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 an Elucid-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.

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.

Behavior and Procedure
SCP-049's touch is 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 and violent, and will wander aimlessly until it encounters another human. It will then attack and kill the human before returning to its 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 and polite, and 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 polite and affable to both humans and fellow SCPs alike. It states that it does not like to speak because of the melancholy 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 at mind when performing its procedure.

SCP - Containment Breach
SCP-049 is a major enemy in SCP - Containment Breach. It will wander the halls and elevators, killing and "curing" any human it comes across, including the player. While it is not especially fast, it can be a major obstacle if it is blocking a path or pursuing the player. Touching the Plague Doctor will kill the player, and they will wake up a reanimated corpse, killed by a security guard. However, SCP-049's touch is not lethal when wearing SCP-714.

Here, it is voiced by TheVolgun, a YouTuber best known for his voice acting on SCP-related material.

Trivia

 * SCP-049 appeared as #21 on Tat's TopVideo's | Top 22 Scariest SCPs.
 * There is a bug in SCP - Containment Breach where SCP-049 will still remain in its crouching position even after the player has already been turned into an SCP-049-2.