SCP-017

SCP-017 SCP-017 is small enough that its containment cage measures only one meter by half a meter by half a meter. The figure inside is about eighty centimeters tall and resembles a small child, although there are no identifiable features. Its body appears to be a shifting, smoky shadow. The Foundation hasn't established whether there is anything solid underneath that shroud. The dangerous part is what happens when something casts a shadow onto it. SCP-017 immediately leaps at the object responsible and wraps its shroud around it. Then it returns to its original size. Whatever it enclosed is gone, with no trace left behind. That rule explains the unusual arrangement of its containment room. The acrylic cage hangs in the center of a concrete chamber, surrounded by powerful spotlights. The lamps are mounted on the floor as well as the walls and ceiling, keeping the entity illuminated from every direction. Lighting is part of the barrier keeping this Keter-class anomaly contained. People assigned to the control room have to monitor both the lamps and the emergency generator. A burned-out light requires immediate maintenance. Entering the chamber is permitted only to replace lamps, and the person doing the work must wear a full-body reflective suit. They are specifically warned against stepping in front of the lights that still work. That leaves a very uncomfortable maintenance job. Someone has to enter the room precisely because part of its protective lighting has failed, then move around the remaining lights without creating the condition that triggers an attack. The file doesn't need a long incident report to make that situation understandable. The precautions establish how little room there is for a careless movement. There are also limits to what the entry tells us. It doesn't explain where the consumed objects go, whether they can survive, or what the figure actually is. Looking like a child doesn't establish that it ever was one. A final note points personnel with the appropriate clearance toward another document, leaving the main article without those answers. For a story built around this premise, even ordinary movement becomes something to account for. Where a person stands, which direction a lamp points, and whether backup power works all matter. The entity can remain almost entirely unexplained while the practical problem of being in the same room stays very clear. Original entry: https://t.co/jHtxl4ilV0 Based on SCP-017 by Sam Swicegood (CityToast), SCP Wiki. Original and this adaptation: CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://t.co/TI86Yhe2FC