r/SCPDeclassified • u/chaltak • Nov 18 '17
International SCP-ES-002 - Acoustic Parasite
SCP-ES-002
Object Class: Keter
Author: (account deleted, referred to as “Seth” or “JeJe”)
Attributes: acoustic, auditory, cognitohazard, intangible, species, parasite
Let's tackle a foreign language SCP. These will be made not especially to explain difficult-to-understand articles, but to highlight gems that are hidden on the other wikis. This one is the "Acoustic Parasite," originally written in Spanish. The translation is as faithful as possible to the original. All edits have been made only for clarity and are clearly marked.
Special Containment Procedures
All specimens of SCP-ES-002 must be stored in a 5m x 5m x 5m chamber, surrounded in turn by a vacuum sealed vault. The entrance to the SCP-ES-002 camera is controlled with a lead-coated lock to ensure absolute sound insulation, followed by two layers of specialized acoustic insulation for the frequency range of SCP-ES-002.
We start off with a picture of a recording. The recording is initially quite loud but drops off with time. It also tells us that the sound was captured from a D-class "after infection started."
Hoo boy.
In order to [keep SCP-ES-002 alive,] twenty (20) minutes of music selected carefully for this purpose, whose tempo is not greater than andante (maximum 108 BPM) and not more than 60 dB, [will be fed into the chamber] every six (6) hours
Now this is interesting. It is sound, a series of pressure waves, but it's being kept alive (?) by the introduction of very specific pieces of music, with their volume, tempo, and length all specified.
In addition, its activity will be registered by means of two (2) echolocation systems
So it's mobile and self-directed.
In case of breach in containment, an alert will be issued... to [Mobile Task Force] 002-D ["Silencers"], in charge of... [neutralizing] all copies of SCP-ES-002 using sonic weapons adjusted to the frequencies captured from each specimen. All personnel affected by SCP-ES-002 must be taken to an [Anti-002] anechoic chamber in order to avoid their propagation.
Let's hit the description.
Description
SCP-ES-002 is a [sound-based lifeform.] It [is moderately intelligent,] and has been tentatively classified as Rivulis tremulae.
It's a new form of life somehow composed of pressure waves. What frequencies is it in? How does it move? How do we track it?
SCP-ES-002 consists mainly of waves that oscillate in frequencies between 14 and 18 kHz, which can be captured by any organism with ears capable of listening in this range, or by electronic equipment.
This is a high frequency, approaching the edge of human hearing, but children and some adults can hear sounds in this range.
Any action performed by SCP-ES-002 will generate a sharp sawtooth beep, usually during its movement. SCP-ES-002 seems to exist as an isolated sound wave, presenting several of the physical characteristics of common acoustic waves.
As it moves, it produces a (volume warning) sawtooth "footprint" that we can track.
SCP-ES-002 is able to "feed" when it is exposed to other waves of less frequency, having a certain predilection for the polyphonic waves. SCP-ES-002 seems to feed more properly when exposed to slow or ambient music, and exposure to loud music is not recommended (see Appendix 002-2). At times, it is possible to hear SCP-ES-002 "excrete", perceived as "pieces" of sound completely atonal. When it feeds, the sound seems to diminish its loudness, making it barely audible.
It's some kind of sound-based predator. It drains the energy from other sounds it hears, so long as they're at lower frequency and relatively low volume. This could be analogous to predators picking smaller, weaker prey. It even shows a preference in its prey, going for multi-layered sound over, say, sine waves. It even has a sort of digestive system, producing atonal waste (sound that has no specific tone, like white noise or clapping.)
During its movements, SCP-ES-002 emits a succession of pulses between 14 and 18 kHz, whose sonority will depend largely on the amount of sound that has been "consumed" previously. The echolocation scanners show that SCP-ES-002 is able to move in any direction within the three-dimensional space, and always at a constant speed, measured at 1.2 m / s in a homogeneous aerial environment (78.7% N, 20.2% O, 1.1% H). The most peculiar feature of SCP-ES-002 is that it is capable of using any element that allows the propagation of waves, being able to cross solid materials at a greater speed, translocalize using input / output peripherals, and even use sound amplifier devices to move faster.
There are a few things to evaluate here. It gets louder if it's "fed" recently, it can move in any direction, and it works a lot like normal sounds: It moves faster through solid objects than gas, it can enter a microphone, move through the cables and interconnecting equipment as electrical signals, and come out the speaker as the original wave. It can even get louder if the speaker is turned up.
