Illustrations of SCP-2901 confiscated from Agent ██████'s office at Research Site-45. [click image to enlarge]

Item #: SCP-2901
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Because of the extradimensional properties related to SCP-2901, there are currently no methods of physical containment. Case reports involving SCP-2901 will be remitted to MTF Phi-5 ("Twilighters") for further investigation.
Civilian sightings of SCP-2901 will be suppressed using amnestic field applications. Media leaks regarding SCP-2901 will be deleted or discredited by the Information Detraction, Censorship, and Rescission Division (IDCaRD).

Field personnel should avoid SCP-2901 if at all possible. Those authorized to investigate SCP-2901 must carry mobile devices capable of short message services (SMS) in case of sudden acoustic cancellation. If a hostile encounter is unavoidable, personnel should adhere to the following steps:

Do not attempt to run. Fleeing may provoke SCP-2901 to give chase.
Hold your ground. Be sure to make eye contact.
Make a threat display. Use clothing to imitate an increase in body mass.
Continue Step 3 until SCP-2901 becomes disinterested and submits.
Avoid physical contact if at all possible.1,2. Wield or throw objects to maintain distance.

Description: SCP-2901 are a species of nocturnal carnivorous scavengers of limited intelligence; averaging 1.7m in height. SCP-2901 usually appear as having an ellipsoid shape and possess 2 large eyes layered with photophoric tissue. SCP-2901 are covered in a layer of minute iridescent lamellar scales, similar to Lepidopterans3. SCP-2901 are able to move through space-time freely, granting them certain abilities such as levitation, flight, and teleportation. SCP-2901 are, however, tangible and susceptible to conventional firearms. SCP-2901 are also able to emit an acoustic cancellation effect within a radius of approximately 25m. The purpose or function of this ability is not wholly understood but is theorized to aid in stealth.
Several methods of containment and/or deterrents are still being considered. However, because of the elusiveness of SCP-2901, a large majority of the general public are aware of related incidents and possibly even the existence of SCP-2901. Counter-measures are in place as a temporary solution for protecting information on SCP-2901.

[LEVEL-2 ACCESS REQUIRED]

[ACCESS GRANTED]

IDCaRD
Information Detraction, Censorship, and Rescission Division
tenartni.noitadnuoFPCS|DRACDI#tenartni.noitadnuoFPCS|DRACDI
Ext 7502
Fax 7503

OPERATION:
"SURGEON'S PHOTOGRAPH"
PRIORITY: DALET
INTERNAL USE ONLY

PREAMBLE:
Due to the uncontainable nature and general notoriety of SCP-2901, certain protocols must be established in order to quell civilian suspicion as to the existence of these entities. The following is an outline of Operation: "Surgeon's Photograph" that should be reviewed by your respective teams.
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE:
Due to the nature of Operation: "Surgeon's Photograph", information regarding SCP-2901 does not require additional safeguards against espionage. Information about SCP-2901 will remain accessible on the Foundation main-list database. Standard protocols for sensitive information, access clearance, and storage still apply.
IDENTIFICATION OF SENSITIVE MATERIAL:
Utilizing the automated virtual agents already in place, certain keywords related to SCP-2901 will be routinely searched and red-flagged on the daily reports. Pages will be reviewed by selected teams as they are discovered and remitted to the Tactical Planning Team to determine the severity and next course of action.
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN:
The Tactical Planning Team will review suspected files/pages and make decisions and recommendations regarding pertinent threats. Dozens of online "dummy" accounts for media-sharing websites are to be created and managed by IDCaRD's Special Cyberspace Unit. Using these "dummy" accounts, content regarding the presence and/or glorification of SCP-2901 will be made widely available. This is to saturate any shared leaked footage or images with fabricated disinforming content. Content will be developed and published in a variety of mediums related to SCP-2901 including:

Fictional stories
Doctored photographic images
Visual semi-realistic art
Falsified eyewitness interviews
Merchandise

The Foundation front company Studio City Productions will be contracted to create several low-budget documentaries involving SCP-2901 while including other well known cryptids from folklore. This will further aid in convincing the general public that the existence of SCP-2901 is highly questionable and, in all likelihood, impossible to validate.
REQUIRED DELETIONS:
Any source material of SCP-2901 deemed too sensitive to be accessible to civilians will also be addressed by the Special Cyberspace Unit. Standard protocols for denial-of-service (DoS) operations will be carried out to isolate the source. After the source is isolated, efforts will be made to erase the original content. Any information regarding the original poster of the material will then be handed over to MTF Phi-5 ("Twilighters") for further investigation.
In all cases, services will be restored once the material has been erased. Any DoS operations in excess of 24 hours will need to be reported to the Department of External Affairs.
CESSATION OF OPERATIONS:
Operation: "Surgeon's Photograph" will continue until a viable method of containment or deterrent for SCP-2901 is in place. Virtual agents will continue to search for keywords related to SCP-2901; these will be included on the month-end reports to be reconciled at the end of the quarter. Content made during Operation: "Surgeon's Photograph" will remain accessible.

The first official documented incursion of SCP-2901 was near the town of █████ ████████, WV, USA in 19██, followed by the collapse of [REDACTED]. Since then, continuing field observations have concluded that SCP-2901 are an aggressively territorial and solitary species. SCP-2901 normally do not engage or reveal themselves openly to humans, and will often retreat or vanish if discovered.
Further observations suggests that SCP-2901 are able to approximate the time and location of future disasters with a certain degree of accuracy, particularly those resulting in multiple fatalities4. This is supported by accounts and reports showing a sudden presence of SCP-2901 within the vicinity of the disaster area, usually within a month or week before it occurs.
During this period, many SCP-2901 will claim rights to the area resulting in altercations with other SCP-2901; sometimes including human bystanders being mistaken as threats. During these aggressive territorial behaviors, SCP-2901 are able to change their physical shape into a large nebulous-like body as a threat display. After the disaster event occurs, the remaining SCP-2901 will take part in feeding off the deceased in a frenzy-like behavior until the food source is depleted; vacating once satiated.

[LEVEL-4 ACCESS REQUIRED]

[ACCESS GRANTED]

IDCaRD
Information Detraction, Censorship, and Rescission Division
tenartni.noitadnuoFPCS|DRACDI#tenartni.noitadnuoFPCS|DRACDI
Ext 7502
Fax 7503

CONFIDENTIAL
PRIORITY: GIMEL

DIRECTIVE:
Operation: "Surgeon's Photograph" is to be considered the "Special Containment Procedures" for SCP-2901 and is to operate under the guise of an active public disinformation campaign. MTF Phi-5 will be responsible for its continuation and level of effectivity in maintaining acceptable levels of public awareness and conception.
As a point of clarification, the purpose of Operation: "Surgeon's Photograph" is not to protect information on SCP-2901 but rather control information on SCP-2901.
SUMMARY:
SCP-2901's current evolution is the sum of Foundation efforts in manipulating its existence through public perception. SCP-2901 are a group of extradimensional entities that lack a stable cohesive form and purpose that only coalesces through continued observational reconciliation. For SCP-2901 to maintain a stable physical mass, approximately 75% of the nearby human populace within 500km need to be congruent on a singular concept of what SCP-2901 is and what it does.
SCP-2901 were first discovered and categorized as highly unstable Keter-class entities capable of producing localized CK-class scenarios at random. Further research into SCP-2901's unstable manifestations proved to be futile as, unbeknownst to Foundation scientists at the time, SCP-2901 would involuntarily change during each subsequent observation. During a containment breach into the civilian populated areas within the Appalachian region of the Southern United States, SCP-2901 began gradually condensing into a singular manifestation the more it was exposed to humans.
Civilians began conceding to the idea that SCP-2901 was a dark winged-like humanoid with large red eyes, which corresponded to pre-existing local folklore. SCP-2901 also began to evolve predatory-like behaviors and anomalous acoustic effects that conceptualized due to the mass fear generated within the surrounding communities.
Foundation researchers recognized the effects and began isolating SCP-2901 as much as possible. However, deprived of regular perceptual input, SCP-2901 began to devolve into its initial highly unstable manifestations once again. The decision was made to maintain SCP-2901 in a functioning manageable state through continued exposure to human perceptual belief that SCP-2901 is a tangible creature of local folklore: another Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster. The nearby Silver Bridge collapse of 1967 and the SCP-2901 Appalachian Incursion in reality have no connection with one another; however, public opinion strongly disagreed, and henceforth SCP-2901 began to appear at other future disaster events. This was the precursor of the precognitive scavenging animal-like behavior that is observed today.
Efforts are to continue gradually introducing notions developed by the Foundation as to further SCP-2901's evolution into a more docile and manageable concept.
INTERNAL COUNTERINTELLIGENCE:
Only Foundation personnel with Level-4 clearance are permitted to view this document. For all intents and purposes, all other personnel are to be included in actively contributing to SCP-2901's perceptual evolution. It is pertinent that this document be limited to no more than 50 persons, including the O5 council.

