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SCP-4476:La Famille Natau
Author:MalyceGraves.
Image Credit: See comments.
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| Assigned Site | Site Director | Research Head | Assigned MTF |
| Site-93A | Dr. Stanley Arthur | Dr. Isabelle Beaumont | Beta-2 "Bayou Boys" |
Special Containment Procedures
SCP-4476 Exclusion Zone
SCP-4476 is contained within a 3-kilometer exclusion zone on the far western edge of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Site 93A has been set up in the nearby town of Port Sulphur under the cover story Lambda Mu 22a: "Gulf Shore Cleanup Operation". Additionally, the local economy has been artificially depressed in order to encourage the local residents to leave, as well as to discourage population growth.
MTF Beta-2 "Bayou Boys" are to routinely patrol the nearby marshlands to prevent outside intrusion as well as to contain the inhabitants of SCP-4476 from exiting the exclusion zone. Due to the high-traffic nature of the bayou fishing industry, additional resources have been allocated to the containment of SCP-4476. This includes the expansion of MTF Beta-2 to company strength, with a variety of amphibious vehicles and several bayou patrol helicopters.
Any non SCP-4476 resident apprehended attempting to enter the exclusion zone is to be interrogated and released after amnestic treatment.
Description
SCP-4476 is a small fishing village accessible only by boat in the far western part of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana with an estimated population of 45. The entire population, designated SCP-4476-1, is made up of members of the Natau family, and they all display significant birth defects and physical abnormalities.
SCP-4476-1 Presenting with Growth
These physical abnormalities primarily present as large tumorous growths as a result offoetus in foetu. These growths are treated with a great deal of respect, and SCP-4476-1 refer to them as "The Unborn".
The language spoken by SCP-4476-1 is a fusion of Proto-Urallic Adytite mixed with the local French-English Creole. While it is uncertain how long this family has lived in the area, linguistic drift analysis suggests that they originally spoke Adytite, with the local Creole adopted sometime in the latter half of the 17th century.
The social hierarchy of SCP-4476-1 revolves around a group of five visually identical, elderly females, designated SCP-4476-1A, which the others refer to collectively as "Manma Natau". It is unclear how SCP-4476-1 distinguishes between the five, and careful genetic sampling indicates that the five sisters represent the matriarchal genesis of every other member of SCP-4476-1. It is also of note that one of the five instances of SCP-4476-1A is always pregnant.
The population of SCP-4476 remains exceptionally stable even with the observed rate of pregnancies. There have been no reported cases of illness within the family group, and no observed accidental deaths. It is currently unknown whether the absence of additional children is a result of stillbirth or a high infant mortality rate. When asked about this phenomena or the anomalously high pregnancies, the locals will give evasive or non-answers.
The villagers rarely travel far from SCP-4476, and thus their diet is restricted to the flora and fauna that can be found within the exclusion zone. Dietary staples include several types of fish, a variety of swamp cabbage1 cultivated in a nearby field, several species of frogs, and small alligators.
SCP-4476 Longhouse & Shed
The infrastructure of SCP-4476 is made up of one large residential structure, a storage shed, a small building primarily used for drying collected swamp cabbage, a short dock with several small fishing punts, and a medium-sized anomalous2 structure that serves as both a religious gathering place and "birthing house". SCP-4476-1 spend the majority of their time either working in the cabbage field, fishing, cooking, or mending the nets they utilize for fishing and catching frogs.
SCP-4476-1 adhere to a strict pattern of six working days with a single day of religious observance. While generally tolerant of Foundation researchers, SCP-4476-1 will become hostile to all outsiders that intrude on their religious practices. These rituals take place inside the church-like structure, and until recently have been entirely unobserved.
Attached Addenda
Discovery
SCP-4476 was initially discovered in late April of 2010, following reports of concern for a "Nälkä family"3 made by several denizens ofLoI-504 "La Rue Macabre" during the clean up of the Deepwater incident involving SCP-████. These reports were followed up on by members of MTF Beta-2 "Bayou Boys", and they were eventually able to locate the village.
