SCP-5944

rating: +37+x

Item#: 5944
Level3
Containment Class:
safe
euclid
Secondary Class:
none
Disruption Class:
vlam
Risk Class:
danger

Assigned Site Site Director Research Head Assigned Task Force
Site-19 J. Karlyle Aktus Dr. John Holden
Dr. Benjamin Davis
N/A

crystal.jpeg

SCP-5944 after the first successful reanimation of an instance of SCP-5944-1.

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-5944 is to be housed at Site-19 inside a modified Foundation containment unit installed with a biometric lock, openable only to on-site staff with Level 5 clearance or above. Additionally, the unit should possess a numeric keypad, and the correct 10 key combination should be changed on a daily basis via remote software. Staff are to maintain a distance of 20 metres from SCP-5944's containment unit at all times. All interaction with SCP-5944 must pass a majority vote by O5 command. Currently, removal of SCP-5944 from its containment unit is strictly prohibited.

Personnel may only be assigned duties involving SCP-5944 for a maximum of 7 days, at which point they are to undergo a full psychological evaluation before rotation to another area. Personnel who fail the psychological evaluation, or violate the 20 metre exclusion zone, are to be deemed a security risk and undergo immediate amnestic treatment.



Description: SCP-5944 is a tactile cognitohazard in the form of an anomalous translucent crystal. Healthy individuals, when exposed to SCP-5944 through continuous physical contact, become transfixed with SCP-5944 in addition to the development of paranoia and suicidal ideation. Onset of this effect has been recorded to occur anything between 40 seconds and 12 minutes. These effects can also be triggered through close proximity to SCP-5944, although without physical contact the process typically takes weeks to months. If left uninterrupted, an individual will eventually attempt to affix SCP-5944 to their body with nearby adhesives, such as glue or tape. If no suitable adhesives are present, the individual will proceed to cut through their subcutaneous tissue1 with a sharp instrument in an effort to insert SCP-5944 under their skin. In the event no such instruments are available, the individual will simply bite through their flesh until there is a sufficient opening. Once SCP-5944 is secured, either internally or externally, the individual will attempt to commit suicide via the most readily available means. If options are limited, the individual will induce death through blunt-force trauma via continued impact of the head onto the nearest hard surface. In this state, the individual will show no regard for pain or bodily damage. This process can only be interrupted through tranquillisation and removal of SCP-5944. A full recovery from SCP-5944’s cognitohazardous effects is possible, but highly variable. At present, full psychological recoveries range between 17 days and 10 months. Upon recovery, individuals affected by SCP-5944 will have no recollection of the events following direct contact with the object. When handling SCP-5944, barriers that prevent direct skin contact with the object have shown to inhibit SCP-5944’s effects and slow psychological decline.

SCP-5944 is capable of continued reanimation of up to five deceased corpses at any one time. Efforts to reanimate more than 5 corpses simultaneously (consisting of previously deceased Class-D personnel, which shall henceforth be collectively referred to as SCP-5944-1) have been met with failure. At present, the exact conditions required for reanimation are poorly understood. Two deceased Class-D personnel of the same sex and similar physical characteristics can result in opposite outcomes, with no apparent change in methodology. Direct skin contact between a test subject and SCP-5944 is required for reanimation, taking an average of 8 minutes to complete. Over the course of reanimation, an SCP-5944-1 instance will slowly regain motor functions starting with facial spasming, then contraction and relaxation of the extremities, and finally full locomotion and consciousness. If no facial spasming can be seen by the 5 minute mark, it can be assumed the reanimation was unsuccessful. Moreover, if skin contact between SCP-5944 and an instance of SCP-5944-1 is broken before reanimation is complete, the SCP-5944-1 instance will instantaneously expire, and all subsequent reanimation attempts will fail. If the reanimation is successful, all further decomposition will cease.