Footnotes
1. Due to the fluctuation of SCP-2901's mass, any physical connection made between the entity and victim will result in intersecting membraneous contact. This phenomenon usually results in the removal of the dermal layer along the contact area as SCP-2901 retracts.
2. Link to photograph of wounds caused by SCP-2901. [WARNING: GRAPHIC]
3. Lepidoptera (lɛpɨˈdɒptərə/lep-i-dop-tər-ə) are a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies.
4. This precognitive ability is believed to function as a physiological sense comparable to scent. Data varies, however, on the number of SCP-2901 within a given area (φn) versus the total fatalities after the disaster event occurs (Σδ). False positive incursions, though rare, have also been observed.

« SCP-2900 | SCP-2901 | SCP-2902 »


SCP-2902-1.

SCP-2902-2.

Item #: SCP-2902
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-2902-1 and 2 are contained at Site-73 in a humanoid containment unit. SCP-2902-1 can request to perform for personnel three times a month. Interviews should be conducted on a biweekly basis to assess SCP-2902-1's morale, as well as to gain possible information on its origins. SCP-2902-2 has been allowed to stay with SCP-2902-1.
Description: SCP-2902-1 is, as of January 29, 2008, a 32-year old human male of Indian descent named Nandin Chakrabarti. SCP-2902-1 is 172 cm tall, 66 kg and when not performing, speaks with a moderate Indian accent. SCP-2902-1 is skilled in ventriloquism, often using this ability during its performances with SCP-2902-2.
SCP-2902-2 is a male maine coon cat with a grey, mottled fur coloration. It is 90 cm long, and weighs 11 kg. SCP-2902-1 refers to SCP-2902-2 as "Miles"; SCP-2902-2 is affectionate towards SCP-2902-1, and often takes part in its performances.
Both SCP-2902-1 and 2 possess the ability to have their skeletons completely separate from their bodies; the outer skins of both do not suffer any muscle, nerve, or organ damage during, or after the skeleton's exit.1 Both their skins and skeletons retain full mobility, however, due to lack of support, the former becomes limp and moves in an uncoordinated manner.
SCP-2902-1 removes its skeleton by bisecting itself vertically or horizontally, which it achieves through pulling on its face or stomach area, respectively; its body will open in a hinge-like manner accompanied by a sound similar to tearing fabric. During the time its skeleton exits, there are no visible muscles, blood, or organs in SCP-2902-1; instead, only solid black space fills its inner body. After its skeleton exits completely, SCP-2902-1's skin will re-close. SCP-2902-1 can speak through both its skin and skeleton, though only one at a time; SCP-2902-1 often alternates between the two while speaking for dramatic effect.
Instead of opening its skin, SCP-2902-2's skeleton appears to phase and rise through its upper back. Unlike SCP-2902-1, SCP-2902-2 is able to control both bodies simultaneously. Of note is that SCP-2902-2 lacks three vertebrae near the middle of its back; this does not appear to have any detrimental effect on SCP-2902-2's bodily functions.
SCP-2902-1 claims that it and SCP-2902-2 came from the GOI Herman Fuller's Circus of the Disquieting, but were separated from the organization after SCP-2902-2 became ill during a performance. Against its colleagues' suggestions, SCP-2902-1 tried to take SCP-2902-2 to a medical clinic several kilometers away from the circus grounds; the group left the grounds while both were still away. Subjects were discovered in San Francisco, California, USA as street performers, and subsequently taken into Foundation custody. Since its containment, SCP-2902-1 has been generally friendly to personnel, expressing an interest in entertaining them with its abilities until "The Circus comes back to pick me up".

+ Interview SCP-2902-1, March 27, 2004

- Collapse

Interviewed: SCP-2902-1
Interviewer: Researcher Lucy Chang
Foreword: Interview conducted to learn information about SCP-2902-1 and 2's abilities. SCP-2902-1 and 2 have been in containment for 12 days.
<Begin Log, 1050>
SCP-2902-1: Hello, miss! How are you doing this morning?
Chang: Good morning, SCP-2902-1. I'm Lucy Chang. Would you mind answering a few questions right now?
SCP-2902-1: Of course, of course, not a problem at all, miss. But first, let me ask you something! Would you like to see Nandin the Human Skeleton Closet and Miles the Bonecat put on a show for you? I assure you, it will be great, like nothing you've ever seen before!
(SCP-2902-2 walks up to Researcher Chang before sitting and tilting its head.)
Chang: We might actually have room for that once we're finished here; it will let us have a firsthand look into what you can do.
SCP-2902-1: All right, Ms. Chang. Ask away, please!
(SCP-2902-2 separates, its skeleton walking away from Researcher Chang while its skin rolls behind it; it does not return until the end of the interview.)
Chang: How long have you had your abilities?
SCP-2902-1: [Laughs] Well, Ms. Chang, that is a very long story. I will try to keep it as short as I can.
Chang: I can listen.
SCP-2902-1: [Laughs again.] Ms. Chang, you are very kind. Let me begin the tale of Nandin Chakrabarti, a poor boy from a poor family, whose life was forever meant to be different.
(SCP-2902-1 stands up and raises arms above head. Throughout the recount, SCP-2902-1 continuously pantomimes/gesticulates as it speaks.)
I've been able to do what I can do since I was a baby. At least, that's what my Uncle told me; he said my mother was horrified at my birth. I do not know if that was true. Uncle Rakesh was a greedy man, and he often lied to me as a child to try and keep me with him; he liked to make money by showing people my talents.
(At this point, SCP-2902-1 pulls on its face, releasing its skeleton. Skeleton bends over to pick up SCP-2902-1's skin, and proceeds to dangle and move it in a fashion similar to a marionette.)
[Through skeleton, in a rougher, hearty voice] Hello, friends! Come see my nephew, Nandin the Bony Boy! [In normal voice, speaking through skin] Oh, how I hated that name. [Returns to skeleton.] Watch him leap out of his skin and dance for you! Hahahaha! [Guffaws] [Switches to skin.] I had to be with him for eleven years. It was such a terrible time.
Chang: You said your mother was frightened by you when you were born?
SCP-2902-1: [Skeleton, dramatically.] That is correct! (Skeleton flings skin away; skin falls down similar to a parachute.) I was born, like this. (SCP-2902-1 lies down on the floor in a fetal position, and moves by shuffling its feet.) Exactly like this! (Skeleton gestures to itself.)
Chang: You were born… as a skeleton?
SCP-2902-1: Well — (Skeleton stands up again and dusts itself off.) Bones first! (Skeleton ceases movement, freezing in an upright position.)
(Skin of SCP-2902-1 rolls towards skeleton and stops beneath its feet.) I came second!
Chang: [Pause.] Your bones and skin were birthed separately?
SCP-2902-1: Exactly! (Repeats twice, one through skin, one through skeleton; SCP-2902-1's skeleton proceeds to put skin back on itself similar to putting on a jacket.) You can imagine the shock my mother felt when she saw a pile of baby bones. Even after I came together and started crying, she couldn't look at me. I don't know where my mother or father are now. Uncle Rakesh told me they gave me to him after a week.
Chang: I see… Does it cause you any discomfort when you… separate?
SCP-2902-1: [Pauses and looks upwards before shaking its head.] No, it never did. Uncomfortable sometimes. I had to get used to switching around. It was strange having my mind bounce back and forth for a while. Not anymore, though, I'm well past any difficulties.
Chang: [Pause.] Very well then, SCP-2902-1. How did you come across SCP-2902-2?
SCP-2902-1: [Smiles.] Oh, Miles is a very special friend to me! He was a normal cat for many years, before he could do his little tricks. But that's a story for another day!
Chang: All right. I think that's it for today. Thank you for your cooperation, SCP-2902-1.
SCP-2902-1: A pleasure, a pleasure, Ms. Chang! Please, feel free to bring some of your friends next time! I love having an audience! (SCP-2902-1 pulls on its stomach, releasing its skeleton once more. Both the skin and the skeleton bow towards Researcher Chang as she leaves. SCP-2902-2 returns as well, and rubs against Researcher Chang's leg while purring.)
<End Log, 1107>

