SCP-229: Wire Weed

SCP-229: Wire Weed SCP-229 looks like a tangled mass of ordinary electrical wiring. Some lengths resemble bare copper, others Ethernet cables, telephone cables, or power lines. The contained mass weighed ninety-four kilograms at its last measurement. The resemblance makes it easy to overlook in places already crowded with cables. The Foundation tentatively identifies it as silicon-based life. It behaves like a parasite that feeds on electricity, growing several centimeters per hour and attaching itself to available power sources. It can produce plugs and connectors that fit wall sockets or USB ports. When there is no suitable connection, it splices directly into existing wires. Without an electrical source nearby, it appears to become dormant. Introduce even a small current within thirty meters and it immediately starts growing toward it. Researchers have not established how it senses electricity or whether its behavior involves intelligence. Metal and plastic are its preferred surfaces, but living tissue offers another route. In a vertebrate animal, the wires penetrate the skin and underlying tissues, attach to the spine, and begin surrounding it. Growth continues along the nerves and into the brain, which can become infested within a few days. The process is extremely painful and can produce erratic behavior. The host usually approaches death through internal bleeding and brain damage. At that point, the wires emerge through the skin and attach to nearby structures, allowing the infestation to continue outside the body. A dying animal does not reliably contain what has grown inside it. Containment therefore excludes electrical devices from the enclosure and the surrounding thirty meters. The chamber is an eight-meter cube with granite walls eighteen centimeters thick. Its door and airlock have no electrical components, and their parts are made from wood or stone wherever possible. Anyone entering wears lead-lined clothing and a helmet. Anything infested is immediately incinerated. The instructions explicitly include living organisms, and the remaining ash and debris require controlled disposal. Staff and objects leaving containment must be scanned and cleared by security. The file provides no treatment capable of saving an infected host. The photographs show an infested telephone pole and a larger outbreak in an Iraqi neighborhood before sterilization. There is no detailed discovery account. A brief addendum also requires O5 approval for cross-experimentation with SCP-217, without describing any completed test or result. One theory in the report is that SCP-229 has existed in the ecosystem for a long time, but could not spread widely until electrical infrastructure became common. That history is unconfirmed. It is a useful possibility for understanding the premise, though: modern buildings supply abundant electricity, plenty of surfaces for growth, and ordinary wiring that conceals the infestation. The same environment supports its spread and makes the early signs difficult to recognize. Original Entry: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-229