SCP-1052

Item #: SCP-1052

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-1052 is to be contained inside a 7.6-kiloliter salt water tank, made with acrylic or laminated glass so researchers can accommodate and observe experiments (to be upgraded with higher grade transparent material of similar tensile strength when available). Non-salt water can be used to fill the tank and conditioned with salt-water mix should alternative be needed. The floor is to be made of reinforced concrete treated with waterproof coating. A cover is needed to prevent water from accidental spillage of any nature, and any activity to remove or require the removal of the cover is not to be undertaken without approval. No filtration or regulatory mechanism are currently needed the tank until pending investigation reveal otherwise.

Description:

Recovery Report

SCP-1052 is a vast colony (vast collection of visible microbes referred to as a single collective SCP-1052 for convenience) of microorganism with the appearance of a "mist" of ocean sediment or mass of algae, slightly brown and green in color, and easily mistaken as immobile and harmless. However, it floats about and never sink when inert and inside fluid, and occasionally move in supposed random directions.

When a living subject is introduced to its tank, it becomes active and slowly moves toward the organism, until it comes into contact with it and the subject begin to disintegrate. Most animals do not to react to its presence and ignores it, falling prey to SCP-1052.

On closer experimentation and inspection, further nature of SCP and its activities were revealed. The ten-five-two organism is actually a colony of vast numbers of multicellular microbes (indeed it would need to be vast to be visible), and it lives and reproduce in a short span of time as would be the norm of microbes. When it comes into contact with its food source, SCP-1052 begins to break down and consume the cellular makeup of the target, initiating stage one - a breach event, and its reproduction rate receives an increase, reproducing fast growing offspring as it intrudes toward the bloodstream. Once it enters target's bloodstream it begins to breakdown the cells from the inside as well, resulting in cell lose both from within as well as out, beginning stage two - subsuming of the entire living system. It travel inside the blood and all other fluids within its victim, using them as a mediums for movement, and propagate throughout the body, leading to the hastened rate of host subsumption. Most immune responses offer little to no resistance to SCP-1052 with the exception of few species, as noted in further portion of this document.

This of course, means removal of the victim from the SCP's environment would not halt the event. Full elapse of all stages have hitherto been observed to complete in the matter of minutes to under an hour, depending on the mass of victim involved, and is not proportional.

On conclusion of a test it was found that the actual volume of water in the testing container increased by a minute amount, possibly waste or byproduct material from consummation of cells and other liquids inside the target (blood and other fluids are used up as well). The mass of the group obviously increased as well, since it reproduced all the while with accelerated rate. Bones were the only evidence of event left, intact and without damage. Popular theory is that it is too dense for the SCP, for corroborating evidence see Selachimorpha, Chimaeriformes and Batoidea below. Furthermore, it is capable of breaking down organic tissue at a rate far exceeding any natural organism in current record.

Since SCP-1052's medium of locomotion is any fluid, this means should its containment unit be broken it could propagate as fast as the liquid would move on any surface.

Various marine animal have developed different mechanisms to avoid being consumed by SCP-1052 microbes, however, this seems to be limited to marine animals whose residence are confined solely to aquatic environments. No semi-aquatic or entirely non-aquatic animal have so far been observed to be immune to SCP-1052's effects.

Marine mammals of the orders Cetacea, and Sirenia seem to have immune system responses to cope with the presence of SCP-1052 in their bodies. Lesions and open sores will still appear on these animals minutes after coming into contact with SCP-1052, but intrusion will stop soon after breach into bloodstream.

Selachimorpha (sharks), Chimaeriformes (ghost sharks), and Batoidea (rays) - fish that possess dermal denticles (scales composed of enamel-like material) are outright immune to penetration from the skin layer by SCP-1052, although not from the feeding orifice. SCP-1052 nonetheless seem not to pay any attention to these species of fishes, although accidental or intentional ingestion could still lead to normal "infection" event.

Octopuses and certain other animals in class Cephalopoda (certain species of squids and scuttle fish) seem to be outright immune to SCP-1052 for reasons unknown.

Some jelly fish in the phylum Cnidaria have proved to be somewhat resistant to the microoganism. Exposure to it resulted in various degree of system damage varying in the severe to medium, and this is true even for specimen of the same species (meaning different specimen of the same species have varying survivability).

All known tested animals of non-aquatic and semi-aquatic origins have perished.

Addendum: SCP-1052 effects apply to any organic or synthetic organic material as well. This means it will eat through pieces of clothing, and synthetic wet suit. (Discovery made after slipping occur.)

Addendum: All 1052s removed from tank and not re-introduced post-experimentation are to be dehydrated and incinerated.

Addendum: Microbe's life time is shown to be up to the span of a couple weeks.

Addendum: SCP-1052 can be broken down with near pure alcohol (such as rubbing alcohol, or high proof consumable alcohol), similar to many other forms of microbes.

Addendum: Proposed experiment with SCP-252. Considering microbial organism's lack of capacity for fear response, as well as 21052's supposed immunity to 1052, meaningful result deemed unlikely. Proposal denied.

Addendum: Proposal as disposal method for organic material under consideration.

Addendum: Proposal for testing with more species under review of viability.

Addendum: Examination of organism's genome make up by researchers revealed non-conformity to standard genetic coding, and something else in the genome a researcher termed "watermark".

Addendum: Subjects proven to unaffected by 1052 are not to be re-introduced to 1052.

Addendum: Microorganism proposed to be deployed in regions undergoing widespread jellyfish invasion. Proposal denied considering likely devastation to other local species nevermind ones that are human.

Addendum: Examination of a small quantity of the organism prior to a routine testing revealed presence of another species of microorganism on certain specimen of SCP-1052, of size much smaller than regular SCP-1052. These are now classified SCP-1052-2. Further experimentation and observation revealed that these are in fact phage that target and infect SCP-1052. It is theorized that the reason the colony we have in containment have not succumb to the phage may be because the former greatly outnumber the latter. Microbe's resistance to phage unknown. Effect of greater number of phage on same quantity of microbe unknown. The phage discovered on said examination have been placed in cold storage for later use.

See Summarized Experiment Log 1052-E for further information.
Appropriate annotation of addendums and experiments pending.

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