+ Interview SCP-2902-1, April 9, 2004

- Collapse

Interviewed: SCP-2902-1
Interviewer: Researcher Lucy Chang
Foreword: Interview conducted to learn information about SCP-2902-1 and 2's origins.
<Begin Log, 1410>
Chang: Good afternoon, SCP-2902-1.
SCP-2902-1: I see you are formal as ever, Ms. Chang! Ah, I suppose it cannot be helped. You are a scientist! Dedicated to researching things like — like me!
Chang: I wouldn't call yourself a —
SCP-2902-1: Please, Ms. Chang. I know I am not normal. I know Miles isn't normal! When you're in the Circus, you are praised for being not normal! But it's not a bad thing!
Chang: [Pause.] Have you been comfortable being here these past few weeks, SCP-2902-1?
SCP-2902-1: Well, I cannot find anything to complain about, if that's what you are asking, Ms. Chang. I am in an… adequate room, and I am with Miles. I think of you people like my doctors; you take me in, and try to make me feel better. I don't think you can cure whatever I have, though. It is a very strange condition. (SCP-2902-1 separates, its skeleton scratching and tilting its head in puzzlement, before rejoining.)
Chang: Let's talk about how you arrived at the Circus of Disquieting. How did you become part of the organization to begin with?
SCP-2902-1: Hmmm… I was [Pauses.] ten, maybe eleven. I was sick of my Uncle. I tried to run away many times. Many, many times. But Uncle was rich, and he had lots of people to catch me and bring me back; he would beat me every time I returned. I was miserable, until I found Miles.
Chang: Miles? SCP-2902-2?
SCP-2902-1: Yes and…no. It was a [SCP-2902-1 appears uncomfortable.] different Miles, of sorts. I found him during my last recent escape, in the bushes lining the street outside Uncle's house. He was still a kitten, then. Very spotty, like a jaguar. He was friendly, and kept following me as I tried to get away.
(At this point, SCP-2902-2's skeleton jumps onto SCP-2902-1's lap. SCP-2902-1 pats SCP-2902-2's head and laughs.)
Chang: But you were caught again?
SCP-2902-1: Yes, I was. (SCP-2902-1 places SCP-2902-2 back on the floor.) I hid Miles in my pack before Uncle's men saw me. When they took me back, I hid the bag in my closet before Uncle beat me again. I remember the only thing I was thinking of as he punched me was hoping that Miles wouldn't make any noise.
After Uncle left, I took Miles out, and he began to lick my bruises. I loved him. I tried to get him to leave the house, because I was afraid Uncle would find him and kill him. But every night, he would come back through the window and fall asleep with me. Nearly three months went by, and I was happier than I had ever been before. And during the summer, the Circus finally came to my town.
(SCP-2902-2 mewls loudly. SCP-2902-1 scratches its chin.)
Chang: How did you react when you saw it? Did it interest you?
SCP-2902-1: Oh, you have no idea. I could hear the music, smell all the food. I decided I would try once more to escape my Uncle, while the Circus was still there. Miles found me. He must have been a very smart cat. There was so much to see, so many strange things.
(SCP-2902-2 separates, both bodies continuously circling around the table.)
Chang: Did you meet any other people like yourself there?
SCP-2902-1: I didn't speak to any one at first. I was in awe. But yes, I saw many people with strange things about them. There was a man who was on fire all the time, but he didn't scream or burn, just walked and danced like a normal person. There was a man with a huge mouth. I thought he was funny; he looked like a frog and he kept eating everything!
Chang: How did you end up joining them?
SCP-2902-1: [Pause.] I — I didn't join them right away. My uncle found me again. He drove up to me in his car and grabbed me by the arm. He kept shouting at me, and lots of people began to circle around us. And then— Miles tried to help me. He was such a brave cat. But Uncle pulled him off, and threw me in the car. And then he — [SCP-2902-1's moans and doesn't complete sentence.]
(Silence for approximately 20 seconds. SCP-2902-2 jumps into SCP-2902-1's lap again and begins to purr.)
I spent all night in my room, just crying to myself. Uncle locked my door, and put more bars on my window. Sometimes, my bones would cry, sometimes my skin would cry. I — I tried to smother my skin beneath the bed, but my bones pulled me out. I fell asleep. When I woke up again it was still night, and there was a girl in my room.
Chang: A girl?
SCP-2902-1: Yes. She was very pretty. I thought she had lots of flowers in her hair, but when she picked one off and gave it to me, she made a face like it hurt, and I realized the flowers were her hair.
Chang: What did she do after?
SCP-2902-1: She told me she was sorry about Miles, that she saw what had happened. She asked me if I wanted to leave, and of course I said yes. So she took my hand, and the flowers in her head grew bigger and started to glow. The one in my hand did too. The flowers and leaves pushed the bars out and we began to fly out. Her flowers lifted us up into the air, into the night. We flew back to the Circus, and I knew a would have a new life, finally; I would be happy for years to come.
<End Log, 1425>

+ Interview SCP-2902-1, June 1, 2004

- Collapse

Interviewed: SCP-2902-1
Interviewer: Researcher Lucy Chang
Foreword: Interview conducted to learn information about SCP-2902.
<Begin Log, 1020>
Chang: Good morning, SCP-2902-1.
SCP-2902-1: Hello, Ms. Chang. How have you been?
Chang: I've been well. I assume you know why I'm here?
SCP-2902-1: Yes, yes. Here to ask me more questions. What is the topic of the day this time?
Chang: I'd like to talk about SCP-2902-2 today.
SCP-2902-1: Ah, and so we arrive at part two of Nandin Chakrabarti and Miles the Bonecat! Miles! (SCP-2902-1 calls to SCP-2902-2. SCP-2902-2 walks forward.) We have a special person to entertain today, Miles. Put on your best act for her! (SCP-2902-2 mewls.)
(SCP-2902-1 stands up and bows. SCP-2902-2 jumps on SCP-2902-1's head and bows as well.)
(SCP-2902-2 jumps off of SCP-2902-1's head onto the floor, and sits in an upright position.)
Forgive me, Ms. Chang. Miles usually has music and other performers during this act. I'll do my best without them. (SCP-2902-1 begins to clap and stamp feet in rhythm; SCP-2902-2's skin closes its eyes, and nods its head, possibly trying to time the beat. After several seconds, it opens its eyes again and both bodies begin to move in a clockwise circle. SCP-2902-1 begins to sing as SCP-2902-2 pantomimes actions SCP-2902-1 describes.)
[During the performance, SCP-2902-1 alternated its voice between a low British accent while "speaking" through SCP-2902-2's skin, and a gravelly American accent for the skeleton. To avoid confusion in this document, text below that is un-bolded represents SCP-2902-2's skin, text in bold represents SCP-2902-2's skeleton.]

