SCP-070-IT
rating: +10+x

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SCP-070-IT's entrance

Item #: SCP-070-IT

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-070-IT is contained within the complex of Area 70-IT, with shared jurisdiction between the Italian and the German Branches of the SCP Foundation. As it was already known as a local speleological attraction, the structure poses as a touristic building for the exploration of the cave system, which must be carried out with at least two Foundation agents that must stop the excursions at the limit of 350 m. Any further exploration attempts by non-Foundation personnel must be stopped immediately.

The exploration of SCP-070-IT must be conducted only after the approval of Site Angerona's Director, a Superintendent, or an O4 Council member, by teams composed by personnel with speleological experience; the access to the inner chamber of SCP-070-IT is strictly forbidden to all individuals without a resistance for Class VII to XVI memetic agents, who must wear a filtering mask at all times while inside the chamber.

Description: SCP-070-IT is a phase shifting phenomenon that occurred in the [REDACTED] Cave, located 12 km south-west of Bellinzona, in the Canton Ticino in Switzerland. Originally, it presented itself as a gently descending single tunnel approx. 500 m long, with walls composed mainly of calcareous sedimentary rocks, with a large number of stalactites and stalagmites, and crossed by some streams originating from the waters deriving from the thaw of the Alpine glaciers; however, following a ██ gigaNortia1 distortion, that occurred during the night of ██/██/2018, the system has expanded enormously, with the formation of a secondary tunnel and minor openings for a total length of about █,█ km.

These new structures are notably different from the original ones: first, they are composed of clays very rich in compounds based on iron oxides, and evaporites based mainly on sodium compounds, normally not found in the area, and there are fewer stalactites or stalagmites; secondly , they present physical signs of the spatial translocation which manifest themselves with portions of the walls formed by stretched and twisted rocks, phase shifts ranging from a few centimeters to leaps of several meters, portions obstructed partially or completely by rocky spurs interpenetrated with the cavities, and crevasses several tens of meters deep.

Starting from 600 m from the opening of the cave, large portions of the new branch of the tunnel are flooded in brackish water, causing difficulties in the exploration of the following 300 m, at the end of this section, the path turns downwards at a 90° angle, forming a 32 m deep roughly cylindrical crevice, which then continues for other 250 m, after which it opens in a large, vaguely hemispherical terminal cavity opens with a radius of 25 m, containing six vaguely Minoan-style buildings partially embedded in the surrounding rocky walls; these structures are in a surprisingly optimal state of conservation, with furnishings, plasters, and human remains almost perfectly preserved despite the humid environment of the cave.

The complete exploration of the area is however complicated by the presence of a species of single-celled mold (designated SCP-070-IT-1) able to survive in the cave due to its chemosynthetic2 and saprophyte metabolism, and which produces a highly volatile psychoactive compound that instigates in exposed subjects a phenomenon of dependence, leading to them remaining in the environment in which they can remain in contact with SCP-070-IT-1 and take care of it to promote its proliferation even at the expense of their own physical conditions.

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SCP-070-IT-1

This organism is particularly present in one of the buildings, a temple placed directly in front of the room entrance and characterized by the presence of a large number of glyphs and engravings with memetic properties (which range between Classes VII and XVI) representing marine animals and mythological creatures and which, if observed, cause hallucinations in the subject which lead them to believe that they are submerged in the open sea; these effects end after 15 minutes from observation or when the subject loses consciousness.

Discovery and preliminary exploration: SCP-070-IT was discovered in ██/██/2018, near [DATA REDACTED], in Switzerland; in the previous month, sensors of both the Italian and German Branches detected unusual surges from beneath the mountains which peaked in said date, prompting independent investigations to seek their source. Due to their proximity, experts from Site Angerona managed to find the epicenter of the anomaly inside a cave system near Bellinzona and, after deliberation of the O4 Council, MTF DE20-𝔇 (20-Delta "Die Dachse")3 was deployed. What follows is the transcript of the events recorded by the personal cameras of the agents during the preliminary inspection.

Addendum 1: As the first exploration was not completed, the Direction of Site Angerona scheduled a second exploration which begun on ██/██/18.

