Link to article: SCP-7589.
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===== [[include component:preview text= The once-mighty Count Dracula, who fed on the blood of innocents for centuries, has grown weary of his bloodlust and seeks a cure for it, but is he truly ready to leave his old ways behind?]] ===== [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] **Item #:** SCP-7589 **Object Class:** --Euclid-- Keter **Special Containment Procedures:** SCP-7589 is to be made to wear a thaumaturgic device that disables its polymorphic abilities and held in a modified humanoid containment chamber in Site-89. The security cameras monitoring its chamber, as well as any chamber in which interviews or tests involving it take place, must be mirrorless. All potential modes of egress from SCP-7589’s containment chamber must be airtight. Ventilation systems are to be disabled and vents closed except when SCP-7589’s chamber contains human visitors. As with other Class 1 Hemovores, SCP-7589’s containment chamber is to include three cubic meters of topsoil collected from its place of birth (in its case, South-central Romania). SCP-7589 is to be provided with four liters of bovine blood each day for consumption. Entertainment is to be provided to it in accordance with baseline protocols regarding sapient humanoids. In the event of a containment breach, standard protocol for subduing hemovorous humanoids is to be utilized. **Description:** SCP-7589 is a Class 1 Hemovorous Humanoid (//Vampyrae draculae//) resembling an adult male of eastern European descent. Like all Class 1 Hemovores, SCP-7589 is biologically dead but anomalously animate, and must consume blood to sustain this animation. Though it strongly prefers the taste and odor of human blood, the blood of other animals is sufficient to sustain it. SCP-7589 identifies itself as a Romanian Count and claims to have ruled a stretch of south-central Romania from the mid-fifteenth to the late-nineteenth centuries. Though the veracity of this claim is unclear, SCP-7589 displays anomalous strength and dexterity compatible with this age range[[footnote]]The physical strength of a Class 1 Hemovore gradually increases over time at a predictable rate, meaning it’s possible to infer an individual's rough age by measuring its strength.[[/footnote]] and possesses a large amount of historical and geographical knowledge regarding Transylvania and the surrounding region during this period. It also requires soil from this region to properly sleep, indicating this truly is its birthplace.[[footnote]]Conclusively establishing SCP-7589’s historical identity is not considered a priority, as the information is not directly relevant to its containment.[[/footnote]] **Discovery:** On February 1, 2020, SCP-7589 contacted the Foundation, claiming to be an anomalous humanoid and expressing the desire to meet with Foundation personnel to negotiate its surrender into Foundation custody. A meeting was approved by Site Director Anderson and arranged for February 3. **Addendum 7589-1: Interview Log 1:** [[div class="blockquote"]] **Interviewed:** SCP-7589 **Interviewer:** Agent George Walton **Foreword:** A squad of Foundation agents consisting of eight security operatives and a single negotiator (Agent Walton) was assigned to meet with SCP-7589. The following is a transcription of relevant bodycam footage. Due to the fact that hemovores fail to appear in reflective devices, SCP-7589 is not visible in this footage. However, its voice is still audible, and supplementary information regarding its actions has been provided by personnel present at the meeting. **<Begin Log, February 3, 2020, 21:01>** **Agent Walton:** Alright then. Let’s get started. Who are you? **SCP-7589:** Would you believe [[[herman-fuller-presents-dracula|I’m Dracula]]]? **Agent Walton:** No, I wouldn’t. **SCP-7589:** Fair enough. I wouldn’t either, if I were you. **Agent Walton:** So, are you going to tell me who you actually are? **SCP-7589:** Alas, I’m afraid I already have. I suppose it doesn’t matter whether you believe me. It’s enough for you to understand that I am a… what’s the term you use again? Hemophage? **Agent Walton:** Hemovore. **SCP-7589:** Yes, that. It’s enough that you are convinced I am one of those, and