 Item Number – SCP-021 Object Class – Safe Special Containment Procedures – SCP-021 is an obligate parasite of the human body. Containment, therefore, is no more difficult than containing an adult human. Most cells will suffice. Item is currently housed in Detention Cell 217A on Subject D-139. Any Class D personnel are eligible for hosting SCP-021. As long as a given subject survives as a host for SCP-021, he is exempt from normal monthly terminations of Class D personnel. Description – SCP-021 takes the form of a large and elaborate tattoo of a serpentine dragon in the Oriental style, covering approximately 0.8 meters squared of skin. This tattoo is fully animate within the confines of its host's skin, and behaves largely as a normal animal would, albeit in only two dimensions. The tattoo's movement causes constant pain to its host, comparable and similar in character to simultaneous tattooing and tattoo removal on a large scale. The organism tends to spend most of its time on and near the torso. SCP-021 displays no intelligence beyond a basic pattern of feeding and locomotion, although actually measuring the intelligence of a two-dimensional life form has proven impossible thus far. SCP-021 appears to feed exclusively on pigments in the host's skin. This can include melanin, in which case the subject appears to be suffering from vitiligo. However, the organism shows a marked preference for other tattoos, and will seek out and devour these before resorting to natural pigments. It should be noted that the feeding process itself, beyond the sensation of movement, is painless, normal tattooing simply vanishes as it is eaten. The organism maintains a constant size, and no excretions have been observed. The organism is capable of clearing over 0.6 meters squared of skin per hour. One may feed SCP-021 by quickly tattooing fruits or small animals on the host. SCP-021 can be transferred between hosts by various forms of physical contact, with differing rates of success. In the case of successful transfer, the organism simply swims from one person to the other. Sexual intercourse appears to be the most reliable method of transfer, with a 93% rate of transmission. However, due to the severe pain involved, this is less than ideal. Contact between two open wounds is generally preferable. Transfer is more complicated in deceased subjects, though not unreasonably so. The organism suffers no ill effects from the death of its host, and continues to consume pigments. Transmission between species is unknown, previous tests suggest it to be either impossible or exceedingly rare. SCP-021 does confer some benefits to its host. The tattoo has been proven to accelerate the release and reuptake of epinephrine and decrease lactic acid buildup, providing boosts of strength, confidence, and pain tolerance in stressful situations, and reducing the usual after-effects of weakness and fatigue. In addition, the tattoo seems to have some beneficial effect on the host's immune system. Aggression profiles in hosts are generally higher than average, though whether this is a direct effect of the tattoo or simply a reaction to the constant pain remains to be seen. The symbiotic relationship is usually limited by how long the host can tolerate such pain in everyday life. This has culminated in suicide in a number of subjects. In rare cases, hosts have also fallen victim to fatal skin infections. SCP-021's origins in nature are a mystery. Tracing its transmission from host to host is hardly feasible within the confines of secrecy, and the organism could well be hundreds of years old, if not more. Nevertheless, SCP-021's captivity is one of the longest in the Foundation's history at nearly data-expunged years, and has been very educational thus far. Current research focuses mainly on observing the characteristics of life in two dimensions. Item Number SCP-031 Object Class Safe Special Containment Procedures SCP-031 is to be contained in a standard containment chamber, located in Site-77's safe SCP wing. Personnel interacting with SCP-031 are not to view it directly, and communicate with test subjects through an intercom system installed in each chamber. The containment chamber is to be cleaned once per week by custodial staff, wearing opaque goggles to mitigate SCP-031's effects. Description SCP-031 is an amorphous organism, with a mass of 75 kilograms. SCP-031 is able to move at a pace of 3 kilometers an hour, and leaves a trail of oil when it moves. It is only capable of rudimentary physical movement. Testing of recovered tissue samples has shown that SCP-031 is at least partially composed of human muscle and epidermal tissue. SCP-031 is capable of reproducing human speech in any pitch or tone, although it is not currently known how SCP-031's biology produces them. Subjects directly perceiving SCP-031 will see it as an individual the subject's new and had a romantic attraction to at some point in their past. When made aware that it is being observed, SCP-031 will claim to be this person, and that they have been left destitute by some event in their