SCP-1428 – "Cortexichildren"
Chapter 21: Now You See Me
Disclaimers: When I began writing Cortexichildren, SCP-1428 was vacant. It is no longer vacant, but I have no intentions of publishing this on the wiki. This is mainly a crossover fic, not a SCP event log that will go on the site.
Forever reminder that I do not own anything. Fringe belongs to J.J. & co. Each SCP belongs to their respective individual author. The SCP universe belongs to that collective on that site. I do not own anything. I am a fan.
Forever reminder of how I handle alt!characters: Over There: Bob. Over Somewhere Else: Bob.
Author's Notes: Getting back in the swing of things. Seriously the last time I was really writing… it was ONE YEAR AGO. Most of this was drafted back in February, so if the tone has changed… I really apologize. I really do.
I FEEL SO DUMB I WAS READING BACK MY FIC & I USE DR. KWON &&&& DR. KWAN. WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THAT I WAS FUCKING UP MY OWN CHARACTER'S NAME WTF YOU FUCKING GUYS WTF YA'LL HAD MY BACK. Excuse my dumb, please. I used Kwon first. Also all those document blunders are so embarrassing. & I didn't bold Dr. Walter's name in the last chapter. I'm so dumb.
If she ever got out of this, Olivia swore that she would purge orange from the rest of her life. It seemed that her entire time in this Foundation was full of orange. Her skin was forever shrouded in an orange mist. Her mind was forever clouded in an orange haze. Sometimes she swore that her skin was orange, with the amount that she was drenched in. The usually perceptive Olivia… was far from her usual self. The person inhabiting Agent Dunham's mind now was a drooling, blubbering fool. A fool that knew that the link had been severed between her and Nick, but did not know why. And a bigger fool because she did not care to pursue the issue further.
After what had happened… things seemed too beyond her control. It was easy to let the orange envelop her. She felt safe in it. She wasn't afraid; the Foundation was afraid. But deep down, deep in the recesses of herself the orange did not touch, she knew it was a false sense of security. And that she should be scared now more than ever. She knew that Nick had been taken away from her, to prevent their bond from causing another event. She knew that they were observing her from afar, drugging her to keep her docile – manageable.
And yet she allowed them to drug her, to control her. Part of her knew that the drugs and their potency had worsened and increased, but another part of her knew that she could fight back – if she chose to. And yet she didn't. Olivia, a woman whose very being needed to be in control every moment of every day no matter how small the task, was now relinquishing it. She was betraying herself. She was going against the very fibers of her being… and yet she couldn't stop herself. Fear had polluted her mind, just like the orange. Maybe fear WAS the orange substance fed to her in tubes and in gas.
Is this what Nick felt like? Trapped in his own mind? Slowly giving way to exhaustion and despair? Feeling that death and suffering were the only options, and even worse, options that she deserved? Feeling that your life was spiraling out of your control? That the entire world was beyond your control? That perhaps Walter Bishop and his faith in your abilities and control was a mistake?
She didn't care. The orange made her numb. The orange made her pure. She saw white. Perfect white blurs, like glowing orbs. She was safe. She was sound. She was whole.
"What have they done to her?" Dr. Montgomery's face was horror.
Dr. Bishop scowled at the image on their monitor. 'Such heavy sedation is uncalled for. What sort of data could one gather from this state? She's delusional – comatose. What could possibly be gained –' He had to stop himself. He was not Overseer Bishop. Not anymore. He had shed that title after choosing to call Olivia by her name. After choosing this mission over the "common sense" the Foundation had instilled in him. If he wanted to walk the path of redemption, he had to further distance himself from that persona.
He finally answered Dr. Montgomery, "Too much. We'll have to wait. If we want to talk with her, she needs to be in a better state of mind. And I'll need to stop the flow of the sedatives coming through, as well as clear the room of what's already within."
"How long will it take?"
Dr. Bishop grimaced, "Too long."
The orange was fading away. She had been swimming in it, but it was swirling down the drain. She started to swirl down that same drain. The spheres of white were disappearing in her hands. But they weren't gradually and beautifully fading. When each one disappeared, it screamed.
Their screams sounded eerily like Nick's.
Maybe it was Nick who was screaming.
"It shouldn't be long now."
Dr. Montgomery was quick to snap, "You've said that already." Because he had. Six times already. They had been waiting for two hours. She worried that her absence would become suspicious, if her previous actions hadn't already been noted as suspicious.
