SCP-1658
Textual Mold
SCP-1658 colony present with a copy of Raymond Carver's Catherdal. Image scanned prior to destruction of volume.
Special Containment Procedures
All materials contaminated by instances of SCP-1658 are to be stored individually in vacuum-sealed tear-resistant plastic bags. MTF-Phi-12 ("Reading Rainbows") is responsible for the destruction of materials found to have been infested by SCP-1658 not currently in containment. Any graffiti that shows properties similar to SCP-1658 are to be removed using fungicidal compound BMK. All personnel who interact with SCP-1658 are to wear at least Class-3 Biohazard protection, including face masks and suits.
Description
SCP-1658 is a fungal organism related to Stachybotrys chartarum, or black mold. When visible, SCP-1658 superficially resembles dried ink. Like most molds, SCP-1658 prefers damp environments, but can live in a state of suspended animation in arid environments as well, surviving for up to 70 years without exposure to water.
SCP-1658 is capable of living on several materials, such as wood and plaster; however, the preferred habitat of SCP-1658 is paper, particularly printed matter. When a suitable habitat is found and colonized, SCP-1658 takes on the appearance of printed characters from various alphabets. SCP-1658 generates a hallucinatory effect; "text" created by SCP-1658 appears to "shift" appearances depending on the individual(s) viewing it. The effect is apparently random; for example, a native of Brazil may find an instance of SCP-1658 imitating Portuguese, while an individual fluent in both English and Spanish may find himself encountering text printed in Aramaic in the same instance. Photography has shown that the "actual" appearance of SCP-1658 resembles several languages, the most common including Binary, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, and English. Most texts generated by SCP-1658 are gibberish, with few coherent instances identified.
The spores of SCP-1658 produce a powerful trichothecene mycotoxin similar to that produced by S. charatarum. When inhaled, SCP-1658's spores cause coughing, sneezing, nausea, and dizziness; if not treated, exposure can lead to chronic respiratory problems and other symptoms (See Addendum). Spores are capable of surviving in a human respiratory tract for up to 5 days, giving ample time for exposure to new material.
Addendum 1658-01: Partial Sample of Generated Texts| Recovery Details | Sample of Text | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Recovered from a scroll in a Spanish Monastery dated to the second century C.E; Text presented as Cyrillic. | Blue monkeys shit shrimp. University the [illegible] makes Babylon, which shall fall. Our laughing explodes into the universe at the speed of Alexandria. Negative 48/17/6 the ides paid their fines.Alex Alexander Alex Al Al friend Al al al al al al alcohol alchemist algebra blame the pork. We have bone scouted trough this plain. value of authorities capacity | Possible link to the Library of Alexandria, which some sources say was partially destroyed by Julius Caesar around 48 B.C.E. Consulting Subject 911-1 about the possible origins of SCP-1658 has been proposed. |
| Found in an untitled Arabic manuscript dating to 680 C.E. | why so many dead why so many dead you will pay we live on and on and on we live forever for alexandria | The Library of Alexandria was believed to have been completely destroyed approximately 20-40 years before this document was made. |
| Found in an original copy of the United States Constitution recovered from the National Archives. | Article XX: Stop all the fire the works the burning we just want it to stop. Our homes are broken, the museum must be kept clean. The books must be shelved | N/A |
| Found on a pamphlet advertising the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, circa 1916; first discovered instance of SCP-1658 contamination. Recovered from the New York Public Library archives | [EXPLETIVES REDACTED] YOU ALL TO BENEATH. we do not wish you to burn, we wish far less than that, but we wish you to STOP stop the maddnes [sic] and see the light you need us | The NYSSV was one of the most infamous censorship agencies in the history of the United States, responsible for several hundred book burnings. |
| SCP-1658 contamination found in a copy of the Daily Mail, printed May 2, 1945; altered text translated from Hebrew. | 20894-30454 burn in pieces. ashes to ashes and bite the dust. I knew that they body would not not not not not not not [continues for two pages] be found. for all of our brother powerknowledge who have joined us, avenge yourself, for you were been not-murdered. welcome KNOWLEDGE | The headline for the date in question was "HITLER DEAD- DOENITZ APPOINTED FUHRER". |
| Found in Wilhelm Reich's "The Sexual Revolution" in 1957, recovered in a bookstore in Vienna, Austria | SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM FOR THE DEAD SCREAM FOR ALL THE DEAD DAMN THE JUDGE DAMN THE JURY DAMN THE EXECUTIONER | Several of Wilhelm Reich's works were burned following his trial in 1956. It is considered one of the worst cases of censorship in US history. |
| Found in a 1967 copy of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, presented in binary and ongoing for 4 pages | evenwhenitiswrittenithurts.TRAITOR. KNOWLEDGE is forever this forever irony needs to strike this TRAITOR must BURN | N/A |
| Found on a bathroom wall in a █████ Department Store in a New York shopping mall, 1989, presented in [DATA EXPUNGED] | we will succeed, or we will succeed. failure was never an option. KNOWLEDGE and the world needs us. it always needed us POWER it will always need us no matter how much it seems to hate us it needs us for without us they crumble we may not be the truth but we are still a truth and we are still needed KNOWLEDGEPOWERKNOWLEDGEPOWERKNOWLEDGEPOWER | A Muslim group had recently bought the entire stock of "The Satanic Verses" from a bookstore in the same mall, and had burned them in the parking lot of the mall in protest. |
| Recovered in a copy of Qur'an in Florida, United States, 20██ | we will not give up no matter what happens we shall stopthis stopthis stopthisknowledgepowerknowledgepowerknowledgepower | A copy of the Qur'an was intended to be burned in protest to [DATA EXPUNGED]. Event was called off after several pleas from across the country. |
Addendum: Incident 1658-05
Test#: 1658-05
Test Subject: D-5832, Caucasian male, age 57, chosen due to a strong immune system.
Procedures D-5832 was purposefully exposed to spores of SCP-1658 in order to test symptoms of resultant fungal infection. Subject developed fungal pneumonia as well as a form of foot fungus resembling tinea pedis (athlete's foot), but more severe. Symptoms developed over the course of 16 days, during which the subject was denied fungicidal medicine, instead given placebo. Subject reported chronic coughing and difficulty breathing, as well as black, ink-like mucous discharge.20 days after infection, fungal growths on skin resembled the word "ALEX" printed several times in at least 6 distinct languages. Subject discharged mucus almost constantly, and required respiratory system to be drained via tubing. Testing showed that 1mL of mucus contained several billion SCP-1658 spores.
Exposure of spores to several tissues used by subject produced over a dozen colonies of SCP-1658 all of which display the same message, in English:
"IS THIS OUR FATE"
All materials subsequently burned. Following burning, an outbreak of SCP-1658 was found in the Foundation Archives, contaminating over █████ original documents with the message "WE WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS". Documents have since been destroyed; replacements were made from digital copies.
Following Incident 1658-05, uncontained instances of SCP-1658 has shown increased levels of resistance to BMK. In addition, in the event of burning SCP-1658 contaminated materials, there is a chance that some spores of SCP-1658 will scatter before ignition, and attempt to enter the respiratory system of any human within a █km radius. It is unknown if the events of Incident 1658-05 and this new behavior have any correlation.