WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.269 --> 00:00:06.089 It’s 1937, and a machete hacks through a clump of vines, clearing the path for famed 00:00:06.089 --> 00:00:11.000 adventurer, world-renowned treasure hunter, and charming scoundrel Drake ‘Jonesy’ 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:12.000 O’Connelly. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:17.119 Of course, all his reputation is as greatly exaggerated as the swagger with which he strides 00:00:17.119 --> 00:00:18.720 through the rainforest. 00:00:18.720 --> 00:00:23.470 All the actual adventuring and uncovering of ancient artifacts is really the work of 00:00:23.470 --> 00:00:28.480 Jonesy’s counterpart, Evie Croftsworth, a brilliant Oxford-educated archaeologist, 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:33.690 who tails behind him as he leads the way – despite not being the one holding the map. 00:00:33.690 --> 00:00:37.649 Evie sighs as she sees Jonesy looking around for which route to take next. 00:00:37.649 --> 00:00:41.440 She only really tolerates him because he comes in handy when other rival treasure hunters 00:00:41.440 --> 00:00:43.219 start shooting at them. 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:47.750 Jonesy has a miraculous habit of attracting bullets, luckily for her. 00:00:47.750 --> 00:00:51.410 The pair have journeyed across more of the globe together than most people will ever 00:00:51.410 --> 00:00:56.329 see in their lifetimes, tracking down buried treasures and the remnants of ancient civilizations 00:00:56.329 --> 00:00:58.180 lost to time. 00:00:58.180 --> 00:01:02.989 For Evie, it is a purely educational pursuit; she does it to preserve knowledge and put 00:01:02.989 --> 00:01:07.590 the items they find into the hands of fellow scholars, so that her findings might one day 00:01:07.590 --> 00:01:09.830 wind up in museums. 00:01:09.830 --> 00:01:13.900 Jonesy is here solely for the money, and the thrill of the adventure that makes it worth 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:16.170 occasionally being shot at. 00:01:16.170 --> 00:01:20.380 After successfully recovering an ancient casket that was said to contain the wrath of God 00:01:20.380 --> 00:01:25.890 himself from an underground tomb, the intrepid pair have arrived at their next destination. 00:01:25.890 --> 00:01:30.390 Jetting halfway around the world to hike through the humid rainforest is hardly cheap or easy, 00:01:30.390 --> 00:01:32.770 especially in the 1930s. 00:01:32.770 --> 00:01:37.070 But thanks to the wealth bequeathed to Evie by her late family and Jonesy’s connections 00:01:37.070 --> 00:01:41.250 with various pilots and smugglers, they’ve arrived to track down the ruins of a temple 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:45.110 that’s supposedly hidden in this particular area of rainforest. 00:01:45.110 --> 00:01:49.140 Fragments of a map were delivered to one of the museum owners Evie works with, and once 00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:54.100 she had confirmed their legitimacy, it seemed like exactly the kind of mystery her and her 00:01:54.100 --> 00:01:58.939 admittedly useful but ultimately loutish partner could solve. 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:02.799 Once fully translated, the map spoke of part of the rainforest that seemed to have been 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:04.259 cursed. 00:02:04.259 --> 00:02:08.390 According to scrawls left on the torn parchment, it had something to do with a high priest 00:02:08.390 --> 00:02:11.560 at the temple that lay in the heart of the trees. 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:16.709 Apparently, to keep the temple safe from interlopers, the high priest had cast a spell to bring 00:02:16.709 --> 00:02:21.060 the surrounding trees to life, compelling them to attack anyone who ventured close to 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:22.430 the temple. 00:02:22.430 --> 00:02:26.980 That was the legend, at least; based on where Evie judges their current position to be, 00:02:26.980 --> 00:02:31.250 they aren’t far now – and there’s been no sign of killer trees. 00:02:31.250 --> 00:02:33.030 Not yet, anyway. 00:02:33.030 --> 00:02:37.450 She directs Jonesy, who starts up cleaving the foliage around them with his machete, 00:02:37.450 --> 00:02:39.739 clearly not compensating for anything. 00:02:39.739 --> 00:02:43.830 The two of them venture further into the rainforest, trying to at least locate the ruined temple 00:02:43.830 --> 00:02:45.680 before nightfall. