Palamag

SCP-4342's Sukhoy Nos research site

Item #: SCP-4342

Object Class: Malkuth

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4342 is located on Sukhoy Nos cape, Severny island. As it cannot be moved, a containment site has been constructed around the object.

The events of Incident-[30/10/1961] have rendered SCP-4342 partially inert. Whether this state is permanent or not is unknown.

Prior to the incident, no reliable methods of containment could be devised. Consequently, ongoing oversight of SCP-4342 is limited to monitoring the object for increases in activity. The O5 council must be notified immediately if any such increase occur.

Description: SCP-4342 was an experimental Soviet thermonuclear weapon¹. SCP-4342's anomalous properties first manifested on the date of its scheduled detonation, October 2nd 1961.

Instead of triggering a thermonuclear explosion, SCP-4342 began a series of amplification cycles. Before its neutralization, SCP-4342 reformed a total of four times, periodically increasing in size, complexity and destructive potential.

SCP-4342's current design does not match that of any known nuclear weapon. It bears superficial similarities to RDS-202, albeit with integrated bio-mechanical components and protruding poly-crystalline formations. Severe heat damage to its outer casing can be observed and exposed inner components appear either charred and defective, or rotten.

Personnel in charge of monitoring SCP-4342 have reported hearing regular pulsations emanating from the object. The pulses' rhythm have been likened to diastolic / systolic patterns. No negative repercussions have resulted from these pulses.

SCP-4342 does not react to physical interactions and cannot be moved. Attempts at disassembly or internal examinations have been unsuccessful. SCP-4342 currently remains idle; suspended over the crater resulting from Incident-[30/10/1961].

Amplification cycles: Each cycle begins with SCP-4342 slowly expanding, ejecting its components at variable velocities no faster than two (2) meters per minute. The components follow trajectories concurrent with a regular explosive's ballistic footprint and carry the same kinetic energy as non-anomalous shrapnel.

During expansion, pressure waves radiate from SCP-4342 at a similar velocity. Their low frequency renders them harmless to objects of small proportions. They do, however, produce vibrations in the earth's crust, triggering tremors analogous to earthquakes.

Once the pressure waves have fully dissipated, SCP-4342's fragments will begin to regress towards their origin, eventually reorganizing into a new device. During this process, matter present in SCP-4342's initial composition is removed from the surroundings and integrated into the new design, alongside the original components. Often, matter will be discarded instead of added to the design.

Should ejected fragments collide with matter absent from SCP-4342's initial makeup, a sample of this material adheres to the component and merges with it during re-assembly. Subsequent cycles will begin absorbing previously sampled material directly from the surroundings.

Once assembled, SCP-4342 remains inert for a short interval, after which another cycle begins. This delay is proportional to the size and complexity of the new design.

Discovery Log: On October 2nd 1961, Foundation assets stationed on the island of Vardøya reported detecting long-lasting seismic tremors originating from Sukhoy Nos.

A nuclear test by the USSR on the cape was anticipated for early October, but Foundation geologists confirmed the tremors could not be created by any known Soviet weapon or by natural earthquakes.

Political instability within the USSR at the time made establishing reliable information networks difficult. While the cause of the event could not be confirmed, covert agents did report that the Soviet Union had begun mobilization of an established elite task force to Sukhoy Nos.

The Foundation had previously embedded MTF Delta-5 Agent Kuznetsov within this unit. His orders were to identify the cause of the seismic readings, identify possible containment methods and to report on Soviet operations.

The following is a series of radio communications received from Kuznetsov:

Field Agent ID 5-12: Aleksandr Kuznetsov, MTF Delta-5. Level 4 communication channel established.
Location: 73°48'41.3"N 55°13'02.1"E, Severny island.
Date: [5/10/1961 13:23:31]
Message Body: I have arrived on outskirts of testing site. 7 km from tremors epicenter.
Magnitude 3.2 seismic event underway.
Instrument readings reveal radiation levels far below expected levels.
Unit has identified several components belonging to RDS-202 currently in hovering motion heading outward from the testing site.

