Item#: 9547
Level1
Containment Class:
euclid
Secondary Class:
none
Disruption Class:
vlam
Risk Class:
caution
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-9547 is to be monitored in communities with a high concentration of SCP-9547 triggers, such as Nexuses and Free Ports. In the case that an individual might be at serious risk due to SCP-9547, they are to be removed from the trigger whenever possible.
Information regarding SCP-9547 is to be disseminated to all Foundation personnel. Foundation agents and researchers are to be administered a standard issue SCP-9547 test kit along with the allergy tests that are administered at the time of employment. If a Foundation agent is expected to handle known SCP-9547 triggers that are outside of the ones tested for in the standard issue kit, they are to be tested for an SCP-9547 response to that trigger whenever possible.
Description: SCP-9547 is an anomalous immune response created when individuals come into contact with anomalous materials, hereafter referred to as "triggers". An individual that displays an SCP-9547 response to one trigger may not display it for others. While exact numbers are not known, it is estimated that SCP-9547 is displayed by around 2% of the human population.
The symptoms of SCP-9547 are similar to that of a non-anomalous allergen response, including sneezing, itchiness, rashes, and in cases of severe or extended exposure, anaphylactic shock.
While the symptoms of SCP-9547 mimic allergies, there are important differences between SCP-9547 and non-anomalous allergies. For example, there does not seem to be any hereditary or environmental correlation between individuals that display SCP-9547, and the factors responsible for SCP-9547 remain unclear. Additionally, SCP-9547 is considered to be more severe than non-anomalous allergies, as no effective treatments for acute SCP-9547 cases have been discovered. Epinephrine, for example, has no effect on SCP-9547. In most cases, removing the subject from the trigger is the best way to treat SCP-9547 symptoms.
Around 100 triggers for SCP-9547 have been confirmed, but many more are suspected to exist. Relevant examples of triggers include: amnestic and mnestic compounds, materials used in the production of Scranton Reality Anchors, and contact with many contained anomalies. It is important to note, many SCP-9547 triggers appear to be entirely inconsistent with each other. Besides an anomalous designation, it is unclear what properties are responsible for a material to be a SCP-9547 trigger. The mechanisms by which the body detects SCP-9547 triggers, and the reasoning for an immune response, are unknown.
SCP-9547 was brought to attention during a raid by MTF Epsilon-6, "Village Idiots", on the house of a Type Green reality bender. During a confrontation with the threat, officer Samuel Rodgers was forced to sustain direct contact with the target, and subsequently experienced a severe anaphylactic shock. This could have posed a severe threat to the team, but they were able to dispatch the threat quickly, and move Samuel Rodgers to safety, where he was able to recover.
Samuel Rodgers was not known to have had any major allergies at the time, so it was initially assumed that the response was due to the Type Green's effects, but that did not line up with the symptoms experienced by the other members of Epsilon-6. Later, the response was able to be replicated using reality benders under the employment of the Foundation. Samuel Rodgers' reaction is now known to be due to SCP-9547.
Because of the rarity of almost all triggers of SCP-9547, in addition to the difficulty to distinguish from non-anomalous allergies, SCP-9547 is considered to pose very little threat to the general population and the Veil.
However, SCP-9547 does pose a unique challenge to the Foundation. If undetected, an SCP-9547 response could pose a severe issue to any Foundation agent that is expected to remain in contact with anomalous conditions for an extended period of time, as was the case with Samuel Rodgers.
In order to prevent future issues related to SCP-9547, it has been deemed necessary to develop a standardized test in order to detect Foundation agents that display SCP-9547, to be issued alongside standard Foundation allergy tests. However, the exact triggers that are to be tested for in such a test have been debated. The Foundation has the capability to hypothetically test any individual for any of the known triggers of SCP-9547, but many of these procedures are expensive and impractical, particularly if the test is to be done at scale.
