Item#: 8346
Level4
Containment Class:
keter
Secondary Class:
none
Disruption Class:
ekhi
Risk Class:
danger
Creation #6361, tailored to humans. Photographed prior to incineration.
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8346 is to be contained at all times in a specialized, soundproofed humanoid containment cell at Site-███. The cell is at no time to contain any electronics with digital memory storage or a processing unit. The cell containing SCP-8346 is to be kept stocked with rudimentary art supplies. One humanoid instance of SCP-8346-1, preferably D-class personnel, is to be contained in a directly adjacent identical containment cell at all times.
Direct interaction with both SCP-8346 and SCP-8346-1 is only permitted under direct supervision of the site director. Any individual exhibiting anomalous effects should be administered the maximum permitted dose of Class B amnestics. Personnel who refuse amnestics due to the anomalous effects of SCP-8346 should be sedated or neutralized prior to any communication.
The only individuals permitted to interact with anything SCP-8346 creates are specialized foundation staff who are either completely deaf or completely blind, relative to whether it is an audible or visible creation. All creations should be destroyed as soon as possible. Should an exposure event occur, widespread deployment amnestics, both standard and aerosolized, is permitted in the entirety of the affected area. All affected individuals who are unable to be administered a proper dose are to be neutralized.
Description: SCP-8346 is an anomalous, undetectable entity that typically controls a human host. It is currently a matter of debate as to the exact nature of SCP-8346. The most popular theory is that it is some kind of entropy engine. In generalized terms, SCP-8346 systematically dismantles specific forms of complex organization, both organic and inorganic. The entity itself is considered non-sapient, as it does not deviate from its behavior model.
When an individual becomes the SCP-8346 host, blood flow to the brain ceases immediately, and such persons should be declared legally deceased. The mechanism by which SCP-8346 autolocates to a new host is still unknown, though research suggests an inorganic nature. In the event of the death of its host body, SCP-8346 will instantaneously transit to a new host, regardless of distance or obstruction. A strong preference towards pre-existing humanoid SCP-8346-1 has been observed, though any entity capable of processing information, either organic or inorganic, is a viable candidate. Host-death is also the only time SCP-8346 has been observed to change hosts.
Humans appear to be the only stable host environment for SCP-8346. While inhabiting a human, it will spend all of its time creating. It tailors its creations to the nearest entity that is able to process information. Any information processing entity directly exposed to one of SCP-8346’s creations becomes an instance of SCP-8346-1. Secondary recordings and photographic renderings of SCP-8346’s creations do not retain its anomalous effects. However, recordings created by SCP-8346 itself, as well as live audio and video, do retain the anomalous effects.
Human instances of SCP-8346-1 form ‘strains’ upon exposure. They do not exhibit the same brain death effect as SCP-8346, rather seem to undergo varying degrees of collective delusions, claiming to have found the ‘true’ religion, and spreading the effect to other people they come into contact with. Fortunately, this effect is reversible with amnestics. Computational SCP-8346-1 instances execute self-destructive programs that result in hardware damage and corruption of all stored data within access. In other primates and higher-order marine mammals, SCP-8346-1 instances typically enter what has been described as ‘primitive religious delirium,’ and will seek out humans.
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The following is a high definition scan of the first experiment log involving the current SCP-8346 host, following the death of Howard Williams, breach, and subsequent reclassification of SCP-8346. The original log was destroyed due to suspected anomalous properties.
Experiment Log Echo
Date: ██/ ██/████
Subject: SCP-8346
Interviewer: Caroline ████████ (D)
Transcription: Dr. Roy Simmons, Site-███ Director
Introductory notes: This test marks the first experiment following the █████ breach event. The primary objective is to establish verbal communication with SCP-8346, which we consider unlikely as it has never engaged in two-sided conversation. The secondary objective is to study the anomalous effects of SCP-8346 on exposed personnel. The interviewer was sent into the containment area with an analog tape recorder. Upon conclusion, she refused to take amnestics and was tranquilized before they could be administered. Let the record show transcription began at 2:13 PM, ███████. Playing the tape now.
Begin Log
[Sound of a metal door closing]
Interviewer: Jesus, you didn’t tell me you guys had a fucking kid locked up in here. What’s your name honey?
[Several seconds of silence followed by the sound of papers rustling]
Interviewer: I am addressing the entity that inhabits… the fuck?
[Several seconds of silence]
Interviewer: (nervous) I am addressing the entity that inhabits the body of Olivia Martin. Can you understand me?
[Several seconds of silence]
Interviewer: Can you confirm that Olivia… that Olivia is gone?
