SCP-049

"Oh, good doctor, I can assure you, the Pestilence is here, and I can sense it. It is my duty in life to rid the world of it. My cure is most effective."

- SCP-049 talking with a doctor.

SCP-049, also referred to as the Plague Doctor, is a Euclid-class object under the SCP Foundation's containment. It is a humanoid figure that resembles a 15-16th century European Plague Doctor, with black robes and a white beaked mask.

History
SCP-049 was added to the SCP Wiki on December 10, 2009 by user Gabriel Jade.

Behavior and Procedure
SCP-049's touch is extremely lethal to humans, killing those that come into contact with it within minutes. SCP-049 then somehow produces a black bag filled with medical and surgical tools, then begin surgery on the victim, inserting several unknown chemicals into the corpse.

After a few minutes, the subject's vital signs will resume and the subject (now an instance of SCP-049-2) will begin to function normally, with the exception of any higher brain function. The victim will be rendered completely feral, violent, aggressive, and dangerous, and will wander aimlessly until it encounters another human. It will then attack and kill the human before returning to its unintelligent and brainless state.

SCP-049 was once thought incapable of speech, but this was later debunked when it spoke in a male voice, saying that while it can speak, it simply prefers not to. It explained that it seeks to eradicate "the Great Pestilence" from the world, which is assumed to be the bubonic plague. However, this is unconfirmed, as SCP-049 senses the "Pestilence" in subjects who clearly do not possess the disease, and has not seen it in some other human subjects. SCP-049 believes it is doing a great service by "curing" the infected. When confronted about the effectiveness of the cure, SCP-049 would not continue.

SCP-049 is kept in a secure holding cell. Should personnel want to converse with it, it must be removed by a Level 2 or higher personnel and sedated before being placed in an iron collar and accompanied by a minimum of two security guards. During a containment breach, SCP-049 came into contact and had conversations with SCP-035.

Personality
SCP-049 is very well-mannered, respectful and polite, so it makes little attempt at escape. It seems to truly believe what it is doing is for the greater good, stating that its cure is "most effective". It is unknown why SCP-049 believes it is its duty to eradicate this "disease", or what the "disease" truly is. 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 disease", 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.

Appearance
SCP-049 is a tall humanoid figure that appears to be garnished in long black robes and a white beaked mask. However, upon further investigation, it was revealed that these items are actually a part of SCP-049's physical body, being similar in biological structure to muscle.