Interview 3698-12:30-24-02-████
Interviewed: MTF Chi-5 "Connoisseurs" Agent ███ Singh (X5-9)
Interviewer: Site 101 Clinical Psychologist ████ Rottbauer
Foreword: Rottbauer was to perform a routine psychological assessment with X5-9, who witnessed the only Foundation staff casualties caused by SCP-3698 until the ██ May Incident. X5-9 accompanied the team of technicians that regularly maintains the innermost barrier around Zone 3698-C. Due to repeated lapses into post-traumatic stress, the assessment was significantly delayed.
<Begin Log, 12:30, 24 February ████>
Rottbauer: State your name and designation for the record, please.
X5-9: ███ Singh, X5-9.
Rottbauer: Okay, X5-9… could you walk me through what happened on February ██?
X5-9: You mind if I get some water first?
Rottbauer: No problem. Anything you need.
X5-9 gets a cup of water from a cooler. As he carries the cup back to his seat, his hand begins to shake. A small amount of water spills onto the floor.
X5-9: Shit - sorry.
Rottbauer: Don't worry, Singh. Let's just get through this. If you need us to do any of those exercises, we can. Unfortunately, the Level-4s won't let me suspend this interview again.
X5-9: I'm fine - just the nerves. We approached the second barrier at around 09:00, like always. The head tech, Li, let us in and almost immediately, Ingham started experiencing problems with his suit.
Rottbauer: Could you be a little more specific?
X5-9: He kept complaining about an indicator in his suit going off - the cooling system, I think. This was before the recall, so we figured it was just a minor issue. We continued to the inner barrier and see that a camera on the east wall is damaged. Li opened up the gate and Yanez and Ingham stepped through while I wait outside.
Rottbauer: Why did you wait outside?
X5-9: Can't keep people out if you're on the other side of the bulletproof glass.
Rottbauer: I see. Please continue.
X5-9: Everything ran smoothly for a while. Yanez set up a ladder and spotted Ingham while he went up to repair the camera. After a while Ingham started complaining that he's getting warm. He yells over to Yanez like "The suit's cooling is broken - I'm gonna get winded if I don't lose some weight." So he unstrapped and dropped down his toolbelt. Just a few seconds after the tool belt hit the ground, Ingham stopped working - dropped his tools and jumped twelve feet down from the top of the ladder.
X5-9 takes a sip of water. His hand shakes as he tries to stabilize the cup at mouth-level.
X5-9: Ingham started rambling as he struggled to stand up. Kept muttering about the "fresh pine", "Christmas morning", all of that stuff - classic signs of exposure. Before I could get to him, Li tried to drag him outside the first barrier. Of course, Ingham didn't like that at all; he kicked Li square in the knee and knocked him over before darting back through the entrance. Yanez managed to chase him down, though, just as he was about to reach a tree, and got him restrained with some duct tape. He also found a small tear near a belt loop of Ingham's suit. Yanez opened the entrances while Li and I carried Ingham back to the Jeep.
Rottbauer: Did you notice any unusual behavior from Li?
X5-9: No - nothing. He seemed perfectly fine. I looked at his knee but the suit still seemed in tact. He responded to my orders without question and seemed pretty shaken by Ingham's behavior. Besides, I had Ingham to worry about first. Then we got back to the jeep and…
Rottbauer: Li incapacitated you, correct?
X5-9: The last thing I heard before everything went black was Yanez yelling at him. I woke up about a half hour later and reached for the submachine gun on my side only to find a torn strap. Somehow, my suit wasn't compromised, so I pulled out my knife and assessed my surroundings. The jeep was still there, so clearly I hadn't been left for dead.
Rottbauer: Did you hear the other members of the team?
X5-9: Not at first; snow's a pretty good sound absorber. I could only start to hear their commotion when I got right alongside the second barrier.
X5-9 remains silent for the next twenty seconds.
Rottbauer: ███, I'm sorry, but I need you to keep going. I'm going to need you to describe what happened after you re-entered Zone C.
X5-9 begins to heave.
X5-9: Li and Ingham were stripped - maybe they did it to themselves, maybe… I don't know. As I got closer… as…
X5-9 rubs the back of his head as his face reddens.
X5-9: They were drilling Yanez into a tree by his fucking hands and feet. Right through his fucking bones! And Yanez just kept screaming and his screams turned into pleas - begging for me to kill him. To just die. For God to let him go. What the fuck could I do? Li had my gun! They knew I was there! What the fuck could I have done?
