Item #: SCP-7934
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-7934 is to be kept in an artificial freshwater lake on-grounds at Area 565, and fitted with a tracking tag to monitor its movements underwater. The location was established due to similar environmental conditions to SCP-7934's original habitat. Live eels, trout, and salmon have been introduced to the habitat to provide a steady diet for SCP-7934. If SCP-7934 approaches any personnel on the shoreline of the lake, or while they are in an observation boat, they are to remain calm, so as not to cause it distress. If it vocalises or rests its head in the boat, personnel are to gently stroke its head or neck until it is satisfied, taking the opportunity to check its physical health. If a Surgeon Event is observed, personnel are to begin an immediate misinformation campaign, promoting the existence of SCP-7934 to the general public. Update: As of 22/06/2004, the preceding Special Containment Procedures are outdated. Refer to Revised Containment Procedures.
Description: SCP-7934 is currently a quadrupedal marine reptile bearing a close resemblance to a specimen of the genus Plesiosaurus, albeit larger in size than any fossil of the genus that has been discovered. Its body length is roughly 6.4m, with its neck comprising roughly 2.5m of that length, and its body mass has been approximated to be 970kg. Despite its appearance, SCP-7934 displays behaviour incongruent with current understandings of plesiosaurs; it has been observed raising its neck and bending its head at angles unsupported by current models of Plesiosaurus biology. SCP-7934 also shows notable signs of intelligence, including self-recognition of its reflection and a tendency to develop attachments to specific research staff.
SCP-7934's physiology has dramatically changed several times over the course of its time in Foundation captivity. These changes in physiology typically take a month to complete1 and are often visceral, with SCP-7934 invariably vocalising in pain or distress as its body reshapes itself.

Date of change2
Physiology
Size
Weight

1846 (year of initial recovery)
Resembled a large Irish wolfhound, with what appeared to be peat moss growing from its fur.
81cm (from foot to shoulder)
62kg

1857
Resembled a large reptile. Snout was elongated, with nostrils located on top of the nose. Eyes were enlarged and bulbous. Feet were noticeably crocodilian in form.
8m (from snout to tail)
Approx. 700kg

August 1888
Resembled a fire salamander3. Was observed propelling itself across the surface of the water by running, similar to a basilisk lizard4.
7m (from snout to tail)
Approx. 550kg

May 1933 - April 1934
Physiology became inconsistent and varied. At times, SCP-7934 was amphibious; at others, it was fully aquatic. Details including size, weight, type of feet, number of legs, length of snout, length of neck, and shape of head could alter, uniformly causing pain and distress to the organism.
Varied
Varied

21 April 1934
Resembles an abnormally large plesiosaur. This is SCP-7934's current physiology.
6.4m (from snout to tail)
Approx. 970kg

Incident 21/04/1934: In 1934, Dr. Anne Menzies, an assistant zoologist assigned to SCP-7934, made a series of notes in her personal journal detailing independent research into the organism's history and physiology.

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Feb 28

SCP-7934's in a dire state at the moment. Its legs have gotten horribly swollen. The damn things look more like hippo feet than any reptile or amphibian I've seen before. What I can't for the life of me work out is how we don't yet know what's causing this. I asked Rupert5 about it today and he just shrugged a bit. Said something like he's been trying to answer that for forty years, and that if I really wanted to I could look through the log of changes but that it wouldn't do much good. Patronising fuc
I shouldn't be getting upset at him. He's probably kicking himself over the whole thing as much as I am. Maybe I'll take him up on that offer, though.

Mar 4

Rupert was right - this does feel like a waste of time. I can't find a trend at all. The gaps in time between all the changes are irregular, and we've never observed anything like the mutations going on at the moment.
Why a dog? Every other time it's changed since we've had the creature it's been a reptile, or an amphibian, something with scales. But before then, a dog. I just can't work it out.
SCP-7934 changed again, incidentally. I watched as its neck grew longer and longer. The skin tore because it couldn't keep up with the growth. God, the noises it makes are too much sometimes.

Mar 6

I mentioned the questions I had about the dog to Rupert today and he said something that's stuck with me. He told me that a little before the Great War, he'd had a theory that SCP-7934 was originally some sort of kelpie - one of those so-called water horses - and that it'd somehow ended up morphing into a lizard. Apparently he gave up on it because he couldn't understand the reason behind the change. He told me not to worry about it, but it got me thinking. Kelpies are creatures of myth, are they not? Perhaps there's some sort of… storytelling component to it. But what could have happened in 1857 to make the damn thing turn into a di
I just went and checked. The dinosaurs. The damn dinosaurs at Bromley6. First unveiled in 1854. Add in a few years for the image to spread. The sketch I've got of the 1857 changes has big bloody dinosaur feet like the Iguanodon and the same fish eyes as the Ichthyosaurus. Could this be it? I have to consult with Rupert tomorrow. I'll bring in what I found.