[Child humming, presumed from SCP-8346]
Transcription Note: from the onset of the humming, the interviewer immediately, and rather abruptly, becomes audibly more relaxed. Humming persists through following questions.
Interviewer: What were you trying to accomplish after you escaped?
Interviewer: Did you have an objective?
Interviewer: (presumably to herself) No response, okay, page thirteen.
[papers rustling]
Interviewer: (lethargic) Are you able to give me an indication– speech volume decreases below intelligible level, though interviewer continues inaudible mutters for almost a minute before ceasing.
[Sound of a pen moving on paper. Continues for two minutes thirty eight seconds]
[Scratching becomes rhythmic, interviewer begins humming]
Transcription Note: There is an element to the humming, beyond that of simple rhythm and melody.
[Interviewer’s odd humming and scratching continues without change for three minutes and fourteen seconds]
Transcription Note: At this point in the recording the humming transforms into soft, wordless singing. Increase in aforementioned strange quality. Difficult to describe with academic language. It reminds me of my catholic education in primary school - revise later
[Wordless singing continues]
Transcription Note: - for revision later - The tune keeps reminding me of that chapel in school, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. It’s uncanny. I suspect I may be experiencing the anomalous effects, and have activated my emergency beacon. In the meantime, I will continue to record my thoughts.
Specifically, the singing makes me think of the lectures Father Alton gave in that chapel every Wednesday. I thought they’d never end. As I got older, though, I realized he was trying to help us see beyond the confines of that silly little book we based it all on. Catholicism, like all religions, is trying to wrangle the same serpent. Trying to convey the same truth. We have a social responsibility to look out for each other, all of us.
‘Love-thy-neighbor.’
Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, everybody. They all have core tenets along those lines. Looking back on Father’s lectures now, I see what he meant. I have this strange euphoric feeling because it’s all clear now. Because—it makes perfect sense—because we don’t just need to keep each other in line, we need to control each other. The sinners leave us no choice. They will eat from the hands of the weary without respite or regret. They lick our labored palms clean, just as deer would pick a hillside of its greenery until nothing but dust remains. But that does not happen, because the wolves keep the deer from overstepping, just as there are farmers to control the spread of wolves.
But what of the sinful farmer?
What of the farmer who turns his back on the poor and belittles the meek? The farmer who sees only what others can do for him and never the burdens he sheds onto those already on their knees. The sinners suckle on society like newborns at their mother’s breast. At least a babe will grow and, in turn, provide for his mother when age has extinguished her youth. Thus is the nature of life, but not for the sinner. The sinners do not grow, they do not learn. They are not kept in check by the wolf, and so they will burn the forest if we let them. It is we who must take up the wolves’ mantle. It is we who must cull the sinners from their own mortal vanity, and let our Lord do unto them, and do unto us, as he sees fit. It is only our Lord who can plant the seeds of truth and knowledge and righteousness and beauty, and they are grown from the corpses of the non-believers. For it is we
End Log
Conclusory notes (Dr. Samira Wade, Interim Site-███ Director): Transcription ended abruptly with Dr. Simmons being administered emergency amnestics. He is expected to make a full recovery. While the test did not establish two-way conversation, the experiment was not without fruitful results. It appears that humanoid instances of SCP-8346-1 are able to transmit anomalous effects across recordings/videos that they themselves create, so long as the viewer/listener is able to comprehend the language of the recording or video. This effect was previously thought exclusive to SCP-8346 itself. Dr. Simmons did not expect to be affected by SCP-8346 via the interviewer's recording device, and the research team’s consensus is that he was not, rather that he was affected by the interviewer after she became an instance of SCP-8346-1. This updated logic does not alter the current behavior model. Notably, Dr. Simmons’s background file does show him attending a St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School in London. However, there is no record, from either the school or church, of a ‘Father Alton’ ever existing.
Conclusory Action(s): The Human Exposure Bulletin has been updated accordingly.
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In accordance with administrative mandates, only the most recent version of the exposure bulletins are kept on file. To track alterations, see the changelog. To request a past version, submit form R-99 to the Site-███ director.
Human Exposure Bulletin
Outline:
Each person directly affected by SCP-8346 becomes the first affected in a new ‘strain’ of humanoid SCP-8346-1. Strains are able to spread via similar anomalous mechanisms as SCP-8346. However, SCP-8346-1 individuals do not acquire additional language skills, nor do they affect non-human entities. There is no known limit to the maximum number of active strains at a time. The behavior of individuals within any given strain is dependent on the size of the strain. Every time the number of affected individuals doubles four times, the strain progresses to the next stage.
