SCP-7716 : Another Woman's Treasure

SCP-7716 is believed to have gained sapience around 6 months into SITE's operation. The following is the earliest identified recording of SCP-7716's anomalous properties.

«SITE Internal Camera JR-2»

Date: August 14th, 2019
Personnel Present: Arachnéō Omnia, SITE Avatar

«Begin Log»

<The camera slowly pans back and forth across a dimly lit room. A series of metallic catwalks run along the length of the wall, with a staircase leading downwards to the right of the door. A thick layer of trash, both bagged and loose, fills the area underneath the catwalk, nearly halfway up the staircase.>

<The door opens, and the camera auto-adjusts due to the light from the hallway. A figure stands in the doorway, and slowly steps into the room. The figure is identified as Arachnéō Omnia. She enters further into JR-2, walking a quarter of the way down the steps, and turns on a flashlight.>

Hello? Is anyone in here?

Her voice echoes, and then the room goes silent.

I think that a monster is in here?

<Silence.>

There are rumors that there's something "gigantic and grotesque" in the garbage. Some people even use the word "horrifying."

<Silence.>

I heard some of the junior technicians say this place is "dreadful," and that being assigned here would be "terrible."

<Silence.>

They would not elaborate further, nor could they understand my questions. However, my understanding is that all those words are associated with—

<There's a muted shuffle from the back of the garbage pile, causing a mass of solid material to slide before settling. Omnia jumps.>

— a monster!

<Omnia runs from the room, and the door closes behind her. The camera continues to pan. A small, semi-transparent mouse burrows out of the pile. It runs along the surface for a moment, stops to sniff a half-eaten apple, and then disappears. Concurrently, a deep, rumbling noise is recorded on the camera.>

<There is no further reported movement, and the room goes silent.>

«End Log»

Approximately 13 minutes following this event, Director Heather Garrison was notified of the situation in JR-2. Head Technician Shahid Bergdorf was summoned to her office for additional details on the situation, but could not corroborate, as he was unaware of any happenings in JR-2. Garrison requested Bergdorf to investigate further, citing "Omnia is SITE. If she says something is true, either it is, or it will be. Worst case scenario, we bring in an exterminator."

Following this meeting, Bergdorf dispatched Junior Technicians Castañeda and Xue to thoroughly inspect JR-2 for activity, anomalous or not.

«JR-2 Investigation Log - 01»

Date: August 14th, 2019
Personnel Present: Elian Castañeda, Junior Technician; Xue Meili, Junior Technician

«Begin Log»

<The suit camera of Castañeda clicks on, revealing Xue standing across from him zipping up a hazmat suit. She shakes her head before donning her respirator.>

Radio check.

Curious as to what you did to get on Bergdorf's bad side. I could have sworn you were his prodigal son. <Pause.> Or did you do something to piss off Garrison? Lillihammer?

I'll take that as you can read me. Look, the quicker we can get this over with, the quicker we can be done.

Oh. I see. You prefer to be mysterious.

Yeah, well. I have a full schedule of other stuff that needs to be fixed.

Oh there's plenty of time to get that stuff done. It's not like anything interesting ever happens here.

(Whispering) Yeah, tell that to the crab that keeps eating all the wiring.

<Castañeda begins walking down the steps. The suit's camera microphone is filled with the metallic sound of the steps, with a second, almost identical metallic sound following behind. Shortly after, the sound is replaced by squelching and rustling.>

Advanced Foundation facility and we can't even get an incinerator for all of this. Reminds me of the alleyway outside of my old apartment. We're lucky that no one is watching what's thrown in here.

We're supposed to be watching what gets thrown down here. No wonder why they're worried about something crawling around down here. I doubt any of this is up to code for AcroAbate Standards.

I still think we should just burn it all down and be done with it. Start back from square one.

<Castañeda sighs.>

I would prefer if we didn't? Setting a fire next to all of human consciousness or whatever feels like a bad idea. Besides— <He attempts to move a bag from in front of him, before it tears open. Rotten food spills out.> I-if there is anything in here, I'm sure the researchers are going to want to figure out how to put it in a box.

There's nothing down here. They would have sent security if there was. Not two technicians with picksticks.

I'd rather not jinx it.

<Castañeda continues to sift through the trash, moving bags and loose items around with his pickstick, and walks towards the center of the room. He looks around; Xue is not visible. He continues to sift, but his motions grow more and more erratic.>

Xue?

<Silence.>

T-this isn't funny, Meili!

<Silence.>

(Whispering) Fuck. I'm going to die down here.

<Castañeda crouches and begins to breathe deeply, slowly inhaling and exhaling. He starts to murmur incoherently.>

<The sound of shuffling can be heard approaching Castañeda, and grows louder and louder as it gets closer. He begins to sob. A figure jumps out from the garbage pile.>

Boo!

<Castañeda falls backwards, and holds his pickstick in front of him. His breathing is erratic.>

What the fuck is wrong with you! What the actual fuck is wrong with you?

I thought a little prank would lighten the mood. C'mon, let's finish up and get out of here.

<Castañeda grips his pickstick tighter.>

We would have been done by now if you stopped messing around!

I—

I accepted this assignment, because unlike you, my work ethic isn't garbage!