Initial contact was made with the villagers on April 29, 2010. Due to the isolated nature of the area, it was decided that SCP-4476 should be contained in its original location. Site-93A was established utilizing the clean up effort as cover, and remains there to this day.
While SCP-4476-1 mostly ignored the Foundation presence, no headway was made in successfully establishing a permanent research presence, primarily due to the difficulty presented by the language barrier. Upon a request by Site Director Stanley Arthur, the Foundation Oversight Committee agreed to bring in Dr. Isabelle Beaumont, a local anthropologist that had previously shown marked success in developing ongoing contact with other local indigenous cultural groups.
Her relevant research logs and memorandum are included.
Researcher: Dr. Isabelle Beaumont
Date: August 8, 2010
Subject: Personal log
Despite the obvious heavy-handedness of this "Foundation", I was excited to be involved in this project. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, even after reviewing the documents that Dr. Arthur had provided. I read the reports fromDr. Desmarais, and I admit I still wasn't quite prepared for what I met when I first arrived at the Natau family village.
While the obvious physical deformities displayed by the family are a bit unusual, I didn't really see anything to differentiate this family from many other cultural groups in the area. Subsistence farmers, strong ties to the local ecology, communal living arrangements, etc. Even their language, while differing quite a bit in certain verb phrasing and word usage, is not entirely different from other variations of Louisiana French Creole I've encountered before.
What really threw me off was their Temple. The Natau refer to it assak Kiraak, which according to the lexicon given to me by Dr. Arthur means roughly "holy (or sacred) temple", with connotations of it beingalive. I thought that that would mean that it was made of living plant matter, grown directly from the swamp.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
I don't think I can do this.
Researcher: Dr. Isabelle Beaumont
Date: August 9, 2010
Subject: Personal log
After giving it a lot of thought and drinking copious amounts of tea, I've decided that weird as they are, the Natau represent an excellent opportunity to study a cultural group that has so far been undocumented by modern anthropological science. I had no idea that such an unknown group could exist in the United States!
Anyway, even with the revulsion that I feel towards their Temple, it is my job to document it to the best of my ability.
The building itself is rather small, covering an area of roughly 47 square meters. Like the other Natau structures, it stands on pilings driven into the swamp, but it is only connected to the rest of the platform by a short bridge made from strands of sinew and supported by "planks" of bone.
The pilings themselves look like grotesquely extended arms with fused elbow joints. The "hands" are splayed quite widely across the soft ground of the area beneath it, with the "fingers" disappearing into the turf remarkably similarly to a trees' root structure.
There are no window openings into the interior, and the only entrance appears to be a large sphincter in the side facing the rest of the Natau settlement. We've not been allowed to remain during the Natau holy day, so I haven't been able to get a peek inside. Not sure if I want to, really.
The accessible portion of the building stands about nine feet tall at its highest point, and is in a rough oblong shape, giving it somewhat of a "quanset hut" appearance. For some reason looking at it for too long gives me a bit of a headache, and I had no desire to get a closer view. The Natau clearly didn't want me to anyway, so that was a bit of a relief.
Despite Dr. Beaumont's initial hesitation, significant progress was made towards understanding SCP-4476-1 and their way of life. After several months of study and interaction, Dr. Beaumont was able to give valuable insight into their language and cultural heritage. The bulk of Dr. Beaumont's notes and reference materials has been omitted for brevity, but are available upon request.
In June of 2011, Dr. Beaumont made a request on behalf of SCP-4476-1 for a semi-permanent generator, as well as lighting, an electric stove, and a refrigeration unit. After a series of exchanges between Dr. Beaumont and Dr. Arthur, this request was granted. This marked a significant turn in the Foundation's relationship with SCP-4476-1, and Dr. Beaumont began spending most of her time at the village.
Researcher: Dr. Isabelle Beaumont
Date: June 19, 2011
Subject: Personal log
I think that I've finally been accepted byLa Famille Natau. I've been spending a lot of time at the village speaking to the younger members of the family, and I've even been able to take part in some of their meals and daily rituals. They still wont let me stay during their holy day, but I think that might also change.
