Native fauna found within the White Zone, prior to extermination. |
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Item #: SCP-XXX
Object Class: Safe Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: The current goal of studying SCP-XXX is to catalog the endemic life forms contained within and to prevent the escape of endemic life into the surrounding ecosystem. To this end, all known access points are to be either sealed or continually monitored by closed circuit television (maintained weekly for any malfunctioning components). Exploration of the walls of the surrounding chamber for further access points is ongoing, and any newly discovered tunnels are to be thoroughly examined and mapped, prior to being permanently sealed, in order to ensure that there are no infestations of endemic fauna.
SCP-XXX is divided into three concentric areas, entitled the Green Zone (consisting of the space surrounding the centre of the phenomenon to a distance of ██ km), the Red Zone (between ██ km from centre and ███ km from centre), and the White Zone (███ km from centre to ███ km from centre). Monitoring Station ██ has been established at the base of the primary access shaft, at the outer edge of the White Zone.
Personnel entering the White Zone are to wear full hazardous materials gear and a radiation monitor, and are limited to no more than 30 minutes of exposure. The exception to this rule are D-Class personnel entering the Red Zone and Green Zone for the purposes of an expedition.
Due to the high flux of ionizing radiation within the Red Zone, expeditions within it are limited to no more than five hours (subjective time). No personnel, other than D-Class, may enter or go beyond the Red Zone. In order to ensure compliance during an expedition, D-Class personnel are told that they have been exposed to a pathogen which incubates for five hours before symptoms become fatal and that an antidote is available upon successful completion of the mission. To this end, D-Class personnel assigned to an expedition must first be screened for any background suggesting that they are aware of the symptoms of radiation poisoning.
As electronic components are easily damaged by the radiation produced in the Red Zone, a fleet of specialized mechanically powered vehicles, dubbed Zip Racers by onsite staff, are maintained for the purpose of quick transportation to and from an expedition.
Because of the primary anomalous effect of SCP-XXX, Monitoring Station ██ must be equipped with three separate chronometers. Chronometer A details subjective time at Monitoring Station ██. Chronometer B details the external time calculated based on measurements of the anomalous properties of SCP-XXX. Chronometer C is located on the surface, at the top of the primary access shaft, with a direct feed to Monitoring Station ██. Any discrepancies between Chronometers B and C must be noted immediately.
Description: SCP-XXX is a rapidly developing ecosystem enclosed by a temporal anomaly, located in a chamber, ███ km in diameter. The chamber is located at [DATA REDACTED], approximately █ km below the surface, initially believed to have been a natural nuclear fission reactor due to relatively high amounts of emitted radiation. It is currently unknown how the chamber is able to remain stable despite its size, or why the chamber is cooler than the surrounding mantle, however it is hypothesized that this is related to the temporal anomaly in some way.
Initial observations of SCP-XXX noted unusually high levels of incredibly energetic ionizing radiation, with both wavelength and flux decreasing as one travels away from the centre of the chamber. When researchers looked into the centre of SCP-XXX, they observed it as appearing incredibly hazy and distorted. It was soon discovered that both of these observations were related to the above mentioned time anomaly. As one approaches the centre of the chamber, time is observed to pass at a different rate, such that an observer farther from the centre sees external time pass more quickly than an observer closer in.
The relationship between time and the distance from centre is such that radiation that enters the anomaly is red-shifted so that, when it is reflected from an object within, it is scattered in a manner consistent with a much lower frequency wave. Likewise, radiation produced in the centre of the anomaly, no matter how low its energy, is blue-shifted to such an extent that the end result, when observed from outside, appears as high energy ionizing radiation. In the case of SCP-XXX, calculations show that the cause of the high energy radiation is the primary resonance frequency of the chamber itself (approximately ███ Hz). Though the rate of photon production in this manner is very low, the compression of time ultimately results in lethal doses of ionizing radiation at certain distances.
The innermost Green Zone (initially labeled the Black Zone) is a region in which flux and frequency of radiation are such that life can theoretically be sustained. The Red Zone is where the radiation is blue-shifted to potentially dangerous frequencies and the flux is high enough that lethal exposure is guaranteed. Radiation in the outermost White Zone, though more energetic, is sufficiently diffused that radiation poisoning can be treated, so long as exposure is limited.
When initially discovered, the entirety of SCP-XXX was sterile, due to the effects of ionizing radiation, as verified by Expeditions E-XXX-1 and E-XXX-2. Following Expedition E-XXX-3, from which D-2388 did not return, a sudden decrease in oxygen levels within the chamber was observed before levels restabilized. E-XXX-6 through E-XXX-8 found a coating of slime on the chamber floor which increased in mass as time went on. This slime, along with other life seen in future observations, have been determined to have descended from the gut flora of D-2388, based on recovered samples.
Drops in radiation flux were noted after E-XXX-8, determined, in later expeditions, to be related to the emergence of photosynthetic organisms which use the resonant radiation of the chamber as an energy source. In addition, primitive animal-like life forms had been observed.
On ██/██/████, observations from Monitoring Station ██ saw signs of fauna native to the Green Zone performing actions inside the White Zone. Despite the majority not surviving long after passing through the Red Zone, excursions of native fauna have since increased in frequency, leading to current Special Containment Procedures.
Addendum XXX-1: Expedition E-XXX-██ has found evidence of primitive tools used within the Green Zone. The life form that produced the tool has not yet been directly encountered, however this suggests the potential of a sapient entity developing within this ecosystem. New expeditions have been scheduled over the following days to search for further signs of an emerging civilization.
Addendum XXX-2: Expeditions E-XXX-██ through ██ have shown little change in the design of new-found tools, suggesting that the population producing these tools are remaining stagnant in their development. The search for the creatures that made them is ongoing.
Addendum XXX-3: The primitive tools detailed in Addenda XXX-1 and XXX-2 have been attributed to a predatory plant, as of Expedition E-XXX-██. The stones are fashioned using a set procedure that is dictated purely by instinctual means. Despite this being a false alarm, we highly recommend that a guideline be put in place, should a sapient life form evolve within SCP-XXX.
Request has been forwarded to Overseer Command for evaluation.
Note from Dr. ████████: Are we to treat these theoretical intelligent life forms as a new friend or as a potential threat? And, if they are deemed a threat, is it not wiser to use any means to destroy the Green Zone ecosystem immediately, rather than sit idly by as the danger becomes more and more likely? Time is ticking while we think things over. Let's hope that it won't be too late when we finally come to a decision.