Item #: SCP-ES-196
Object Class: Safe Thaumiel
Special Containment Procedures: Three Observation Posts have been established around the area affected by SCP-ES-196 (Provisional Area 20) to monitor anomalous activity related to the site. Access to Provisional Area 20 has been restricted by a 3 meter high steel fence with surveillance cameras and signs indicating no trespassing. Subjects found in the vicinity of SCP-ES-196 should be moved away, indicating that the area is cordoned off for investigation. Subjects apprehended near the entrance of SCP-ES-196 should be treated with Class B amnestics and released.
Given the characteristics of SCP-ES-196, D-Class personnel will be sent into the anomaly to gather information on the nature of 196-Alpha. The Multipelgänger unit has been dedicated to the exploration and supervision of 196-Alpha. Except on direct orders from Site-83, no personnel are authorized to enter 196-Alpha.
SCP-ES-196-1 colony density and the status of PoI-006-041 will be constantly assessed inside SCP-ES-196. Any indication of exponential increase of SCP-ES-196-1 in 196-Alpha or unfavorable variations in the health status of PoI-006-041 shall be reported to Site-83 Command.
Description: Discovered in 1946, SCP-ES-196 corresponds to an area of 4 km² located in the vicinity of the city of Lota, Chile. The enclosure is not perceptible from the outside, except for two railroad tracks at its ends, which delimit its extension. From the interior of SCP-ES-196 diffuses a floral scent of an unidentified species. The facility would only be perceptible by sapient living beings.
The anomalous properties of SCP-ES-196 are perceived upon entering the area. The inner zone, called ES-196-Alpha, would correspond to a superimposed oneiric reality, with a Hume level relatively higher than baseline reality. Explorers have reported sensory overstimulation, mainly by visual and olfactory stimuli, emphasizing a persistent mead-like aroma present throughout the ES-196-Alpha area. The natural hypnagogic effects in oneiric realities are counteracted by the high level of Hume present, but it is often possible to experience unusual events when touring and observing 196-Alpha (See 196-Alpha Log for more information).
The first explorations in 196-Alpha revealed that the area affects the cognitive processes of the subjects present, such as reasoning, decision making and understanding of orders and indications, ignoring directives and recall orders. Dispatched extraction teams have been similarly affected, failing to perform relevant rescues, and exploring new regions of 196-Alpha each time. In all cases, subjects will return after having explored about 2.1 km² of the area, autonomously returning to the outside of 196-Alpha by the shortest route regardless of time inside.
The exploration logs have been compiled using comparative information and regressive meta-analyses for each subject within 196-Alpha, since, given the dreamlike nature of the region, the details of the observations are perceived differently, although there is a degree of agreement between each observation.
Convergent and notable elements in the 196-Alpha explorations include:
- Gray-greenish coloration of the sky, permanently covered with clouds and presence of thick fog of the same color.
- Constant sun position, equivalent to early morning hours, with slight variations.
- Varied forms of vegetation, especially angiosperm plants of various species.
- Abundance of hives harboring colonies of a previously unknown species of bees, classified as SCP-ES-196-1. Due to the characteristics of the area it has not been possible to carry out a detailed analysis of the instances. Attempts to extract specimens from within ES-196 have been unsuccessful.
- Presence of abundant coal deposits, especially in geographic features such as canyons and crevices.
- Mining facilities built in these deposits, with abundant presence of railway infrastructure and neo-Renaissance industrial architecture.
- Sightings of humanoid entities, referred to as SCP-ES-196-2. Their physical appearance varies according to observations, but they have been described as pale, famished entities, with an indeterminate number of eyes, mouths and limbs scattered over their bodies, with a gaunt and dirty appearance, found near SCP-ES-196-1 colonies, drawing undefined figures on nearby surfaces with pieces of charcoal.
Addendum 196-1: From the data retrieved from Exploration 6, it is found that subjects do not need food sustenance while inside 196-Alpha. Subjects, upon returning from 5 hours of travel, report feeling satisfied and not hungry.