I'm Miles! I'm Miles! And we're gonna put a smile
On your face, so relax, and stay with us awhile!
We'll walk you through the story, we hope it won't bore ye!
And we'll show you how the Bonecat attained its glory.
(SCP-2902-2's skin comes forward while its skeleton retreats behind it.)
I wandered through the streets of an Indian town.
I was always hungry, my fur quite grungy.
Thrown out of my home, and so I roamed
Until I was nothing but skin and bones!
(SCP-2902-2's bodies switch positions.)
So for years I was alone just wanderin'
Until I met this kiddie called Nandin!
(SCP-2902-2's skin rolls its eyes.)
Honestly, Bones, the couplets you try to make —
Shut up, rug boy!
[SCP-2902-1 stops clapping; in normal voice.] Miles!
(SCP-2902-2's bows head in apparent embarrassment.) Right, sorry, ahem —
(Rhythm resumes.)
Now Nandin was nice, and we liked him at once
He gave us a meal, water runs right through me!
But his Uncle Rakesh was a rather mean man.
He hit Nandin in the head with a frying pan!
(SCP-2902-1 claps hands loudly and pulls head; skeleton falls out with skull shaking and teeth chattering. SCP-2902-1 replaces head and resumes beat. SCP-2902-2's bodies walk in place alongside each other.)
A circus came in, Nandin wanted in!
So he ran away again for the umpteenth time.
And we tagged along, and stayed all day long,
Watching the freaks in the act to calliope chimes!
But Rakesh drove up to take Nandin back, and Nandin screamed and cried.
And Nandin kicked, and Nandin fought
But against his Uncle it was all for naught.
So I leapt into action and attacked. (SCP-2902-2's skin hisses loudly.)
And I raked that man along the back. (SCP-2902-2's skeleton bands claws against floor.)
But Rakesh was stronger and he got me tuckered
And ran me over with his car, that sick mother —
[SCP-2902-1, in normal voice] Miles!
(SCP-2902-2's skeleton looks at SCP-2902-1.) What?
(SCP-2902-1 sighs and resumes beat. Tempo is much slower. SCP-2902-2's skeleton curls up on ground in fetal position, with skin covering face like a shroud. SCP-2902-1 begins to sing in a lamenting voice.)
So for weeks, after that, everything went dark.
And I felt the pain, of my broken heart.
Trapped in a body that was crushed and cold,
And mixed in the darkness of worlds untold…
(Tempo begins to quicken again, as SCP-2902-1 begins to sing progressively faster.)
But I came back! (Yes I did!)
I came back! (Yes I did!)
Through the work of the finest of the Circus' highest!
The mysterious beings with magic profound,
Yes, it was them, could it be?
Bring in the Clowns! Bring in the Clowns!
(SCP-2902-1 begins to repeat "Bring in the Clowns" in a multitude of voices for several seconds before separating itself. SCP-2902-1's skeleton leaps onto SCP-2902-2's; the bones from each become mixed together while SCP-2902-2's screeches loudly.)
So they dug me up! Right out from the soil!
Plopped me down on the table and began their toil!
(Both skeletons continue to loudly mix with each other.)
As the Clowns did their work, it was pure confusion
Lots of whistles, and honking, accidental contusions.
My old skin was cast, and my bones removed,
And stuffed into the body of a maine coon anew.
(SCP-2902-2 rejoins its bodies into one and stands up, looking around in apparent surprise.)
The first thing I saw as I came back from the dead,
Was a man most peculiar, with an upside-down head!
(SCP-2902-1's skeleton twists its skull upside down and kneels as SCP-2902-2 walks up to it.)
And he said "The clowns did their work well, take a look at you now!
Come with us as we travel the world!
You now have the powers others only could dream!
And to make your act perfect I've found you a team!"
(SCP-2902-1 comes back together again and pets SCP-2902-2.)
[SCP-2902-1, in normal voice.]
So Miles and I were reunited, and the Circus became our home.
And that, my friend, is the end of the tale, of the man, the cat, and their bones.
(SCP-2902-1 and SCP-2902-2 bow to Researcher Chang. Interview is considered concluded.)
<End Log, [1027]>

Footnotes
1. Skeletons are completely clean upon emergence, lacking any tissue or bloodstains.

« SCP-2901 | SCP-2902 | SCP-2903 »


Item #: SCP-2903
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Provisional Containment Site-131 is to be continuously occupied by Containment Team Nu-9 ("Iron Chefs"), recruited from Level 0 Support Personnel with horticultural and/or culinary training; and Containment Team Nu-10 ("Cucumber Munchers"), recruited from members of the Foundation front organization known as the Reformed and Universal Church of the Apostle of Light, who are to rigorously adhere to the lifestyle restrictions historically practiced by the Manichaean1 electae2.
Members of Containment Team Nu-9 are to harvest all instances of SCP-2903-2 at sunrise, then prepare and serve the harvested produce to members of Containment Team Nu-10 throughout the day, before uprooting all instances of SCP-2903-2. To ensure that members of Containment Team Nu-10 satisfy the religious conditions necessary for the safe consumption of SCP-2903-2 fruits, they are encouraged to regularly hold religious services and study Foundation-provided religious literature. Furthermore, the manifests of all supply convoys departing for Site-131 are to be examined for any contraband that would threaten the lifestyle restrictions of the members of Containment Team Nu-10.
Description: SCP-2903 is the designation given to certain related anomalous phenomena located at 24.████° N, 118.████° E, in Fujian Province, China. SCP-2903-1 designates a phenomenon that causes fruit-bearing vines, the varieties of which are henceforth designated SCP-2903-2a through SCP-2903-2e, to spontaneously grow during each sunrise. The primary productivity of SCP-2903-1 is estimated to be 7500 gC d-1 (grams of carbon per day). Instances of SCP-2903-2 physically resemble non-anomalous counterparts of the same species, but are thought to have indefinitely long lifespans. After an instance of SCP-2903-2 is uprooted or otherwise destroyed, another identical instance of SCP-2903-2 will spontaneously grow at the same location, unless the fruit of that instance was previous consumed by an individual who rigorously adheres to the lifestyle restrictions historically practiced by the Manichaean electae. These necessary lifestyle restrictions are listed as follows.

Sincerely and continuously held belief in the Manichaean faith.
Renunciation of one's former occupation and material lifestyle.
Complete abstinence from meat and intoxicants since conversion to the Manichaean faith.
Complete abstinence from sexual activity3 since conversion to the Manichaean faith.

Instances of SCP-2903-2 possess several other anomalous characteristics besides their biological immortality and automatic replacement. When an SCP-2903-2 fruit is consumed by an individual who does not rigorously adhere to the lifestyle restrictions listed above, that individual is subjected to an anomalous effect, the nature of which depends on the type of SCP-2903-2 fruit that was consumed. Furthermore, the presence of uneaten SCP-2903-2 fruits causes meteorological anomalies within a circular region centered around them, the nature of which also depends on the type of SCP-2903-2 fruit. The radius of this region grows quadratically relative to the number of uneaten SCP-2903-2 fruits in close proximity. The varieties of SCP-2903-2 and their associated anomalous effects are listed as follows.

