Water. The wellspring of life. We’ve dealt with a number of anomalous water
sources on this channel, like SCP-006, the much sought-after Fountain of Youth, or the
terrifying SCP-3280, where murderous water threatens to destroy the entire world. But we’ve never seen anomalous water that
behaves quite like this before... In many of the legends of King Arthur, the
sword of Excalibur is presented to him by the mystical Lady of the Lake. This lady emerges from the depths of the water,
gifting Arthur with the enchanted sword. It’s an incredible, if impossible, image:
a woman appearing from within the lake, rising up from the bottom and breaking through the
surface. It’s safe to say that none of us have ever
seen anything quite like it. Well, at least most of us haven’t. In a small unnamed English village, there
was a young woman who set out on a particularly lovely, warm Spring day to take a swim in
a nearby lake. While wading in the water, enjoying the sunlight
and the gentle breeze on her skin, she saw a strange ripple ghost across the surface. She stopped her swimming, staring at the motion. She expected to spot a fish or some other
aquatic creature. Instead, the water itself began to rise up,
gathering and forming into a shape before her eyes. It was impossible, and yet here it was, happening. She pinched herself and found that she was
definitely awake, as the water transformed into the shape of a human woman. It turned to look at her, shimmering eyes
finding hers and liquid lips forming into a warm, inviting smile. Though this being was shocking to see, it
clearly meant her no harm. It raised a translucent arm and gave her a
small wave as if to welcome her to its home. The young woman approached this Lady of the
Lake, reaching out her own hand of flesh and bone to touch this impossible creature. Just as her fingertips reached the water woman’s
own, the figure dissolved back into the lake with a splash. The young woman ran back home, telling anyone
who would listen about the incredible thing she had seen that day. Of course, no one believed her. That is, until word of her sighting reached
the only people who might take her claim seriously: The SCP Foundation. They sent operatives to the lake, where they
managed to capture the shapeshifting entity dwelling there. SCP-054, also known as “The Water Nymph”,
is a being made up entirely of water, with an average volume of 90 liters. When it is out of a body of water, the being
tends to adopt the appearance of a humanoid woman, though it is capable of taking on a
variety of other shapes including other humanoids, animals, and various inanimate objects. The entity is also capable of shedding its
form and effectively disappearing into a given body of water. In order to avoid shrinking, or possibly disappearing
entirely, from evaporation, SCP-054 is required to return to a larger body of water. Studies of samples taken from the entity’s
body, or its version of a body, revealed that it is made up of ordinary water. There is no apparent reason for its ability
to move, and no thermal, electromagnetic, biological, or supernatural anomalies were
detected. The research team could not determine what
might make this water alive and sentient, and the nature of its unusual properties is
uncertain to this day. When SCP-054 was first brought into containment
at Site-08, it displayed surprisingly congenial and curious behavior, often walking around
outside of the water and taking turns mimicking the shapes of various staff and scientists
that spoke to it. Its demeanor began to shift toward suspicion
and aggression, however, following a series of experiments and an incident involving the
research staff. The first experiment conducted on SCP-054
sought to determine what would happen if the entity was denied access to any freshwater. Water was drained from the fountain holding
it, leaving only enough water for it to form a humanoid shape, but no additional water
in the basin to compensate for the effects of evaporation over time. SCP-054 became visibly frustrated as the water
was being drained out of its enclosure. For the next few days, it enthusiastically
greeted anyone who entered its containment facility, attempting to use a rapport and
sense of familiarity to convince the person to provide it with more water. After it realized that this approach had no
impact on the amount of water in its fountain, it became distant and even cold to anyone
who attempted to speak to it. 054 only became friendly again once the water
in its fountain was restored to a pre-experiment level. Next, the research team opted to test SCP-054’s
reaction to extreme temperatures, particularly extreme cold. The temperature of the containment facility
was slowly dropped until the room fell below the freezing point of water. As the temperature dropped, 054 became sluggish
and exhausted. It lost its ability to shift between forms,
remaining locked in its preferred humanoid female shape. Its movements slowed more and more as the
room grew colder, until the entity was completely frozen solid. Portions of the ice were chipped off and studied,
revealing that the crystals were identical to those of any ordinary ice. After the sub-zero testing, the research team
decided to take things to the other end of the spectrum and test the effects of heat
on SCP-054. The subject was placed in a tank outfitted
with heating equipment, and its temperature was slowly raised over the course of several
minutes. When the water reached a temperature of 95
degrees, the entity’s behavior became frenetic and aggressive. It pounded on the glass walls of the tank
and attempted to break through the lid in a desperate bid for escape until the temperature
was returned to a comfortable level. After the extreme temperature experiments,
the previously calm and cooperative nature of SCP-054 was nowhere to be found. The subject displayed increased suspicion
of the research team, and would fight back whenever it was removed from its fountain
and taken to a lab for experimentation. In spite of this newfound resistance, the
team decided to continue their experiments as planned, hoping that the entity would return