past. SCP-031 will use this to attempt to persuade the subject to allow it to stay with them for an extended period of time, until it is able to return to a stable situation. This effect applies to all persons who view SCP-031, and research has not determined an upper limit to the number of persons who can be affected by SCP-031 at the same time. After inspecting the residence, SCP-031 may attempt to start a romantic relationship with the subject, and if successful, it will begin living in their home. Several cases have been documented, where SCP-031 began to actively affect more than one subject at a time, eventually having a nest containing between at least 18 different hotel rooms containing subjects with some form of relation to SCP-031. SCP-031 was recovered following contradictory police records taken after a riot and Multiple subjects reported wildly contradictory views about SCP-031's appearance, and initial civilian units were also affected. However, wide distribution of amnesiacs and inhaled tranquilizers pacified all affected subjects, and MTF-SI-7 was able to recover SCP-031 from the condemned hotel it had taken residents in. As of 11-16-1958, SCP-031 has been classified as safe. Addendum Research has determined that aromantic subjects are not affected by SCP-031. However, all of these subjects will report SCP-031 as being a small, plump humanoid figure with specific features being obscured by dark smoke emanating from around the entity in the shape of SCP-031's body. Further testing is required to explain this phenomenon. Further testing has shown that the perception of subjects affected by SCP-1937 is similarly affected. Item Number SCP-074 Object Class Euclid Special Containment Procedures SCP-074 is contained at Site-81 SCP-074 is an active info hazard. No research in evaluating its anomalous properties is to be conducted. All personnel who have previously engaged in research into SCP-074's anomalous properties must never come within 5 km of SCP-074. SCP-074 is contained within a 6 m x 6 m x 3 m reinforced glass chamber, filtered to block all ultraviolet light and situated within a windowless room lit by monochromatic safe lights which serve as secondary containment. A smaller containment chamber would significantly increase the probability of SCP-074 spontaneously breaching primary containment. The containment chamber is to be surrounded with scaffolds bearing sheets of live-cultured human skin held parallel to the surfaces of the containment chamber and arranged overlapping each other such that lateral coverage is at least 95%. Skin sheets must be a minimum of 3 mm thick and warm to 37°C and must be grown from samples provided by D-Class personnel with no less than a middle school education and no more than a high school education. All skin sheets are to be examined on a daily basis for instances of SCP-074-1. All instances of SCP-074-1 are to be excised and incinerated. SCP-074 is to be fed 75 g of fresh shredded apple leaves, genus malus, bark and fruit hydroponically grown to ensure lack of pollutants in foreign organisms once a day via a mechanical dispenser. In the event of a spontaneous containment breach, personnel can coerce SCP-074 into returning to its containment by first occupying each of its four sets of jaws with an entire raw apple, then physically pushing SCP-074 in the desired direction, gently tapping its compound eyes with an open palm, or spraying its front pair of antennae with a 0.5% solution of methanoic acid. Description SCP-074 is an anomalous organism which uses various quantum properties at a macroscopic scale and in other ways modifies the standard laws of physics within its immediate vicinity. The specific nature of these modifications appears to be linked to the extent to which humans in SCP-074's vicinity are aware of the precise details of the physical laws which SCP-074 modifies. Such that, research to determine whether SCP-074 has a given property or capability results in SCP-074 developing or manifesting that property or capability. Archive 074-317e A full list of the anomalous physical phenomena unknown to be or to have been associated with SCP-074 is available to personnel level 3 or higher. Personnel who access this document will be disqualified from working with SCP-074 or for any other reason coming within 5 km of Site 81. SCP-074 has repeatedly manifested the ability to spontaneously materialize at locations as much as 3 meters outside its primary containment. This is believed to be, or to be analogous to, quantum tunneling. Foundation entomologists have tentatively identified SCP-074 as belonging to the order Isopada, commonly known as a woodlouse. Its inertial mass is approximately 1700 kg, but its gravitational mass is approximately 375 g. Its volume has been estimated at 1.7 m3, approximately the size of a compact car. SCP-074 is female, although it lacks the typical isopod marsupium, or brood pouch in which eggs are incubated, and parthenogenetic. Periodically, approximately 1.3 times per hour when SCP-074 is shielded from ultraviolet light, and approximately 