 Item number, SCP-684, Object Class, Euclid. Special Containment Procedures. As SCP-684 is too large and massive to relocate, much less fully contained in any orthodox sense, hotbox procedures are in effect. If SCP-684 is judged to have expanded beyond the coordinates of containment is said to have failed, and hotbox borders are to enact standard deterrent methodologies. Note, there have been some in the foundation that have expressed a belief that, given SCP-684 is not grown in size or mass since discovery, hotbox procedures are a waste of resources. No staff living on the surface of SCP-684 are allowed to know the true nature of SCP-684. This specific file is not to reach any observation post studying SCP-684. Description. SCP-684 is a massive object, assumed to be a living creature, found on the seafloor of the Indian Ocean. It is irregular in shape, with the center of its mass located at approximately from that center mass. SCP-684 extends approximately 70 kilometers outward, maintaining an average height above seafloor of 12 meters. The outward skin of SCP-684 is dark brown, with a rough grainy texture. There is a slight give when pressure is applied to its surface. From time to time, small sections of SCP-684's surface will dimly glow a faint blue, yellow, or pink hue. These lights tend to move in the direction of SCP-684's center mass, or to six slowly pulsating spinckters that are believed to be mouth analogues. History. Upon discovery of SCP-684 in 1984, the foundation attempted to place a prefabricated research outpost near SCP-684. Due to ocean currents, the post landed on the surface of SCP-684 instead. As the outpost structure was undamaged by said misplacement, 05 authorized the deployment of Researcher 1 to the post, later dubbed Station Alpha. Three days later, Station Alpha was seen via long-range underwater video, being enveloped and destroyed by a localized undulation of SCP-684's mass. When a recovery mission arrived 24 hours later, Station Alpha was found completely intact. When entered, Researcher 1 was interviewed as having no memory of any SCP-684 disturbance, although expressing slight annoyance that Station Alpha, quote, hadn't yet gotten that rover I was promised, end quote. When questioned, offered up a foundation printout, citing orders to use an underwater rover to push animal carcasses to SCP-684's spinckters. Offsite analysis of both Researcher 1 and sections of Station Alpha were discovered to be elaborate copies of their original selves. During this offsite analysis, Station Alpha was seen re-growing, complete with another copy of Researcher 1. This new copy had no memory of the earlier copy's actions or memories. It is currently theorized that SCP-684 assimilates and reproduces stations, and their crew, for tasks related to its survival and self-maintenance. Each station is capable of issuing orders to its pseudo-crew in ways that mimic the originals, so that all assimilated crew members treat the orders as legitimate. Note, double-blind experiments have concluded that without tools to detect the chemical differences, all individuals reported that SCP-684-based documents had no identifying traits which hinted at forgery. These orders are phrased in such a way that the crew believes its actions are intended to contain SCP-684, leading to no doubts among the assimilated crew that anything is amiss. It would seem that SCP-684 deliberately takes the effort to ensure that station crew, despite being fabricated, are kept in good mental and physical health, ignorant about their true nature or purpose. To test and confirm said hypothesis, the Foundation has placed four more prefabricated stations on the surface of SCP-684. In short order, each of these stations and their crews, listed below, have all been assimilated and refabricated by SCP-684. Each one does not know about the others. The designations are exclusively for Foundation use. Addendum 1 – Stations Below are the location and duties of all five stations currently placed on SCP-684. For ease of understanding, false-ordered task is a brief synopsis of the actions each station believes. The Foundation has ordered them to do in order to contain SCP-684, or at least keep it in a stable state. And assumed actual role is what the Foundation believes the station's actual role to SCP-684 is. Station designation. Alpha. Location. Crew. Six. False-ordered task. Push corrupted sea life carcasses to extraplanar disposal facility, SCP-684. Assumed actual role. Transport of carcasses to mouths of SCP-684. Station designation. Beta. Location. Crew. 12. False-ordered task. Contain and destroy, quote, toxic non-Newtonian fluid, end quote, emanating from SCP-684. Assumed actual role. Waste removal in hygiene. Station