Addendum 196-4: From the data retrieved from Exploration 14, it is found that subjects do not need rest while inside 196-Alpha. Study of the electroencephalographic patterns of the subjects after 57 hours of scanning show that the brain remains in a low energy mode, "resting" for alternating sections but maintaining consciousness and its capabilities relatively intact.
Addendum 196-9: From the data recovered from Exploration 22, it has been found that subjects who suffer lethal or severe accidents at 196-Alpha will be unscathed in all cases. This only applies to human subjects; devices suffering damage to the interior of 196-Alpha will react normally. However, pain sensations will be perceived as amplified while inside 196-Alpha.
Addendum 196-13: From data retrieved from Exploration 47, subjects allergic to A. mellifera stings have been found to be completely immune to the venom toxin of SCP-ES-196-1 while inside 196-Alpha. Although the venom composition is very similar to that of A. mielifera (except for its burgundy coloration) it would not generate allergic reactions in subjects affected by its stings. The sting of SCP-ES-196-1 does not detach when stung.
Addendum 196-19: From data retrieved from Exploration 66, subjects have been found to show no cellular aging while inside 196-Alpha. Comparative tests with telomeres in various cells yielded negative results.
196-Alfa Log: Featured Exploration in 196-Alfa
In 1988, a Prometheus Labs innovation in the field of human neurological mapping enabled the Foundation to co-design a prototype autonomous organic scanner, which senses multiple stimuli in a Multipelgänger swarm processor, which could operate indefinitely thanks to the constant presence of the sun, as well as allowing greater control over the directions within 196-Alpha thanks to its Hume leveling fields and an autonomous source of nuclear energy. This device was used to map the extent of 196-Alpha and determine its nature and extent.
As a consequence of the incident associated with the May 11, 1987 exploration, in which 17 Foundation members who had previously received SCP-ES-196 stings entered 196-Alpha without authorization, it was decided to send the Multipelgänger unit to identify the 196-Alpha catalyst.
Multipelgänger's Deployment Report 196-2 |
The Multipelgänger unit was deposited at the entrance to 196-Alpha, connected to a neural sensory interpretation and video/audio signal board connected to Site-83, dated May 27, 1988. All stimuli captured by the unit would be stored on a dedicated server for analysis (Request Level 3 Clearance to access full exploration records).
The unit explored autonomously, thanks to its processing model. To minimize energy use, SCP-ES-196's own influence was allowed to guide the unit through unexplored territory. Each day, Multipelgänger explored an approximate 15 km², as far as possible avoiding passing through already known areas.
By July 26, 1988, a partial mapping was done on the logs, showing a 353 km² region. The industrialized zones resemble an expanded neo-Renaissance version of the Chiflón del Diablo mine, which extends 2 km deep and 27 km² in length between railroad tracks and facilities, with numerous plant-like growths within it, operated by SCP-ES-196-2 instances. A notable feature of the coal mined at 196-Alpha is its intensely black coloration, and it generates a white noise effect in the audio signal when observed by the Multipelgänger unit.
August 19, 1988. A total of 509 km² of 196-Alpha was explored. Multipelgänger's Hume normalizer was activated to observe the SCP-ES-196-2 instances and their actions, as well as to take samples. From the Site, the entities looked humanoid, with completely black eyes in various areas of the body, famished appearance and covered with geometric traces on their faces and backs. They carefully carved pieces of charcoal into platonic solids, which they deposited in carefully drawn areas on the ground. A group of these entities lay in the center, surrounded by planar organisms. The audio signal picked up a form of guttural chanting in an indeterminate language. Subsequently, the plant-like organisms 'merged' with the entities, and their eyes hatched, with mutiple SCP-ES-196-1 instances emerging from them. The unit took samples of both the humanoids, the plant-like organisms, and the charcoal used for analysis. The unit was directed back to the exterior of SCP-ES-196-1.
Appendix 196-3: 196-Beta and GoI-3007 Descriptions
On February 3, 1989, the Multipelgänger unit found an area with Hume levels equal to baseline reality at 196-Alpha, which had a more "real" appearance and was not subject to stimulus overexposure effects. This zone was named SCP-ES-196-Beta, located nearly 90 km SE of the 196-Alpha access point.
