SCP-1563 circulates blood is also unknown, if circulation occurs at all.
SCP-1563 has an extremely durable cell structure composed of what appears to be a 'double'-cell wall - this 'double-cell wall' is literally two cell walls; one inner cell wall, and one outer cell wall (both in addition to the cell membrane) which forms a tight bond with adjacent cells. It is hypothesized that this double cell wall is used to help SCP-1563 stay together when attacking prey, so that they are not easily torn. SCP-1563 reproduces asexually. The specimen will split itself in two, and hunt smaller prey such as rabbits until it grows to a sufficient size. At that point, it will resume hunting White-Tailed Deer.
SCP-1563 will occasionally secrete a yellowish-brown substance, presumably waste. The excretions halt approximately 1-2 hours after they begin.
It should be noted that on touch, there is no discernible difference between SCP-1563 and a plastic property marker.
SCP-1563 came to the Foundation's attention following multiple reports of deer strangled using property markers in ████████ ██████, Virginia. Undercover Foundation agents investigating the incidents were able to identify the anomalous entity responsible, and a containment team was able to secure several specimens and transport them to Temporary-Storage Site ██.

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Test Log 1563-7.0:
Test Purpose: To discern whether or not a non-malnourished SCP-1563 specimen has other food preferences. If so, these preferences are thought to be associated with fauna residing in western North America. This is the last of such tests, as each prior test has resulted in no response from SCP-1563.
Involved Personnel: D-4213
Organisms Involved: Multiple specimens of SCP-1563, one American Black Bear

During this instance of testing, the following events occurred. Upon introducing the bear to the testing environment, the bear became enraged and began to attack D-4213, who was the personnel introducing the bear to the environment. 12 instances of SCP-1563 leaped onto the bear and began collaboratively feeding off of it, with two instances having wrapped around the neck, two around the right front leg, three around the left front leg, three around the right back leg, and two around the left back leg. The bear entered hypovolemia, and died 5 minutes after initial attachment.
The 12 instances involved attacked the bear unusually quickly, considering that they had been previously fed their usual diet. All 12 instances were observed to be more dormant over the next month, not requiring any nourishment and exceeding the usual lifespan of an unfed instance of SCP-1563. After this, each specimen returned to normal activity.

This was an unusually fast attack for specimens of 1563. This is a long shot, but the feeling I get is that they were preventing further harm from coming to D-4213. Worth noting is that D-4213 was selected from a group of convicted criminals having committed a victimless crime as determined by the ethics committee. In the future, I would recommend testing how SCP-1563 reacts in the same situation but with a D-class selected from a pool of criminals who have done worse. From my past research with other skips, I would suspect that specimens of SCP-1563 have some kind of moral complex. Whether they know about the specifics of a wrongdoing committed, they may be able to 'sense' the moral character of a sentient organism. - Researcher Hubei

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Test Log 1563-7.1:
Test Purpose: Here we will try to further determine whether SCP-1563 displays a protective attitude towards humans, as suggested by Researcher Hubei.
Involved Personnel: D-02231
Involved Organisms: Multiple specimens of SCP-1563, one Bengal Tiger

D-02231 entered the testing environment, as well as six SCP-1563 specimens. Five minutes later, a Bengal Tiger was introduced to the testing environment. Prior to testing, the tiger was not given any nourishment for two days, and then was agitated immediately preceding this test using various methods. Once the tiger was introduced to the testing environment, it immediately assumed a stalking posture. At this time, the SCP-1563 specimens were attached to the trees in their vivarium. The SCP-1563 specimens then began to detach themselves from the trees. The tiger pounced onto D-02231, causing a massive laceration in his left arm. The SCP-1563 specimens then dove off of the trees and began to attack and feed on the tiger. The tiger then died approximately four minutes later due to hypovolemia, similar to the bear in the previous test.

We know that the Bengal tiger is not native to the area in which we initially found SCP-1563, and to date we have not found any SCP-1563 specimen in southern Asia. This is further evidence that SCP-1563 may be protective over humans, as the Bengal tiger should not hypothetically be in the diet of SCP-1563. D-02231 was selected from a similar pool of convicted criminals as D-4213. I still recommend testing this with other D-class of lower moral standing. - Researcher Hubei

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Addendum-1563-1:

During a lab test to further study SCP-1563's anatomy, Researcher █████ noticed microscopic text on the dorsal side of an SCP-1563 specimen's body which displayed the words "pink : protect". Testing is underway to view both the dorsal and ventral sides of each SCP-1563 specimen currently contained. This text implies that there are SCP-1563 specimens that exhibit a different color. A retrieval mission is underway to obtain new colors of SCP-1563.

