SCP-4159

File photo of SCP-4159 in 2018.

Item #: SCP-4159

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Public access to areas inhabited by SCP-4159 is to be heavily restricted between March and November under the guise of hooded plover bird nest re-introduction. These areas are to be monitored both remotely and by Foundation personnel posing as Parks Victoria rangers, and seaweed washed ashore is to be collected and incinerated daily. Populations of SCP-4159 are to be counted and monitored, with civilian inhabited areas nearby to be evacuated should significant numbers of SCP-4159 get too close and fail to be lured away or destroyed. Weather reports are to be monitored for storms at sea with a likelihood of bringing more specimens ashore.

A minimum of four specimens are to be kept contained within Site 40 for study, along with any notable specimens. Containment will be comprised of a standard wildlife containment cell with a steady supply of salt water.

Foundation personnel are advised not to come within 2 metres of SCP-4159 specimens, and to always work with partners to minimise the risk of injury.

Description: SCP-4159 are carnivorous organisms resembling large clumps of kelp endemic to several coastal regions in Victoria, Australia. The size of SCP-4159 can vary greatly¹, but all specimens encountered have been composed of a mass of various connected lengths of kelp. Examination has shown no significant difference between the tissue of SCP-4159 and naturally occurring kelp species, leading to investigations into whether SCP-4159 is created from ordinary kelp or is an entirely different organism.

SCP-4159 inhabits shorelines, reefs, rock pools and shallow waters, with specimens adopting different behaviours in different environments, suggesting intelligence comparable to cephalopods. This behaviour includes, but is not limited to:

• Laying in wait as an ambush predator among sand and mundane seaweed.
• Active predation of slower moving prey such as sea turtles, seals and sleeping animals.²
• The use of tools such as stones, nets and corpses, typically in a luring fashion.³
• Bioluminescent hypnosis reminiscent of the hunting behaviour of many species of cuttlefish.
• Structuring itself into limbs to grapple prey items.

Observation has shown that while SCP-4159 is slow moving, they are able to move silently and have proven to be exceptionally strong, with smaller specimens capable of subduing adult humans. Upon obtaining a prey item SCP-4159 typically suffocates or drowns it before moving to a secluded, damp location to digest it. it accomplishes this by what is thought to be a form of phagocytosis, enveloping the prey item in itself and slowly absorbing it over a period of hours, though larger individuals are able to digest nutrition faster by virtue of having more surface area with which to apply to the task.

The peak season for SCP-4159 is between late March and mid October, though this may vary based on the climate, with colder and stormier weather bringing specimens from deeper water, suggesting they may be dislodged from their warm water habitat by storms in a manner similar to non-anomalous kelp or even jellyfish. Monitoring of SCP-4159 populations' migratory habits has shown that each year they arrive and depart from the same direction, with recent analysis showing populations converging on an isolated reef located at -39.937113, 146.077304.⁴

Addendum SCP-4159-A: On 19/3/17, civilians reported the disappearance of their child, Nicholas McArthur, who was last seen riding his bicycle in the town of Kilcunda, Victoria. A police search of the area led to the discovery of McArthur's remains being consumed by an instance of SCP-4159 within a playground tube. Embedded Foundation agents soon dispatched a field team to establish a perimeter, with police units being amnesticised and returned to duty. The specimen was destroyed, and McArthur's remains were recovered.⁵ Examination of local CCTV footage shows Nicholas McArthur arriving at the playground at 15:30, playing on the swings, then entering the sandpit where the SCP-4159 specimen had disguised itself as a rudimentary sandcastle. The resultant attack incapacitated McArthur within 19 minutes, before retreating to the playground tube to ingest the victim. Later investigation was able to track the specimen to a creek several hundred metres away. This was the only known instance of SCP-4159 entering a freshwater environment, and one of the earlier instances of the usage of a sandcastle disguise.

Addendum SCP-4159-B

Level 3 clearance required

Following a successful operation in the town of Bairnsdale, Victoria, relating to an uninvolved anomaly, a number of Epsilon-6 (Village Idiots) agents were sleeping at a waterfront motel awaiting extraction the following morning. During the course of the night, an SCP-4159 instance subdued and partially consumed Agent Holtzinger. These events have been reconstructed based on witness accounts and recovered security footage.

