SCP-689-KO found in an abandoned building.
Item #: SCP-689-KO
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: The seed culture and 76 fully grown instances of SCP-689-KO are currently under containment in the biohazard containment room in site 22K. Upon recovery of uncontained instances, DNA tests should be done to samples from the fruiting body, to identify the host.
Description: SCP-689-KO is a mushroom that seems to be a subspecies of Hypocreales Lindau, which uses humans as its host.
Most instances are visually identical to an indoor wireless standing electric fan. The adult's1 control panel is filled with mycelia. Instances excrete resin and wrap around themselves to imitate the texture and shape of bakelite plastic and painted metal used in non-anomalous fans.
SCP-689-KO's fruiting body corresponds to the stalk and motor of a fan. The stalk uses the human spine as its axis.2 The safety grate and blades correspond to the cap and gills of a mushroom and have much amount of spores on them.3 Spores on the grate and blades of an instance looks very similar to dust on a non-anomalous fan but regenerates in three hours when they are wiped off.
The "switches" on SCP-689-KO's control panel shoots electrical signals through the spine to the "motor" part of the fruiting body. The "motor", acting like animal muscles, rotates the "blade"4 to allow spores to spread via the wind. SCP-689-KO has a plug that looks identical to a regular fan but cannot be charged with electricity.
When a human inhales more than a certain amount of the spore,5 they become its host. The host then becomes the nutrients for SCP-689-KO by the process written below. The current mortality rate of SCP-689-KO infection is approximately 90 per cent. Attempts to harvest the organism without infecting humans did not fruit meaningful results until this time.
- Phase 1: Spores inhaled to the lungs infiltrate into the spine. The host does not feel pain at this stage.
- Phase 2: The spores enter the brain via the spine. The spores then affect the brain, rendering the host to avoid other humans, and to prefer damp and cool locations outside their house.6 Infections around the spine become more serious, and the host's bodily functions grow weak as the spores spread across the body.
- Phase 3: About five days after phase 2, the spores attack the CNS of the host, inducing coma. Afterwards, mycelia secrete enzymes to disintegrate and absorb the body.7 Almost every host dies at this stage.
- Phase 4: Mycelia formed on the lower part of the spine adds pressure to the spine and straightens it, making the skull and the spine rip outside the host's body. Mycelia wrap around the now straight spine. Other parts of the host's body are rapidly disintegrated.
- Phase 5: Other parts of SCP-689-KO including its cap are formed, taking the shape of an electric fan. It takes around five hours after the host's death for the instance to be fully grown.
SCP-689-KO was initially found by the foundation in 19██ after people continued to go missing in a goshichon8 in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Investigations show that the first victim purchased a fully grown instance at a nearby junk shop. SCP-689-KO is thought to be closely related to the "fan death" myth widely spread across South Korea. The foundation is investigating whether if SCP-689-KO was made by someone who knows about the myth, or if it is an anomalous organism that evolved to mimic industrial products, similar to how SCP-071-KO did. However, it is highly unlikely that 689-KO is the cause of the myth.9
Addendum: Data about the GOI "Pomegranate Club" found by the Japanese branch of the Foundation is found to contain information about SCP-689-KO. Based on this, it is theorised that some GOIs, including the Pomegranate Club, has hold of the instances and are harvesting them. Attached below are the e-mails exchanged between the Pomegranate Club and the seller of SCP-689-KO.
Item: 20 kg of mushrooms
Invoice #: 1773464832
Date of Delivery: 2004-07-12
Date of Receipt: 2004-07-16
Delivery Method: Direct delivery
Delivery Address: [Deleted due to recipient request]
Item Description: It's the item I talked about earlier. There are other mushrooms that take only humans as its host, but this one's the only one that's both edible and leaves some part of the host alive to make its own.
They aren't extremely delicate like matsutake, and you'll only need some humans to inhale the spores or have them inoculated near the spine; they're effortless to grow. However, I had to remove the cap because of delivery regulations, so to breed it, you will need the mycelia rather than the spores. Well, culturing the mycelia aren't that hard either; you'll only need to cut some off from the bottom and culture them in a medium. (You could use the commercial ones if you have to, but it's better if you make your own by mixing some protein solutions.)
They're considered typical clutter here since they've been around for twenty years, but some of the people who tasted these say that it's quite delicious, if you can get over with the household appliance shape. As we're expecting to diversify our special meat industry, we hope that the club finds our product fitting as well.
We're always in debt to you. Thank you.
P. S. We've heard you have connections with the JOICL. Could we ask for research about this breed?
Item: Five bottles of Nihonshu
Invoice #: 38957393845
Date of Delivery: 2004-09-07
Date of Receipt: 2004-09-11
Delivery Method: Direct delivery
Delivery Address: [Deleted due to recipient request]
Item Description: Apologies for the late response. To me, growing a mushroom out of a pomegranate is a part of the culinary arts, but some of us thought it was a waste of good pomegranate, so we needed some time to come to a conclusion. (They were happy with it after they had some, though.)
We've cooked and had three or four of the mushrooms you've sent us, and the rest is stored to harvest the seed cultures. As you've told us, the pomegranate is still intact near the stalk of the mushroom. We've done some research about mushrooms using pomegranates, but the problem there was that the pomegranate's taste and texture always seem to be entirely overwhelmed by the fungi. This breed solved that problem in ways we've never expected.
We've made a clear soup out of half of the mushrooms since we had to check the state of the pomegranate too, and we braised the other half and discarded the pomegranate following the recipe that you've sent us. In the soup, the mushroom was just barely subtle enough not to be overshadowed by the pomegranate, but it, therefore, took a role of a pedestal that supports the taste and scent of the pomegranate. Also, the fact that the pomegranate inside was preserved with only the scent of the mushroom, rather than being mixed with it, shines a light on the clean aroma. It seems that the recipe you've sent us is based on the Korean recipes of Gamja-tang10 or Galbijjim11. We've also rather enjoyed the harmony of various spices and ingredients mixed. Personally, though, it was a shame to cover the subtle taste of the mushroom and pomegranate with the pungent spices and ingredients.
Take the items that we've sent as a sign of gratitude for letting us have an enjoyable meeting. We've received these from a renowned place, and they're known to go well with meat dishes, especially with pomegranates. Please, take good care of us in the future as well.
P. S. We've requested analysis to the JOICL as asked. They seem to think that the mushrooms are made naturally. We cannot stop being humble in front of mother nature's wisdom.