Welcome, Dr. Okonofo. Backend mode is active. You may append comments for containment personnel to address at the conclusion of this file.
SPECIAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES: Per this item's Cernunnos.Item can be functionally contained, but the Foundation cannot achieve this for logistical and/or ethical reasons. classification, full-scale containment or termination of SCP-7XXX may not under any circumstances be attempted. To ensure the continued smooth operation of Area-12 and the safety and well-being of its personnel, containment measures will be limited to individual pest control as deemed necessary by facilities management and security authorities.
When traversing infrequently populated sectors of Area-12, a policy of vigilance and diligence must be followed. Personnel are to be discouraged from venturing into deprecated facilities, disproportionately utilized by SCP-7XXX as habitat. Any such excursions must be undertaken with a designated security detail trained in the discovery and disposal of SCP-7XXX.
Infrastructure displaying signs of SCP-7XXX infestation.
DESCRIPTION: SCP-7XXX is a population of megafaunal cephalopods inhabiting various elements of internal infrastructure at Area-12.
A classified research operation was conducted in May of 1976 within several caverns near Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, resulting in the retrieval of various SCP-████ samples. Several individuals were also extracted from the caverns' endemic populations of terrestrial and marine molluscs in order to examine SCP-████'s possible effect(s) on comparable organisms. The cave was found to harbor a unique species of hard-shelled cephalopod initially mistaken for common terrestrial snails, though typical cephalopods are strictly marine animals. This species appears closest-related to Coleoids, a subclass of cephalopod including cuttlefish, octopodes, and squid. However, the acquired specimens initially possessed large mollusc shells characteristic of Nautiloids; it is suspected that this species is a variety of squid which, like hermit crabs, has evolved to occupy the shells of deceased molluscs such as Nautiloids and snails. This suspicion is further corroborated by the presence of an inky black substance within the shell, which these creatures employ as an adhesive. How they have evolved to survive on land remains unclear.
An ill-advised cross-test of the terrestrial cephalopod specimens with experimental ███████ caused their unprecedented growth and mutation. The individuals rapidly outgrew their external shells and morphed into a distinct body plan, possessing a variety of more dextrous appendages and associated bone structures..Of note is SCP-7XXX's muscled mouth-appendage, which possesses several sets of irregular, sharp teeth. It is believed that SCP-7XXX's teeth are fragments of their former beaks, which are no longer found in the mutated specimens and their offspring. Research staff were unable to fully quarantine the relevant lab facilities before being attacked; one researcher was immediately devoured and several others fatally injured before these initial SCP-7XXX specimens fled into the recesses of Area-12, each having grown to over 1.5 meters in height upon last sighting.
Sufficiently-sized shells for the mutated SCP-7XXX specimens to inhabit are, obviously, not present at Area-12, leaving the squid-like creatures vulnerable to predation and environmental effects. They are also near-blind due to their cavernous natural habitat, and mainly sense their surrounding environment through vibration. SCP-7XXX instances compensate for these vulnerabilities by exuding highly adhesive ink, allowing them to attach external material to themselves, forming a makeshift shell. Instances are substantially slowed when carrying significant additional weight, however, so their shells are an ineffective defense against Area-12's high-grade weaponry.
Instead, SCP-7XXX opt to engage their adhesive ability for camouflage. SCP-7XXX specimens are generally attracted to condemned, disused, or otherwise low-traffic regions of Area-12, wherein they will collect lightweight, jagged materials (such as glass shards) and attach them to their forelegs to create a makeshift sawblade. SCP-7XXX will then saw several large segments out of nearby floor, wall, and ceiling surfaces which lead into cavities in Area-12's external superstructure. They will then move into these cavities and attach the removed sections of the surface onto their forelegs and upper body, re-adhering it to the surface in front of them, thereby creating the illusion that the surface has cracked but is otherwise still intact..As SCP-7XXX often occupy load-bearing segments of walls, their swift replacement of the removed segment is vital to ensure their hideouts do not collapse.
These cracked surfaces are particularly difficult to detect in darkened areas, where some juvenile SCP-7XXX specimens will even perform this camouflage behind doors leading to unused rooms and/or maintenance hallways. SCP-7XXX will lie in wait, feeding off insects, rodents, and other pests, and use their enhanced pallesthesia to sense when large prey walks near; the SCP-7XXX specimen will then erupt from their hideout and shed its makeshift shell, using its saw-like forelegs to kill and dismember its prey, either consuming it whole or sharing it with its young.
Upon expiration from natural causes, SCP-7XXX instances can become functionally indistinguishable from the superstructure they have replaced.
You may append your comments here. Containment personnel will respond within 24 hours.
Since coming on as Humanoid Resources Delegate for Area-12 I've been trying to figure out why everyone is so stressed, on edge, just plain freaked out all the time. Finally someone pointed me to this file, and now I get it. What I don't get: why the hell hasn't this ongoing containment breach been dealt with yet? How is it even POSSIBLE that these things have been loose in the facility for so long? Surely they should have been wiped out decades ago.
It's not that easy. Think of them as termites.
So, we fumigate.
Fine, do not think of them as termites. Think of them as the sea creatures which consume shipwrecks and leave ship-shaped corpses behind. They don't eat our infrastructure, they replace it.
I still don't see why this hasn't been fixed, but now I also don't see why the file is lacking the explanatory context you just provided.
Morale. For one thing, clearing the little buggers out and replacing all the affected superstructure would take longer than constructing an entirely new facility. Hence, Cernunnos.
That can't be right.
Fine. I'll show you.
This is a LIDAR cross-section of Area-12, right?
Okay?
This is the present extent of SCP-7XXX infestation in the superstructural members.
Oh, right, and the bedrock too. We need to add something in the file about that.
WHAT
We need to evacuate the entire facility.
No, we don't. We've got work to do, and that work requires a great deal of patience and attention to detail. Just like the work 7XXX is doing. Just like the work required to not get grabbed by them. You haven't been working here long enough to really get it, so don't beat yourself up. There's plenty of things here that'll do that for you.
You need to evolve your thinking a little.
They aren't infesting Area-12.
They are Area-12.
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