196-Beta is an area that acts as the 196-Alpha source point. It consists of an open space with an abandoned-looking hut, inside of which is a pit. Inside, lies an estimated 460 living humans, many of them dressed in the typical garb of coal mine workers. The subjects are suspended in a thick solution, and in a state of permanent REM sleep.
Historical records recovered with the help of the Global Occult Coalition indicate that these workers are among those who disappeared during various mining activities at Chiflón del Diablo between 1860 and 1883, including laborers, construction engineers and management positions, although 179 of these people appear to belong to another previously unknown mining facility, known as "Peña de San Juan", of which no archaeological remains exist, except for three declassified documents revealing that industrialist Matías Cousiño had planned to build it next to the Chiflón.
These documents also reveal the presence of a large beekeeping industry, existing since 1761 and controlled by Mapuche settlements, which were displaced during the Arauco War. An unknown group of settlers took over the beekeeping industry and expanded it, until in 1827, a steamship from Valparaíso arrived in Lota and its occupants acquired the land, renaming it "Bio-Bio's Orchard" and making it the base of operations for GoI-3007 ("The Sun's Gate"). GoI-3007 was an aristocratic society that later became a syncretism of sarkic and ecological doctrines at the beginning of the 19th century, while traveling through South America, after being stranded among the ruins of the ancient Tiwanaku Empire, where they were guided to southern Chile through the Inti Punku by an unknown figure, who would later control GoI-3007 as Karcist Ikich'axmitu. GoI-3007 controlled a vast portion of the Lota region, where they developed beekeeping and the production of high quality honey, which was believed to have curative properties, until, in 1834, the Chiflón del Diablo and Peña de San Juan mines were authorized to operate in the area, with the latter disappearing along with Bio-Bio's Orchard.
The industrialization of the region severely affected the bee population, which was considered sacred by the GoI-3007, so they fervently opposed the coal mining operations, while looking for a way to save the colonies from apiary collapse syndrome. Through a form of hematomantic alchemy, the Karcist Ikich'axmitu modified the bees to make them immune to the presence of contamination and improve their resistance, as well as allowing them to produce a type of honey with life-extending properties for those who consumed it. Despite this, the expansion of mining operations, required for the development of the region, threatened to displace GoI-3007. They could not return to the north, and the events that would later culminate in the Revolution of 1851 made it unfeasible to resettle to the south.
For several months, the Karcist Ikich'axmitu sabotaged the mining operations at Chiflón del Diablo, using SCP-ES-196-1 as his Halkost and stinging several workers in the mine, using the poison as a telepathic link to lure them to an inner sanctum built inside the mansion where GoI-3007 resided. There, he fed them 196-1 honey and when they slept, he manipulated their brain waves to create a stable reality from their own dreams. Inside, he began to bury them there, covered in honey to ensure that they would live indefinitely, and constantly attracted more mine personnel to that location.
In this way, 196-Alpha began to build itself procedurally using the recent memories of the workers, and the SCP-ES-196-2 entities emerged as corporeal projections, attempting to manifest themselves. The pilot operations of Peña de San Juan were interrupted when all involved were captured by GoI-3007, continuing their operations within 196-Alpha.
The mansion of The Sun's Gate was attacked and destroyed during the Revolution of 1851, and almost all of its members died; some of them participated in a last ritual where they were myelified and their concoction was sold as a miraculous syrup. Since then, the whereabouts of the Karcist Ikich'axmitu are unknown.
Appendix 196-4: Operation TRAIN TO THE SOUTH
On September 17, 1989, the Multipelgänger unit abruptly ceased its transmissions to Site Command-83 while passing near 196-Beta. Before its transmissions were turned off, the audio signal emitted 26 minutes of white noise with imperceptible sounds. After application of filters, the voices of 14 of the subjects who entered 196-Alpha during the 1987 incident were recognized, whose vocalizations consisted mostly of muffled cries, expressions of anguish, and thanatic desires.
