-
Info
Author:
SamScript
Translator:Xina Harwood
Title: SCP-ZH-922 - The Lady of Farangaw
Worldbuilding Consultants:LuLu_Lucifelle,
Dr V Valentine
Image Credit:
- The image is cropped from File:台東鯉魚山俯瞰市區.jpg by WikiCommons user Liaon98 and should be spread under CC BY-SA 3.0 License.
- The bishop tree image is from article author
Click here to listen to the song：《馬蘭姑娘》(The Lady of Farangaw)
Overlook of the modern Farangaw Area (Taitung City) from the location of SCP-ZH-922's appearance.
Special Containment Procedures
SCP-ZH-922 is to be contained within Site-ZH-44, for which living quarters No.922 of basement floor 9 has been assigned. If the subject wishes to leave the containment room, the subject is required to sing a melodic tune and extended the rattan stalk (provided by security personnel) by 180~300 centimeters. Afterwards, the subject is allowed to freely move about in the site; under the conditions that the subject does not come into contact with water, does not leave the underground floors, and does not enter basement floor 4 to floor 9 (research and containment areas).
Under demands of the Railswitch Protocol, ZH-922 is permitted to receive basic education provided by Site-ZH-44, as well as perform offsite activities under the supervision of the subject's dedicated guardian (Current guardian: Researcher Yamamoto Igarashi) and a minimum of two security personnel; however, ZH-922 should return to the site before 11 P.M. SCP-922 is also permitted to perform Thaumaturgy (within safety limits) on on-site personnel's privately owned plants. These plants should be submitted for security inspection one day prior, and ZH-922 is only allowed to stimulate its growth with worded songs.
In the event that SCP-ZH-922 exhibits thaumaturgic abilities above the basic model level, violent behavior, emotional instability, or any action that could potentially lead to containment failure, guidance counselors of the Railswitch Protocol should be prioritized for on-site pacification; anesthetics should also be prepared to prevent the situation from escalating further. SCP-ZH-922 should not interact with civilians without authorization or demonstrate thaumaturgic abilities in public. Should the rules be violated, punishment will be enforced based on penal clauses stated in the Railswitch Protocol; supervising personnel should also immediately administer necessary amnestic applications upon witnesses.
Under no circumstances should SCP-ZH-922 interact with the Amis civilians in Taitung City. Due to the difficulty of distinguishing ethnic identities, ZH-922 should avoid interacting with any and all civilians.
Description
SCP-ZH-922 is a female human. At the time of containment, the subject was approximately 16 years old in physical age, 160 cm in height, and 54 kg in weight. The subject has slightly tanned skin, black hair and irises, with a facial structure similar to Austronesian peoples in Taiwan during the period of Japanese occupation (1895–1945 C.E.). The subject is able to understand and use Japanese, Taiwanese Hokkien, and Southern Dialect 'Amis, in which her vocabulary surpasses modern cultural databases.
SCP-ZH-922 identifies herself as "Cidal Dongi"1, however, ZH-922 also accepts nicknames given by closer acquainted researchers2. Except for her anomalous abilities, ZH-922 is a normal, healthy female human.
SCP-ZH-922's anomalous abilities can be classified as Music-oriented Type-B Biokinetic Thaumaturgy. By singing specific songs related to plants, ZH-922 is able to stimulate a live plant’s growth and warp its shape according to the subject’s will. These growths clearly do not comply with the law of conversion of mass nor the normal speed of cell metabolism; however, these plants do not exhibit further anomalous properties apart from accelerated growth. SCP-ZH-922 appears to only be able to influence live plant cells, and only its growth and organic metabolism, unable to stimulate a plant’s withering. The subject’s abilities are also unable to affect dead plant fiber structures (Eg: processed rattan sticks, wooden furniture, withered twigs/tree trunks).
