SCP-286
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286-0.jpg
SCP-286 in its mounting

Item #: SCP-286

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Level-4 Radiation Shielding must be observed within the presence of SCP-286. This includes the use of an electronic dosimeter, radiation gear, and the possibility of quarantine.

Description: What was once thought to be a meteorite, SCP-286's origin has been reclassified to unknown status. Currently, SCP-286 is a metal lattice ingot, roughly spherical in shape and composed mostly of iron and nickel. However, further analysis has determined that the core of SCP-286 is composed of denser material, and heavier elements, such as bohrium and theorized ununseptium, are thought to exist in a constant state of creation and decay as evident by residual alpha and beta particle emission. The overall mass of SCP-286 has proven to increase over its time under observation, though its age is difficult to estimate as its growth does not remain constant and is subject to brief periods of mass loss through heavy radiation emission.

286-1.jpg
A common barnyard spider affected by SCP-286 feeds on a bird in its observation atrium.

The radiation emitted by SCP-286 is typically of low strength, falling in the the range of 30-47 kVp and 52-88 mAs. However, brief bursts of strong radiation can create frequencies strong enough to pass through most layers of flesh and straight through the typical human being. Like most radiation, those emitted have the potential to create free radicals within living tissue and cause various types of cancers. In addition, a specific frequency of radiation is thought to directly interact with RNA polymerase, slightly changing their chemical structure, uniformly throughout the entire creature.

286-4.jpg
Note the forward limbs of this fish exposed to SCP-286.

Rather than coding mRNA from modern DNA genes, the affected RNA polymerase instead selects "junk" DNA, which is genetic code left over from past evolutionary species in that creature's genetic history. Each cell undergoes a transitional period anywhere from a few days to several weeks as it takes on the characteristics of a past species. Ultimately, the entire creature will, for all intents and purposes, become de-evolved into a prior species from its evolutionary family tree, if it first does not die from a possible onset of various cancers.

This process has been observed in experiments involving numerous insects, arachnids, crustaceans, fish, and eleven humans. The timescale of species modification (how long ago the species last appeared on Earth) is roughly dependent on the frequency of radiation emitted by SCP-286.

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Class D personnel at 4 weeks post-exposure undergoing 'neanderthalification,' giving credence to the theory that Homo sapiens or its progentiors bred with Neanderthals.
286-3.jpg
A researcher holds up a species of crustacean that has not been seen for nearly 300 million years.

The origin of SCP-286 and the cause of elemental fusion at its core is hotly debated amongst researchers. Theories include:

  • That it is the core of a dead first generation star.
  • That it is a result of material affected by the extreme local gravity of a super-micro black hole.
  • That rather than a black "hole," it is a localized "dip" in space-time, a self-sustaining "pretzel" of matter, time, and space.
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