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:49.590 Even if they can’t get inside by the time it gets dark, they can set up camp nearby 00:02:49.590 --> 00:02:52.790 and try to gain access in the morning. 00:02:52.790 --> 00:02:57.830 But despite her expert navigational skills, Evie can’t locate the temple. 00:02:57.830 --> 00:03:02.330 She stops, tries to get her bearings, but each time either Jonesy’s inane comments 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:07.150 throw her off kilter, or she gets the exact latitude and longitude muddled. 00:03:07.150 --> 00:03:11.300 The heat and humidity of the rainforest aren’t helping, neither is the fact that the pair 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:14.780 of them are both exhausted from a long day’s hike. 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:19.670 Add to that the fact that all Evie has to work off is the only surviving pieces of an 00:03:19.670 --> 00:03:24.430 inaccurate map from centuries ago, and the whole expedition is starting to feel like 00:03:24.430 --> 00:03:26.190 it’s falling apart. 00:03:26.190 --> 00:03:30.810 Night begins to fall, and no closer to finding the temple, the pair decide to set up their 00:03:30.810 --> 00:03:33.819 individual tents and bed down for the night. 00:03:33.819 --> 00:03:36.959 In the morning, they’ll be able to think clearer, having had some sleep. 00:03:36.959 --> 00:03:40.710 But throughout the whole night, Evie is restless. 00:03:40.710 --> 00:03:45.159 She’s convinced that she followed the map accurately, even accounting for any margins 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:46.560 of error. 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:50.730 They should be at the temple already; by now, she’s an expert at this. 00:03:50.730 --> 00:03:54.930 Hell, even Jonesy has at least learned a few things from their many adventures. 00:03:54.930 --> 00:03:58.500 Speaking of Jonesy, she’s set up her tent too close to his again. 00:03:58.500 --> 00:04:02.790 Unable to sleep because of her overactive thoughts, being able to hear him snore isn’t 00:04:02.790 --> 00:04:04.310 helping Evie get any rest either. 00:04:04.310 --> 00:04:08.870 The tent flap opens and Jonesy walks a few feet away. 00:04:08.870 --> 00:04:13.360 How typical that the natural beauty of this rainforest should be made into this man’s 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:14.360 latrine. 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:16.449 The first few minutes of quiet pass. 00:04:16.449 --> 00:04:19.220 The rainforest is still. 00:04:19.220 --> 00:04:24.310 And laying in her tent, Evie suddenly realizes what’s wrong with that. 00:04:24.310 --> 00:04:26.860 The place should be teeming with wildlife. 00:04:26.860 --> 00:04:30.680 They should be able to hear birds calling from the treetops or the flap of their wings 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:31.800 from overhead. 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:33.800 But there’s nothing. 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:38.240 Distressed at having only just noticed this, Evie gets up and scrambles out of her tent, 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:41.160 grabbing a flashlight and calling out to Jonesy. 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:45.750 She spots him standing a few feet away, his back to her, and rushes over. 00:04:45.750 --> 00:04:49.270 The whole time, she’s hurriedly explaining what she’s just realized, worried that there 00:04:49.270 --> 00:04:53.320 might well be something else in the rainforest, a predator that’s scared all the wildlife 00:04:53.320 --> 00:04:58.710 away, that could have led whoever made the map to believe the place was cursed. 00:04:58.710 --> 00:05:02.600 Only once she stops talking, Evie notices Jonesy hasn’t moved. 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:06.460 He’s as unnervingly still as the rest of the rainforest. 00:05:06.460 --> 00:05:11.970 The beam of Evie’s flashlight catches something, a long, strand reaching down from the treetops, 00:05:11.970 --> 00:05:14.889 winding its way around Jonesy’s arms. 00:05:14.889 --> 00:05:18.539 She follows it with the light, up and up, towards the branches… 00:05:18.539 --> 00:05:23.520 Evie screams in horror at what she sees above them. 00:05:23.520 --> 00:05:25.240 Several decades pass. 