SCP-1000 - Bigfoot
Joseph and Frank were two life-long Squatchers. No, that isn't an insult – that's a self-given title for Bigfoot enthusiasts who are willing to head out into the woods and search for the legendary Sasquatch first-hand. While most Squatchers will go their whole lives without ever encountering one, Joseph and Frank were about to get lucky – they just didn't know what kind of luck.
During a journey through the forests of the Pacific Northwest, Frank spotted something moving in the distance: A huge, ape-like creature with greyish fur and human-like movements. Frank thought he was finally laying eyes on the mighty Bigfoot after decades of searching. What he didn't know was that he'd just made a deadly mistake.
He had looked directly at SCP – 1000. And there would be terrible consequences. Frank was excited – he'd just achieved the life goal of any Squatcher. He tapped Joseph on the shoulder and directed him to look in the direction of the creature. Joseph followed Frank's direction and stared into the distance.
When his eyes finally came into focus on the ape-like beast... he froze. His brain just short-circuited. One second, he was about to encounter the Holy Grail of his hobby, and the next, he was literally brain dead. Joseph collapsed. In the distance, the ape-like creature disappeared back into the woods.
Not that Frank even noticed – he was too busy trying to wake Joseph but it was no use. Joseph was gone, and Frank had no idea why. The headlines read, "BIGFOOT KILLED MY FRIEND." Most people either ignored it or laughed it off. Just a couple of cranks goofing off in a forest and one of them had dropped dead. Who cares?
Well, one organization cared – The SCP Foundation. Mobile Task Force Zeta-1000, the Foundation's specialized SCP – 1000 detail, were alerted to the reports. They sprang into action, tracking down and detaining Frank for questioning. They process a million loony bigfoot lovers every year, and usually find nothing, but the death of Frank's friend made it all too clear – they hadn't encountered a bigfoot but a real, genuine example of SCP – 1000.
SCP – 1000 rarely ranks among the scariest or most dangerous SCPs, but underestimating the creature is a terrible mistake because just looking at it gives you a 2% chance of dropping dead on the spot. Frank, despite losing his friend, was one of the lucky ones. The Foundation debriefed him before administering amnestics, and making sure that he'd never venture back to those mysterious forests in the Pacific Northwest again.
Director Jones, the site director charged with the management of SCP – 1000 populations, was given the information on this latest case of a SCP – 1000-related fatality. It was a story he'd heard many times before. For Director Jones, they all seemed to bleed into one another. So, what exactly is SCP – 1000? And how did it leave poor Joseph dead in the woods? SCP – 1000 is a whole species of large, hominid ape-like creatures.
They're largely nocturnal, but sightings of the creature during the day aren't unheard of. They're omnivorous, mostly seeming to consume plants and insects and their fur is usually grey, brown, black, red, or occasionally white. The creatures have large eyes capable of impressive vision nestled underneath a pronounced, Neanderthal-like brow.
Another defining feature is the ridge of bone on the forehead, much like that of a gorilla, that is present in both sexes. According to Foundation studies, the creatures exhibit a level of intelligence on par with that of the common chimpanzee, but nowhere near that of us humans. What they lack in intelligence, though, they more than make up for in size.
The adults can be as large as ten feet tall, and weigh up to 600 pounds. Despite their great size and impressive strength, the creatures are neither aggressive nor territorial. In fact, they seem to instinctively avoid humans, mostly residing deep in the forests of the American Pacific Northwest and in the Himalayan Alps.
There have been sightings of SCP – 1000 on every continent, though the Foundation has taken pains to exterminate all SCP – 1000 populations situated near human population centres to prevent a potential disaster, considering the 2% chance of instantaneous death upon visual contact.
That brings us to our second question: What is it that makes these seemingly harmless creatures so dangerous? Sadly, for both these unfortunate creatures and us humans, the danger is beyond the control of SCP – 1000.
According to Foundation research, SCP – 1000 likely evolved alongside us homo sapiens, until a tragedy occurred between ten and fifteen-thousand years ago. A mysterious extinction event eliminated the vast majority of their species, leaving only one to five percent alive in the aftermath.
What happened? It's believed that around this time, SCP – 1000 contracted what the Foundation refers to as an "anomalous pseudo-disease." Meet SCP-1000-f1, a disease that is passed along at the genetic level, and is so durable that it persists in the species to this day. The tiny fraction of the population that are immune to its effects manage to survive, but the majority who aren't immune die shortly after birth.
This is why the overall population remains relatively low to this day. It's a disease that only appears to affect hominids – including humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and non-immune instances of SCP-1000. Any hominid that lays eyes on a carrier of the disease has a two percent chance of experiencing immediate brain death.
While a two percent chance of instant death may not seem all that threatening, at least when compared to some other nightmare inducing SCPs, the truly scary part is that the percentage is cumulative. In other words, the longer one observes a carrier of SCP-1000-f1, the higher that percentage rises and the greater your chance of experiencing an abrupt death.
