SCP-045: Atmospheric Converter

SCP-045: Atmospheric Converter SCP-045 looks like a giant twenty-sided piece of ice, which is a pretty misleading introduction to something that can turn the air in a submarine into a disaster. Nearby nitrogen becomes water. Argon becomes salt. When the Foundation first brought it close to a submarine, twelve crew members died before they could release it and retreat. Keeping it in a room full of ordinary air was never going to work. It's now housed beneath the Pacific in a neon-filled chamber, with robots handling the close-up work. Every so often it starts rotating and produces earthquakes. Trying to hold it still makes those earthquakes worse, so even its restraints need a quick release. Researchers suspect they're looking at a three-dimensional projection of a four-dimensional object. Melting it doesn't solve much either. Its water pulls back together, and separated portions can refreeze into smaller versions. Then the file takes an interesting turn: under the right conditions, it also produces amino acids. The surrounding seabed supports unusually diverse microscopic life. Something that killed people simply by getting too close might also be sustaining an entire little ecosystem. Its purpose remains unknown. https://t.co/A9ucsXonAR