SCP-401

Description

SCP-401 was discovered near the French city of ██████ when agents responded to reports of the ground bleeding. When led to the site, investigators found a human mouth embedded in the soil, licking away the remaining blood with a long prehensile tongue. It was not until a week later that agents realized that the mouth was part of the root structure of what at first appeared to be a forty (40) meter tall dead eucalyptus tree with branches shaped like multi-jointed human arms. The white colour of the trunk, originally suggesting that the tree was dead, was found to be because the bark was made of human bone tissue. It was given SCP status and excavated from the area, to be transported to Site-██.

SCP-401 resembles an ordinary tree in form and function. However, human physiology is substituted for plant biology in the fulfillment of necessary processes. The trunk is supported by multiple vertebral columns, woven together by tendons and muscles and coated by a layer of rough bone tissue also held together by flexible tendons. As one goes higher, the trunk will split repeatedly until there is a single vertebral column supporting the rest of the structure. At the base of the trunk are multiple human hearts which pump blood and nutrients through the roots and branches. The roots themselves are esophagi, protected by a layer of cartilage reminiscent of the trachea. At the end of each root is a fully formed upper and lower jaw, complete with muscles, lips, and the prehensile tongue first witnessed by agents in the field. The tongue seems to be used as a digging implement and as a snare for food, ranging from burrowing animals to edible fungi and plants. All of these roots ultimately lead to a single stomach. This, along with a fully functional, though unusually long, intestinal tract, work to absorb ingested nutrients. Solid waste is eliminated through a sphincteral orifice on the side of the trunk. No roots are found in the area immediately beneath this spot.

The branches, as initial observations suggested, are human arms. They extrude themselves from the bony trunk but have no bark themselves. Some will split at the elbow so that they may have two or even three forearms. The palms of its hands all face upward and the tip of each finger has a human eye growing from it. The iris of each eye is hazel. Dissection of the eyes shows that they are all myopic, though they do react to light stimuli as a normal eye would. Though the chemical process is not yet understood, the retinas carry on a form of photosynthesis which transforms carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and glucose. It is generally agreed that the eyes are myopic in order to prevent excessive damage to the retina from direct sunlight. Chemical analysis of the lungs shows that there is a higher oxygen content when SCP-401 exhales than when it inhales.

During spring, SCP-401 will go into bloom. Though it is genetically a human male, it will grow female sexual organs. The vaginal openings are located on the palms of its hands, with canals extending 18 cm along each wrist to a bulge which contains a fully formed uterus and ovaries. Five days after the formation of the organs, menstruation occurs, at which point male sexual organs begin to develop in their place over a period of ten days. Once fully formed, they will remain for one day before they are shed and eaten by the roots. During this phase, SCP-401 will attack human females for the purpose of reproduction.

Experiment Log 401-1:
The fact that SCP-401 is genetically human, combined with the violence exhibited against women during its male phase, suggests that it may be compatible with human beings. A number of breeding experiments have been proposed to test this.
Date: ██-██-████
Subject: Female D-class personnel D-2055
Procedure: D-2055 was artificially inseminated with material produced by SCP-401 during male phase. The product of this was allowed to gestate.
Details: Nine months after conception, D-2055 gave birth to a normal human male infant. Though healthy and lacking in any unusual physiology, the child has been found to suffer from severe myopia, comparable to what was estimated with the eyes of SCP-401. The child has since been adopted by Agent R████ F███████ who has agreed to bring R████ Jr. to a Foundation-approved doctor for monthly physical examinations.

Experiment Log 401-2:

Date: ██-██-████
Subject: Male D-class personnel D-2067
Procedure: D-2067 was ordered to donate genetic material which was used to artificially inseminate SCP-401 at the beginning of its female phase. This was allowed to gestate.
Details: 12 hours after insemination, the uterine bulge in the wrist increased in size by 300%. While the other branches continued to develop normally for the next two weeks, the inseminated arm retained its uterine bulge and vaginal canal. 24 hours prior to maturation of male organs, the uterine bulge began contracting until a mass of tissue was extracted from the palm. This was thrown over the edge of the courtyard by the arm which had given birth. The appendage was then shed and absorbed by the roots minutes later. After five hours of searching, personnel found the item which was thrown: a human urinary bladder with a foetus nestled inside, consistent with one that had been gestating for two months. The bladder was planted in soil. It germinated two days later and became a seedling, equivalent to SCP-401 in structure. The organism died of malnutrition one week later, despite being fed nutritional supplement 401-NS-3.

Experiment Log 401-3:

Date: ██-██-████
Subject: Female D-class personnel D-2081
Procedure: An egg was removed from D-2081's ovary, fertilized with genetic material harvested from SCP-401 and frozen until next spring. The fertilized egg was implanted into SCP-401 and allowed to gestate.
Details: [DATA EXPUNGED] Nutritional supplement 401-NS-4 has been formulated with this development in mind.

Incident 401-1
On ██-██-████, several of SCP-401's branches went into convulsions and then went limp. It was soon discovered that one of its hearts suffered from cardiac arrest and was not able to recover. An angiogram of the other hearts showed large amounts of plaque buildup. Since Incident 401-1, the damaged heart has been absorbed and two new hearts have grown in its place. In order to maintain the future health of SCP-401, a lower cholesterol nutritional supplement 401-NS-3 has been approved. Nutritional supplement 401-NS-4 is now to be used, following the results of Experiment 401-3.