Special Containment Procedures
SCP-9346.
The nature of SCP-9346 coupled with its location within the current bounds of Site-101 renders the anomaly functionally self-containing. Personnel wishing to access SCP-9346 for research should submit requests to containment specialist Elara Pryzbelewski or Dr. Cora Aspen.
The health of SCP-9346 is to be continuously monitored (see containment documents 9346.04 and 9346.05 for details). Isolation of SCP-9346 from the outside world has proven detrimental to its health, and as such outside organisms are permitted to interact with SCP-9346 with limited intervention from Foundation personnel.
Description
SCP-9346 is an estuarine black mangove1 island located near Site-101's aquaflora containment wing. SCP-9346 hosts a variety of terrestrial and marine flora and fauna expected of a microhabitat of its kind (see containment document 9346.02 for a detailed report on SCP-9346's biota).
SCP-9346-A instance.
SCP-9346-A is a population of isopods belonging to a previously undescribed monotypical genus in the family Armadillidiidae2 which has been designated Anomaloniscus amalos. SCP-9346-A instances exhibit behavior and morphology similar to other pillbugs and primarily feed on plant detritus supplemented with seeds, animal remains, and feces. They posses higher halotolerance3 than most other pillbug genera, likely due to their habitat.
Upon being removed from SCP-9346, instances of SCP-9346-A invariably die within minutes unless returned to SCP-9346. The cause of death varies significantly and numerous highly improbable or physically impossible deaths have been recorded. Aside from SCP-9346-A, no anomalous traits have been documented in the environment or biota in or around SCP-9346.
The cause for this phenomenon remains unknown. Hypotheses include an undetected environmental requirement in SCP-9346-A, latent phytopsionic effect associated with SCP-9346, divine providence, or a quantum-immortality-like filtering effect;4 however, to date, no experiment has found significant evidence supporting such conclusions.
Addenda
Addendum 9346-01: Discovery of SCP-9346
SCP-9346 was discovered on January 15th, 2024 during a routine environmental DNA sample which identified genetic information belonging to A. amalos instances which did not at the time correspond to any entry in available genome databases. Investigation uncovered the existence of what is now designated SCP-9346 and confirmed that A. amalos was an as of yet undescribed species of woodlice.
SCP-9346 was initially assumed to be non-anomalous; however, following numerous failed attempts by survey teams to extract live samples of A. amalos for study and documentation, onsite entomological specialist Elara Pryzbelewski was assigned to recover live samples.
Three days after her assignment, specialist Pryzbelewski submitted a report outlining the numerous attempts to relocate instances of A. amalos which invariably resulted in the entities expiring shortly after being removed from their microhabitat. Attempts included:
- Collecting entities by hand (53 recorded failures)
- Collecting entities by net (19 recorded failures)
- Collecting entities by flat sheet (8 recorded failures)
- Collecting entities by container (14 recorded failures)
- Collecting entities by trap (7 recorded failures)
- Collecting entities by forceps (21 recorded failures)
- Collecting entities by aspirator (1 recorded failure, likely non-anomalous)
Following this report, Dr. Cora Aspen arranged to meet with specialist Pryzbelewski to discuss classification of A. amalos as an anomaly:
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{Begin Log}
Dr. Aspen: So, just for the record, do these pillbugs exhibit any otherwise anomalous behavior?
Specialist Pryzbelewski: No ma'am.
Dr. Aspen: Unusual anatomy?
Specialist Pryzbelewski: No ma'am.
Dr. Aspen: Genetic abnormality?
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Their genome differs from other isopod genera, but not, like, any more than other clades differ from each other.
Dr. Aspen: Do they pose any threat to the site?
Specialist Pryzbelewski: No ma'am, not from what evidence we've gathered.
Dr. Aspen: Do they pose any threat to humanity?
Specialist Pryzbelewski: It seems highly unlikely.
Dr. Aspen: Do they pose any threat to normalcy?
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Maybe. I mean I could see some researchers coming across the mangroves and discovering the same things we did; though to be honest I'm not sure if that'd even constitute a breach of the veil.
Dr. Aspen: Is there any reason they would need to be relocated from their habitat?
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Not currently.
Dr. Aspen: So, to clarify, these are- we've just got a population of woodlice living in an unassuming mangrove patch.
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Yes ma'am.
Dr. Aspen: With nothing special about them other than that they can't be moved.
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Yes ma'am.
Dr. Aspen: And you want to classify them as an anomaly?
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Yes ma'am.
Dr. Aspen: You understand that if we submit a proposal to classify this population as an SCP and it turns out something non-anomalous was at play or-
Specialist Pryzbelewski: It would be at best incredibly embarrassing; I understand.
Dr. Aspen: I see, and you're still submitting a proposal.
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Yes ma'am. If fate decides after this to humiliate me, at least I'll have some kind of closure.
Dr. Aspen: A reasonable answer. Well, your preliminary documentation was adequate and I actually reviewed it with Beatrice-
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Director Rappaccini?
Dr. Aspen: Yes, Director Rappaccini. To be honest, she seemed distracted with- well nevermind, but at any rate we agreed that your critters might be anomalous, or at least worth taking a look at.
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Wow, I uh-, thank you.
Dr. Aspen: Write up a formal proposal for an SCP designation. I'll still need to review the documents when they're done, but if everything checks out I'll send it forward.
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Thank you.
Dr. Aspen: If there isn't anything else then-
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Actually, I have one question. It's not really relevant, actually. But I wanted to ask, maybe off the record?
Dr. Aspen: Yes? I can strike it from the transcript.
Specialist Pryzbelewski: Isn't it… odd… that the director for the site specializing in botanical anomalies is nam-
Dr. Aspen: Yeah; I try not to think about it.
