The harder you try, the harder it gets.
Item#: 9168
Level2
Containment Class:
euclid
Secondary Class:
none
Disruption Class:
amida
Risk Class:
caution
A swarm of SCP-9168, c. 2009
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-9168 must be kept in a 10m x 10m chamber, with 8m x 8m reinforced steel netting in the center. If any testing that requires an individual to be inside the chamber should occur, the researcher responsible must be dressed in a Class-C Biohazard suit, while a second researcher assists in searching for and blocking any apertures in said suit that would allow SCP-9168 to enter.
Description: SCP-9168 is a solely parasitic organism with an appearance similar to that of a European crane fly. However, one difference between the two is that SCP-9168 is highly aggressive. The most notable anomaly is the specimen's variable structural density. SCP-9168 exhibits non-Newtonian physical properties when subjected to sudden kinetic impact. Force applied to the exoskeleton (e.g., manual striking or high-velocity projectiles) causes the organism to transition into a rigid, impenetrable state.
SCP-9168 is mostly indistinguishable from non-anomalous crane flies until it enters an active state, triggered by any living organism or non-living object emitting a biological heat signature in a 50-meter radius. Despite their capabilities, specimens lack complex navigation. Internal site testing recorded a single instance of SCP-9168 colliding with a plexiglass observation window 412 times over a 3-hour period without altering its flight path, eventually causing micro-fractures in the observation window.
How it kills is slightly vague in description, but it is to be noted that when any living object at least 7 kg comes within the aforementioned 50-meter radius of the current location of at least 5 SCP-9168 specimens, the specimens will aim for the neck or legs, injecting a numbing substance into their victim before taking small bites of the places affected.
SCP-9168's reproductive behavior is also noted to be erratic, as SCP-9168 utilizes two distinct reproductive strategies. The first involves the hijacking of existing colonial insect structures, mostly wasp nests; specimens will locate and usurp the nests, forcibly evicting or killing the original inhabitants. The second involves direct parasitism of biological organisms. During an active state, SCP-9168 will attempt to inject larvae directly into the dermal layer of a host.
SCP-9168 is virtually silent in flight, possessing a wing structure that dampens air vibration. The only sound associated with the specimen is a distinctive "metallic clicking" or "clinking" caused by the legs impacting hard surfaces while in a hardened state. Subjects in infested zones often report hearing "a rain of pebbles" against their walls, which is actually the sound of SCP-9168 specimens repeatedly flying into the structure.
SCP-9168 does not appear to require traditional sustenance. Instead, specimens have been observed "anchoring" themselves to electrical wiring or high-voltage appliances. It is hypothesized that the specimens draw energy from electromagnetic fields, which may explain their attraction to modern residential structures. Micro-imaging of SCP-9168 reveals that its exoskeleton is composed of a complex chitinous lattice interlaced with a fluid of unknown origin. This fluid reacts to external pressure by instantaneously reorganizing into a solid crystalline structure.
Consequently, SCP-9168 is immune to most forms of environmental trauma. Testing with an industrial-grade hydraulic press resulted in the specimen suffering only the loss of its lower leg, while the press's piston suffered significant pitting and scarring. SCP-9168 remains in a state of stasis when ambient temperatures fall below 10°C or exceed 30°C. This creates a narrow "activity window" primarily during the vernal months. During dormancy, specimens exhibit a permanent non-Newtonian state, becoming indistinguishable from small, rigid stones or wood knots within either their original habitat of hollow trees or usurped structures.
SCP-9168 is completely independent of air, and requires no orthodox respiration or metabolic processes. In a vacuum, all instances will perform a structural lockdown by interlocking its appendages together to form a perfect geometric sphere. This shape effectively thermally and sonically insulates itself almost completely, exposing no thermal energy or any other form of detectable displacement when surveyed by electronic scanning or thermal-mapping techniques. Dissection indicates that individual instances are biologically hollow; the thoracic cavity acts as a pressurized chamber for a high-density metallic vapor, rather than a sack or reservoir for respiratory or digestive organs. This vapor appears to serve as the medium for SCP-9168's collective intelligence and non-Newtonian properties.
