"Hostages to Fate"
Or
"Extra Lives"
(Haven't decided on a title yet, but I'm leaning towards the first)

NOTES: The "¥" signs will be black boxes on the final. I currently dont have access to a pc, I typed This in notepad on my iPod. All feedback is appreciated, but I know this needs a LOT of work. Thanks! :)

SCP-XXXX

Object class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Instances of SCP-XXXX are to be stored in a Nonhazardous Materials Locker at Site-¥¥. The locker is to be secured with no less than three (3) separate padlocks as well as tamper-evident tape. Keys to the padlocks are to be distributed to Head Researcher Dr. F¥¥¥¥¥¥¥, Site-¥¥ Security Chief F¥¥¥¥, and Site-¥¥ Director N¥¥¥¥¥. each key-holder is to possess the key to only one padlock. Once per week, the key-holders must do a joint visual inspection of SCP-XXXX's containment locker. In the event of a containment breach, Site-¥¥ is to be put into lockdown until an investigation can be conducted.
Said investigation shall consist of a strip-search and visual inspection of all Site-¥¥ personel and a detailed audit of the location and medical status of all blood relations of Site-¥¥ personel. Upon discovery of any unauthorized bearer of SCP-XXXX, the subject is to be sedated and placed into solitary confinement at a secure location for at least 72 hours before any interrogation or disciplinary action is initiated. The expiration of SCP-XXXX's duration must be visually confirmed before any interrogation or disciplinary action is initiated.

The Foundation currently has ¥¥¥¥ instances of SCP-XXXX in containment. Due to the ease with which SCP-XXXX can be acquired once discovered, any new instances encountered should be acquired and added to the Foundations supply of SCP-XXXX.

Addendum: As of incident XXXX-5, all personel assigned to Site-¥¥ are to be given an in-depth genealogical profile, including a detailed genetic profile and testing against all available DNA databases including VICAP and the internal Foundation database in order to detect any unknown relationships.
All level 1 and above Site-¥¥ personel are to be briefed on SCP-XXXX's containment protocols, description, and effects, even if they are not assigned to work with SCP-XXXX.

Description: SCP-XXXX is a small "temporary tattoo", with the appearance of a white pixelated "1up" with a black outline, similar to graphics from an 8-bit videogame. Any subject who has had SCP-XXXX applied to them is designated SCP-XXXX-1, while the group of eligible subjects of the secondary effects of SCP-XXXX is designated SCP-XXXX-2.
Eligible subjects for SCP-XXXX's effect include any person who shares at least 1/32nd of SCP-XXXX-1's genes and is related to SCP-XXXX-1 by blood, effectively from great-great-grandparents to great-great-grandchildren, as well as various levels of cousins.

SCP-XXXX's effective duration is approximately 72 hours from application, although this 72-hour period resets after each manifestation of SCP-XXXX's primary effect.
SCP-XXXX's primary effect manifests any time SCP-XXXX-1 experiences any type of fatal injury. This injury is not required to be deliberate, and the exact limitations are not fully understood, as finding suitable test subjects in large numbers has proven difficult.

Whenever SCP-XXXX-1 would recieve a fatal injury,  SCP-XXXX instead protects SCP-XXXX-1 from harm. The exact method of protection is not fully understood, but seems to involve manipulation of probability. Any time SCP-XXXX-1 is protected in this manner, SCP-XXXX "redirects" the injury to a member of SCP-XXXX-2, killing that subject. This effect also appears to be created through probability manipulation. The criteria used by SCP-XXXX to determine which member of SCP-XXXX-2 will be affected seem to be emotional attachments to SCP-XXXX-1, the natural probability of that particular member of SCP-XXXX-2 of receiving similar injuries at that moment in time, and genetic distance from SCP-XXXX-1.
* SCP-XXXX seems to choose SCP-XXXX-2 members with negative emotional attachments to SCP-XXXX-1 over those with neutral ones, and those with neutral or no attachments over those with positive ones.
* SCP-XXXX seems to choose SCP-XXXX-2 members that have a probability of incurring similar injuries at the point in time SCP-XXXX effect occurs. In one of the instances that lead to the discovery, an instance of SCP-XXXX-1 suffered a skateboarding accident, which caused his grandmother to suffer a fatal fall down a flight of stairs. This is the strongest factor in the selection.
* SCP-XXXX seems to favor the most genetically distant SCP-XXXX-2 members, but this seems to be the weakest factor in the selection.

The time between the activation of SCP-XXXX's main effect and the death of a SCP-XXXX-2 member is almost simultaneous, with the longest known delay being 76 seconds (see testing log below.)

SCP-XXXX will appear sharply defined and unfaded until its duration of effect expires, when it will begin to fade and flake away rapidly, totally disintegrating within ten minutes.

Chemically, SCP-XXXX is identical to non-anomalous temporary tattoos, except for approximately 0.1% contents of [Research Needed]. See addendum 2 for more information.

When viewed at [research needed] level of magnification, it becomes apparent that SCP-XXXX is composed of microprinting. The microprinting consists of tightly packed and interlocked ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ characters. See Addendum 2 for more information.