Field Agent ID 5-12: Idem
Location: Ibīdem
Date: [5/10/1961 17:29:22]
Message Body: Attempt at recovering a RDS-202 fragment has resulted in anomalous incident.
Biological material was excised from personnel upon contact. Spherical mass of bio-matter now encloses RDS-202's component.
The sphere is maintaining course away from testing site.

Field Agent ID 5-12: Idem
Location: Ibīdem
Date: [6/10/1961 10:49:27]
Message Body: RDS-202 fragments have begun reverting course at [9:52:32].
At precisely the same moment, metallic material was observed detaching from vehicles and armament.
Removed material have begun similar hovering motion and are heading towards the testing site.
Quantity and ratio of lost material per object is inconsistent. One vehicle was completely deconstructed while some remain functional.
Tremors have subsided.
Unit is moving into testing site for closer inspection.

Field Agent ID 5-12: Idem
Location: 73°48′26″N 54°58′54″E Soviet nuclear testing site, Sukhoy Nos.
Date: [8/10/1961 09:03:08]
Message Body: RDS-202 components have begun merging.
Fragments are arriving from all directions, some are enclosed in masses of wood, rock or minerals. One was observed transporting feathers.
This new material was added to the object, alongside the original components.
Assembly process appears to randomly reject components once they arrives, including pieces of the lost vehicle. Piles of discarded matter are accumulating around the anomaly.

Field Agent ID 5-12: Idem
Location: Ibīdem
Date: [10/10/1961 23:12:19]
Message Body: Object has fully reformed.
Object remained inert for 2 hours 17 minutes before expansion began.
Air disruptions akin to shock-waves are emanating from the object.
Magnitude 5.6 seismic event underway.

The following is the last report from Agent Kuznetsov:

Field Agent ID 5-12: Idem
Location: Ibīdem
Date: [15/10/1961 01:02:12]
Message Body: Researchers are coordinating with recon teams on outskirts of testing site, waiting for components to revert course again.
Based on the timeline of the first expansion, they estimate it should happen at some time tomorrow.

Following Agent Kuznetsov's last dispatch, high-altitude reconnaissance crafts were deployed above Sukhoy Nos. The task force or their equipment could not be located.

Remote spectroscopic analysis during SCP-4342's second inert period revealed that its composition included carbon and nitrogen absent from RDS-202's original design. The pilots also reported significant alterations to local topography.

Incident-[30/10/1961]:

+ LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE REQUIRED

As the effects of SCP-4342 would soon begin affecting populated territories, several containment methods were devised. One of which posited that SCP-4342's pressure waves could be negated by stopping their advance with destructive interference. The required wavefront could be produced by a high-powered frequency generator. The O5 council determined this approach to be the most appropriate.

With cooperation from Chairman Khrushchev, an outpost was deployed on Severny island, outside the estimated range of SCP-4342. As the area lacked the necessary infrastructure to power the frequency generator, SCP-4388-1 was transferred to the outpost.

Containment of SCP-4342 would require activating the frequency generator within a hundred meters of the object. To this end, both the generator and SCP-4388-1 were mounted on a mobile platform and transported into the testing site during SCP-4342's fourth inert period.

Results of SCP-4388-1's interaction with SCP-4342

On 31/10/1961, SCP-4342 began its fifth expansion cycle. The anomalous seismic tremors triggered an unexpected energy release beyond SCP-4388-1's usual capabilities. The event affected a radius of 8.7 kilometers. As expected from previous test results, SCP-4388-1 was later recovered, intact.

SCP-4342 was found in its current state, suspended above the resulting crater.

A coordinated media release was orchestrated, stating that the incident was caused by an experimental soviet nuclear weapon. Radioactive material released in the surrounding territories served to give credence to this version of events.

Footnotes

1. Soviet designation RDS-202.