29.2 times per hour when SCP-074 is exposed to unfiltered daylight. The globular organ at the tip of its ovipositor luminesces, and emits what it was originally thought to be a form of non-ionizing radiation, but which has since been identified as coherent wave packets of the probability of one of SCP-074's self-fertilized eggs, henceforth SCP-074-1, reifying, i.e. becoming a thing, spontaneously coming into existence. Personnel who properly understand the concept of wave packets are disqualified from working with SCP-074. Instances of SCP-074-1 preferentially reify and incubate within the flesh of humans with knowledge of physics. The rudimentary knowledge of physics, which even poorly educated adult citizens of a technological civilization can acquire via cultural osmosis. For example, magnets can attract or repel each other, matter is made of atoms, light has a speed, appears to be sufficient. In the absence of suitable humans to serve as hosts, the wave packets will reify within other organisms, or within inanimate objects. However, rather than incubating, the eggs will wither and die, leaving perforations similar to radiation damage at a macroscopic scale. The wave packets appear to decay over time, as no wave packets or instances of wave packet-related damage have been detected at distances greater than approximately 400 meters from SCP-074. The rate at which successfully incubated instances of SCP-074-1 mature appears to be dependent on the host's exposure to ultraviolet light. Within a host exposed to an average of 30 minutes of unfiltered sunlight per day for a month, an instance of SCP-074-1 was observed to grow from 2 mg to 8 kg, at which point it was surgically excised and killed. Whereas within a host totally isolated from natural light for a month, the three simultaneous instances reached sizes at excision of only 600 g, 680 g, and 710 g. The complete developmental history and life cycle of SCP-074-1, including how they emerge from their host, and their size at emergence, is not yet known. Item Number SCP-103 Object Class Euclid Status Recontained Special Containment Procedures SCP-103 is to be maintained in a medically induced vegetative state to ensure compliance. It is to be kept alive with regular data expunged, certain that the incisions are not allowed to heal, keeping SCP-103's stomach cavity exposed at all times. Class 4 Foundation Restricted Medical Kit is to be employed by all personnel interacting with SCP-103. From SCP-103 are to be incinerated. At no time should any personnel come into unprotected contact with any object or substance removed from SCP-103. Description SCP-103 appears to be an average human male in his mid-40s. Subject has been measured at 190 cm in height, and weighing in at 100 kg. Subject was born in 1990. The subject has no known living relatives at this time. Subject checked into a small local hospital in mid-April at approximately 9.30pm. The subject explained to the doctor on staff that he had not eaten for weeks due to not feeling any effects of hunger. After an initial examination, SCP-103 appeared to be perfectly healthy despite his condition. SCP-103 continued to explain to the staff that he didn't feel any need to eat. Non-obtaining and studying SCP-103, it appears that any solid or liquid coming in contact with the inside of SCP-103's stomach disappears instantaneously. Despite this condition, SCP-103 appears to be perfectly healthy. At this point, it is unknown how SCP-103 obtains the nutrients that a human would need to survive, or where the provided foods end up after consumption. SCP-103 does not expel any waste. SCP-103 has reported becoming thirsty as a normal human would. Due to this, a standard cooler with 12 bottles of fresh spring water are to be delivered to SCP-103's room at 6.30am every morning. SCP-103 has shown no signs of hostility towards our staff, occasionally engaging in a conversation and board games provided by the staff. Addendum 103A. All testing to date has been inconclusive. It is unlikely that further testing will teach us anything new. Research terminated. Subject released, but to remain under observation and report for mandatory medical examination on a monthly basis. SCP-103 has been provided with a means of contacting Foundation personnel in the event of a change in condition. Research logs are to remain on file. Addendum 103B. On- SCP-103 reported to a Foundation medical facility. SCP-103 was observed at this time to be vomiting copious amounts of blood in excess of several liters. This blood did not match SCP-103's blood type, nor did it data-expunged. A stomach pump procedure was attempted, but failed due to the volume of blood being produced. Within several hours, blood flow ceased. Shortly thereafter, Foundation medical personnel initiated an exploratory surgical procedure. Upon opening SCP-103's stomach cavity, Dr. Yun noted several protrusions along the outer lining of the stomach in an approximation of a human face. When Dr. Yun attempted a biopsy, the protrusions suddenly retreated, implying that they were the imprint