by J Dune

SCP-5648 -

ALWAYS WITH TEETH!

Image Credits

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F.A.Q.

{$doesthisfixthebug}

Item#: 5648

Level2

Containment Class:
keter

Secondary Class:
none

Disruption Class:
keneq

Risk Class:
danger

link to memo

A room altered by SCP-5648 at the 2013 Annual Foundation Leadership Summit

Assigned Site
Site Director
Research Head
Assigned Task Force

Area-179
R. Joseph Barrow
J. Thomas Dune
Zeta-10 "Molar Rats"

SCP-5648

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-5648 is uncontained and remains a present threat to Foundation security until feasible containment is achievable.
In an attempt to combat SCP-5648's cerebral effects, all personnel are to undergo prolonged exposure to a Foundation-made cognitohazard intended to distill information on security, discerning fraudulent information, and clarifying the Foundation's hierarchy. The success of this effort remains pending.
Personnel are to forward all personally addressed documentation relating to dental health to SCP-5648's research team for review. No efforts should be made to acknowledge the requests in this documentation without approval.
Compensation towards personnel affected by SCP-5648 will be distributed at the discretion of the Foundation Human Resources department.
Description: SCP-5648 is a humanoid entity resembling a bespectacled, elderly white male.
SCP-5648's skin is remarkably dry, causing it to peel and produce a significant amount of flakes upon movement or physical contact with others. SCP-5648 is capable of speech, visual, and auditory perception, though the degree of sophistication in which SCP-5648 performs these functions and perceives the world remains unclear.
SCP-5648 is capable of an indiscernible level of reality restructuring, and has been observed to alter locations extradimensionally, manifest objects, change its physiology, and appear in locations at-will. SCP-5648 targets a single Foundation personnel at a time, exclusively appearing in locations of significance to their victim.1
When manifested, SCP-5648's main anomalous effect concerns those it is not targeting, causing them to believe that SCP-5648 is a legitimate member of the Foundation who uses the surname 'Rockefeller'. SCP-5648's title and supposed position within the Foundation is dependent on context2 , but is not questioned by those under the entity's influence. In actuality, SCP-5648's attempts at deception are poor in construction and often recognized as such by its victim.
SCP-5648 will then attempt, through a variety of means3, to coerce its target into allowing the entity to examine their oral cavity, citing that its apparent authority requires personnel to comply with its demands. SCP-5648 has also been observed to forgo attempts at formalities entirely and forcibly examine the mouths of targeted personnel. If successful, SCP-5648 will indiscriminately remove a tooth from the target's mouth, and promptly demanifest itself. SCP-5648 will repeat this process with another Foundation personnel shortly after. The motivation behind SCP-5648's pattern of behavior is unknown.
Addendum.5648.1: Discovery
On 2012/05/12, Foundation Agent Matsumura received the following document in a batch of mail addressed to his house. Believing it to be suspicious, Matsumura submitted the letter for review at Area-179. A transcription can be found below.

OFFICIAL REQUEST FROM HIGH FIVE COUNCIL

YOUR WORK IN THE ANOMALY HAS BEEN HARD YESTERDAY, SO WHY NOT ORAL?
YOU ARE GIVEN FREE ORAL EXAMINATION REQUIRED BY GOD. DENTAL HEALTHCARE PACKAGE.
DOCTOR ROCKEFELLER (ALWAYS WITH TEETH) WILL SEE YOU IN WING A-21 TO CHECK YOU OUT. WOAH, THIS AIN'T YOUR GRANDPA, BUT IT'S CLOSE ENOUGH.
YOU'RE THE BEST BOY!
—- DOCTOR ROCKEFELLER (ALWAYS WITH TEETH)

Accompanying this was a supplementary series of letters that successively listed Agent Matsumura's social security number, credit card information, online usernames and passwords4, and an extensive, 15 page log of Matsumura's internet history. This was also signed by SCP-5648, and has been omitted from this file for security purposes.
Shortly after, Agent Matsumura was scheduled to meet with a representative from Area-179's Human Resources department. An audiovisual transcript can be found below.

[BEGIN LOG]

Extraneous dialogue has been removed.
Agent Matsumura: I'm worried, and I think I have the right to be. I mean, my credit card, where I work, every… website I've visited on the internet. God, I just don't know who would do something like this—
Mrs. Chobik: Hey, hey, we know. It's okay to be frightened. A request from such high up can be alarming for personnel who aren't used to that sort of thing.
Agent Matsumura: Fucking what?
Mrs. Chobik: The good news is that we reviewed the documents, and there's nothing out of the ordinary about them. While Dr. Rockefeller can be a bit… forward with his requests, he is an established member our organization and a champion of humanitarian causes. Just last year he—
Agent Matsumura: Excuse me, just— he knows my fucking FurAffinity log-in. Do you know what that is?
Mrs. Chobik: The unfortunate reality of your situation is that it's been determined by administration that you need dental care. There's no two ways about it when it's coming from a place as high up as Dr. Rockefeller! (Laughs) I'm sure he'd apologize for scaring you if you talked about it.
Agent Matsumura: I can't believe this. Mandatory dental care! No one has ever gotten their teeth checked out on the Foundation's dime unless there was a oralhazard or some bullshit they could get data from. Is that what this is? If I need testing, you can just say so. I've been in the shit, I've been tested before, and every time I've been tested, they've at least been transparent about it.
Mrs. Chobik: Well, we can push the issue to a higher channel if you really want, but things aren't looking good for—
The phone on Chobik's desk rings. She picks it up, and answers.
Mrs. Chobik: Yeah, I'm with him now. (Pause) Sure, whenever you can.
Agent Matsumura: Who is that? Who the hell is that?
SCP-5648, dressed in appropriate work attire for a Foundation researcher, hurriedly emerges from the office closet, panting heavily. As the entity moves, flakes of dead skin fall from its body.Agent Matsumura, startled, nearly falls off of the chair.
Mrs. Chobik: Oh, doc, you're here. I believe Agent Matsumura has a scheduled appointment with you?
Agent Matsumura: O—Oh my god.Agent Matsumura: Who the fuck are you?SCP-5648 moves towards Matsumura, covering as much distance as possible with each step. Matsumura gets out of his seat and backs himself into the corner as the entity leans over him.Agent Matsumura dives between SCP-5648's legs, attempting to escape. Matsumura then runs out of the office. SCP-5648 bends over, and unsuccessfully performs a flip. Landing on the ground, SCP-5648 uses both its hands and legs for mobility, and scurries from the room.
[END LOG]

Following this, Agent Matsumura fled Area-179 and promptly drove to his residence. After securing the home, Matsumura observed outside of his second floor window for 8 hours before retiring. The following log is transcribed from surveillance footage, captured shortly after Matsumura had cooked himself a meal.

[BEGIN LOG]

Matsumura walks from his kitchen to his bathroom. He is clearly distressed, and hesitates as he opens the door. Turning the lights on, he proceeds to the sink, where he applies toothpaste to a brush. Several seconds pass as Matsumura brushes his teeth.
The shower door slams open, shattering it in the process. SCP-5648 stands in the shower. Curiously, the entity is dripping wet, despite being fully clothed.Matsumura screams and throws a small mirror at SCP-5648. It smashes against SCP-5648's face, but does not cause noticeable damage to the entity. A large amount of dead skin flakes fall from its body.
SCP-5648 looks at the surveillance camera positioned in the bathroom.Agent Matsumura: Please, please just stop. What do you even want? To look at my teeth? Like this? (Opens mouth) Aaauuuugh!
SCP-5648 runs over to Matsumura. It begins to vibrate intensely upon inspecting his mouth.The surrounding area suddenly changes to a room with yellow walls. Matsumura finds himself strapped to a chair, vocalizing distressed cries. SCP-5648 is now dressed in an outfit resembling that of a stereotypical dentist.
Agent Matsumura: Please! Please just get this over with!
SCP-5648 brandishes a comically large screwdriver.Matsumura screams. As SCP-5648 approaches, more flakes fall from its body, some into Matsumura's mouth as the entity hovers over his face. He gags.Matsumura headbutts SCP-5648, causing the entity to howl in pain and stumble backwards in an exaggerated manner. SCP-5648 falls over, and the surrounding environment takes its previous shape, that being Matsumura's bathroom. Now free from his restraints, Matsumura runs out of the bathroom, accidentally stepping on glass left from the shattered door and mirror. He flees from the house, screaming.
[END LOG]

Matsumura continued to drive aimlessly in his car for four hours before getting a phone call from Area-179's security director. She informed Matsumura that they had seen the footage from earlier, and were investigating SCP-5648. Presumably, the entity had demanifested itself shortly after Matsumura fled his house, causing its memetic field to fall, and for Foundation personnel to recognize the entity's anomalous significance.
Matsumura drove to Area-179 and was promptly quarantined in a room surrounded by a security detail. After relaying his account of the day's events and viewing footage from earlier, documentation of SCP-5648 was written.
Matsumura's quarantine lasted a full week. In that time, several other accounts of SCP-5648 targeting Foundation personnel emerged, allowing for a more holistic view of the anomaly's effects and behavioral patterns, which were noticeably similar to Matsumura's experiences.
On 2012/07/02, Matsumura testified before the Overseer Council regarding his field work on SCP-████'s continuing advance. A transcript can be found below.

[BEGIN LOG]

Agent Matsumura: Unfortunately, our options are slim. I've consulted with the Analytics department and they produced the numbers. This could be the catalyst to a full-scale lifting of the Veil.
O5-09: Fascinating. Begin the presentation.
Agent Matsumura: As you wish, sir. The gear's outside, I can—
O5-09: That won't be necessary. The guard will bring it in.
A helmeted Foundation security officer enters the room, wheeling in a large projector and a laptop.
Agent Matsumura: I'll just need a minute to set up.
The guard leaves, and Matsumura inserts a drive into the laptop. A slideshow presentation appears on the large screen behind him, detailing numerous charts and graphs.
Agent Matsumura: As I was saying, the numbers indicate that we're going to sacrifice at least twelve times as more—
The projector shorts out.
Agent Matsumura: Oh, my apologies, sir.
The projector vibrates intensely before SCP-5648 launches itself out of its lens, manipulating its shape to full size.O5-09: Administrator Rockefeller?
Agent Matsumura: No!
The presiding members of the O5 council stand at attention, recognizing SCP-5648's apparent authority.
O5-02: Is there anything we can assist you with, sir?
O5-04: It's not like you to come barging in like that.
SCP-5648 forcibly pulls Matsumura's jaw open. Matsumura attempts to resist, but is powerless within SCP-5648's grip.SCP-5648 rips the top third incisor from Matsumura's mouth using its fingers. The entity places it within its own mouth, and nods rapidly. Matsumura screams as he falls to the ground, spitting blood from his mouth. SCP-5648 demanifests, disappearing from the room.
[END LOG]

Footnotes
1. This includes Secure Facilities, domestic life, and field locations where the victim is assigned.
2. SCP-5648 has identified itself as: Doctor, Senior Researcher, Overseer, and 'Grinch'
3. Including forgery, blackmail, and usage of Foundation systems and practices
4. Including SCiPnet credentials

« SCP-5647 | SCP-5648 | SCP-5649 »


Item#: 5649

Level3

Containment Class:
esoteric

Secondary Class:
khonsu

Disruption Class:
keneq

Disruption Class:
{$edisruption-class}

Risk Class:
danger

Risk Class:
{$erisk-class}

link to memo

Photo of SCP-5649, taken by a Foundation image-capture probe on 10/22/15.

