Further investigation into its cause of death has been suspended indefinitely.
SCP-8973.
Item #: SCP-8973
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Item SCP-8973 is to be preserved in a dedicated cold room at Site-19's morgue. Conducting medical examinations of SCP-8973 and autopsies can only take place with the permission of the HMCL Supervisor on duty.
Further investigation into its cause of death has been suspended indefinitely.
Description: SCP-8973 is the corpse of W█████ M███ (aged 42), the first Hazardous Materials Containment Liaison (HMCL) Supervisor at Site-19 active between 1993 and 2009 until his death in unclear circumstances. The deceased was found in the containment wing by Capt. Henry Milan, who discovered it during a routine patrol of Site-19. According to his testimony, he reported no anomalous presence that could have contributed to inflicting fatal injuries that would have resulted in SCP-8973.
The post-mortem examination concluded that SCP-8973 exhibited multiple injuries, some of which could be fatal or contribute to his death, despite their partially contradictory nature. The following are the prominent injuries and bodily alterations that occurred on SCP-8973:
- Fracture of the dens axis
- SCP-8973 sustained a fracture of the dens axis, which resulted in a severing of the spinal cord and, consequently, internal decapitation of the subject. As the connection to the medulla oblongata — responsible for controlling respiration — was lost, cerebral hypoxia occurred in SCP-8973, leading to eventual death;
- Hydrochloric acid vapor poisoning
- SCP-8973's lungs were irritated and swollen by highly concentrated volatile hydrochloric acid, leading to his suffocation. The presence of hydrochloric acid near the subject may indicate that he was exposed for too long to chemical compound in the course of performing containment measures;
- Lack of hippocampus and prefrontal cortex
- Cranial opening at the point of his calvaria revealed that there was an intracranial hemorrhage caused by trauma to the cerebrum. After blood drainage was performed, it was discovered that SCP-8973 had been stripped of his prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, from where blood could presumably have drained. It is worth noting that SCP-8973 had never undergone open-brain surgery in the past nor did he sustain any injuries to his scalp;
- Skull fracture and sprained ankle after falling down the stairs
- SCP-8973 sustained an ankle sprain to the left leg, likely causing a fall in which the subject hit the temporal lobe area of his head, resulting in a profuse subarachnoid hemorrhage. Analysis of the scene revealed that the staircase in the containment wing corridor now has eight steps instead of seven — a connection between the two events is considered;
- Left heart wall rupture
- Analysis of the chest showed that the left heart wall of SCP-8973 had ruptured and caused blood to flood into the pericardial cavity, resulting in cardiac tamponade. A biopsy specimen of tissue taken from the heart wall indicates damage to cardiomyocytes by the formation of a large number of Toxoplasma gondii cysts in them. The common vector of human infection with the parasite is contact with members of the Felidae family;
- Corroded mediastinum
- More than 60% of the SCP-8973 mid-abdomen was extensively "corroded," damaging most of the organs located in the abdominal cavity. The organs located in the lumbar parts such as the liver, stomach, spleen and a significant part of the colon were completely absorbed by this "corrosion". It was noted that the corrosion marks resembled human hands, which could mean that SCP-8973 must have been "grabbed" from behind by the sides;
- Animated necrotic tissue
- A significant portion of SCP-8973's forearm began to decompose at an accelerated rate — however, cellular analysis revealed that the cells in this area were anomalously still performing typical cellular processes such as action potential changes and cellular respiration;
- █████ ██ ███-███
- SCP-8973 ██████ ███████████ ██ █████ ██ ███ seventh █████ ██ █████████ ███████ ███ ███████████ █████████████ ██ █ ██████████ ████ and [REDACTED].
SCP-8973 exhibited approximately 991 other minor injuries, disorders and unusual conditions that were discovered after his death; due to brevity, these have been omitted, but a full list of them can be found in Document 8973-Alpha, accessible after formal request.
Addendum: On ██/██/████, by decision of O5-█, further investigation of the SCP-8973 case was indefinitely suspended. With this decision, W█████ M███ has been posthumously awarded the Foundation Star for "work to improve and introduce the HMCL system within the organisation and the highest sacrifice in the service of the Foundation".
The present containment procedures have been implemented.