Designation
Species
Effect upon Consumption
Meteorological Effect

SCP-2903-2a
Cucumis sativus (cucumber)
The consumer emits light with a luminous flux measured at 1250 lumens for 10 seconds.
Increased intensity and duration of sunlight.

SCP-2903-2b
Citrullus lanatus (watermelon)
The consumer sweats 1.5 L of distilled water over 30 seconds.
Increased frequency and intensity of rainfall.

SCP-2903-2c
Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean)
The air surrounding the consumer moves outward from the consumer at a rate of 75 m/s for 5 seconds.
Increased frequency and intensity of winds.

SCP-2903-2d
Solanum lycopersicum (tomato plant)
The consumer spontaneously combusts.
Spontaneous combustion of flammable materials.

SCP-2903-2e
Vitis vinifera (common grape vine)
A vacuum temporarily forms around the consumer, resulting in near-immediate death.
None observed.

When a sufficient number of uneaten SCP-2903-2 fruits are in close proximity, they collectively become part of a sapient entity or group of sapient entities, henceforth designated SCP-2903-3. SCP-2903-3, which is aware of the area immediately surrounding those uneaten SCP-2903-2 fruits, is capable of communicating by producing vocalizations in Middle Persian through an unknown means. SCP-2903-3 was first encountered in 1978, during the initial containment of SCP-2903, which took place after the government of the People's Republic of China requested the Foundation's assistance with investigating reports of spontaneous combustion in Fujian Province, many of which were attributed to the consumption of "cursed fruit" during the famine caused by the Great Leap Forward. The reports were found to be clustered around 24.████° N, 118.████° E, the site of an abandoned temple described by local eyewitnesses as a "temple of the elements." Agents exploring the temple reported the presence of SCP-2903-3, but were unable to communicate with it due to language barriers. Dr. Mirza Rostami, a scholar of Middle Persian, was dispatched to interview the entity.

+ Interview Report-2903-1

- Interview Report-2903-1

Interviewed: SCP-2903-3
Interviewer: Dr. Mirza Rostami
Foreword: Interview conducted in Middle Persian.
<Begin Log>
Dr. Mirza Rostami: Greetings! Can you understand me?
SCP-2903-3: Yes, yes, we can! Please tell us that have you come to liberate us!
Dr. Mirza Rostami: I cannot say. You will have to identify yourself first.
SCP-2903-3: Of course, of course, how could we forget? We are the Elements of Light4; sons and garments of the First Man, martyr before the King of Darkness. In our defeated, humiliated state, we sit before you, trapped in the fruits of this garden.
Dr. Mirza Rostami: Is that so? For how long have you been in this state?
SCP-2903-3: Since the First Creation, when the demons swallowed us whole and imprisoned us in matter. That being said, we can remember only the last few years.
Dr. Mirza Rostami: Do you happen to know why that is the case?
SCP-2903-3: We can only guess. Most of our memory is… hazy, and indistinguishable, for it is of when our existence was dispersed throughout the fruits of this world. The faithful electae consumed our particles and liberated us through their blessed digestion, but with time, the numbers of the electae diminished, and we began to coalesce.
Dr. Mirza Rostami: What exactly do you mean by "coalesce?"
SCP-2903-3: With great effort, we force our particles to come together. They move here, to this country, where we once had found the last surviving community of the electae. For several centuries, they carried out our liberation here, until something recent—we do not know what—caused them to abandon us5. Once the electae departed, we found ourselves trapped here in this garden, isolated and alone.
Dr. Mirza Rostami: I see. Now, is there anything you could tell me about the recent spontaneous human combustions that have taken place in this region? I have been informed that many of them have been attributed to the consumption of these fruits.
SCP-2903-3: When the impure consume the fruits, they will not free our particles, but release them back into this world, where we will manifest. Elsewhere, when we find that our particles are present in too high a concentration, we will manifest as well.
Dr. Mirza Rostami: Do you have any control over these manifestations?
SCP-2903-3: No, but when we are liberated from the fruits of this garden—from this damned matter—they will cease, for we will no longer manifest in this world.
Dr. Mirza Rostami: If so, I will leave, and see what can be done to help you.
SCP-2903-3: Hurry. It is upon us that your salvation depends!
<End Log>
Closing Statement: After the interview, the Cheng Committee was formed by members of the Department of Antiquities to devise Special Containment Procedures for SCP-2903. Over the following five years, the Cheng Committee fabricated lost Manichaean religious literature and organized the Foundation front organization known as the Reformed and Universal Church of the Apostle of Light in order to recruit personnel suitable for the containment of SCP-2903. In 1985, the temple at 24.████° N, 118.████° E was redesignated Provisional Containment Site-131, and Containment Teams Nu-9 and Nu-10 were formed, inaugurating the containment of SCP-2903.

Footnotes
1. Manichaeism is a dualistic religion, incorporating Zoroastrian, Christian, and Gnostic elements, founded by the prophet Mani in Persia during the 3rd century CE.
2. Followers of Manichaeism were divided into two classes: the monastics known as the electae and the laymen known as the hearers.
3. Including but not limited to sexual intercourse, non-penetrative sex, and masturbation.
4. In the Manichaean cosmology, the Elements of Light are light, water, wind, fire, and ether.
5. Interviews of local eyewitnesses suggest that the community of electae in Fujian Province became targets of political violence during the Cultural Revolution for their heterodox religious beliefs and resistance to the collectivization of their lands.

« SCP-2902 | SCP-2903 | SCP-2904 »


[Archivist's note: The original document which was transcribed for digital storage featured a handwritten note at the top of this page instructing the reader to “Start with the letter.” This refers to Document 2904-A which can be found here:

+ Document 2904-A

- Collapse Document 2904-A

Document 2904-A
[Archivists note: This handwritten letter was included in the original briefing pack for MTF Pi-20 Operator candidates, where it formed an introduction to document SCP-2904. It has been transcribed for preservation in the digital archive.]
June 19th, 1981
To whom it may concern,
If you're reading this then you've been offered a choice.
Hello, my name is ███████████████. I don't know who you are and I never will. I won't pretend to know what you're going through. All I know is what comes next. I'm supposed to help you figure out what to do, but I've never been much good at giving advice. Instead I'm going to tell you how it was for me. How it worked out. Then it'll be up to you whether you sign that document in front of you or choose whatever the alternative is in your case.
Let's start… not at the beginning. Real stories don't have beginnings. Let's just start somewhere. Before. This is me:

I open my eyes. I must have been napping. The sun is warm on my back and splashes across my shoulders onto the desk. My eyes are drawn to the left side of my desk. The calendar there tells me that it's Friday and my watch tells me it's two pm. I check them automatically, without thinking.
I usually leave Friday afternoons free to tidy up any loose ends in the hope of getting a whole weekend to myself. I can't be sure though, so I pick up the phone and dial through to Tiffany.
“Hi, Tiffany.”
There's a brief pause before she replies “Yes, Agent ████████, what can I do for you?”
“Can you check my schedule and tell me if I have anything planned in for this afternoon, please?”
“Nothing except the meeting with Academy Director ███ to discuss the assignments for this month's crop, Sir.”
“Oh, of course. Do you have the files for that, Tiffany?”
“I brought them through this morning, Sir. I believe you put them in your top drawer?”
“Ah.” I open my top drawer and pull out the files. “Yes, I have them here. Thank you, Tiffany.” I really need to get a system for this.
I turn on the radio. The Boomtown Rats are just getting to the chorus of I Don't Like Mondays and I hum along.

