9Volt 1

Title: SCP-4XXX — Bleeding Beneath Antarctica

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research-station-05.jpg

Overhead view of Research Station-05 in the Antarctica Plateau.

Item #: SCP-3XXX

Object Class: Euclid Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Research Station-05 has been built directly above SCP-3XXX-A. Muon detectors, spread out over a 10km radius, will monitor muon emissions from SCP-3XXX-A and report any irregularities in the anomaly's behavior. At least one boring probe and an ice sheet drilling mechanism will be kept at the station in the event that investigation of SCP-3XXX-A is necessary.

Contact will be maintained with all Foundation and non-Foundation research stations in Antarctica for reports of SCP-3XXX-B manifestations. If a manifestation is reported, personnel at the station are advised to monitor the manifestation and resultant SCP-3XXX-C instances. Objects left by instances after expiring will be brought into containment at the nearest Foundation facility. Mobile Task Force Xi-1 ("Dispatch from Miskatonic") will be deployed for containment if necessary. Non-Foundation personnel that witness these anomalies will be administered appropriate amnestics when they leave Antarctica.

Update: Based on the events of October 2019, SCP-3XXX has been reclassified. Lunar Area-32, Lunar Area-13, and Martian Area-01 will remain on watch for further potentially relevant anomalous events (refer to Addendum.2 for further information).

Description: SCP-3XXX is the collective designation for two subterranean artificial structures (SCP-3XXX-A and SCP-3XXX-B) of unknown origin and a collection of anomalous organisms (SCP-3XXX-C) present in East Antarctica.

SCP-3XXX-A is located 3,400m below the Antarctic Plateau1, buried in the bedrock under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. SCP-3XXX-A is likely mechanical in nature, possessing undetermined anomalous properties. The object's depth renders it undetectable by ice-penetrating radar, preventing full analysis of its appearance and size. Current size estimates include a minimum width of 20km. SCP-3XXX-A continually emits high energy muons, which penetrate through the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and decay into other subatomic particles in the upper atmosphere. As drilling investigations to examine the structure invariably end in failure (refer to Discovery), no further information on SCP-3XXX-A is known.

SCP-3XXX-B is a cylindrical tunnel constructed from a rhodium-platinum alloy, with a 11m interior radius. The tunnel extends for 39m before reaching a sharp vertical drop, which descends for an unknown distance, estimated to be a minimum of 3,000m. SCP-3XXX-B will manifest in a region of the Antarctic Plateau on a bimonthly basis, appearing to rise out of the terrain until a majority of its entrance is exposed.2 A variable number of SCP-3XXX-C instances will then exit, often between one or seven. After a period of time ranging from eight hours to three days, SCP-3XXX-B will demanifest, retracting into the ground. Connection with tracking devices placed on the structure during demanifestation are all lost after two hours, preventing observation of SCP-3XXX-B's relocation.

The body structure of SCP-3XXX-C instances can vary, though consistent details have been determined. These details are as follows:

  • 1m tall upright conical bodies, with the main body and each limb segmented in a manner similar to arthropods. The main body is divided into three sections.
  • Four or more legs attached to the base of the body.
  • Variable numbers of 3m long tendrils on the body's midsection, each ending in a claw.
  • A toroidal mass covered in small, unknown biological structures, affixed around the top of the body. Presumed to be a form of sensory organ.
  • A set of mandibles on the bottom of the cone.

Instances possess psionic abilities, normally used in the manipulation of objects and surroundings. Limited telepathic communication has occurred with researchers on occasion.

Notable anatomical deviations have included the following:

  • Tumorous growths that emit high levels of heat.
  • Large conical protrusions that open to release mechanical equipment, often in damaged or broken states. Functional ones are equipped with devices that retrieve data on the environment (atmospheric gas concentrations, the strength of Earth's magnetic field, radiation levels, etc.).
  • A spherical machine replacing the top cone section, covered in antenna and sensory devices that can detect electromagnetic radiation, ectoplasm, and thaumaturgic particles.
  • Devices serving as flamethrowers built into the middle body section, used to melt snow and ice.

Following SCP-3XXX-B manifestation, SCP-3XXX-C instances will attempt to construct makeshift structures out of any surrounding materials, presumed to serve as crude buildings. Instances typically expire in a few hours from environmental factors, though ones brought into containment have average lifespans of 11 hours. All organic matter on the instances will then dissolve into a bright pink fluid (hereafter referred to as haemorozin).

Discovery: The first reports of SCP-3XXX are from 1919, when an Antarctic expedition lead by former British naval officer Dayton Bannard repeatedly encountered SCP-3XXX-B and SCP-3XXX-C instances.3 Accounts of SCP-3XXX-B manifestations continued after the first Antarctic research stations were established, leading to SCP-3XXX-B and SCP-3XXX-C being classified as anomalies in 2000.