The Rapid Response Team χ-(-1) ("Bijective Transformations") was formed inside 196-Alpha, equipped with Kant Synchronizers to stabilize and control the Humes fluctuations around them. The team was stationed in a motorized trolley mounted on the rails at the entrance to 196-Alpha, which would take them to 196-Beta in only 6 hours. The main objective is to find the missing personnel at 196-Beta, obtain information about the real nature of 196-Alpha and neutralize any threat inside SCP-ES-196.
Begin Log:
00:00:04 — Entry to 196-Alpha. Video/audio signal connected to Site-83 Command. Kant synchronizers operational.
[EXTRANEOUS DATA OMITTED]
00:09:33 — Discrepancies are detected between the areas mapped in past scans. The fog appears to take on a dark red hue that slowly becomes more intense as χ-(-1) moves away from the 196-Alpha hotspot. The mead aroma progressively intensifies.
00:48:27 — Encounter with colonies of SCP-ES-196-1, which acted aggressively against χ-(-1). However, they remained out of range of the synchronizers. They followed χ-(-1) for much of the operation; specimens estimated at three thousand.
01:15:54 — Arrival at the Chiflón del Diablo's replica, west entrance. Despite its exterior architecture, the interior looks abandoned, dirty and dimly lit, notwithstanding the large number of windows present in the enclosure. The power of the Kant synchronizers was increased after several χ-(-1) members reported a strong claustrophobic sensation.
02:11:24 — Entrance to the lower mine. It is observed that the walls have several drawings similar to alchemical circles, which seem to flicker and move randomly around the place. On the edge of these circles, several written expressions were identified, such as "More coal for the furnace of creation", "I want to die", and "Honey, sustenance of the everlasting insanity".
02:37:44 — Encounter with specimens of SCP-ES-196-2. Beyond the area within the synchronizers, it was impossible to discern their number, physical characteristics, or spatial position. Members of χ-(-1) gave differing descriptions of what they looked like, however they agreed that they resembled various beings in their nightmares. In the video feed they looked like severely disfigured humanoids, described as 'eerie' and 'emaciated' in appearance. They were manually extracting coal with picks and shovels, and then transporting it in wagons.
[EXTRANEOUS DATA OMITTED]
03:59:55 — χ-(-1) reported that the flowers of surrounding trees and plants 'bled' a crimson liquid when pollinated by SCP-ES-196-1. The audio signal picked up several sounds that resembled human cries superimposed in harmonic patterns. When χ-(-1)-5 plucked an instance of a plant for observation, a loud scream was heard in the audio signal. The video signal revealed that the plant, when introduced to the synchronizer area, turned into a pile of pulsating viscera shedding copious amounts of blood. On-site testing revealed that both the viscera and blood were of human origin. Subsequently, a large number of SCP-ES-196-1 specimens converged on that location which, when outside the synchronizers, looked like thorny plants growing on the ground.
04:22:31 — The motor car, instead of following its planned route to 196-Beta, swerved in the direction of Peña de San Juan. The Kant synchronizers were boosted to maximum power, but the vehicle could not be rerouted. It should be noted that in the mapping of previous explorations, there were no rails in the vicinity.
04:46:41 — Entrance to Peña de San Juan from the north side. The building looks even more deteriorated than Chiflón del Diablo, with plant growths all around it. The red hue of the fog is much more intense here. χ-(-1) reports a strong aroma between mead and iron oxide. Several instances of SCP-ES-196-1 entered the synchronizer area. They died almost instantaneously, without first undergoing teratomorphosis where they developed arachnid characteristics before falling inert. Several alchemical circles of greater complexity were painted on walls, floor and ceiling of the structure. They contained unknown memetic triggers. The video signal filtered the content of these, but based on reports from χ-(-1) members, they appear to recreate various fears and phobias, adjusting to the mind of the observer. χ-(-1)-3 observed the honeycombs from where he heard SCP-ES-196-1 appear, emphasizing their holes and "what is seen beyond," while χ-(-1)-5 claimed to see multiple instances of his youngest son dying in painful circumstances, while calling out his name. χ-(-1)-6 commented that it was very difficult for him to breathe. None of the reported phobias had been previously diagnosed.