The subject's "thaumaturgy reserve", which dictates the accessible amount of her thaumaturgic abilities, is influenced by various factors. In the current theory model, these factors are categorized as "physical factors" and "perception factors". Descriptions of the factors are such:
- Duration and area of liquid water's contact with the subject's skin: a physical factor. A bigger contact area and/or longer contact duration results in a faster charging speed.
- Duration of the subject's direct sunlight exposure：a physical factor. This factor is not directly influenced by the exposure area, but at least a part of the skin somewhere needs to be under direct exposure.
- The song or tune used by the Subject：a perception factor. These are mainly ancient songs/tunes the subject has already learned before foundation containment. A small portion are worded songs, while the rest are melodic tunes. Specific songs or tunes will stimulate the growth and/or morphing of a specific plant species or a plant's specific biological component.
- The style of such melodic tunes are identical to the traditional Farangaw Amis, however no modern Amis tribespeople seem to recognize these songs. These melodic tunes are sorted by their theme, mainly ”song of the sprout/leaf/stem/root/flower/fruit” and ”song of a (plant) genus”.
- The style of the worded songs are close to the style of Japanese or Taiwanese Hokkien songs of the 1900s. Worded songs are lower in number, and the effectiveness of stimulated growth by such songs is visibly lower in scale.
- The subject's emotional stability：a perception factor, which is especially difficult to quantify. However, in a stable condition, the subject’s abilities are substantially more continuous and controllable; furthermore, collaboration between the subject and research team is improved, as well as ease of containment.
Based on testing results as well as the subject’s described experience, different parts of a plant will cause different rates of depletion of the subject’s thaumaturgy reserve; the thaumaturgic cost of commanding flower buds to form, blossom, or produce fruit is noticeably higher than directing the growth of roots, stems or leaves. Therefore, to the subject, stimulating the growth of roots, leaves and stems is significantly more cost-effective, and also presents more value in combat situations.
The growth speeds of different species of plants seem to be individually different as well. So far, the five plants with the fastest observed growth are Rattan Palms (Calamus jenkinsianus), Black Nightshades (Solanum nigrum), Makino Bamboos (Phyllostachys makinoi), Betel Palms (Areca catechu) and Japanese Bananas (Musa basjoo).
Currently, the subject is receiving personal education for societal adaptation in Site-ZH-44, which includes Mandarin. She maintains a neutral relationship with foundation personnel, sometimes exhibiting childlike behavior and reactions.
Containment Record
The bishop tree which "wraps" SCP-ZH-922 for 100 years.
Subject is discovered by the foundation on March 20th 2022. At the time, an undercover foundation agent operating in Taitung County police station noticed reports from tourists in Taitung City’s Liyu Mountain, namely “naked young lady on the mountaintop” and “crazed overgrowth of the woods”, then arriving at the scene and observing the “tree wall”, which SCP-ZH-922 had constructed by manipulating nearby plants. After the agent reported to Site-ZH-44 and called for backup, an emergency response team is dispatched to downtown Taitung, and escorted SCP-ZH-922 back to the site. At first, the subject is highly uncooperative and exhibits great instability. The research team is only able to carry out meaningful interactions after two weeks had passed.
In the early periods of containment, SCP-ZH-922 exhibits a form of reversible amnesia——Despite having temporarily lost much information about herself, these background information seems to gradually return as time passes. Up to November 2022, the subject is already able to clearly identify herself, and the historical timeframe as well as preceding events before she obtained her anomalous abilities; investigation reports show that the subject is highly likely to have originated from Taitung City in the early 20th century, with her biological parents (provided that they do in fact exist) both being members of the Old Farangaw Tribe —— the father a merchant, and the mother an offspring of the ███████ clan. SCP-ZH-922 claims to have argued with her parents due to “romantic reasons” and, as a result, committed suicide on the Taitung Line train railway constructed by the Japanese government.