Rottbauer: Nobody's holding you responsible for this, ███ -
X5-9: And then, just like that, the drill, the screaming, everything just stopped. No sound for a solid minute. I stood there as they fucking stared at me, trying to pull myself together - trying to think of a way out. Yanez… despite all the blood Yanez lost, he wasn't dead. His head, which had gone limp just a minute ago, looked up. His eyes met mine and… and he just says "we're done decorating the tree". Ingham and Li look at me and start repeating the same thing again and again until their vocal cords fucking froze and ripped apart.
X5-9 looks up at Rottbauer, tears visible on his face.
X5-9: And then they each took turns with the gun. They blew their brains out with my -
X5-9 rests his head back in his hands and begins to sob loudly. Rottbauer attempts to console him, and after 28 minutes is able to escort him out of the room.
<End Log, 13:15, 24 February ████>
Post-Interview Statement | 24 February ████ | ████ Rottbauer:
X5-9 is still in no shape to resume work. Every time he's around a firearm he lapses into post-traumatic psychosis. He should continue his regular medication as prescribed by Dr. Fahey and continue seeing me on a regular basis for CBT. Once again, I believe a small course of episode-specific amnestics could drastically improve his mental state.
Post-Interview Statement | 3 March ████ | █████████ Dufour:
Since what happened at Zone C, one big question has kept me awake: What happened to Li? According to X5-9's observation, Li's suit had no tear in it upon leaving the inner barrier. I understand this is thrown into question given the fact that Ingham kicked Li's knee before leaving the barrier. However, considering that the suits are made of [REDACTED], I doubt that a single kick, much less one from a standard-issue boot, could do significant enough damage to cause a tear - at least immediately.
Upon examining Li's suit, my team observed that the tear was not caused by impact alone. While the impact certainly did damage the material, it took continuous, localized stress for the suit to actually fail. From this, we've constructed a new timeline of Li's exposure:
- Assault from Ingham. Li is kicked in the knee once with a standard-issue boot. He expresses no immediate symptoms and is able to understand and complete orders from X5-9. This would compress the [REDACTED] in the fabric at the point of impact, reducing their durability up to ██%.
- Fabric on the knee stretches and tears while Li and X5-9 transport Ingham to the jeep. As we discovered during the recent recall, the suits' fabric significantly limited motion in the field. MTFs routinely complained about their interference with aerobic activities. We've recorded ███ cases of these things coming apart due to intense stretching before. With the area on Li's suit already damaged, a tear would require far less extraneous activity than such cases.
- Li assaults X5-9. At this point, it is clear that Li's suit had torn and he has been exposed. He succumbs rapidly, as is standard, and exhibits characteristic symptoms accordingly.
Of course, this raises another ugly question based on what we already know about SCP-3698. Li's symptoms are indicative of exposure to extremely potent SCP-3698, but according to X5-9's testimony and evidence at the scene, they manifested well outside the external barrier. My only explanation is that gas trapped in Ingham's suit escaped and entered Li's.
But that would mean SCP-3698 does not behave like a normal gas - that it does not disperse so much as relocate from one individual to the next, like a school of fish or a pack of wolves. After all, both SCP-3698 samples and schools of fish tend to confine themselves to specific volumes. Both have directional behaviors as well, seeking out food or - in SCP-3698's case - Douglas fir trees and humans.
The main issue with SCP-3698, plain and simple, is that we are too ignorant to determine if it is an object or an organism - whether it is indeed a gas or a cluster of intangible zooids. We do not have the equipment, the funding, or the personnel to determine any of this.
SCP-3698 is a new breed of memetic anomaly - and I use the term "breed" intentionally here. By almost all measures, it doesn't exist - and according to the only machine that can measure it, it's non-anomalous - twenty points below even a minor reality bender. In other words, SCP-3698 is a pure meme - one that cannot be expressed or reliably detected. It can only be experienced and known by those it afflicts.
The fact that we even found SCP-3698 is a miracle. The fact that we still consider it Safe is appalling.
Note: The drive containing SCP-3698's experiment log was damaged during the events of 24-May ████ and several files contained within were corrupted.
15:04 | 11 Jan ████
15:00 | 15 Jan ████
15:02 | 19 Jan ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson, Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-9821
Conditions: One vial of perceptible SCP-3698 will be introduced to subject in testing room. Subject will be ordered to release vial lid and describe any feelings it evokes.
Parker: Please open the vial on the table in front of you.
D-9821: How do I do that, again?
Donaldson: As we instructed you, please release the switches on the side of the lid.
D-9821: Don't have to get pissy about it.
D-9821 releases the lid, opening the vial.