Item-#: SCP-5649
Object Class: Khonsu1
Special Containment Procedures: Foundation web-crawlers are to monitor the internet for mention(s) of an object matching the description of SCP-5649. Any evidence of SCP-5649's existence is to be erased, and amnestics given to astronomers attempting to research it.
Description: SCP-5649 is a comet that appears in the solar system in approximately the same orbital path as Jupiter. SCP-5649 maintains a stable orbit around Jupiter, outside of demanifestation events.2 Recent scans by Foundation probes have shown that SCP-5649 is in fact a single object and that its mass does not reset with each reappearance. This means that SCP-5649 will melt completely sometime during its 2020-2023 rotation. During each reset, SCP-5649 will spontaneously vanish from its current position, and reappear opposite from Jupiter. The exact age of SCP-5649 is unknown, but chemical analysis of the recovered sample shows that it is at least 14,000 years old. Scans have also shown that SCP-5649 emits hyper-strands of Alpha radiation that reach 885139200 Kilometers long on average. As SCP-5649 gets older, the rate at which these are emitted increases exponentially.3 It is theorized that upon fully melting, SCP-5649 will let out a massive amount of these hyper-strands. If even one impacts earth, an area of at least 22.5km2will see a surge in radiation-related diseases comparable to a nuclear bombing unless safety measures are taken quickly.

+ Show Sample 5649-F-001

- Close

Picture of sample 5649-F-001 taken by Project Head David Sanderson.

Acquisition Report For Sample 5649-F-001: On 8/06/2017, a Foundation probe successfully broke off a piece of SCP-5649's outer shell. After collecting the sample, it was transferred to an automated materials shuttle and delivered to Lunar-Area-32.
Transfer A32tS64—5649-F-001: Sample 5649-F-001 transferred from Area-32 to Site-64 as of 8/20/2017.
Sample Description, Written by Project Head David Sanderson: Most of the sample is made of methane ice and a unique bismuth based-based compound, as previously shown by inspection of images from camera probes. On the outside face of the ice, there appears to be a layer of moss.4 Despite having minuscule exposure to sunlight and water, the moss was in perfect condition upon inspection. Several testing requests were made to learn more about the moss' durability but none were approved due to the small amount available. The sample is to be kept in radiological storage unit 44AB.
Supplementary Incident Report 492847s83dS93m: On 5/██/2019, a heated argument between two junior researchers broke out, leading to full-on physical assault. The attacker (Jr Res Melinda Hauny) claimed that she had no intention of harming the victim, yet an Emerson-Smith pocket knife was found on her person when apprehended. Doctor Hauny has been temporarily relieved of employment and placed in psychological treatment facility H9.

+ Show Report SCP-5649-N

- Close Document

Addendum 5649-12: As of 0:00 GST on 1/1/2020, SCP-5649 has begun what will be its final orbit period. As of this addendum's writing, our predictions estimate the date of the anomaly's neutralization to be 3/18/21.
Countdown-Addendum 5649-1: Date: 1/20/20. The mass of SCP-5649 has reached half of what it was exactly one year ago. Continuing to monitor.

SCP-5649, 2 days before disappearance.

Countdown-Addendum 5649-9: Date is 7/7/20. The mass of SCP-5649 is now half of what it was at the beginning of this year. Continuing to monitor. Request for a manned mission to study SCP-5649 was denied by Paraastrology director L. Woomywood.
Countdown-Addendum 5649-12: Date is 11/1/20. The size of SCP-5649 is one-millionth that of Pluto's. The new estimate is 2/2/2021. Request for a manned mission once again denied by Director Woomywood.
Automated Neutralization Order 5649a342es: Date and Time: 16:56 GST, 2/2/21. Neutralization Report filed for SCP-5649 by Project Head David Sanderson at 13:25 the same day. Report received and filed as ordered by Research Administrator Vincent Jenson. Radiation death-burst detected from object's last location. Stand by for further instructions.
Incident 5649-ARiM: At 13:55 GST on 2/2/21, one of the last hyper-strands from SCP-5649's radioactive death-burst impacted somewhere in the town of Spencer, Iowa. Within 3 hours, 70% of the town's residents were displaying symptoms of acute radiation disorder. Over the following month, over 4,000 deaths were reported among them, with long-term effects guaranteed for at least the next 50 years. A lifted-veil situation was avoided by a joint effort between the United States Department of Homeland Security and MTF-Chi-2 "Becquerel's Bullies" to disregard the spontaneous radiation as a Broken Arrow Incident gone wrong.5
Note: This anomaly was neutralized on 13:21 GST, 2/2/21. Despite our best efforts, Foundation resources were not able to launch a single successful mission to conduct in-person research on the anomaly. Personnel with a clearance level of 3, stand by for further analysis. Level four personnel contact RAISA for further information.

+ Enter Level 4+ Credentials

- Credentials Accepted

Note from Paraastronomy Director Layla Woomywood's Journal: Oh another thing about 5649. My working theory is that the already radioactive bismuth had been amplified by trace amounts of countless elements. The moss may have been a microflora that adapted over thousands of years into what it is now: perfectly suited to the conditions it faced. What I can't figure out is how it (the microflora) got there in the first place. I'm counting the reset-loop as a lost cause. We missed our chance at figuring out what's causing it, and the moss isn't talking. If only radiation worked as it does in movies… Dr. Sanderson seems to be upset about the whole situation and has taken to blaming me for our lack of direct research. He doesn't seem to get that a manned research mission would take lots of time and money. The two things our department doesn't have enough of.

Footnotes
1. The item is expected to be neutralized shortly by uncontrollable circumstances, making research a high priority.
2. Wherein SCP-5649 will vanish and reappear on the opposite side of Jupiter — along an identical orbital path — at 1200 GST on the first of January. The speed of orbit is theorized to be twice that of Jupiter's.
3. f(t)=10,000,000(5.0)t, where t represents days since discovery.
4. Non-Bryophyta, Specific species non-native to Earth.
5. Mobile Task Force Chi-2 is dispatched when civilian areas have been affected by extreme radiological hazards. Where MTF-Beta-7 Is mainly military operations, Chi-2 deals strictly with cleanup and public health.

« SCP-5648 | SCP-5649 | SCP-5650 »


Item #: SCP-5651
Object Class: Sköll1
Special Containment Procedures: Undercover personnel within various national and international space programs are to plant the file Binary_Star.aic in both the hardware of the control centers and components of all launched projects. Interstellar Foundation projects are forbidden to enter the Omicron-5651 sector.
Foundation AI Binary Star will intercept and save all data about SCP-5651 in the Foundation database and summarily delete it from non-Foundation records.
SCP-5651-1 is currently contained within SCP-5651. Foundation staff are to be alerted when changes in the shape of SCP-5651 or the behavior of SCP-5651-1 are observed.

SCP-5651

Description: SCP-5651 is a bronze-coloured planet with a partially ruptured crust, orbiting the only star within its vicinity. There are no other celestial bodies, nebula, or spatial phenomena near SCP-5651 in a radius of circa 30,7 megaparsec.2 This supervoid3, centered around SCP-5651 has been designated Omicron-5651 in official records.
SCP-5651 currently serves as what is assumed to be a prison for SCP-5651-1. How SCP-5651-1 was originally contained is yet unknown, as is the identity of the responsible party. It has been hypothesized that SCP-5651 was displaced from its original orbit for this explicit purpose.
SCP-5651-1 is an entity of unknown origin that is partially melted into the core of SCP-5651 and remains visible through the fissures throughout the crust. It has displayed the capability to manipulate gravitational forces and to survive under extreme conditions.4 The crust of SCP-5651 can be seen moving due to the gravitational forces it is subjected to when SCP-5651-1 actively tries to leave its current condition.
As a result of the high temperature in the core, SCP-5651-1 glows orange to bright yellow depending on its movements. Analyses of its silhouette, combined with magnified images, have shown that SCP-5651-1 has the form of a severely underweight humanoid with six limbs; two legs and four arms. SCP-5651-1 possesses four eye sockets that emanate bright, white light that can be seen as it attempts to move. Its dorsal openly shows its vertebrae where an unidentified crystal ore grows out of. Obtaining a crystal could aid in determining the age of both the anomaly and the entity from its length, composition, and trapped ashes and sedimentary rocks.

An asteroid and debris moving towards Omicron-5651 after a chain collision.

Discovery: On 25 February 1955, the Foundation launched probes from the Beholder line into space to detect and study extraterrestrial anomalies. On 3 February 1984, Beholder-11 observed a sector with a lack of spatial objects where theoretically a new supercluster should have begun.5 The probe's course was altered to observe this phenomenon more closely.
On 7 May 2017, Beholder-11 arrived at the border of Omicron-5651, indicated by asteroids outside the border slowly floating towards SCP-5651. After scanning the surroundings, SCP-5651 was discovered. For three days, asteroids that collided and entered Omicron-5651 were observed to be attracted to the fissured side of SCP-5651. The concealed silhouette of an entity, later designated SCP-5651-1, was observed beneath the crust. Further observation discovered scratches and other damage inflicted on the inner rock layer.
Addendum-1: On May 11th 2017, Beholder-11 entered the Omicron-5651 sector after a chain collision displaced the asteroid it was stationed on. After this, SCP-5651-1 was observed partially emerging from within SCP-5651. Logs of the event are below.

Foreword: Dr. Martha Stills and Dr. Caroline Steynburg were the assigned researchers to the Beholder-11 probe. Dr. Steynburg attended a meeting with Site Director Mathias Reimagg.