that much I can prove quite easily. [According to Agent Walton, SCP-7589 proceeded to display its fangs.] **Agent Walton:** I see. You asked for this meeting because you wanted to negotiate your surrender into Foundation containment. What do you want in exchange for turning yourself in? **SCP-7589:** Over the past few decades, I have grown frustrated with the intensity of my bloodlust. That blessed nectar has too much control over me. I do not simply enjoy it or gain nourishment from it. I am addicted to it. No matter how much power I hold, I find that I am a slave to this hunger. For a long time, I was at peace with this fact, but I no longer am. I want an escape from my bloodlust. I want to regain the free will I’ve lost. **Agent Walton:** So, you want us to cure your vampirism? **SCP-7589:** Not necessarily. I don’t particularly wish to be made human, only for my thirst to be quieted. The other aspects of my condition are fine. Immortality, form-changing, these things do not vex me, only my addiction to blood. **Agent Walton:** And you think we can help you with that? **SCP-7589:** If anyone can find a way, it’s you. I have already tried and failed for decades, and during those decades, I have repeatedly given in to my hunger and chased the scent of blood to a deadly meal. For all my power and knowledge, I am but a single man. You are the most powerful organization on earth. For all I know, you already have the cure I seek. Even if you do not, you are the best equipped to find it, and the best equipped to protect the innocent from my predations in the meantime. **Agent Walton:** I see. Well, I can’t promise that the Foundation will be able to make any specific discovery, but we can definitely keep you from hurting anyone. **SCP-7589:** I understand that the cure I seek may not exist. It is enough that you try. **Agent Walton:** Alright, then. Your terms are understood. I’ll make the call now. **<End Log>** **Afterword:** Site Director Anderson agreed to accept SCP-7589’s terms for containment. Senior Researcher Jillion Molloy was assigned to head the project. [[/div]] **Addendum 7589-2: Researcher’s Note, February 5, 2020:** SCP-7589’s proposal is an interesting one. Given the danger it presents to the general public, we’d have taken it into containment whether or not we intended to follow through on the agreement it proposed. However, in this case, I think we should be true to our word. If the “cure” this entity is requesting were created, it would be incredibly useful, not just in its containment, but in the containment of hemovores in general. The only reason we weren’t already searching for such a thing is that we didn’t particularly suspect it was possible. The fact that a hemovore this old believes it might be possible strikes me as enough reason to justify trying. - Dr. Jillian Molloy **Addendum 7589-3: Interview Log:** [[div class="blockquote"]] **Interviewed:** SCP-7589 **Interviewer:** Senior Researcher Dr. Jillian Molloy **Foreword:** The following excerpt is taken from a longer series of interviews in which SCP-7589 offered its historical knowledge to the Foundation. For complete transcripts of these interviews, personnel with level three clearance or higher may contact Dr. Jillian Molloy. **<Begin Log, March 18, 2020 22:53>** **SCP-7589:** I spent hundreds of years feeding on the people of the Transylvanian countryside. They knew what I was. They feared me, and they had some idea as to how to ward me off. To an extent, I had to tolerate this. It simply wasn’t practical to take bloody retribution against every home that hung garlic in its windows. However, I also couldn’t allow my prey’s insolence to escalate to the level of a true uprising. That meant I needed them to fear my vengeance more than they feared my predations. Because my predations often killed them, this required my vengeance to be a fate worse than death. **Dr. Molloy:** What did that look like? **SCP-7589:** I’ll give an example. One of the most audacious threats I ever faced was from a young man whose name I don’t recall. He was clever and incredibly strong-willed. While his countrymen huddled complacently, he set out to rally them against the monster that preyed on them. His dedication was impressive. I believe he became