After getting the Foundation to put in the generator and lights, I think that the Family has begun to see the benefit of having me around.
I also think that I'm beginning to understand the differences between the Manmas Natau, at least in how they reference them. There is a definite sequence to their pregnancies; only one of them carries a child at any one time. Whichever one is pregnant, the others begin referring to her as "Manma Nutaa", which is close enough to Manma Natau that I think that most would simply chock it up to a slip of the tongue. But on a hunch I looked into it, and "nutaa" is close enough to be the late Adytite "nüta", which is their word for sorceress or shaman. This cannot be a coincidence, and it is significant in unlocking more of their cultural mysteries.
It took some convincing, but I managed to persuade the current Manma Nutaa to sit down with me for a more structured interview. Now let's see if I have enough of a grasp on their dialect to translate it for the other Foundation researchers.
On June 20th, 2011, Dr. Beaumont conducted an interview with one of the SCP-4476-1A instances. The interview was conducted in the local dialect of Louisiana Creole and was translated by Dr. Beaumont. A portion of that translation follows:
Interviewed: Manma Nutaa, Resident of SCP-4476
Interviewer: Dr. Isabelle Beaumont, SCP-4476 Head Researcher
Foreword: This is the first time that any of the Manmas Natau have consented to sit down for a structured interview. While I've talked with them several times, they've remained reluctant to share much.
<Begin Log, 06/20/11 - 10:18>
Dr. Beaumont: Thank you, Manma, for sitting down with me.
M. Nutaa: You're welcome, meeña.4
Dr. Beaumont: I'd like to ask you a bit about your history, how long you've been here, and-
M. Nutaa: [Interrupting] You would not believe me, meeña. None of the children of this new land ever do, even Old Man Nancy5 does not believe.
Dr. Beaumont: Perhaps, but I would like to know your stories, your tales, anyway.
M. Nutaa: I remember theburning towers of Gyaros as we sailed away. Karcist Meksa wanted to go Kythera, to reunite with our beloved Ion, but we could not.
Dr. Beaumont: I'm not sure what that means, Manma.
M. Nutaa: It was long ago. Before even your ancestors knew of this land.
Dr. Beaumont: That is hard to believe, but I will try and follow along.
M. Nutaa: A storm ravaged the Aegean, and we were swept past the Great Rock, and into the endless waters of the Western Sea. We were lost, adrift. Our ship had been injured, and it took everything Karcist Meksa could do just to keep us alive. Eventually we landed in the far North, where we tried to make a place for ourselves.
Dr. Beaumont: Why didn't you just try and go home?
M. Nutaa: We all knew that the Grand Karcist had fallen, meeña. There was no home to return to.
Dr. Beaumont: Ok, I guess. Go on.
M. Nutaa: I told you that you would not believe. Let's talk of other things.
Dr. Beaumont: Um, all right. I've noticed your family rarely gets sick. Would you mind telling me about that?
M. Nutaa: Ion has blessed us, meeña. We use His gift to keep the älaakt6 safe from the small things in the waters.
Dr. Beaumont: Ion? Is that the Nälkä divinity?
M. Nutaa: No, no, not like that. The Grand Karcist is our Intercessor. He taught us the Way, and showed us how to be more. We keep to His ways, and we shape our älaakt to become a Vessel for His Return.
Dr. Beaumont: I am confused. You said that your Grand Karcist fell. Is "Ion" the name you give to your current Grand Karcist?
M. Nutaa: Yes, and no. Beloved Ion is no longer of this world, but He is still with us, in our blood, in the Way. He is our only Grand Karcist, and He will Return to guide all of His children to Adytum. We seek purity in order to join Him when the time comes.
Dr. Beaumont: You mentioned Karcist Meksa, I know the term "Karcist" is akin to "Priest". What happened to him?
M. Nutaa: Now you return to things you will not believe. Another time?
Dr. Beaumont: Ok, Manma. Let's talk about fishing perhaps?
<Extraneous conversation expunged>
After several more successful interviews, mostly involving details of the daily life of SCP-4476-1, Dr. Beaumont was invited to participate in a birthing ritual. Her request to attend was initially denied by the Site Director, but that decision was overruled by the Oversight Committee in the interest of gaining more information regarding the activities of SCP-4476-1.
