SCP-0008 - Plague.


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The following file, as of 23/04/25, has been declared as REQUIRED READING. It is of the utmost importance that all Foundation personnel familiarize themselves with the information presented below and the series of events detailed within. The file has also been cleared for reading by the general public, and staff are encouraged to disseminate this file to as many civilians as possible to increase the likelihood of humanity's survival.


ITEM:SCP-0008 LEVEL0/0008
CLASS:UNCONTAINED DECLASSIFIED

DISRUPTION CLASS: APOLLYON

Special Containment Procedures:

Description: SCP-0008 is a complex prion with abnormally high lethality and infection rates that transmits via bodily fluids and exposed mucous membranes. Symptoms of SCP-0008 generally become noticeable no more than three hours after initial exposure and entail:

  • Flu-like symptoms with high fever, plus severe dementia in later stages.
  • Coma onset approximately 20 hours after first symptoms appear and 12 hours after noticeable dementia. Coma onset will be considered the onset of death.
  • A period of sporadic cellular necrosis occurs which comes to resemble gangrene. Surviving tissue assumes its original function and is highly resilient.
  • Red blood cells greatly increase oxygen storage capacity, resulting in slower blood flow and increased muscle endurance and strength.
  • Nervous and muscular systems are unaffected by total organ failure for several hours.
  • Metabolism may decrease to extremely low levels, allowing infected to survive for over 10 years without nutrition.
  • High blood viscosity results in negligible blood flow from gunshots, punctures, and slashing injuries.
  • Conditioned behaviour, motor controls, and instinctive behavioural mechanisms are damaged, and cognitive abilities are severely reduced and made erratic. Animals experience excessive brain necrosis and are inactive. See Addendum.0008.X.
  • Infected can adapt to its damaged nervous systems but is limited to basic physical activities, including standing up, balancing on two legs, walking, biting, grabbing, and crawling. Infected will energetically move towards sights, sounds, and smells it associates with living humans. Infected will attempt to ingest living humans if physical contact is made.
  • Neutralizing fully-infected infected requires significant cranial trauma.

Evidence exists that SCP-0008 is of extradimensional origin, although communications with other Foundations have yet to yield valuable information on the exact origin of the anomaly.

SCP-0008 was originally found in a small village located in Eastern Siberia in 1896. Containment was established by the Tsars' Seers.A defunct Normalcy Preservation Organisation, funded and run by the Russian Empire.. Following the formation of the Foundation and transfer of Tsars' Seers assets to the Foundation in 1901, SCP-0008 was kept confined to the village. After the invention of the necessary technology, samples of SCP-0008 were taken in 1959 and kept in cryogenic storage in Area-08. What remained of the village and its population was razed and neutralized.

ghoul.jpg

SCP-0008 infectee during vocalization test.

To date, the only known cure to SCP-0008 is was SCP-500-N.

Addendum 0008.1: Experimentation

From 1959 to 1990, SCP-0008 was irregularly researched and studied by the Foundation. The majority of experiments were overseen by Area-08's Site Director Everett Mann until the events of Addendum.0008.2

Addendum 0008.2: Termination of Dir. Everett Mann

On 31/10/2000, Dir. Mann proposed an experiment that entailed purposefully releasing individuals infected with SCP-0008 into a densely populated area, which he began to prepare for without O5 approval. After being made aware of it, the experiment was halted under orders of the Ethics Committee, citing ethical concerns. An investigation was conducted to weigh the necessity of continued experimentation of SCP-0008 as opposed to the ethical concerns it poses. The investigation concluded that, while there was still some scientific value in the continued research of SCP-0008, this value did not outweigh the ethical repercussions it presented. Following a hearing of the Ethics Committee, with O5-3 serving as the O5 Command Liasion, Dir. Mann was found guilty of violating the Foundation's Experiment Procedures.Specifically, Dir. Mann was found guilty of violating Article IV, Section 6 which deals with the use of humans in experiments with lethal diseases.. Dir. Mann was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment, after which he received amnestic treatment and was released, effectively terminating his employment.

The incarceration of Dir. Mann marked the end of SCP-0008's experimentation, as it was deemed inappropriate by the Ethics Committee to continue.

Addendum 0008.3: Siege of Area-08

On 23/11/21, a group of previously unknown thaumaturges and ontokinetics.Currently believed to be associated with a Russian cell of the Serpent's Hand. attacked and entered Area-08. The assailants demonstrated in-depth knowledge about the facility and its layout that shouldn't be available to non-Foundation personnel. A post-incident check of Area-08's storage revealed that the only stolen assets were the samples of SCP-0008 kept on-site.