Witness statement: Incident 4159-34-B-1
Witness: Mark Bolding
Statement: In the microphone? Okay boss. So it's like I said before, um, it was about two-ish in the morning and Jan kicked me out for smoking in the room. I was standing out on the verandah and looking out at the water, thinking about going for a surf in the morning, you know, that sort of stuff. Anyway I saw something come out of the water right about then, must've been a seal or something. Looked kinda funny, all flattened and sorta stretched out you know. Probably sick, that happens all the time with that [EXPLETIVE] desalination plant they built you know.

Witness statement: Incident 4159-34-B-2
Witness: Sharee Lockwood
Statement: Yeah, it was two thirty in the morning and I saw on the security camera that there was all this water and seaweed in the car park leading to the rooms. You know, a slipping hazard. Last thing I need is for my boss to see me let an OH and S violation go, so I head out with the mop to clean it up. That's when the service button at the front desk paged me. I'd pretty much finished anyway, it was pretty much just in the gardens by that point so I went and handled the customer.

Recovered CCTV footage:
Timestamp: 02:39, July 12, 2018
Visual Log: Footage shows a static view of the footpath and room doors along it. All doors are closed, and no light shines through any windows.
02:40, July 12, 2018: SCP-4159 instance enters frame from the west. Specimen is noted to be covered in leaves and detritus, and estimated to weigh 25-30kg. Upon reaching the closest door to the camera, that housing Agent Holtzinger, the specimen proceeds to flatten itself to the ground and enter the room under the door.
04:30, July 12, 2018: Agent Holtzinger exits the room and is seen to be in a slumped backward posture and moving with a stiff, shambling motion. Upon moving closer to the camera the SCP-4159 specimen can be seen tightly clinging to Agent Holtzinger's lower back and neck.
04:33, July 12, 2018: Agent Holtzinger and the SCP-4159 instance leave frame.

Foundation Incident Report form 34-B
Name of Agent: Irwin Wood
Report: At approximately 04:40 I was awoken by odd sounds outside the window of my room. Upon investigation I could see a person leaning on a tree in the courtyard by the public toilet block. I was unable to see the person in any detail from my room, so I dressed and went outside to investigate. Upon arriving at the courtyard the person had moved towards the treeline near the toilet block. They were moving strangely, as though they were being shaken by someone from behind. I approached and shone my torch on the person and identified them as Agent Holtzinger. She was not breathing and had strings of kelp tangled in her pajamas and hair. Upon closer inspection I saw that a mass of anomalous kelp had been attached to the back of Agent Holtzinger and was shaking them. I proceeded to call for support from the rest of the taskforce, and proceeded to aid in the containment of Agent Holtzinger.

Following this incident an investigation into the population of SCP-4159 was launched. The results of this investigation showed a population explosion of SCP-4159 in the area, with the cause of this event suspected to have been a king tide several weeks before. Agent Holtzinger's remains were seen to have sustained multiple fractures to the mandible, left ulna and left radius, along with partial digestion of the epidermis, fatty tissue, muscle and bone of the back portion of the torso, neck and scalp. Cause of death has been ruled as suffocation. Agent Holtzinger's remains were disposed of as per standard procedure and a cull of SCP-4159 was initiated.

Incident 4159-44

Level 3 clearance required

SCP-4159 engaging in angling behavior.

On 27/10/2018 Foundation agent Isaac Plumb disappeared while investigating reports of SCP-4159 near the town of Aspen Valley, █████ Island, to the northwest of the Kent islands. Agent Plumb's last report indicated his intention to investigate the town from a distance before taking further action. Following his disappearance, a taskforce composed of four agents⁶ was sent from Site 40 to investigate. Upon arriving at █████ Island, Cmdr. Geeham reported that the dock and marina was deserted, before proceeding towards Aspen Valley on foot. Upon confirming a visual of the town, Cmdr. Geeham reported multiple SCP-4159 instances in the town, primarily located on top of and around buildings and trees. The taskforce was instructed to proceed into the town to locate Agent Plumb and determine the extent of the infestation. Closer examination showed that the sighted SCP-4159 instances were in fact a single enormous specimen estimated by Cmdr. Geeham to weigh several tonnes, with tendrils extending into all the buildings in the town via windows, doors and chimneys. All members of the taskforce but Cmdr. Geeham were lost in action and Cmdr. Geeham was found when the expeditionary vessel washed ashore █ kilometres from Site 40.

Interviewer: Dr. Hoctor.

Interviewed: Cmdr. Grace Geeham, Green leader of Taskforce 4, with previous experience in working with SCP-4159.