<Begin Log>
A siren is ringing for 2 minutes.
Dr. Steynburg: So, mind filling me in on the annoying ringing? I already got a headache from Reimagg and this is splitting my head in two.
Dr. Stills: Looks like someone needs a nicotine kick. Anyway, I'm doing a system check. Probably some stupid debris that floated into some scanner again.
Dr. Steynburg: Well, the siren still hasn't stopped. Any damages on the probe?
Dr. Stills: Everything is operational and the battery is on 78%. We are floating but the landing gear is not yet retracted.
Dr. Steynburg: How are we floating? We were perfectly stationed on an asteroid.
Dr. Stills: Another one of those stupid chain collisions. These bloody stones were back at it again. I opted for a scan and getting back to the nearest asteroid to land.
Debris can be seen on the monitor via an awkward angle. Dr. Steynburg sits down.
Dr. Steynburg: Ok, we are rotating a bit. Can you give me our coordinates?
Dr. Stills: Let me check, they are- Uh, wait, I think I found the problem.
Dr. Steynburg: Get this thing flipped off already then!
Dr. Stills manages to mute the siren after entering several commands in the control system. Red light keeps flickering in the control room.
Dr. Stills: Sigh. At least the noise is gone now.
Dr. Steynburg: What was the problem?
Dr. Stills: We- Uh… We are in Omicron-5651.
Dr. Steynburg: Sigh. Damn, this is going to be so much paperwork. Hey, watch out!
Several asteroids headed towards SCP-5651 nearly miss the Beholder-11 probe.
Dr. Stills: We are also attracted to the planet. I'm going to maneuver the probe so we can get a visual on the anomaly.
Dr. Steynburg: I'm going to retract the landing gear then. We also definitely need to make some more scans on this. Perhaps SCP-5651-1 repositioned itself again.
Dr. Stills: Yeah, it seems to have moved but I'm not seeing some parts of its silhou-
A heavy rupturing sound can be heard followed by heavy breathing.
Dr. Steynburg: What was that?
Dr. Stills: I don't kn-
An arm from SCP-5651-1 reaches through some fissures, making the crust of SCP-5651 rupture even further. Magma falls back upon the surface and creates black clouds. More asteroids are attracted.
Dr. Steynburg: Holy shit, that is just an arm? It's longer than the diameter of the planet.
Dr. Stills: Wait, that thing is being compressed to this extent? How big would that make its real size?
Dr. Steynburg zooms in on charred black skin with tendons and bones visible on some parts.
Dr. Stills: I don't even know which degree of burn wound that is. Can you focus on its hand? I couldn't make out if it is a claw or not.
Dr. Steynburg: Aside from obvious deformity, that looks clawlike to me, but that definitely isn't keratine-based. Probably made from the same crystal that grows on its spine.
SCP-5651-1 opens its palm. Beholder-11 loses connection a few times due to extreme gravitational force on its systems.
Dr. Steynburg: Hey, any chance the scanners know what's up?
Dr. Stills: Our velocity- No, our acceleration just keeps exponentially increasing. It's effectively hauling us in.
Dr. Steynburg: Seems like we finally found out why Omicron-5651 is empty and a reason to lock this thing up. It makes me wonder even more about what would happen should it break free.
Dr. Stills: Hmm. It makes me more curious about what it originally looked like and what was able to contain this thing in the first place.
<End Log>

Closing Statement: Beholder-11 has been deemed unrecoverable and now focuses on getting as many visuals and data on SCP-5651-1 as possible.
The area SCP-5651-1 can affect keeps extending as the crust of SCP-5651 falls apart. Research into the origins of SCP-5651-1 and its containments is ongoing. Changes in gravitational force on celestial bodies must be observed with the utmost attention.

You have one (1) new message.

Close Message.

NOTICE TO ALL PERSONNEL
A new fissure has been formed on the surface of SCP-5651.
Due to an unexpected increase in gravitational force, the Milky Way Galaxy has begun to drift towards Omicron-5651.
Please report to your respective station.
— Site Director Mathias Reimagg

Footnotes
1. Anomaly is in a continuous state of unpreventable destruction, decay, escape, or another process that will result in either neutralization, indefinite breach, or both.
2. Circa 100,000,000 light-years. Half the length of an average supercluster.
3. Commonly known as a "cold region" because of the absence of cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) in measurements.
4. Most notably temperatures ranging from 6000 to 7000 °C, and pressure between 4.2 and 4.5 million atm depending on its movement.
5. This was later designated as the Omicron-5651 sector.

« SCP-5650 | SCP-5651 | SCP-5652 »


Coming Soon - Rounderhouse

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{$comments2}

F.A.Q.

{$doesthisfixthebug}

2/5653 LEVEL 2/5653
CLASSIFIED

Item #: SCP-5653

Keter

Drone still.

SPECIAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES: A squad of Vatican Relic Recovery Office Guardsmen are stationed as a permanent guard around all entrances to the Vatican Necropolis & Undercrypts with orders to shoot to kill. A fireteam from MTF Zeta-9 "Mole Rats" are available on-call for emergency expeditions into the ruins.
DESCRIPTION: SCP-5653 is a hostile semi-humanoid entity contained in the Vatican Undercrypts, located beneath the Vatican Necropolis. SCP-5653 resembles a highly deformed male human of Italian descent fused with a female of Middle-Eastern descent. Little concrete biological information is known about the entity, due to the difficulty in acquiring samples, but it is believed to have some sort of relationship with the late Cardinal Greco and the Holy See itself.

Addendum 5653.1
INTERVIEWS

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

▷CLOSE◁

INTERVIEWER: Agent Abramo Ricci
SUBJECT: Cardinal Ettore Greco
«BEGIN LOG»

GRECO: Hello, Agent.
RICCI: Cardinal. How are you?
GRECO: Worried, my child. And how are you?
RICCI: Fine. Worried about?
GRECO: What you've come here to discuss. Please, take a seat.
RICCI: Right. What can we help you with?
GRECO: We've always been ardent financial supporters of the Foundation, yes?
RICCI: Please, Cardinal. Let's cut to the chase. What's wrong?
GRECO: There is… something in the crypts.
RICCI: What?
GRECO: … Have you visited the Vatican before, my son?
RICCI: Once, as a child. With my mother.
GRECO: Did you visit the baldachin?
RICCI: Of course.
GRECO: Then I regret to be the one to inform you that it is a monument to a grave that no longer exists.
RICCI: … I don't understand. St. Peter's tomb? What happened to it?
GRECO: The Holy See has endeavored to make sure that the public at large is unaware of certain facts. Not unlike how your Foundation maintains the Veil.
RICCI: Okay.
GRECO: The Basilica sits on top of a complex network of catacombs and tunnels that date back to the 3rd century AD. Most people are aware of the Vatican Necropolis — but very few know how large, complex, and far-reaching the tunnels are. Even fewer are aware of the fact that they contain the remains of most Popes, as well as most historic figures of the Church. Including the Apostles.
RICCI: That's impossible. You've confirmed that the remains of the apostles are in other churches.
GRECO: Yes, we've confirmed. Bigger lies have been fed to the world, Agent.
RICCI: … Point taken. Why, though? What do you gain from hiding this?
GRECO: At first it was simply that it was safer to have them all in a central location, back when those who controlled the relics controlled the interpretation. Now… it would be a matter of admitting to centuries of falsehoods and deception. It would be catastrophic to the church.
RICCI: Christ- sorry. Okay, why are you telling me this?
GRECO: This is… a delicate matter, Agent. A sensitive matter.
RICCI: If it's so sensitive, why aren't you handling it in-house? The Vatican Relic Recovery Office is a capable group, we've seen that firsthand.
GRECO: We did, at first. We sent down two armed teams to assess any further damage and find who or what ever caused it.
RICCI: What did they find?
GRECO: They have not been heard from in thirty-four hours. These catacombs are centuries old, unmapped and unstable. Anything could have happened. We fear the worst.
RICCI: Why not the Horizon Initiative, then? They hang on to your every command. A third of them anyway.
GRECO: They would be far less willing to obey should they learn their cache of holy artifacts are neither holy nor artifacts.
RICCI: … I see. And I suppose you would like for us to go in and succeed… since we can't tell anyone about the graves. But you still haven't told me what exactly we're dealing with here.
GRECO: We… do not know. We know that this is a relatively recent development - we have keepers regularly clean and maintain the crypts, and they have not reported anything until recently.
RICCI: Well, what did they report?
GRECO: They discovered that… one of the sepulchers had been unsealed. The sarcophagus forced open. The remains… desecrated.
RICCI: Desecrated how?
GRECO: The bones had been damaged. Shattered and broken in parts. We believe that… they were bitten with great force.
RICCI: Bitten? Whose bones?
GRECO: Yes. The sepulcher was believed to contain… Saint Bartholomew.
RICCI: … Oh Christ. Er, my apologies.
GRECO: Now you see why this is such a sensitive matter. Are you able to assist us?
RICCI: I'll have to talk to my superiors, Cardinal. But you'll have an answer soon.
GRECO: Do not misunderstand me, Agent. His Holiness and the College are acutely aware that this is a mess of our own making. We come to you asking for your assistance and calling upon your experience and most importantly, upon your discretion. Go in peace.

«END LOG»

▷CLOSE◁

Addendum 5653.2
EXPLORATION

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

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PREFACE: A video-equipped armed drone deployed into the Vatican Necropolis.
«BEGIN LOG»

