Per 
Item #: SCP-4278 (Potassium Vampire)
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures:
All instances of SCP-4278 are to be kept in separate airtight steel containers at Site █. Personnel should avoid allowing more than one instance of SCP-4278 being allowed to exist within a single container for any significant length of time and new Instances of SCP-4278 should be separated into a new container shortly after personnel observes that reproduction has occurred. It is however perfectly safe to house all containers within close proximity or even the same room as each other, and containers may be stacked in order to save space within the facility.
Guards and Researchers assigned to monitor and handle SCP-4278 are to be issued protective body armor and a single foundation issued distraction banana, which must remain holstered at all times, except in the event that one or more instances of SCP-4278 breach containment, in which case personnel are authorized to use their foundation issued distraction banana for the purposes of self-defense.
SCP-4278 is to be regularly administered low dosages of potassium once per hour. Great care is to be taken that the dosage administered is exact, as incorrect potassium levels may lead to a change in SCP-4278 level of aggression or result in an unacceptable rate of reproduction.
Although a single instance of SCP-4278 is not considered a high-level threat, the administrator of the site █ has acknowledged that its ability to reproduce could make it very dangerous if allowed to escape and reproduce unhindered. As such, Site █ has been outfitted with a 25 megaton thermonuclear device that is to be activated in the event that an instance or instances of SCP-4278 ever breach or overrun the facility.
Note: Current containment protocol should be considered a temporary stop guard until a better form of containment is discovered that does not allow SCP-4278 to continue reproducing. However, the current containment protocol will have to suffice for the time being, until a better method can be discovered by our research staff]
Description:
SCP-4278 is a sentient predatory banana of indeterminate origin. Multiple instances of SCP-4278 currently exist due to its ability to reproduce. There are currently 66 instances of SCP-4278 currently contained at Site █, though more instances are expected to come into existence as time goes on. The original SCP-4278 shall be referred to as Simply SCP-4278 or by the code name MOTHER, and its duplicates are to be referred to their appropriate designation between SCP-4278-2 through SCP-4278-66 (note that the range of designation will require reevaluation as instances of SCP-4278 continues to inevitably increase via reproduction) or by the codename OFFSPRING.
All attempts to qualify the properties of all instances of SCP-4278 seem to indicate they are indistinguishable from an ordinary banana on every scientifically measurable level, though attempts to qualify its nature have been hindered by the staffs' inability to successfully collect interior samples of any type due to immense durability of SCP-4278's protective peel. Regardless of what tests might otherwise indicate, the behavior and abilities of SCP-4278 have betrayed its extraordinary and malevolent nature.
SCP- 4278’s behavior has proven that all instances of it are not only sentient but that they also possess some level of predatory cunning. They have been known to use ambush tactics in order to outsmart potential prey. The original SCP-4278 seems to be especially intelligent and has managed to breach containment on multiple occasions. Dr. Edwards has speculated that perhaps it serves as some sort of hive mind in relation to SCP-4278-2 through SCP-4278-66. While his hypothesis that separating SCP-4278 from its offspring would result in their dormancy proved to be correct, the resultant spike in aggressiveness that occurred within SCP-4278 upon removing its offspring and the resulting containment breach was deemed an unacceptable loss of personal life. The containers containing all instances of SCP-4278 have since been returned to within 100 meters of each other.
Early on in containment, when only six instances of SCP-4278 existed, SCP-4278-4 displayed tactics that would indicate a high level of intelligence. At this point in containment, SCP-4278 - SCP-4278-6 were being kept in separate airtight concrete cells at Site █. Each cell possessed only one camera at that time. A guard noticed that SCP-4278-4 was not present on the video monitor and containment personnel were dispatched to the cell to investigate. It was not until after the cell was opened and Guard Stephenson entered the cell that SCP-4278-4 was found to be floating in a position in the cell that proved to be a blind spot in the security camera monitoring the cell. Stephenson was attacked moments later, but fortunately, the door to the cell was closed by the other two security personnel present. Stephenson died shortly after from a heart attack caused by extreme rapid Hypokalemia due to exposure to SCP-4278-4. The incident resulted in the creation of SCP-4278-7. Since this incident, containers used for housing instances of SCP-4278 have been adjusted to be both smaller in size and to include multiple cameras in order to ensure no blind spots exist to be exploited.
Another example of instances of SCP-4278 being able to use intelligent tactics occurred when SCP 4278-5 breached containment resulting from it becoming aggravated during an attempt to recover samples. After escaping confinement and killing the D class administering the test, SCP 4278-5 could not be located by containment personnel for several hours. SCP 4278-5 was later discovered sitting idly in the rec room refrigerator, nestled between two oranges, posing as a regular banana. It did not display signs of sentience until DR. Morgan reached into the refrigerator to grab an orange, at which point it proceeded to attack and kill the doctor. As a safety precaution, the Staff has since been banned from bringing fruits or vegetables as part of their lunch to Site █ as it is believed instances of SCP-4278 possess a natural instinct to hide and camouflage themselves amongst less sinister produce. With the exception of the foundation issued distraction bananas, all fruits and vegetables are now to be considered contraband.
