SCP-1077
Devil's Cap Mushroom
Special Containment Procedures
A single specimen of SCP-1077 is kept in a secure 3 m x 3 m x 3.5 m containment area at Bio Site-95. The containment area is filled with soil up to 1 m in depth, and a variety of plant species native to SCP-1077’s natural habitat, as well as dead plant matter, have been introduced into it to provide it with material for decomposition. The containment area is to be contained as per standard protocols for a Biosafety Level 4 containment area. Staff working at Bio Site-95 must be regularly tested for SCP-1077 infection; infectees are to be quarantined, stripped of security clearance, and treated for systemic mycosis. Infectees must be assessed by a medical doctor briefed on SCP-1077 before they may be released.
Instances of SCP-1077 found in the wild are to be destroyed immediately using Fungicidal Compound 82a and the surrounding area must be monitored for two months in order to ascertain possible SCP-1077 resurgence. MTF Upsilon-7 ('The Glass Jar') is charged with eradication of the wild population; current target date for eradication of wild SCP-1077 population is set at ██/██/████.
Should SCP-1077 infectees appear outside of Foundation custody, they are to be immediately taken into custody or terminated. SCP-1077 infectees not affiliated with the Foundation that are currently in Foundation custody are to be treated for systemic mycosis, and released following administration of an appropriate amnestic. SCP-1077 infectees are to be considered Level 4 biohazards and must be treated or transported in accordance to biohazard protocol. Testimony of SCP-1077 infectees is to be considered suspect. The bodies of all casualties exposed to SCP-1077 must be incinerated immediately.
Description
SCP-1077 is a species of fungus bearing a distinct resemblance to some members of the Genus Agaricus, of the Family Agariceae. It is native to the temperate woodland of [REDACTED], and has a relatively limited range within this area. The fungus grows in soil and produces a fruiting body with a fleshy, gilled cap and stalk, white in colouration. Unlike most members of this genus, SCP-1077 produces extremely small, translucent spores which are largely invisible to the human eye.
SCP-1077 does not present overtly anomalous properties unless its spores are inhaled. While the anomalous effects are present in animals, they are most notable in humans.
When its spores are inhaled in sufficient quantities, SCP-1077 has a roughly 70% chance of inducing systemic mycosis of the respiratory tract, although this is greater amongst those with compromised immune systems. The spores settle in the throat, windpipe and lungs, and begin to grow. SCP-1077 infection has no apparent symptoms for several days after infection. After this, it begins to cause minor irritation to the throat and chest area, as well as causing bouts of coughing in infectees. However, symptoms rarely progress far beyond this state and many infectees mistake the symptoms for a common minor illness.
However, approximately 12-18 days after initial infection, the primary anomalous effects of SCP-1077 infection become apparent. Through a currently unknown mechanism, the fungus will alter the vocal patterns of the infected. This causes humans infected by the fungus to, when speaking, make comments other than those the speaker had intended. This begins as slight mistakes or replacements of single words, but rapidly develops into a state where the fungus appears to be able to manipulate the host’s voice completely. The condition appears to have some effect on perception as well- subjects often fail to notice the changes in their speech unless it is brought to their attention and in some cases will fail to notice they have spoken at all.
Changes in vocal patterns are diverse, initially completely incomprehensible to outside observers, but rapidly becoming more coherent as the condition progresses. Through the host, SCP-1077 may manipulate others through changes in the host, or in certain cases speak directly to observers. In most cases, changes in speech manifest as the infectee making remarks seemingly intended to lead to its own death. Infectees may launch into impassioned insults and personal attacks in order to provoke others into attacking itself; they may threaten violence against others, and may mislead others into directly or indirectly bringing about their death. SCP-1077 can utilise any pertinent information available to the host in order to further this effect.
However, certain instances of SCP-1077 display other, more varied vocal alterations not necessarily engineered to result in the host body's death, either manipulating people around the host through alterations in the language, or in order to directly address others. The entity responsible for these alterations appears to be intelligent, and capable of extensive forward planning and deception in order to achieve its goal, which appears to be the propagation of SCP-1077. Each infection of SCP-1077 appears to have a unique identity, and refers to the SCP-1077 species in general as their 'people', and other distinct SCP-1077 instances as their 'siblings'. Instances of SCP-1077 appear to vary wildly in personality and individual intelligence. Instances of SCP-1077 appear to be able to communicate with each other in some manner and transfer information.
SCP-1077 infection does not necessarily lead immediately to the development of anomalous effects, and as a result SCP-1077 infection may not be outwardly identifiable as such for extended periods of time, since the entity will sometimes go to extreme lengths to conceal itself. After an unknown amount of time, SCP-1077 can begin to affect other forms of communication by the subject, including sign language, writing, or typing. It should be noted that SCP-1077 cannot affect the hosts in any way other than altering methods of communication; other activities undertaken by the hosts are unaffected.