literate purely so he could learn more about my kind and our weaknesses. He was a talented speaker, and, for one with so little education, not a bad tactician. Suffice it to say, I had to get rid of him. **Dr. Molloy:** What did you do? **SCP-7589:** First, I took direct control of his village. For all his preparation to target my vampiric weaknesses, he was less equipped to deal with the fact that I was a Count who commanded an army. Once I had taken the entire population of his village into custody, I brought them to a prison I had emptied out for this purpose. The same spies who’d initially informed me of the boy’s plans had gotten close enough to him to understand his motives. Quite simply, he loved the people around him and could not tolerate that they should live in fear of a creature such as me. I could’ve simply slaughtered his village, but that wasn’t enough. I needed to make such a brutal example that the people of my countryside would sooner allow themselves to be devoured than follow his path. With that understanding, [[[stains-of-blood-and-sin|I began by turning him into a vampire]]]. **Dr. Molloy:** That seems risky. Wouldn’t that make him more of a threat to you? **SCP-7589:** It made him stronger, but it was never his strength I feared. It was his ability to rally his community, something a bloodthirsty monster couldn’t do. Once I turned him, I confined him to a cell. I used the same magic you have used on me to prevent him from changing forms, then, one at a time, I locked each inhabitant of his village in his cell with him. Over the following months, the same drama played out over and over again. First, he would assure the human of their safety, swearing that no hunger could ever lead him to harm them. Then, over the following nights, his hunger would grow and grow until it proved him a liar, and he devoured them. I began with the villagers he knew the least. Distant cousins, shopkeepers, acquaintances, then I moved inward. First cousins, friends, his mentor, then, finally, his family. **Dr. Molloy:** And he fed on all of them? **SCP-7589:** Every single one. He made a valiant effort. It took him four days to devour his first victim, but each time he gave in, his resolve weakened. By the end, he was feeding once a day, no less than I did. Even with his final meals, his mother and younger siblings, he did not resist as long as he had with that first victim. That is the power blood has over us. The power I wish to be freed from. Ambitions, values, morals, they all fall away before our hunger. **Dr. Molloy:** What did you do when he finished with his last victim? **SCP-7589:** I let him go. **Dr. Molloy:** You let him go? **SCP-7589:** Yes. I removed the ring I’d placed on him and allowed him to become a bat and fly away. **Dr. Molloy:** Weren’t you worried he’d come back for revenge? **SCP-7589:** Absolutely, and he did, but even then, I didn’t kill him. To do so would have been a mercy. He defied me because he hated to see the innocent preyed on, so I condemned him to live out eternity as a predator, doomed to hunt those he had once longed to protect. **Dr. Molloy:** Do you know what ultimately happened to him? Does he still exist? **SCP-7589:** I don’t know. I lost track of him shortly after his attempt on my life. Either he was clever enough to slip out of my sight, or he was destroyed. I don’t know if he still exists, but if he does, we can be sure that he is still a monster, preying on humankind to sustain himself. **Dr. Molloy:** How can you be sure he doesn’t feed on animals instead? **SCP-7589:** That’s not possible. The blood of beasts sustains us, and it takes the edge off our hunger, but it doesn’t truly quiet it. We can feed off beasts for days, months, sometimes even years, but over that time, our hunger grows, weakening our resolve until, at last, we give in. **Dr. Molloy:** And that applies to you as well? **SCP-7589:** If it did not, why would I have come to you? Even in containment, my hunger will grow with time, and it will eventually overpower my judgement. **Dr. Molloy:** But you think we can change that? **SCP-7589:** That is my hope. **Dr. Molloy:** What led you to want that? After so many centuries as a predator, what made you want to change? **SCP-7589:** I suppose