Dr. Bishop worried the same thing. They couldn't keep doing this. His absence would be more suspicious than Dr. Montgomery's. He had only covered himself for a twelve hour period. The Overseer staff expected inhuman punctuality if any of them decided to take their one off day, bestowed after ten years of good service. Even though in his heart he was no longer O5-2, he had to keep appearances.
Dr. Montgomery didn't know what time it was. She was supposed to have dinner at seven. That probably wasn't going to happen.
Dr. Bishop worried about what he would say to Olivia. A week ago, he still would have taken this drastic of a measure – but still for the Foundation's benefit. Or rather, the benefit of his career in the Foundation. SCP-1428-2 had the answers to stopping SCP-682, he had thought. He would stop at nothing to get those answers. He would have even considered letting them go, IF Nick and Olivia had agreed to destroy SCP-682 for good.
Now… he had no such intentions. Now… he only wanted the truth. SCP-682's developments, although disturbing, were not of main concern. What were the other universes like? What was he like? And how many of him were there? What were the real truths of the multiverse? What were the real truths about Cortexiphan? Because he knew Olivia Dunham, like any good agent or soldier, was keeping secrets.
But part of him still wanted to use Olivia to take down SCP-682. SCP-682 was still a threat to the world. As a member of the O5, and a member of the Foundation, it was necessary to have everyone's best interest at heart. The Foundation was an operation meant to protect. It was not secure, contain, punish; this cruelty had its purpose. And the Foundation did not use their contained specimens for colonization, enslavement, and other economic conquests. Many of the projects were for weapon's development, and yet many other projects benefitted the overall welfare of humankind.
And yet Olivia Dunham was still a person. Dr. Bishop was protecting the Olivia Dunham on this side, and yet still supervised horrendous tests on Olivia, SCP-1428-2. He had subjected both her and Nick Lane to unspeakable horrors, horrors that made war crimes innocent in comparison. How could one justify that punishment she sustained?
After talking to this Olivia, he would covertly clear their Olivia Dunham's name. He would erase the files. He would keep her safe through any means necessary. He owed this Olivia that.
Olivia rubbed her eyes. She could barely see in front of her still. But the orange was gone.
She saw a body huddled in the corner. Was that Nick?
She felt the camera peering down at her.
Suddenly she felt very small. She could move now, and she hugged her thighs to her chest.
"She's ready now." Dr. Bishop was amazed at how vulnerable Olivia looked. He almost wished that he were broadcasting this to the rest of his former colleagues. Those that feared her, who viewed her as some indestructible all-powerful Keter entity, would be amazed at how weak she looked. At how humble she looked. And more importantly, and perhaps because of those two things, how human she looked. Olivia looked like a little girl that wanted to go home. She wasn't a telepathic weapon; she just wanted to go home with Nick. How could they not see that?
Dr. Bishop's eyes opened wide. He had been speaking in half-truths with Dr. Montgomery earlier. He certainly did respect Dr. Montgomery for doing something brave, but he didn't REALLY understand what it meant in the scope of the Foundation. Her words echoed in his mind: I've heard that there's a difference between a human with abilities and a humanoid with scientific anomalies, but somehow that does not apply here. Why doesn't it apply here? What makes this Foundation so different? Why does everyone around me conduct themselves in such a cold, removed manor?
How truly brave she was, practicing the truth in the face of her own death. He had been studying humanity for as long as she'd been alive, and yet she, a first-year employee fresh from graduation, knew more about humanity than he would ever know.
"N-Nick?" Her head was spinning, trying to cleanse itself of the toxins that had flooded her mind. "Have they done anything to you? Are you hurt?" Her knees buckled and she fell near his folded legs.
"I'm fine." But his voice was shaking royally. She knew that look in his eyes. The haze had brought him to the darker recesses of his mind. She had experienced numbing, ignorant bliss, swimming in the light, while he had been made to dangle over the abyss, drowning in darkness. "Don't worry about me, Olive. Honest."
The glimmer of a smile he struggled to give her was enough to stab her heart. Anger swelled in Olivia again. She swore to hurt those responsible. Seeing Nick suffer again and again was unacceptable. Beyond unacceptable.
Her strength was building up in her, after being prisoner to the orange gas. She saw a camera just above her. If she concentrated just right… she could…
"SCP-1428-2? Olivia?"
She recognized that voice.