Drone is in the entrance to the deeper necropolis, a cramped stone space covered in archaelogical equipment and floodlights. The walls are covered in reliefs and engravings, but have been highly damaged from exposure. The drone turns and moves into the main tunnel, where there are no floodlights. External lights activate, revealing a stone corridor with rib vaulted ceiling, built in a pseudo-Gothic style. Tunnel continues for several minutes before smaller doorways appear, set into the sides of the tunnel at staggered intervals. Drone manuevers through one such doorway, into a sepulcher.
The sepulcher is largely bare aside from stone, dirt, and dust. A stone sarcophagus is on a dais, with a series of candles arranged around it. No candles are lit. The foot of the dais is surrounded with small gold coins and items, likely relics. The lid of the sarcophagus has been damaged at various points and the upper half has simply been thrown to the floor to shatter. Drone camera zooms in. A number of split and cracked bones are visible inside. Cardinal Greco confirms that this is the tomb of Saint Philip.
Operator notes several indents in the stone wall, set in arcing groups of three, similar to claw marks. Nothing else is noted, and the drone returns through the doorway, into the hallway. It moves into another of the doorways, but finds itself in an entirely different chamber. There is no doorway behind it when inspected. Operator confirms inconsistent topography.
Chamber is roughly hexagonal, 2m in height, and covered in loose debris. A vaulted ceiling leads to a small shaft, presumably for ventilation. Additional floodlights activate, bathing the chamber in light. A cluster of blankets and fabrics is spotted in the corner, and the drone moves in to investigate. A number of dirty blankets and linens are wrapped around to form a small nest. Infrared sensors indicate they are of slightly higher temperature than the surroundings, possibly indicating recent use. Small, snapped bones are littered around the edges of the nest.
Camera zooms in. A small crucifix and a box of communion wafers sit on a flattened stone nearby. Several crumpled polaroid photographs are visible in the folds of the blankets. Most are too degraded and weathered for their contents to be discerned, but one depicts the Pope and an individual reminiscent of Cardinal Greco. He displays surprise at this.
Mics pick up a noise and the drone rapidly rotates while a nonlethal projectile weapon unfolds from its body. Another passageway, previously unnoticed or not present, is set in a wall. Mics confirm the noise originated from this hallway, but visibility is limited. The drone focuses its lights forward and slowly advances into the hallway. The walls of the hallways are rough and knobbled - closer inspection reveals they are made up of tightly stacked bones, sealed with a brown substance. The low ceiling is made of the same brown substance.
A noise ahead of the drone causes it to activate all lights. A streak of dark liquid is splattered across the wall, the bones near it smashed and damaged. A rapid onboard chemical analysis of a sample confirms it to be dried human blood with a BAC1 of 0.6%, but not matching that of any of the missing team members. Continuing forward, a streak of blood on the floor extends for about 7 meters, culminating in the severed torso of a man dressed in black body armor. His arms are extended outward - it is deemed likely he died using his hands to drag himself away. He is flipped onto his back, and Cardinal Greco confirms his identity as Guardsman Vittori, an agent in the service of the Vatican Relic Recovery Office.
His armor is heavily damaged, and a large chunk has been taken out of his shoulder. Rigor and livor mortis have set in, but purge fluid has not been forced out of the nose and mouth, indicating he died only several hours ago. A blood sample is taken - this sample has a negligible BAC and matches the DNA sample of Guardsman Vittori on-file.
The passageway the drone came through has been replaced with a wall of tightly-packed bones and skulls, and the continuing path has grown increasingly narrow and stone-like. All lights are turned on, and the drone prepares to continue forward.
A deformed shadow is seen from behind the drone and it spins rapidly, unfolding and firing a small rubber bullet cannon. Its overhead lights are smashed. Mics capture a loud roar, and structural damage signals begin to come in. 2 seconds later, telemetry stops being received, indicating the drone has been destroyed.

«END LOG»
AFTERWORD: While the blood sample itself was lost, the analysis of the sample retrieved by the drone was run against the staff registry of the Vatican Relic Recovery Office and all databases of the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City. A match was found against Paulo Cibin, a 26-year-old former altar server in the employ of the Holy See, who had disappeared several months prior.
Cardinal Greco could not give an adequate explanation as to the presence of a photo of him in the supposedly-abandoned Necropolis.

▷CLOSE◁

Addendum 5653.3
EXPLORATION II

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

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MTF ZETA-9 "MOLE RATS" FIRETEAM ELEVEN

Z9-ALPHA - G. ESPOSITO
Z9-BETA - M. ROSSI
Z9-GAMMA - C. CAPUTO

«BEGIN LOG»

ALPHA: Sound off. Alpha.
BETA: Beta.
GAMMA: Gamma. Clear.
ALPHA: Move in, arrow formation. Drop a marker. Safeties off.
[Z9-GAMMA cracks a glow stick and attaches it to the wall. All members raise their weapons and proceed into the main tunnel with ALPHA at the front. At occasion, rumbling noises are heard from deeper in. ALPHA signals to maintain radio silence unless necessary.]
[Fireteam arrives at tunnel with doorways into the sepulchers. Looking through without entering, they mark which sepulchers have been breached and which figure they are associated with - of 12 sepulchers, 8 have been tampered with to some degree, and one is entirely empty. Team continues down main hallway, arriving at another doorway. Through it, a shadow of a kneeling figure is visible against the wall. Upon registering the weapon-mounted flashlights, it hurriedly retreats into the darkness, letting out a hiss.]

Camera still.

[Team moves in through the doorway, but find themself in a completely different chamber, similar to the one the drone exited into though considerably smaller. Instead of debris, a number of grimy vestments cover the ground in heaps. Several are stained with a dark liquid, possibly wine or blood. GAMMA expresses confusion and collects samples.]
[BETA notices a heap of bloodied vestments and investigates, discovering a body underneath. A young white man dressed in the garments of a priest, exsanguinated and covered in small bite marks. Several silken robes are stuffed into his mouth and his genitalia have been violently removed, indicating a death by suffocation or blood loss. ALPHA expresses disgust and instructs GAMMA to take samples.]
[A noise is heard from behind BETA, who spins around, her gun raised. Where there was previously a solid stone wall is now a shattered hole, leading into a side chamber. Team progresses through, into what appears to be a natural cave system, low and wide. Water steadily drips down from the ceiling. Up ahead, two eyes are visible in the darkness.]

Camera still.

[BETA fires her weapon, resulting in a pained screeching that echoes through the system. A deformed figure, SCP-5653, rushes across the team's line of sight into a forked side tunnel. Team pursues, noting a greyish liquid dripping onto the floor, marking the SCP-5653's path. They turn a corner and hit a dead end, turning around into a tunnel heading downward into the earth.]
[Team travels down this tunnel before coming across another cluster of blankets and linens reminiscent to the nest found by the drone. A fist-sized bone, roughly carved into a cross, sits next to the nest. Small polaroid photos are littered in the nest, but the faces of all figures therein have been roughly removed, rendering identification impossible. Fecal matter is smeared on the wall near the nest. Team continues forward into the narrowing passage.]
[Passage opens up into a longer antechamber of brick and stone. One wall is dominated by a large mosaic; a rendition of DaVinci's The Last Supper, but the faces of the apostles have been crudely painted over with the faces of other individuals, apparently from the polaroid photos previously discovered. All are unknown, save for that of Judas Iscariot, which has been replaced with a headshot of a considerably younger Cardinal Greco. Jesus of Nazareth's face is entirely obscured by a smear of the same gray liquid dripping from SCP-5653's body.]
[A moaning is audible from the corner of the antechamber. Team turns toward it, flashlights focusing on a body in the corner. SCP-5653 is curled in the corner in a pool of its own blood, finally fully visible. It resembles two different figures joined at the legs and chest, resulting in four arms and three legs. One figure is a Middle-Eastern woman of about 60, and the other is a young white man bearing a strong resemblance to Paulo Cibin, albeit highly disfigured. The entity's arms end in long, rough claws and it is covered in fleshy, tumourous growths. It appears to be dead.]
[As the team watches, the wall behind it gradually slides and bends apart, forming a new passageway into a massive chamber, far bigger than any previously encountered. At minimum, it is 60m in length and 15m high. The center is dominated by a large bonfire that reflects off the wet cave walls. Surrounding this bonfire are the bodies of the Vatican Relic Recovery Office team, a number of priests, and several altar servers. Surrounding the bodies are a number of figures highly reminiscent of SCP-5653, at least two to three dozen. They appear to be feasting on the corpses. With a screech, one notices the presence of the team and all gradually turn towards them.]
[A second passes.]
ALPHA: Command, instituting Plan Black immediately. Goodbye.
[ALPHA, BETA, and GAMMA simultaneously arm and remove their strapped explosive vests, throwing them, along with their body cameras, forward into the path of the SCP-5653 entities. Cameras go dead.]

«END LOG»
AFTERWORD: A large explosion was sensed by seismographers under the Basilica moments after the feed shut down. The immediate area was evacuated under the cover story of excavation revealing a natural gas pocket, and permanent guard placed around all entrances to the Vatican Necropolis. After a week, no further activity was recorded.

▷CLOSE◁

Addendum 5653.4
INTERVIEW II

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

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INTERVIEWER: Agent Abramo Ricci
SUBJECT: Cardinal Ettore Greco
«BEGIN LOG»

RICCI: Cardinal.
GRECO: Agent… we have encountered no more troubles in the Necropolis after your intervention. I must thank you.
RICCI: The people you should be thanking are dead.
GRECO: Yes. We regret their sacrifice, but it was not in vain. Rest assured, they will be honored with full rites, even if their bodies are not recoverable.
RICCI: Cold comfort, Cardinal. Why didn't you tell us that there were more dead down there? Why did you hide this?
GRECO: We are an organization centuries old, Agent. We have our secrets too, and sometimes they must stay buried. God guides us as he does you.
RICCI: You really believe that?
GRECO: Why, of course. He shepherds us on our course through life, and all journeys must end… it is unfortunate that your people's journeys ended here, but nothing happens without a purpose.
RICCI: God is just, right?
GRECO: God is just.

«END LOG»
AFTERWORD: Cardinal Greco was found dead in his quarters twelve days after this interview with a BAC of 0.7%. Cause of death was deemed to be alcohol poisoning, and Vatican officials quickly suppressed the story. However, contacts inside the Vatican Relic Recovery Office claimed that the autopsy report had been falsified; while the BAC was factual, the cause of death was suffocation from a combination of silk robes forcibly stuffed into the throat and a tightened clerical collar. Photographs of the face appear mid-scream.
No other incidents have been reported in the Vatican Necropolis.

▷CLOSE◁

Footnotes
1. Blood Alcohol Content

« SCP-5652 | SCP-5653 | SCP-5654 »


Item #: SCP-5654
Object Class: Ticonderoga
Special Containment Procedures: The O5 Council and the Ethics Committee have deemed SCP-5654 unsuitable for containment. Foundation neurological experts are working with agents embedded within global medical establishments to isolate instances of SCP-5654 for minimal exposure.
Description: SCP-5654 is an anomalous hallucinatory phenomenon affecting those who suffer various memory-based cognitive disorders. Individuals affected by SCP-5654 are diagnosed with disorders including, but not limited to, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, chronic and emotional stress, or Korsakoff's syndrome. SCP-5654 typically affects subjects residing in establishments where regular social interactions are minimal, most commonly manifesting in assisted living facilities or medical establishments.
Once affected by SCP-5654, subjects will begin to hallucinate a performing vocalist, the form of which appears to change depending on the subject's age and era of birth. As of 23/12/2021, the most commonly reported form of this phenomenon is that of a singer referred to by subjects as "Mr. Benny". Cognitomole testing of affected subjects has revealed that SCP-5654 is a human male wearing a white turtleneck sweater, dress pants, and polished black shoes. The colour of its skin and the language in which it speaks and sings is noted to change depending on the subject's nationality and personal preference.
When the hallucination begins, subjects will perceive SCP-5654 across from them, usually in an elevated position, speaking directly to them through a microphone, and will state that the song is "dedicated to [them]". SCP-5654 will then perform a song to the affected subject. The song performed is an original composition that typically references meaningful moments in the affected subject's life.
SCP-5654 will then thank the subject, and, should seating be available in the environment, sit across from them, and will begin to engage in conversation. SCP-5654 has demonstrated telepathic capabilities when conversing with subjects incapable of speech.
When enough information has been gathered, SCP-5654 will then attempt to verbally inspire the subject, urging them to "fight one last battle before [their] curtain call", and the hallucination will end. Following this, subjects become lucid for enough time to complete a small personal task.
It is noted that memories of SCP-5654's performance show an anomalous resistance to memory degradation; subjects will recall the song for the rest of their life.
Addendum 5654-1: Compiled below are completed notable event logs of subjects affected by SCP-5654. Further logs are available upon request.