Mar 9

I told Rupert what I'd found - about the dinosaurs at Bromley - and how it relates to his old kelpie idea, and he's already writing up a full letter to the Director about it on my behalf. Said he couldn't be happier with the work I've put in. On that note, I went away and found a few back issues of the Courier7, and there's an article in here that I think supports my theory! Something about a businessman and his wife that saw what looked like a whale in the water back in May last year. Right around that time, SCP-7934 first gained cetacean features! I think we've bloody well got it!
Can't be too excited, though, speaking about 7934 - the poor thing's getting worse. I found it beached about ten feet away from the shoreline today, with fins instead of feet, completely unable to get back into the water. Its breathing was terribly laboured, too, and it wouldn't stop looking at me. Rupert thinks that at some point overnight, it had come onto dry land, and then another damn mutation had happened that left it helpless. Took nine of us to get it back into the lake. Still, if this theory of mine is right, then there's a way to stabilise the changes so that this doesn't happen again.

Mar 14

The Director came down to visit today. He wanted to see me in particular. Commended me on my hard work and congratulated me on coming up with the theory for the physiology changes. I must remember to thank Rupert; I think a lesser man might take credit for an idea like that himself, but he was sure to give me full recognition.
I mentioned my idea for a way to stabilise 7934, and I'm not sure how to gauge his response. All he did was look out onto the water with a funny sort of look in his eye. Then he turned back to me and said, "Give it a formal writeup." Now, obviously, there's nothing directly forbidding or discouraging in what he said, but there's just something about his tone there that made me uncertain. It felt like he was weighing up whether it'd be smarter to shoot me down now or later.
I told Rupert about my unease once the Director was gone, and he believes I'm just being a bit paranoid. I do hope that's the case.

Mar 19

Finally managed to finish off the proposal to stabilise 7934's form yesterday. If I'm correct and the changes are based on what people think it looks like, then it's just a matter of disseminating a few decently credible reports into the wild. I've even taken the liberty of including a few drafts to show the Director that it won't be too difficult. I dropped it off at his office first thing this morning - with any luck, I'll hear back from him soon.
Hopefully it won't be too long. As I was observing 7934 today from the boat, it approached me with some difficulty. It's front left fin has split open into a claw. I could see bone in the gaps between its new fingers.

Mar 28

Still nothing. I'm beginning to get annoyed. How long could it possibly take to review a proposal? Rupert's seeing the Director in a few days on other business, and he's kindly offered to make an inquiry for me.
7934's hind legs have warped together into a single flippered tail, like a seal. The left leg hasn't fully shed the nails from when it was last quadrupedal, so it's been veering left as it propels itself through the water. It keeps looking at me as if it's begging for me to ease its pain. I don't know how long I can bear to wait for a response.

Apr 2

According to Rupert's account, the Director has in fact read our proposal. He certainly could have fooled me, given his complete silence on the matter. Apparently he's busy "weighing up the pros and cons".
What the hell does that mean, "pros and cons"? I fail to see a negative in this argument. Either we keep 7934 alive and healthy or risk its death, what more is there to understand?
Perhaps I'm just being emotional. The damn thing is calling out whenever it sees me now. It's wounding me to think about it.

Apr 17

Fuck him fuck him fuck him
The Director came to visit us today. Asked how 7934 was doing, to which I answered something like, "It's suffering. If you'd consider implementing my proposal, we can alleviate that." Nothing confrontational, although I was a bit curt with him. Do you know what he did? He put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me aside as if I were some sort of naïve ingenue who needed everything explained to her, and he said, "To be frank, Annie, what's important isn't whether or not it's in pain, it's whether or not it's alive."
The absolute gall of him! I don't think I've ever been quite so angry in my life. I held my tongue and politely suggested the possibility of death resulting from the stress of the constant mutation 7934 is under, but he brushed me off. Said he'd read through my proposal but considers the chances to be minimal since 7934 has always recovered in the past. Said he didn't think it was worth risking a potential information leak while we disseminated the false reports. And then he smiled at me and told me to keep up the good work before leaving.
Rupert's tried to calm me, say that we can try again with a better writeup of the proposal, but I've seen it plain now. The Director doesn't seem to care for 7934's quality of life, only the presence of it. Trying again would be like hurling myself at a brick wall, dusting myself down, and charging right back at it - a complete exercise in futility. Besides which… as much as my focus is on the well-being of the creature, I can't ignore that I'm well and truly on the warpath now. All I've asked is the opportunity to keep this one-of-a-kind organism healthy, but I've been stonewalled time after time.
To hell with it. I'll accept all the consequences of what I'm about to do, but I'll be damned if I don't take action now.