"Dr. Montgomery?" This relaxed Olivia slightly. Given the doctor's involvement, Olivia could have sworn that the SCP Foundation had killed one of the few allies she had here. "Where are you? Are you safe? How are you doing this?"
"I had a lot of help."
"Hello, Olivia."
She tensed. Her blood ran cold. "You. What do you want? What have you done with Dr. Montgomery? Are you using her just like you're using me?"
"What is she talking about?" Dr. Montgomery sounded genuinely surprised at Olivia's accusations. "What is she talking about? Who are you?"
"He's… he's one of the men responsible. He's been overseeing this the entire time!" She pointed at the nearest camera. "I know you're behind this, Bishop. Come and face me. I'm not telling you anything else about us. Contrary to what your little Foundation might think, I've been operating under what's best for all, too. I've given you enough information to wet your appetites. I've agreed to some of your experiments involving other SCPs. I've managed to behave most of the time. But it all ends today. I've had enough – Nick's had enough. Tell the rest of your Foundation friends that they can kiss my-"
"Olivia… what I'm doing… is in no way related to what I used to be. It's true, I was – and still technically am – an Overseer. My presence has been a constant lingering shadow ever since you were brought here. You do not trust me. You have every right NOT to trust me. I have threatened you and Nick. I have ordered the torturing of you and Nick. But…" There was a pause. Olivia could hear the crackling from the feed. "I hesitate to proclaim that I am a changed man, but I am no longer the man you once knew – or heard. I have had my doubts for some time now. And contrary to what you might think, I truly HAVE been listening to what you've said. I believe you when you say that there are multiple universes. I believe you when you say that my alternate counterpart gave such a substance to you. We are more alike than I ever would have guessed."
Olivia licked her drying lips. "How do I know that you're being sincere? So many of your agents and doctors have feigned sincerity – to gain our trust. Nick's especially. You've tricked us for the last time. If you want to stay alive, I suggest you stop talking."
"I'm not acting for what's best for me. I'm acting for what's best for the both of you. We want you to go back to where you belong. I want you to return to where you belong."
"What finally led you to make that decision?" Olivia was truly curious. Last month, the man had shown no shred of humanity. Any ounce of caring was absent from his voice. That first time she had heard him address her was something that she would never forget. It was truly the most terrifying moment of her life. And yet here he was… sounding a lot more like… her Walter. There was something present there that hadn't been before. And yet… how could she trust him? After everything that had happened? After all that they had suffered? And yet… she didn't think that this man was lying. And she was always right in judges of character. She was always right.
"Not what but who, Olivia. It was Dr. Montgomery. I read her files, as well as your interviews with various doctors. You… you're something else, Olivia. And I'm not talking about your telepathy now; it's your empathy. Your empathy that you show toward Nick and so many innocent people. You are unlike many of the entities here. They do not care. They are sentient beings, capable of logic, but not of compassion. They are beasts that you have seen yourself; pure killing machines with agendas all their own. And they are non-sentient items, items that appear ordinary but have the capacity to inflict so much suffering. But you… you are a fighter, but also a lover. You care while they do not. You are selfless when they are not. You bond to all those around you. You are human when so many here are not. And yet, so many here are. But we do not recognize their humanity. Their status as a scientific anomaly or entity trumps any remnant of human emotion. Our classification system hides these anomalies that would be used for evil, or have evil agendas themselves. This system is designed to protect the innocent in our world. And for the most part, this system has worked. We have not reached the 'end of the world' scenario. Innocents go about their everyday lives, unaware of the terrors we store here – as they should. And yet, that same system keeps you, equally innocent individuals, captive here. I did not see this before, but now I do.
"I will help you. It would be a sin not to. I can scarcely imagine how many sins that I have committed while employed for this Foundation, but I offer myself here up to you. I will now walk upon the path of righteousness, unblinded by the Foundation. But before I do – and know that I WILL – I must know."
"You must know… what?" Olivia arched an eyebrow. She treaded carefully to the camera positioned in front of her. "Can you assure me that we're safe? No one else is listening into this conversation?"
"Yes." Olivia was relieved that Dr. Montgomery, and not Overseer Bishop, had answered this. She still didn't trust him. Especially since they weren't face to face. Of course she knew what he probably looked like… but a true test of his character would be in his eyes. She couldn't detect any tells from his voice, but any suspicions would be confirmed if they saw each other eye-to-eye.
"Yes."
Olivia gasped, "How are you doing this?" In front of her was a projection of the two figures, Dr. Montgomery and more importantly, Overseer Bishop.