of a foreign body inside the stomach. Dr. Yun was instructed to continue the exploratory procedure and performed admirably. His reluctance was noted on record and will be submitted as evidence in the hearings of Supervisor Wrenn's court-martial procedure. When the stomach was opened, data-expunged fatalities, including Dr. Yun, Research Assistant Sims, and Research Assistant Renfield, medical Supervisor Wrenn's negligence is under review. SCP-103 has been reclassified Euclid and re-contained with updated containment protocols. Item number, SCP-150, Object Class, Cater, Special Containment Procedures. SCP-150 patients kept for study should be contained in level 3 biohazard containment cells, with no more than one instance per cell. Cultures of SCP-150 are contained in vacuum-sealed glass flasks in the Site 42 Infectious Materials Lab. Standard pathogen-handling procedures should be followed at all times. Any instances of SCP-150 found outside of containment are to be incinerated. Description SCP-150 is an obligate parasite that resembles the tongue-eating louse, Zymothoa exigua, but is adapted to form conjunctive symbiotic relationships with humans for a period of its lifespan. Upon contact with a human subject, SCP-150 embeds itself deeply in the flesh of its host. Over the course of approximately seven days, the parasite will burrow into the host and affect numerous physiological alterations. The most glaring alteration is the gradual conversion of the limb nearest the infection site into a chitinous appendage. As SCP-150 consumes the host's flesh, it excretes tissue that replaces and augments the functionality of the host's limb without causing transplant rejection. It is suspected that SCP-150 is able to secrete anesthetic and immunosuppressant substances to prevent the host's body from responding to the change. Furthermore, the nervous tissue excreted by SCP-150 is able to interface with the host's nervous system. By the time the process is complete, the host will be able to control the affected limb with no loss in mobility and often with improved strength, reflexes, and resilience. For a period of one to two weeks, SCP-150 will reproduce, feeding on nutrients from and depositing eggs into assimilated blood vessels. It is hypothesized that SCP-150 can self-fertilize. The eggs are deposited throughout the human body via the bloodstream, while the vast majority of them die off. Enough survive to begin colonizing and altering the rest of the host's body. Though subjects report discomfort and occasional loss of motor control during this process, they often will not recognize the cause of said discomfort. It is still unclear why the offspring do not compete with each other for space or resources, nor how the assimilation process leaves the body's cell signaling mechanisms and processes unaffected. SCP-150 reproduces during this assimilation process, as the lungs are assimilated. More eggs are produced and spread by the patient's coughing. Although as many as 10,000 eggs may be produced during this time, it is estimated that only one percent of them find their way into another host, of which one percent survive the host's immune response and implant successfully. Though SCP-150 inevitably results in the assimilation and alteration of the central nervous system, including the spinal cord and brain, the host's consciousness and behavior are seemingly unaffected. Interviews with subjects infected by SCP-150 have yielded little information, as infected subjects unaware of SCP-150 claim to sense no changes or improvement in certain senses and faculties. While subjects aware of the infection are able to pinpoint the source of the change, they exhibit little to no negative feelings and often express positivity towards it. Addendum 150e, transcript of exploratory leucotomy and nervous tissue transformation experiments. Two D-class subjects, D-13732 and D-016002, were infected with SCP-150 and allowed to progress through all stages of the infection. In order to examine the full effect of the infection, exploratory neurosurgeries were performed on both subjects. D-13732 was euthanized. His nervous tissue was found to have been entirely replaced by smaller instances of SCP-150. The instances comprising his brain matter were extracted and stored for experimentation on D-016002. The following decompressive craniotomy and leucotomy were performed by Dr. Harlan's Dr. Wendy Robin and Dr. Alex Harlow on D-016002. A full transcript follows. Begin log, 2143. D-016002 is partially anesthetized to numb her during the initial drilling of the skull. The process is uneventful, though Harlow reports expecting less resistance from the skull while drilling into and cutting a flap from it. Upon removing the flap of bone and exposing the dura matter, numerous smaller instances of SCP-150 are observed lying in the cranial cavity, where the brain should be. Harlow reports this to Robin, who alerts Sun to begin the interview process while she marks off areas of D-016002's brain on a mapping projection. Dr. Sun, what is your name? D-016002. Mako... Dr. Sun, name