Foreword: Following the events of Incident 4159-44, Cmdr. Geeham submitted an after action report and was placed on administrative leave while an effort was made to verify her claims. At this time her report remains unverified, and Cmdr. Geeham was interviewed once more to determine the report's veracity.

<Begin Log>

Dr. Hoctor: Hello again Cmdr. Geeham, please sit down.

Cmdr. Geeham sits and looks at Dr. Hoctor expectantly, appearing restless.

Cmdr. Geeham: So this means you sent someone to look at █████ Island, right? You saw it? You saw what it does, why we need to wipe them out?

Dr. Hoctor: The reconnaissance team didn't see anything suggesting anything other than a severe SCP-4159 incursion, though not without abnormalities. We have asked you here to re-state your report, in your own words, and to help us clarify the events surrounding █████ Island. When you're ready, Grace.

Cmdr. Geeham is noted to look irritated and anxious.

Cmdr. Geeham: Sir… Yes sir. We landed on the island at 0700 and found the marina and the docks empty. We weren't expecting that, 4159 incursions are slow, they pick off one or two people at a time, never groups. How could they? They're slow. After some discussion, the team and I discussed our plan, and considered the possibility of something else operating in the area.

Dr. Hoctor: Something else? Despite reports of SCP-4159 operating in the area?

Cmdr. Geeham: Wouldn't be the first time. Remember what happened with the █████████ disappearance?

Dr. Hoctor: Noted, please proceed Cmdr. Geeham.

Cmdr. Geeham: Well, we headed into the town down the road from the docks, and that's when we saw the 4159's all over the town. Only, they looked off somehow. Like they were asleep or sick or something. Either way, they were really big, about as big as any of us had seen before, mounded up on all the roofs and power lines, hanging down into windows and chimneys.

Dr. Hoctor: And that is when you decided to split into pairs?

Cmdr. Geeham: That's right. At this point… I-I didn't realise it was different to normal specimens we'd dealt with before. Besides, we had the flamethrowers and we were all experienced agents… At least, I thought we were.

Cmdr. Geeham sighs and appears remorseful

Dr. Hoctor: Continue your statement, Grace.

Cmdr. Geeham: We split up. Myself and Dar- Cpl. Brayshaw were covering the west side of town, Ostradi and Hicks were on the east. We kept in contact with each other the whole time. The insides of those houses… I've never seen it have that effect on an environment before.

Cmdr. Geeham shows visible signs of distress and drinks from a glass of water

Cmdr. Geeham: It had turned the inside of the houses into a sort of nest. Rotting plants and fishing nets and furniture piled together with these tendrils coming from the specimen leading into the nests through the windows and fireplace. Just as Brayshaw and I went to investigate, Hicks called on the radio saying that she could see a long mass of kelp leading from the specimen to the water, and that all instances of 4159 were joined together. That's about when we realised it was one massive specimen, not lots of smaller ones. I ordered her and Ostradi to come back to our location, and Brayshaw… He…

Dr. Hoctor: We can take a short break if you need to compose yourself, Grace.

Cmdr. Geeham takes a deep breath and shakes her head

Cmdr. Geeham: I'm good. I'm okay. He found the family that used to live there. Their beds were in the middle of the nest in the living room. They… They were all webbed to their beds with bits of 4159. It was growing into their faces, like it burrowed through the sinuses and just grew all the way inside. It… They… They had big masses of these gas bladder looking objects bursting out of their skin, all over their bodies. Most of them were small, like grapes, but others were like tennis balls. When I shone my torch on them, I could see 4159 embryos inside. Like eggs. Then Brayshaw saw it too, and he just lost it.

Dr. Hoctor: Lost it?

Cmdr. Geeham: He shoved me aside and blasted the nest with his flamethrower. Inside the building. When he did, the specimen defended itself. Tendrils as thick as trees burst in from the window and grabbed him. Would've grabbed me too if I didn't scoot back out onto the street on my ass like an idiot.

Dr. Hoctor: You didn't attempt to aid Cpl. Brayshaw?

Cmdr. Geeham: It [EXPLETIVE] crushed him like a bug! I saw him crumple down to half his size and fountain blood out of his mouth. It was all I could do to get out and try to get to Hicks and Ostradi. Cmdr. Geeham pauses and composes herself. They were in the middle of the street, shouting to me and Brayshaw. The whole thing was flailing all over the place, even knocked down one of the houses as it pulled most of its mass into the street and started hauling itself towards us from the direction of the docks. We could see at least a dozen people dragging along behind it caught up in its tendrils like the family Brayshaw found, and it hadn't even gotten out of all the houses yet.