He looked more like Walternate than Walter in his features, but his eyes were softer, even behind those spectacles of his. He wore his hair shorter than the two she was familiar with. And he wore a bleached, tight white coat – perhaps what the other two incarnates wore in their younger years. And yet Olivia couldn't help but think that Dr. Bishop looked just a bit younger than his alternate selves. This discrepancy wasn't as severe as Dr. Warren's, but… for some reason, he was younger. And if memory served her right, even Charlie had looked younger than he should have at this point.
She would have taken more time to contemplate these bizarre occurrences, but Dr. Bishop snapped her back to reality: "I have my ways, Olivia. But I want to know it all. I want you to tell me everything. For so many years, I thought I was chasing the truth, but we both know that what I know is false. YOU know the truth. And after so long... I need to know. I need to know what the world really is. After that, I will begin to set you free."
She smirked, "That seems like a relatively equal exchange." But her smirk hid her concern. HOW exactly would he help them? This feat was certainly extraordinary, given the probable high security around their cell, but how would they escape? Dr. Montgomery's plan had failed and since that failure, security had probably tripled in its tightening. How would they get past it all? How could he keep everything so far under wraps? But she also had concern FOR this Walter Bishop. What she would tell him… could change him fundamentally as a person. She certainly changed after learning about the possibilities of other universes, and then after actually going to one. And if he were to somehow meet one of the Walters… how would he take it? Or was she humanizing this figure of authority too much? Sometimes she saw glimmers of his supposedly former Overseer self in his clenching jaw.
Olivia looked at Nick. She felt that this conversation was rather one-sided because it was. She recognized and realized that she was always the strongest between the two of them, but that didn't mean that Bishop could conduct affairs while completely ignoring Nick. He was a wild card, but he still possessed "sentience," as they called it. He had agency… or did he? "What do you think?"
"You were always-" He was always so quick to defer to her. He had had his moments of strength, but he still didn't believe in himself. He was truly changing into a stronger person, inspired by her, but she needed more. She always needed more. In so many ways, she expected the impossible. But the impossible was necessary to survive. She wouldn't have it any other way.
She decided to push him. "No. What do YOU think? I trust him, but I'm just one person."
"You're always right about-"
She was starting to get angry now. "Nick."
All she had to say was his name. That was all she needed to spark the fire in him. "Can we trust him enough to tell him everything? He's…" Nick winced. "He's been the one overseeing… everything." The scars up and down his wrists, injection sites and wounds Olivia didn't even know he had, started to glimmer under the harsh lights. "I… he's sent people to me, Olive. They told me that they were helping me – us – too. They promised me things. And here it is… almost too good to be true. And if it's not true, we've told him EVERYTHING. He knows how to cross over. He knows where the others are. He'll… be the threat that we've been preparing for." Nick swallowed to keep his voice from shaking. "And… I'm not sure if we'll be ready… if this Foundation attacks."
Again with the "we" business. She had heard that before, long before they had gotten caught in this Foundation's web. She still didn't know Nick's affairs, after all this time spent in solitary with him, and that still troubled her too. She hated to lie to Nick, she hated to pretend to him under any pretenses, but she had to. "I understand."
She didn't expect Dr. Montgomery to come to their defense at a time like this. And yet, she always did. "And so do I, Olivia. If I were in your position…" She actually smiled. "I'm not sure if I would have been able to hold out for as long as you have. But…" She gave a stern and searching look to the man seated next to her, "I understand your doubts for this man. We probably share the same doubts, and the same disgust. But… in order for us to help you, in order for us to truly understand how to get you back, we need to know. We're blind. You say that you're from another universe, but that's only scratching the surface. For all our resources and trained professionals, we haven't reached any breakthroughs or any insights. We need your help." She leaned in. Olivia could see how much this woman cared; it was all in her eyes. "Please don't feel like we're exploiting you. That is the last thing I would do. I… I want you all to be safe. With your families. Surely you both have people you love you have to return to?"
Olivia, despite her best intentions, felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Yes. I do."
Nick only faked a smile. He didn't want Dr. Montgomery to feel worse than she did. They had been making so much progress; he didn't want steps back on his account… again.
But Olivia sensed this and squeezed Nick's arm tight. "There's nothing we want more than to be safe – and back where we belong."
Nick's smile wasn't fake after that. He beamed at her, and at Dr. Montgomery. He belonged with Olivia, he was sure of that, but back in their universe, free from all the horrors they had faced here.