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:29.360 Even the turn of a millennium, and the names of Evie Croftsworth and Drake O’Connelly 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:35.199 are as lost to time as the treasures they once spent their lives searching for, Then, 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:41.130 one day, the area of rainforest they vanished in starts experiencing heavy deforestation. 00:05:41.130 --> 00:05:45.350 Trees are been sawed down and toppled to clear the way for construction crews, reducing the 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:49.660 size of the rainforest to allow for yet more people to inhabit the area. 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:50.660 Why? 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:55.400 That’s because typically, where there are people, there are ways for corporations to 00:05:55.400 --> 00:05:56.910 make profits. 00:05:56.910 --> 00:06:01.570 Of course, as is the case with any deforestation effort, the upfront cost is normally paid 00:06:01.570 --> 00:06:04.660 by the unfortunate wildlife in the area. 00:06:04.660 --> 00:06:08.350 Though often, the trees being cut down and animals being evicted from their homes aren’t 00:06:08.350 --> 00:06:11.870 able to fight back against humans destroying their habitat… 00:06:11.870 --> 00:06:13.820 most of the time, at least. 00:06:13.820 --> 00:06:17.590 Concerned reports are spreading through the workers as they’re following orders to chop 00:06:17.590 --> 00:06:18.840 down trees. 00:06:18.840 --> 00:06:22.540 Eventually, word reaches the Foreman at the head of the operation. 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:26.520 The men have been whispering that two of the advance parties scouting ahead into the rainforest 00:06:26.520 --> 00:06:29.800 haven’t checked in for quite some time. 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:33.490 The Foreman sighs, he’s been expecting trouble since the job started. 00:06:33.490 --> 00:06:38.120 He works for the company responsible for bankrolling the deforestation effort, whose investment 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:42.440 dollars will be funding the construction that all this natural beauty is standing in the 00:06:42.440 --> 00:06:43.440 way of. 00:06:43.440 --> 00:06:48.150 Given that wiping out large swathes of the rainforest to build hotels or oil pipelines 00:06:48.150 --> 00:06:52.599 is typically frowned upon by some people, and not to mention the environment not always 00:06:52.599 --> 00:06:57.710 being conducive to safety, the company often turns to dubious methods to keep it’s tree 00:06:57.710 --> 00:06:59.430 cutting crews protected. 00:06:59.430 --> 00:07:04.690 That job gets outsources to mercenaries, private military contractors whose sense of morality 00:07:04.690 --> 00:07:10.410 and ethics are a lot more pliable – especially when offered large sums of money. 00:07:10.410 --> 00:07:15.021 Their role is usually to scare off locals, both the wildlife and human varieties, as 00:07:15.021 --> 00:07:19.130 well as deterring peaceful protesters who decide to make their objection to the destruction 00:07:19.130 --> 00:07:21.440 of the rainforest known. 00:07:21.440 --> 00:07:25.320 Working with armed soldiers of fortune isn’t for everyone, hence the tension the Foreman 00:07:25.320 --> 00:07:28.030 has been feeling since the operation had begun. 00:07:28.030 --> 00:07:32.720 Now, according to his tree cutters, some of these company provided mercenaries are missing 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:37.350 in the rainforest, and everyone’s looking to the Foreman to figure out what to do. 00:07:37.350 --> 00:07:42.840 He can’t halt his men from chopping down trees to go and search for the missing mercenaries, 00:07:42.840 --> 00:07:46.440 he knows the company has strict deadlines they want to keep to. 00:07:46.440 --> 00:07:50.290 And sending the remaining soldiers away to conduct a sweep of the area leaves his tree 00:07:50.290 --> 00:07:55.430 cutting crew unprotected against wild animals, or people with understandable moral objections 00:07:55.430 --> 00:07:57.040 to destroying the rainforest. 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:02.270 Short on time and options, the Foreman decides on a combination of the only two available 00:08:02.270 --> 00:08:03.520 to him. 00:08:03.520 --> 00:08:07.569 He gathers a small group, half comprised of the remaining mercenaries, the other half 00:08:07.569 --> 00:08:11.539 taken from his cutters, and leads them off into the rainforest in search of the rest 00:08:11.539 --> 00:08:13.539 of the missing security detail. 