9Volt Draft Swap Round 2 Entry

SCP-3XXX - Going Home

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[[include component:image-block
    name=Research_vessel_Laurence_M._Gould.jpg|
    caption=Photograph of FRV //Pierre Aronnax//, circa 2015.
]]

**Item #:** SCP-3XXX

**Object Class:** Euclid

**Special Containment Procedures:** Access to the Amundsen Sea should be restricted, with Foundation vessels circling the area. Investigation of the anomaly should be done with ROVs only, piloted by researchers trained in handling cognitohazards and memetics. Anti-Cognitohazard bots should monitor all footage and images from the ROVs. Any personnel showing signs of possible SCP-3XXX effects should be quarantined and monitored.

Research into the anomaly is ongoing.

**Description:** SCP-3XXX a cognitohazardous species of Siphonophorae, likely located within the Amundsen Sea, off the coast of West Antarctica. Current knowledge suggests that the cognitohazard causes subjects to gain an affinity for the ocean, which appears to increase over time. Whether this increase happens after one exposure to the anomaly or is the result of multiple exposures is being investigated.

It is unknown when SCP-3XXX was first discovered, though the encounter by the Foundation Research Vessel //Pierre Aronnax// is the first recorded one. The ship was investigating the possibility of [[[SCP-879]]]-2 instances in the area when the seven onboard personnel were exposed to SCP-3XXX, believed to have occurred around 18-2-2017. Following this contact with the Foundation gradually decreased. As security footage was destroyed, little is known about what happened during this time. Below are relevant excepts from the diary of Researcher Javier Demetrio, one of the ship's crew, which details the affects of the anomaly and relevant events during this time.

> 18/2/17
>
> Once again, no sign of the elusive -2(s). We've only been out for two days, so I'm not expecting any immediate progress, especially with such a large area to cover. I still don't feel one ship is enough for this investigation, though any more may be a waste of resources if this doesn't turn out to be around here, so I guess it's reasonable. Have seen some cool creatures, so that's a plus.
>
> [IRRELEVANT TEXT EXPUNGED]

> 19/2/17
>
> [IRRELEVANT TEXT EXPUNGED]
>
> So far the pheromone trail has led us nowhere. We've got no way to test whether the detector is behaving right, and nobody is going to test the pheromoney water, so we're at a dead end here. It is nice looking out at the native creatures around here, though. You don't expect a lot of life out in this area.

> 20/2/17
>
> The detectors are busted. James practically broke them off of the side of the boat (didn't know the sub claws were so strong), carefully took them out of the water and, after cleaning them out, poured some water into them. We got a high detection of pheromones from it, then after a few more tests we figured that they were kaput. Sonar and sight is our best bet now, which may get annoying with the normal creatures that swim around the ship, though it might be more obvious if one shows up. Who knows. I'm going to tinker around with the machine a bit with the hopes of getting it working.
>
> For the record I lost my mind after I saw what he was doing, but I've mostly calmed down now.
> [IRRELEVANT TEXT EXPUNGED]
>
> Some of the creatures I've seen swimming around the boat are pretty strange. They look like long jellyfish, with weird reddish orbs in them that flash every now and then. Its been fairly soothing looking out at them from my bunk, as strange as that sounds. In fact I'm looking at them right now as a write.

> 21/2/17
>
> [IRRELEVANT TEXT EXPUNGED]
>
> While Mali and I were looking out from the deck she was telling me about all of the stuff that lives around deep sea vents. I'd known about that before, but it's always been fairly interesting that stuff can live completely isolated from the surface for millions of years and do just fine. It seems so lonely down there, but it's far from that.
>
> Also, before I forget, the pheromone sensors are more broken than I thought they were. Despite my thoughts of James breaking it off having damaged it, something weird happened with the interior (and a bit of the exterior). Some tiny holes had been carved in the side, leading to the electronics components, which had been intrinsically messed with. They got rigged to sense the [illegible - word scribbled out]g pheromones wherever it got dragged in the water. Some weird gel was clogging the holes, probably to prevent internal water damage. I get the feeling something anomalous is going on that isn't related to what we are investigating. Not sure if this has happened to the buoys, though.

> 22/2/17
>
> Right after I woke up I asked Mali about what the jelly-like serpent things were doing around our boat, since she's the resident marine biologist (the only one that actually wants to talk to me, that is). Her best guess was that there were a type of siphonophore, the things that are big colonies of smaller organisms. She wasn't exactly sure why they are so close to surface, --but, strangely, she said, "It's not my job to learn about that."-- Actually she works as a FOUNDATION marine biologist, so identifying new species isn't her thing. Checks out for me.
>
> Something nice is that she's been staring at the siphonophores a lot too! Turns out neither of us are weird for doing that.
> [IRRELEVANT TEXT EXPUNGED]
>
> I told the crew what happened to the sensors, and we've gone around and checked up on the buoys. All of them have been broken in the same exact manner. One thing that caught my attention was that every hole that was made into these was a perfect circle. No way any animal could make that, nor could any person be doing this. This is definitely anomalous.