Cmdr. Geeham pauses and stares at the wall for 18 seconds.

Dr. Hoctor touches Cmdr. Geehams arm.

Dr. Hoctor: What happened next Grace? After you regrouped with the rest of your team?

Cmdr. Geeham: We… We ran, Ostradi saw the towns abattoir at the end of the street and since it was a bluestone building we figured it would be strong enough to keep the specimen out. As we were entering the front door, Cpl. Ostradi… He… He walked under a tree and some tendrils descended and grabbed him, yanked him into the air. He called out to us but I had to make a call. It was just… It was too much of a risk to go back, so we left him and entered the abbatoir.

Cmdr. Geeham places her head in her hands and breathes heavily for several minutes

Dr. Hoctor: Cmdr. we have all had to make hard decisions here. It's part of the job, though I understand that doesn't make things any easier. Take some deep breaths and try to finish.

Cmdr. Geeham: Okay. Okay. Cmdr. Geeham nods and clears her throat. When we entered the building, we moved deeper inside as quickly as we could to set up a defensive perimeter on the kill floor. Hicks joked that it seemed appropriate. But when we got in there, we saw that the back of the building had been knocked down by the specimen. It was slumped on the wall of the building and over the alleyway. There was a small whale there in the same condition as the people in the first building laying against a propane tank. The specimen shuddered and started to squeeze into the breach, so I ordered Hicks to fire on the propane tank with me.

Dr. Hoctor: Under most circumstances I would call that reckless, Cmdr. you're absolutely sure it was necessary?

Cmdr. Geeham: We were trapped in there, what choice did we have? Besides, it worked. The tank went up, knocked us both on our asses, but the thing was right on top of the explosion and got blown to bits. We managed to get to our feet despite our injuries and helped each other out into the street. What was left of the specimen was retreating towards the woods, and we followed at a distance to return to the boat. By the time we made it we couldn't make visual contact with the specimen. After treating our injuries as best we could, I took the first shift piloting the boat back towards the site.

Dr. Hoctor: And Pvt. Hicks? What happened to her?

Cmdr. Geeham: She… I was sleeping while it was her turn driving. The propeller jammed, and she said to rest while she checked it out, since my wounds were fairly severe compared to hers. I… I'm not sure what happened, but I heard her gasp. When I managed to get outside I saw her jump into the water.

Cmdr. Geeham takes a deep breath.

Cmdr. Geeham: I think she was hypnotised, there were lights in the water when she jumped much brighter than any bioluminescence I've seen on a 4159 I've seen before. They followed me the whole time until I got close to shore, and then I washed up and the team found me.

Dr. Hoctor: Standing Thank you Grace. For the time being I would like-

Cmdr. Geeham: Doctor, I can't stay here, I need to go to an inland site… I… Every time I look at the water I see those glowing lights… You… For a second I could swear that Hicks smiled at me as she jumped into the water. I… I'm afraid that if I keep seeing those lights I'll walk into the sea with that same smile.

Dr. Hoctor: Noted, Cmdr. We'll see what we can do.

<End Log>

Note: I'd like for the families of Cpl. Brendan Ostradi, Cpl. Daryl Brayshaw and Pvt. Margaret Hicks to receive the standard monetary payout and deepest condolences on behalf of the Foundation. Furthermore, Cmdr. Geeham is to be administered Class B amnestics as per her request and transferred to Site ███. Further investigations into the events of incident 4159-44 and the whereabouts of Agent Plumb are to be made a high priority, with extreme caution to be taken in said investigation.
Dr. D. Hoctor
Site-40 Director

Footnotes

1. Most often between 4 and 2,700kg in weight, though significant outliers have been found. See Incident 4159-44

2. see addendum SCP-4159-B

3. See addendum SCP-4159-B

4. Investigation into this location is still ongoing, though it is suspected to be anomalous due to inconsistent scans and identical reefs being spotted in other locations around the world.

5. Remains were later buried under the guise of being the victim of an infectious necrotic virus known to be prevalent in the area.

6. Cmdr. Grace Geeham, Cpl. Brendan Ostradi, Cpl. Daryl Brayshaw and Pvt. Margaret Hicks