designation. Gamma. Location. Crew. False-ordered task. Assumed actual role. Immune system. Station designation. Delta. Location. Crew. Four. False-ordered task. Scouting and marking suitable locations for new SCP-684 observation posts. Note, interestingly, Delta station is the only station in which the memories of the pseudo staff are adjusted in real time. Once all marked locations are growing SCP-684-1, all staff members immediately forget ever having been out before. Also, despite not knowing the existence of other stations on SCP-684, Delta crews have never scouted areas where they would be detected by other stations. Assumed actual role. Demarcating SCP-684-1 growing locations. State designation. Iota. Location. False-ordered task. Collect and ship SCP-684-1 to stable one. Note, unofficial title for the nearest central foundation facility located in data expunged. Assumed actual role. Unknown. Potential benefit and reward for caretaking SCP-684. Station Iota is currently the least understood station, owing to its task of harvesting SCP-684-1. SCP-684-1 takes the shape of small, two centimeter to eight centimeter spheres of varying color, which butt off the skin of SCP-684. Any given nodule reaches full size in three weeks, remaining attached for a week before disconnecting from SCP-684 and being carried off by ocean currents. SCP-684-1 has been seen as a supplementary source of nutrition for the entire food pyramid surrounding SCP-684. Examination of sea life that consistently feeds on SCP-684-1 shows increases in size, general health, and overall increased fitness. Human consumption of SCP-684-1 has not yet been approved, but many foundation researchers believe that SCP-684 grows SCP-684-1 in way of recompense for absorbing and refabricating its caretakers. Addendum 2 Interviews and Communication Transmission 684-JH94 Communication requested by Researcher JH, Copy 9, Station Delta, Responder, Dr. R- Stable 1. Forward, a tear in H's diving suit during an exploratory survey has left it suffering from headaches and nausea. It has requested transfer away from SCP-684 for medical treatment. Doctor, age old friend, we sent you down there because you kept injuring yourself on dry land, and now you want to go back? We just took down all the padding on site- Researcher H. Keep it up Will. When the hell am I getting out of here? I hate being cooped up when the rest of the crew is out there. Doctor, oh two minutes or so? I was supposed to tell you when we sent down the submersible a few hours ago, but I guess it just sort of slipped my mind. Researcher H. I didn't even have time to pack. Remind me to beat you once the docks fix me up. Okay, there is a sound of a submersible docking in the background. See you in two hours or so, Ted. Station Alpha out. Conclusion. Video records show H-9 walking slowly to the docking platform, which opens in front of him. As the doors begin to close, the walls of the enclosure dissolve into SCP-684 around H-9, who is seen struggling as the doors finish closing. All of H-9's personal effects are dissolved and absorbed into the walls of station Delta. Three minutes later, the docking platform doors open and H-10 steps out, carrying his personal belongings. Later on, other crewmen on Delta greet him warmly. Transmission 684 AZ-48-1. Communication requested by maintenance crewman AZ. Copy 48. Station Alpha. Responder. Forward. Z would, on a monthly basis, use his personal call allotment. This is the one anomalous call. Hello? Z. Hi. I'm sorry, this wasn't the voice I was expecting. Who is this? This is the residents who wants to know. Z. I'm A. You better tell me who you are, because I was expecting my wife, f***ing a**hole. Do you think you get your rocks off calling people and asking for someone's dead parents? A**holes thought that was a fun thing to do after my dad died a few years back and the day after I bury my f***ing mom. You f***ing ask for her? You f***ing piece of s***. Disconnection noise. Conclusion. After this exchange, crewman Z is seen looking at a photo of a woman and a woman for two hours. Getting up from his chair, he proceeds to walk over to the airlock and open it, flooding the entire station. The entire station and all crews are dissolved and rebuilt over the course of six hours. It is not currently understood why SCP-684 made a direct contact with each previous iteration of crewman Z made such contact attempts, but this is the only recorded time in which SCP-684 did not generate the communication response. At the risk of anthropomorphizing SCP-684, we may conclude that it simply made a mistake. Lesson complete. If you missed the previous orientation, go watch SCP-683, Refrigerator Art, right now. Or for the complete course, watch this playlist.