SCP-1798

Children Of The Void

Item #: SCP-1798

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: Three instances of SCP-1798 are to be maintained within the botanical wing of Site-172. Additional instances may be created at the discretion of the Senior Researcher assigned to SCP-1798.

Instances of SCP-1798-1 are to be stored in Standard Humanoid Isolation cells. No more than two instances of SCP-1798-1 are permitted to exist at one time, and direct interaction is forbidden. SCP-1798-1 instances are to be terminated at the conclusion of testing.

Description: SCP-1798 is a plant whose structure is interlaced with an unknown mineral substance. It is characterised by broad, iridescent blue-green leaves and an angular, rigid root network. SCP-1798 propagates from cuttings but possesses no other means of reproduction. It does not require water and once fully grown has no additional nutrient or sunlight requirements; fully grown plants can survive indefinitely in isolation.

Ingestion of SCP-1798 triggers a number of changes in human subjects. The initial change occurs within one minute of ingestion; the subject will enter an altered mental state, causing them to appear drowsy, uncoordinated and occasionally incoherent. Communicating with subjects in this state has been likened to talking to someone who is sleepwalking, and they are prone to frequent hallucinations. EEG readings are consistent with REM sleep, although subjects no longer appear to require or be able to sleep. Additionally, subjects no longer require food or water, and no longer produce waste. This effect is permanent.

After three weeks, subjects will undergo severe and sudden physiological alterations. Over the course of approximately 30 minutes all skin, muscle, connective tissue and internal organs will be replaced by an unidentified translucent inorganic material with an iridescent blue-green colouration (henceforth referred to as its Outer Layer). At the same time, the entire skeletal structure is replaced by large intertwined strands of a material that visibly resembles nerve tissue. These alterations have no impact on the subjects ability to move or interact with their environment. Subjects that reach this state are classified SCP-1798-1.

Following these alterations, all extant instances of SCP-1798-1 enter a form of shared consciousness. While each instance retains some level of individuality, they are able to share sensory input and communicate even when isolated. Due to the frequently erratic behaviour of SCP-1798-1 instances, it is believed that the hallucinations persist in this state, and are also shared.

During brief bouts of lucidity, SCP-1798-1 instances will begin lamenting the fact that "they changed too soon", or that "he wasn't ready for them". They will also frequently state that "we are like him now" and "we are his children". To date, all instances have been unable or unwilling to expand upon these sentiments.

Discovery: 2 specimens of SCP-1798 were discovered in a cave in the Alay Mountains of Tajikistan. Recovered with SCP-1798 were a number of inscriptions and carved idols that suggest the cave and surrounding area was home to members of an unknown religion. Translations of the recovered inscriptions from Old Persian suggest that SCP-1798 was intended to be ingested following the arrival of some unnamed entity that was the subject of their worship, and that doing so before this event was forbidden. Based on tools recovered from the site, SCP-1798 itself is believed to have been created through a primitive form of thaumaturgy.

Incident 1798-1: On 11/03/2013, as part of routine testing, three instances of SCP-1798-1 were moved to the same chamber. After a short period of inactivity, all three instances approached one another and visibly fused together, the outer layers overlapping and the strands of material that replaced their original skeletal structures intertwining into a single amorphous mass.

The outer layer then began expanding rapidly, breaching containment and quickly enveloping two levels of Site-197 within itself before automated security protocols activated and the affected floors were sealed. Security cameras that remained functional showed personnel enveloped within the entity were asleep or unconscious, before being impaled by strands from the central mass and rapidly undergoing transformation into SCP-1798-1 instances. These new instances were immediately integrated into the mass.

Analysis of blueprints of the affected floors, security footage and likely positions of lost personnel suggests that the layout of the entity resembled a series of interconnected neurons suspended in the material filling the area, with each integrated individual forming a node for further connections.

Following the determination that further breaches were imminent due to increasing pressure behind the sealed sections, the decision was made to detonate the security fail-safe devices in the lower sections of Site-197. The bottom five levels of Site-197 were destroyed along with the entity and 76 personnel. No additional security breaches were reported. Leftover biological matter from the entity has been stored at Site-172 for further analysis.

Five personnel escaped the lower levels prior to their destruction by climbing through service tunnels. Transcribed below is the post-event interview conducted with one of the survivors.