Item #: SCP-210-DE
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: A chicken-hatched instance of SCP-210-DE is held inside a containment cell measuring 4 m x 4 m x 6 m with steel walls in Site-DE6. A feeding with one living chicken per week suffices in meeting the nutritional needs of SCP-210-DE. For this purpose, a trapdoor with fingerprint scanner was installed in the ceiling, which is to be used for dropping food from the room above. Given that SCP-210-DE has a visibly higher temperature than lifeless eggs, thermal imaging cameras must be installed in all four corners of the ceiling, with maintenance work taking place on a weekly basis. To continually guarantee a SCP-210-DE's presence inside containment, sperm samples are to be extracted monthly, one of which is to be injected in a chicken egg in case of the instance perishing. An incubator is available in the adjacent room for their incubation, which has to remain at a temperature of 38,8° C at all times. After 19 days, the impregnated egg must be placed in the containment cell along with a living hen as first meal.
In case of a containment breach, MTF DE4-𝔚 4-Werner „Disease Control“ has to either re-contain or - depending on the breach's severity - neutralize the instance. Furthermore, MTF DE4-𝔚 4-Werner „Disease Control“ is in charge of neutralizing instances in the civilian. Thermal imaging cameras are to be used during missions to differentiate normal eggs from a SCP-210-DE instance, as well as flamethrowers to neutralize it. Eyewitnesses are to be treated with amnestics. Foundation agents working undercover as hunters have to hinder the German, Austrian, and Swizz populations from spreading into other countries through controlled incineration. Should SCP-210-DE instances begin to populate other countries, corresponding hunters from local branches will be present there as well, as information about the anomaly is to be shared globally with all other branches.
Description: SCP-210-DE designates an anomalous species of crustaceans, which have only been documented inside the forests of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Physiologically, their bodies consist of the typical organs of a crustacean such as thorax and pleopods, which is completely enclosed by a carapace (Shell) made of calcium carbonate and shows neither superficially nor haptically no deviations from a common bird egg. Said shell shows an impressive resilience to impacting damage and also appears to be part of the body, which is why fire must be resorted to in termination attempts. Moreover, both four yellow abdominal/thorax legs (cf: higher crustaceans) as well as a pair of eyes that can be concealed for camouflage purposes via the carapace form along with caphalon (arthropod head) beneath a closable "zig-zag-patterned"1 opening the body parts. The telson is located between the legs, enabling instances to excrete fecal matter. Size and weight of an instance always depend on the egg it hatched from, ranging from 6.4 mm and 0.25 g (Bee hummingbird) up to 16 cm and 1.6 kg (Ostrich).
SCP-210-DE instances are carnivores, using a special hunting strategy to attract their prey. It involves retraction of legs, closing of eyes, and excretion of a secretion with a fleshy odor from pores inside the embryonic membranes. If the prey comes too close to the seemingly defenseless egg, the legs are swiftly re-extended, followed by the instance leaping into the prey's jaw, climbing down its throat, and eating the prey from the inside out. Should the prey's jaw be too small and/or does not show aggressive behavior towards the instance, SCP-210-DE will resort to a bite into the neck and resulting asphyxiation.
In order to reproduce, SCP-210-DE instances hide inside a bird's clutch, whose eggs match its shell, while the mother is not present. As soon as the eggs are unattended, the instance injects sperm packages from a small opening in one of its four legs into them, which adapt the infested eggs' DNA in such a way that they have cultivated a full-grown SCP-210-DE instance after initial hatching. Once it enters the nest, the unsuspecting mother serves as their first meal. Cross-species experiments involving eggs of other species revealed that the infested egg must possess a shell of calcium carbonate for a successful transformation to take place, which also benefits a development inside reptilian eggs. If the reptile features a natural toxin, it is secreted by pores around the instance's mouth opening.2 Eggs not meeting this criteria involve fish, amphibians, insects, and spiders, whose embryos die after injection. But as SCP-210-DE instances instinctively seek out only birds for reproduction, such infestations do not occur en natura.
Incident:
On the Black Friday of 20██, a Foundation webcrawler marked a suspicious offering by Ambrose Restaurants about a new meal. Agent Streu was dispatched to said restaurant two days later to verify the existence of of SCP-210-DE instances. It is appended below:
31/03/20██
Foreword: Agent Streu is equipped with an earbud in his left ear sending the audio recording to Site-DE6 in real time and a small camera on his wrist watch. A table has been per-ordered for him.