Researcher: Dr. Isabelle Beaumont
Date: September 8, 2011
Subject: Personal log
I was finally given a chance to observe one of the Natau's religious ceremonies. It was quite a fight for me to get permission to attend, and I guess that Dr. Arthur was overruled by someone higher up the chain than him. Even then, he wanted to send a group of the Bayou Boys with me, but I flatly refused. Manma Nutaa was quite clear that only I was allowed to attend, and she wouldn't let me take any equipment in with me. I can only imagine what would have happened if a group of Foundation operatives tried to bully their way in with me.
In the end, there was nothing for anyone to worry about. The ritual was only a little stranger than some of the other birthing practices I've observed in the past.
Well, maybe a lot stranger, but I was still in no danger.
The inside of theKiraak was pretty much what I expected. The wallspulsed, and when the sphincter opened, I swear it was like walking down the throat of some huge animal. I'm used to moist, warm air, I've been living in the swamp for years. But… it was different.It had a smell to it that…
The whole building was a single room centered around a small poolbuilt grown into the floor. I wasn't certain, but I think the liquid in the pool was some analogue to amniotic fluid, it certainly had a similar viscosity.and smell The entire room was lit by numerous small candles that were placed in small niches in the walls. When everyone had gathered inside, there wasn't much room to move around. It also got quite warm, and I regretted not adopting the Natau practice of participating mostly nude.
When everyone had gathered and the "door" had closed, the ritual began. The four non-pregnant Manma Natau stood around the pool and assisted Manma Nutaa as she climbed into it. After she was settled, everyone sat on the floor and began to chant.
It took hours, and I felt every minute of it. The air was stiflingly hot, and I had difficulty breathing. Nothing much seemed to change for quite a while, then Manma Nutaa began to struggle with the birthing process. I have no idea how many children she's given birth to over the years, but I could clearly see that the process was quite painful for her. Each time she pushed, she would grunt in agony, and the rest of the Natau would chant louder. There was an energy to it that I can't describe, and I felt myself carried along with it.
Eventually everything came to a climax, and she was able to finally give birth. I must admit, I was enthralled by the whole affair, but when Manma Natau lifted the baby from theflui pool, I was horrified.
I cannot describe what I saw. Suffice it to say that the child was a stillbirth. Afterwards I was told that most of the children born to the Natau don't survive. They either are stillbirths or they die a few days later. Either way, the infant mortality rate is really high and…
Well, they use the babies tofeed thekiraak, and that's all I'm going to say about that.
Addendum
Update - 07/12/2013: Dr. Beaumont was invited to participate in an overnight ritual with SCP-4476-1. She indicated that she had been "invited to join the Family", and expressed interest. She assured Dr. Arthur that this was standard practice within many indigenous peoples, and it would be a formality that would be rude to ignore.
The next morning, Dr. Beaumont failed to return from her stay with SCP-4476-1. On the morning of July 11th, four members of MTF Beta-2 "Bayou Boys" raided SCP-4476 with the objective of either retrieving Dr. Beaumont or ascertaining her status. The following is a transcript of that raid from the viewpoint of the team lead, Sgt. Arnaud.
Exploration Video Log Transcript
Date: 07/11/2013
Exploration Team: MTF Beta-2 "Bayou Boys"
Subject: Search and rescue of Dr. Isabelle Beaumont from SCP-4476
Team Lead: Sergeant Nicolas Arnaud, "Alpha"
[BEGIN LOG]
Alpha: Preparing insertion. Check comms and equipment, Boys.
<Several members of Beta-2 are seen checking their equipment and their communication devices. Alpha's viewpoint briefly shifts to the helicopter's door where SCP-4476 can be seen in the near distance>
Delta: I hate dat we're all calledboys.
Alpha: Take it up with command, Delta. You weren't around when Beta-2 was formed.