to its formerly docile self over time. Next, Dr. Seskel, the acting head of the research
team, conducted a study involving SCP 054’s memory and ability to be conditioned. The entity was presented with a series of
increasingly complex mazes and puzzles. When it failed to comply with the experiment,
or solved a puzzle incorrectly, the entity was punished with an electrical shock or the
release of silica gel into its body. Both of these options seemed to cause it a
great deal of pain and distress, and it was eager to avoid further exposure to them. SCP-054 displayed impressive learning and
problem-solving capabilities, revealing it is likely much more intelligent than it was
first presumed to be. Dr. Seskel, observing the experiments and
with the effectiveness of his somewhat unsavory motivational techniques, quipped to his research
assistant that they would “have it trained to fetch in no time.” After several days of these experiments, and
repeated use of both the silica gel and electrical shocks, the entity’s progress slowed down
considerably and it became visibly exhausted. It was removed from the lab for a 48 hour
rest period, before experimentation was resumed yet again. This time, Dr. Seskel planned to expose SCP-054’s
water source to various levels of acids and bases in order to test its homeostatic capabilities,
beginning with a 0.5 M solution of hydrochloric acid. Prior to conducting the experiment, Dr. Seskel
noted: “I have no idea what will happen, but if this thing incorporates homeostatic
mechanisms like I suspect then we should get some insight into how it maintains its form.” He also noted that SCP-054’s behavior was
becoming “increasingly erratic,” but made the decision to continue with the experiment
as planned. SCP-054 displayed a now-familiar reluctance
when it was removed from its containment chamber and taken to the lab. It thrashed around in the fountain, splashing
researchers with water and retreating from them as they approached. In spite of its efforts, however, it was removed
from its fountain and placed in the experimental tank. The solution of hydrochloric acid was then
dripped into the tank, and then all hell broke loose. As soon as the acid touched the surface of
its water, SCP-054 became incredibly distressed. It formed into the shape of a human face,
eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream of rage and pain. The water churned so aggressively that the
lid of the tank was shaken loose, allowing it to escape the boundaries of its containment. The water formed into two large hands, which
shot out from the tank and grabbed the two nearest researchers, pulling them into the
water and exposing their skin to the acid now present there. As the men scrambled to drag themselves back
out of the tank, and their colleagues were busy helping them, SCP-054 took on its usual
humanoid form and ran for the door. It then collapsed into a puddle, slipped under
the crack in the bottom of the door, and made its way down the hall. It was apprehended roughly ten minutes after
its escape by a team of guards, who froze it using canisters of liquid nitrogen and
then carried its icy body back to the containment facility. The two researchers who had been pulled into
the tank experienced chemical burns on their skin, as well as significant mental distress. They were given immediate medical attention
and placed on a leave of absence, and all experimentation on SCP-054 was suspended until
further notice. At the recommendation of Dr. Seskal, 054’s
object class was changed to “Euclid.” SCP-054 is currently contained in a watertight
isolation room, fitted with climate control equipment. A beautiful, intricately designed fountain
has been placed in the center of the containment room, filled with fresh spring water in order
to accommodate the entity’s environmental needs. All maintenance workers assigned to the area
must wear NBC suits while inside and must spend ten minutes isolated in a drying room
after exiting before they are permitted to return to the rest of the facility. If 054 breaches containment, the area must
be evacuated and the containment chamber will be filled with liquid nitrogen in order to
freeze its water solid. As the entity is highly sensitive to the conditions
of the water that houses it, chemical levels and volume of the water in the fountain must
be monitored on a regular basis, and kept at optimal levels for the health of SCP-054. During the course of its containment following
the incident around the acid/base incorporation experiment, 054 has developed a distrust of
men, as the researchers handling that experiment were primarily male. In order to prevent future incidents and keep
SCP-054 calm, no male staff are to be assigned to the team monitoring its containment unit. Because five years have passed since the last
incident involving SCP-054, its object class has been changed from “Euclid” to “Safe”
on the recommendation of the lead researcher assigned to its case. Of course, caution should still be exercised
while interacting with the entity. This is the SCP Foundation, after all, and
just because a moderate amount of water is good for you, doesn’t mean you can’t still
drown. Experimentation on SCP-054 has resumed, though
this time its boundaries are being honored and it is allowed adequate time to rest and
recuperate between experiments. All use of punishment in order to motivate
the entity has been suspended, as it has shown itself to be more than willing to cooperate
if it is treated with respect. Like all of us, it responds far better to
kindness than it does to fear and intimidation. It doesn’t just take on the appearance of
a person, it has thoughts, feelings, and the urge to defend itself when threatened. So think twice next time you find yourself
swimming in a random body of water. You should be mindful of what might be living
in there. Not just of the fish, the algae, and the tiny
water bugs, but of the invisible, intelligent, impossible creatures that might be swimming
in there with you, or even make up the very water itself. Now go check out “SCP-173 - The Sculpture”
and “SCP-682 - The Hard to Kill Reptile” for more enigmatic entities of the SCP Foundation!