EVENT 5654-12

TIME
EVENT

15:46 - 15:57
Mrs. Carmen Hawkings, known for aggressive outbursts as a result of her condition, becomes docile for roughly eleven minutes, cheering and clapping to an unheard song. Assisted living facility staff note the change in behaviour.

16:26
Mrs. Hawkings dresses in concealing attire and follows a leaving family out of the assisted living facility, successfully escaping.

16:34
Mrs. Hawkings successfully boards a bus and travels to her family's home suburb of ██████, Ohio, travelling 64 kilometers.

17:04
Mrs. Hawkings is discovered by her daughter Lucille in her backyard, sitting with and petting the family's pet cocker spaniel, that had formerly belonged to Mrs. Hawkings. She notices Lucille, and begins to converse with her. Lucille begins to cry, and embraces her mother.

18:35
Lucille transports her mother back to the assisted living facility.

Additional Notes: It should be noted that assisted living facility staff and the family doctor both observed improvement in Mrs. Hawkings' behaviour following the event. Occasionally, she could be found playing the piano in the social room of the facility for the other residents.

EVENT 5654-21

TIME
EVENT

10:39 - 10:59
Mr. Giovanni Ferrarini, having been in a coma for 8 months prior to the event, regains consciousness in the intensive care ward of ██████ Medical Centre, Italy. Mr. Ferrarini is unresponsive to medical staff's attempts to interact. Staff note Mr. Ferrarini smiling.

11:31 - 11:46
Mr. Ferrarini, during absence of medical staff, rises from his bed and walks towards his hospital room's bathroom sink with a porceline cup, and fills it with water. Mr. Ferrarini then walks towards a dying garden fern gifted to him by his family before his hospitalisation, and waters it. Mr. Ferrarini repeats this activity for fifteen minutes.

11:47
Mr. Ferrarini finishes watering his plant, then lies down on his bed, smiling.

17:04
Mr. Ferrarini utters his final words; "I have won, Giuseppe."

17:10
Mr. Ferrarini passes away.

EVENT 5654-01

TIME
EVENT

12:19 - 12:28
Mrs. Deirdre Bishop is visited by her son, James, at an assisted living facility. Mrs. Bishop remains anxious throughout the conversation. After five minutes, she calms down, but is absent to James' attempts to converse.

13:08
James begins to leave the assisted living facility in frustration, having failed many attempts to converse with Mrs. Bishop. Before he can leave, Mrs. Bishop rises, and grabs his arm, stopping him. Mrs. Bishop embraces her son.

13:09
James begins to cry as he holds Mrs. Bishop.

13:54
James leaves the assisted living facility.

Additional Notes: It should be noted that both Mrs. Bishop and Robert Urquhart (James' father) were absent for much of James' early life, with both serving in World War II.

« SCP-5653 | SCP-5654 | SCP-5655 »


by AnActualCrow

SCP-5655 during Incident 5655.1. Image was taken from Researcher Alami's body camera.

Item #: SCP-5655
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-5655 is to remain closed and contained in a small storage container at Site-08. Use of SCP-5655 outside of testing is prohibited.
Description: SCP-5655 is an empty can of Spam which, when shaken or turned over, will manifest SCP-5655-1. SCP-5655-1 is a 7.5cm translucent red humanoid with reality-bending capabilities. When given a request beginning with the words "I wish", SCP-5655-1 will alter reality in an attempt to fulfill the request. However, SCP-5655-1's limited reality-altering capabilities will often result in requests being only loosely fulfilled.
Addendum: A series of tests were conducted to determine SCP-5655-1's ability to fulfill requests involving physical, abstract, and philosophical elements.

Wish: I wish for an orange ball.
Result: A tangerine with a bite taken out of it.
Additional Notes: Junior Researcher Dinns reported part of his lunch spontaneously disappearing at the time of this test.

Wish: I wish for a heavy stone.
Result: A 2.2kg stone.
Additional Notes: Stone manifested above SCP-5655-1's upstretched arms, crushing it.

Wish: I wish for something strong.
Result: SCP-5655-1 lifted the stone from the previous test above its head, set the stone down, then pointed at itself.

Wish: I wish for a million dollars.
Result: A stack of bills worth one million dollars (LRD1).

Wish: A method of containing SCP-5655-1.
Result: SCP-5655-1 climbed into SCP-5655 and closed the lid.

Wish: I wish for a way to more effectively limit the influence of opposing Groups of Interest.
Result: A Molotov cocktail and a lighter.
Additional Notes: Objects were removed when SCP-5655-1 began demonstrating how to use them.

Wish: I wish for another SCP-5655-1.
Result: A piece of paper with a crude colored-pencil drawing of SCP-5655-1.

Wish: I wish for the beauty of a sunset.
Result: A piece of paper with a crude colored-pencil drawing of a sunset.
Additional Notes: "I tried my hardest" was written on the back in pencil.

Wish: I wish for the key to eternal happiness.
Result: A used copy of Kerplunk with "It's pretty fun" written on the box in sharpie.

Wish: I wish for a better key to eternal happiness.
Result: Multiple shrunken philosophy books and a miniature armchair appeared around SCP-5655-1. SCP-5655-1 read for 3 months, during which it did not respond to requests. Following the 3 month period, SCP-5655-1 manifested an unopened copy of Kerplunk.

Wish: I wish to bring back the dead.
Result: A flash drive containing multiple audio files of Ska music.
Additional Notes: All songs are original compositions attributed to "Gene E".

Wish: I wish for unlimited power.
Result: An 8-pack of rechargeable AA batteries.

Wish: I wish for a way to balance the Foundation's budget.
Result: See Incident 5655.1.

Incident 5655.1

< BEGIN LOG >
Researcher Alami: I wish for a way to balance the Foundation's budget.
(SCP-5655-1 rubs its chin and paces back and forth for several seconds.)
SCP-5655-1: To be perfectly honest Ms. Alami, I don't think I can grant your wish.
Researcher Alami: You can talk?!
SCP-5655-1: Why are you surprised? This is the least impressive thing you've seen me do.
Researcher Alami: I just… never mind. Why can't you grant my wish?
SCP-5655-1: It's a matter of safety. I don't know if you're aware of this, but your reality is dangerously unstable. As a consequence, my job is quite a lot like a game of—
Researcher Alami: Don't say Kerplunk.
SCP-5655-1: …my job is quite a lot like a game of Jenga. Every time I grant a wish, I'm pulling another piece out of the tower and hoping that the whole thing doesn't topple over. I've been limiting myself when it came to your other wishes, but the amount of reality manipulation it would take to grant this wish, in any capacity, would likely cause your reality to collapse. For both legal and ethical reasons, I can't do it.
Researcher Alami: But you're a genie. Like you said, granting wishes is your job.
SCP-5655-1: Yes, but there are rules and regulations for these sorts of things. (A small sheaf of papers manifests in SCP-5655-1's hand) Article 8, Section 2 of the "Multiversal Interactions and Stability Administration" handbook very clearly states that "Should an act of reality manipulation place a severe enough strain on the foundation of a reality that the actor believes that there is a significant risk of reality collapse, then the actor must not perform the act and is exempt from any and all duties to perform said act". My semi-transparent hands are tied.
Researcher Alami: Well in that case, I wish that you change the rules so that you can grant my previous wish… that my boss gave me.
SCP-5655-1: Ms. Alami, this is a matter of interuniversal law. As much as I'd love to help you, my wish-granting abilities don't extend to things outside of your reality.
Researcher Alami: So there's really nothing you can do?
(SCP-5655-1 sighs.)
SCP-5655-1: I'm afraid not. Usually when a genie disappoints a client like this, they offer to alter the client's mind so that they are incapable of feeling disappointed; but I'm afraid that doing so would also likely destroy reality. I guess the only thing I can do is grant you a different, safer wish.
Researcher Alami: Yeah, I could do that. Did you have anything in mind?
SCP-5655-1: Nothing in particular, no… You look tired. Do you want a coffee?
Researcher Alami: Sure, that would be great. I mean, I wish that you got me a coffee.
SCP-5655-1: Your wish is my command.
(A cup of coffee manifests in front of Researcher Alami. She takes a sip.)
Researcher Alami: How much sugar did you put in this?
SCP-5655-1: Enough to make you ignore that the coffee's cold.
< END LOG >

Footnotes
1. Liberian dollars. $1,000,000 LRD ≈ $6,200 USD.

« SCP-5654 | SCP-5655 | SCP-5656 »


close

Info

X
Author Page: Dr. Dentick's Personnel File
Heron & Hound Commentary Corner:

"Egret."
"Hey, Dhole, welcome back."
"You're using me for this?"
"Yeah."
"I suppose remorse would be too much to expect."
"Yeah."
"You make a good mutt."
"Go back to sleep, Dhole. There's more work to do."
"I hate you, Egret. Truly. Forever."
"Yeah."

Welcome back, Tamara Otten. Today is February 2, 2073. Your inbox currently contains no unread emails. There are no remaining entries on your schedule today. The temperature outside is 26°F, your employment-mandated medicine must be taken within 183 minutes, and your horoscope for today is 'forgiving old grudges will bring new happiness.'
Recognized voice command: "Open SCP-5656 documentation."
Loading document now…

GPS IIA satellite platform being prepared for future SCP-5656 habitation by Foundation personnel.