<The viewpoint returns to the door, then shifts back to the team as the helicopter slows>
Alpha: All right boys and girl. We've all been briefed on the game plan. Stick together, we shouldn't have any problems until we try and enter the Temple. Beta, you're on point, Gamma take up rear. Delta, you're our cutter if the "door" doesn't open for us.
Delta: <Sighs>
Alpha: Remember, non-lethal if you can, but we've been cleared to go hot if we have to.
<The helicopter lands, and the team hikes the short distance to SCP-4476. SCP-4476-1 seems to mostly ignore them, until they draw closer to the temple. An SCP-4476-1A instance is seen pointing their way, and Alpha looks back towards Beta>
Alpha: Looks like they're taking notice of us. Beta, go.
<Beta jogs across the bridge to the temple, Alpha and Delta close behind. Several shouts are heard from behind, and Alpha's viewpoint swivels around to catch several SCP-4476-1 running towards them, each clutching farming implements.>
Alpha: Gamma, keep them off our six. Delta, go for insertion.
<Delta moves ahead carrying a ████████. She pushes it into the skin around the sphincter, causing her to be coated in gore. After a few seconds, a hole large enough for the team to enter has been cut into the side of the building.>
Alpha: Beta, you're up.
<The viewpoint swivels again at the sound of gunfire, just in time to see Gamma lowering his rifle. Two of SCP-4476-1 are down, and the rest have backed away. Alpha turns back to push his way through the opening behind Beta.>
Alpha: Delta, stay outside and keep Gamma company. We shouldn't be long.
<The inside of the temple is dimly lit, and the view is partially obscured by viscera. Beta can be seen standing near the pool, staring at the wall.>
Beta: Fuck, Sarge. Is that…?
<Alpha's view turns away from Beta where Dr. Beaumont is seen partially absorbed by the wall.>
Alpha: Shit, check for vitals.
<Alpha turns back towards the opening as Beta steps past to check on Dr. Beaumont.>
Beta: She's alive, boss. She-
<Beta is interrupted by a coughing noise from Dr. Beaumont. Alpha swings back towards the noise and steps forward. Dr. Beaumont's limbs are almost fully absorbed into the wall, vein-like tendrils snaking from the wall into the exposed skin around her shoulders, torso, and face. A gaping wound can be seen in her lower abdomen, exposing portions of her hip and lower intestine.>
Dr. Beaumont: <Gasping> This… <Cough> isn't what it looks like.
Alpha: Christ, what the fuck is it supposed to be? We'll get you out of there, hold on.
Dr. Beaumont: No! Don't! <She coughs again, blood frothing at the corners of her mouth> They… They wanted me to join the Family. They… wanted me to become… part of Manma Natau. I… went willingly. I just… wasn't strong enough.
<Muffled gunshots are heard from outside.>
Delta: Sarge, hurry up in dere, it looks like da whole damn town is fixin' to come down on us.
Alpha: Like hell I'm leavin' you here, Doc. Beta, cut her down and let's get the fuck out of here.
<Beta steps up and begins cutting Dr. Beaumont free. She struggles for a moment, then appears to pass out. Beta finishes cutting her free, and he pulls her loose from the wall>
Alpha: We've retrieved the Doc, now fucking move people. I don't wanna hang out here any longer than we have to.
<The team quickly extracts to the waiting helicopter, following three more brief exchanges with SCP-4476-1, resulting in the incapacitation of three 4476-1 individuals>
[END LOG]
Dr. Beaumont was taken directly to the Site 93A infirmary where she was pronounced dead. As per protocol, an autopsy was performed and her cause of death was listed as "massive exsanguination due to improper surgical procedure." Also of note is that her uterus and reproductive organs were missingin toto and were never recovered.
From the data retrieved from Dr. Beaumont's notes, it is believed that SCP-4476-1A were attempting to "harvest" genetic material from Dr. Beaumont in order to integrate her into the family.
Update - 07/24/2013:
An additional iteration of SCP-4476-1A has been observed. It should also be noted that all six iterations are showing signs of pregnancy.
All further contact with SCP-4476 has been restricted until further notice.
Act I:Et Ecce Equus Pallidus |In Memoria, Adytum