The subject was already located on Liyu Mountain when consciousness was regained. She was barely clothed, and did not immediately recognize her location, only identifying Liyu Mountain, Beinan River, and the composition of surrounding mountains and sea, reaching the conclusion that she was “still in ‘Farangaw’ (Taitung City’s outdated name)”. Afterwards, she was spotted by tourists, prompting her to “instinctually” control plants to cover up her own body, and create a thick wall of trees to protect herself until foundation intervention. If the subject’s testimony is legitimate, the subject may have existed for nearly 100 years — albeit most of the time spent dormant — and has retained her physical condition at the time of her suicide.
While investigating the location of the subject’s appearance, there is a sizable hole in the trunk of a nearby bishop tree, its size able to contain a smaller adult human.
Addendum ZH-922-1：Key background investigation
June 20██, SCP-ZH-922 begins to exhibit willingness to cooperate with research and caregiving teams. The following interview content is believed to be key events in the subject's background:
Date: June 12th 20██
Location: Containment room no. 922, Site-ZH-44
Interviewer: Researcher Alofay, Dr. Surge
Interviewee: SCP-ZH-922
Preface: This interview is mainly carried out in Amis, with some occasional uses of other languages. The contents are translated by the interviewers.
Addendum ZH-922-2: Railswitch Protocol
As the subject's psychological condition stabilizes, in order to increase the subject's containment stability and ease of communication, Site-ZH-44 launched the Railswitch Protocol, with the end goal of developing a certain level of dependency to the foundation in SCP-ZH-922, so the subject may be utilized as a human resource under controllable conditions. The main objectives of the Protocol include: (1) Improving the subject's Mandarin fluency (2) Maintaining the subject's health conditions with occupational therapy (3) Gaining a deeper understanding of the subject's abilities so as to advance the academic progress of thaumaturgy research.
Therefore, Site-ZH-44 has employed humanoid containment specialist and thaumaturgy researcher: Mr. Yamamoto Igarashi from the JP Branch as the early stage manager of Railswitch Protocol. In the first 3 months after the protocol's launch, Researcher Yamamoto had formed a tense but trusting relationship with SCP-ZH-922 as the subject's guardian, and has also assisted the research team and caregiving team in completing various objectives of the Railswitch Protocol.
Sender: alofay_toothless@mailzh.scpf
Recipient: samtheduckduck@mailzh.scpf
Title: About ZH-922’s Manager
Surge,
We all clearly understand that the goal of the Railswitch Protocol is to increase ZH-922’s ease of containment, and Researcher Yamamoto has indeed done a good job. But don’t you think they might be… a little too close? I mean, aside from functional bodyguard and education, I feel like their relationship is a little bit… over the line as a subject and a containment specialist.
Also, Yamamoto’s exchange research plan at the ZH Branch is going to expire in two weeks. You need to have a good long think about what happens next after a subject and an employee forms a complicated bond. Don’t forget what happened to Iris.
— Alofay
Sender: samtheduckduck@mailzh.scpf
Recipient: alofay_toothless@mailzh.scpf
Title: RE: About ZH-922’s Manager
Alofay,
I remember. But do they really have something special between them? I thought this man’s background and personality isn’t what young girls usually find attractive. (Also, aren’t they always bickering?)
I’m more worried about how after Yamamoto transfers back to Japan, we won’t easily find another employee that suits this position so perfectly. Humanoid containment specialist, thaumaturgy training, native Japanese speaker… He even learned some Amis recently?
Sender: alofay_toothless@mailzh.scpf
Recipient: samtheduckduck@mailzh.scpf
Title: RE: RE: About ZH-922’s Manager
I’m worried too. But I’m more worried about what problems would present themselves if the girl develops one-sided feelings. From the perspective of management, he’s not that irreplaceable; besides, I can really do without more pressure on my plate (whether from the other establishments or doubts from 3E Command).
Also, because he’s inseparable with Cidal, his Amis is now almost better than yours.
—Alofay
Sender: samtheduckduck@mailzh.scpf
Recipient: alofay_toothless@mailzh.scpf
Title: RE: RE: RE: About ZH-922’s Manager
Get him out (due to security reasons). —S.
