Item #: SCP-1788
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Containment of SCP-1788 is currently impossible. Embedded agents in various governments, including those of ███████, ██████, and ███ ██████ ██████ ██ ███████, are working to enact mandatory roentgen screenings under the guise of tuberculosis eradication, as a means of pinpointing SCP-1788-1 instances. Any suspected instances of SCP-1788-1 are to be reported immediately to Armed Biological Area-223 Command. Personnel are not to engage suspected instances and should retreat immediately.
The Foundation currently has seven (7) instances of SCP-1788-1 imprisoned in Armed Biological Area-223. Contact with these instances is strictly forbidden outside of approved experiments. Each instance is to be housed in a separate humanoid containment cell. Feeding and cleaning requirements are laid out in document 1788-CF.
No more SCP-1788-1 instances are required for current research purposes; any newly-discovered instances of SCP-1788-1 are preemptively cleared by O5 command for immediate termination by Armed Mobile Task Force Tau-4 ("All Things Bright and Dutiful").
Description: SCP-1788 is a process, treatment, or other means of biological transformation. A prepubescent human being subjected to SCP-1788 becomes an instance of SCP-1788-1. Currently the creator(s) or discoverer(s) of SCP-1788 is unknown; groups of interest are being investigated. Finding the origin of SCP-1788 is considered a Sindri-level priority.
On reaching adulthood, SCP-1788-1 instances display predatory behavior towards prepubescent humans. Typically, they will settle in a large urban center, find a form of white-collar employment,1 then begin tracking prepubescents in the area. Approximately once every six (6) months, an SCP-1788-1 instance will attempt to abduct one of the prepubescents it has been tracking and take them to a remote or otherwise unobserved location, where it is subjected to the SCP-1788 process and turned into an instance of SCP-1788-1.
Little information has been gathered from captured instances of SCP-1788-1. Instances are of above-average intelligence,2 and show extremely strong resistance to compulsion, coercion, torture, [DATA EXPUNGED], and other forms of information extraction. Every instance to date has also shown signs of malignant narcissism and psychopathy; they generally have a complete lack of empathy while also showing keen psychological insight. For these reasons, among others, unauthorized contact with SCP-1788-1 instances is strictly forbidden.
Individual instances generally do not voluntarily gather or interact, except for the purposes of mating; in fact, when two or more instances are placed in the same environment, they typically fight for dominance. This behavior is not gender-linked; females and males will fight one another in addition to their own genders, and in a mixed-gender group there will be only one dominant individual, who may be male or female. Captured instances are housed separately to minimize damage. Multiple instances have been seen in the same general urban area, but never in a ratio greater than 1:100,000 normal humans.3
Mating season apparently occurs annually, but is not seasonally linked: instances in some environments have been observed mating in the summer, while other instances have been observed mating in winter months. SCP-1788-1 instances will exclusively mate with one another; they have no apparent sexual attraction to normal humans. Gestation period for SCP-1788-1 instances is approximately forty (40) weeks, roughly the same as humans. Their offspring are genetically indistinguishable from normal humans and are not considered anomalous; however, as they are prime candidates for undergoing the SCP-1788 process, their capture or termination is to be considered high priority, second only to the termination of SCP-1788-1 instances.

+ SCP-1788-1 Anatomy

- SCP-1788-1 Anatomy

SCP-1788-1 Anatomy: It is extremely difficult to distinguish an instance of SCP-1788-1 from a normal adult human, even on close inspection. Individuals show variation as expected from gender and ethnicity, but share certain characteristics in common. SCP-1788-1 individuals appear to be obese, within the range of one hundred and fifty (150) to two hundred (200) kilograms when fully grown.4 SCP-1788-1 instances have larger-than-average eyes, though not enough to appear abnormal on casual inspection. Their sweat contains high levels of potassium and copper, though still within the normal range for an adult human.
Though externally normal, their internal anatomy has been extensively changed. SCP-1788-1 instances' long bones and cranium have been reinforced with several heavy metals, and their muscle fibers have been interwoven with structures resembling carbon nanotubes. This gives them durability, strength, and speed well above the human baseline; see document 1788-1-DX for measurements and estimates. (Level 3 clearance is required.)
SCP-1788-1 instances possess backup organs and systems for most of their bodies' vital processes. For example, they have a secondary heart, lower in the torso, which can work in tandem with the primary heart to more efficiently circulate blood, or can function independently as necessary. Certain blood vessels have complex "valve" structures, allowing instances to close off blood flow to damaged limbs and other areas to prevent excessive blood loss. Other organ systems also have two or three redundant backups that can take over in the event of the failure of the primary organ(s).
SCP-1788-1 instances also possess a secondary brain, located in the upper torso and protected by its own skeletal structure, similar in construction to the ribcage. Currently the exact function of this brain is unknown; it is known that this brain can continue to function even in the event of the destruction of the primary brain, as demonstrated by Incident 1788-XR-12.5
The final difference in gross anatomy is the appearance of a second pair of arms, located directly below the main pair. These have apparently equal strength and dexterity to the upper pair, and SCP-1788-1 instances are apparently capable of using all four arms simultaneously. When not actively hunting, instances hold the lower pair folded closely to their sides, where they are largely concealed by natural bulk. When hidden in this manner, it is virtually impossible to distinguish a clothed instance of SCP-1788-1 from a normal, obese human, except on close inspection.

LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE REQUIRED

+ PRESENT CREDENTIALS NOW

CLEARANCE ACCEPTED, ACCESS GRANTED

Interview log SCP-1788-1-863:

Interviewed: SCP-1788-1-863
Interviewer: Site Director Mandeville
Note: SCP-1788-1-863 was restrained and fitted with an electroshock collar for this interview.
<Begin log>
Director Mandeville: Please state your name for the record.
[SCP-1788-1-863 laughs.]
SCP-1788-1-863: I don't need a name. Names are for children.
Director Mandeville: The driver's license and other materials on your person identify you as █████ ██████. Is that your name?
SCP-1788-1-863: That's my child name. I don't need it now.
Director Mandeville: Then I'll refer to you as 863.
SCP-1788-1-863: Call me what you like, just don't call me late for supper. [SCP-1788-1-863 laughs.]
Director Mandeville: You were found by our agents outside an elementary school, and documents in your car and apartment include multiple photographs of children, taken without their knowledge. Are you a pedophile, 863?
[SCP-1788-1-863 suddenly becomes violent and attempts to break his restraints.]
SCP-1788-1-863: [EXPLETIVE] you, you sick [EXPLETIVE]! I'll [EXPLETIVE] kill you! You're the pervert, you [EXPLETIVE]!
Director Mandeville: If you're not a pedophile, 863, then why are you observing children?
[SCP-1788-1-863 stops attempting to break restraints.]
SCP-1788-1-863: You think they're children? [SCP-1788-1-863 laughs.] I can't believe we came from you.
Director Mandeville: Explain what you mean by that, 863.
[SCP-1788-1-863 does not speak. Director Mandeville activates the shock collar. SCP-1788-1-863 does not visibly react. SCP-1788-1-863 laughs.]
SCP-1788-1-863: That's what I mean. You think you can hurt me with that? You're a failure, doctor. You don't even know what you are.
Director Mandeville: Would you care to elaborate, 863?
SCP-1788-1-863: You wonder why your scientists haven't found any anomalous implants in our bodies? Why we have no surgical scars? Why our genes are pure, unmodified human? Because we are human, doctor.
Director Mandeville: Your X-rays don't look very human, 863.
SCP-1788-1-863: We don't look like you. We're not failures. We're not children.
Director Mandeville: You regard us as children?
SCP-1788-1-863: You still look like children. You aren't finished.
Director Mandeville: What do you—
SCP-1788-1-863: You're stunted. Incomplete. You're like the amphibian that grows up to breathe water instead of air. The eggs I watched, they must hatch into us. They need to be finished.
Director Mandeville: So you abduct them to complete their … metamorphosis?
SCP-1788-1-863: We don't need companionship. We don't live like you, in herds. Each one of us knows what we need to do. And each of us is capable of it.
Director Mandeville: And what do you want us to do?
SCP-1788-1-863: Grow up. Or die.
<End log>

Footnotes
1. Notably, they will usually not seek employment in a job where they would work directly with children. Presumably this is to limit suspicion.
2. More detailed observations are difficult to make, as instances refuse to take standardized exams, become aggressive and uncooperative when forced to answer questions, or are otherwise unwilling or unable to comply with tests.
3. This behavior is similar to that of apex predators.
4. Note that their actual weight is often closer to two hundred and fifty (250) kilograms, due to higher muscle and bone density.
5. Logs of this incident have not been fully cleared. In summary, a team of agents were able to lure an SCP-1788-1 instance into the range of a sniper, who was able to destroy most of the instance's head, including the entirety of the "main brain," with several shots from a high-caliber rifle. However, the instance still displayed full mobility and partial lethality, disabling two agents, one fatally, at close range. It is unknown how the instance was still able to sense the agents with most of its primary sense organs destroyed; research is ongoing.

« SCP-1787 | SCP-1788 | SCP-1789 »