SCP-187

Item #: SCP-187

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: For the purposes of containment, known instances of SCP-187 are to be kept underground at a depth of 100 meters. A reinforced concrete dome is constructed above the site, with an airlock leading to a small compartment for maintenance purposes.

Visual surveillance of SCP-187 is to be maintained by a remote drone which is launched from the airlock once per week. Foodstuffs and fresh water are to be placed in one of the compartments within the airlock in order to prevent SCP-187 from taking residence there.

Any SCP-187 that leaves the underground chamber is to be investigated. Should such an occurrence be confirmed, mobile task force Zeta-7 ("Pest Control”) is to be called in for investigation and termination.

Description: SCP-187 is an effective (but not very well-known) biological weapon that can be used to infect and destroy a wide variety of plant and animal life. Its primary anomaly is that it requires the subject to have some form of romantic interest in the other creature before it becomes active.

This is represented by a parasitic, ring-shaped organism which resembles a species of mollusk, but is actually a microscopic virus that imparts feelings of affection in its host. The only way to inoculate oneself from SCP-187's effect is to then go on to develop affection for another living being. The virus effectively “kills” itself when the two subjects no longer agree with one another, and will transfer itself into the next victim for its reproductive cycle.

The effect of SCP-187 lasts for several years, but only if both subjects continue to work together with one another. The virus will kill any member of its host species who does not contribute towards its continued survival, up until the point where their physical requirements are no longer matched.

SCP-187 was discovered at [A]███ ████, ████████ ██, during what was assumed to be a routine search for… unusual herbivores. During containment procedures, a large quantity of SCP-187 was found as well as four human skeletons - all bearing various degrees of infection. Of these skeletons five were sent to Site ██ while a further three were preserved and kept on file at Site ██.

Investigation revealed that previous owners had established an underground farm with the intention of breeding animals without requiring outside assistance and nutrients; however, prior cooperation between the humans involved was not strongly held by any member of the group. As such, each individual soon developed severe cases of SCP-187 which caused them to consume their own organs in order to survive until the eventual spread of infection killed them off - at least two examples being cannibalism, resulting in death by septicemia.

Due to these circumstances, it currently remains unknown how many people were sealed inside this vault or how long they may have been trapped there before they began showing symptoms.

Addendum 1: Discovery of SCP-187 was made due to the documented rise in popularity of underground farming and culture in the early 1960s, which coincided with the discovery of SCP-187. The following is an excerpt from a memo written by Agent William ██████ regarding the Foundation's involvement in the investigation.

I have now been given orders to find out who was responsible for this vault, and how they were able to sustain themselves without any outside aid. In light of this, I have submitted a proposal that we investigate this case using a remote monitoring drone to get a close up look at the area.

In light of recent events where we discovered that SCP-187 had been present on Earth for several years prior to its discovery, I thought it wise to add that we cannot guarantee that another instance of SCP-187 will not be found in the future.