SCP-3XXX-A came to the attention of the Foundation in March of 2019, when Foundation personnel operating at Research Outpost-02 in the Antarctic Plateau detected abnormal muon emissions originating from an underground location. Based on Foundation simulations of Earth's tectonic plate movement, it was determined that this could be the possible location of a ring-shaped lake depicted on SCP-2651-A, presuming it was not destroyed by geologic activity and prehistoric K-Class events after ~700 million years. Plans for excavation were proposed when the source of the emissions was narrowed to a region 10km in radius.4

ice_boring.jpg

The boring probe and initial borehole.

In June of 2019 a specialized boring probe was sent through the ice sheet and drilled into the bedrock, attaining a depth of 3,400m before entering a cavern with an oxygen-rich atmosphere and contacting a metal surface. Images from the probe show the surface to be covered in an array of mechanical appendages that were in the process of excavating the cavern ceiling. All readings from the probe were lost an hour after contact. Retrieval attempts failed due to the sudden collapse of the sub-bedrock section of the borehole and the formation of frozen haemorozin within the main drilling mechanism. All subsequent drilling investigations have experienced similar outcomes.

SCP-3XXX-A was registered as an anomaly in August of 2019. Of note is that the number of recorded SCP-3XXX-B manifestations has increased since the first drilling investigation.

Addendum.1: Dayton Bannard Journal Excerpts

The following are relevant excerpts from the personal journal of Dayton Bannard, written during his expedition to reach the South Pole. Bannard failed to keep dates for a majority of entries, though these excerpts are suspected to have been written during spring of early 1919. The full journal is available in Document Rec/Bannard/002.

The journal and photographs were discovered after MTF ξ-1 discovered the "tank" vehicle Bannard and the remaining crew had been using in July of 2000, 11km away from the South Pole. Although the tank had retained power and heating due to its anomalous power source, one of the treads had been heavily damaged and prevented continued movement. Inside the tank was the decayed cadaver of a male human, who had expired from repeated penetrations on the body, matching those caused by an ice axe. The identity of the cadaver is undetermined. What happened to the crew is unknown.

research_station2.jpg

The interior of Research Station-09 Sector 2, prior to the events on 16/10/2019.

Addendum.2: Research Station-09

In May of 2019, Research Team 3XXX decided to construct Research Station-09, a cryogenics storage facility located above SCP-3XXX-A. As SCP-3XXX-B manifestations had sharply increased in the region, Station-09 was constructed with the aims of capturing and preserving SCP-3XXX-C instances in cryogenic equipment where it was presumed the biological decay instances experience would be avoided, enabling further opportunities for research. The station was finished construction at the end of June, and by October had obtained over 30 instances.

On 16/10/2019, SCP-3XXX-B manifested directly underneath Research Station-09 with its entrance facing upwards, destabilizing the ground the station was built on and causing it to collapse into SCP-3XXX-B. MTF ξ-1 and other nearby Foundation assets were scrambled to the location. Preliminary investigations using drones were performed; however, contact with all dispatched drones was quickly lost.

Below is footage retrieved from the first drone expedition.

Due to the suspected dangers of sending Foundation personnel into SCP-3XXX-B, no further investigation was planned.

On 19/10/2019, transmissions on registered Foundation communication lines were received from within SCP-3XXX-B. The call sign on all transmissions matched that of Research Station-09.

[stuff about transmissions from the collapsed station]

SCP-3XXX-B demanifested on [date]. The structure was observed to form a metal barrier covering its entrance, ectoentropically generating large quantities of snow and ice to fill the hole it had created, then descending shortly after. Lunar Area-32 and Martian Area-01 continued to detect signals with Research Station-09's call sign for a period of two weeks; following the call sign, all transmissions entirely consisted of white noise.

A subsequent SCP-3XXX-B manifestation produced an SCP-3XXX-C instance that was found to be carrying the Sia-L192 drone, which had been embedded with a wide number of unidentified devices. A single phrase is engraved onto the drone's chassis:

below is where truths and gods lie — join

The handwriting matches that of Dayton Bannard.

pensacola.jpg

The region of the Pensacola Mountains where the site was located.

Addendum.3: Pensacola Mountains Investigation

Following research on known locations the Bannard expedition reached, MTF ξ-1 was able to locate the presumed site of the described tower and cave in February of 2020. The location was a crater 0.5km in radius, buried under snow and ice near the Pensacola Mountains. Excavation discovered a 200km long broken SCP-3XXX-B instance, remnants of the wooden shack the expedition stayed in, as well as a number of anomalous metal fragments.

Testing of the metal fragments has found that they convert solid matter around it into a purple soil-like compound, presumed to be achieved via alterations to the solid's subatomic structure. The only byproducts of this process are muons.







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