Addendum 2: On ██/██/18, the day after the previous exploration, representatives of the Italian Branch contacted the O4 Council, requesting information regarding the phenomenon that their sensors detected; the Council presented all the data collected on SCP-070-IT and, after a meeting with the First Superintendent and the Director of Site Plutone, a shared jurisdiction over the anomaly was established. Moreover, the Director consulted with the command of the previous expeditions and prepared a team of 6 agents from SSM-VIII ("Subterranea Materia"), equipped with higher caliber weaponry and filtering masks, and begun a third exploration two days later.

After descending the gorge, the team found DE20-Gamma in a state of severe agitation and with light wounds, who immediately tried to prevent them from proceeding in the deeper areas of the cave. After confirming his identity, Command decided to interrupt the exploration and to bring him back to the surface for treatment and interrogation, along with all the collected samples4 stored in his backpack.

After three days in Site Asclepio, Gamma made a partial recovery and was deemed fit to be interviewed to ascertain the events that transpired after contact was interrupted.

After the interview, the O4 Council approved Agt. Kürschner's amnesticization and relocation to Site DE██.

Addendum 3: During the following couple of months, a series of new discoveries allowed to locate SCP-070-IT's most likely origin point: first, a log of the experiments conducted by Site Asclepio was released5 and revealed that SCP-070-IT-1's effects were particularly reduced or absent in subjects whose ancestry was from insular Greece or Northern Germany; during the same timeframe, dr. Ludovico Draghi, researcher of the Italian Memetic Research Section assigned to the anomaly, released a document in which he showed the similarities between the memetic agents found inside the temple and those present on SCP-177-DE6. After receiving these data, the O4 Council requested a new series of analysis by Site DE7 on the samples of rocks and water collected in SCP-070-IT.

The results of these tests showed that, geologically, SCP-070-IT was extremely similar to the area of the sunken city of Rungholt; as a result, doctor Olga Derminov (head researcher for the Rungholt anomalous area and SCP-177-DE) was assigned to the anomaly.

What follows is the transcript of an interview with dr. Derminov and dr. Draghi, conducted by dr. Heinz Strauss, responsible of the anomaly, and with the presence of O4-13.



SHOW TRANSCRIPT


[SECURITY CLEARANCE OF 4/070-IT OR HIGHER IS REQUIRED]


PLEASE ENTER CREDENTIALS


Addendum 4: On ██/██/18, the Superintendency approved a project to eliminate the presence of SCP-070-IT-1 inside the inner chamber through the usage of antimycotic compounds; while it failed to completely eradicate it due to it being constantly generated by the stone arch inside the temple, the project was deemed a success, as it managed to reduce the concentration of SCP-070-IT-1's chemical compound's concentration by 95%, allowing for a safer exploration of the deepest parts of the tunnel.

This in turn allowed the approval of a second project that enlisted ██ D-Class in order to widen SCP-070-IT's passages, divert water courses, build bridges and stairs, and add illumination in order to ease exploration. The project lasted 4 months and was concluded with only one contaminated subject, which were completely treated by Site Asclepio's experts, and it allows for easier exploration by less experienced personnel, as well as the insertion of sensors and surveillance cameras, panels to cover the memetic agents when not under study, and automatic sprinklers that periodically release antifungal compounds.

Addendum 5: On ██/██/20, a spike in reality distortion was detected by sensors in SCP-070-IT's inner chamber, rising from the normal threshold of 7 Nortia to 12 over the span of 4 days, after which it remained stable; furthermore, the stone arch inside the temple showed an increase in activity which prompted the Council of O4 and the Superintendency to evacuate the area with the exception of a surveillance picket of SSM-VIII and MTF DE20-𝔉 ( 20-Friedrich "Fangtruppe")7, commanded by Lieutenant Arturo Santilli and Captain Johan Frey respectively and coordinated by dr. Mauro Bellini, with the task of monitoring the area.

On ██/██/20, from 14:17 to 17:02, an emergence phenomenon took place, reported below in an extract of the events.

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