D-9821: Huh… what's that, some kind of perfume?
Parker: Please describe the smell.
D-9821: Smells like fresh pine to me. It kinda reminds me of Christmas. Like when my parents took us to this tree farm…
D-9821 inhales deeply.
D-9821: Yeah… just like that farm.
Parker: Do you feel any physical sensations?
D-9821: Just the smell. Am I supposed to feel something else?
<End Log, 15:05>
Discussion: Well, we seem to have a sense of how far away you need to be from SCP-3698 to be relatively unaffected. It seems that, while the scent is still discernable, it doesn't trigger any visible psychological or physiological symptoms at this concentration. At least now we have a contained form of this thing that's somewhere between between "deadly" and "unnoticeable".
15:00 | 21 Jan ████
Discussion: 10m seems to be the magic distance. For the time being, D-3092 and D-2988 should be separated from their peers and placed under strict observation. We don't want another spree like D-4219's. Additionally, while the effects haven't been communicable thus far, we shouldn't take any liberties. The subjects that didn't display anomalous symptoms can be returned to their quarters.
15:00 | 26 Jan ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson
Subject(s): Group D-101-1
Conditions: 50 D-Class living in Wing 1 will have vials introduced to their quarters, each of which will be set off remotely at exactly 15:00. The vials' samples will be taken from areas surrounding an isolated SCP-3698-1 specimen in 1-meter increments (i.e. one sample at 1m from the tree, one from 2m from the tree, etc.).
Discussion: Thanks to this experiment, we finally have a sense of how concentration changes SCP-3698's effect. Hopefully, we'll be smarter about testing going forward and can restrict our experimentation to case studies. It is my hope that Parker and I can study those affected by the more potent dosages in the near future.
15:02 | 01 Feb ████
15:01 | 09 Feb ████
15:01 | 11 Feb ████
D-6021 displays extreme distress upon entering the test room
D-6021: No, fuck - no no no, what the fuck is this?
Donaldson: Please settle down, 6021 - the room temperature is only temporary. We simply want to identify a comfortable room temperature for you.
D-6021: You already know how cold I need the room! I've told you fuckers -
D-6021 starts pacing around the room. After a minute of uninterrupted pacing, she begins pounding on the airlock and screaming expletives.
Donaldson: 6021, sit down. We're in the process of lowering the temperature. If you continue attempting to escape, you will be punished accordingly.
D-6021: Fuck you! I just want to go home! They need me!
At this point, Researcher Parker recommends that Researcher Donaldson cease lowering the temperature. Donaldson complies.
Parker: 6021, we're going to continue lowering the room temperature. However, we would like to ask you some questions first; we just need a little information.
D-6021 does not acknowledge Parker and continues to beat the airlock.
Donaldson: 6021, if you don't sit down immediately, you will be terminated. You are compromising the security of the testing room.
D-6021 begins using her head to bludgeon the door. Her screams continue as her forehead starts to bleed. At this point, the airlock began displaying signs of pre-compromise and MTF-X5 agents are called in to terminate D-6021.
<End Log, 15:06>
Discussion: Once again, it appears that self-mutilation is not a direct result of potent exposure, but rather a side-effect of the exposed individual's distress. It appears that this distress cannot be used as an interrogative aid, either. At least with the subjects exposed to the extremely potent strain, their bodies give out after a while.
15:01 | 16 Feb ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson, Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-8911
Parker: Please describe your recent episodes for us.
D-8911: Everything becomes the trees.
Parker: Please elaborate.
D-8911: I walk down the hallways and they're just coated in wood. I know they're not wood, but that's what they are to me. I guess the food's kinda nice though. The cafeteria food always tastes like sugar cookies now, too. Guess it makes sense.
Parker: What do you mean "it makes sense"?
D-8911: The trees invite it all back. The music and bells and the caroling, the ham and peppermint, and smells. Of course, at first it's just the smells, but then it's everything. And then one by one it just steals them or burns them.
Parker: You seem to be describing lots of things typically associated with the holidays.
D-8911: It's wonderful. But then you realize how empty it all is without them. Without the trees. They're where it all starts and ends - where it all congregates. And then they just burn. Everything burns. Everything starts to burn! It's all hollow! It's all fucking gone!
D-8911 stands up from his seat. Parker stands back and motions to X5-10.
Parker: Sit down now, please. We already told you what would happen if you move without orders.
D-8911: I know I'm never getting my tree.
D-8911 throws his chair at Parker's head and is terminated by armed security. The chair strikes Parker in the head, concussing her.
