SCP-1014
Jonah Crusoe
Special Containment Procedures
Specimens of SCP-1014 are to contained in a 12 meter by 12 meter room not constructed of wood. A beach environment is to be maintained in the chamber at all times, and sea water pumped through the chamber to simulate the effects of tides. Members of SCP-1014 are to be placed so that only their heads remain above water when the water is at its highest. Any salt water with sufficiently high plankton content may be substituted if necessary. Should the water level drop to the point where a specimen is entirely exposed for more than six hours, Class Two hazardous materials protocols are to be in effect until the water level is restored.
Description
SCP-1014 is a tunicate capable of mimicking human appearance and vocalizations. Though very similar to related species in its larval form, a mature SCP-1014 appears very much like a weathered and emaciated man dressed in rags. This is believed to be a heavily adapted tunic, a protective covering common among tunicates. This covering constantly emits a foul smelling mucus, likely to discourage closer inspection. Like all tunicates, the adult form is a sessile filter feeder and spends its life anchored to a rock near the high tide line on a beach. The larval forms are predatory, and avoid anchoring in areas populated by humans or adult SCP-1014.
When a ship comes near, members of SCP-1014 thrash about somewhat to attract its attention. If approached by humans, it will release from the rock so that it may be transported. Due to their resemblance to human shipwreck victims, many ships would take one on board, removing it from the water and thereby triggering its reproductive cycle. The mucus the SCP-1014 secretes then changes to include symbiotic bacteria capable of rapidly rotting wood. It also self-fertilizes and begins gestating eggs. When the boat sinks, SCP-1014's eggs hatch into larva, which consume what remains of the ship's contents. If the boat did not sink, the specimen dies within no more than a month.
SCP-1014 populations are known to exist in the wild, though their numbers have been rapidly declining due to pollution and the severe decline of wooden ships. Research suggests population was at its peak in the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries.
Notably, SCP-1014 is capable of mimicking human words and phrases, which it continually repeats seemingly at random when removed from water. Memory for these appears to be transmitted through unknown means from generation to generation. Communication has proven impossible, and there are no indications that SCP-1014 is sentient.
Addendum 1014-3 Excerpt from an audio log of SCP-1014 in a drained testing chamber. Portions in brackets are translated to English. Disjointed speech of SCP-1014 believed to be due to repeating phrases from multiple sources.
[1633]: <Rotten through.>
[1633]: What happened to you, old man?
[1634]: Tell them I loved them.
[1634]: Buckets! We need to bail now!
[1634]: The hold for him.
[1641]: What are you saying?
[1641]: <Let the depths rise up and sweep over the shores, rendering the works of man to dust.>
[1700]: <This can't be. The ship was fine at port!>
[1700]: <You need to eat.>
[1705]: <I don't want to die.>
[1706]: You brought this on the ship, you cursed madman.
[1710]: Let the depths rise up and sweep over the shores, rendering the works of man to dust.
[1742]: What are you?
[1742]: <Castaway, seed of Jonah.>