A meal served on a China Airlines flight. |
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Item #: SCP-C198
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Project Nightsoil's efficacy must be ensured with regular upkeep. Municipal governments in participating areas must seek Foundation approval for any significant expansions or alterations to their sewer systems to ensure that their thaumaturgic potency remains maximal.
The Foundation collaborates with all airlines to minimize the possibility of an SCP-C198 activation event. To this end, all food items (and combinations thereof) served aboard airplanes must be approved by Foundation occultists and gastrophysicists. A selection of compliant menus have been made available to all such companies.
Description: SCP-C198 refers to the human enteric nervous system. Under normal circumstances, Project Nightsoil suppresses the natural consciousness of the ENS, which then simply serves to control the gastrointestinal tract.
When unsuppressed, SCP-C198 has full control over the entire gastrointestinal tract and will use it to attempt interdimensional travel via occult symbolic ritual. Given SCP-C198's limited range of motion and materials, these rituals are only effective when groups of twelve or more individuals in close proximity consume particular combinations of food and drink. If these conditions are not met, SCP-C198 will remain dormant.
An SCP-C198 activation will occur when a sufficiently large group of people consumes certain foods while outside of Project Nightsoil's active range (that is, over 4550 meters away from any part of Earth's surface). Affected subjects will note unusual motion and sounds from within their abdomen as SCP-C198 adjusts the location and chemical makeup of consumed materials; this phase lasts several minutes.
Upon the completion of the ritual, a Type-Q "Heaving Maw" Spacial Rift will appear near the geometric center of the affected subjects, rapidly expand to consume each subject's gastrointestinal tract, and then dissipate. This disembowels affected subjects and is universally lethal.
Project Nightsoil is the primary vector for SCP-C198's containment, consisting of a planet-spanning network of 497 underground thaumaturgic sigils in the form of specially-constructed municipal sewer systems. Project Nightsoil creates a psychic field that encompasses Earth's surface, establishes a sympathetic connection to SCP-C198 via the human waste located in its sewers, and renders SCP-C198 unconscious.
Evidence of sporadic SCP-C198 activation events dates back to 4,500 BCE; however, certain thaumopotent preservatives and condiments that have become common in the past 75 years greatly increase the risk of activations. Due to Project Nightsoil's success, activation events are only a risk aboard aircraft, requiring careful attention to airline food.