Have you been to the beach lately? Have you ever wondered what the ocean hides in its vastness? No, I'm not talking about what National Geographic shows you with high-definition cameras... but about those things that force us to go down there. Everything seems so calm on the surface, but if the world knew about the horrors that live there, that we must keep there... And the best we can do is seek balance, an eternal tie that allows us to work, and leaves the world protected in its cloak of ignorance. After all, that's exactly what it wants...
I might get in trouble for sharing this with you... but that hasn't stopped us, has it? Besides, your face says it all: You're in over your head. You had several opportunities to leave before it was too late... and you came back for more every time. We've taken all necessary precautions... and yet, I know there are people watching, listening... Don't worry. When the time comes, I know you'll do the right thing. Today, let me stimulate your mind with one of our nightmares classified under level 4: SCP-835.
At first glance it looks like a giant coral, but that's just its superficial appearance. Once you get close, you immediately understand that something is very wrong with that thing. The exact details remain protected even at level 4, but I can tell you it weighs thousands of tons. The Foundation must keep SCP-835 in the open sea: Every time they attempted a "traditional" containment, it reacted very hostilely. The minimum safe distance is five meters. Its polyps tend to project tentacles that it uses as a feeding mechanism. On its surface they have a kind of natural adhesive, and we've seen them bend steel plates.
Only our best diamond-tipped drills managed to extract material from its outer layer. If we let it grow out of control, its mass increases by more than 20 kilograms per day, but that doesn't make it invincible. Remember all those stories of corals killed by pollution and high temperatures? SCP-835 is no exception. With the exact combination of chemicals, we can stop its growth entirely for 24 hours, even longer.
The problem is that's where the similarities end. SCP-835 is made of human components. Its shell is calcium, the covering of the polyps is tooth enamel, and the tentacles are something like mutated tongues. Its digestive system and reproductive system are "fused," and they share the same pathways to expel feces and semen at the same time.
And believe me, it does... several times a day. The central mass of SCP-835 has two enormous polyps at each end, and when the time comes, it covers the entire area with that filth it carries inside. But contamination is the least of our difficulties. You see, SCP-835 also emits parasites, viruses, and bacteria. 835-I5 is the worst of all. Almost 70 percent of infections reach their terminal phase, and we have nothing at our disposal to fight them. Its victims gain weight, live hungry, suffer from pica, their skin hardens and polyps appear, they become very aggressive, and they want to be in seawater no matter what. 835-I5 is the key to creating more instances of SCP-835, and for that reason we can't destroy it either. The only thing we'd achieve would be to spread that plague even further.
The Foundation conducted a single expedition to SCP-835 several years ago, when it weighed barely four tons and had a single giant polyp. They sent the Zeta-9 boys, a team of four members and an unmanned vehicle. Two of the members (the lieutenant officer in command and a young novice with the rank of corporal) ended up "devoured" by SCP-835, and the lieutenant lived long enough to tell the experience. The process of... "digestion" lasted over 24 hours. Both had to remain motionless to conserve energy in their suits, and when they reached the stomach, they found...
...faces. Deformed human faces full of teeth. Horrifying and twisted expressions covering the walls. The corporal's suit didn't hold, and the infection transformed him into a mass of tentacles that exploded through his face. The lieutenant barely managed to escape, taking advantage of one of SCP-835's expulsions... but his suit was also pierced. He only discovered the infection once he reached his quarters and saw the first red spots on his skin. He ordered the total evacuation of the ship, and took care of its sinking to contain the pathogen. We expected nothing less from a Zeta-9.
We only know the full story because one of the O5 ordered its declassification. I don't know the reason, and I guarantee you don't want to find out. It's a very healthy practice around here to stay away from anything that interests an O5, that's why I said at the beginning I could get in trouble. A giant coral made of human faces and organs that never stops growing, expelling semen and feces daily. A nightmare like few others, living underwater... Maybe the world is right, and it would have been better not to know...
Forgotten late, boy. Now you know, and I'm watching you. Soon.
