SCP-2462
Item #: SCP-2462
Object Class: Euclid Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Due to the restrictive growing conditions of Rafflesia arnoldii, Outpost 2462-0 has been established at SCP-2462's location of discovery to prevent unauthorized access and allow for experimentation. Monetary compensation to the citizens of ██████ has been authorized to prevent the disclosure of SCP-2462's anomalous properties to third parties. A 350m perimeter is to be established around SCP-2462 during its blooming period, with access denied to all unauthorized individuals, save for citizens of ██████ who live, work, or regularly visit inside the perimeter.
SCP-2462 is kept at Outpost 2462-0. Four mirrors are to be stationed around SCP-2462, and must be cleaned regularly to maintain reflectivity.
Description: SCP-2462 is a genetically unremarkable specimen of Rafflesia arnoldii located outside ██████, Indonesia. While blooming, SCP-2462 generates a variable number of illusory R. arnoldii instances, collectively designated SCP-2462-A, within 250 meters of itself.
SCP-2462-A do not displace any matter or have mass of their own, yet are opaque to light and respond realistically to environmental stimuli and physical interaction. Computer analysis of photographed SCP-2462-A has confirmed that they are not hallucinations.
The number of SCP-2462-A is variable. In its natural environment, SCP-2462 would maintain an average of 30,000 SCP-2462-A1 under normal circumstances. The following factors are known to affect SCP-2462-A production:
- Proximity of other R. arnoldii: Each living specimen within line of sight of SCP-2462 results in a ~60% reduction in SCP-2462-A's numbers.
- Malnourishment: SCP-2462-A production increases by 20-50% in periods where SCP-2462 is malnourished.
- Light: When illumination of SCP-2462 drops below levels typical of nighttime in its natural environment, SCP-2462-A will triple in number, receding when illumination is restored.
- Damage: When SCP-2462 is damaged, SCP-2462-A will cover almost every surface within 250 meters of it. SCP-2462-A will recede only when the damage to SCP-2462 is healed.
Due to the difficulty of locating and transporting R. arnoldii instances2, containment by the presentation of other R. arnoldii instances is impracticable.
Recovery: SCP-2462 was identified in 2008, after photographs of SCP-2462-A were published on the official ██████ tourism website. Interviews with citizens of ██████ indicate that SCP-2462 has been exhibiting anomalous properties since the previous year, with SCP-2462-A affecting two neighborhoods on the town's outskirts. Turning SCP-2462-A into a tourist attraction had only been considered in the months preceding SCP-2462's 2008 bloom.
Addendum: At the recommendation of Dr. Breitkopf, SCP-2462 was surrounded by four mirrors, producing an effectively unlimited number of reflections, during a blooming period. SCP-2462-A was not generated. SCP-2462 was downgraded to Safe, and containment procedures were adjusted accordingly.
