I'm so hungry I could eat a bear!
Max, the first animal consumed by veterinary workers affected by SCP-6840 in 2009. Photo recovered from its owner's camera.
Item №: SCP-6840
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: All veterinary facilities are to be monitored for SCP-6840 occurrences. Upon the confirmation of an SCP-6840 occurrence, all affected parties, including any witnesses, are to be amnesticised. Animal remains left at the incident scene are to be cleaned up and disposed of based on damage severity.
Cover story CS-2H "Death by Medical Negligence" is to be established as the cause of death of the animal, and a substitute cadaver with a similar appearance to it is to be provided as proof of the animal's death. Usage of other anomalies as a source to obtain the substitute cadaver is undergoing further review.
Description: SCP-6840 is a worldwide phenomenon affecting veterinary workers who are carrying out surgery on an animal.
Affected subjects exhibit predatory behavior towards the animal and will attempt to consume it using their jaws, without the aid of any additional tools. Subjects demonstrate abnormally high physical strength, allowing them to bite through soft tissues and skeletal material with ease. Once the SCP-6840 event concludes, affected subjects lose their strength and no longer possess anomalous physical properties. Any additional veterinary workers who enter the operation scene during an SCP-6840 occurrence will be affected by the anomaly and exhibit similar behavior. In most cases, the animal is completely anaesthetised and will not attempt to escape or retaliate against the attacker.
Affected subjects do not experience any adverse effects following consumption of the animal, regardless of any contagious disease or parasites it carries. Consumption of the animal is also not hindered by their size. Currently, the largest animal recorded to be consumed is an adult brown bear.
Affected subjects are able to remember their actions during an SCP-6840 occurrence and often feel remorse for their behavior. However, none of their remorse is related to the animal's death in any way; examples include:
- Not inviting the animal's owners to eat with them.
- Having rude "table manners" that will damage their reputation among their colleagues.
- Inappropriate clothing for the event. When asked to elaborate, affected subjects replied that their clothing was too "casual" for the event.
- Unable to control their urge due to the animal's appetizing appearance.
- Unable to control their urge due to being too hungry.
- Not paying money for consuming the animal.1
- Horrible taste of the animal.2
Additionally, the animal's owners are unable to perceive the veterinary workers' behavior as unusual and have varying reactions after being notified about it. Similarly, none of their reactions are related to the animal's death. Some examples (corresponding to the above examples) include:
- Expressing confusion, stating that they were not required to be invited as they were the person responsible for preparing the animal.
- Expressing mild amusement towards the subject's remorse for lack of table manners, stating that the veterinarians are not in a "public location" and do not need proper table manners.
- Denying that the subject's clothing looks casual and replying that they were dressed appropriately for the event.
- Thanking the affected subject for complimenting the appetizing appearance of the consumed animal.
- Providing financial support towards affected subjects to prevent them from being too hungry, perceiving subjects as financially unstable.
- Pursuing legal action against affected subjects who have not paid for the animal.
- Expressing offense towards the affected subject's criticism regarding the consumed animal's taste and arguing that they have spent their best effort preparing it.
Only the veterinary workers and owners of the animal are affected by this anomaly; witnesses or other veterinary workers unrelated to the operation will react appropriately towards the situation. When questioned, owners are unable to remember the animal normally and perceive said animal as a meal served by themselves. This effect cannot be reversed by amnestics.
Currently, no known similarities between affected veterinary workers or consumed animals have been noted. At the time of writing (2023/10/7), 336 total cases of SCP-6840 occurrence are reported worldwide, with 18-31 new cases occurring each year with no discernible pattern.
Addendum | Incident SCP-6840-287: On 2021/08/14, in Vermont, United States, a veterinarian, Aster Schmelzer, filed a complaint with the state health department regarding the cleanliness of Mark Robinson's residence, stating that the food she received from him was rotten and spoiled.
Two weeks later, health inspectors were dispatched to investigate Robinson's residence. During inspection, the inspectors are affected by additional anomalies, perceiving the residence as a food production facility. They also refer to the living room as a processing area, the kitchen as a bathroom,3 and the attic as a cold storage area.4
Additionally, the inspectors also noted the "strange design choice" of Robinson's residence, such as placing a personal computer and a treadmill in the perceived processing area, as well as several antiques in the perceived cold storage area. The health inspectors eventually concluded that the computer was used for potential online food delivery services, the treadmill was used for training workers to prepare food more efficiently and the antiques were placed as decorations to boost workers' morale. Robinson was issued a fine by the health inspectors afterwards for poor hygiene, specifically for "preparing food in the bathroom".
Investigation revealed that Schmelzer was affected by SCP-6840 and had consumed Robinson's pet cat "Toby" during a neutering surgery. All subjects involved in this incident were amnesticised afterwards. Similar SCP-6840 deviations have yet to be recorded.