SCP-1717
Green ACRES
Incident SCP-1717-Kappa, Recovery Operation
Special Containment Procedures
Plants infected with SCP-1717 shall be confiscated or eradicated by MTF Theta-4. Samples of novel species with SCP-1717 shall be collected and remanded to Dr. Syril in Bio Site-1 for study. Wild occurrences in areas smaller than 1 hectare may be secured or destroyed within 48 hours of discovery at the discretion of MTF Theta-4's commanding officer. If an affected region in the wild is larger than 1 hectare, or is obviously a cultivated field of any size, the region and an additional buffer zone of 1 km beyond the perimeter of the anomaly shall be incinerated within 24 hours of discovery.
In developed countries, immolation operations shall be conducted under the guise of wildfires. Subsequent to fire suppression, Foundation herbicide GH-5Y shall be applied to the affected area. The real estate that corresponds to this area shall be acquired according to the Eminent Steward protocol. Arable land so obtained shall be left fallow for a minimum of 10 years; once it tests safe for cultivation, the assets may be liquidated normally.
In frontier countries where land stewardship is impractical, fire shall be suppressed using Foundation herbicide XK-35Y.
Description
SCP-17171 is a disease of plants that occurs only when two factors conflate.
SCP-1717-1 is an endogenous pararetrovirus found in the genome of all members of the family Poaceae.2 When triggered, it induces the production3 of the novel enzyme CCR,4 which degrades chlorophyll into an analog molecule which is incapable of participating in photosynthesis, yet retains chlorophyll's color long after senescence of leaves and stems. Grasses killed by CCR can, unnoticed, turn into green hay or straw where they stand.
Before plant death, significant quantities of CCR are expressed in the endosperm within the seeds of affected plants, as much as 0.8 percent by weight in rice species. Such seeds typically can germinate, but shoots remain viable no longer than twenty-one days after germination. The flavor of affected grains is unchanged; therefore CCR can go undetected in the food supply.
CCR can leach from decaying plant matter into the soil, and is robust enough to kill or injure several generations of plants before deteriorating5 to non-toxic byproducts. CCR has low or mild acute toxicity in animals6 and humans;7 however, it accumulates readily in the liver, and is toxic long-term.8 Idiopathic parkinsonism commonly develops within 6 months at accumulations over 2500 mg/kg, accompanied by either ascites, pleural effusion, or both. At this stage, without a liver transplant, hepatic encephalopathy and death follow within weeks.
SCP-1717-2 is an unknown substance that induces the expression of the SCP-1717-1 gene.