> 23/2
>
> I've done some talking to rest of the crew. Turns out that all of us have been watching the siphonophores! At least how beautiful they are is one thing we can agree on here.
>
> [IRRELEVANT TEXT EXPUNGED]
>
> A plan has just been devised to keep watch of the area surrounding the ship. It would be obvious if anything was around the ship in the day, so we'll be changing our schedules to keep watch around the clock. Luckily I don't need to change mine, though Mali will have the opposite schedule as me. It's a bit disappointing not being able to talk to her about the ocean when we're bored.
>
> --We'll be contacting the Foundation about this.-- Only if the anomaly gets bad. Don't want to waste their time with something that could be meaningless.

> 25/2/
>
> Jesus christ I got of bed and stretched and my body just leaked. Clear guck spurt out of my back onto the wall, and the same just happened to Kavi. Based on the yells from the other sleeping quarters (dorms?) the same is happening to other people. There's a weird hole on both of our backs and it's freaking us out. Some of the liquid also got on the diary as well, but isn't destroying the ink I've written with in it.[[footnote]] No signs of any biological fluids or any liquids were found in the diary.[[/footnote]]
>
> After a meeting Kali's figured that this hasn't harmed us at all. I should trust him, but I feel like something is very wrong here. He's going to study the liquid, so that might help him learn what's happened to us. Besides from that, business as usual (I think).

> 24/2/17
>
> [IRRELEVANT TEXT EXPUNGED]
>
> While I've been out watching I've done some thinking about the sea. It's (technically) the oldest thing on this planet, since big interconnected bodies of water have been around for billions of years. Continents have come come and gone, but the ocean hasn't, and it'll continue existing for ages (hopefully). Many of the things that live in it, especially the ones deep down at the bottom of the sea, have remained unchanged for millions of years. Nothing interrupts their habitats, and for many, nothing ever will. It's arguably the safest place on the planet.

> 25/2
>
> A few new holes, this time around the neck. Looks like most of us are getting these at the same time, though Mali's being getting much more. Thank whatever gods exist (that don't want us dead) that these aren't painful. In fact, no feeling really comes from them. If you rub your hands on and in them it doesn't even feel like anything. It's still disturbing, but it could be much worse.

> 26
>
> [IRRELEVANT TEXT EXPUNGED]
> Another one of the things I have been reading about was the origins of life. --Unless some anomalous stuff created life-- Life first developed in water, forming from various chemicals in some small, landlocked sea. First were your basic cells, which began to divide through sheer chance, and over time you got the metric ton of organisms on this planet. I knew that before, however, there is an interesting theory that life began to develop around hydrothermal vents, which would provide the early bacteria with the means of easily getting chemicals needed for survival. Those vents we see in the Atlantic and Pacific, while not exactly the same, are the home of all life.
>
> Must be nice down there.

> 27
>
> New day, new holes. Not sure how deep they go. Mali still has the most. The siphonophores are still as pretty as they'll ever be.

> [Unknown date]
>
> As the days have gone by I keep thinking about the world. Thinking about all of the stuff up here. I don't have a high clearance level so I don't know how much the Foundation has in store, but from what I can tell it's in the thousands. Maybe even a hundred thousand, and a good percentage of those are from the ground and sky. Even a few beyond. You see all of the horrors and dangers that roam up here, and then you look down and see a calm, serene place.
>
> --I think-- The universe is trying to tell us that we don't belong up here.

> --30--
>
> --None of this shit s--[illegible - sentence scribbled out]--I've read up siphonophores, and they never go this close to t--[illegible - paragraph scribbled out]--ll the creatures, but the crew w--[illegible - majority of page scribbled over]mething's gotten into me recently. It probably has to do with the leaks. There is no way that is healthy for anyone here, especially considering how tired we've all been.--eep making up exc--Based on where the leaks normally happen, it's probably damaging my brain somehow. I think Kali and I actually felt the brain while M--the holes aren't--
>
> [IRRELEVANT TEXT EXPUNGED]

> [Unknown date]
>
> I've figured out why we keep leaking all over the place. It's the Foundation. They want to keep us up here so we can keep working for them and inevitably die a horrible death. That metal shard that came out of one of Mali's neck holes? I studied it, cracked it open, examined it. It was part of a kill switch. They are turning on devices that have been implanted inside of us to prevent us from spreading the truth about the depths.[[footnote]] No crew members had been outfitted with Atlasfall implants, which remotely detonate the atlas cervical vertebra and surrounding area.[[/footnote]]
>
> I don't know how we are going to survive this. But we have to find a way.
>
> The guides know of a way.