This seems to confirm my suspicions. But the inclusion of "pink" on this label implies that there are other colors of SCP-1563, perhaps with other properties. To date we have only discovered pink specimens. I am immediately requesting further examination of SCP-1563's initial recovery site and then we will determine where to go from there. - Researcher Hubei

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Addendum-1563-2

A group of seven SCP-1563 specimens with orange coloration were recovered near Area-██. Upon immediate examination, each displayed text on the ventral side of the body stating "orange : restrict." All specimen were actively hostile toward personnel not assigned to Area-██. This resulted in severe injuries to Researcher █████. It is currently unknown why these specimens were discovered in such close proximity to a high priority Foundation base.

It's been months since we've had any new developments with this SCP, but here it is. I conjecture that this also confirms my previous suspicions that 1563 can anomalously 'sense' things it should not otherwise have any way of knowing. For instance, how would the orange specimens have known what personnel are assigned to Area-██ and what personnel aren't? They don't even have a nervous system in which to store such information. - Researcher Hubei

In the months following the discovery of orange colored SCP-1563 specimens, a group of four blue specimens were recovered near █████ ██████, California, an area known to be particularly dry. Text was discovered on the dorsal side displaying "blue : drench". During examination, no extraordinary features were discovered aside from the color and text. Four days after examination of the specimen, a small non-destructive fire occurred on-site. Approximately 5.4 seconds later, the area containing the fire was instantly extinguished, and a large amount of water was subsequently found around the area of the fire. No personnel were in this part of the site at the time to extinguish the fire. It is now assumed that specimens of blue coloration serve the purpose of preventing fires or to assist in situations with a high lack of moisture. Further testing is planned.

It should be noted that both of these specimens have the same anatomy of the pink specimen, aside from the color and the effects accompanied by them.

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Following multiple caving-related deaths in a cave near █████, ███████, and subsequent reports of 'plastic black ribbons' closely associated with the deaths, Researcher Hubei suspected that this was involved with a new instance of SCP-1563. The following is the video log transcript of the subsequent investigation.

Recovery Log 1563-2
Date: ██/██/████
Team: Foundation Recovery Team Phi-5
Subject: SCP-1563
Team Members: P5-1, P5-2
Team Lead: P5-9