He looked into Dr. Bishop's stern face, reborn. Strength flowed through Nick Lane's body. They would get out of here this time. He was sure of it. He would see to it. "We'll tell you everything you need to know."
The feed had left the room an hour ago, as had Dr. Montgomery – who could still make it to her dinner date if she sprinted to the other side of the complex – but he remained. Dr. Bishop's hands couldn't stop shaking after what he had heard.
He envied Dr. Montgomery, not because they were being allowed out of the complex (something he had not done since… his beloved Elizabeth had died), but because she was in a hurry. Because of her haste, she didn't have the luxury to absorb what had occurred. In his eyes, that was a luxury. Dr. Bishop had no other choice than to contemplate… that his entire life had been fundamentally changed.
Everything he had once known was a lie. Or perhaps "lie" hadn't been the correct world. He had never been deceived, but he had never known the truth either. His understanding of his own existence had been false. Everything that he had studied for so many years ago was wrong, but even more so were the advancements he thought he had been making with the Foundation. Now everything he had ever theorized was irrevocably incorrect. All of the proposals for SCP-001 were just that – proposals. No one knew the truth.
Until now. Until him. This was an existential epiphany sent to him by prophets from another universe. They were proof that he wasn't alone in this world. His existence was no longer limited; it stretched to infinite worlds and choices. This was exciting – to truly know that the unknown extended far beyond his existence and time. And yet this was terrifying – to truly know that the unknown extended far beyond his existence and time. There were perhaps an infinite amount of Walter Bishops. Some were Secretaries in their government, trusted to make decisions for entire populations of people; perhaps he wasn't so different from this Secretary Bishop from The Other Side. Others created projects and corporations to further science and their own agendas; he knew too well from Olivia how this Bishop contrasted and complimented him. Others still, like him, were probably part of other science services; conducting their research in utter secrecy. And perhaps there were other Walter Bishops not invested in science at all. Perhaps they were bakers, lawyers, fathers… all having made different choices down the line. It was all so fascinating, now that the door had been opened.
In some universes, he still had his wife. And in others… he had a son. And in one in particular, he had taken his son from himself. And that had caused a great rift between the two universes, both metaphorically and physically. He was in awe that a version of himself could be driven to such grief to take or take back his son from the other. He had never conceived of this possibility, because he and Elizabeth had never conceived. They were… unable to on all accounts. Their work was their children. And their love for their work and each other was so strong, they had never stopped to mourn their lack of children. And yet here were universes where the Bishop line lived on. He had smiled when Olivia had said his son's name: "Peter." He would much like to meet this man. But in time.
He would have to hold up his side of the bargain before he could form any deeper thoughts on the matter. It could take him months to reduce Olivia and Nick's testimonies into Foundation language. But the two of them didn't have months left in this world. As he started to finally pack up the small devices he had left to jam the Foundation's system, he thought back to the Overseer's staff previous assembly. He did not know where all of his colleague's allegiances were on the matter. Some of them were deathly afraid and in their fear… might enact drastic measures.
And yet meeting Dr. Takahashi might have been a blessing in disguise. If she still kept in contact with Dr. Montgomery – and hopefully they were off having their dinner – they would have an inside agent giving them the Ethics Committee's plans. But who could he trust outside Dr. Montgomery? Even Dr. Takahashi was a stretch for him. No one. He was used to that, even as an Overseer, but now… the two doctors were fighting against the Foundation openly.
There was no turning back.
When Overseer Bishop sat back in his chair, the texture felt foreign to him, so unlike the "real"ness he had felt in Site 19. Everything here, basking in artificial white light, felt so fake. Everything around him… all lies. The reports on his desk, glaring up at him with the Foundation's logo, were all so false. He didn't even know where to begin.
He wondered how severe Dr. Montgomery's disgust was with the Foundation after she had written her report. How could she look her colleagues knowing the truth? And how could he? Luckily all other Overseer staff were blinded from each other. They truly were the faceless Gods of the Foundation, and for that Walter Bishop was grateful. But when he leaned back in his chair, he saw his own reflection. And he saw the O5-2 persona he had adopted for so long, ready to assume responsibilities and ready to play God.
He scowled at it. Walter Bishop hated what he had become. He had no idea how they would accomplish removing Olivia Dunham and Nick Lane, but he would find and a way – and fast. He wouldn't last much longer like this.