Item #: SCP-5656
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Replacement satellites for all global navigation systems are to be primed for SCP-5656 cultivation prior to launch through the installation of beacon equipment and additional gas dispersion canisters. Satellite trajectories are to be altered through suborned control stations to account for additional mass in order to suppress inquiries and maintain constellation integrity. Ongoing engagement with SCP-5656 as a whole shall proceed according to updated charter stipulations (see Addendum 5656-E).
Access to information obtained through the OKMGLOS surveillance network may be obtained through authorized RAISA liaisons following Overseer Council approval.
Description: SCP-5656 is a species of extraterrestrial organism that exhibits extreme thaumatic sensitivity. 213 discrete instances have been observed since their initial discovery in 1995, when the additional mass of an attached instance significantly distorted the trajectory of a GPS-IIR satellite. Mature SCP-5656 instances measure approximately 10 meters long and are morphologically similar to medusa-phase Medusozoans, consisting of one central bell that trails an assortment of tentacles and fringes. These appendages are specialized for a number of functions, including delicate manipulation of physical objects, secretion of exotic substances, and interface with electrical equipment.
SCP-5656 instances attach to artificial satellites in geostationary and high-earth orbits following periods of intermittent drifting on solar winds. Once attached, they absorb orbital debris and collect gasses vented for satellite altitude adjustments to replenish internal mineral reserves. SCP-5656 instances disconnect from host satellites after approximately 2.4 years of sustained habitation, leaving behind genetic material that is employed in future reproductive cycles.
All known SCP-5656 instances are currently incorporated into the OKMGLOS full-spectrum surveillance network. This was accomplished following the implementation of technologies derived from Project DEEPWATER DOWNWELL, as well as direct communication conducted under the auspices of the Overseer Council. Current OKMGLOS capabilities enable triangulation of any terrestrial entity emitting a thaumatic signature, encompassing 100% of the baseline human population and large portions of active anomalous entities.1
Addendum 5656-A (Overview of Applied Technology):
Addendum 5656-B (Communication Records (Original Files)):

Addendum 5656-C (Communication Records (Post-Interpretation)):

Addendum 5656-D (Original Charter Text):

Addendum 5656-E (Comprehensive Updated Charter Text):

Addendum 5656-F (Incident 566-007013 Review):

Recognized voice command: "Yeah, maybe that's it. Let's go through everything one more time."
Opening all pertinent files…

a_holt_voicemail_175.mp3

a_holt_voicemail_175.mp3

FROM: Amanda Holt
DATE: JAN 22, 2073
TIME: 0636

Tamara, I'm tasking you to the team looking at a Nu-18 catch-and-gut operation that went particularly wrong. They're understaffed, so the lifting might be heavier than usual. I know this isn't your usual focus, but the Overseers want to get ahead of this one. Trouble is brewing across the Atlantic, and the possibility of a major distraction or second front is making them antsy. Nobody's happy when the Overseers are antsy.
You'll get paper orders tomorrow, but start today. I don't trust the last administration's leftovers after that mess in Istanbul. Not to do it right. Not to do it fast. Hell, who knows if they'll get it done at all. You're my ace on this. Figure out what happened, or at least see if the spooky kids need to take a closer look. They said it smells normal, but I'm not sure I trust their noses either.
Don't let me down.

case_HSCR_9091_IP_VF3.mp4

case_HSCR_9091_IP_VF3.mp4

Location: United States; Hazard, Nebraska; 68844; 104 Dewitt St.
Source: Body camera footage provided by MTF Nu-48 ("Swatting Fireflies").
Background: MTF Nu-48 was dispatched to address a possible abduction of two Foundation personnel in the Midwestern United States. Subcutaneous beacon signals led to Maury's Corner Store, Delicatessen, and Endless Salad Bar. Camouflaged trucks equipped with amnestic broadcasting capabilities were positioned at a one-block perimeter around the structure to minimize societal disruption and loss of life, as per Ethics Committee direction.
Playing video file now…

Empathetic claws grip your body as crystal-clear footage plays on-screen. They pull hard, sucking you into the video, and into the heavy boots of a nameless Nu-48 operative. HINDSIGHT training shapes minds perfectly for such things. It kneads and twists them, wringing gray matter until thoughts drip out to run through history's cracks. Even amongst a legion of malleable minds, you always dived the deepest.
Black boots thud against linoleum as your small team sweeps through a small shop. It's the oldest in town, made clear by sagging shelves and fading wallpaper. The owner is trapped in his own little spiral along with a handful of other patrons. They move in millimeters. They live in milliseconds. You shake your head after waving a gloved hand in front of one face. Being stuck like that would be worse than dying, but it won't last long.
You advance past a caloric hellscape of potato chips, sodas, and worse. Some shelves are nearly sold out, while others seem untouched by long years of business. A security camera stares at the shop's back door, red light blinking steadily, but it might as well be off. No records will remain of your passage. Even live feeds bear nothing but static-filled shadows. One by one, your sworn brothers and sisters confirm their readiness to do violence. Shrouds: active. Weapons: loaded. Hearts: hardened. You nod to each other and ascend the rickety stairs.
A tracking signal pings from the building's second-floor apartment in slow, steady blips. Thermal imaging peels away the walls, but nothing inside is clear. Warm blobs mix and merge within curtains of heat, taking on gnarled visages. Nothing human lurks inside, your eyes insist, but that's never stopped Nu-48 before. The team's GECOM orders a breach operation. Neither shock nor awe have ever been applied in too extreme an abundance, even against foes trapped within five seconds of persistent forgetfulness.
Concussive charges are placed along the wall, all primed to beat a destructive rhythm into cracked paint and crumbling drywall. Your squad arrays itself in a manner practiced thousands of times over. The order is given. The wall ruptures. You raise your gun toward dim shapes solidifying within the dusty cloud. Six shift in the jittery disorder typical of those experiencing rolling amnestics. Four move with precision and grace, and all are armed.
Time compresses, as it always does in the sublime seconds of first blood. Your eyes drift towards a scrawny figure wearing a canine mask. Its maw is carved into a snarl and glass shines in its eyes. Short strands of black hair flutter in the sudden breeze. Tendons tense in a smooth neck. They reach inside an unzipped sweatshirt, showing the barest glimpse of a pistol. They pause for a moment's slightest fraction, then race for an open window. You're already firing at the three remaining combatants. They fire back from behind upturned furniture reinforced with metal plates.
A hundred sparks fill the dark, dusty room. Bullets ding off metal and chip at walls. They dig through flesh too, biting and burrowing like a swarm of ticks. You're armored though; they are not. You stand invincible in comparison. You stand a god, dispensing justice and violence. Bullets find one of the three, toppling him with a spray of blood from a leaking forehead. Your GECOM orders the remaining pair's apprehension once their fire ceases. Nothing could be easier. Zip-ties and deprivation-masks will render them little more than fleshy sacks, ready to be dragged down into the Foundation's nearest hole.
Dust drifts. Silence looms. Shapes slither from behind the fortified couches. All three combatants close with your team in the split-second of hesitation between lethal solutions and your commander's orders. The one with a split forehead slips under a burst of gunfire and tackles you. Black ink on his neck depicts a snarling dog. Blood on his chin drips down, hot and thick. A knife appears in one of his hands. You catch his wrist, then his forearm. Unnatural strength drives it further down. Something glistens in his eyes, deep and hungry. His head pops like an overripe grape beneath your comrade's bullet.
He cuts through your neck nevertheless. Through veins, through muscle, through esophagus and spine. The blow's a terrible one, and you don't survive. The ghoul clinging to your corpse won't either. In that much, you can take solace.
The video ends. Claws ease, and tendons relax. You are yourself again, with only a phantom ache lingering between vertebrae C4 and C5.

Concluding Notes: Four Nu-48 personnel suffered fatal wounds from bladed instruments and cranial explosives at close range. Three enemy combatants suffered extensive wounds and ceased movement. Their corpses were further incapacitated through blunt trauma to reduce the efficacy of any postmortem activity.
A sweep of the apartment revealed minimal living facilities in addition to equipment for medium-term human restraint. Beacon chips registered to missing Foundation personnel were found in a semi-damaged state and running exclusively on internal batteries. No additional hostiles were located. No abducted personnel were located.
Civilians were evacuated from the structure under standard pretenses. Further investigation of the second-floor apartment area revealed stores of equipment and chemicals typically associated with dental surgery, as well as destroyed communications equipment. Corpses of enemy combatants were removed for further study.

autopsy_summary_personal_notes.txt

autopsy_summary_personal_notes.txt

TITLE: Autopsy Summary
DATE: JAN 24, 2073
TIME: 2044

All three combatants are between 30-40 y/o and were in above-average physical condition before getting shot to pieces. Digested food suggests they've been in the area for about one week. Several tattoos on each body, but nothing notable beyond some canine themes. All members of the same organization? No similar tattoos on the six who were affected by amnestics.
Extensive tissue damage due to projectiles, obviously. Brain matter from two was destroyed in localized explosions after getting pinned down. No explosives were found in the third's possession. Additional muscular atrophy observed in all of them, source unknown. Possibly related to hyper-mobility and aggression? Traces of extensive combat experience on all three, but it's hard to be certain now. Getting information on the old bullet lodged in #3's spine might give some hints.
Chemical analysis shows traces of an unidentified compound in all three's bloodstreams. Initial tests didn't peg it to any recreational drugs or conventional medicines. Comparisons with recorded medicinal anomalies are underway, but none of it feels familiar. The Hand's bookbinders move faster, but they're plainly weird. The Insurgency had shock troops dosed with Compound-63, but their bodies always melted afterwards. Might just have to wait for more tests.
Subjects remain unidentified after the usual checks against medical records, criminal records, personnel documentation, and all other available information. Partial matches aren't close to conclusive. That itself speaks to a certain divorce from society, especially since it applies to all three. Oral surgery evident in the one whose head didn't explode. An effort to prevent tracking through dental records? Destruction of beacons or other tech? Figure this all out, and fast.