SCP – 4278 is predatory in nature and its sole motivation seems to be to seek out and consume sources of potassium. SCP – 4278 seems to do this as both a means of consumption and as part of its life cycle. Although it does not seem that depriving SCP-4278 of potassium leads to any form of starvation, and it is believed that SCP-4278 could survive indefinitely in its absence, depriving SCP-4278 of its food source is extremely ill-advised as after a few hours it will become extremely hostile. It is therefore recommended that it be provided just enough substance to keep it appeased and relatively dormant without giving it enough to reproduce quickly. Once SCP – 4278 has consumed an appropriate amount of Potassium, it will begin to duplicate and split into two separate seemingly identical instances of SCP 4278. How exactly SCP-4278 is able to drain potassium from a source is unknown, other than it must make direct contact with the source, though the mechanism of how it extracts nutrients is still a complete mystery.
SCP–4278 will attempt to consume the most concentrated form of potassium it can sense. It has been known to drain the potassium from living organisms, which will result in said animal or person's death. It will attack any organism it comes across as a means of feeding, though it will ignore living animals if it can find a more concentrated source. It is for this reason that Personnel is instructed to carry a single foundation issued banana on their person at all times, as it can be thrown as a distraction in the event of a containment breach, possibly allowing said personnel to escape while SCP–4278 feeds on the more desirable food source.
SCP–4278 has been shown to be extremely durable, though it is not indestructible. nearly all attempts at piercing its outer shell with conventional means have proved unsuccessful and caused SCP–4278 to become violently aggressive. While some tests were performed early on to see how durable the outer peel was, these tests have since been ceased due to the extremely violent reaction they incite. As to date, however, it has been discovered that SCP-4278s outer peel is completely immune to Piercing, lacerations, bludgeoning, and ballistic projectiles of various calibers. It has proven highly resistant to exposure to fire and acid. It is theorized that given long enough exposure, such means could destroy the outer shell, though SCP-4278 becomes aggressive shortly after exposure, making it impossible to expose it for more than a few minutes. So far, the only event that leads to the destruction of an instance of SCP-4278 was during a containment breach with SCP-4278-49, when a guard managed to target it with a successful hit from a rocket-propelled grenade, which resulted in the complete destruction of SCP-4278-49. This, however, has been deemed a poor means of disposal, as SCP-4278-49 high movement speed meant that proved to be a difficult target and the guard in question missed with 3 rocket-propelled grenades before landing a killing blow, which resulted in significant damage to Site █. Although the use of Rocket-propelled grenades has been authorized in the event of a containment breach, personnel are encouraged to instead attempt to bait and contain loose instances of SCP-4278 instead, either by luring them into a container with a foundation issued distraction banana or with Class D personnel.
SCP-4278 possesses the ability to levitate and possesses some means of unknown locomotion which it uses to fly through the air. Multiple instances of SCP-4278 have been observed traveling together as a formation that has been likened to the behavior of swarming insects. While a single instance of SCP–4278 is dangerous, a swarm of SCP–4278 should be considered a much greater threat. Thankfully, such events have only occurred due to negligence in forgoing to separate instances of SCP-4278 and there has never been any observed instance of SCP-4278 attempting to help others of its kind breach containment or work as a team.
Due to SCP-4278's extreme durability, and its ability to accelerate with via some unknown force, containment has proven to be somewhat difficult as it will be able to batter its way out of even the most durable of containers given enough time. An attempt was made to fill SCP-4278-25's container with concrete, though this resulted in SCP-4278-25 to begin vibrating at a high frequency and resulted in a subsequent breach of containment. No future attempts have been made with this form of containment and at the current time, appeasement into dormancy seems to be the only method of containment that works, though the staff is working on trying to find a more ideal means of containment that does not allow for reproduction.
Addendum:
Foundation issued distraction bananas are to selected from bananas that have some degree of browning or bruising, so that they can be easily identified as non threats. SCP-4278 and its offspring never show any sign of browning and are always purely yellow, and this fact can be used as a means for staff to quickly identify if a banana is a threat or not. That said, staff is discouraged from ever removing their foundation issued distraction banana in any nonemergency scenario.
Any personnel caught using their foundation issued banana for in any unofficial capacity will be subject to extreme disciplinary action. I don't know who has been conducting these ‘Pranks’ but they are not only highly unprofessional but waste foundation resources due to the false containment breaches they appear to cause. Not to mention I find these childish pranks to be in unbelievably bad taste, especially in light of Dr. Morgan's demise. Whoever is doing this, stop placing regular bananas in the rec room in this attempt to scare personnel. Tensions around here are high enough as it is without you nearly giving us a heart attack.
Dr. Edwards has made an interesting observation that I would like to make known to the higher-ups. If SCP-4278 were ever to come into contact with the byproduct of the consumption of SCP-3521, the result could be catastrophic and possibly result in a world-ending level of rapid reproduction. All precautions must be taken that these two SCP's are never accidentally placed in the same facility.
Dr. Edwards has expressed interest in performing experiments to see how SCP-4278 might interact with SCP-1417. I have denied his request on the basis that I believe such an interaction could be potentially too dangerous to be allowed. The last thing we need is the accidental creation of some sort of cross breed. I simply do not believe any potential beneficial intel gained from the hypothetical interaction can warrant the potential risk.