<End Log, 15:09>
Discussion: It appears that D-8911's intrusive thoughts were not confined to coniferous trees, but also the holiday season. My working theory is that SCP-3698's effect somehow triggers episodic memories associated with Christmas trees. Perhaps it's a form of incentive to lure those affected back to SCP-3698-1 instances.
15:10 | 22 Feb ████
15:00 | 28 Feb ████
Discussion: D-7149's interrogative compulsion seems to be a common trait among subjects exposed to more potent SCP-3698 samples. All D-101-1 subjects dosed with these samples seemed fixated on all things holidays as well, at least for the first few days after exposure.
15:02 | 03 Mar ████
15:01 | 08 Mar ████
15:00 | 13 Mar ████
Donaldson: Why did you attempt to assault Researcher Brand?
D-6895: Asshole took my tree away.
Donaldson: You mean the lily that Researcher Davis gave you?
D-6895: It was a companion. It kept me safe — helped me remember.
Donaldson: I don't understand.
D-6895: It's not much, but it did wonders. After you assholes finished gassing me, it was the only thing that kept me sane. The smell kept the memories close, but without it they're all flushed away. You took my fucking childhood from me. The trees help but they can't fix everything.
Donaldson: I'd urge you to correct your tone, 6895.
D-6895: What else are you gonna take from me if I don't? What the fuck do I have left?
Donaldson: I'm not going to entertain your adolescent whining, 6895. Let's get back on topic. Why did you attempt to assault Researcher Brand?
D-6895 eyes the agent in the corner of the room and appears to sneer at him.
Donaldson: D-6895, please respond.
D-6895: I just wanted to get back the only thing that gave my memories… I don't know, weight, okay? I panicked. I fucked up. I know I did. That good enough for you?
Donaldson: Not particularly, but I think it's all I'm going to get from you. Enjoy the rest of your month.
D-6895: Brain yourself.
<End Log, 15:03>
Discussion: It seems that plants give those exposed some sort of emotional grounding. Why some require trees and others don't is still a mystery.
15:02 | 19 Mar ████
15:04 | 24 Mar ████
15:03 | 28 Mar ████
15:00 | 5 Apr ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson, Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-8883
Conditions: D-8883 will be interviewed by Researcher Parker with an armed guard present. Questions will be centered around the deaths of his peers - D-2099 and D-2112, both of whom where exposed to extremely potent samples of SCP-3698 during the January 26 experiment.
Parker: Let's try this again. Could you describe your cellmates' behavior on March 25?
D-8883 remains silent for two minutes. Parker motions to a camera in the corner.
Parker: If you don't answer, I'm going to tell Donaldson to crank up the temperature.
D-8883 begins muttering unintelligibly.
Parker: Could you speak a little louder, please?
D-8883: Let me ask you something first, doctor. You are a doctor, right?
Parker: Well, I do have a PhD. I was hoping you could -
D-8883: What's the first winter you remember? The first holiday season?
Parker: As we've told you and the others before, we're not going to give into this line of questioning. You are here for us to question, not the other way around. Now, once again: describe your cellmates' behavior on March 29.
D-8883 remains silent for several minutes.
Parker: Let me ask you something else: why do you keep asking me questions about the holidays? What's behind the obsession?
D-8883: It's not a compulsion - more of a coping mechanism. Self-medication?
Parker: How does interrogating other people help you cope?
D-8883: How does it help you?
Parker stands up, seemingly out of anger.
Parker: You know, pissing off the woman who decides whether you leave this room in a body bag or not probably isn't a good idea. Angering me isn't exactly grounds for termination, but it'll make me far less hesitant to give you the benefit of the doubt when you finally pull something.
D-8883:Their pasts strengthen mine.
Parker sits back down and leans toward D-8883.
Parker: Then how does it help you to kill them?
D-8883 remains silent for another five minutes.
Parker: If you won't answer now, you will eventually. This interview is over.
D-8883: I want to be returned to the trees, doctor.
Parker: In a just world, pal.
<End Log, 15:10>
Discussion: He's still mostly nonverbal. We'll never be able to proceed with these interviews until we can find some way to coerce D-8883 into giving us useful responses.
15:02 | 15 Apr ████
15:03 | 19 Apr ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson, Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-8883
15:03 | 25 Apr ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson, Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-8883
15:01 | 03 May ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson, Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-8883, D-5200
Conditions: D-8883 will be placed in a room with D-5200, who will be restrained, and one vial of extremely potent SCP-3698 placed on a table in front of him. D-8883 will be given the choice to open the vial and expose his peer or keep it sealed. Both subjects will be allowed to openly communicate with one another. If the vial is opened, all actions D-8883 wishes to perform on D-5200 will not be restrained.