Host Characteristics:
SCP-8346 behavior indicates a strong preference towards human hosts. While inhabiting a human, it will spend all of its time creating. When tailoring creations for humans it creates drawings, music, poetry, written stories, or some other form of anthropologic art. While tailoring for computers, it writes code. While tailoring for animals, it creates simple abstract drawings of shapes or vocalizations resembling that of the target species. It will not produce any creations for animals cognitively simpler than a gorilla. If SCP-8346 does not have access to a creative medium, it will continuously seek something it can use. If it is unable to locate a medium for roughly eighty-three hours, it will begin carving creations into the body of its current host, eventually killing it.
Humanoid SCP-8346-1 Behavior Model:
Stage 1: Between 1 and 15 affected. Individuals exhibit a subdued hypnotic state. Most will hum simple melodies and draw simple pictures. Others may write poems, prose, or journal entries. All creations will spread effect to others that happen across them, so long as they are intelligible to that person. Similar to SCP-8346, creations recorded or photographed directly by the instance of SCP-8346-1 retain anomalous effects.
Stage 2: Between 16 and 255 affected. Individuals begin creating more complex pictures, songs, writings, etc. Affected individuals in this stage will intentionally seek out and show creations to others.
Stage 3: Between 256 and 4,095 affected. Individuals begin congregating. They will select an idea or cause that is popularly perceived as altruistic in the local area and begin protesting, moving towards larger population zones. Individuals witnessing the protests become compelled to join, and upon doing so, will become affected by the strain.
Stage 4: Between 4,096 and 65,535 affected. The strain’s behavior turns violent, becoming akin to organized rioting, and affected individuals no longer seem to have concern for a cause. Through means not understood, all individuals within a strain are able to intrinsically locate persons they have collectively identified as ‘targets.’ Throughout this stage, individuals will seek out targets and execute them, making no effort to absorb them into the strain. Target selection shows a clear preference for religious leaders, political leaders, economic leaders, then celebrities in that order.
Stage 5. At least 65,536 affected. Very little known about this stage. During the █████ breach event, the α-strain surpassed this threshold for only three hours and six minutes prior to containment, and the β-strain for only one hour and fourteen minutes. The intentions of affected individuals in this stage are unknown. Both observed strains appeared to begin initial construction of some sort of megastructure. The foundation marked out at the α-strain build site had a rectangular footprint measuring 4,961 meters by 2,480.5 meters. Similar to how societal leaders were located in phase 4, the strain will seek out engineers or physicists with expertise in particle physics during this phase. However, these individuals are absorbed into the strain and not harmed.
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In accordance with administrative mandates, only the most recent version of the exposure bulletins are kept on file. To track alterations, see the changelog. To request a past version, submit form R-99 to the Site-███ director.
Mammalian Exposure Bulletin
Outline:
SCP-8346 will tailor creations for mammals that have some form of higher intelligence. These typically take the form of abstract drawings, appearing much simpler and less cohesive than those tailored to humans. Alternatively, it can also create vocalizations sounding almost exactly like those of the target species. The volume of these vocalizations, however, is limited by the physiology of the host body. All observed instances of mammalian SCP-8346-1 have sought out the nearest human and participated in various forms of activity that staff biologists have theorized as forms of primitive religious behavior. The humans in these scenarios will typically become and instance of SCP-8346-1 themselves, or be killed.
Host Characteristics:
No non-human animal has ever been observed to host SCP-8346. It is unknown if such a scenario is possible. Research into this topic has been unanimously forbidden by Site-███ administrative staff.
Mammalian Behavior Model:
There has not been enough data collected to ascertain a complete behavior model for mammalian instances of SCP-8346-1, however behavior appears somewhat consistent across individual species. Observed species and their corresponding behaviors are as follows:
Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus): Primarily semi-solitary animals, affect blue whales will spread the effect to at least five others before seeking a human, preferably one in an aquatic environment or aboard a small vessel. The largest of the group, typically a female, begins producing a drawn out vocalization, and the remaining whales all begin to harmonize with this tone. All vocalizations either match the matriarch’s pitch or have pitches with exact frequency ratios of 2:1, 3:2, 4:5, or 15:8. In Western music theory, this might be referred to as a major seven chord. The majority of the sound generated is infrasonic to the human ear, however the interference generates resonant vibrations within the water. If the focal human is near the water’s surface, they become briefly entranced by the resonance before becoming an instance of SCP-8346-1. If the human is in the water, the sheer volume of the sonic vibrations are fatal.
