SCP-439

Item #: SCP-439

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: All members of SCP-439 are to be contained in a standard humanoid containment cell. The chamber is to be equipped with an attached bed, toilet, and shower facility.

Cell maintenance staff are to visit the cells once every week to clean, vacuum, and mop the floor. Weekly checkups of SCP-439 are to be carried out by medical staff. Two guards patrol the containment chamber at all times. If an instance of SCP-439 has not been observed for a month, a guard is to be assigned to stay with that instance.

Description: SCP-439 is a group of individuals whose physiology is indistinguishable from that of ordinary humans. The subjects' biochemistry and genetics, however, are in all ways similar to those of a person who has been genetically engineered to be identical to a human being. They each have a particular organ structure that is either absent or modified so as to look and function like the corresponding organ.

These organs are not just cosmetic changes. They seem to act just like they do in humans and produce genuine human hormones, enzymes and other substances. These substances interact with the corresponding tissues in a way that leads to an extremely high rate of normal human function for organs that do not normally perform such functions. This includes skeleton, musculature, nervous system, blood vessels, digestive system tissue [DATA EXPUNGED]

While testing SCP-439's mental capabilities was inconclusive (their IQs range from 93 to 187), their physical abilities as measured by balance, strength, and reaction time have been shown to be sufficient for them to function normally in society.

Addendum: When an instance of SCP-439 is given a standard human diet and environment, they will undergo changes in their body that they cannot live without. These changes are permanent; they cannot be reversed by any medical means currently known to humankind. They do not cause any harm to SCP-439, but they do cause obvious discomfort and distress to the individual. In cases where the subject has been on a low calorie diet for long periods of time, their physical appearance may change so drastically that it appears to be drastically altered.

In order to induce such a change in SCP-439, a Diet Foundation agent must feed them a food that is deficient in one (or more) of the substances that SCP-439 produces. If a diet deficient in at least one of these substances is continued for long enough, the subject will undergo a temporary progressive change. These changes usually occur within three days of the diet being discontinued, and the changes are always accompanied by intense pain and agitation. However, after fourteen days of the diet being discontinued, the subject physically transforms into another substance.

This substance is always a human being. The new flesh is always smooth and perfectly formed, with no evidence of scarring or deformity. The new flesh is structurally identical to the normal human form except for the absence of certain organs and tissues. There are also no corresponding nerve endings or blood supply.

The new flesh functions almost perfectly as a human being would, except that it lacks recessive traits that would render it non-human if it possessed them in normal human form. For example, if the subject were previously missing an eye or organ which was required to see, they will retain eyesight and all other sensory faculties without any defects.

When this transformation happens, there are no outward signs of discomfort or distress from the subject because they are so thoroughly preoccupied by their new circumstances. This can be very difficult for other humans to accept.