SCP-1850

Item #: SCP-1850

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-1850 is to be kept in an aircraft hangar at Site 6; the temperature within the hangar is to be kept above 15 (fifteen) degrees Celsius. A radio beacon has been attached to SCP-1850's landing struts; the beacon's battery levels and proper function must be confirmed before SCP-1850 leaves its hangar for any reason. No personnel are to enter SCP-1850's cockpit, or to touch any surface within the cockpit, unless SCP-1850 has first been tranquilized; tranquilizers are to be administered by injecting its food with 80 (eighty) milligrams of diazepam, warming the food to 30 (thirty) degrees Celsius, introducing it into SCP-1850's cockpit, and then waiting until the food has been consumed. An 80-milligram dose of diazepam tranquilizes SCP-1850 for approximately 90 minutes; tranquilizers are not to be administered more often than once every ten days.

Once every 3 (three) days, SCP-1850 is to be fed 65 (sixty-five) kilograms of mice (Mus musculus), rats (Rattus norvegicus), rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), and pigeons (Columba livia), pre-killed, and warmed to thirty degrees Celsius. 3 (three) grams of veterinary-grade chondroitin sulfate, and 15 (fifteen) grams of veterinary-grade glucosamine sulfate, are to be included in SCP-1850's food during each feeding.

Foundation veterinarians have recommended that, for the sake of its physical health, SCP-1850 is to be allowed to leave its hangar once every 5 (five) days to engage in tethered flight. The tether is to be made of reinforced steel cable, and is not to exceed 150 (one hundred and fifty) meters in length (see document 1850-NL4 for tether specifications). The tether is to be attached before SCP-1850 leaves its hangar; during its flight, SCP-1850 is to be accompanied by two Foundation light aircraft. Tethered flight sessions are not to exceed 40 (forty) minutes in duration. SCP-1850's fuselage and external components are to be hand-washed after each flight session.

Description: SCP-1850 is an anomalous organism in the exact shape of a full-size 1917 Sopwith Triplane aircraft. It is composed entirely of living tissue; DNA analysis of samples indicates that it is avian and male, and of an unknown species of the genus Accipiter. Featherless epidermal tissue covers the fuselage, and the airplane infrastructure (struts, etc.) is made of reinforced bone; however, there do not appear to be any other particular correspondences between aircraft structure and avian anatomy (see document 1850-Y23 for detailed analysis of SCP-1850's internal anatomy). Notably, the cockpit functions as a mouth-equivalent: whenever an object with a mass greater than approximately 8 kilograms, and an overall temperature greater than approximately 30 degrees Celsius, touches any surface within the cockpit, the pilot's seat and safety harness animate, restrain the object, and tear it into small pieces while secreting a mixture of digestive enzymes and gastric acid; the resulting slurry is absorbed through all surfaces in the cockpit. Twenty-four to thirty-six hours after SCP-1850 feeds, its machine gun will activate, and fire several rounds of "ammunition"; this ammunition is formed entirely of guano moving at approximately 8 meters per second, and as such is not considered a significant hazard to personnel.

Although SCP-1850 has not been found to have any identifiable sensory organs, it is nonetheless able to detect and respond to external stimuli, and has demonstrated the ability to recognize faces and voices despite the lack of any identifiable brain-analogue. It has also demonstrated the ability to aim its machine gun at specific personnel.

SCP-1850 is able to move organs which would correspond to mechanical parts (e.g., rotate its wheels, flex its ailerons, and spin its propeller, with this last apparently being a sign of pleasure), but is largely immobile and docile when on the ground, allowing itself to be touched, probed, and examined as long as nothing is placed within its cockpit; however, it will flinch when tissue samples are taken, tremble during thunderstorms, and bounce up and down when its tether is being attached prior to flight sessions. Subject is able to regenerate tissue removed during sampling; isotopic labeling experiments with subject's food confirm that mass is being conserved and no ectoentropic phenomena are involved. In the 33 years since SCP-1850 entered Foundation custody, the rate at which its tissue regenerates has decreased by approximately 10% (see document 1850-74E for detailed statistical analysis); this is believed to be a natural result of the aging process. As further evidence supporting this hypothesis, radiographic imaging of SCP-1850 has revealed the onset of osteoarthritis.

During its tethered flight sessions, SCP-1850 will take off and glide in the manner typical of non-anomalous members of the genus Accipiter; see document 1850-4AC3 for detailed analysis of the anomalous aerodynamic properties this evinces. After 20 to 30 minutes of gliding (or 10 in inclement weather), SCP-1850 will land itself, and roll itself back into its hangar.

Addendum: on ██/██/19██, a seismic incident caused structural damage to Site 6, resulting in SCP-1850 breaching containment. Personnel observed it flying free for approximately three minutes, after which it returned to containment of its own volition.