{End Log}
On March 3rd, 2024, the habitat containing Anomaloniscus amalos was designated SCP-9346 and the A. amalos species was designated SCP-9346-A.
Addendum 9346-02: SCP-9346-A Relocation Attempts
The following list of relocation attempts has been curated for brevity. See containment document 9346.03 for a complete log.
Method: Subject collected by hand.
Results: Subject's exoskeleton quickly began to fracture during relocation attempt, possibly due to pressure placed on it during collection.
Method: Subject collected by hand with padded glove.
Results: Subject slipped out of glove shortly after being picked up and returned to SCP-9346.
Method: Subject collected by hand with padded glove.
Results: Subject expired shortly after being collected. Autopsy indicates subject died from a sudden immune reaction, possibly triggered by material in collector's gloves.5
Method: Subject permitted to crawl into hands of Specialist Pryzbelewski.
Results: Upon being removed from SCP-9346, subject began displaying signs of distress. Subject returned to SCP-9346 by Specialist Pryzbelewski.
Method: Subject permitted to crawl into hands of Specialist Pryzbelewski.
Results: Upon being removed from SCP-9346, subject began displaying signs of distress. As Specialist Pryzbelewski began moving away from SCP-9346, subject jumped out of her hand.
Method: Subject permitted to crawl into hands of Specialist Pryzbelewski.
Results: As subject began to approach Specialist Pryzbelewski, subject was caught and consumed by a local non-anomalous avian.6
Method: Subject permitted to crawl into hands of Specialist Pryzbelewski.
Results: Shortly after being collected, subject began to consume dead skin on Specialist Pryzbelewski's hand, causing her to flinch and drop the specimen.
Method: Subject collected via net.
Results: Subject tore through net with mandibles and exited net.
Method: Subject collected via forceps and placed into a container.
Results: Subject appears to have died, possibly due to desiccation.7
Method: Subject collected via forceps and placed into a climate-controlled container.
Results: Subject discovered to be concealing a collection of mancae,8 and was returned to its habitat.
Method: Subject collected via forceps and placed into a climate-controlled container.
Results: Subject found to have died by suffocation shortly after collection.9
Method: Subject collected via forceps and placed into an open container.
Results: Subject was collected by intern assigned to help Specialist Pryzbelewski. Subject selected because "she [sic] looked pretty". Subject had late-stage isopod iridovirus and was humanely terminated by Specialist Pryzbelewski.10
Method: Subject collected via forceps, placed into an open container, and relocated to a mangrove island in close proximity to SCP-9346.
Results: Subject did not experience any decline in health. Subject revealed to be a common pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare) which was mistakenly identified as an SCP-9346-A instance.
Method: Subject collected via forceps, placed into an open container, and relocated to a mangrove island in close proximity to SCP-9346.
Results: Subject deceased during transit, autopsy suggests age-related causes.
Method: Subject collected via forceps, placed into an open container, and relocated to a mangrove island in close proximity to SCP-9346.
Results: Subject was attacked and killed by a myriapod11 shortly after being introduced to new habitat.
Method: Subject transported along with with branch from a mangrove in SCP-9346.
Results: Shortly after being removed from SCP-9346, subject began to molt and died due to internal injuries caused by improper shedding of respiratory lining. The branch and other organisms inhabiting it (microfauna, lichen, etc.) displayed no anomalous properties following removal from SCP-9346.
Method: Subject transported along with with branch from a mangrove in SCP-9346.
Results: Subject initially removed without incident and survived for nearly ten minutes before dying. Autopsy showed multiple large tumors in subject's supraesophageal ganglion ("brain").12 The branch and other organisms inhabiting it (microfauna, lichen, etc.) displayed no anomalous properties following removal from SCP-9346.
Method: Subject collected via forceps, placed into an open container, and swiftly relocated to a mangrove tree cloned from a sample from SCP-9346 (subject was collected from said sample).
Results: Subject died, autopsy suggests possible poisoning from undetected toxic mold it encountered in its new habitat.
Method: Subject collected via forceps, placed into an open container, and swiftly relocated to a mangrove tree cloned from a sample from SCP-9346 (subject was collected from said sample).
Results: Subject initially showed no signs of poor health. Shortly after introduction, subject became trapped in a cavity within tree. Subject was accidentally crushed by Specialist Pryzbelewski during recovery attempt.
Method: Tree from SCP-9346 relocated from SCP-9346.
Results: No instances, live or dead, of SCP-9346-A were discovered on the tree. The tree and other organisms inhabiting it displayed no anomalous properties following removal from SCP-9346 and were returned to SCP-9346.
Method: Tree from SCP-9346 relocated from SCP-9346.
Results: All SCP-9346-A instances found on the tree were discovered to have died shortly after removal from SCP-9346. The tree and other organisms inhabiting it displayed no anomalous properties following removal from SCP-9346 and were returned to SCP-9346.
Method: Mangrove tree from SCP-9346 relocated from SCP-9346.
Results: Tree struck by lightning, terminating all instances of SCP-9346-A present. Tree remained partially intact and was returned to SCP-9346.
Due to a combination of lack of practical relevance, ethical qualms, conservation concerns, and quite frankly my own mental health, I would like to pause SCP-9346-A relocation attempts for the time being. - Specialist Pryzbelewski.
Request approved. - Dr. Aspen.
Method: Subject climbed onto Specialist Pryzbelewski without her knowledge during chemical testing of the water in the vicinity of SCP-9346.
Results: Shortly after Specialist Pryzbelewski left the vicinity of SCP-9346, subject expired due to spontaneous isopod combustion.
Specialist Pryzbelewski received minor burns and syncope-related injuries.