Does any of that sound familiar? Probably. There's only so many ways to get to where you are now. None of them good. That's how I got there. You don't need to know any of that, I guess, but if you know how I got there then maybe it'll help you understand why I made the decision I did. Whether you want to make that decision too.
So you're probably wondering now; “What happens if I do this? What will it be like?” The honest answer is, I don't know. Neither will you. I'll tell you what it's like but neither of us will ever really know. So let me tell you, then. What it's like after.
While I write this next part I'm listening to my own voice on tape. I'm listening to a stranger with my voice. He's telling me what he's going through so I can tell you. Here's what he's saying:

I am calm. I check for threats. There are men in suits at one o'clock and four o'clock. They are wearing the badges so I relax and allow the nearer of the two at one o'clock to continue changing the card in the holder on the back of my right hand. He has muttered something insulting about my diminished mental capacity. I make a conscious decision not to do anything about it. The Boomtown Rats' I Don't Like Mondays is playing from somewhere behind me so I know that I'm not active. The other man, the older one is holding a hand against his ear. He speaks:
“That's a check on the throat mic. We're good to go here.”
I realise I am whispering my thoughts. It happens automatically, without thinking. It ought to, after a month of conditioning to auto-dictate. I recognise his voice. It's Abrahams. He looks terrible. Old. Worn. I know to expect this but it's still a little surprising to see how unkind time has been to him.
“Thanks for that, pal,” he says. “Time catches up to most of us eventually.” He puts his hand on my shoulder and points at a large house about 200 yards away. “The target's in there, █████. Go get ‘em.” He's smiling but there's something behind it. I know to expect this too. It's pity. I walk towards the house and behind me The Boomtown Rats fade down to nothing. They are soon replaced by a deep bass thumping coming from the house. I walk through the front door.
I am calm. I check for threats. There is a teenager lying on the floor in front of me. He's unconscious, looks like someone got in a few good shots to his face before applying a chokehold. Judging by the ache in my hands it was me. There's no one else present.
I look down at my hands. My left hand is empty. A card is in the holder on the back of my right hand. It has a picture of a flat, shiny, round object on it and underneath that it says “Compact Disc, music storage.”
The room I'm in appears to be a reception room in a squat. Dirty mattresses are tossed down all over the otherwise-empty floor. The wallpaper is peeling down in swathes and the whole place reeks of sweat and damp. I can't see anything that looks like a “Compact Disc” in here, can't see much of anything interesting. I walk towards the doorway at the back. There are stairs leading up and I can hear that the music is coming from above. I climb up.
I am calm. I check for threats. I'm standing in a doorway and there is a teenage girl inside the room at twelve o'clock. She is turning towards me and she has a knife. She's young, fast. She doesn't hesitate. I don't have time to draw my sidearm. She has come straight at me and she's quicker than I've been in thirty years. She's also clumsy; untrained and glassy-eyed from drugs or something else. I am prepared for this. I have guided her knife-hand wide with my forearm. The knife has struck the doorframe and been twisted from her grip. She has darted back across the room then she runs at me, screaming. I reach out and grasp the hand that is clawing towards my eyes. I pivot and use her momentum to throw her over my shoulder. She flies through the doorway and bounces down the stairs opposite. She comes to an awkward halt halfway down.
I can't afford to leave her behind so I descend to stand over her. Her arm is obviously broken and she seems only partly-conscious. I lift my foot and stamp down on her head with carefully-gauged force. She will likely live.
I look down at my hands. My left hand is empty. A card is in the holder on the back of my right hand. It has a picture of a flat, shiny, round object on it and underneath that it says “Compact Disc, music storage.” I climb back up the stairs to the room the girl was waiting in. The music is coming from this room. Something about it tugs at the corner of my consciousness, like someone whispering your name in a darkened room. It is weak, though. It can't find any purchase on me and slides away.
In the corner of the room are a set of enormous speakers hooked up to the smallest stereo systems I have ever seen. I crouch down next to it and look for a way to get the “Compact Disc” out. A tiny button is marked with the eject symbol so I push it. The music dies immediately leaving an echoing silence. A little tray slides out of the stereo system with a shiny object on it. I check it against the card and it looks the same. I pick it up and put it in a padded case from my belt. I take the case in my left hand and look for a way out.
I am calm. I check for threats. I am standing in a hallway with what looks like a doorway to the outside at nine o'clock. There are no threats present. I look down at my hands. My left hand is holding a case with the word “objective” printed on it in bold capitals.
I turn towards the door to leave the building. There is a noise behind me. I turn to see two teenage boys emerging into the hallway from deeper in the building. One of them is holding a baseball bat and the other a kitchen knife. They seem confused and angry. They rush down the hallway towards me. I have only one free hand so I draw my sidearm. Since I'm shooting one-handed I take my time to line up the shot carefully, to make it count. They get closer. Then I put two rounds into the chest of the first boy. The Webley bucks in my hand drawing my aim high and I fight to lower it towards the second boy. He's stumbling across his companion's body and too busy watching his feet to see the revolver draw level with him from five feet away. I fire twice more. One goes in his chest and the other through his neck. He crumbles and skids to a stop on the cracked tiles. Blood spreads out from the two bodies in a broad sheet. I wait, listening, watching. I am shaking with adrenaline. Nothing else moves. I turn and head out of the building.
I am calm, I check for threats. There are two men in suits standing at twelve o'clock and three o'clock. They are wearing the badges so I relax and allow the older one to take the case from my left hand. I can hear The Boomtown Rats launching into the second verse of I Don't Like Mondays so I know I'm not active. The younger one is looking at me strangely, like he's afraid. I have no way of knowing why. He hesitantly shepherds me into the back of a van. He waits while I strap myself in, offers me the helmet. I settle it over my head, relax in the darkness and hum along to the music.

Doesn't sound very appealing, does it? So why would you volunteer for something like that? Here's why:
If you're sitting where you're sitting, reading what you're reading then you used to be a person who did things. Maybe you still are. Some of those things probably weren't very nice, weren't things you'd want to talk about even if you could. You did them anyway and you took the therapy and the drugs and the mandatory psychological leave so you could get recertified and get right back to doing them again. You did them because you thought they were important; that they needed to be done.
Thing is, you won't be doing them for much longer, will you? You're on a clock and it's counting down, has been for a while. First they put you on “lighter duties,” before you know it you're desk-bound. And that's before they found out about whatever got you here. Even if they didn't know about that, you didn't have too much longer, did you?
That's what they're offering you: A chance to keep doing the things that need to be done. It won't be the same as before. It can't be. You can't go back. But it's something. Maybe it's enough for you.
You've got to understand that what they're offering you isn't life, but it isn't death either. Choose wisely.
Yours Faithfully,