something to sit in. D-016002, chair. Dr. Sun, what is the color of grass? D-016002, green. Dr. Sun, what is 1 plus 1? D-016002 pauses for a moment. D-016002, two. Dr. Robin, we have marked off the approximate location of the Wernichs area. The part of the brain that controls speech recognition and use. Dr. Harlow, thank you, Dr. Sun. I will now extract some of the specimens from this area. Dr. Harlow carefully makes an incision into the dura matter and extracts some of the instances from the area using forceps. He places each instance into a glass vial, corks it, and places it on a nearby stand. Each instance appears to stir to life and begin wriggling only upon being removed. This process takes approximately 10 minutes, during which time Sun repeatedly asks D-016002 the same questions. Once Harlow has extracted approximately 100 instances, he gestures for Sun to continue. Dr. Sun, name something to sit in. D-016002, seat. Dr. Sun, what is the color of grass? D-016002, green? Dr. Sun, what is 1 plus 1? D-016002, two. Dr. Sun, note for the record that D-016002's responses have been slightly slowed. This indicates that the instances within her cranial cavity are indeed acting as neuron analogs, though it is unclear as to how many neurons each instance is equivalent to. Dr. Harlow, I am placing a sample of neural tissue acquired from D-13732 into D-016002 now. The instances from D-13732 have been tagged with a radioactive luminescent dye to distinguish them for extraction later. Dr. Sun, name something to sit in. D-016002, couch. Dr. Sun, what is the color of grass? D-016002, blue? Dr. Sun, what is 1 plus 1? D-016002, two. Dr. Sun, what is 10 times 11? D-016002, 111. Dr. Sun, D-016002's responses have returned to normal speed. This suggests that it is possible for 150 nervous tissue to be swapped freely between host individuals without rejection. We will now begin the final procedure. D-016002, you will be given a full general anesthetic. D-016002 is subjected to a general anesthetic which takes several seconds to begin. Dr. Sun, the patient is now under full anesthesia. Dr. Harlow, you may begin the process of tissue extraction. For this final procedure, we will be attempting to completely replace the brain tissue of D-016002 with that of D-13732. Previously, during the exploration of D-13732's cranial cavity, Dr. Harlow and I observed that the instances connecting his brain matter to his spinal matter were not secured in any way and in fact seemed to be switching positions with other instances in the brain. We will be seeing how far this compatibility extends. There is silence for the next hour as Drs. Harlow, Sun, and Robin remove the top of D-016002's skull and begin extracting her brain matter into a large glass container. Dr. Sun, extraction complete. D-016002's brain matter has been successfully removed. Dr. Harlow is now placing D-13732's brain matter into D-016002's exposed cranial cavity. Silence for several minutes. Dr. Robin, heart rate's steady. We have a pulse and breathing. Give it another minute. All right, I'm going to wake her up. There is a pause as Dr. Robin reduces the anesthesia and D-016002 awakens. Dr. Sun, what is your name? D-016002. Michael- Dr. Harlow, faintly heard in background. Jesus. Dr. Sun, name something to sit in. D-016002, beanbags. Dr. Sun, what is the color of grass? D-016002, green. Dr. Sun, what is 1 plus 1? Quiet sloshing can be detected by the microphone. Dr. Robin, hey, uh, Sun? D-016002, 2. Dr. Robin, Sun, look. D-016002's brain is shown to move of its own accord, subtly moving back and forth. Dr. Harlow, well, that's new. Dr. Sun, do you feel any pain anywhere in your body? D-016002, my chest is kind of heavy, feels just the same otherwise. Dr. Sun, good to hear. Now, what is D-016002? Hey, I usually feel pretty energetic even before surgeries, but I'm kind of tired right now. Lately, I've been exercising before I sleep, but since I can't sleep here, is it okay if I can just rest a little bit? Dr. Sun, rest. D-016002, like 3, 5 minutes. I can do that here if it's okay. A small portion of the top of D-016002's brain parts before making a gurgling sound. After the portion closes, sections of D-016002's brain retracts into itself rapidly. D-016002's eyes close. Dr. Sun, that doesn't seem good. Dr. Robin steps away from the operation, making retching sounds as she leaves the room. Dr. Harlow, D-016, uh, D-13732, are you okay? D-016002, yeah, yawns. I'm fine, why do you ask? Item number, SCP-164, Object Class, Euclid. Special Containment Procedures. Cultures of SCP-164 should be contained, using Standard Class 3 Biohazardous Procedures, and stored clearly marked with a refrigerated biocontainment unit, at 10 degrees Celsius. While pathogenic, SCP-164 is not highly infectious. While researchers working with raw cultures or infected subjects should use caution, latex gloves and face masks are generally effective at preventing the spread of the disease. Any personnel inadvertently infected will be subject to six months of chemotherapy upon first showing symptoms, and