The potential of SCP-0008's use as bioweapons poses an XK-Class threat to life on Earth. The recuperation of the SCP-0008 samples, alongside the apprehension of involved parties, is considered an AMIDA-CLASS priority. To this end, Drs. Ezra Everest and Fleur Belrose have been assigned the task of recovering the SCP-0008 samples.

Meeting Transcript

In Attendance:

  • Dr. Fleur Belrose - Head, Epidemiology
  • Dr. Ezra Everest - Head, Anomalous Weapons Development
  • Agent Auberto Amoruso - Head, External Investigations masc, italian
  • Agent Aubrey Carr - Head, Internal Investigations non-binary, british
  • Dr. Dudina Tarasovna - GoI Studies, Russian Division fem, russian
  • Dir. Yesipov Igorevich - Director, Area-08 masc, russian
  • Dr. Chris Haslebach - Research Lead, SCP-0008 masc, swiss
  • Mx. Avlya Pajor - Serpent's Hand Liasion genderfluid, fae

Dr. Ezra Everest: Everyone here?

Dr. Chris Haslebach: Seems like it.

Dr. Everest: Sweet, let's begin.

Dr. Fleur Belrose: As you should know by now, Area-08 was recently attacked and plundered by a group of anomalously enhanced individuals, bearing insignia associated with certain Russian cells of the Serpent's Hand. They had information about Area-08's security systems and layouts that they otherwise shouldn't have known. They were deliberate in their actions, killing as few people as possible, and went directly for SCP-0008's storage. They took only the samples we had of the virus before quickly leaving through a Way.

Dr. Everest: Also, just so this is on the record, we have a representative of the Serpent's Hand-

Mx. Avlya Pajor: Hello.

Dr. Everest: -to make sure we don't misrepresent the organisation and to provide any useful information on the cell that conducted this theft.

Dir. Yesipov Igorevich: I think the first thing we should address is how they found out about SCP-0008 and the layout of Area-08. I run a tight ship on this facility, we check the communications and private devices of our personnel monthly. How could a leak like this get out?

Agent Aubrey Carr: That's what I'm trying to figure out here, Igor. I have my team combing through the communication logs and personal devices of your personnel. We only started last week, but, so far, we've found nothing. Outside of one doctor and his odd conversations with the Site psychologist, there's nothing out of the ordinary.

Agent Auberto Amoruso: So, they got their intel from an outside source?

Dr. Belrose: That's our working theory, yes. Maybe a thaumaturge with a speciality in divination and clairvoyance. We're working to get a thaumaturge from Site-120 to give it a look, but that's not really the focus here. The focus should be on identifying the intruders and recovering the 0008 samples. Pajor, Tarasovna?

Dr. Dudina Tarasovna: I was able to identify the group as Подстрекатели змеи, something along the lines of 'The Serpent's Instigators.' Unfortunately, they've only recently come under Foundation scrutiny, so we don't have as much info on them as I'd like.

Mx. Pajor: Which is where I come in. They're a more radical cell, I think they splintered off from L.S sometime in the 80s? They really like the idea of bringing about change through violence. Mass violence. A while ago, some of us had caught wind that the Instigators planned to release a neurotoxin that made people hyperviolent and easier to agitate in the Library. We let the Librarians know and they preemptively banned them all. Haven't really heard of them since.

Dir. Igorevich: So what do they want with Triple Eight, then?

Dr. Haslebach: Isn't it obvious? By all definitions of the word, SCP-0008 is a bioweapon. I mean, look at Mann's experiments back in the day. The weaponization potential of this virus is boundless.

Dr. Everest: So we need to act quickly. Make sure we get back those samples before they're released into the public.

Dr. Belrose: Before people die. Or worse.

Addendum.0008.3: St. Petersburg

Following the above log and further discussions, External Investigations, with the aid of Avlya Pajor, launched a campaign to uncover the identities of Подстрекатели змеи's members and the location of the SCP-0008 samples. Internal Investigations concluded their own investigation shortly afterwards, finding no evidence of any Foundation personnel leaking information. Likewise, thaumaturges from Site-120 found no conclusive evidence pointing to any form of divination being conducted on Area-08.

On 02/02/22, External Investigations tracked down the location of several prominent members of Подстрекатели змеи and the SCP-0008 to an unused warehouse in the town of Vyborg, Russia. STF Epsilon-55's Alpha Squad was sent to raid the warehouse and recuperate the SCP-0008 samples. During their transit to the warehouse, the STF received a distress signal from Site-47, which was situated in St. Petersburg.

