SCP-236: Mimic "Crabs"

SCP-236: Mimic "Crabs" SCP-236 is a swarm of creatures resembling almost microscopic crabs. Their anatomy does not match any known crustacean, and some features suggest they might have been artificially created. An isolated individual is easily frightened. Gather enough together and the colony becomes an intelligent predator capable of planning, concealment, and coordinated attacks. The collective intelligence grows as the creatures come together and weakens when they are separated. Larger swarms can surround prey, solve problems, and hide in plain sight by becoming convincing copies of ordinary objects. A chair, a door, or even the complicated surface of a painting can be made from the swarm. Casual observation is not enough to reliably distinguish the imitation. Sometimes the creatures destroy an existing object and take its place. That makes remembering the room's normal contents a poor defense. The chair may be exactly where someone left it while no longer being the same chair. Staff cannot leave objects unattended in containment, and anything that appears unexpectedly must be checked before it is touched. They reproduce by consuming organic material and producing small eggs. Wood and cotton are enough, so they do not need access to living prey to increase their numbers. The eggs hatch after about ten minutes, and the young reach adult size in six hours. Furnishings and clothing can supply the material for a much larger infestation. Living bodies are another resource. A moderately sized swarm can consume and convert a person in less than five minutes. Individuals can also enter a sleeping person's body and begin feeding internally. That is why personnel leaving containment need physical examinations and X-rays, while every outgoing object is checked for contamination. Light, loud noises, and sudden movement frighten them. A startled imitation can break apart and scatter, with the swarm taking as long as a day to regroup. That might sound like a useful way to expose a disguise, but a cornered individual has a far more dangerous response: it detonates with a blast vastly out of proportion to its size. Researchers suspect an internal chemical reaction, but studying it without provoking the animal is difficult. Containment therefore emphasizes darkness, controlled movement, and avoiding anything that might cause panic. If normal lighting is needed, it is switched on remotely and staff wait an hour before entering. Night-vision equipment is preferred. The Foundation has to prevent both organized predation and a frightened defensive reaction. An addendum also raises the possibility of copying living forms. It cites a cross-test with SCP-2366 in which the swarm took the shape of a brown bear and became more predatory, with the remaining details removed. The file does not establish an unrestricted ability to imitate any animal or person, but the reported formation is enough to require immediate evacuation when similar behavior appears. Almost every obvious response creates a different problem. Leave the swarm alone and it can feed, grow, and replace objects. Startle it and it scatters into smaller pieces that are harder to track. Corner those pieces and they can explode. Its Keter classification comes from having to manage all three behaviors at once. Original Entry: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-236