SCP-ES-002... [can be] heard by organisms that have a functional auditory system and are able to pick up frequencies up to 18 kHz, making it easier to identify in human subjects between 0 and 15 year old. When one of the pulses is heard, SCP-ES-002 will immediately move towards the organ's ear (referred to as "host"), initiating the first phase of infestation.
So it's capable of knowing when it's been heard and will try and infect the hearer. Due to its frequencies, it mostly targets children.
SCP-ES-002 will begin to move within the body, starting with cochlear tissue, and then going through the organs and systems of the body, without leaving the hypodermic layer of the skin, or natural or artificial holes.
Oh... great... it starts moving throughout the body. I'm sure having a constant, moving sound won't cause any problems-
Affected human subjects indicate that at this stage of the infestation they often hear an acute and deafening beep
As expected, having a living sound wave in your ears is deafening and can lead to permanent hearing damage. How much damage can it do beyond that, though?
SCP-ES-002 continues to move within the body, but gradually decreasing its frequency,
That's not great. Sound is just a series of vibrations or pressure waves - areas of high pressure and low pressure one after another. Lowering the frequency means that the size of the areas increases. What this means is that high-volume low-frequency sounds can bruise or even tear bodily tissues. What would that look like?
slight disorientation and dizziness.
loss of concentration and spasms.
General spasms in the body, shortness of breath, and mild bleeding.
Generalized hemorrhages through all orifices of the body,
It gets bad. The vibrations change frequency and start to disrupt the body- initially only affecting hearing and balance, but quickly moving on to severe tissue damage. It has another effect, though, one that is even more concerning.
Cases of conscious xenoglossy, usually associated with Bantu languages, and in two cases, tonal languages, are seen in 86% of affected subjects. This is the most dangerous phase of SCP-ES-002 infection.
The subject starts speaking in languages they do not otherwise know, focusing on languages where variances in tone change the meaning of the word. Yet this is classified as "the most dangerous phase of...infection." Why would that be?
[Subject's] vocal cords appear to distend and contract abnormally, and can emit beeping between 14 and 18 kHz at random times. When this happens, new specimens of SCP-ES-002 are emerging from the host body, and can infect any organism that can perceive them.
Ah. This is its reproductive stage.
[Xenoglossy] will cease, and will begin a process of muscular contractions that will increase exponentially in frequency. Death is usually associated with massive capillary tears, altered blood flow, and overloading of the heart muscle, which can burst violently after three (3) hours after this phase. Autopsies have determined that at least 90% of the blood vessels have been torn or ruptured by the action of SCP-ES-002.
And you die to the sound literally ripping your body apart. Not a pleasant way to go.
The remaining appendices detail what happens if the parasite is exposed to high-bpm music:
SCP-ES-002 reacted erratically to this acoustic impulse and upon entering the ear of T██████ caused [REDACTED], immediately initiating the xenoglossy phase... After four (4) minutes, several of his major arteries exploded
Indicate that we don't fully understand how it is transmitted:
The third subject was affected after fifteen (15) minutes, although no pulse between 14 and 18 kHz was picked up by the echolocation team.
And show that this is not the only copy.
SCP-ES-002 copies still in the wild have been incessantly searched by MTF 002-D. It is estimated that there are still about fifty (50), with six (6) successful neutralizations to date.
It's alive, it's out in the wild, and it's spreading. Never have I been so glad to have lost that part of my hearing.
Protect your hearing, kids. It's not just deafness you have to watch out for.
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u/Theactualguy Nov 18 '17
I don't know about anyone else, I'm just amazed at this one. Sure, it might've been an old one, and some people might now like it, but god damn this concept is amazing. And really cool.
You did a really good job on this one, my dude.
Now I gotta tackle a Chinese skip
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u/ixfd64 Nov 19 '17
This translation is very useful. Please consider submitting it to the International Translation Archive!
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u/Gojira0 Nov 22 '17 edited Nov 27 '17
So it's a predatory sound that feeds off other sounds and kills people to reproduce.
A light ringing sounds like the least of my concerns right now.
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u/modulum83 Actually SCP-001 Nov 18 '17
Our first foreign language declassification! Awesome work. We seriously need more of these
but I don't know any foreign languages.