Bonobos (Pan paniscus): The affected social group immediately seeks out the closest human. Upon finding one, the adult members within the group attack one another. This will continue until only one adult is alive. The infant and juvenile bonobos within the group then take rudimentary tools, usually branches or stones, and perform a vivisection on the remaining adult. The heart is removed and placed at the feet of the human, at which point a humanoid SCP-8346-1 is created.
Gorillas (Gorilla beringei & Gorilla gorilla): The affected social group displays a coordinated effort to kidnap the first human they make contact with. The gorillas transport the human to the tallest tree within their known area. While typically considered terrestrial apes, gorillas are quite adept at arboreal locomotion. Their sole objective seems to become passing the kidnapped victim as high as possible in said tree. At this point the strongest individual, usually the patriarchal male, throws the human from the tree. This behavior has been observed on two occasions and both events resulted in the death of the human. It is unknown if survival would create an instance of humanoid SCP-8346-1. Further study has been deemed unethical.
Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus): The affected social group locates the nearest human, at which point the youngest member of the group will be attacked and killed by the others. The corpse of the offspring is laid at the feet of the human, at which point a humanoid SCP-8346-1 is created.
Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus): The affected pod seeks out the nearest small to medium sized vessel with at least one human aboard. The whales form an aggressive inverse of their commonly observed defensive marguerite formation. Working together, they strike the vessel using their tails until buoyancy is sufficiently impaired. All members of the pod will collectively use their large mandibles to gain purchase on the vessel at which point they collectively dive. Any humans who are able to escape the vessel are the first in the same strain of humanoid SCP-8346-1. No whales or vessels involved in this process have ever been observed to surface again.
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In accordance with administrative mandates, only the most recent version of the exposure bulletins are kept on file. To track alterations, see the changelog. To request a past version, submit form R-99 to the Site-███ director.
Computational Exposure Bulletin
Outline:
When tailoring creations for electronics containing memory storage or some kind of processing unit, SCP-8346 will physically write down code in a programming language compatible with the hardware or operating system of whatever device it is tailoring to. However, if SCP-8346 is able to physically detect the device with one of its host body’s senses, it will begin anomalously transmitting the code through an unknown mechanism. Studies have shown no electromagnetic signature in any measurable spectrum from SCP-8346 during transmissions, and electronics with no receiver of any kind will be equally affected.
Host Characteristics:
Since the foundation became aware of SCP-8346, the anomaly is only believed to have inhabited a computational host for 1.6 seconds. It is believed that SCP-8346 will only select an inorganic host if there is no suitable human host within an unknown distance greater than one hundred meters. During the █████ breach event, before anomalous effects were properly understood, a humanoid host was eliminated by a MTF operative using a Barrett MK22 MRAD rifle, from a distance of approximately six hundred meters. The host body was seven meters from an ATM located on the east wall of the ███████ Credit Union’s corporate headquarters. It is suspected to have inhabited the local network via this ATM and centralized in the server room, located in the basement, for the aforementioned 1.6 second period. In that time the following observations were made, either by foundation staff, or by eyewitness accounts:
Nearly every breaker in the ██████ Electrical Load Area blew instantaneously.
A loud ‘humming’ or ‘buzzing’ sound, emanating from power lines, was audible within the entire 200 square mile zone.
Several hundred electric shock injuries occurred, ranging from minor burns to fatal electrocutions.
The highest grade electrical meter in the area, located seven miles away at the ███████████ Generating Station, briefly measured outbound power at -16.78 GWh before the grid went down. Importantly, positive and negative 16.78 gigawatt hours (expressed as kWh) represent the outer bounds of possible numerical readouts on a Schneider Electric PowerLogic ION9000 electrical meter due to the internal floating point data storage format.
At the time of the event, ███████ Credit Union possessed 2.4873 billion dollars in uninvested assets, primarily concentrated in corporate-owned accounts. During the 1.6 second window, at least three quadrillion internal transfers were processed for one cent each. Sender and recipient accounts for these transactions appeared to be completely random. Notably, when backup systems were brought online, all 512,440 open accounts contained a balance between $4,853.77 and $4,853.91.
The solid state drives in the bank’s server room vaporized, destroying nearly all equipment on the basement level. Inspection revealed thousands of tiny spherical silicon beads scattered in the room, along with microscopic aluminum crystals on the walls. Both of these findings suggest condensation of respective materials, indicating temperatures exceeded 3,265°C (5,909°F).
Computational SCP-8346-1 Behavior Model:
When susceptible electronics are exposed to SCP-8346, they will invariably execute programs that completely corrupt all memory storage or trap processing hardware in an unrecoverable infinite loop. No electrical SCP-8346-1 has ever been restored to any working capacity. Interestingly, SCP-8346-1 does not pose risk to other electronics the way humanoid SCP-8346-1 pose risk to other humans. The current theory is that electronics simply cannot survive the effects of becoming an instance of SCP-8346-1, the way humans are able to, thus a runaway event cannot occur. Computational SCP-8346-1 also do not pose any risk to humans.