Discovery: SCP-XXXX was first encountered in [RESEARCH] by officer ¥¥¥ ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ of the ¥¥PD. Officer ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ purchased an instance of SCP-XXXX from a vending machine in the entrance of the local ¥¥¥-¥¥¥¥ store, and applied it that evening. Subsequently, officer ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ was involved in the highly publicized ¥¥¥ ¥¥¥¥¥ shoot out. Officer ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ later told Foundation agents that he was sure that he had been shot multiple times, but had remained unharmed. Upon returning home, officer ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ found his wife and two children dead from gunshot wounds. These wounds were later determined by Foundation forensic personel to be accidental discharges from a pistol registered to officer ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥.
Subsequent interviews with officer ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ lead to the acquisition and containment of ¥¥ instances of SCP-XXXX.
Interviews with the ¥¥¥-¥¥¥¥ employees as well as the independent distributor who owned the vending machine failed to determine who placed SCP-XXXX in the vending machine. Security camera footage experienced a 2 minute period of severe distortion corresponding to the point at which SCP-XXXX appeared in the vending machine.

Selections from Experiment Log XXXX:

Experiment XXXX-1
Subjects: D-XXXX/01, D-XXXX/02
Connection: D-XXXX/01 and D-XXXX/02 are twin brothers, convicted of the 199¥ murder of their parents. No other living relatives.
Purpose: Basic testing of SCP-XXXXs ability.
Description: D-XXXX/01 and D-XXXX/02 sedated and placed in seperate holding cells with Standard critical care medical monitoring equipment. High-resolution high-speed camera focused on D-XXXX/01.
SCP-XXXX applied to D-XXXX/01's chest.
Test 1: Small incision made on D-XXXX/01's left hand. No change in
D-XXXX/02's condition.
Test 2: Pistol round fired through D-XXXX/01's right hand. No change in D-XXXX/02's condition.
Test 3: Pistol round fired directly into D-XXXX/01's right temple. Within three seconds, D-XXXX/02 suffers sudden stroke centered around right temple. Vital signs cease.
D-XXXX/01's head was unharmed.
D-XXXX/01 treated for wounds to hands, and was terminated on schedule at the end of the month.
Video footage contains a £.£££ segment of distortion identical to the distortion on the ¥¥¥-¥¥¥¥ security camera footage.

Experiment XXXX-3:
Subjects: D-XXXX/07, D-XXXX/09 (Sole survivors of experiment XXXX-2.) No other living relatives.
Purpose: To test researcher M¥¥¥ N¥¥¥¥¥'s "SCP-XXXX loop" hypothesis.
Description: Subjects prepared identically to those in Experiment XXXX-1.
SCP-XXXX applied to both
D-XXXX/07 and D-XXXX/09. Single pistol round fired into the right temple of D-XXXX/09.
Result: While neither subject was injured by the pistol round, both subjects immediately suffered massive strokes centered around their right temples. Site of SCP-XXXX application deeply burned. No trace of SPC-XXXX found.

Experiment XXXX-4:
Subjects: D-XXXX/11 and D-XXXX/12, a father and son bank robbery team, convicted of felony murder in 200¥, no other living relatives.
Purpose: To probe the limit of SCP-XXXX's probability manipulation abilities.
Description: D-XXXX/11 prepared indentically to subjects in Experiment XXXX-1. D-XXXX/11 subsequently placed into multilevel redundant restraints and secured to the floor of his holding cell. SCP-XXXX applied to D-XXXX/12. D-XXXX/12 is then dropped from a helicopter approximately 1000m above Site-¥¥.
Result: On the moment of D-XXXX/12's impact, D-XXXX/11 suffers a grand mal seizure, lasting 6 minutes. D-XXXX/11 manages to inflict fatal injuries struggling against Restraints and expires. D-XXXX/12 survives unharmed, and is terminated on schedule.

Experiment XXXX-5:
Subject: D-XXXX/13, --no living relatives--.
Purpose: to determine the effect of SCP-XXXX on a subject with no possible SCP-XXXX-2.
Description: Subject prepared identically to Experiment XXXX-1. SCP-XXXX applied to D-XXXX/13. Single pistol round fired into right temple. Subject unharmed. D-XXXX/13 returned to barracks and terminated on schedule. See Incident Report XXXX-05 more information.

Addendum 1 - Incident XXXX-5
During Experiment XXXX-5, a single pistol shot failed to terminate D-XXXX/13. It was subsequently discovered that D-XXXX/13 was the illegitimate child of Senator J¥¥¥ M¥¥¥¥¥, who had been giving a reelection campaign speech at the time, and suffered a fatal stroke. Screening procedures revised and strengthened as a result.


Addendum 2 - Connections to the Cult of ¥¥¥¥
(Not Written Yet! :) )


Addendum 3 - O5-¥ Clearance Required

Dr. F¥¥¥¥¥¥¥'s proposal to surreptitiously apply SCP-XXXX to preserve essential Foundation personel during K-class events and selected containment breaches is approved.
Techniques for the surreptitious application of SCP-XXXX developed, including camouflage, misinformation, and misdirection. See protocol GREEN MUSHROOM for information.

See protocol HUNDRED COINS for a list of events approved for GREEN MUSHROOM use.

-O5-¥