[RELEVANT EMAIL RECORDS]

[RELEVANT EMAIL RECORDS]

TO: Tamara Otten (lanretni.noitadnuof|netto.t#lanretni.noitadnuof|netto.t)
FROM: Amanda Holt (lanretni.noitadnuof|90.tloh.a#lanretni.noitadnuof|90.tloh.a)
SUBJECT: Re: Revised Tasking

Tamara,
The bodies are interesting, but they will keep in cold storage. Find the one who got away. We'll get quicker answers that way, even if it requires unpleasant methods. They slid past our net once, so you'll have to get creative. I picked you for a reason.
Holt

TO: Tamara Otten (lanretni.noitadnuof|netto.t#lanretni.noitadnuof|netto.t)
FROM: Janelle McDavis (lanretni.noitadnuof|20.sivadcm.j#lanretni.noitadnuof|20.sivadcm.j)
SUBJECT: Re: Research Outreach (read before lunch)

Tamara, it's good to hear from you again. My family is fine, thanks for asking, but no surprise there. It's easy to feel like nothing ever changes when my office is buried under such a massive rock. I'm glad reassignment hasn't sunk you under one too.
As to the matter you mentioned, two explanations come to mind:
Possibility 1: Compulsion. I'm sure this is why you pinged me, but it's not a likely explanation. Humanity's MIR scores have been climbing too quickly for that to be a feasible explanation for resistance to amnestics and erratic behavior. The bloodstream chemicals don't sound right either, though that's not my particular area of expertise. Either way, anything delicate enough to make people move like that probably wouldn't survive the first abrasion zone these days.
Possibility 2: I'm reminded of rumors that bounced around in our little medical community a decade or so ago about the weird traditions in Alpha-1. If I remember correctly, their members supposedly carried something called a 'last-stop express.' Pills for when there wasn't any hope left. A few of the hard-line task forces are issued suicide pills, so I suppose that lends it some credibility. These were supposed to flush brains of everything but basic allegiances and violent skills. No secrets to divulge. No distractions left. They were supposedly distributed by the higher powers themselves, so I wouldn't be surprised by any additional exotic effects. No one would leave fetishes like that lying around.
I'm sorry to say that my recommendation is to go chasing after some thugs' superstitions, but that's what comes to mind, and Alpha-1 members would be inoculated against that specific amnestic strain.
Yours, Jan

TO: Tamara Otten (lanretni.noitadnuof|netto.t#lanretni.noitadnuof|netto.t)
FROM: Yuji Iizuka (lanretni.noitadnuof|akuzii.y#lanretni.noitadnuof|akuzii.y)
SUBJECT: Requested Analysis

I don't like being the go-to for picking old colleagues out of a lineup. Talk to someone who's still in that office next time. That, or put it through official channels.
Bottom line: Yes, they're probably ours.
Skip to timestamp 1813 in the file you tagged as V5: Note the sour cream & onions chips being nearly sold out compared to the others. It could be a coincidence, but they were the only flavor in St. Eustace's cafeteria when I went through (probably to mask supplements' tastes), and they were always popular in Alpha-1.
At 1817: Use of space heaters and environmental elements to confuse thermals was in our textbook on dealing with internal detection and counterforce. Other MTFs don't usually get assigned reading like that, and definitely don't practice it as much as we did.
At 1820: Reinforcing furniture for cover like this is habitual. So are things like rigging that shotgun to the door. The firing lines they set up in advance here aren't unique, but they are familiar. Familiar body language too. Dog Mask pats the spot where I would have carried a hold-out pistol before they run. Habits die hard.
At 1832: These are standard restraints for an Alpha-1 catch house, though they aren't usually configured for more than one or two at a time. Six captives is a lot. Everything else is unfamiliar, especially the dental tools, but I've been out of the field for a while now. Enhanced interrogation would have caused more wear and tear though, so they might be showpieces.
Last, to answer your pill question: that information isn't mine to divulge. Old habits die hard for us all. Submit whatever other requests you want through my handler, but we're even now.

TO: Tamara Otten (lanretni.noitadnuof|netto.t#lanretni.noitadnuof|netto.t)
FROM: Will Phillips (lanretni.noitadnuof|31.spillihp.w#lanretni.noitadnuof|31.spillihp.w)
SUBJECT: this bullshit

Hey.
Someone fucked up. 23 former A-1 operatives slipped through the cracks according to my best count. I'm running outreach with their new OPCOM right now, but he's an asshole of the highest order. Messages are out to the other task forces who lug around big guns too, but I'm more worried about the 23. I'm especially worried if they're off the stuff that's supposed to keep them human.
I only touched the Z-1 integration process after our new O5s rolled in from the EC, but my understanding was that they were doing something about A-1's nastier elements. I know for a fact that a few court cases got drummed up in the early days, and there was some talk of a wipe-and-release program too. Not much use for an attack dog you don't trust, but we ended up keeping a bunch for the 'institutional expertise.' That's about when I got shipped over to the team opening up the old O5s' vaults.
With what the A-1 OPCOM passed over, I've got ID for the more intact body on ice: FID#612003. Based on physical markers, your two other corpses are probably FID#510111 and FID#016886. I don't have deep enough access to see their full files, but both got pushed out of A-1 just before everything rolled over. Voluntary amnestics are supposed to keep people on the amnestics, but who knows. We might have had a coverage gap in all the chaos.
I emphatically don't have ID on the dog mask. The OPCOM was even less help there. He noted the carjacking/murder flagged nearby probably pegs them for someone's wetwork division, but I could have figured that out. Still, my department has been updating a system that might help. I'll see about getting you read in on it.
Will

[OKMGLOS OUTPUT 050-997-072]

[OKMGLOS OUTPUT 050-997-072]

Tasking Summary:

Locate individual POI-95172 according to historical information. Identify frequent paths of travel. Identify frequent locations of rest or business.
Match to any groups in the GOI registry above 30%. Match to any individuals in the POI registry above 60%. Match to any individuals in accessible personnel records above 0%.

Results Summary:

POI-95172 signature has been locked and tagged. Fringe signature in the 33E51M spectrum segment, an octant typically associated with persistent thaumatic constructs and anomalous entities exhibiting monopurpose objective ranking.
Signature correlates to Serpent's Hand (GOI-11) Cell 13 at 49%. Signature correlates to Serpent's Hand (GOI-11) Cell 17 at 50%. Signature correlates to modern Chaos Insurgency (GOI-181) Cell 5 at 84%. Signature correlates to POI-4157 at 61%. Signature correlates to POI-10556 at 62%. Signature correlates to POI-20254 at 64%. Signature correlates to FID#715316 at 94%.
Precise location data and compiled heat map have been distributed directly.

Authorized users may access secure OKMGLOS stations for complete reporting data.

scraped_personnel_record(715316).txt

scraped_personnel_record(715316).txt

Name: Elizabeth Cooper-Hughes
FID#: 715316
Last Available Security Clearance: L–3/TSQ/MDI
DOB: January 8, 2031
LOB: Hell, Michigan, United States
Biographical Summary: [REDACTED]
Last Available Pay Grade: E-4
Last Available Assignment: MTF Alpha-1
Last Available Station: Site-01
Certifications: A-1 Marksmanship, A-1 Physical Fitness, Exotic Biohazard Safety, French Language Fluency, Heavy Machinery Repair, Nonstandard Reality Acclimation and Preparedness (Expired), Operational Infohazard Safety, Advanced IED Construction.
Employment Status: Terminated

case_HSCR-9091_IP_VF8.mp4

case_HSCR-9091_IP_VF8.mp4

Location: United States; Junction, Illinois; 62954
Source: Body camera footage provided by MTF Gamma-3 ("Bruised and Bloody Knuckles").
Background: MTF Gamma-3 was dispatched to apprehend POI-95172 in Junction, Illinois based on intelligence gathered by sensitive sources and methods. UAV overflight tracked POI-95172 to an area of outlying wilderness, and orders were issued to execute planned operations that night. Kill or capture authorization issued by designated Gamma-3 Ethics Committee liaison.
Playing video file now…

You're dragged in once again. Autonomous drones sweep through the night sky, barely buzzing over cicadas' songs. Fractal cameras watch for the slightest movement. Nothing heavier has been authorized, but violence yet lurks high above. You yearn to speak the words that will rouse the NGRAF weapons platform from its sleep. Missiles never look so beautiful as when they streak across the starry sky.
A dirt path winds through the shadows. None step foot on it. Traces of upturned dirt along its edges are plenty warning, as are the lights flashing on your personal sniffers. Instead, you slide between tree trunks and prickly bushes. Branches crunch underfoot. Vermin dart from disturbed nests. Step by step, hill by hill, you advance towards the cabin perched atop a high ridge. It cuts a dark silhouette across the sky, reminding you of camping trips and memorial barbecues. It bulges with mystery and malice, reminding of a lifetime's worth of night terrors. Your hand tightens around your rifle.
Fifteen shades sweep through the treeline, following the slow advance of harsh spotlights. No one could miss such a sight from within the cabin. None could escape the encirclement either, even with so much cover. Your briefing noted your prey's expertise, long-trained doggedness, and career in a company of monsters wearing human skin. Well, you've put bullets through the skulls of worse.
Hard eyes sweep back and forth as you approach. Bayonets slice through razor wire. Sensors pick out hidden explosives. A quagmire of death and danger is faced without hesitation. It's hard not to wonder where such expertise stemmed. Mined from Vietnam, perhaps. Tempered in Afghanistan, maybe. Sharpened to a keen edge in the gray battlefields of Central Europe, certainly. A history of underhanded violence is condensed into the forest, but you brave it all the same. Each heartbeat is proof of success. Each breath defies history's edge in the Foundation's name.
A nest of sparrows erupts into flight as you pass. In the wake of those flapping wings emerges a short, scrawny figure clad in black and gray. Black, gray, and bearing a dog's face. She silently raises a pistol to the back of your brother's neck.
Gunfire tears apart flesh and armor. You fire back, but Dog Mask lets your comrade's armor absorb the worst of it. She fires back from under one armpit. Warm streaks graze skin and drum into armor. Their percussion knocks air from your lungs, but fails to end steady heartbeats. Someone less resilient gurgles wetly over your com channel. There's no time to worry about them. Firing lines converge as your squad-mates respond, and the masked figure vanishes again. Disappears, but not down the half-camouflaged tunnel. No, disappears in a roiling cloud of dust and fire.
Deep-buried explosives shatter stone, rend earth, and sear trees. The ground roils underfoot like a solid sea. The air itself burns. In an instant, existence is cast into nightmarish hues. Shadows of fears made manifest are birthed and buried in every second. Against every scrap of training, you shield your face with one arm. Hot. Bright. Loud. You've been trapped in worse ovens before, but none so humiliating.
Your vision returns just in time to witness a grim scene. In the new clearing, Dog Mask leans low over Gamma-3's GECOM and plunges a knife into her throat. Without pause, attention, or apparent effort, she shoots one of your surviving comrades as he rises. His helmet splits open. His head does too. You fumble for your rifle, then your pistol. You look down and find the hand to be missing. Dog Mask notices.
Your remaining hand grasps your sidearm. It raises a fraction of a second before hers. It fires faster too. Tragedy's numbness is held at bay by years of experience, and you don't waver. The first round hammers into her center of mass. The second halves that snarling mask. Beneath is an androgynous face twisted into a worse snarl, leaking dark blood and punctuated by orange eyes. Scorn burns in them. Hotter than the fires all around, hotter than your seared stump, and hotter than the sun itself. You hate her. She hates you more.
Only now does your hand tremble. Only for a split-second, but she's already gone. You've wounded the specter. You've failed to slay it. A ghost remains, and no more hauntings can be permitted. Not after what this cost.
"Star-131, target's gone," you cough into your bone-mic. "Trace and execute pattern eight."
Fire streaks across the sky as you stumble off in pursuit of your comrades. There's still a cabin to search. Then you're yourself again, and there's still work to be done, no matter how disconcertingly your hand tingles.