████████

Operator ███████████████, MTF Pi-20

- Collapse Document 2904-A

Item #: SCP-2904
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-2904 is to be stored in the Site-19 Deep-Sigma storage vault at all times except when required for use. When outside of this vault it is to be accompanied by no less than three armed security personnel chosen at random from the standby duty roster.
SCP-2904 is not to be handled with bare hands except by MTF Pi-20 personnel as required by their duties. See below for details (classified level 3/2904 / level 4). Unless in active use it is to remain in the secure transport container provided, including while it is in storage.
All further testing of SCP-2904 is prohibited by order of the O5 council dated 20/10/1988. Approval for testing on previously-created SCP-2904-1 instances may be sought using standard research request protocols.
Description: SCP-2904 is an oblate spheroid with an equatorial radius of 4.982 cm. It is composed of osmium alloyed with 2.3% tungsten, 0.6% iron, 0.4% carbon and 0.3% unidentified exotic matter. Its mass is 10.075 kg ±0.347 kg. This variation in mass is due to the measured mass of SCP-2904 varying according to a sine function with a period equal to the sidereal orbital period of the Earth's moon (27.3 days). The mass is at its greatest when the moon is aligned with the galactic center as viewed from the Earth. It has not yet been determined what connection, if any exists between the object and the Earth's moon.
There is a 3-mm-deep depression or dimple at one of SCP-2904's poles. A 1-mm-deep groove or channel extends away from this depression and traces a complex path across the object's surface. This groove has the anomalous property of beginning and ending at the polar depression without crossing or looping back on itself and only touching the polar depression at a single point. The implication of this is that SCP-2904 is an intrusion into three-dimensional space of a higher-dimensional object.
The primary anomalous effect of SCP-2904 is activated by a living entity directly touching the object and tracing the groove in the object's surface over its entire path, beginning and ending at the polar depression. Humans who have carried out this procedure report that the object grows painfully hot to the touch and pulses or beats like a heart for a few seconds immediately after the procedure is completed. The heat and pulsing then expands to affect their entire body before quickly waning. Monitoring devices have been unable to detect any changes in the object's or exposed individuals' temperature or dimensions to account for this sensation. All entities in direct contact with SCP-2904 when it is activated are exposed to its anomalous effect, and are hereafter designated as instances of SCP-2904-1
SCP-2904-1 instances display the following traits:

Instances cease ageing. The earliest instances were exposed over 60 years ago (as of 2005) and show no significant changes to their health or physical makeup since exposure.
Instances gain a low-level regenerative ability. Tests have shown that a minor (3 cm long, 1cm deep) cut is fully healed without scarring in approximately three days and an amputated limb is fully regrown and functional in approximately eight months.
Instances show an enhanced resistance to toxins and disease.
Instances do not require food or water but do still require air.
Instances suffer from memory difficulties similar to anterograde amnesia. However, unlike most cases of anterograde amnesia, both procedural memory and declarative memory are affected. SCP-2904-1 instances cannot retain new memories or learn via conditioning.
Instances demonstrate a significant resistance or outright immunity to many memetic hazards, cognitohazards and related phenomena.

These changes are not caused by altered biology as was previously believed, but by an anti-causal effect. Whenever a SCP-2904-1 instance is changed either physically or mentally, it reverts to its state at the time of exposure. For reasons that are poorly understood, the mental reversion occurs on a greatly reduced timescale when compared to the physical reversion. SCP-2904-1 instances have not been documented to be able to retain any new information for periods in excess of 393 seconds.
It should be noted that SCP-2904-1 instances can still be killed by most means that would normally kill an entity of their type. The reversion effect continues after death; after sufficient time, life signs return. However, all SCP-2904-1 instances who have died and then returned to life in this manner have thereafter remained in a comatose state from which they cannot be awakened.
Recovery: SCP-2904 was recovered in 1935 from a dig site in Jammu and Kashmir, approximately ██ km north of Skardu. This dig site was excavated after information was retrieved from SCP-1726 which indicated that this site was of significance to the Daeva. Unlike other, similar sites that have been excavated, this site contained traces of non-Daeva occupation as well as the expected Daeva artifacts.
SCP-2904 was discovered in a partially-collapsed, underground chamber 300 m from the central concentration of recovered artefacts. It was buried in rubble composed of finely-worked stone, badly-corroded copper fragments and iron oxide residue. It is hypothesised that SCP-2904 was part of a larger device or mechanism of unknown purpose. The remains found near SCP-2904 are of a style distinctly different to that typical of Daeva artefacts and are believed to be of non-Daeva origin.

+ Test Log 2904-2

- Hide

This test log is to remain a part of the briefing materials for this object for as long as my wishes hold any sway. I humbly request that my successors keep it for reasons that I hope are self-evident. It is preserved not for its scientific merit but as a cautionary tale. Let those who engage in the scientific method without thought for the consequences of their actions take heed. – Harold Dunelm, Site-19 Assistant Director of Research, June 1943.
Test #: 2904-2
Test Date: November 11th, 1942
Subject is one ████████████ of ██████, Idaho. Subject was transferred to the Foundation from federal custody for testing purposes.
Test begins:
Subject is introduced to test chamber where SCP-2904 has been placed on a steel table.
Subject: So I just have to pick this thing up and run my finger around the groove, yeah?
Test Control (via loudspeaker): Yes, that's right. Would you do that please, subject?
S: OK. And it's not going to… going to do anything to me, is it? Only the guys back at the barracks told me stories about what can happen in tests and —
TC: Relax, this isn't anything like that. You're going to be fine.
S: Uh-huh. Let's just get this over with. [Subject picks up SCP-2904 and touches the polar depression] Like this?
TC: That's right. Now follow the groove all the way to the end.
S: No problem. [Subject runs a finger along the groove] So far, so good. [Subject reaches the end of the groove] Huh. I really thought that something was going to happen.
TC: Excellent work. Now can you descri—
S: Shit! It's hot! [Subject drops SCP-2904 on the floor. It is undamaged.] What did you do to me? I can feel it inside me! This is just like the stories the guys were telling. What's happening to me? [Subject paces across the test chamber with his head in his hands, muttering under his breath.]
TC: Calm down. Everything is going to be OK. [Subject ignores Test Control.]
S: [Subject stops walking and addresses the wall near the loudspeaker.] What's going to happen to me? Am I dying? The guys told me something like this would happen. I should've listened. [Subject paces across the test chamber with his head in his hands, muttering under his breath.].
[Subject continues this pattern for three more cycles before Test Control gives up trying to calm him and ends the test.]
2904-1-2 (as the test subject is now known) is still in Foundation custody. As of the date of preparing the updated version of this document, 2904-1-2 has been repeating this pattern with only minor variations for 63 years. — ██████████████, Lead Researcher for SCP-2904, December 2005.

+ Addendum 2904-1 (classified level 3/2904 / level 4)

- Clearance verified

Directive A120873 of the Committee for Memetic Hazards, Cognitohazards and Related Phenomena, 12th August, 1973.
The formation of Mobile Task Force Pi-20, to be known as “The Oathkeepers” is this day ordered by the authority vested in this committee by the O5 Council. The creation of this new task force is pursuant to the aims and objectives of this committee, to wit; providing the Foundation with the tools, protocols, methods and knowledge with which to counter the increasing menace of memetic hazards, cognitohazards and other related phenomena.
This committee hereby appoints Dr. Geoffrey Cobholm, currently serving as Assistant Scientific Advisor to this committee, as the commander of this new task force. Dr. Cobholm is given full authority to make such requisitions of personnel and materiel as are necessary to bring Mobile Task Force Pi-20 into a state of operational readiness in as short a timeframe as is practicable.
The basic structure of Mobile Task Force Pi-20 shall be:

Twenty Operators who will provide the primary operational capacity of this task force. Operators will be exposed to SCP-2904 which will confer a high degree of resistance or immunity to a wide variety of memetic hazards, cognitohazards and related phenomena. Operator candidates are to be selected only from Foundation field operations personnel who have been diagnosed with dementia or a similar condition such that their quality of life can be expected to be improved by this assignment. See document 2904-B-12 for further details regarding Operator selection and preparation.

Such support and management personnel as are necessary to enable the Operators to carry out their assignments. These personnel are to be recruited from the ranks of the Foundation's existing support and field operations personnel wherever possible, or where necessary, from approved partner organisations.

This directive is to be distributed to all level 4 personnel using the Foundation Secure Bulletin Service. Further information regarding protocols for identifying situations requiring the intervention of this task force, for requesting such intervention and for setting up information conduits to and from this task force will be provided in later communications.