my reasons are similar to the youth’s. I came to care for someone. **Dr. Molloy:** Someone? **SCP-7589:** No one you need to worry about. She no longer lives, and yet I find myself caring what she would have wanted me to do. [SCP-7589 sighs.] The story I just told you, it does not make me feel much, even now. The shame I ought to feel for visiting such suffering upon so many innocents is eclipsed by my hunger. I cannot help but salivate at the thought of all that blood. Speaking of which, what progress have you made on the cure I requested from you? **Dr. Molloy:** We’re still in the brainstorming stage. We’re looking over our existing knowledge of hemovores in hopes of finding a place to start. **SCP-7589:** Understood. **Dr. Molloy:** By the way, would you be willing to have candidate substances tested on you? **SCP-7589:** Of course, doctor. I will gladly help you in any way I can. **<End Log>** [[/div]] **Addendum 7589-4: Researcher’s Note, March 20, 2020:** I’m of two minds regarding how deeply we should involve SCP-7589 in our pursuit of a “cure” for its bloodlust. The anomaly clearly has a long history of violence, and, by its own admission, bovine blood will not be enough to satisfy its hunger forever. However, while it still is in control of itself—as it will probably be for at least a few years—it could be incredibly useful, not just as a test subject, but as a consultant. Its knowledge regarding hemovores likely surpasses that of any human. I believe we should try to benefit from its cooperation as much as possible while we still can. - Dr. Jillian Molloy **Addendum 7589-5: Incident Log:** Over the following months, SCP-7589 became increasingly involved in its own research, primarily as a test subject, but secondarily as a consultant. On April 4, 2023, an altercation occurred that resulted in the revocation of many of the privileges it had been given as a reward for this cooperation. The following is a transcription of relevant security footage. [[div class="blockquote"]] **Foreword:** Dr. Molloy and Dr. Herbert are at work in Site-89’s biolab, preparing to test a potential treatment derived from a general sedative known to be effective on hemovores. They hoped to modify the substance’s effects so it would suppress the desire to drink blood without otherwise impairing mechanical and cognitive function. In accordance with containment protocol for Class 1 hemovores, the room was outfitted with a mirrorless security camera. SCP-7589 is present, restrained on a laboratory table. **<Begin Log, April 4, 2023, 21:13>** **Dr. Herbert:** Alright, this is compound 7589-485, an injectable sedative. It’s derived from that herb you pointed us toward. We tried to modify it so that it only affects some areas of your brain. **SCP-7589:** Very well. Test away, Doctor. I am at your pleasure. [Dr. Herbert approaches the table on which SCP-7589 rests.] **Dr. Herbert:** You’re sure you’re alright? You look anxious. **SCP-7589:** I’m fine, doctor. My hunger vexes me, but I’m in control. You may proceed. [Dr. Herbert approaches the table and injects the sedative.] **Dr. Herbert:** There we go. You feeling anything right away? **SCP-7589:** Sadly, doctor, I do not. **Dr. Molloy:** We’ll give it a minute. The base sedative is fast-acting, but our changes may have made it slower. **Dr. Herbert:** Understood. [A few minutes pass. While they wait for the potential effects of the sedative to commence, Dr. Herbert begins work on another candidate substance. Its manufacturing process requires him to finely slice a key ingredient.] **Dr. Molloy:** By the way, Trevor, have you made any progress with Graham? All this would be going a lot faster if we had more test subjects. **Dr. Herbert:** It really would, wouldn’t it? **Dr. Molloy:** I take it he hasn’t gotten back to you? **Dr. Herbert:** Correct-amoondo. **Dr. Molloy:** Well, crap. **Dr. Herbert:** He can’t dodge my e-mails forever. **Dr. Molloy:** I wouldn’t be so sure about that. **Dr. Herbert:** Okay, maybe “can’t” is a strong word, but he probably won’t dodge my e-mails forever. **Dr. Molloy:** We can only hope. [Dr. Herbert looks up at Dr. Molloy while continuing to chop. After a moment, he accidentally brings the blade down on his own thumb, slicing off its outermost