The video feed begins inside an art museum. Due to the festivities on the market place in front of it, it is little visited. The original of Arcimboldos Vertumnus by Giuseppe is present in front of him.
Agent Streu: I'm present in front of the entrance and about to enter the premises. "Solely the customer is king."
The audio feed is interrupted by static noise for a few seconds, before Agent Streu reports again.
Agent Streu: That was weird. But I am in the restaurant now. And boy does it smell good in here.
Receptionist: Good day, sir, how can we be of service to you?
Agent Streu: Hello, a table has been reserved in the name of "Streu".4
Receptionist: Very well. Would you follow me, please.
Agent Streu: All sorts of people sit here a MTF would be proud of handling. Members of Raptor Tec. Industries and the Wunderkabinett; even Marshall Carter and Dark. And no one attacks the other.
Receptionist: Here we are. Service will be with you soon.
Agent Streu: Thank you. Thank god, those things don't transmit smells, because some of these dishes in this establishment are not from this world.
A few minutes pass, before voices become audible again.
Service: Have you already agreeded upon your order?
Agent Streu: Yes, I'd like to have a non-acoholic beer and one serving of Hatch Banquet in an ostrich egg.
Bedienung: As you wish.
Agent Streu: Apparently, this restaurant actually stocks crab eggs in a shell. Let's be surprised, then.
Bedienung: Pardon me?
Agent Streu: Oh nothing. Was only talking to myself.
Half an hour passes.
Agent Streu: My food has been served. I take some pictures you should see any time soon. I'll go on the search for their source now.
Agent Streu approaches the staff restroom, enters it, and discovers it empty. After Agent Streu waited several more minutes besides the door, a chef enters the bathroom, is surprised by Agent Streu from behind, and incapacitated via a narcotic injection. Agent Streu subsequently switches his clothes with the chef's, placing him inside a toilet cubicle in a way that his feet are not visible from beneath. He hangs a sign reading "Out of order" on the cubicle door.
Agent Streu: That should buy me some time. Entering the kitchen. I don't even dare to imagine how hard it must be to keep all those tentacles of these chefs clean. Anyways, the ingredients appear to come from a conveyor belt, which in turn comes out of an opening next to a door. Let's see if the card of my nice chef is sufficient.
A beeping is heard, then a click.
Agent Streu: Seems so. Stairs lead down onto a field. Seems to be some kind of a pocket dimension or something like that. I will look around a bit, then provide feedback.
Several footsteps in grass and unidentifiable, seemingly animal sounds follow.
Agent Streu: Located our instances. As it's the case for all other enclosures in this place, theirs is also surrounded by a translucent dome. I think they can only sense me once I step inside.
Keeper: Hey, what are you doing here? You will bring all those germs into the clientele's stomachs. The store is f… Wait, who are you?
Agent Streu: Dammit!
Sounds of a struggle become audible, followed by an impact and ultimately culminating in loud chattering.
Agent Streu: I could overpower him, but the keeper deactivated something. The dome only flickers now and the instances jump around wildly.
The chattering increases in volume, with the rest of the recording only consisting of fast steps and screams towards the end, then it aborts.
Afterword: The instances broke out of the restaurant and were able to escape its veil by chasing Agent Streu. Afterwards, they attacked the civilians at the festivities, most of which were busy with traditional activities such as egg painting or egg tapping Some instances even understood this and hid in baskets in order to be lifted by unsuspecting humans later on. MTF DE4-𝔚 4-Werner „Disease Control“ was dispatched with thermal imaging cameras and flamethrowers to cope with the situation, while the surrounding area was sealed off. Both civilian and military losses could not be avoided. Also due to the fact many instances possessed stingers usually only present in reptiles. Following successful termination of all instances, a class C amnestic was dispensed as an aerosol above the area, with it being cleared shortly thereafter. Agents were sent to also amnestitize the personnel of the restaurant to veil the chef
anesthetized by Agent Streu. The previously mentioned agents are still stationed in the area to localize civilians who could escape an amnestizitation and treat them accordingly.