<As Castañeda finishes speaking, the room begins to rumble, causing several large trash bags to knock into Xue. She can be heard screaming. The camera turns to her direction; Xue's arms and legs are wrapped in animated latex gloves of various colors and sizes, rotting fruit peels, and twist strands of plastic. She struggles as the mound shifts, projecting an empty plastic bucket into her head, knocking her out, and pulling her deeper into the pile before she disappears. The room shakes once more.>

Feed me more… Father…

<Silence. Castañeda is still for a moment, before getting to his feet. He runs from the pile, up the stairs, and out of the room.>

«End Log»

After reviewing Castañeda's report, Bergdorf suggested escalating the event to a containment breach, and a passing of the case to the Containment and Research department for further steps. Dir. Garrison, upon receiving this report, requested Bergdorf accompany her and Omnia to JR-2. Documentation was created for this event, and the phenomenon was given the designation of SCP-7716.

«JR-2 Investigation Log - 02»

Date: August 14th, 2019
Personnel Present: Dr. Heather Garrison, Director; Arachnéō Omnia, SITE Avatar; Shahid Bergdorf, Head Technician; Elian Castañeda, Junior Technician

«Begin Log»

<Garrison, Omnia, and Bergdorf stand in a loose semicircle around Castañeda, who is hugging his knees and sobbing. Garrison stands with her arms crossed, holding a manila folder, while Omnia and Bergdorf look over the edge.>

Alright. Time to fix… whatever the fuck you did here.

Respectfully, Director, is this not something that could have been resolved sooner?

I'm a busy woman. Do you know why I hired you, Shahid?

You highlighted my attention to detail and past experience.

Sure, but, that's not the reason. I hired you because you get shit done, know the best way to get it done, and don't complain. You stay calm, and figure it out.

<She motions towards Castañeda.>

I hope you can teach the junior techs that lesson as well, but there's still plenty of time to… smooth out some of the bumps.

<Castañeda looks up at Garrison and Bergdorf.>

W-what is she talking about?

As I'm sure you know, Omnia is my eyes and ears around SITE while I spend all day in my office. She sees and hears all sorts of things. Of course, a lot of it is really boring; 'the food sucks', 'the director is a tyrant'— 'the trash situation is out of control.'

Omnia doesn't think like we do. She sees reality through association, and, unfortunately, she is still getting a handle on sarcasm, jokes and metonymy. Your eyes just glazed over, let me try again. Sometimes, when people say stupid shit, it becomes the truth.

<She kneels to Castañeda's level.>

That's when rooms of trash become monsters, and that's when junior tech get eaten for, what was it again?

'Garbage work ethic'.

Yes. Garbage work ethic.

<Castañeda sniffles.>

Y-you knew?

Growing is one of the main goals of any living creature. If you dangled free food in front of it, why wouldn't it accept?

I-I don't get it. I didn't mean to—

Well, I'm glad. I was hoping you wouldn't understand this basic concept so I could do my little explanation. Omnia, dear. What do I have in my hand?

In the folder is Elian Castañeda's safety and training certification.

'Elian Castañeda's safety and training certification'? Is that… is that important? I don't know, it feels like I'm holding trash more than anything.

<She walks to the railing and tosses the folder into the pit. It is absorbed as it hits the surface, and the room begins to rumble as the room shifts.>

Feed me…

(Whispering) Oh my god, this is… this is perfect. Is this the monster you saw before?

It was a lot less… rumble-y, last time I was here.

Great! Shahid, with me, please.

Father…

You're right, this is your father who will continue to feed and take care of you as long as you cooperate.

Feed? Me?

<SCP-7716 goes still for a moment, before beginning to hum softly.>

Feed… Me…

I'll take that as a yes. Now, be a good little trash pile and spit out my junior technician, yeah?

<The mass shifts in size towards Bergdorf, making a low-pitch whining noise. Garrison crosses her arms and looks at Bergdof, who sighs.>

Just… do as she says.

<The mass begins to pulsate, causing loose trash bags to roll deeper into the room, before a mucus-covered hazmat suit is regurgitated on the steps. Garrison turns to Castañeda.>

Get her to Forsythe. If she's dead, just remember it's on your ass. Oh! Don't forget, you'll need to get re-certified. Since, you know, your last one was trash.

<Castañeda nods, and scoops Xue up, bringing her out of the room. Garrison pats Bergdorf on the back, and leans close to him.>

I want a report on this by the end of the day today. And congratulations on becoming a parent, Shahid. I know kids can be a handful sometimes, so I wish you the best of luck.

<Garrison motions to Omnia, and the pair leave the room. Bergdorf steps towards the railing, looks down into the pile, sighs, and shakes his head.>

What a long day.

«End Log»

Hello all,

As I'm sure you've already figured out, SITE is probably the most complex and confusing assignment many of you have, or will ever get, during your time at the Foundation. It's an understatement to say that we do things differently here; when you're operating this close to the Noosphere, there are going to be some… obvious complications to the work you are used to doing, and a change of how you go about living your lives.

I'll be honest. Either you learn how to survive here, or you go somewhere else. I don't have a great tolerance for bullshit, and that tolerance has only gone down since becoming a Director. Handle your shit, or I will.

So, SITE staff, this email isn't some HR bullshit "be careful about what you say since you don't know who is listening!" message; you're all adults capable of dealing with the consequences of your actions. However, words do have a different power here, and can do a lot more than "hurt feelings" or whatever.

It is true that all of SITE's waste gained sapience, becoming an animated blob. It is true that it almost ate one of your coworkers, and that it refers to Head Technician Bergdof as its 'father'. And yes, it is true that SCP-7716 is currently under employment here. SCP-7716 was created because of the power of a rumor that spread; it was created through the power of words, and to be clear, I blame all of you equally.