SCP-5944’s colouration is dependent on the number of subjects currently animated. When no instances of SCP-5944-1 are currently animated, SCP-5944 will be dull and colourless. The reanimation of one SCP-5944-1 instance results in a change of colouration to a glowing blue hue. Animating a second instance results in the adoption of a violet colouration, a third a lime-green, a fourth orange, and a fifth a deep red. As discovered by Dr. Holden, SCP-5944’s ability to reanimate a corpse is highly dependent on the amount of time it has spent deceased and the stage of decomposition. To clarify:

  • Stage 1 - Fresh: 40% success rate
  • Stage 2 - Bloat: 32% success rate
  • Stage 3 - Active decay: 11% success rate
  • Stage 4 - Advanced decay: 2% success rate
  • Stage 5 - Skeletonization: 0% success rate

Loss of cognitive ability has been observed to be correlated with the amount of time between death and reanimation. Fresh corpses typically have no observable loss of mental acuity, whilst stage 2 reanimations typically lose between 12-17 IQ points. Stage 3 reanimations experience a sharp decline in cognitive ability, with a mean IQ point loss of 37. The single successful stage 4 reanimation resulted in an instance of SCP-5944-1 completely incapable of higher thought, communication and reasoning. SCP-5944-1 instances do not require food or water to remain functional, nor do they have any need of sleep. If an instance of SCP-5944-1 consumes solid food, the food will become trapped in the upper oesophagus due to the loss of peristaltic activity2. Whilst SCP-5944-1 instances report they possess tactile feedback, they do not feel pain. Any damage inflicted on an instance of SCP-5944-1 will be permanent. Fractures will not heal, bruises will not fade and lacerations will not result in the formation of scar tissue. Given that all metabolic functions have ceased, how SCP-5944-1 instances are capable of consciousness, locomotion and sight is unknown. Subsequent MRI imaging has revealed no brain activity in instances of SCP-5944-1 despite full consciousness throughout the scan. Tissue samples taken from active cases of SCP-5944-1 have been analysed through light and electron microscopy, but are indistinguishable from a normal cadaver.

Initial communication between instances of SCP-5944-1 and Foundation personnel were difficult due to the fact they lack a functioning pulmonary system and are therefore unable to vocalise. SCP-5944-1 instances with intact eyes can be prompted to communicate through written means. Means of communication are usually limited to stage 1 and 2 reanimations, as past this point the eyes are usually rendered inoperable due to the effects of decomposition. Thus far, all instances of SCP-5944-1 have become extremely agitated and distressed when asked if they have any recollection of the events between their death and subsequent reanimation. Any mention of Heaven, Hell, or [REDACTED] will also illicit this response, regardless of the context. For further information, see SCP-5944-1 Interview Logs.

Instances of SCP-5944-1 are notably difficult to terminate post reanimation. Although they are not immune to physical damage, they remain functional and responsive far past the point of a non-anomalous human. Deduced from eye and facial movements, instances of SCP-5944-1 have been shown to remain sentient even when 96% of their body has been completely incinerated. SCP-5944 will continue to emit the same colouration even if 100% of the reanimated biomass from an SCP-5944-1 instance has been incinerated, suggesting that the remaining ashes may, in some form, remain sentient. For more information regarding SCP-5944-1 termination attempts, see SCP-5944-1 Experiment Logs.

The only known mechanism in which to return SCP-5944 to its previous colouration is to relocate the remains of an SCP-5944-1 instance a minimum distance of 15 kilometres from SCP-5944. Once this distance is reached, instances of SCP-5944-1 will rapidly decompose leaving only skeletal remains, and SCP-5944 will return to its previous colouration. Rate of decomposition is directly correlated with the distance from SCP-5944. Functional instances of SCP-5944-1 become extremely distressed when over 10 kilometres from SCP-5944 . Moreover, instances of SCP-5944-1 seem to instinctively know when they are a distance away from SCP-5944, and will attempt to reduce the distance, even if they were not informed of SCP-5944's location.

Addendum 5944-01: Measurements of SCP-5944's light output have revealed a decrease
of 0.09 Lumen since initial containment, suggesting the anomalous properties of SCP-5944
may be finite. If SCP-5944 continues to dim at its current rate, it will become inert in
approximately 1700 years. It is currently unknown if reanimation of multiple instances of SCP-5944-1 accelerates the rate of dimming. Further research is ongoing.

Addendum 5944-02: Due to concerns raised by the Ethics Committee, all reanimation experiments are to be ceased indefinitely.






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