Donaldson: 8883, the vial on the table is filled with extremely potent SCP-3698. This sample is as strong as the one we exposed you to. You may choose to open it.
D-5200: Wait, what the fuck is this? What's in that?
D-8883 keeps his head down.
Donaldson: You may do what you wish. We will not interfere and we will not punish you.
D-5200: Punish him for what?
D-8883: Doctor, why would I expose him? There's no way out for him. It would be torture for torture's sake. Sacrifice without an alter.
D-5200: No, no - buddy, please. 8883, that your number? 8883, you're the only one who's gonna talk to me. They aren't gonna give you shit; please, we need to cooperate here! This is a loyalty test or something. It's a sick fucking game, but we can beat it -
Donaldson: 8883, what incentive would you need to open the vial?
D-8883: A tree. He needs a tree; we both do.
D-5200: 8883, please!
Donaldson: Please elaborate.
D-8883: I can describe the tree. I never had one as a kid, but my neighbors did. They always put it up. It was so pretty…
D-5200 begins struggling in his restraints violently.
Donaldson: Thank you both, that's all we need for now. X5-26 will enter the room to see you both out shortly.
Agent X5-26 D-8883 enters the test room and D-8883 surrenders the vial to him without protest.
<End Log, 15:06>
15:04 | 06 May ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson, Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-8883, D-5528
15:00 | 10 May ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson, Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-8883, D-3576, D-2525
15:05 | 16 May ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Donaldson, Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-8883, D-5093 (sedated), D-3920 (sedated), D-5578 (sedated), D-3956(sedated), D-1198 (sedated), D-0090 (sedated)
Discussion: The injuries D-8883 continues to inflict on others' hands appear to be significant; it's a behavior he repeated in each of the two latest tests. However, it appears that in the presence of coniferous plants, he doesn't even need to be intimidated into violence. Suicidal mutilative behavior also appears to heighten under these conditions. Perhaps observing D-8883 around more coniferous plants for a longer span of time could further elucidate this uptick in aggressive behavior.
15:00 | 20 May ████
Experimenter(s): Researcher Parker
Subject(s): D-8883
Conditions: D-8883 will be escorted to the perimeter of Zone A by Researcher Parker and Agent X5-21. D-8883 will be tethered to the escort jeep at all times and will be ordered to walk exactly 40m into the wilderness with Parker to conduct the interview.
Disciplinary Referral from Researchers Dufour, Tiller, Milton, Davis, and Rottbauer. Statement below prepared by Dufour:
<Attached: █████████████████>
It has come to the attention of several Site 101 researchers that Director Paulsen has been complicit in Donaldson and Parker's unethical experiments on D-Class personnel. We believe that his personal fears regarding SCP-3698 have hindered his effectiveness as a leader and hope that he can be brought before the Ethics Committee and O5 Council for disciplinary action. We have attached the Experiment Log to this letter for your review. As you will see, several of these experiments utilized egregious numbers of D-Class, violating Foundation Ethics Code 4.A.098.
We have become increasingly concerned at the testing conditions of one D-Class in particular, D-8883. D-8883's tests repeatedly involved excessive psychological trauma both to him and to other subjects. Instead of being separated from his peers, D-8883 has been exposed to ██ other D-Class during tests and allowed to maul and torment them under the guise of routine experimentation. When questioned about their motives for doing this, Donaldson and Parker have been dismissive and obstructive. They were also dismissive when Rottbauer insisted on running psychological debriefs on exposed D-Class prior to decommissioning, insisting that such treatment would "interfere with long-term observational results".
We request:
- That Director Paulsen be held before the Ethics Committee on charges of attempting to conceal information from both the O5 Council and the Ethics Committee on numerous occasions. This renders him complicit in the series of unethical experiments that occurred under Researchers Donaldson and Parker.
- That Researchers Donaldson and parker be assessed for antisocial personality disorder and denied access to all D-Class experimentation as soon as possible.
- That Researchers Donaldson and Parker be reprimanded for their continued unethical experimentation on D-Class under Foundation Ethics Code 4.A.098, 4.A.201, and 4.A.202.
While the Foundation routinely uses D-Class for experimentation that operates in the moral gray area - and yes, sometimes in the dark - it also demonstrates parsimony whenever possible. Through his "by any means necessary" philosophy, Paulsen has clearly demonstrated poor leadership and professionalism. We hope
<Draft saved to drive on 15:59 | 24 May ████>