tip.] **Dr. Herbert:** Fuck! **Dr. Molloy:** What is it? **Dr. Herbert:** Just a cu— [SCP-7589 breaks its restraints and rises from the table. Dr. Molloy jumps back, inadvertently clearing SCP-7589’s path to Dr. Herbert. Numerous pieces of equipment on the table are disturbed as SCP-7589 pounces directly onto Dr. Herbert, pinning him to the floor and lacerating his neck. Dr. Herbert struggles but is unable to overcome SCP-7589’s strength. Dr. Molloy flees the room, calling for security to assist. After several seconds, SCP-7589 stands of its own accord and runs to the opposite end of the room.] **SCP-7589:** Oh God, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! [Dr. Herbert does not respond as he rises and exits the lab, leaving a trail of blood behind him.] **Afterword:** By the time security arrived, SCP-7589 had regained its composure. It was escorted to its containment chamber without incident. In the aftermath of this event, containment and interview protocols were adjusted to better account for its potential for unpredictable violence. **<End Log>** [[/div]] **Addendum 7589-6: Interview Log:** [[div class="blockquote"]] **Interviewed:** SCP-7589 **Interviewer:** Senior Researcher Jillian Molloy **Foreword:** Due to procedural adjustments prompted by Incident 7589-5, Dr. Molloy and SCP-7589 are now in adjacent chambers, separated by a pane of bulletroof glass. **<Begin Log, April 8, 2022, 20:59>** **Dr. Molloy:** Hello, SCP-7589. It’s nice to speak with you again. **SCP-7589:** Your decorum is appreciated, doctor. I cannot overstate how embarrassed I am for what I did. You gave me your trust, and I betrayed it. I’m sure you think less of me for it. You need not pretend otherwise. **Dr. Molloy:** It was a wake-up call, to be sure. A reminder that you’re more dangerous than I’d been giving you credit for. Still, you’ve told me about times you tortured and murdered whole villages. Why would what happened in that lab make me think worse of you than that? **SCP-7589:** Because then, I was in control of myself. I did evil because I chose to. **Dr. Molloy:** Freely choosing to do bad things is usually considered worse. **SCP-7589:** [Shakes his head.] One can change their choices whenever they wish. Habits, hungers, addictions these things can overpower conscious intent. That is far more dangerous. Though, perhaps I’ve always had less control than I thought. Perhaps that was only ever a delusion. **Dr. Molloy:** What do you mean? **SCP-7589:** That boy I turned. On the surface, that required self-control. If I’d blindly obeyed my bloodlust, I would’ve simply devoured everyone in the village, and my vengeance would’ve been far less cruel. However, on a deeper level, everything I did served the end of preserving my power to prey on the countryside. How many of my other actions are secretly driven by that impulse? Are any of my impulses truly independent of my bloodlust? **Dr. Molloy:** I don’t know. I don’t know if any of us have true free will. **SCP-7589:** Perhaps we do not. Perhaps what I seek cannot be found, even by you. **Dr. Molloy:** Maybe. I’m not ready to give up yet, though. Even if we don’t create exactly what you’re hoping for, we’ll probably learn a lot about hemovores in the process. **SCP-7589:** Thank you for your persistence, doctor. Please convey my deepest apologies to Dr. Herbert. **Dr. Molloy:** Of course. **<End Log>** [[/div]] **Addendum 7589-7: Researcher’s Note, April 9, 2023:** Despite SCP-7589’s strong feelings of contrition, I must take ultimate responsibility for Incident 7589-5. I became complacent and used insufficient measures to contain a hostile and predatory anomaly. I assumed it would notice when its self-control was reaching its limit and warn us. Clearly, I was wrong. I will not make the same mistake again. Fortunately, Dir. Graham has finally gotten back to us about our request to borrow some hemovores from Site-17. Additional test subjects should allow us to speed up our research considerably. - Dr. Jillian Molloy **Addendum 7589-8:** On December 13, 2024, a successful test was performed on another type 1 hemovore (SCP-████). The compound in question, designated Compound 7589-965, successfully suppressed its ability to feel hunger, even when it had direct access