The Doctor

Item #: SCP-049

Object Class: Euclid

Full Name: Haselhurst Mandragonne Alias: SCP-049 049 The Plague Doctor The Cure The Surgeon SCP-049-ARC The Doctor Dr. Victor Frankenstein Mr. Pestilence (by SCP-035) The Angel The Star Surgeon Diagnostician SCP-049-D RS939/JJ39S/4ZCS9 MC&D's Eternal Vengeance Doctor of Death (by Herman Fuller) The Death Doctor Dr. Haselhurst Manifest 3231 (by the Commission of the Unusual Cargo) cureforanyproblem (SCP-109-PT-J username) doctorhunk_49

SCP-049, also referred to as the Plague Doctor, is a major antagonist in the SCP Foundation series.

He is a Euclid-class object under the Foundation's containment. He is a humanoid figure that resembles a 15-16th century European Plague Doctor, with a black robe and a white-beaked mask. He is obsessed with curing every person he encounters of a mysterious "pestilence" only he is aware of, by turning those people into zombies.

SCP-049 is a humanoid entity, roughly 1.9 meters in height or 6’2”, which bears the appearance of a medieval plague doctor. While SCP-049 appears to be wearing the thick robes and the ceramic mask indicative of that profession, the garments instead seem to have grown out of SCP-049's body over time, and are now nearly indistinguishable from whatever form is beneath them. X-rays indicate that despite this, SCP-049 does have a humanoid skeletal structure beneath its outer layer. However, upon further investigation, it was revealed that his attire is part of his physical body, being similar in biological structure to muscle and bone. Additionally, though the mask hides most of his face, his eyes, which often appear as a cobalt-blue color, can still be seen in many instances.

SCP-049 is capable of speech in a variety of languages, though tends to prefer English or medieval French. While SCP-049 is generally cordial and cooperative with Foundation staff, it can become especially irritated or at times outright aggressive if it feels that it is in the presence of what it calls the "Pestilence". Although the exact nature of this Pestilence is currently unknown to Foundation researchers, it does seem to be an issue of immense concern to SCP-049.

SCP-049 will become hostile with individuals it sees as being affected by the Pestilence, often having to be restrained should it encounter such. If left unchecked, SCP-049 will generally attempt to kill any such individual; SCP-049 is capable of causing all biological functions of an organism to cease through direct skin contact. How this occurs is currently unknown, and autopsies of SCP-049's victims have invariably been inconclusive. SCP-049 has expressed frustration or remorse after these killings, indicating that they have done little to kill "The Pestilence", though will usually seek to then perform a crude surgery on the corpse using the implements contained within a black doctor's bag it carries on its person at all times. While these surgeries are not always "successful", they often result in the creation of instances of SCP-049-2.

SCP-049-2 instances are reanimated corpses that have been operated on by SCP-049. These instances do not seem to retain any of their prior memories or mental functions, having only basic motor skills and response mechanisms. While these instances are generally inactive, moving very little and in a generally ambulatory fashion, they can become extremely aggressive if provoked, or if directed to by SCP-049. SCP-049-2 instances express active biological functions, though these are vastly different from currently understood human physiology. Despite these alterations, SCP-049 often remarks that the subjects have been "cured".

SCP-049 is very well-mannered, respectful, and polite, so he makes little attempt at escaping from the facility he is contained in, something that apparently occurred of his own free will. He seems to truly believe what he is doing is for the greater good, stating that his cure is "most effective". It’s unknown why SCP-049 believes that he must eradicate this "pestilence", or what the "pestilence" truly is. However, this “pestilence” is unlikely to be anything of a physical nature given that he’s spent centuries operating on his patients, and has yet to manage to derive anything meaningful from these experiments that can be used on other infected people. This implies either that the “pestilence” is of a psychological or existential nature, or that it is merely a figment of 049’s imagination.

SCP-049 is also extremely courteous and affable to both humans and fellow SCPs alike. It states that it does not like to speak because of the melancholy and pensive nature of the "victims of the Pestilence", and that they do not react well to conversation. This shows that it still has its victims' best interests in mind when performing its procedure.

In the "End of Death" continuity in which a resurrected O5-11 of the O5 Council killed the embodiment of Death causing everyone to gain immortality, 049 became agitated when he saw that his touch couldn't kill anyone anymore, and fell in a state of depression since he considered his death touch to be integral to his "cure". The Foundation tried to elevate his mood by allowing him to help personnel in the site's medical center, but this didn't completely help 049 with his depression.

SCP-049 is kept in a secure holding cell.

While SCP-049 is capable of communicating in a very human way, there is a strange sense of unease that one experiences when in its presence. Make no mistake, there is something very uncanny about this entity indeed.

In an instance of interacting with a D-class, SCP-049 began by asking D-85123 several standard medical questions, as it began removing tools from its bag. Shortly after finishing its preparations, SCP-049 quickly closed the distance between the two, killing the subject with a touch to its throat. Afterwards, SCP-049 made a number of considerable alterations to the basic structure of the subject's corpse, often introducing fluids from within its bag into the subject by way of a hand powered pump and copper tubing.

SCP-049 does seem to genuinely want to help other humans, though it has not yet been able to provide a concrete example of what exactly it is trying to save us all from. I have watched it now over several weeks, and while the outcomes do not seem to ever change, SCP-049 continues to claim that it is growing closer to its perfect cure. I think the entity may be more aware of the reality of these outcomes than it would like us to think.

The space within his medical bag is seemingly anomalously large, as SCP-049 has been observed pulling objects larger than the bag itself from within it in order to operate on deceased subjects.

SCP-049 had stated its desire to work on human subjects several times between this occasion and the earlier provision of an orangutan, noting its discontentedness when they would not be provided.

SCP-049 has expressed that it does not require sustenance, but enjoys it and feels that the food helps to put it in the right mind to operate.