Before this, reports began to come in to Area-08 the same day of civilians demonstrating symptoms similar to SCP-0008 appearing in St. Petersburg. Reports indicated that the suspected infected went through the stages of SCP-0008 quicker than in past cases, with the onset of a coma coming only 5 minutes after exposure. Area-08 was unable to follow up on these reports due to scheduling and logistical issues, but several unoccupied Junior Researchers were sent to investigate. An inquiry revealed that they had failed to log into their past 3 check-ins.

STF Epsilon-55 was ordered to abort their current mission and investigate the situation in St. Petersburg. Contact was lost almost immediately after their arrival.

The decision was made to deploy a team of MTF Alpha-9 to investigate the potential SCP-0008 outbreak. The team was not informed of the situation.

Video Log

Date: 02/02/2022

Team: MTF Alpha-9 ("Last Hope")


Squad Lead: COMMAND
Squad Members: SCP-105 ("Iris Thompson"), SCP-275 ("Iron Skin"), SCP-2273 ("Major Alexei Belitrov"), SCP-3928 ("Sandraudiga"), SCP-4494 ("THE SPECTER")


COMMAND: Comm check.

[Alpha-9 is currently in a Foundation Asset Transport Plane, flying towards St. Petersburg from the South. SCP-105 and SCP-2273 sit together on one side of the vehicle, with SCP-275 and SCP-3928 on the other. SCP-4494 is standing in the centre of the four, practising unholstering his pistols and striking poses.

SCP-105: Check.

SCP-275: Working.

SCP-3928: This damn… Yes, it's working.

SCP-2273: Da, it is working.

SCP-4494: I can hear you loud and clear, Command!

COMMAND: Excellent. You are approaching the dropzone. Location is St. Petersburg, Russia. Your objective is to secure Site-47 and the surrounding area. You're cleared to neutralize any hostiles you see during the operation.

SCP-105: Understood.

SCP-3928: I don't see why need to have these damn pieces of metal in our ears. You know, back in my da-

SCP-105: Back in your day, Mrs. Stabby, half of the people didn't even bother taking showers most days.

SCP-3928: That is actually a very big misconception! We were very hygienic back in Germania. Those filthy Romans, on the other hand…

[SCP-275 groans.]

SCP-275: You're always talking about those damn Romans, yabancı. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if you secretly admired them.

SCP-3928: How dare you accuse me of such a heinous thing! Why, I should…

[SCP-2273 quickly gets up and puts himself between the two, catching a Turkish kilij that SCP-3928 manifests.]

SCP-2273: Please, let's not. We are not here to fight one another. Tell me, why are you here?

SCP-275: …they promised that they would let me make my pilgrimage to Mecca…

SCP-3928: …I just wanted to stab people.

SCP-2273: So should we not stay on best behaviours to ensure we get what we want? Antagonizing your teammates will not gonna aid you on your pilgrimage, and I'm sure there other people you can stab when get there.

SCP-4494: Like the lobsterman says! We are a squad brought together to stop those who would spit in the face of Justice! How can we dish out righteous justice to nay-do-wells if we're dishing it out on ourselves!

[Silence.]

Command: Approaching dropzone. Prepare for jump.

[The members of Alpha-9, excluding SCP-4494 and SCP-2273, grab parachutes from the wall. SCP-105 helps SCP-275 and SCP-3928 put theirs on. After a short while, the doors on the back of the cargo area open, revealing St. Petersburg below. Despite the time.2200 Hours, a majority of the city's lights are off. Cars are visible in the streets, some of their engines still running with no passengers inside.]

SCP-105: Creepy…

SCP-4494: The forces of evil always find ways to put fear into our minds. But we must learn how to conquer that fear and strike it into the hearts of our enemies!

[SCP-4494 jumps off the plane, using its cape as a glider. SCP-105 follows, freefalling for a bit before activating her parachute. SCP-275 and SCP-3928 follow her example while SCP-2273 simply jumps off the plane, cushioning his impact by landing on an abandoned van.]

SCP-2273: It is quiet. No people. In my world, Petersburg was second-largest city in Russia. Is that not the same here?

SCP-105: No, it's the same here, Alexei… Something's wrong.

SCP-3928: People have died here… recently, too.

SCP-275: I don't like this one bit.

SCP-4494: Can I ask if we can start going to where we need to go? …Please?

SCP-275: What, you scared?

SCP-4494: Bah, I would never! I am merely… wary that the enemy may gain the advantage if we linger here!

[SCP-105 laughs.]

SCP-105: Sure, Spect. Let's go. The Site's that way.

[Alpha-9 takes off their parachutes and begins making their way to Site-47. The rest of St. Petersburg is devoid of life, human or animal. Multiple storefronts are broken, and one abandoned truck shows signs of forced entry. Alpha-9, with SCP-105 leading and SCP-2273 following from behind, are walking past the San-Galli Garden when a rustling noise can be heard.]