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With the exception of the abstract, the following paper has been restricted to personnel with level five security clearance. Sub-five clearance personnel can gain access by submitting form R-99, pending approval by the Site-███ director.
An Analytical Overview of Observable Biological Characteristics of SCP-8346 Host within the Confines of Current Containment Procedures
████████████, MD ██████████████, PsyD ███████████, DDsciS.C.P. Foundation
April ████
Abstract
Despite foundational efforts, very little is understood about the biology of SCP-8346. A cerebral perfusion scan has confirmed that there is no blood flow to any part of the host brain, with the sole exception being the cerebellum. SCP-8346 has never been observed to eat or drink, and an energy source has still not been identified. It is also inexplicably strong, though rarely exerts its elevated strength, typically only when necessary to reach an item identified as a creative medium. The limiting factor for its strength does not appear to be muscular, but rather the literal tensile strength of the flesh, tendons, and bone. Notably, the rate at which creations are produced is highly correlated with the eleven year solar cycle, with intense spikes during solar storms. During these events it is common for SCP-8346 to have seizures, though it always recovers unharmed. It is also not known how SCP-8346 knows what the closest information processor is, but it is always aware with an error less than a nano-meter, with a still undetermined maximum distance (see Methods). We also have no explanation for how SCP-8346 is intrinsically fluent in every language, both anthropologic and programmatic. Further research into these areas has been deemed too dangerous for further study following ████████████████████████████.
1. Introduction
██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
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The following is the now defunct foundation file on SCP-8346 that was in place prior to the █████ breach event. It serves only to provide historical context for SCP-8346, and should not inform decisions.
SCP-8346 [ARCHIVED]
The carved relief believed to trigger original effects when translated, located in the Tomb of the Priests of Horus. Now destroyed.
Item #: SCP-8346
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8346 is to be contained at all times in a soundproofed humanoid containment cell, devoid of electronics. Individuals who have any knowledge of an Afroasiatic language are not permitted in the presence of SCP-8346. The cell is to be kept stocked with art supplies. Anything made by SCP-8346 should be destroyed by foundation staff trained to not look directly at the creations. Hearing protection must be worn at all times when in the presence of SCP-8346 or its creations. Any individual who becomes affected should be administered class B amnestics.
Description: SCP-8346 is world-renowned anthropologist and archeologist Dr. Howard Williams. Approximately ninety-four percent of his body is covered in scars developed from written characters carved into the epidermis, dermis, and occasionally the subcutaneous tissue. These are believed to have been self-inflicted. The writing is predominantly in Old, Middle, and New Kingdom Hieroglyphics, though there are also Demotic, Coptic, and Arabic characters present. Attempts to translate any of these have been unsuccessful.
Since developing anomalous effects, Williams has not been observed to eat, drink, sleep, produce waste, or communicate. He spends all of his time creating music, paintings, drawings, poems, written stories, or some other form of art. When an individual is exposed to these creations, including the reading of those on his skin, they enter a kind of subdued hypnotic state. Similar to SCP-8346, they will begin obsessively creating anomalous artworks. These individuals are considered SCP-8346-1. Unlike Williams, they retain regular human biological function and the anomalous effects are reversible with amnestics. Electronics, for reasons unknown, permanently cease functioning when exposed to SCP-8346.
The foundation first became aware of Williams in his current state following the excavation of a massive burial site in Nubian region of southern Egypt, dated to the Early Dynastic Period (circa 2700 BC). The tomb, prior to its destruction, was one of the largest underground structures ever discovered. Preliminary speculation suggested it was built for the Priests of Horus, responsible for the first known successful rebellion in the historical record. Williams and his team of Proto-Egyptian language experts were inside when a cave-in destroyed the structure. Rescue efforts were unsuccessful for more than eleven days, at which point Williams was discovered with the anomalous wounds on his body. Four of his team members appeared to have survived the cave in as well, but were deceased upon discovery. All appeared to have died from exsanguination due to wounds similar to Williams'. The cavern he was found in contained Arabic writing painted on the walls in blood, and on every reachable surface except for a single carved Hieroglyphic relief. However, upon inspection, the relief causes similar anomalous effects to SCP-8346’s creations when translated, and is speculated to have been the original source of SCP-8346. Agents embedded in rescue efforts alerted administrative staff to a possible anomaly, and Williams was taken into Foundation Custody along with the stone relief.