04:59:15 — Members of χ-(-1) report that when looking at each other, they are not able to recognize their faces. When looking at their hands, they are not able to recognize them as their own. When asked by command, they do not seem to remember their mission or how to operate their own equipment. An override signal was sent to prevent χ-(-1) from accidentally turning off the synchronizers.
05:31:14 — χ-(-1) stops responding to Command's commands. The video signal reveals that their faces and physical definition become 'fuzzy' and barely identifiable as human. The audio signal picks up several overlapping sounds, between human screams and bee buzzing. At least about ten thousand instances of SCP-ES-196-1 are seen around χ-(-1), although instead of looking like Apis mellifera burdigalensis, they look like amalgams between dragonflies, spiders of varying numbers of legs, and millipedes. χ-(-1) does not seem to be aware of this.
[EXTRANEOUS DATA OMITTED]
08:27:26 — A figure of indeterminate appearance and shape appears in a deep sector of Peña de San Juan, identified as the Karcist Ikich'axmitu. It emits vocalizations composed of a mosaic of human cries that harmonically simulated an androgynous voice, directly addressing χ-(-1), while the motorized wagon slowly approached the center of a dome. The place resembled a floral garden, whose details mutated between industrial halls and highly complex ritual circles, densely populated by SCP-ES-196-1 emerging from several coal pillars of deep black coloration, invoked by groups of SCP-ES-196-2. The ground of the site emits heartbeats, expelling a red-gold liquid from crevices aligned with the alchemical circles.
Transcription of the message issued by Karcist Ikich'axmitu:
"The delicate balance of life is unsustainable hand in hand with progress. The earth has always been prosperous and beautiful in its balance, for man and beast, plants whose flowers greet the eternal sun, trapped in its infinite cycle of death and rebirth. We have always looked to this earth to give us sustenance, in harmony with the other beings that share and yield their space. Sometimes submitting ourselves, like children who learn to be great with the rigor of discipline."
"The bees, these small and noble insects. Who would have thought that they would orchestrate the marvelous melody that would sustain the flesh from its creation, how amazed we were at that discovery. We swore to protect them, even when those new men came in their ships, and brought us ruin and disease. Wars and tumults since, that forced the hand of life and subjected it to vile chains, not unlike those that Yawni vide tore as fortune yielded dying to those who denied his death."
"Cursed be the industrialists, stark bishops of progress; anathemas of Taykatar's creation who muddy the earth with their tools, stabbing the world to snatch its riches, then spitting their black fumes into the sky, choking nature. Their profits do not know how to ask humbly, as we have done with our bees that share their elixir with us."
"No, it is easier to use iron to pierce the canvas at our feet. To fill coffers with gold coins that add their weight in the felonies of the soul. But they forget that iron also runs in their veins. That iron that returned to the earth in the form of blood spilled by their wars, in three centuries where entire generations surrendered to massacres without quarter. All for progress. They forget that blood is powerful, and can give new life to what lies beneath the layers of the earth."
Continuation of the Log:
08:41:01 — The overload and explosion of one of Kant's synchronizers allowed them to briefly regain control of the motorized wagon, as well as regain χ-(-1)'s consciousness, so they were able to turn back. Quickly, the way back mutated violently, showing a myriad of hypnagogic landscapes and silhouettes that deeply disturbed the χ-(-1) members and clamored to look at even with their eyes closed. Investigators at Site Command described the images as "vehement, loaded with excruciating detail."
[EXTRANEOUS DATA OMITTED]
11:56:14 — The course of the motorized wagon changes again, through previously unmapped areas of 196-Alpha. The disturbing effects of the images ceased, but the investigators reported feeling nauseated and dizzy at the convolution of images displayed in the video signal. χ-(-1) appeared to emit chopped vocalizations, superimposed one on top of the other and in apparent disarray. A dark, thick substance appeared to come out of the various body orifices of χ-(-1)'s limbs, including their eye sockets.