to human blood. This effect is not permanent, but it can be maintained by a daily dose. On January 19, 2025, the Foundation began distributing doses of this compound to all hemovores in Foundation containment, including SCP-7589. Results are documented below. [[div class="blockquote"]] **Interviewed:** SCP-7589 **Interviewer:** Senior Researcher Jillian Molloy **Foreword:** In order to document the immediate results of Compound 7589-965’s administration, contained hemovores, including SCP-7589, were documented and supervised when their first dose was administered. **<Begin Log, January 19, 2025, 18:02>** [SCP-7589 and Dr. Molloy are in adjacent chambers, separated by a pane of bulletproof glass. The vial containing SCP-7589’s dose of Compound 7589-965 is already in its possession.] **SCP-7589:** This is really it? **Dr. Molloy:** It really is. It’s already worked for a few other hemovores. We have no reason to doubt that it will work for you. **SCP-7589:** I cannot thank you enough, doctor. All of you. Even with the vial in my hand, I can scarcely believe I’m mere moments away from freedom. I suppose I should not delay any further. [SCP-7589 consumes the compound and places the vial aside.] **SCP-7589:** I believe I can already feel it working. [A few more minutes pass. Suddenly, the entity’s eyes widen.] **Dr. Molloy:** Is something wrong? **SCP-7589:** [The entity takes on a neutral expression.] No. Nothing. **Dr. Molloy:** Are you sure? **SCP-7589:** Don’t worry, doctor. The compound seems to be working perfectly. Your Foundation has done exactly as I requested. I do not feel a single pang of hunger. I cannot possibly thank you enough. **Dr. Molloy:** That’s great to hear, but something’s clearly bothering you. Tell me. [A few seconds pass.] **SCP-7589:** I’m sure you recall that story I told you about the youth who I turned and forced to devour his own village. Do you remember what I said about how that memory made me feel? **Dr. Molloy:** It made you feel hungry. **SCP-7589:** And I said that feeling eclipsed any pang of conscience the incident might have brought me. **Dr. Molloy:** I remember. **SCP-7589:** [Hesitates] As I consumed your compound, I meditated on that incident. **Dr. Molloy:** Why? **SCP-7589:** I wanted to observe the disappearance of my hunger. I wanted to call it to mind so I could watch it vanish into nothing. However, as I contemplated my actions all those centuries ago… **Dr. Molloy:** You still felt hungry? **SCP-7589:** No, doctor. I felt nothing whatsoever. **Dr. Molloy:** Isn’t that what we wanted? **SCP-7589:** Of course not! [Dr. Molloy is visibly startled.] **SCP-7589:** [More quietly.] Apologies, doctor. What I mean is, as I meditated on what I did, how much suffering I inflicted, I still felt nothing. Nothing at all. No pain of conscience plagues me. My heart does not bleed for my victims. I had thought, once the hunger was gone, those things would sprout in its place, but they have not. I still feel nothing. [A few seconds pass.] **Dr. Molloy:** I see. I’m sorry that you’re disappointed by the compound’s results. **SCP-7589:** Don’t be sorry. You did exactly what I had asked you to, and you accomplished it more quickly than I dared hope. The failure is entirely mine. **Dr. Molloy:** I have another question. **SCP-7589:** What is it, doctor? **Dr. Molloy:** If you truly have no conscience, why does the fact that that incident makes you feel nothing bother you so much? Why do you care how you feel? **SCP-7589:** I suppose you believe some hope for me lurks in that feeling? **Dr. Molloy:** I don’t know. It just seems odd. **SCP-7589:** [Shakes its head.] I fear that’s wishful thinking. I believe it is simply that the knowledge I am still a monster wounds my pride. **Dr. Molloy:** What about the person you told me about? The one whose opinion you said you cared about? **SCP-7589:** What is shame if not distress at the disapproval of others? **<End Log>** [[/div]] [[footnoteblock]] [[div class="footer-wikiwalk-nav"]] [[=]] << [[[SCP-7588]]] | SCP-7589 | [[[SCP-7590]]] >> [[/=]] [[/div]] [[=]] ,,[[[xhawk77x|More by this Author]]],, [[/=]] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box |author=XHAWK77X]] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box-end]]