00:08:13.539 --> 00:08:18.730 Hours spent trudging through the unbearably humid rainforest yielded no sign of the advance 00:08:18.730 --> 00:08:19.740 teams. 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:24.159 Eventually, as the sun starts falling behind the treeline, the Foreman is forced to make 00:08:24.159 --> 00:08:26.850 the decision to call off the search. 00:08:26.850 --> 00:08:31.789 Two days pass, with each one seeing the Foreman once again rounding up the same mix of mercenaries 00:08:31.789 --> 00:08:36.300 and tree cutters to continue the search, but to no avail. 00:08:36.300 --> 00:08:40.409 Until the second day following the advanced teams’ disappearances. 00:08:40.409 --> 00:08:44.050 Fanning out to cover more ground, some of the leftover mercenaries aiding in the search 00:08:44.050 --> 00:08:48.339 effort suddenly spot a pair of the advance squads, resting against the large buttress 00:08:48.339 --> 00:08:50.040 roots of a Ceiba tree. 00:08:50.040 --> 00:08:54.310 The mercenaries call out to their comrades, knowing the pair of them must be exhausted, 00:08:54.310 --> 00:08:59.370 and likely both dehydrated and starving after two days with only their canteens and emergency 00:08:59.370 --> 00:09:01.399 rations to depend on. 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:03.850 But there’s no response. 00:09:03.850 --> 00:09:08.399 The mercenary units call out a second time, yet still the men propped up against the large 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.490 tree don’t budge. 00:09:10.490 --> 00:09:11.899 Then, one moves. 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:16.899 Even at a distance, it’s clear that he’s waving his fellow mercenaries over for assistance. 00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:21.190 One or both of them could be injured, so the soldiers of the search team rush over… 00:09:21.190 --> 00:09:23.920 only to wish they hadn’t. 00:09:23.920 --> 00:09:27.400 As they approach, they can see the pair of mercenaries closer. 00:09:27.400 --> 00:09:32.110 What looks to be thin vines are reaching down and pulling at the arms of both their missing 00:09:32.110 --> 00:09:36.460 comrades, manipulating them like the strings of a marionette puppet. 00:09:36.460 --> 00:09:38.660 Something is very, very wrong here. 00:09:38.660 --> 00:09:42.000 The call goes out to the Foreman and the rest of the search party. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.860 Mercenaries trained as field medics are brought over, and told to examine the two men, still 00:09:45.860 --> 00:09:48.860 suspended by the strange vines pulling at their arms. 00:09:48.860 --> 00:09:53.320 Drawing closer, the medics step on what they think are just more vines strewn about the 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:55.100 rainforest floor. 00:09:55.100 --> 00:09:58.310 But those aren’t vines. 00:09:58.310 --> 00:10:04.210 The newspaper reports blame a spate of disappearances when the deforestation operation shuts down. 00:10:04.210 --> 00:10:09.120 Those living nearby breathe a collective sigh of relief that the company, after losing eleven 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:14.000 of their cutters and mercenaries, decided to withdraw from the rainforest. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:18.230 Their official statement calls it a ‘temporary suspension’ of the project, but doesn’t 00:10:18.230 --> 00:10:20.290 reveal to the public the truth. 00:10:20.290 --> 00:10:25.610 That the tree crews and mercenaries who had returned outright refuse to go back. 00:10:25.610 --> 00:10:29.980 Every one of them seems traumatized by what they’ve seen to even consider it, no matter 00:10:29.980 --> 00:10:32.720 how much compensation the company offers. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:37.430 Many resign altogether, many of the tree cutters walking out on the spot, while the mercenaries 00:10:37.430 --> 00:10:39.829 move on to new contracts. 00:10:39.829 --> 00:10:44.860 The same headlines reporting on the incident soon make it to the SCP Foundation, who dispatch 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:47.209 their own team to investigate. 00:10:47.209 --> 00:10:51.660 Mobile Task Force operators are far better equipped than ragtag mercenaries, and they 00:10:51.660 --> 00:10:55.090 know not to wander too far into unfamiliar territory. 