> [Unknown date]
>
> We have stabbed the eyes of the Foundation. All security cameras have been destroyed, and the footage is deleted. --things are going horribly wrong--[illegible - text scribbled out] The Foundation is still trying to hold us hostage here, but we aren't letting their tricks get to us. --i need to stay-- The guides are helping us pretty well on that fr--they want al-- Impressively the whole crew has agreed that tomorrow will be the start of our pilgrimage. All of us are prepared.

> 3
>
> Today is the last day I will see the crew for a long time. They're going to board the subs, and I'll be the one who operates the lifts to send them off to home. This will be the last time they will ever live on the horrendous surface, and they will go on their pilgrimage to our abyssal birthplace. The guides will help them ease into home once they arrive, which I know they will do well.
>
> As for myself, my voyage to save --my--humanity has begun.

On 1-3-2017, the ship's crew, with the exception of Demetrio, boarded the submersibles Conseil-1 and -2. The submersibles were released into the water, and began to descend. Below is a transcript of footage, primarily from an undamaged exterior camera on the front of Conseil-2. Additional recovered footage is also described.

> The camera feed of Conseil-2 is turned on, showing the rear deck of the FRV //Pierre Aronnax//. As it is polar twilight, lights can be seen along the deck railings. Multiple red flashes are seen coming from the water, along with lights from Conseil-1. The submersible begins to move forward as the lifting crane positions it to be dropped into the water. Exterior lights are turned on, and the sub is dropped.
>
> Now underwater, Conseil-2 begins to move towards Conseil-1. Multiple SCP-3XXX instances can be seen swimming in the area, with one longer instance near -1. The long instance begins to descend, and -1 follows it. After a brief pause -2 starts to move along -1's path. Off to the side a humanoid figure with an SCP-3XXX instance sticking through it rapidly moves out of sight.
>
> As the submersibles descend the water becomes darker, and more SCP-3XXX appear in the distance. Only faint flashes can be seen from these ones. Non-anomalous organisms occasionally appear during the descent, though most are constricted by an instance and are pulled out of view. After 30 minutes Conseil -1 and -2 cease the descent and pass over a series of large rocky spires. A translucent mass is moving around the spires.
>
> At this point the footage is corrupted for 23 minutes. All other cameras show the color red and multiple cognitohazardous patterns during this, with the exception of the rear camera. Various rocky objects and translucent shapes are illuminated by a red light, which are rapidly moving towards a point in the distance.
[[include component:image-block name=5277253553_d7e1db062b_o.jpg| caption=Image from Conseil-2's footage.]]
>
> After the 23 minutes all cameras except for the top-facing one turn off. Conseil-1 is above, and SCP-3XXX instances move towards the submersible and circle around it. More instances are faintly seen surrounding the area around both vehicles. After two minutes instances connect together and form a mass that latches onto -1, and begin to press against it. Some instances break apart into red and blue particles during this process.
>
> A minute later the submersible suddenly crumples, likely from depressurization, and sinks past Conseil-2. The mass breaks apart, and the instances move towards -2. The camera starts shaking, and a trail of blood starts drifting up. The vehicle abruptly begins to move up as the instances leave the area. The translucent mass seen at the spires quickly moves in an out of the camera's view. After an hour -2 surfaces, and all cameras turn on. The remaining 15 hours of footage show no anomalous activity. In the last a minute an entity resembling an SCP-879-2 instance moves past the submersible, pursued by multiple SCP-3XXX instances.

After four days without communication from FRV //Pierre Aronnax//, MTF-Pi-9 ("Dyer's Crew") was dispatched from Antarctic Research Site-98 to the sea. On 5-3-2017, the vessel and Conseil-2 were found and retrieved. Conseil-2 had a series of dents on its underside, along with a broken rotor. The ship had no damage, though all electronic devices were broken. Six liters of cerebrospinal fluid were found storage crates, and Javier Demetrio's journal was found in one of the shared crew cabins. An investigation into the 897 Pheromone Detectors revealed no signs of damage or tampering.

The crew is presumed dead until further notice. The FRV //Pierre Aronnax// and Conseil-2 are being returned to service.

**Addendum:** On 14-3-2017, at a depth of 1,400 meters, a Foundation ROV encountered five SCP-3XXX instances. Each instance was either impaled through or wrapped around human bodies, along with body parts. One instance was in the process of connecting multiple organs to a dismembered torso, ejecting a translucent gel for use as an adhesive. The skin of the bodies was heavily lacerated, with a layer of a grey substance coating some areas. The heads had a mass of the grey substance and beige material extruding from the front, with red bioluminescent dots on it. One body can be seen floating in the distance, with translucent material extending from its back. After a minute all of the arms, including disconnected ones, appeared to wave at the ROV before fluids resembling hydrothermal vent emissions obstruct camera view. Connection with the ROV is lost at this time.

Footage analysis shows that the lights on one of the heads were flashing a message in FRSC[[footnote]] Foundation Repetitive Signal Communication[[/footnote]]. The message says, "It's safer down here." An official designation for the entities is pending.

[Image Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Research_vessel_Laurence_M._Gould.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5277253553/in/photostream/
]