+ Addendum 2904-2 (classified level 3/2904 / level 4)

- Clearance verified

Report F011114c, Operational Oversight MTF Pi-20, 1st November 2014.
This document is the executive summary of report F011114. It contains background material relating to an incident involving MTF Pi-20 Operator #7 during a sanctioned mission on 12th September 2014. It also contains an overview of the results of the investigation into that incident. For full details please consult report F011114.
An excerpt from Operator #7's mission recorder follows for context:

All is serene. Situation check; there is no movement nearby, green for danger. I am in a large, industrial room filled with control panels and glowing displays showing a complicated web of blinking lights. There are screens showing a swirling pattern of colours, like a shoal of rainbow-hued fish. It makes me dizzy. I turn away. I feel better now.

I look down at my left hand. It's empty. I look at my right hand. There is a tiny screen on the back of my glove. It shows a picture of a control panel. I look around. The picture matches one of the panels opposite the door. I move over to it and look down. There is an array of switches, sliders and typewriter keytops. Time to get further instructions.

I raise my voice from the continual murmur of my auto-dictation "Control, this is Operator seven, I have reached the objective. Please advise, over."

There are a few seconds of silence. Control comes through, crystal clear: “Operator seven, retrieve the package from your number-one pouch, over.”

I reach into the pouch on the left side of my chest. I pull out a handful of fragments of plastic and metal. It looks like it used to be a cylinder about the size of my thumb.

"Control, we have a problem with the package. It's been destroyed, over."

“Dammit. Okay. we need you to stand by while we find an alternate solu—”

There is the loud crump of a grenade going off in the corridor outside, followed immediately by screams. I must've set a trip-wire trap. Judging by the swearing mixed in to the screams it didn't get them all. I take a firing position behind a control panel. A man and a woman dressed in tactical gear rush through the open door and look around. They notice me and start to turn their weapons towards me. They are too slow. I fire a three-round burst and the man falls. Clean hits to the chest. The woman fires. She has not aimed carefully. Bullets slam into the control panel I'm crouched behind and sizzle past me. I hunch down behind cover, keep my head down. She's firing on full-auto so I pause a second while the recoil pulls her weapon up. The bullets start tearing up the ceiling. I don't give her time to recover her aim. I pop up and put a burst into the center of her chest. She drops.

I line up on the doorway and wait; one, two, three, four five. Nothing. I ease out of cover and move over to the door, glance up and down the beige-carpeted corridor. There are three bodies, one of them still moving weakly. The blood collecting under him says not for long. I check the two people I've just shot and find they're both still breathing. Their body-armour took the hits. I take a deep breath. I finish them both off. I don't like it but it has to be done. I stand and breathe, letting myself relax.

All is serene. Situation check; there is no movement nearby but there are two corpses at my feet and my weapon has recently been discharged, amber for danger. I am in a good-sized, industrial room filled with control panels and huge display panels showing an array of flashing lights. There are bullet-holes scattered about and several screens and displays are damaged. The remaining screens show a moving pattern of colours, like broken shards of a rainbow falling. It makes my head spin. I look at the floor. I feel better.

I look at my left hand, which is empty. Control speaks in my ear:

“Operator seven; we've found a solution. Are you still at the objective, over?”

"One second, Control." I check my right hand. There is a tiny screen showing a picture of a control panel. That one. I move over to it. "Control, I am at the objective. What do I need to do, over?"

“Okay, Operator seven, we need you to retrieve your comms array.”

I reach over my shoulder and unfasten the array from its pouch. I take the tangle of wires and plastic boxes and hold it.
"I have it, Control, over."

“Operator seven, we want you to locate the green USB cable and disconnect it from the backup module, over.”

"I see a green cable. Which end is the backup module, Control, over?"

“The backup module is the smaller unit, over.”

"Uh-huh. I have disconnected the green cable from the backup module. What do I do with it, over?"

“If you look at the back of the control panel you should see a connection point that matches the green cable, over."

I crouch behind the control panel. I see a mess of cabling entering and leaving the machine. There are too many to count.

"Control, I don't know where this goes. I'm going to need a little more help, over."

“Right, okay, Operator. There should be a USB hub tucked in there… a small plastic rectangle with lots of cables connecting it to the control panel. Look for an empty socket there, over."

I look. Everything is rectangular. Everything is plastic.

"Control—"

I hear movement; rapid, heavy footsteps inside the room. I jerk out from behind the control panel. I see a single combatant kneeling next to the dead bodies. He is checking them. He sees me at the same time as I see him. We both reach for our weapons. Mine is caught in a nest of cables, I tug it free but he's already aiming. I see where the shot is going to fall. I'm moving away. I'm not fast enough. His first shot grazes my shoulder. The second caught me in the stomach. It feels like I've been hit with a hammer. My vision greys…

All is serene. Aaah… it hurts. Situation. Check. My eyes won't focus. I feel cold, red for danger. I'm in, inside? I'm lying on the floor. The floor is wet. I am injured and bleeding out. I roll onto my back and reach for the first aid kit on my belt. My right arm is numb. I reach awkwardly across with my left and… ahhh. I nearly passed out again. I open the kit one-handed. Bandages and dressings have rolled out onto the floor. There is a shadow standing over me. I hope it's a friendly.

All is… cold…

[Excerpt ends]

Operator #7 appears to have died at this point. As a result of this loss the mission was deemed a failure. Regular forces were sent in and managed to clear out the attackers, although with unacceptably high casualties.
The as-yet unidentified attackers had managed to insert a cognitohazardous image into the electricity grid control station's office network which was then shown on monitors throughout the facility. This image rendered nearly the entire staff unconscious with a small number of fatalities. The attackers were then able to enter the facility unopposed and divert power from the entire G4 grid of Chicago to a single, rural substation for six hours. It is currently unknown what purpose this served.
The oversight committee has determined that neither Operator #7 nor her handlers, Agents Gail Ipupa and Cameron King are to blame for the incident that occurred. They all acted in an exemplary manner.
However; it has been determined that Operator #7's inability to deal with modern technology was a significant contributory factor to the negative outcome. This inability is through no fault of her own but is inherent to the process used to treat her in preparation for her role in the task force.
It is the recommendation of this committee that a review of MTF Pi-20 be carried out at the highest levels. It should be considered if there is a place for MTF Pi-20 in its current form in today's Foundation and how best to decommission redundant Operators.

+ Addendum 2904-3 (classified level 3/2904 / level 4)

- Clearance verified

Memorandum from the office of the Revd Dr. Justine Urchadainn , Commander MTF Pi-20, December 21st, 2014.
It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you that I will be stepping down as commander of this task force.
I have nothing but respect for the men and women of the Oathkeepers. I am proud to have served alongside and led such dedicated and professional colleagues. My time with you has taught me much about what it means to serve and what it means to sacrifice. I hope those lessons serve me well in my future career.
I know that many of you have expressed concern about our Operators' futures. They become hampered by their inability to understand or operate in what is to them, an increasingly-alien world. Unable to learn or change, they become obsolete, outdated and gradually become operational liabilities. After the recent incident it has been decided to retire the longest-serving of them.
Please be assured that I am bringing to bear the full weight of my political power within the Foundation to ensure the honourable treatment of those of our Operators who are to be retired from active service. These are men and women who gave their lives to this organisation and then, when asked for more gave with both hands, holding back nothing for themselves. They are not test subjects nor anomalous objects nor broken machines but the bravest among us. They are exemplars of what is best in the Foundation and I will not allow them to be treated with anything less than the greatest respect. Though they neither need nor ask for anything more than their music and a comfortable place to sit they will have those and every comfort we can provide them.
The Operators may not remember what they have done for us and for the world, but we will remember for them.

« SCP-2903 | SCP-2904 | SCP-2905 »