00:10:55.090 --> 00:11:00.959 What they find leads to a total quarantine of the rainforest; fourteen specimens of giant 00:11:00.959 --> 00:11:03.040 flying jellyfish. 00:11:03.040 --> 00:11:10.900 As anomalous species go, few are as unnerving as SCP-1158, otherwise known as the Arboreal 00:11:10.900 --> 00:11:16.990 Puppeteers, or by their far more simplistic description: the Flying Killer Jellyfish. 00:11:16.990 --> 00:11:21.540 As you might expect from a name like that, these anomalous invertebrates bear a striking 00:11:21.540 --> 00:11:27.810 resemblance to a pre-existing marine species: the Physalia physalis, or Portuguese man o’ 00:11:27.810 --> 00:11:29.110 war, colloquially. 00:11:29.110 --> 00:11:33.200 Despite often being referred to as jellyfish, the Portuguese man o’ war actually belongs 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:36.050 to a group of animals called siphonophores. 00:11:36.050 --> 00:11:41.769 These are closely related to jellyfish, however, where jellyfish are singular organisms, siphonophores 00:11:41.769 --> 00:11:44.709 are a colony of genetically identical zooids. 00:11:44.709 --> 00:11:49.399 In other words, a group of clones that work together as one, with each performing a specific 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:52.050 function to facilitate survival. 00:11:52.050 --> 00:11:58.560 SCP-1158 shares the same attributes of siphonophores, with each of its various ‘parts’ being 00:11:58.560 --> 00:12:01.140 responsible for certain tasks. 00:12:01.140 --> 00:12:06.029 The one major difference is that, while siphonophores are a form of marine life typically found 00:12:06.029 --> 00:12:12.660 in deep sea locations, SCP-1158 has a far different natural habitat: the rainforest. 00:12:12.660 --> 00:12:17.260 That’s right, these jellyfish are found dwelling in treetops. 00:12:17.260 --> 00:12:22.000 However, much like the species of Australian bears that are rumored to drop from branches 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:28.690 to attack human tourists from above, the habitat of SCP-1158 seems limited to a specific area. 00:12:28.690 --> 00:12:33.440 Specifically, a five-hundred-kilometer radius of rainforest that surrounds a location that 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:36.460 has been redacted by the SCP Foundation. 00:12:36.460 --> 00:12:40.800 While redaction makes it unclear where this region is, the Foundation’s database entry 00:12:40.800 --> 00:12:45.720 regarding the anomaly does mention the presence of Ceiba trees in the area. 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:50.740 This leads to the assumption that the first encounter with an instance of SCP-1158 could 00:12:50.740 --> 00:12:55.519 have taken place in any rainforest-dense area where Ceiba trees are native. 00:12:55.519 --> 00:13:00.860 These possible locations include Mexico, Central America, the northern part of South America, 00:13:00.860 --> 00:13:03.750 the Caribbean, or West Africa. 00:13:03.750 --> 00:13:08.889 Another smaller variety of Ceiba is also found in certain areas of South and Southeast Asia. 00:13:08.889 --> 00:13:14.720 The specimens of SCP-1158 are brought back to the Foundation for examination; for one, 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:20.010 Foundation researchers need to ascertain exactly what happened to the deforestation crew. 00:13:20.010 --> 00:13:23.740 For another, it’s rare to see jellyfish this big. 00:13:23.740 --> 00:13:28.330 Most specimens of the non-anomalous Portuguese man o’ war can, on average, grow to between 00:13:28.330 --> 00:13:32.890 thirty and one hundred feet long from the float down to the tips of its numerous strands 00:13:32.890 --> 00:13:34.600 of tentacles and polyps. 00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:39.139 By comparison, the pneumatophore alone – the gas-filled ‘float’ that the polyps are 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:45.699 attached to – of the captured SCP-1158 specimens is around thirteen feet tall. 00:13:45.699 --> 00:13:49.899 These aren’t just large jellyfish, they’re enormous. 00:13:49.899 --> 00:13:55.240 Foundation testing reveals that each SCP-1158 instance has a concentrated amount of hydrogen 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:56.670 within its pneumatophore. 00:13:56.670 --> 00:14:01.600 Thought to have been produced as a byproduct of bacterial decay, the resultant hydrogen 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:07.459 gas provides each creature with lift, allowing them to float upwards to a degree, like balloons. 