SCP-987

SCP-987: A Useful Plant

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Stalk and flower of SCP-987

Item #: SCP-987

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: One colony of SCP-987 is to be kept intact within Bio-Containment Area-09. BCA-09 is an isolated facility specifically designed for the purpose of containing SCP-987 and harvesting its chemical byproduct for use by the Foundation. The containment facility, byproduct collection apparatus and storage containers must be constructed entirely from stainless steel, copper, any of the "monel" alloys, or else treated with a coating of PTFE (Teflon), PCTFE (Kel-F) or another similar dry, highly flourinated polymer. Any site-necessary equipment that cannot be provided under these conditions is to be either treated with an appropriate polymer coating. If a polymer coating would neutralize the purpose of the equipment, it is to be located within one of the specially designed 'safe rooms.' Safe rooms are to be constructed to site regulations, located against the exterior walls of BCA-09 and equipped with an automatically activated hermetic seal as well as an external air lock and an emergency air supply. Personnel responsible for manning ICF-987 are required to perform all direct interactions with SCP-987 while protected by a hazmat suit, complete with self-contained breathing units, that have been thoroughly treated with an appropriate polymer, to be reapplied regularly without exceptions.

The containment chamber is to adhere to site regulations, to be accessible only via air lock, and is to provide 10m x 10m of soil native to the colony's point of origin. The soil is to be irrigated from the floor of the room- at no point is water to be released above soil level. Water release above soil level will cause a CL2F6 reaction and may breach containment. A stainless steel ventilation system to deliver carbon dioxide is to be installed, as well as a gas collection apparatus to collect and deliver the chemical byproduct to chemical filters, then to storage containers. Light is to be provided from behind polymer-sealed diffuser sheets of an appropriate polymer to prevent CL2F6 vapors from destroying the light or breaching containment. A Foundation-crewed transport is to replenish soil stores and CO2 canisters, as well as provide transportation to the surface during staff rotation once every two months. In the event of a containment breach, all personnel is to immediately report to their assigned safe room. Upon detection of CL2F6 vapors beyond .01PPM within the safe room, or once all reported personnel are within the safe room, the safe room will hermetically seal. When all safe rooms have been hermetically sealed, BCA-09 will flood the facility and containment chamber with liquid nitrogen. Foundation agents will retrieve surviving personnel and investigate the cause of the containment breach, while a clean-up of the facility is executed. Once the colony has been neutralized and removed, the facility will be prepped to await discovery and delivery of another colony of SCP-987.

All colonies of SCP-987 not earmarked for transfer to BCA-09 are to be isolated and destroyed. Permanent flooding the area of the infestation is a viable option, as SCP-987 cannot survive underwater and the byproduct is effectively- though violently- neutralized by complete immersion in water. If this option is unavailable, an area extending 10m beyond the contaminated surface area to a depth of 5m must be tilled under and treated with liquid nitrogen to purge the vines, stalks and roots, or if small enough, simply sealed and flooded with liquid nitrogen.

Description: SCP-987 is an invasive, flowering vine colony that bears some slight similarity to various members of the order Malphigiales. Consistent features despite the several variations include central stalks bearing large flowers amidst a network of expansive vines. Phenotypical variations include coloring of vines, leaves, stalks and flowers and the presence of fruit, typically dependent on region; while no specimen of SCP-987 has ever exhibited intelligence or sapience of any sort, all specimens found in the wild mimicked one or more indigenous species of flora to a high degree of accuracy and originally lead to the sub-classification of SCP-987. Only one genotype of SCP-987 has been discovered; all variants are, in fact, merely adaptive camoflage and do not indicate divergent evolution nor development of a subspecies of SCP-987. Fruit-bearing specimens do not contain CL2F6 and, in fact, if they can be harvested safely, have proven safe to eat, in close approximation of the fruit mimicked. SCP-987 has proven strangely resilient to indirect force, radioactivity and heat- likely as a defense against its own CL2F6 reactions. The most effective means of disposal is flooding the contaminated area with liquid nitrogen.

The flowers, roots and vines of SCP-987 secrete a chemical in place of nectar which, following the initial containment of a colony in C████████, R████ was identified to be the compound CL2F6, chlorotriflouride. CL2F6 vaporizes at temperatures higher than 13 degrees celsius, is colorless and smells sweet. This is its primary method of attracting nutrients. While a stalk can sustain itself indefinitely given soil, water, sunlight and carbon dioxide, it must be able to fertilize the ground surrounding itself to expand the colony. As insects and animals are attracted to the scent of the chemical, they inhale greater and greater amounts of CL2F6. At 800 PPM, this results in death within fifteen minutes (compare to carbon monoxide, which requires 6400 PPM to reach the same level of lethality). Considering the rapid increase in concentration as a victim approaches the stalk, and the speed of incapacitation even after realizing their danger, the vapors prove to be highly dangerous.

In liquid form- I.E. the sap and nectar of SCP-987 or condensation of the vapor- CL2F6 is corrosive, toxic, hypergolic on contact with most combustible materials without a spark or ignition source, reacts violently when in contact with water, ice, or silicon- containing compounds (including sand, asbestos and glass), is incompatible with oil, grease, reducing agents, organic compounds, fuels and combustibles and most metals and metal oxides, cannot catch fire and so cannot be neutralized by ignition and decomposes into chlorine, flourine and hydrogen flourine if exposed to temperatures higher than 220 degrees celsius. It does not react with dry, highly fluorinated polymers such as PTFE (Teflon) or PCTFE (Kel-F), the metals used in storage containers (monel, copper, and stainless steel) or gaskets (teflon), nitrogen gas or air, and the inert gases (neon, etc.).

The stalks of SCP-987 possess expansive root structures, approximately three times as broad as the root structures of the native species SCP-987 is mimicking. If the roots are provided with nutrients- typically in the form of animals that fall prey to CL2F6's toxic qualities- it will also extrude vines in all directions at a visibly observable pace that continues until the the nutrients provided by the dissolution of the victim's body by the continuous action of CL2F6 is expended. If they encounter stationary objects, they can climb the object, but typically by the time they would do so, one or more instances of a CL2F6 reaction have reducted the object to rubble or ash. When a vine extends to a length from the stalk equivalent to twice the median radius of the root structure, it penetrates the soil and begins to sprout, creating a new stalk and spreading the colony.

It is unknown if SCP-987 existed prior to the aforementioned incident at C████████, but clearly the proliferation of gasoline, gas mains, water mains and other sources of explosive potential, combined with the rapid expanse of the SCP-987 colony when supplied with sufficient nutrients, such as those provided by the dead and dying after a CL2F6 reaction in a populated area, leave even a single uncontained SCP-987 colony a devastating threat. This is compounded by the fact that CL2F6 is available for purchase from K███████████ Co. As CL2F6, despite attempts to synthesize it, can only be acquired directly from a specimen of SCP-987, there is at least one colony of SCP-987 being maintained by an organization supplying K███████████ Co. A team headed by Agent W█████ is researching the identity of this organization.

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