Addendum: On May 19th, 2007, a meeting was held with researcher Sandra Matthews, who spearheaded research on SCP-9547, conducted by Ethics Committee liaison Thomas Parnett. The goal of the meeting was to discuss how the Foundation might operate with SCP-9547 in mind, and how to prevent incidents like the one with Samuel Rodgers.
[Begin Transcript]
Matthews: Thank you for your time today. I recognize that SCP-9547 might remain a low priority for the Foundation, but I think it's extremely important that we prevent further incidents in the future.
Parnett: Of course. Admittedly, it was originally quite difficult to take the idea of an "allergy to SCPs" seriously, when I first read the case file. Well, until I read about the incident with the Epsilon-6 raid.
[Matthews laughs.]
Matthews: I've heard that quite a few times in the intervening months. If I'm being honest, I'm sort of glad that things went down the way they did. That could easily happen again, and with far greater consequences the next time. It's important that it drew attention. Otherwise, I might not have been sitting here with the knowledge that I have. In fact, Samuel Rodgers has been quite instrumental in our current understanding of SCP-9547. He has been a large ally, and I appreciate that he endured quite as many rashes as he did, for science.
Parnett: I don't think that either of us would have been sitting here if that didn't attract as much attention as it did. Some of the higher ups seem quite worried about all this.
Matthews: As they should be. I'm just glad that I've finally been able to get people to take it seriously.
Parnett: Well, anyways, could you explain more about these tests?
Matthews: Of course. It's the same logic as an ordinary allergy test. You prick someone with the allergen and see how big the bump is, in relation to a control, of course. As long as you're able to get a sample of the material that you want to test, it's trivial to test for an allergic reaction.
Parnett: I think you've made it clear that the Foundation should implement these tests across the board.
Matthews: Yes, I do believe that.
Parnett: Why is that? Don't you think that SCP-9547 is quite trivial? Why is it necessary that Foundation resources go toward this?
Matthews: SCP-9547 is often trivial, but it's not trivial in all cases. As we have seen, it can very well put someone's life on the line. Ignoring SCP-9547 means inviting the risk for a critical failure down the line, and that could be even more costly than these tests. If you can prevent an incident, it is in your responsibility to do so. I have worked to give the Foundation the means for that prevention, and I believe that they should move forward with that in mind.
Parnett: But you're aware that SCP-9547 test kits are far more expensive than normal allergy test kits?
Matthews: I am aware of that. I still believe the Foundation has the necessary resources to devote to this.
Parnett: Do you think that Foundation employment should be conditional on a negative test?
[Matthews shifts within her seat. She appears uncomfortable with the question.]
Matthews: …No. I don't think that should be the case. People should be denied employment only in a few extreme circumstances.
Parnett: Alright. Do you believe all triggers should be tested for?
Matthews: Well, certainly not all of them. Almost nobody would ever come into contact with some contained anomalies, for example. However, I would really like to reiterate that there are many triggers that should be tested for unconditionally. We can go over the details, and I have listed specific triggers I am concerned about in the report, but there should be about 26 triggers that everyone should be tested for. My sincere hope is that these tests don’t just become something that only a few high ranking officials get and no-one else. It's important that we don't risk the lives of our personnel just to save a few bucks.
Parnett: I think we could be in agreement of that. Please understand, I'm pushing you here because I know that these are the things that people will say.
Matthews: I am aware of that.
Parnett: Regardless, I think that should be enough for now. Thank you for your time, Dr. Matthews, and thank you for bringing this to the Foundation's attention, of course. I will try to convince the higher ups that resources should be dedicated to this.
Matthews: Thank you, Parnett. You are very welcome.
[End Transcript]
Following the meeting, SCP-9547 test kits were formalized and distributed to Foundation sites. Currently, the standard issue test kit for SCP-9547 contains a test for 12 known triggers. High ranking personnel, such as Site Directors or O5 council members, are issued a test kit for 59 known triggers. Following these events, Samuel Rodgers has been deemed unfit for his role, and has been removed from active duty.