00:14:07.459 --> 00:14:10.920 Although perhaps not the kind you’d want at a birthday party. 00:14:10.920 --> 00:14:13.759 Unless you really didn’t like the guests. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:17.950 Once airborne, these olive drab invertebrates will nest themselves in the high up treetops 00:14:17.950 --> 00:14:22.900 of taller rainforest flora, typically remaining hidden just beneath the foliage, and allowing 00:14:22.900 --> 00:14:27.980 its polyps to hang down through the branches, with most being long enough to reach the forest 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:30.199 floor, even at higher elevations. 00:14:30.199 --> 00:14:35.660 Given the coloration of each instance of SCP-1158, the creatures seem to have evolved in such 00:14:35.660 --> 00:14:39.970 a way that they have a natural camouflage, allowing their tentacles to blend in with 00:14:39.970 --> 00:14:45.310 the various vines that typically hang from certain varieties of trees found in the rainforest. 00:14:45.310 --> 00:14:51.220 SCP-1158’s tentacles are far from vestigial, but nor are they, strictly speaking, limbs 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:55.769 that can be used in the same way that a human being’s arms or legs function. 00:14:55.769 --> 00:15:01.610 They are polyps, the collection of genetically identical ‘parts’ possessed by siphonophores. 00:15:01.610 --> 00:15:07.220 Each of these performs a specific function; an SCP-1158’s dactylozooid polyp bundles, 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:12.230 for example, are their defensive polyps These are somewhat prehensile, meaning that can 00:15:12.230 --> 00:15:14.370 be moved to a limited degree. 00:15:14.370 --> 00:15:18.480 Those that reach down from the treetops and remain camouflaged among vines are the polyps 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:21.980 responsible for detection… and feeding. 00:15:21.980 --> 00:15:27.240 The primary prey of SCP-1158 is limited to mammals and reptiles. 00:15:27.240 --> 00:15:31.810 Any animal at around fifty kilograms in mass or more that the creature detects will be 00:15:31.810 --> 00:15:34.360 targeted for the jellyfish to feed on. 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:38.579 This occurs when a victim comes into contact with the defensive dactylozooid polyps, which 00:15:38.579 --> 00:15:44.750 are commonly laying on the ground or against a tree where an SCP-1158 instance is nesting. 00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:49.560 When this happens, prey are captured by these specialized polyps, and subjected to an injection 00:15:49.560 --> 00:15:55.110 of a paralyzing neurotoxin that is produced within the nematocysts of an SCP-1158’s 00:15:55.110 --> 00:15:56.800 dactylozooid polyps. 00:15:56.800 --> 00:16:01.949 With their target rendered immobile thanks to the neurotoxin, the SCP-1158 instance will 00:16:01.949 --> 00:16:05.860 wrap its nearby polyp threads around the victim and restrain them. 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:10.950 As if that wasn’t bad enough, this is where the process gets even more unpleasant. 00:16:10.950 --> 00:16:16.130 It takes approximately six seconds for one of these Flying Killer Jellyfish to poison 00:16:16.130 --> 00:16:21.180 and ensnare one of its victims, after which time, the creature’s primary feeding polyps 00:16:21.180 --> 00:16:22.890 are deployed. 00:16:22.890 --> 00:16:27.899 These will enter the jellyfish’s prey, typically via the mouth or ears, then release powerful 00:16:27.899 --> 00:16:31.730 digestive enzymes to disintegrate the target’s internal organs. 00:16:31.730 --> 00:16:38.060 The resultant mess is absorbed directly by the polyps, effectively hollowing out an animal… 00:16:38.060 --> 00:16:40.350 or a person from the inside. 00:16:40.350 --> 00:16:45.529 This process can go on for approximately four excruciating days. 00:16:45.529 --> 00:16:51.440 The only consolation is that usually SCP-1158’s target is dead after just two. 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:56.389 If, at any point, the creature’s prey is approached by others, the polyps will trigger 00:16:56.389 --> 00:17:01.560 a muscular spasm that causes the victim to stand on its hind legs and wave its front 00:17:01.560 --> 00:17:02.750 legs. 00:17:02.750 --> 00:17:08.530 When SCP-1158 eats a human, this motion can be perceived as a beckoning gesture or one 00:17:08.530 --> 00:17:13.170 motioning other humans to come closer – which is exactly what the mercenaries saw the two 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:15.400 stuck squad mates doing. 