Item No: SCP-55T6
Anomaly Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-55T6 colonies are to be housed in terraria of no more than 120 adults and maintained according to Special Care Guide SCG-55T6. Terrarium maintenance must be automated where possible or else performed by sightless personnel. SCP-55T6 should not be directly observed outside of testing scenarios. As of 1999-07-20, all human testing of SCP-55T6 is suspended.
For redundancy purposes and to maintain a healthy gene pool, 20 colonies of SCP-55T6 are currently maintained across Foundation Sites 19, 33, and F06. Due in part to Foundation containment efforts, SCP-55T6 are now considered extinct outside of captivity.
Description: SCP-55T6 (Cryptocetonia mosaica) is a species of beetle formerly native to the Eastern Mediterranean. SCP-55T6 are physically and behaviourally similar to the Green Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata), and their larvae are indistinguishable except by genetic analysis. Adults of the species are typically around 30% larger than Cetonia aurata when fully grown, possess a much thicker cuticle along the back, and have a range of habitat which is considerably less diverse (likely due to increased predation).
In addition to these changes, all adult specimens of SCP-55T6 possess the anomalous ability to alter the colour of their dorsal exoskeleton. No biological mechanism for this ability has yet been found. It is unclear whether the insect possesses any control over its hue, and the changes are frequently maladaptive in exposing SCP-55T6's location to predators. Individual beetles will change colour continuously over a broad spectrum of hues, and no correlation to their environment, physical condition, or any other external factor has been identified.
When a large number of SCP-55T6 come under direct simultaneous observation by a human subject, they will alter their behaviour en masse, stopping flight and landing on nearby surfaces before converging into a single cluster. Flat vertical surfaces such as walls are preferred, but clusters have been observed forming on tree trunks, large stones, flooring, and sufficiently smooth natural ground. Once converged, SCP-55T6 will arrange themselves into a roughly circular formation and perform synchronised colour shifts, creating simple patterns and gradients across the entire aggregation. This behaviour will continue as long as some part of the pattern is observed. While in this state, the insects do not require water or nutrients; a popular hypothesis is that SCP-55T6 are capable of drawing sustenance from the act of observation itself.
If an aggregation of SCP-55T6 is observed at length by a single person, it will, in rare cases, perform synchronised shifts that result in the creation of complex, realistic, and/or moving images. This behaviour has been observed 144 times in containment (primarily under testing conditions) and eight times in the wild.
Images produced frequently by SCP-55T6 are listed below. This list is not exhaustive, and the majority of images created by the anomaly have been produced only once.
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Addendum I—Notable test sequence: Between 1999-07-07 and 1999-07-20, a test sequence was conducted which generated an abnormal response from SCP-55T6. The subject (D-066800) was repeatedly confined to a containment chamber housing around 14,400 adult instances and instructed to observe them for up to 8 hours at a time. Research staff monitored the process remotely. D-066800 was provided adequate food and water during extended tests, and received standard psychological care weekly for the duration.
Pattern: P-55T6-142
Observer(s): D-066800
Transcription:
SCP-55T6 shift to depict irregular regions of green and yellow, settling into an image of a hilly agrarian landscape, seen from above at a steep angle. Olive groves, pastures, and fields of grain are all visible. A small amount of blue and white in the top-left corner suggests a coastline. Dark spots are suggestive of small structures, possibly farmsteads or houses, though the low resolution prevents their identification.
At 6 minutes, the perspective begins shifting so that the viewer appears to be moving upward, away from the ground, while continuing to look down.
At 18 minutes, a small white object can be seen curving from left to right across the image, difficult to distinguish at the low resolution. Analysis suggests it is some species of seabird. The perspective continues to shift upward.
At 39 minutes, the viewing distance is great enough that individual details can no longer be resolved and the image becomes a uniform pale blue.
Normal patterns resume at 1 hour and 2 minutes.
Pattern: P-55T6-143
Observer(s): D-066800
Transcription:
SCP-55T6 shift to depict the same agrarian landscape as in P-55T6-142, but seen from around 1.5 metres above ground level. Unlike in P-55T6-130, the landscape features a long, white road, curving over the hills in the distance. A short way away, a humanoid figure can be seen walking away from the viewer along the road. Perspective gradually shifts, closing the distance between the viewer and this figure.
At 8 minutes, the viewer is close enough that the figure can be identified as feminine. They have dark skin and wear simple, loose-fitting garments in blue and pale yellow. Some kind of string instrument is worn across their back.
At 21 minutes, the instrument can be identified as a kithara.
At 28 minutes, the figure begins turning toward the viewer. Their hair obscures the majority of their face, but their profile can be seen briefly from minutes 31 to 40. Their expression is enigmatic.
At 29 minutes, the figure begins lifting their arm. Over the next 15 minutes they raise their hand toward the viewer, palm outward, so as to prevent their face being seen.
At 58 minutes, the viewer is close enough that the subject’s hand fills the majority of the frame, and the image begins to darken.
At 1 hour and 9 minutes, the image has darkened sufficiently that no details of the figure’s hand can be resolved.
At 1 hour and 12 minutes, the image has progressed to a uniform black. Normal patterns resume at 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Pattern: P-55T6-144
Observer(s): D-066800
Transcription:
SCP-55T6 shift to depict the same agrarian landscape as in P-55T6-130, seen from around 1.5 metres above ground level. Perspective gradually rotates to the right, and a structure made from white brick comes into frame.
At 19 minutes, the structure is revealed to possess an archway flanked by Doric columns of the same white brick.
At 22 minutes, the interior of the archway becomes visible. [###]
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At 1 hour and 20 minutes, the front face of the structure fills the entire image. The archway is now parallel to the viewing plane and is depicted at actual scale. The perspective stops changing at this point, and the image becomes still.
At 1 hour and 44 minutes, D-066800 comments on the lack of change in the image. The test lead instructs her to continue observing the anomaly.
At 4 hours and 50 minutes, D-066800 begins approaching the image, which remains unchanged. She raises her arm and tentatively touches SCP-55T6, which do not noticeably respond. She presses her right hand against the image, and appears to sink into SCP-55T6 up to the elbow. SCP-55T6 shift rapidly and D-066800’s arm appears in the image, depicted at actual scale extending from D-066800’s real elbow.
D-066800 expresses alarm and pulls away sharply, scattering a small region of SCP-55T6 which disperse briefly before reconvening. Her right arm is missing below the elbow, though she does not appear wounded. Her arm remains depicted in the image. The chamber alarm is sounded.
At 4 hours and 51 minutes, D-066800 presses her shoulder to SCP-55T6 and begins to sink into it, disappearing fully over the course of 15 seconds. The image shifts rapidly to depict her at actual scale, facing away from the viewer. She once again possesses both arms. From this point onward, the image changes continuously as the depiction of D-066800 sprints slowly away from the viewer.
Also at 4 hours and 51 minutes, armed personnel enter the chamber. They approach SCP-55T6 but are given orders not to engage the anomaly.
At 4 hours and 53 minutes, the perspective of the image begins to turn upward. The depiction of D-066800 is in the process of crossing the archway’s threshold.
At 4 hours and 59 minutes, a sliver of cloudless blue sky can be seen above the structure. The depiction of D-066800 has progressed beyond the archway, and is still running.
At 5 hours and 1 minute, the perspective has rotated such that D-066800 is no longer visible.
At 5 hours and 13 minutes, the perspective has rotated vertically such that the structure is no longer visible. The image is now a uniform sky blue.
Normal patterns resume at 5 hours and 33 minutes.
D-066800 has not been recovered following the cessation of P-55T6-144.