Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Item SCP-XXXX is to be contained in a hermetically sealed glass box. The box may contain a lock for a Type B Hermetic Pipette. The box must be placed in an hermetically sealed room out of which all air has been removed. The chamber must also be equipped with at least 4 infrared cameras and at least 2 infrared lamps. Access to the room must go through an airlock, also equipped with infrared cameras and light bulbs. The cameras must be placed in such a manner that every part of the containment room can be seen in the control room.
Description: SPC-XXXX can best be described as a cloud of gas, that can take a volume of up to 1.2 litres in normal circumstances. SPC-XXXX is invisible to the naked eye, but does reflect light with an exact wavelength of 820 nanometres. This makes it visible as a purple tinted cloud when filmed by an infrared camera. Tests to determine what SPC-XXXX is made of have all been unsuccessful.
Experiments have shown that if the gas comes into contact with any form of water, it can expand up to 600 times its original size. This means that 0.01 litres of SPC-XXXX is enough to completely fill the lungs of an adult male, leading to death by suffocation. The lethal dosis is estimated in between 0.001 and 0.005 litres, depending on the victims height, gender and the expanding coefficient of SPC-XXXX.
Discovery: SPC-XXXX was discovered in the TauTona gold mine in South Africa in 1957. It was discovered when 3 miners suddenly suffocated. It was thought this was due to a methane leak and the mine was evacuated. Attempts to ignite the gas failed, leading to the deaths of 2 more miners.
At this point the South African government was informed, and after 2 more unsuccessful attempts to remove SPC-XXXX, the Foundation was called in. SPC-XXXX was recovered, with much effort, and transported to Site-19. After incident SPC-XXXX-I1, it was labelled a Keter and transported to Area-179.
Interaction: The containment chamber may only be entered for repairing purposes and the box must be checked for any damage on a biweekly basis. As incident SPC-XXXX-I1 has shown, a crack in the box will not necessarily lead to SPC-XXXX leaking out making it impossible to check the boxes integrity from the control room. When entering, subjects must wear Class III life support suits, Class II suits have proven ineffective against SPC-XXXX. The suits must also be equipped with a water supply, and possibly a food supply, enough for at least 24 hours in case of a breach. The approval of 2 Class 4 personnel is needed for testing SPC-XXXX. In that case a Hermetic Pipette must be used to extract no more than 1µl of SPC-XXXX. The sample must be handled with the utmost care.
WARNING: Class 4 authorisation required to read following report.
Unauthorized reading will result in disciplinary action.
After one of the infrared bulbs has broken, a service technician was called to repair it.
The technician was wearing a Class II life support system, and was given a toolbox including 2 new infrared light bulbs, screwdrivers and a variety of other tools should they be necessary. The technician was also carrying a ladder with him.
Following audio recording was recovered after the incident.
Date: ██/██/████
Location: Site 19
Control room: Dr. █████████
Containment room: Service Technician █████
Start of recording.
Dr.< Can you hear me?
S.T< Yes.
Dr.< Step out of the airlock and proceed to the broken light bulb.
The sound of heavy footsteps is heard, followed by a metallic sound coming from the placement of the ladder
Dr.< While you are inside the room, can you also check the other light bulb?
S.T< Euhm, doc, I can see something that looks like a crack on the box, that's normal right?
Dr.< Are you sure of this? I don't see any abnormalities on the screen.
S.T< Yeah, there's definitely a crack.
Dr.< Step away from the box! SCP-XXXX has started leaking out of it.
S.T< Oh God, let me out of here doc, please, it hasn't reached me yet, come on man, please just open the door.
Banging can be heard.
Dr.< I can't do that, you must remain inside until SCP-XXXX has been secured again.
S.T< COME ON! Let me out please! You can't leave me here with that thing! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!
Dr.< Please calm down you are wearing a Class II protective suit, It can't hurt you.
S.T< Where is it, you can see it right?
Dr.< It has just started to move very slowly towards you. Follow the wall to the other side of the room to avoid it.
S.T< No! NO! LET ME OUT OF HERE!
More banging can be heard, louder than the previous time.
Dr.< Move away from the door, now! You will come into contact with it in a few seconds!
S.T< LET ME OUT OF THIS DAMN PLACE!
Dr.< You have just come into contact with it, now it's all around you. But please calm down, you are wearing a protective suit. You have enough oxygen to last at least 24 hours, we will rescue you before that.
S.T< OH MY GOD IT'S BITING THROUGH! AAAAAAAAAH!
[DATA EXPUNGED]
End of recording.
Until today it is unknown whether SCP-XXXX is an intelligent being. It doesn't reacts the way normal gases would. Notice that SCP-XXXX doesn't leave the container while there's no one in the room. But does when someone enters, and only after this subject discovered the crack in the container. After it escapes it also follows the subject. The Class II suit recovered after the incident showed severe deterioration, similar to damage done by strong acids. No signs of this have been found on the technicians body. Cause of death is suffocation.
Using SCP-XXXX as a weapon to dispose of other SCP's has been strongly discouraged by Dr. █████ and Dr. █████████ due to the difficulty in recovering SCP-XXXX after usage and it's potential danger to employees.