SCP-3876

Email from Junior Researcher Jennifer Dresden to Dr. Kate Greenaway,⁴ June 21, 2016, 11:42 AM:

Hey Doc,

The sequencer sets from last night are still running. You might nudge IT about that software patch they've been 'getting around to' for the last 2 months. I swear the program gets slower every time we use it.

We just got a oner. I’ve already taken pictures (attached), and I’ll start taking samples here in a minute. I think I'm going to have to pull some references to ID all of it, but I’m pretty sure the white flowers with the purple centers are anemones.⁵

I’m not sure what triggered this one. Dave and Emily did stop by to take Steve to lunch, but they’ve been here before, and there weren't any yellow roses anyway.

-Jenn

Shortly after receiving the above email, Dr. Greenaway was contacted by Security and informed that Steven Mason, a member of her team, had been involved in an altercation in the Site-81 Bio Wing Cafeteria. During the altercation, multiple instances of SCP-3876-1 had appeared in and around the cafeteria, with ‘large piles’ blocking the entranceways. The individuals involved in the altercation had been detained, but the Bio Wing was being placed on Lockdown, due to the apparent breach, and that she needed to report to the Security Office immediately to brief them on the best way to reestablish containment.

Excerpt from interview with Junior Researcher Steven Mason:

Interviewed: Junior Researcher Steven Mason

Interviewer: ██████ ███████

Junior Researcher Mason was interviewed in the Site-81 Infirmary upon regaining consciousness after the events of Incident 3876-████.

<Begin Log>

Mason: I usually grab lunch with Dave and Em, and Mike and Alix.⁶ Dave and Em had a meeting in the conference room down the hall from our lab, so they stopped by to get me and we were gonna meet Mike and Alix in the cafeteria.

███████: Was Campbell acting strangely at this point?

Mason: Not strange, but definitely pissed. Not talking, real tight-lipped, sorta pale. I just figured that something happened at the meeting, although Em seemed OK. She told me he'd been snappy all day, and probably needed food. Dave just muttered something and walked ahead of us.

███████: Did food help?

Mason: Not really. I mean, he didn't really eat. He just messed around with his lunch, and kept shooting looks at me and Em, made some snide remarks, even after Mike and Alix got there.

███████: What were these remarks?

Mason: Well…I mean…Em’s…God, this is gonna sound…Em’s a toucher, OK? I mean…casually. She’ll put her hand on your shoulder or your hands…you know just like incidental contact when she talks to you. We tease her about it all the time, but this…this wasn’t teasing. He practically called her a slut-which is not like Dave.

(nervous laughter)

Mason: So then, Em starts playing it up, to, like, make a joke out of it. But I think she was a little pissed herself, since Dave was being an asshat. So maybe she was hoping he'd stalk off, or blow up at her. I don't know, break the tension. So she starts leaning into me, and kept touching my hands, and talking in a really fake flirty way, and the whole time I’m looking at Mike and Alix, sorta like ‘get me out of this’, but they didn’t know what to do, and Dave’s just getting madder and madder, and Em is on, like, a mission.

███████: And this is when the SCP-3876-1 instance appeared?⁷

Mason: Smack in the middle of the table. We all jumped back, except for Dave, who just sorta…snarled? I heard Em mutter something like 'Christ, Dave.' and snort, and then she said “Why, Stevie-kins! Are these for me?” and fluttered her eyelashes.

███████: Is this when Campbell physically threatened you?

Mason: This is when Dave decked me.

(pause)

Mason: It’s fuzzy after that. Mike and Alix dragged me away, and I was fading in and out, but I saw…I think…he grabbed Em and started biting her. And then I was here.

<End Log>

Security was dispatched to the Bio Wing Cafeteria, where they found the entranceways blocked by multiple instances of SCP-3876-1. After securing the area, they were able to retrieve Mason, who was taken to the infirmary and treated for a minor concussion. Campbell was subdued with some difficulty and taken to a holding cell. Choi was taken to the infirmary and treated for several bite wounds, given a sedative, and monitored.

Campbell eventually had to be sedated, as he began hurling himself at the door of his cell. Dr. Kevin Chandler, the SCP-████ lead, examined him after being notified of the altercation. Chandler took blood samples, but said that they were a formality: Campbell was displaying classic symptoms of Stage 2 ████ infection; the 3876 Lockdown needed to remain in effect until everyone in the Wing was screened for ████, Choi and Mason being priorities.

Choi and two other SCP-████ researchers tested positive for SCP-████, and were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics known to be effective in the early stages of ████. Campbell recovered after undergoing more vigorous treatment for several weeks. During this time, the containment protocols for SCP-████ were re-evaluated.

After Incident 3876-████, Dr. Greenaway contacted the Site-81 Archives, requesting a reexamination of Lot 76. She wanted to see if there might be information regarding the apparent ability of SCP-3876 to detect the presence of SCP-████ within infectees, as well as remotely manifest the SCP-3876-1 instances that lead to the Bio Wing Lockdown and subsequent discovery of the SCP-████ Breach.

Archivist Erina Carson had been assigned to examine and catalogue the remainder of Lot 76 and was in the process of transcribing the Commonplace Book. She had completed the first third or so of the book, consisting of handwritten quotes, lists of books, poetry, recipes, and the occasional sketch. After speaking to Dr. Greenaway, Carson skimmed through the rest of the book and found two sections of note: ‘Floriography’ and ‘Crises and Curiosities’.

‘Floriography’ consisted of several pages containing an extensive list of plants and flowers, each with a detailed description of their symbolic meaning(s). Further notes and jottings in the margins served to cross-reference several entries, and provide alternate meanings depending on other flowers contained within the same bouquet. After comparing the SCP-3876-1 instance file to the Floriography notes from the Commonplace Book, it was discovered that the yellow roses that appeared when SCP-3876 encountered a new person indicated an offer of ‘Friendship’. The rhododendrons, anemones, and mandrake that appeared during Incident 3876-████ meant “Danger”, “Sickness”, and "Horror" respectively.

‘Crises and Curiosities’ consisted of several pages with pasted Ephemera: postcards, carnival flyers, newspaper articles, pages from letters. All described something unusual or unexplained, and were accompanied by extensive handwritten notes including further details, and how they had been overcome or constrained. Next to an newspaper clipping: ‘Drastic Closing Order Issued to Prevent Epidemic’, was a detailed description of all stages of SCP-████ infection, with notes on treatment, the alleviation of symptoms, and the manner in which the bodies of victims should be disposed.

Further examination of the Crises and Curiosities Section of the Commonplace Book, now designated SCP-3876-2, has led to the realization that three of the entries may refer to SCP-███, SCP-███, and SCP-███. In the case of ███, the information provided led to extensive revisions to the Containment Procedures. Research into the other ‘Crises and Curiosities’ detailed, and the provenance of Lot 76 are ongoing, as are attempts at establishing direct communication with SCP-3876.