12:13:59 — The images on the video feed begin to normalize, slowly revealing the sector where 196-Beta is located. As the machine stops, the six members of χ-(-1) get out of the wagon and make their way to 196-Beta's cabin. Slowly, they are introduced inside six sarcophagi, filled with a thick burgundy substance. As they each entered their respective sarcophagi, the video signal was lost. Subsequently, the audio signal was restarted, reproducing again humming and human screams, sounds harmonized to imitate a human voice.
Transcription of the message issued by Karcist Ikich'axmitu:
"I know why you come. Knowledge, that's what you seek, to keep feeding the infectious machine of progress. A machine that consumes your bodies and devours your flesh, burns life and sweeps away the remains. Taykatar weakens and weeps each day over the mounds of ashes that progress casts upon itself, but we will act when the time comes. The Mother of the World cannot be subdued, and her spoiled children will right themselves before the rigor of harmony."
"Now you shall rest, for your minds shall be one with the flow of dreams, and with your fears you shall shape the life of your own desolate domain. The bees have gifted you with life, and you will entrust it to the endless hives, born of hopelessness and black gold. Between the cells of these endless honeycombs, you will see the reflection of what lies in the soul, a multitude of holes, which make up the true face of the god. Delineated in a hole of ineffable depth."
"One that can't stop looking at itself, and where fear is fed at all."
χ-(-1) considered Missing in Action on September 22, 1989. 196-Alpha inaccessible since then. Reclassification to Euclid approved, Containment Procedures under review.
Incident 196-006-041
Karcist Ikich'axmitu, honeyed in its inert form. Extracted from the Multipelgänger unit.
On November 3, 1990, an unknown figure (PoI-006-041) entered the SCP-ES-196 Containment Site. Security cameras revealed that the figure was humanoid in appearance, had no discernible features, and was able to pass through the walls of the Site. On-site investigators denied seeing it as it entered 196-Alpha.
After 94 hours, the signal from the Multipelgänger unit was restored, showing the entrance to the pit. A deep human voice spoke as the video signal alternated between the pit and different high-definition images of sites of interest at 196-Alpha, where the inert, myelified form of the Karcist Ikich'axmitu was captured. It appears that the Multipelgänger unit was at several locations in 196-Alfa at the same time.
During the 17-hour transmission, 196-Alpha was observed to lose definition, constantly mutating, with less and less detail in its composition. The researchers who observed the resulting transformation described it as "flat, featureless, empty and desperate, as if it did not know which way to conform."
PoI-006-041 entered the melliferous pit, the contents of which turned from crimson to an amber hue. After 13 minutes, the humming ceased, with the audio signal completely silent. The surrounding reality slowly seemed to "unravel" into static. An in-depth analysis revealed that SCP-ES-196 as a whole reacted erratically to their presence, as if they were unable to interpret their consciousness to shape the surrounding reality. Subsequently, as the video signal weakened, the audio signal emitted bits of altered ambient sounds that simulated a natural voice. The transcription of this message is detailed below:
I have taken a taste from the hazy memories, carried like scents on the wind, which despite inspiring me, do not belong to me. They are not mine to claim.
They must live. Confined in what they imagined, what they wished to undo, in the name of life. There will be a time when they will be free of their bonds, seeking once again their apotheosis, but it must not be now. The Wanderers spoke of their moment; the door facing the Sun with its entrances blocked.
I will be one with them, in the sustenance of a reality that slips through my fingers, like thick honey, ignoring me. There are no fears here to hold me back, for I embody my own anguish. My fear is that I have no fears, because I have no identity, so that when you decide to turn your eyes this way, you will see that there is nobody.
That nobody is feeding its reality, and nobody is feeding, in turn, on it.
It won't be for long, so stay alert and be prepared. Next time, Nobody will be there to secure you.
Subsequent to this transmission, 196-Alpha reestablished its Hume level close to that of the baseline reality, containing GoI-3007 within its space. Reclassification approved on November 17, 1990.