Concluding Notes: Nine Gamma-3 personnel suffered fatal wounds from a combination of explosives, gunfire, and bladed weapons. POI-95172 was confirmed injured, then pursued via UAV and reserve Gamma-3 forces. POI-95172 evaded capture, obtained a vehicle, and escaped immediate pursuit. Classified tracking methods were reapplied, and relevant Foundation assets were put on high alert.
Gamma-3 elements searched the cabin theorized to be a base of operations for POI-95172. Several booby traps of varying lethality were disarmed in the process, and a camouflaged passage to several subterranean rooms was discovered. Their investigation uncovered a broader tunnel system that extends throughout the surrounding region. A full accounting of this area and its contents is pending due to safety concerns for involved personnel.
An initial investigation revealed large caches of firearms, ammunition, and precursor chemicals for explosive compounds. Extensive supplies of commercial stimulants and unidentified pharmaceuticals were found within the facility. Equipment typically associated with dental surgery was also discovered along with a large number of human teeth (largely molars, though not exclusively). Some recovered teeth were noted to bear signs of post-extraction drilling. No other human remains have been recovered.

[OKMGLOS OUTPUT 051-455-008]

[OKMGLOS OUTPUT 051-455-008]

Tasking Summary:

FLAGGED AS URGENT: Refine POI-95172 location data and track according to extant signature tagging. Provide rolling updates to support ongoing missions.

Results Summary:

At least 90 thaumatic signatures identical to POI-95172 have been detected worldwide. Technical issues have significantly decreased the precise triangulation of signature sources. Emanation points are largely concentrated in North America and Western Europe, with sparse distribution throughout Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Middle Eastern territories.
Precise location data and compiled heat map have been distributed directly.

Ongoing Action:

The current situation is considered to be an extreme divergence from standard conditions and is imposing considerable strain on individual OKMGLOS network nodes. Rolling updates are expected to be significantly delayed as a result. Referrals have been issued to Foundation departments focused on exotic sciences research for additional insight into causal events and possible outcomes. Requests have been issued to relevant mobile task forces to determine the precise location of mirrored emanation points.
The location of POI-95172 is not currently identifiable to any satisfactory degree of confidence.

Authorized users may access secure OKMGLOS stations for complete reporting data.

case_HSCR-9091_IP_AF23.mp3

case_HSCR-9091_IP_AF23.mp3

Location: United States; Detroit, Michigan; 48242; Detroit Metropolitan Airport
Source: Camouflaged microphone audio provided by Foundation Internal Security.
Background: Descriptions and photos of POI-95172 were distributed to agents stationed in transit hubs as part of a broader seek-and-snag operation. FIS agent Christopher Arundel approached an individual believed to be POI-95172 within a restaurant located near Gate 93 of the airport's McNamara Terminal.
Playing audio file now…

There's less for your mind to build on this time, trained and talented though it is. Just sounds. Just rustling napkins, clinking travel mugs, and the rumble of tired conversation. You sink in anyway. Toes, and ankles, and legs. You hold your breath as it washes over. Subsuming, then drowning. Breaths catch and freeze. Heartbeats race and slip. You look across the table at a person with far too much blood on her hands.
She looks exhausted. Hungover, maybe, if you had any confidence that wasn't an act. Subdued blue eyes don't fit the description you were given, and long blonde hair doesn't match the still frame you saw, but it feels right. Feelings are never amiss. Failure only stems from reactions, and your stilled face shows none.
"Where're you off to?" you ask before sipping from an overly-hot, overly-strong cup of coffee. Falling into character is easy, familiar, and comfortable.
"Mexico," she says before sighing and rubbing the palm of one hand against a red-rimmed eye. "I was supposed to be hiking with my friends, but there's this whole thing, and now I'd rather just sleep the whole time."
"Run into some trouble with your friends? That's always rough."
"Something like that, yeah."
She sips from her own cup, and your fingers curl around the panic button sewn into your jacket's lining. Feelings are never amiss, but they can mislead. Any sign of latent injuries will make things clear. A glance under those long bangs. A hint of bandages along the ribs. Help would arrive in minutes, and you would be wined, lauded, and promoted.
"Want to talk it out? Having a second set of ears never hurts."
"Sure, why not?" She yawns, covering a wide mouth with a hand covered in scrapes, scabs, and bruises. You stare a second longer than necessary to commit everything to memory. "Oh, but does the black moon howl?"
If you show any reaction at all, it's subdued. An eyebrow twitched, maybe, or an ear. Perhaps your eyes drifted away for a second, or your breath hitched. Whatever it is, it's enough. Her eyes harden. Her hand falls. Everything stills, as if in witness to what would transpire. Your fingers still too. Years of imagining what circumstances might require pressing that button fall short. They utterly fail to capture the creature sitting before you.
"Funny how everyone thinks those words are magic, isn't it?" she chirps, fingers tightening around a plastic fork. "Funny how ingrained they get. Put your hands on the table, alright? Or I'll have to pop your eyes out. Neither of us wants that."
Your hand lingers a second longer, then moves away. Button unpressed, sweat beading, you spread your fingers on the crumb-covered table. A hundred-pound advantage isn't enough to breed confidence when faced with such malignancy. Maybe two-hundred wouldn't be either. As if reading your doubts, a thin smile creeps across her face. Thin, gnarled, vile. It belongs on an aged war criminal content in old atrocities, not a twenty-something sitting in an airport Chipotle.
"What do you want?" you ask.
"I want you to swallow this." She produces a pill from one of her coat's many pockets. It's small, unmarked, and bright pink.
"What is it?"
"Think of it like an amnestic. We take them all the time."
"But what is it? Poison would make me forget too."
She just smiles. Shivers run up your spine, then down it. Sweat drenches your undershirt, then your shirt too. She toys with the fork's dull tongs, thumb pressing against each in turn. You blink. Acknowledging the very presence of your eyes feels awful, but more pressing thoughts fill your mind. If a quiet suicide is being requested, shouldn't you force a commotion at least? Don't you have that duty despite being abandoned in a dead-end post?
"A lot of people are going to die if you don't take it," she says cheerfully. "First, you. Then, everybody else who tries to stop me. Airport security. Police. Your backup. Whichever other traitors the Foundation sends after me. People caught in the crossfire. People who see me by mistake. People who have things I need. That's a lot, isn't it? Do you want that on your conscience? Just take the pill. You'll wake up in a few days, and there won't be any blood on your hands."
"You'll do worse things if I do."
She only smiles again. It's a bloody oath in shape, and a dreadful vow in spirit. You slowly move, reaching again for the panic button. Your shaking fingers wrap around the pill instead. It tastes like nothing at all, and feels like chalk going down your throat. Tears well up deep in their ducts. Across the table, a monster stares as your vision blurs and darkness encroaches. Uncaring faces of fellow patrons melt and drip. Lights swirl and burn. Atop her head sits a giant blue bird, and its tiny black eyes are the most hateful by far.
More chirps are recorded even after your consciousness has faded in full. Each is vibrant and violent. "You'll see, assholes. I'll show you what happens when you stab someone in the back. You aren't the only ones with teeth to spare."
When you're yourself again, each breath feels like sandpaper. Throat arid, tongue fossilized, all you can do is cough.

Concluding Notes: Agent Arundel was retrieved and debriefed 27 hours later. Tests indicate that he was dosed with a compound historically used by Foundation operatives for transport of non-cooperative prisoners and humanoid anomalies. Airport video footage captures POI-95172 boarding a plane bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. Her departure was not captured by any available recording devices.

Recognized voice command: "Any news on my requests?"
Displaying request status now…

Report on current OKMGLOS operation status and expected reporting delays.
PENDING

Report on available information regarding thaumaturgic rituals involving human teeth.
PENDING

Report on declassification of POI-95172 operational history.
PENDING

Report on emerging GOI threat streams across Eurasian continent.
PENDING

SYSTEM NOTICE: An alert has been issued to all Foundation personnel.

[EMERGENCY ALERT]

[EMERGENCY ALERT]

ATTENTION: Enter compartmentalized lockdown immediately. Report individuals exhibiting any of the following signs:
• Recent dental surgery.
• Irregular speech patterns.
• Irregular body language.

• Irregular behavior.

All such individuals should be considered armed and highly dangerous. Treat all as mobile explosive hazards. Keep at distance. Do not attempt communication. Do not engage without support.

Contact site security at *99 to report suspicious individuals.

Contact emergency containment specialists at *39 if this counteracts current protocols.

Anyone running in the dark might trip on a root. Anyone fleeing a beast could slip in a puddle. Anyone with your training risks falling into someone else when panicked, and you're nothing if not that. This is the other shoe. This is what you were chasing after. If only everything could snap together in a moment of perfect clarity… But, no, such luck is elusive. No answers fall into your arms. No revelations spark in your frontal lobe. Surrendering to empathy's unrelenting grip is all that's left.
You stand in a darkened room. Not naturally dark, not with the studio lights erected all around, but dark to the scrap of your consciousness clinging tight to the slippery edge of a monster's mind. Honed empathy can only go so far. Preternatural imagination can only offer so much. That you have achieved such a state at all is a feat beyond meager training, but there's no pride in that. Only concern. Only desperation.
"I'm finished," you say in a now-familiar voice. Each word is awful and amused in equal parts. Blood pools around your boots, steaming and sticky. At the corner of one eye, a hand on the ground twitches slowly. It's beyond your concern now. It was never your concern. "Overseer, I'm finished. It's publishing now."
"Perfect," comes an answer without words. It's a relief all the same. A comfort, from handler to hound. "And the next step?"
"In motion, ma'am."
"And there are enough of you?"
"More than enough. We'll see it through."
"You've set fires for me before, ░░░░░. This one will need to be even brighter."
"I'll singe the sky, ma'am. I'll burn the world down for you."
"If that's what proves necessary to save it… You have your orders."
That you do. They're not worth yipping over, nor slavering for. Each satisfies though. Each makes use of your skills, and isn't that all that's ever mattered? You're done chewing on toys.

Footnotes
1. Thaumatic signatures are the collective output of an individual's emotional and rational interiors once filtered through a series of innate mental constructs. All individual consciousnesses are expected to exhibit unique signatures. For additional information, see Sotier, G. (1989). Signatures and Scribbles: Differentiating Between Discrete Thaumatic Outputs and Random Noise. Foundation Internal Journal of Exotic Sciences, 3(1), 12–81.

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