Incident Record-ZH-44-192256
Due to Researcher Yamamoto Igarashi’s exchange term ending in July 2022, and after evaluation of SCP-ZH-922’s development performed by Site-ZH-44 determined that Researcher Yamamoto has assisted the Railswitch Protocol team in completing the mission of the phase, the personnel’s resignation from the position of SCP-ZH-922’s manager was approved.
July 15th 2022, Researcher Yamamoto boarded a helicopter bound for Taitung Zhi-Hang Air Base, intending to depart for Japan. 10 minutes after the helicopter left the establishment, all plant life within the radius of 200 meters around Site-ZH-44 exhibits visible withering. This anomalous phenomenon was originally thought to be caused by regional Foehn wind, however this theory was disproved after the site performed thaumaturgic detection and evaluated SCP-ZH-922’s mental condition. Despite SCP-ZH-922 not exhibiting intense anger or sadness, nor did the subject display violent behavior, all plant samples around the site (whether anomalous or not) suffered serious health damage, and multiple animaloid containment subjects exhibited aggression as well. To stop the disaster from further escalating, the head of security issued an emergency recall for the helicopter carrying Researcher Yamamoto, only after did the anomalous phenomenon alleviate.
July 16th, the 3E Command of ZH Branch issued the following order:
Prolonging Researcher Yamamoto Igarashi’s term as the Subject’s manager in order to achieve pseudo-containment is clearly not a viable solution as it ignores the root cause of the problem. Site-ZH-44 and the Railway Protocol team must tutor SCP-ZH-922 into “an adult with controllable anomalous abilities” within two years, allowing her to become a useful asset to the foundation in necessary situations instead of a burden. The success of this vision should not require the involvement of one specific foundation personnel.
The Railswitch Protocol itself is already abnormal leniency for an anomalous subject, even crossing into a grey area. If even this level of tolerance could not successfully contain a subject, then this tolerance should not have existed in the first place.
We have arranged a flight on July 20th for Researcher Yamamoto. Before this date, SCP-ZH-922 is to fully receive amnestic procedures on any and all memories related to Researcher Yamamoto. Do not fail again, Site-ZH-44.
—3E-01, 3E Command
July 18th, after evaluating the condition of SCP-ZH-922 and Researcher Yamamoto's decision, Site-ZH-44 has decided that the procedures will be performed by Yamamoto himself, with the supervision of team members. At 11:11 AM, SCP-ZH-922 is successfully injected with Y4 amnestic antibodies under multiple employee's restraint, passing out afterwards. After regaining consciousness, she is confirmed to have lost all memories related to Researcher Yamamoto Igarashi.
On the morning of July 19th, Researcher Yamamoto reported SCP-ZH-922 appearing at the door of his dormitory. Security footage confirms the method by which the subject used to reach the location is completely compliant with procedures and without any use of anomalous abilities. Below are partial records of the hallway at the time of the incident:
The same day in the afternoon, Site-ZH-44 organized a provisional meeting with 3E Command to discuss the reason behind the failure of the amnestic procedure, and a temporary containment policy. Given that related investigations could not be finished immediately, Command temporarily approved Researcher Yamamoto’s continued term as the manager of SCP-ZH-922, until a new containment policy that would operate without the involvement of said researcher is established.
Considering the additional properties and underlying risks SCP-ZH-922 exhibits in this incident, a proposal of re-classifying the subject as Keter conditio9 has recently been submitted for approval to the classification committee. Investigations relating to the “tree” in the subject’s dreams are also underway.
Recently, many on-site personnel has expressed troubling misconceptions about my interactions with the subject. No. I do not hold any emotional attachments with SCP-ZH-922, let alone a “romantic relationship”. I will continue to balance myself between the subject’s correspondence and transgressing actions. Any baseless guesses about me and the subject will only further complicate matters relating to containment. Please, enough is enough.
—Yamamoto Igarashi, temporary manager of SCP-ZH-922