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| SCP-4223 sitting on an examination table after its second recovery |
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Item #: SCP-4223
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4223 is stored in a standard Safe-class secure locker at Site ██. Experimentation with SCP-4223 is permitted with any D-class personnel or willing researcher/agent, provided confirmation that the last place test subject slept was inside of a Foundation facility and approval is obtained from at least one (1) Level 3 Senior Researcher. However, due to the nature of the object, it is recommended that any sampling experiments be done with a robotic arm and completed before 2400 hours the same day.
Description: SCP-4223 is a small dead leaf confirmed by botanical specialists to have originated from an Acer saccharum tree, commonly known as a sugar maple. The leaf is a reddish-brown color, and it is dry enough to be fairly brittle.
When an individual (referred to as SCP-4223-1 from this point on) comes in close proximity to SCP-4223, he/she will experience a sometimes powerful compulsion to place it on the ground (if it is not there already) and step on it, claiming that the "crunch" noise it will produce will be "so satisfying" (according to instances of 4223-1 who were prevented from stepping on the object). The effect seems to be stronger in some individuals than in others (this is still under investigation).
If 4223-1 is not allowed to step on SCP-4223, the compulsion will fade within a few minutes.
If 4223-1 succeeds in stepping on SCP-4223 or damages it in any way, he/she will suffer multiple simultaneous aneurysms throughout the brain, leading to death within minutes. These appear at the moment of damaging SCP-4223, not before, as no tests performed before exposure indicate any preexisting conditions. Though the aneurysms appear throughout the brain, apparent preference is shown to brain regions critical for bodily function and consciousness, such as the frontal lobe and brain stem. Neither preventative measures taken beforehand nor emergency surgery performed immediately after have succeeded in preventing death in any cases.
Immediately after being damaged, SCP-4223 apparently loses its anomalous properties- another individual brought into its presence will not experience the same compulsion nor will they suffer any negative effects if they damage the object further.
However, at exactly 2400 hours (midnight) the night after being damaged, SCP-4223 is anomalously restored to its prior condition. If it is broken, all the pieces will be transported instantaneously to the location where the first instance of damage occurred and be mended together seamlessly. This does not seem to depend on whether a human being is directly responsible for the damage.
At the exact same time as SCP-4223's restoration, the corpse of 4223-1 is also anomalously transported to the last location where he/she slept. After transportation, 4223-1 is alive and in the same physical condition he/she was in before exposure to SCP-4223, with the aneurysms as well as any other damage inflicted after exposure apparently nonexistent. At this point, 4223-1 is in the middle of a normal sleep cycle and will typically wake up sometime the following morning feeling well-rested. When 4223 awakens, he/she consistently finds a handwritten note on their person reading "Sorry! -Canadian Maple Leaf" in blue pen ink.
After 4223 and 4223-1 are transported, 4223 regains its anomalous properties and 4223-1 shows no further anomalous properties.
Discovery: At 10:53 am, June 21, ████, in ████████, Canada, a 48 year-old male named ████ ██████████ fell down on the pavement and began to suffer from a violent seizure. By the time an ambulance arrived, he was already dead. All attempts at resuscitation failed. Autopsy later the same day revealed that he had suffered from 9 simultaneous ruptured aneurysms throughout his brain.
That night, at 12:00 am, his corpse vanished from the morgue where it was being stored. Investigation found no evidence of the body- all tissue samples were gone as well as the cadaver.
The next morning, ████ ██████████ was found by his family alive and well in his home.
Foundation personnel were sent to investigate and found the site of the man's apparent death in the security footage from a nearby shop. The investigation showed that he began to show symptoms of the ruptures immediately after stepping on a small object, later identified to be a sugar maple leaf.
A covert team of agents investigated the scene of the man's death, lead by Agent ███████. During the investigation, Agent ███████ fell and began to experience a violent seizure similar to the one experienced by ██████████. Medical personnel confirmed her death shortly after. The other agents found a crushed sugar maple leaf under her foot, which they brought to Foundation facility Site ██ along with a number of other objects found at the scene.
The night after Agent ███████'s death, her body and the leaf found under her foot disappeared from Site ██. Subsequent investigation found Agent ███████ alive in her home with no recollection of any events that occurred after her coming into contact with SCP-4223. SCP-4223 was recovered after being found at at the location where Agent ███████ apparently died. The object was deemed anomalous and given the designation number 4223.
All hospital and local records of ██████████'s death and autopsy were cleared from the databases. Class-B amnestics were administered to ██████████'s family, emergency response teams, and bystanders.
