SCP-ES-163
rating: +8+x

Item: SCP-ES-163

Object Class: Euclid / Terminal

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-ES-163-A, -B, -C, -D, -E, -F, and -G are contained in separate, large-scale Ecological Monitoring Regulated Specific Habitats in Area-08-B, Site-34, and Site-178.

If new wild SCP-ES-163 instances are found, a specially prepared Modular Containment Unit will be deployed. It is recommended that it be manned by personnel from a Mobile Task Force with previous experience in the containment of SCP-ES-163 or specialized in the containment of anomalous megafauna. If such personnel or a suitable MCU is not available, the instance will be escorted, contact with civilians avoided by appropriate non-violent means, and the subjects involved amnestized.

Contained instances require a regular supply of vegetables (each specimen of SCP-ES-163 has its preferences) and contact with new humans to ensure growth. Their surface should be cleaned by hand regularly, with every precaution taken to avoid damage to SCP-ES-163-1. Precious metal and mother of pearl peelings secondary to their growth shall be collected and stored monthly. New growth on the surface of SCP-ES-163-1 will be documented by high-definition cameras attached to a harness fitted to its back with the maximum possible coverage of its surface.

As a reward for good behavior, certain D-Class subjects declared as viable and recommended by at least three staff members will be rewarded with the care and sustenance of SCP-ES-163. Staff who request and receive the same recommendation will be allowed to contact the SCP-ES-163 instance of their choice. It is not contemplated at this time to encourage the conception of new SCP-ES-163 instances in captivity.

Should health problems or cracks occur on the surface of SCP-ES-163, consult with Cryptozoology or members of the SCP-ES-163 Analysis Team.

F-Class personnel resident on each specimen will report via preferred sign language to the SCP-ES-163 Analysis Team supervisory personnel at least once a month. The content of these contacts is Level 3/163 classified information.

Description: SCP-ES-163 is a mammal species whose physical form is reminiscent of the African elephant, although it may be larger and more massive than usual for animals of the genus Loxodonta. The locomotor apparatus of SCP-ES-163 is composed entirely of white porcelain with mother of pearl incrustations1 acting as specialized tissues, ivory for skeleton and viscera2, and structures with precious metal filigree (usually gold) in all surface regions. Such filigree is constantly changing.

The physical properties of the materials that make up SCP-ES-163 are anomalous. Until samples are separated from its surface, they behave like living biological tissues irrigated by a substance similar to an infusion of green tea with abundant cellular tissue. Unlike other pachyderms, SCP-ES-163 has a smooth, brittle skin that makes the specimen as a whole physically fragile, albeit imposing and aesthetically beautiful; during their rare periods of inactivity, SCP-ES-163 have been mistaken for religious monuments, reliquaries, statues or temples.

SCP-ES-163 is capable of performing all mammalian biological functions. Diet and reproductive habits are similar to those of animals of the genus Loxodonta, although the subjects do not stop growing and do not seem to age physically; it is common to find cases with multiple fangs and/or branched tusks in older cases. Their filigrees often generate detailed and progressively more complex growths as it grows, creating three-dimensional structures and patterns reminiscent of a mixture of anomalous and non-anomalous cultures with which the specimen has come into contact.

The specimen will only grow as a function of its contacts with humans. This contact, particularly with dying or endangered humans, was intensely ritualized in the endemic regions of SCP-ES-163 before the Foundation initiated its large-scale containment. As it grows, the entity will slowly develop new decorative motifs of precious metals that will cover all surfaces of SCP-ES-163.

Certain decorative motifs (models of buildings) will be inhabited by small, articulated humanoid look-alikes or dolls less than half a centimeter tall made of ivory, delicately carved and adorned with filigree and mother of pearl motifs culturally appropriate to the motifs they inhabit (a pious Thai man in a pagoda; a Mongolian nomad in a yurt; a Daevite assassin in [DATA EXPUNGED]).

The humanoids, designated SCP-ES-163-1, are sapient automatons that appear to house the continuing consciousness of deceased persons in the vicinity of, or who have been in contact with SCP-ES-163 at least once in their lives. They communicate by signs with the environment outside the specimen and with each other. The skull of these subjects will always be replaced by a carved effigy of the deceased in question in a crystalline material, usually a precious stone, with a variety of other anomalous elements (fatuous fires, light, candle flame, biological or mineral secretions, etc).

It is common for the corresponding look-alikes of a subject to manifest among the ornaments on the surface of SCP-ES-163 long before his or her demise, becoming active minutes or hours after death. Any SCP-ES-163-1 instance that is extracted from SCP-ES-163 will be permanently deactivated and its consciousness will be lost.

There are eight seven known SCP-ES-163 instance, all of them adults and in containment by the Foundation. The objects are estimated to be between 500 and [REDACTED] years old and collectively contain over ███████ individuals in the form of SCP-ES-163-2. Given the remarkable amount of resources required for their capture and containment (which depends on their dimensions, and therefore their age) and the behavioral idiosyncrasies of each instance (which are assumed to reflect the cultural framework of the SCP-ES-163-2 instances that inhabit them, although broadly docile), each new SCP-ES-163 instance receives special treatment by its Analysis Team.

As of the date of this report, the origin of all instances is unknown.

Addendum: Incident SCP-ES-163/███.

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