SCP-333-DE
Slime.jpeg
Extracted probe of SCP-333-DE
(Swipe to reveal)

Item #: SCP-333-DE

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-333-DE-1 entities are to be housed at Site-DE14 in reinforced acrylic glass enclosures sized and outfitted to match the species whose skeletal size they have currently assumed. They should not exceed a temperature of 15 - 20 degrees and fall below a humidity of 80%. The enclosures are to be cleaned once a week, with probes of deceased SCP-333-DE, in addition to dead matter and bone remains being collected and subsequently examined, before being destroyed using cremation.

The entrances into the containment areas are to be illuminated with approximately 30 lux. In case of a containment breach, security personnel is permitted to push the entities back via light sources exceeding 30 lux or flamethrowers or to terminate them. Additionally, fresh bones should ideally be provided as bait or distractor.

Daily feeding occurs through freshly extracted mammal bones, which should be adapted to the entity's current size. Attention should be paid to ensure that recreation of a whole skeleton is always impossible1

Description: SCP-333-DE designates a slime mold (Mycetozoa) with dark-brown to black coloration2 and a consistency similar to tar. Unlike other slime molds, it possesses some sort of intellect and adaptive ability as well as swift reactions and motion speed, usually associated with animals.

SCP-333-DE feeds on bone marrow, cartilage matter, and smaller bone fragments from warm-blooded animals, and despite a preference for fresh fragments, will also search for bone remains in cadavers, excrements, pellets by predatory birds, and other biological waste. After having arrived to a cadaver, SCP-333-DE will cover it in a black secretion, which transforms flesh, fur, organs, and other organic materials into a black mass, secreting over everything not consisting of bone matter. Afterwards, it will coat the bones in a slime layer, and will enter them through the finest pores, cracks, or other openings present in the outer structures, in order to reach and consume the bone marrow inside.

Bones absorbed by the subject remain in a fresh, undamaged state even after millions of years inside the body of SCP-333-DE3, until the subject secrets them out when no more unusable materials are contained therein4.

SCP-333-DE not only utilizes its bones as source of nutrition but also for self-protection, by using broken fragments as a kind of protective coat from enemies5, or by lining them up like thorns or even throwing them at enemies, as defense. It also uses larger bones to retreat6, thereby shielding itself from sun radiation.

An additional ability of SCP-333-DE is demonstrated once it is exposed to a complete and undamaged skeleton of a mammal or bird, which can be actively used by the subject. In this case, SCP-333-DE will stretch over the whole skeleton, using the its bones to imitate the body of the original animal. The bones hereby serve as fundamental structure, while SCP-333-DE is able to imitate tendons, muscles, fibers, and absorbed bone marrow with its slime body. SCP-333-DE utilizes this body for locomotion and active search for more bones it can assimilate, consume, and gather inside its body for self-protection. These bodies are designated SCP-333-DE-1.

Instances of SCP-333-DE-1 show behaviors akin to the animal type whose skeleton it uses, such as movement, eating and hunting behaviors or phonetic formations to lure in potential prey7.

Except through excessive light exposure, however, the subjects do not show any reaction to visual stimuli, but react to movements and smells, especially in the vicinity to potential food sources. Specimens of SCP-333-DE are almost constantly searching for food, and also attack smaller or evenly sized warmbloods to get to their bones. In the process, they use available teeth, claws, or other resources to slay prey. Smaller body parts are swallowed whole as a result, the bones separated from the organic material, and then excreted in their black excretions with unusable bone parts, while bigger bones are neatly separated from the remaining materials and chopped for ease of nutrient absorption. Apart from decomposed organic materials, excrements also contain leftovers of SCP-333-DE, which serves its further spread and can evolve into SCP-333-DE-1, provided enough bones for a complete skeleton are available.

Their bodies are resistant to most conventional weapons, as long as they do not precisely damage the skeleton beneath the slime body. Should bones be damaged in this process, the entity will replace them with new ones while resting, and disposes of the older bones. Due to their heat generation, firearms cause a dissuasive effect, but are not sufficient for complete termination.

The entities are susceptible against light8, intensive drought9 and high temperatures10, which can cause severe damages to the slime body. It is assumed that specimens of SCP-333-DE-1 can only hunt at night with a high humidity. Weaker light sources, such as flashlights, can injure the slime body, whereafter SCP-333-DE-1 specimens react aggressively, and directly attack the source. in case of larger light and heat subjection, for instance by strong illumination or direct day light, specimens of SCP-333-DE-1 retreat into the pores of their bones, where they remain until the external conditions are more favorable for them. Temperatures below freezing point can solidify SCP-333-DE and render it inoperative, but they can regenerate after defrosting. SCP-333-DE are theorized to retreat in bones during the Winter months, where they fall in a kind of hibernation until the temperatures have risen to an acceptable level.

Discovery: The Foundation became aware of SCP-333-DE on the 14/08/2001, when reports accumulated, concerning killed grazing livestock and wildlife near a mountain range south from Bavarian. Notably, the flesh of the cadavers was mostly intact, but the bones were almost completely missing. As wild animal was suspected, a team of MTF DE6 „Big Game Hunters“ was deployed to investigate this phenomenon.

Traces led to a cave that was revealed through a landslide. The team entered the cave and found more cadavers in the inside, before being attacked by SCP-333-DE-1a. Only one of the four expedition members survived the attack of the anomaly, before he could request backup, which could contain SCP-333-DE-1a in the end and transport it to Site-DE6. The surviving agent lost his right leg through the attack, but was stable at the time of the report.

Afterwards, the cave was thoroughly examined, ere all traces were on-site were incinerated via flamethrowers, including the cadaver and remains of SCP-333-DE, whereupon the cave entrance was resealed.

Scientists assume SCP-333-DE has existed inside the cave for several million years, however, due to the low food supply in the form of bones of little rodents, bats, and small predators like martens that lived inside the cave system at that time, kept a rather small form, ere a entelodon got lost inside the cave system and died. The former SCP-333-DE instance found the easy prey and evolved into SCP-333-DE-1a due to the food supply. It stayed imprisoned inside the cave system for millions of years and fed on bones of mammals, which either lived inside the cave or, like the entelodon, got lost inside, ere the cave entrance was blocked off through a stone fall millions of years ago. In recent years, the buried entrance was uncovered through weather conditions, natural rock erosions, and construction work in the near vicinity, which was used by the subject to hunt outside it.

Entelodon.jpg

SCP-333-DE-1a, after it has been subjected to light, and SCP-333-DE retreated back into its bones for protection.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License