SCP-275: Did you hear that?

SCP-3928: Sounded like it came from over there!

[SCP-275 and SCP-105 aim their rifles in the general direction of the garden. SCP-3928 manifests several Greek harpes , which hover around her torso. SCP-4494 gets into a martial arts pose.]

SCP-4494: Is this an ambush?

SCP-2273: Net, the enemy would have attacked already if ambush. Move.

[SCP-2273 slides past SCP-3928 and cautiously moves towards the foliage surrounding the garden. He reaches into a bush and pulls the leaves apart, peering inside.]

Unknown: [Muffled, sobbing noises]

SCP-105: What is it, Alexei?

SCP-2273: A child. But…

SCP-275: But what?

SCP-2273: Something wrong with her, she…

[SCP-2273 reaches one hand into the bush, presumably trying to touch the child.]

SCP-2273: Cold.

[SCP-2273 reaches both arms deeper into the bush, pulling the little girl out. She is unconscious.]

SCP-2273: I believe she is.. asleep. Snoring.

[As SCP-2273 brings the girl closer to the rest of Alpha-9, more of her features become apparent. Her skin has become semi-translucent with a greyish tone. A majority of her hair has fallen out. A large chunk of her stomach is missing, with bite marks visible around the hole.]

SCP-105: Drop that. Now.

[The child stirs.]

SCP-2273: What?

[The girl grabs onto SCP-2273's arm with unexpected strength and bites down, piercing his exoskeleton and biting down. SCP-2273 screams and waves his arm around, attempting to shake off the girl. SCP-4494 jumps forward and tackles the child, falling to the ground with her. A wet, gushing sound can be heard as SCP-4494 wrestles the child, eventually pinning her to the ground. It repeatedly slams the child's head against the ground until she stops moving. SCP-4494 remains on top of the girl, its laboured breath audible on the feed. SCP-275 cautiously approaches.]

SCP-275: Spector

SCP-105: Command, what the fuck is going on.

[SCP-4494 looks up at SCP-275, panting heavily and drooling profusely.]]

SCP-4494: Holy shit… It's just like Left 4 Dead…

[SCP-2273 approaches, cradling his injured arm. He looks down at SCP-SCP-4494 and shakes his head.]

SCP-2273: Child, your leg.

SCP-105: Command?! Do you read me?

[SCP-4494 looks down at its right leg. A chunk of it has been bitten off. It touches the wound, feeling the inside of the wound and blood coming from it.]]

Command: Stand-by.

SCP-105: What do you mean standby?! We have two men injured by something you didn't tell us about!

SCP-4493: I-I gotta get out of here.

[SCP-4493 throws its cape up, obscuring it from the view of the body cameras. When the cape falls, SCP-4493 is nowhere to be seen.]]

[[SCP-3928 approaches the corpse of the child, picking it up with a sword. She rotates it in the air, looking at its injuries before throwing it back onto the ground.]]

SCP-3928: What happened?

SCP-108: That's what I'm trying to figure out. Command, come in!

SCP-275: Alexei, how do you feel?

SCP-2273: Not good. I feel as though something is spreading from the wound. My carapace is fighting against it, but… it's not enough.

Command: [to SCP-105] Iris, we are dealing with an SCP-0008 outbreak. Sending a summary of the anomaly to your datapad now. We recommend finding and terminating SCP-4494 and SCP-2273.

[SCP-105 retrieves her datapad from her pack, reading over the document sent to her.]

Command: SCP-275 and SCP-3928 should prove resistant to infection, but seeing as how 4494 wasn't, you shouldn't hesitate with them if it comes to it. Same goes for you.

SCP-105: What, no, I can't just…

SCP-2273: What did Command say, Iris?

Addendum.0008.X: Poetry

The following poem was found on a piece of worn paper attached to the entrances of several remaining Foundation shelters, including those meant to be undetectable. As well, the poem was transmitted to SCPS Baldr as a .txt file by an unknown source.

Amidst the chaos and despair,
A glimmer of hope lingers on,
A future beyond this nightmare.

The undead roam with vacant stare,
The world as we knew it, gone,
Amidst the chaos and despair.

But survivors, with steadfast care,
Carry on, pushing towards the dawn,
A future beyond this nightmare.

Though fear and loss are always there,
The will to live cannot be gone,
Amidst the chaos and despair.

The hope they carry, they will share,
Together, they'll find a way to carry on,
A future beyond this nightmare.

With each step forward, they repair,
The broken world, and carry on,
Amidst the chaos and despair,
A future beyond this nightmare.

- Pangloss

Alongside each manifestation of the poem, a single SCP-1612 instance was found planted nearby. The origin of the poem and plants is still unknown.






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