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:21.339 Hence the alternate name for SCP-1158: the Arboreal Jellyfish Puppeteers. 00:17:21.339 --> 00:17:27.090 Two weeks of testing pass after the specimens of SCP-1158 are brought to the Foundation. 00:17:27.090 --> 00:17:31.200 After this time, the creatures are placed in their containment habitat at Site 19’s 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.420 Hazardous Lifeforms Wing. 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:37.490 Within the enclosure is a near-perfect recreation of the rainforest the jellyfish were found 00:17:37.490 --> 00:17:38.510 in. 00:17:38.510 --> 00:17:43.000 The temperature and humidity are kept at just the right levels, maintained by Foundation 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:44.710 personnel. 00:17:44.710 --> 00:17:48.460 Throughout the habitat are sensor pods, observing the jellyfish. 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:52.549 In the interest of watching their behavioral and feeding patterns, researchers introduce 00:17:52.549 --> 00:17:59.059 a live adult domestic pig into the enclosure to act as prey for the fourteen SCP-1158 instances 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:02.960 inside… the experiment does not go well. 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:07.070 At first, the pig just wanders around, exploring its newfound environment. 00:18:07.070 --> 00:18:10.460 Until, eventually, it finds itself caught in the polyps of an SCP-1158 specimen. 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:17.730 As to be expected, the dactylozooid polyps begin to administer the neurotoxin in order 00:18:17.730 --> 00:18:19.870 to commence the unpleasant feeding process. 00:18:19.870 --> 00:18:23.810 But for reasons unknown, it doesn’t work. 00:18:23.810 --> 00:18:28.310 Instead, the pig, despite being initially startled and squealing in fear, starts to 00:18:28.310 --> 00:18:32.330 free itself from the giant jellyfish… by biting its way out. 00:18:32.330 --> 00:18:36.020 The pig is able to chew its way through the strands of polyps without suffering the paralyzing 00:18:36.020 --> 00:18:42.200 effects of SCP-1158’s neurotoxin, and then, upon being dropped back to freedom, it grips 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:45.830 the remainder of the creature’s vine-like appendages in its mouth. 00:18:45.830 --> 00:18:49.740 The pig pulls the Flying Killer Jellyfish down from the safety of the canopy up in the 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:53.909 treetops, then tramples them to death, eating what’s left behind. 00:18:53.909 --> 00:18:57.659 Overall, six specimens are lost as a result. 00:18:57.659 --> 00:19:03.320 Baffling Foundation researchers, all species of pig they test seem to be completely unaffected 00:19:03.320 --> 00:19:05.730 by the jellyfishes’ neurotoxin. 00:19:05.730 --> 00:19:07.950 The reason for this remains unknown. 00:19:07.950 --> 00:19:14.120 Instead, the Foundation introduces one live adult sheep to the remaining eight SCP-1158 00:19:14.120 --> 00:19:18.690 instances every twenty-one days in order to allow the creatures to feed. 00:19:18.690 --> 00:19:23.600 Should maintenance be required within the enclosure, then SCP-1158’s habitat is accessed 00:19:23.600 --> 00:19:26.299 via a positive pressure airlock. 00:19:26.299 --> 00:19:30.789 On a weekly basis, Foundation staff are sent in wearing Tyvek exposure suits to protect 00:19:30.789 --> 00:19:35.140 against chemical threats, in particular, the neurotoxin produced by the jellyfishes’ 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:37.020 defensive polyps. 00:19:37.020 --> 00:19:40.850 Maintenance teams are accompanied by Mobile Task Force operatives armed with standard-issue 00:19:40.850 --> 00:19:47.530 M1014 shotguns, and are permitted to use lethal force should any of the specimens of SCP-1158 00:19:47.530 --> 00:19:49.059 become aggressive. 00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:53.590 All Foundation personnel assigned to enter the enclosure seem to concur that, despite 00:19:53.590 --> 00:19:59.080 the humidity, it’s fine as long as you don’t look up at what’s in the trees. 00:19:59.080 --> 00:20:02.549 Check out the Dr. Bob Patreon and become a junior researcher today! 00:20:02.549 --> 00:20:08.390 Now go and watch another entry from the files of Dr. Bob, like SCP-2846 The Squid and the 00:20:08.390 --> 00:20:08.570 Sailor!