[BEGIN LOG]
P5-9: Comms activated. Team, confirm.
P5-1: Confirm.
P5-2: Confirm.
P5-9: Communication confirmed. Right ladies and gentlemen, this one's a safe but we may be stepping into unknown ground here. Stay frosty.
SiteCommand: Phi-5 9, you are clear to deploy.
P5-9: Heard loud and clear. Let's go.
The team enters the cave with P5-9 taking the lead. P5-2's video feed shows a large amount of a yellowish-brown substance around the top of the entrance of the cave.
P5-2: Look up. We know these things are expelling waste. That's gotta be what that is.
P5-9: You're right. Keep an eye on the roof of the cave but don't get too distracted. Skips can be clever bastards.
The team continues further into the cave, which has maintained a mostly horizontal orientation until now - they have reached a steep vertical drop.
P5-1: That's a deep drop. We going in there?
P5-9: We'll have to. It would be poor taste to leave empty handed. We've seen evidence of 1563 but no actual specimen yet. We have to at least leave knowing that something's in here, or not, then they can bring in a larger team for recovery. Two, I want you to stay up here to secure myself and One's descent. We'll need help getting back up, too. You should be fine - we haven't found anything in the cave up to this point, so if anything's in here, it's down there. Understood, team?
P5-1: Understood.
P5-2: Understood.
P5-9: Alright, One. Let's do it.
P5-9 and P5-1 begin securing rappel equipment into the cave floor. Once the safety of this is checked, they begin.
P5-1: Been a while since I've done this.
P5-9: You'll be fine. Just remember your training.
Approximately 5 minutes after descent began, P5-1 and P5-9's video feeds were disconnected from SiteCommand's communications, but their audio remained connected to P5-2's local feed. The video feed shown here was recovered later.
P5-1: Jesus, how deep is this? It's a cave. Shouldn't go this far.
P5-9: Relax, we're almost there.
//Two more minutes pass, and the floor of the drop is visible on both P5-9 and P5-1's video feed.
P5-9: Steady, One - we're about to hit the bottom. Two, please make sure the ropes are secure for our ascent later. Let me know if our feed begins to drop.
P5-2: Will do. Be careful down there.
Almost immediately following this, P5-2's video feed cut out and SiteCommand lost contact with -1 and -9 as a result.
P5-1: Whoa. You hear that?
P5-9: Yeah. Two, do you copy?
A loud thud can be heard from behind P5-1, who turned around to see P5-2 laying on the ground, presumably expired. Two black SCP-1563 specimens are visible around -2's neck, but this is apparently unnoticed by P5-1 and P5-9. Following this, -1's feed showed a long coil of rope fall down beside -2's body.
P5-1: Oh shit! How? What happened?
P5-9: Fuck. That leaves one rope for ascent. This is why they tell you not to get attached, One. SiteComm will send someone back in here eventually, but for now, we press on. We're not done in here yet. Keep steady and follow me.
As they continue, an increasing amount of the yellow-brown substance is seen along the walls, but still no sign of SCP-1563.
P5-9: We're getting close. Stay close to me, One. Let me know if you see anything.
They come upon an opening in the cave, inside of which there is clearly a large amount of SCP-1563 of many different colorations, including colors that have been previously undiscovered.
P5-1: Oh shit. It's like they're just collectively writhing around - Jesus. I've never seen anything like it.
P5-9: One, I want you to help me examine these things. There's text on their undersides. Just try to a close shot of both sides of every color specimen. The boys at the lab can look at this footage while they send a proper recovery team to get these things out.
They both do this for specimens of the following colors: green, red, black, blue, pink, yellow, and purple. Note that the video feed shows a much higher concentration of black specimens than any other color. During this examination, P5-1 picks up what appears to be a notebook. He opens it to the first page and briefly examines it before putting the journal back and continuing the task at hand. P5-1 does not notify P5-9 of this.
P5-9: Alright, that should be good. From what I can tell, that covers all the colors. Let's go.
On the trip back to the vertical drop, multiple orange specimens are seen around the cave. They begin to move towards P5-1 and P5-9.
P5-9: Shit. Run.
They easily outrun the specimens of SCP-1563 and quickly thereafter reach the ascension rope. P5-1 turns around to see a few orange specimens still pursuing them.
P5-9: This thing's only gonna support one of us. Sorry, kid.
P5-1: No -
P5-9: That's an order from your team lead. You're to stay here to secure my ascent, then you can follow me once I give you the okay.
P5-1 doesn't respond. P5-9 mounts the rope and begins his ascent while P5-1 watches, frequently glancing at the approaching orange SCP-1563 specimens. Seconds pass and P5-1 looks at P5-2's body to see the black specimens of SCP-1563 detaching from P5-2's neck. P5-1 backs away from his body, but stops when he sees that the black specimens have begun to rapidly ascend the rope. At this time, the orange specimens of SCP-1563 stop moving towards P5-1 and begin to move back into deeper part of the cave from which they came.
P5-1: Oh -
P5-9: Something you wanna say, One?
P5-1: No.
A minute passes, and P5-1 observes P5-9 climbing down the rope. There is a black SCP-1563 specimen around his neck.
P5-9: Go on. You earned it.
P5-9 motions towards the rope.
P5-1: What -
P5-9: That's an order. From your team lead. Leave.
P5-9's speech seems strained at this point. P5-1 obliges and begins to ascend. P5-1's video feed shows him glancing back down upon P5-9 occasionally, only to see him sitting next to P5-2's body. The last clear view of the floor of the drop that P5-1's video feed obtained showed multiple red specimens approaching P5-9. P5-1 finished his ascent 15 minutes later and regained contact with SiteComm shortly thereafter. The video footage in this log was recovered from P5-1's feed storage upon his return to Site-█.

The following is the only text visible in the journal opened by P5-1 in the recovery log.

The world's got no moral character. These'll fix that.

Considering these events, I am requesting that the object class of SCP-1563 be upgraded to Euclid. We don't know if this is the only source of these things. - Researcher Hubei
Approved. Object class is now Euclid. I am currently personally reviewing the containment procedures. - Site-█ Administrator Harding

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Upon further examination of the specimens later recovered from the cave near █████, ███████, each specimen of SCP-1563 had different microscopic text written on the dorsal side. These are the findings:

Specimen Color
Associated Text

Pink
pink : protect

Red
red : purge

Black
black : control

Orange
orange : restrict

Blue
blue : drench

Purple
purple : ignite

Green
green : heal

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