surgery as necessary. Civilian outbreaks should be handled using cover-up procedure A-left for contagious materials. Description. SCP-164 is a strain of cancerous cells that cause sarcoma like tumors and host bodies. While cell DNA appears to be primarily derived from human DNA, the cells now effectively exist as unicellular, asexually reproducing parasites. Several characteristics make SCP-164 remarkable. SCP-164 is the only parasitic, transmittable cancer, known to infect human beings. Strains are transmittable through, in order of infectiousness, blood contact, sexual intercourse, skin contact, and airborne contact. Chemotherapy and surgery are effective in treating the disease in nearly all stages. Tumors produced by SCP-164 that grow larger than a certain size will, in 75% of cases, follow normal behavior for cancerous sarcomas. However, in 25% of cases, host bodily materials will be utilized for the creation of a new, separate organism inside the tumor. In the case of multiple tumors, some or all may follow this behavior. Said organisms will apparently begin as zygotes, fertilized ova, and replicate, much like fetuses. Externally, this appears no different from normal tumor production, and may go unnoticed in initial stages. Oddly, mature organisms identify as being completely unrelated to the original tumors, corresponding with a previously unknown species of ordered toothida, squids. Removal of organisms show that they are entirely viable in marine conditions, and will perform normal actions such as locomotion, catching food, basic defense, reproduction, etc. However, said organisms will also remain entirely viable in the original tumor, rarely moving or shifting position, continuing to grow at a regular rate, until the host is killed. The existence and nature of the organisms, SCP-164-2, is often not realized in civilian cases, until biopsy or surgery reveals the developed organism. SCP-164 organisms and tumors may interact with host physiology in interesting ways. The following cases are particularly notable. Female D-Class, 23 years old. SCP-164 tumors spawned on uterus walls. Host body apparently recognized the tumor as a human fetus, and was delivered normally containing viable SCP-164-2 specimen after nine months. Male D-Class, 30 years old. Tumors spawned on the spinal cord, disrupting the central nervous system. As a result, movement from SCP-164-2 would occasionally cause subjects limbs to flail, suggesting a cross-wiring of the nervous systems of the two organisms. Biopsy lent support to this hypothesis. Male D-Class, 25 years old. Tumors spawned near the esophagus and windpipe of the subject, in a location that with ordinary growth would normally have blocked off said passages, and quickly killed the subject. Instead, the growth of the tumors shifted to the back of the neck, preventing subject from dying before the normal point. Dr. Roth suggests that this may have been a deliberate action, taken by SCP-164. Item number, SCP-189. Object Class, Safe. Special Containment Procedures. Samples of SCP-189 are to be stored in cryocontainment facility with any surplus destroyed by incineration. Test subjects infected with SCP-189 are to be kept in a sealed containment chamber with an airlock that includes a chemical shower. Personnel interacting with test subjects must wear standard NBC hazard suits throughout their time inside the containment chamber and submit to a chemical shower before exiting the airlock on their way out. When test subjects expire or are terminated, their remains must be sealed in an airtight container or body bag, which is subjected to the same chemical shower as the personnel carrying it out of the containment chamber and disposed of by incineration. Staff members found to be infested with SCP-189 are to be quarantined, according to the procedure outlined above for test subjects, and treated with anti-parasitic agent 189A. If SCP-189 infestation is discovered on any individual or animal at a facility, all personnel and animals at that facility are to be inspected. For the presence of SCP-189 is detailed in procedure 189- Any staff members treated as described above, any D-class and or non-SCP animals terminated and incinerated, and the facility subjected to a thorough cleaning with anti-parasitic agent 189-A. Should any cases of SCP-189 infestation be confirmed in persons or animals outside the foundation, all those affected are to be immediately taken into custody and quarantined. Animals should be euthanized and incinerated, while humans are to be treated with anti-parasitic agent 189A for the infestation, then administered Class C or B amnestics. Any individuals who may have been in close contact with the infectees and or enter their personal vehicle or place of residence should be checked for SCP-189 infestation and treated if necessary. Description SCP-189 is a species of parasitic roundworm, tentative taxonomic classification, data expunged, capable of infesting any mammalian life form. Infection most commonly occurs as a result of direct skin contact with one or more egg