NARFNraSandbox
rating: 0+x

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Safe Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: The textbook containing the original instance of SCP-XXXX is to be contained in a sealed and camera monitored vault containing a single locked steel cabinet. The vault is to be considered off limits to anyone known to have a high school or higher education, except in cases of emergency or approved testing.

As instances of SCP-XXXX are not a threat when left unsolved, containment revolves around the removal and incineration of all contaminated material. When a source is found to be contaminated, a complete recall must be issued and all copies destroyed1. A Foundation front company, known as Stateside Calculus Processors, has been created for the express purpose of monitoring and removing instances of the SCP object from editions before they reach circulation.

In the event of SCP-XXXX-1 manifestation, the entity is to be subdued by means of security teams carrying low-yield explosives. Standard firearms have so far proven mostly ineffective. Personnel are to give each instance a 3 meter berth to avoid [DATA EXPUNGED].

Description:

SCP-XXXX is the collective designation for several math problems that have been found in various North American calculus textbooks since approximately 196█. The original instance was discovered after investigation of reports of disappearances and violent murders occurring on the campus of the University of █████ were found to have all happened to individuals with access to the ███ edition of "Elementary Calculus: An Infinitesimal Approach". Since the original containment in 1971, an additional ██ editions have been determined to contain instances of SCP-XXXX.

SCP-XXXX will always take the form of an optimization word problem written in the same style as the rest of the book. Copies of all known examples are stored onsite and may be viewed2 with approval from Dr. A████. Though the word choice will change from edition to edition, the numbers and calculations involved have remained static in every recovered instance. (This is no longer true, see Addendum SCP-XXXX-01) Most individuals exposed to SCP-XXXX in the presence of similar problems have reported that it "grabs their eye" or is otherwise attracts their interest, as well as having difficulty focusing on anything else when it is within their vision.

SCP-XXXX's anomalous effect will occur when the problem is read, understood, and solved by a human being. When a human comprehends the correct solution3, they appear to vanish instantaneously. The disappearance is as close to instantaneous as can be determined with modern technology and releases no EM radiation. The area previously occupied by the subject is usually replaced with air containing trace amounts of [REDACTED] at a median temperature of approximately 45° C. All attempts to track the location of subjects after disappearance have failed completely.

Approximately 22-24 hours after the subject's disappearance, a rough cube of body parts4 will appear within 3 meters of their last location. In all recorded examples, said cube has consisted of an organized bundle of organs, muscle, and bone wrapped tightly in the skin of the subject. The body is usually fully accounted for except in the case of the central nervous system, which is usually mostly not present. No brain matter has ever been found in a recovered cube. Recovered biomass is covered in an unknown ethanol-like liquid with heavy antimicrobial properties, rendering it biologically sterile.

Occasionally, a message will be cleanly burnt onto the recovered skin. The message is almost always in the subject's primary language, and appears to comment on the quality of the subject or request something of the recipients. The significance of these messages, as well as their origins, are unknown. Attempts to communicate with the originators of the messages through the subjects have had no noticeable effect.

Example messages:
"REQUEST ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES"
"VARIETY TOO LOW"
"SPECIMEN TOO DOCILE"
"[DATA EXPUNGED]"
"ACCEPTABLE; SEND MORE"

Effects Test - ██/██/199█
Testing was performed to determine the extent of SCP-XXXX's effects.

Addendum SCP-XXXX-01: An additional problem with similar effects has been found and catalogued in the █th edition of Calculus ██ "Early Transcendentals". All known copies of the book have been collected and incinerated, bar a single copy currently preserved in containment alongside the original. This is an extremely recent development and appears to be a response to the installation of Stateside Calculus Processors. All agents are expected to be on the lookout for reports of severely mutilated bodies on college campuses in case another variant appears.

Incident SCP-XXXX-01
At 3:██ PM on ██/██/201█, an unknown entity (Hereby SCP-XXXX-1) appeared within XXXX's containment cell and immediately breached containment by tearing through the vault door. Though all of the site's cameras were functioning, observation was difficult to due to a "lensing" effect, theorized to be similar to the "interest" effect exhibited by instances of SCP-XXXX. Several security teams were dispatched to deal with SCP-XXXX-1 but encountered similar issues, having extreme difficulty firing on or otherwise assaulting the entity. All of the teams were quickly incapacitated. SCP-XXXX-1 proceeded to [DATA EXPUNGED] leading to their immediate disappearance.

The entity proceeded to move through the site and infiltrate the class-D barracks, displaying apparent foreknowledge of the site's structure. It continued to attempt to [DATA EXPUNGED], ultimately causing the disappearance of thirty three (33) D-class personnel and an additional twelve (12) researchers. Secondary response teams attempted to engage the entity with explosives, eventually succeeding in immobilizing it with a thrown grenade. Several seconds after its immobilization, SCP-XXXX-1 violently self-destructed.

The remains seem to imply SCP-XXXX-1 was a bio-mechanical organism. Several kilograms of steel, tungsten, and several unknown alloys were recovered, in addition to samples of miscellaneous organic matter. Near the epicenter of the explosion, a black box made of extremely dense polymers was discovered. The contents appeared to be [DATA EXPUNGED] in addition to 3.5 kg of human brain matter. DNA testing has confirmed the organic results originate from at least ██ different subjects, several of which who were confirmed to have been lost to SCP-XXXX.

Addendum SCP-XXXX-02
In light of this event, all testing on SCP-XXXX has been discontinued without Level 4 approval and the object is now classed as Euclid until further notice.
—Dr. A████