On 21/04/1934, a photograph, purported to show SCP-7934 in its original habitat, was published in a national newspaper. That same day, SCP-7934's physiology changed into its current form8. After briefly stopping at Area 565 to check SCP-7934's health, Dr. Menzies surrendered herself to Foundation staff with the original photographic plate, confessing to organising the hoax in an attempt to ensure SCP-7934's survival. A search of her home found the above journal and several items used to create the photograph9. In light of SCP-7934's dramatically improved wellbeing, and a defence by its head researcher, Dr. Cantwell, Dr. Menzies was given the minimum penalty of a two year probationary period, during which she was not to work on SCP-7934. She returned to her position as assistant zoologist on SCP-7934 in 1938; upon noticing her, SCP-7934 approached the observational boat and vocalised for three hours, pausing occasionally to rub its neck against the boat.
Incident 07/12/1975: On 07/12/1975, the photograph taken by Dr. Menzies was exposed as a hoax in a national newspaper. For roughly 26 hours following the distribution of the story, SCP-7934 ceased to exist; its tracking tag did not register any information, and it could not be located in its habitat. In response, Foundation agents launched a misinformation campaign, downplaying the exposure of the photograph and exaggerating the potential existence of SCP-7934 in its original habitat. This was successful in stabilising SCP-7934's existence, and it maintained its physiology upon its return; however, over the next few weeks, researchers noted an apparent change in mood. SCP-7934 was observed to be more agitated than usual, being startled by loud noises. It also frequently approached researchers in the observation boat, resting its head on the gunwale and vocalising until it received a gentle pat.
Following Incident 07/12/1975, SCP-7934 would cease to exist four more times, in 1987, 1999, 2001, and 2002; such events were officially termed Surgeon Events. While Foundation efforts were able to suppress any information regarding SCP-7934's actual status, an apparent decrease in belief in its existence seemed to have corresponded with the increase in Surgeon Events. On 21/12/2003, Dr. Raavi, the lead researcher on SCP-7934, made the following proposal to European Regional Overseer Llewellyn.

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December 21, 2003

Proposal for Revision of Containment Procedures for SCP-7934

Please excuse the somewhat unusual nature of this request. I recognise that you are not normally involved in revisions and the like, but the proposal I'm making requires a much higher level of oversight than is typical, so I'm sending this straight to you.
As I am sure you are well aware, SCP-7934 is destabilising more frequently than it has in the past. I propose that our current strategy of hoaxing its existence is somewhat flawed. Yes, it worked for Dr. Menzies back in the thirties, but these are different times. Cameras are much more advanced, and take higher quality images every year; besides that, we're now seeing cell phones with cameras actually built into them. If that technology becomes more widespread, then the chances of us convincingly faking SCP-7934's existence every time we see a Surgeon Event will drop like a stone. Think about it: thousands of people photographing the water with high-fidelity cameras every year? We'd stand no chance.
For this reason, we must face the inevitable conclusion that, in order to successfully maintain belief in SCP-7934, we are going to need to actually have something physical in its original habitat to be glimpsed from time to time. Bear in mind that I am by no means suggesting we openly confess to SCP-7934's existence; we are the Foundation, after all, and containment is what we do. But if we allow the civilian population to occasionally catch sight of a strange ripple on the water, we can keep the rumour of its existence alive enough to sustain it.
When initially drafting this proposal, I had planned to recommend the use of an artificial SCP-7934 that we could employ from time to time. The more I thought about it, however, the more I found myself questioning the viability of such a scheme. If the construct were exposed as a hoax, while we could easily brush it aside with the use of amnestics, I fear what the discovery of such a large-scale fraud would do for SCP-7934; even with a cover-up, the potential Surgeon Event could be permanently damaging to its health. As such, I would like to state the simple solution:
Why don't we just let it go home?

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Revised Containment Procedures: SCP-7934 is to be kept in its original habitat at Loch Ness in Scotland, and fitted with a tracking tag to monitor its movements underwater. Foundation personnel are to ensure that no civilian vessel is allowed to move within 1km2 of SCP-7934's location. If SCP-7934 approaches any personnel while they are in an observation boat, they are to remain calm, so as not to cause it distress. If it vocalises or rests its head in the boat, personnel are to gently stroke its head or neck until it is satisfied, taking the opportunity to check its physical health. If SCP-7934 approaches the shoreline, any civilians present are to be detained and administered Class-A amnestics, rendering specific details of the encounter impossible to recall. If the number of civilian observers is particularly low, and they have no evidence of SCP-7934's existence, they may be permitted to spread stories of the encounter, so as to maintain its general health.
In the event that a civilian posts photographic or videographic evidence of SCP-7934 online, the content is to be assessed for its believability. If the content is deemed to be too concrete proof of SCP-7934's existence, it is to be immediately scrubbed from the Internet, and Class A amnestics are to be distributed among the general population to remove the image from memory. Otherwise, the content may be left online, so as to maintain SCP-7934's wellbeing.

Footnotes
1. With exceptions - see Incident 21/04/1934.
2. Dates given prior to the 1872 Recordkeeping Standardisation Policy can only be narrowed down to the year.
3. Salamandra salamandra.
4. Basilicus basilicus.
5. Dr. Cantwell, then-head researcher on SCP-7934.
6. A series of sculptures by B. W. Hawkins depicting then-accurate interpretations of prehistoric life at the Crystal Palace in London.
7. Referring to the Inverness Courier, a newspaper commonly circulated around SCP-7934's original habitat.
8. Dr. Menzies later suggested that the rapidity of change in popular image of SCP-7934 resulted in an accelerated rate of mutation.
9. These included fishing line, several sinkers, a buoyant toy submarine, and a crudely-sculpted head and neck of a plesiosaur made from putty.

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