sacks. These egg sacks are covered with microscopic hooks, similar to those on the cuticles of some species of nematode, which anchor the sacks to the skin's surface. Contact with sebum then prompts the eggs inside to hatch, at which time, the larva seek out and burrow into one or more nearby hair follicles. Once inside the follicle, the larva attaches itself at the base of the papilla and begins feeding off the capillaries supplying the papilla. Over the course of two to three days, the larva grows larger and develops into an adult. When it has fully matured, the new adult detaches from the papilla, severs the hair fiber from the root, and almost fully envelops the papilla and hair matrix. From this point forward, the worm feeds on the cells shed by the hair matrix, which would normally form the hair fiber and begins to grow longer. Adult SCP-189 specimens grow only in length, extruding a tail, which incorporates some of the pigments and keratin from the cells they consume into an outer cuticle. This, combined with the fact that the diameter of a specimen's tail is usually similar to that of the hair that would normally grow from the host follicle, causes SCP-189 to be visually indistinguishable from a normal hair, except upon microscopic inspection. However, some specimens will occasionally flex, coil and uncoil, and or lash their tail, particularly in response to tactile stimulation. The reason for this behavior is not currently understood, nor is why only some individuals behave in this fashion, though it has been proposed that data expunged. As with many other species of roundworms, SCP-189 is hermaphroditic, with both sets of genitalia contained in the head, the portion enveloping the papilla and hair matrix. Fertilized eggs are produced in groups of one to three and enveloped in a protective egg sac, which is then incorporated into the growing tail. Egg sacs grow their microscopic hooks, and the eggs typically mature by the time the portion of the tail containing them has extended, approximately one millimeter beyond the surface of the host's skin. Once fully developed, the egg sac passes to the exterior of the organism's tail, becoming loosely embedded in its cuticle. At this point, if the egg sac is brought into contact with a suitable host surface, including the skin of the current host, it attaches to this surface and is pulled free from its parent. This is the primary method SCP-189 uses both to infect new hosts and to further infest the current host. The tail of an adult specimen of SCP-189 is no more durable than normal hair, and its head no more strongly attached to the host's follicle. The tail can be cut or broken, or the entire organism pulled out, by any method that would similarly affect hair. Severed sections of an adult's tail can grow a new head and regenerate into a separate individual, but only if they can attach to a suitable host. The death of a follicle infested by an adult SCP-189, or any other event that would cause the loss of that follicle's hair, causes that individual to detach from its host. Without a host, adult SCP-189 die within one to six hours. Mature eggs can remain viable for up to several years after the death of their parent, and as such, even dead adults can present a risk of infestation. When an infected host dies, any surviving adult specimens of SCP-189 continue to feed and grow, eventually burrowing into the host's tissues. Once decay begins, however, the specimen is killed by the toxins produced. Addendum 1 SCP-189 was first discovered in 1999 when Dr. AF, then unaffiliated with the foundation, traveled to a remote area of the data-expunged rainforest as part of a six-month biodiversity survey. Dr. F brought Cara, his three-year-old pet golden retriever, along with him on the expedition. It seems likely that the dog was first infested sometime during this trip. Regardless of when the infestation began, by the time Dr. F and Cara returned to the United States, it is believed that over 80% of the animal's follicles had been infested by SCP-189. Approximately one day after his return, Dr. F was petting Cara when the dog's fur began to move. Recognizing the abnormal nature of the infestation, Dr. F contacted Dr. I.W, a parasitologist, with an invitation to study the newly discovered organism. It was when Drs. F and W submitted a paper on SCP-189 for publication that the foundation became aware of its existence, and immediately took Drs. F and W into custody, and seized all of their research materials. Both doctors were later recruited into the foundation, with Dr. W becoming the lead researcher in charge of SCP-189, and currently stationed in Data Expunged, investigating indigenous populations of SCP-189 for possible containment or eradication. Addendum 2 Since the foundation first became aware of SCP-189, there have been numerous incidents of infestation outside the foundation, resulting in humans and animals confirmed infected in various parts of the world. Continued monitoring is warranted to ensure that such incidents do not come to the attention of the general public.