According to Foundation studies, the percentage rises by around one percent every twenty minutes. And the percentage also varies between specimens, with some exhibiting a terrifyingly high death chance of 90% upon viewing. This death chance continues to occur in dead specimens if they carried the anomalous pseudo-virus while alive – though thankfully the risk doesn't appear to apply to small fur or tissue samples.
The Foundation's true concern actually goes far beyond SCP – 1000 themselves. Because of the species' close relation to homo sapiens, there's a worry that SCP-1000-f1 could transmit to humans, causing our own species to meet a similar fate.
If humans did indeed become carriers of SCP-1000-f1, it's extremely likely that humanity would undergo an unprecedented extinction event, with billions across the globe dropping dead as brain death sets in en masse. While full extermination of the entire species has been deemed unlikely, the existential threat they pose to humanity more than justifies the occasional culling of SCP – 1000 populations.
That was a lot to take in, right? First, the creature we thought was Bigfoot was actually a new species of SCP out in the wild. And second, these creatures could end human life as we know it if they made it into a population center. But what you're about to hear next – a dark secret only available to people with Level 3 SCP Foundation clearance – is the most shocking SCP - 1000 fact of all... Are you ready? The true secret of SCP - 1000 is that what you've just heard is a lie. There is no anomalous pseudo-disease, and SCP – 1000 poses no pathogenic threat to humanity whatsoever.
Who would spread such a thing? The SCP Foundation, of course. Strictly speaking, the Foundation has disseminated two direct lies about the nature of SCP – 1000. The first is that of the disease, which does not exist, nor has it ever existed.
The second lie is about the creature's intelligence level – they're far smarter than the average chimp. In fact, they're every bit as intelligent as human beings. These were all lies formulated by Director Jones and the Foundation, as was the very existence of the Bigfoot myth.
The Foundation has been spreading information that makes the very concept of the Sasquatch out to be a joke for decades, all to discredit and further push the very concept of SCP – 1000 into the shadows. But…why?
The Foundation is no stranger to coming up with cover stories, but why would they put intentional lies into their own files to anyone below a Level 3 clearance? Well, that all comes down to the horrifying truth behind the origins of today's SCP – 1000 population.
The creatures were first brought to the attention of the Foundation by outcast members of the Serpent's Hand, an organization dedicated to defying the Foundation's activities. These members, known as the Children of the Sun, told them the secret history of SCP – 1000. While at first, Foundation personnel like Director Jones didn't want to believe what they were hearing, they soon came to terms with the horrifying truth.
Humans and SCP – 1000 did evolve alongside each other, with humans occupying the day and SCP – 1000 the night. However, while humans were still basic hunter-gatherers, SCP – 1000 were undergoing vast intellectual and societal development. They were able to create tools, weapons, agriculture, stable settlements, domesticated animals, and eventually even fully developed cities. It was like nothing the world had ever seen, and wouldn't see for thousands of years to come.
Their numbers swelled into the tens of billions, as they created culture and technology hitherto unimagined – including weapons of devastating power. Meanwhile, humanity was pushed to the brink of destruction by their competitor's rapid and seemingly unstoppable growth.
It looked as though the human species had lost the evolutionary arms race, and would have to bow out, but according to the Children of the Sun, a trickster forest god smiled upon humanity, and gave them the power to use SCP – 1000's weapons and technology against them. 70% of SCP – 1000's population were wiped out in a single horrific day, known to the Children of the Sun as "The Day of the Flowers" – as every flower supposedly bloomed that day during the massacre.
Humanity destroyed the entire civilization, and with the same technology they stole from these unfortunate creatures, the vengeful humans drove the apes mad. Their higher consciousnesses were blocked out, reducing them back into the states of mere animals.
Once the massacre was done and everything that was built had been destroyed, we – the human race – used the SCP – 1000 weapons to wipe any memory of the atrocity from our own minds. The advanced civilization of SCP – 1000 had been wiped from history.
Humans returned to their plodding path of evolution, none the wiser. For thousands of years, all the way up until today, this time remained a mystery to us. So again, why did the Foundation lie to us? What did they have to gain, by convincing us all that it was dangerous to even look at these creatures?
Well, as the frequency of sightings and the attempts at communication increased, people like Director Jones became aware of a frightening possibility: What if the pendulum was swinging back? What if the apes were regaining their lost intelligence, and worse, still harboured feelings of revenge for what we did to their species thousands of years ago?
Even the mere possibility that they could do to us what we once did to them is a chance that the Foundation simply cannot take, and thus, limiting contact between humans and SCP - 1000 at all costs is an absolute must. However, in spite of the Foundation's fears, one intercepted message from the apes suggests that their paranoia may be misplaced.
This message, translated from an attempt at communicating with Foundation personnel, reads simply as follows: "we forgive you; given choice for now, not forever; let us back in." It's enough to make you wonder what species the Foundation should really be keeping tabs on here.
After all, when it comes to meting out violence and death, humanity has a track record to rival the worst creatures in the Foundation containment cells. And few examples illustrate that better than the tragic case of SCP – 1000.