SCP-9168 was first identified on November 12, 2007, during a sweep of a vacated residential property located in Tryon, Nebraska. Mobile Task Force Beta-7 ("Maz Hatters") had been deployed to the sector to investigate reports of anomalous activity by an undisclosed source remaining entirely unaware of SCP-9168’s presence until direct physical contact was established within the structure.
Subjects: Otto Miller (B-1), Breno Aris (B-2), John Kovic (M-3)
[BEGIN LOG]
B-1: Comms check. Kovic, Aris, dial your floodlights down to 40%. Let’s not provoke the colony.
B-2: Got it. We’re in the primary zone now. The walls are just… coated.
B-3: I see it. The goddamn things aren’t just stuck to the surface; they’re stacked. There’s at least four centimeters of living stuff right there!
B-1: Miller to Control. The swarm pushed past all entry points and they're eating through the insulation now. Aris, get the collection canister ready.
B-2: Deploying. Hold on. Captain, they’re not scattering. They’re latching together instead.
B-3: Check the floor. They’re circling Aris’s boots. That’s not random, they’re surrounding him on purpose.
B-1: Nobody move. Don’t break the swarm’s surface. Aris, tell me what you see.
B-2: They’re pulsing, almost like a chain reaction. The sound… it's changed. Not buzzing, it’s a harsh grinding. They’re scraping their mandibles together, and it sounds like our radio static.
B-3: There’s something on the far wall. Large cluster, three-dimensional. Looks like a charcoal drawing but it’s made out of live insects.
B-1: Tell me what it is.
B-3: It matches a human hand, life-sized. It’s reaching out from the wall toward the middle of the room.
B-2: Captain, they’re on my fucking suit! They’ve worked into the seams. They’re not biting. They’re prying the plates apart.
B-1: Hit them with the chemical deterrent. Now.
B-2: No change. They’re soaking up the aerosol and using it to move easier. They’re getting faster.
B-3: Aris, you're a dead man. We have no way of killing them, every time you fucking swat at those twats they just harden and give you a bruise.
B-2: What!? Son of a bitch, try harder! There's an electric swatter on the table!
B-1: Aris, they use it as a source of energy. They'll just get stronger… Miller to Control. We’ve lost total containment. The colony’s showing complex intelligence and mimicking anything physical in here. Send in extraction specialists, now!
B-2: They’re in my mask! they’re crawling through the goddamn filters!
B-3: The swarm’s peeling off the wall in one piece. It’s not breaking up, it’s holding a shape!
B-1: Evacuate! Full incendiary purge, do it now, Kovic!
B-2: Are you kidding me? You're just gonna leave me here to burn!? Wait… I can’t feel my legs. They’ve replaced the suit fabric! WHY ARE YOU TWO JUST STANDING THERE!? FUCKING HELP! THEY'RE ON MY CHEST!
Audio burns into high-frequency vibration
[END LOG]
Addendum 9168.1: Recovery Log
Foundation assets were deployed to Martinsburg, West Virginia, following a spike in localized seismic readings. Investigation revealed the source to be a residential basement where a swarm of SCP-9168 had breached the foundation.
The homeowner had attempted to utilize a high-pressure CO2 fire extinguisher to clear the swarm. The sudden kinetic impact of the gas caused several hundred specimens to enter a rigid state simultaneously. The resulting mass became an immovable, impenetrable wall of chitin, effectively trapping the resident in the corner of the room.
Due to the behavior of SCP-9168, the house was deemed a total loss and condemned. Any attempt to demolish the structure was halted after wrecking ball impacts caused the internal swarm to harden, resulting in the crane cable snapping. The site is currently designated as Provisional Site-304. The resident of the property was successfully extracted, gave accomodation and administered Class-A amnestics. A cover story regarding a structural collapse due to a termite infestation has been disseminated.