O-01-45

Each layer has its own lounge. Since the ASIYAH eatery was closer to the surface, it enjoyed the freshest ingredients and all the premium dishes imported from associated restaurants, such as HamHam PangPang and other small businesses from District 12's Nest. The BRIAH main administrator, Tiphereth, resented the upper layer because we took all the good stuff for ourselves and left them with bland boring foods for their employees.

I mean, sure, for a daily basis, it's really inconvenient to be forced to go all the way to the ASIYAH layer in order to get some proper food, but that was nothing new. After all, our eating hall was the place were armbands intertwined and the employees were able to develop relationships cross-departments.

I usually ate with the other captains, but that day I went out of my way to have some solace for myself. I… wanted some time to think about things.

I understood Gregory's dissatisfaction with Lin's words. We needed to replace [DATA EXPUNGED]. The fifth slot for our team continued to stay open. My subordinates had different stances about the issue. The veterans wanted to continue waiting for [DATA EXPUNGED], but the newer additions didn't have the patience to hold onto that faint hope. As their new captain, I had the final say in the matter.

My old captain… was a mysterious person. They were independent and reliable. Even though teamwork wasn't their strongest suit, their mere presence was enough to gather everyone around them. Sure, people called them names and judged their sanity, but whenever the Second Trumpet was sounded and they saw the Inspector arrive to the scene, those same people heaved sighs of relief.

Lobotomy Corporation was a machine that worked by linking different gears. The center piece, the one that gave the organization to the whole, disappeared. No other gear would ever be able to fill the gap. I knew it better than anyone. As their direct successor to Control Team's leadership, I had to step up my game.

'Not enough.'

Lin frowned at me whenever I chose to have lunch on my own because they knew what I was trying to do. I wanted to listen to their voices. The Inspector's disappearance was a hot topic and it invariably always led to the matter of who would replace them. I wanted to confirm what my heart already knew.

I am not enough.

Do not mistake me. [DATA EXPUNGED] never cared to lead a team. They just gave us general directives each day and wished us good luck before going to inspect the new abnormalities and help with the toughest enemies. I was the true head of Control Team, which was the main reason the newer members were so quick to move on.

I understood that point of view, really. [DATA EXPUNGED] wasn't a true member of Control. They… belonged to the entire facility. Did we need to control a dangerous containment breach? They were Control. Did the pile of reports to process overwhelm Lin? They took a day off and chilled at Information. Did Kickass scare the newbies? They acted like a teacher from Training. Too many panicking employees? They aided Greg reducing casualties to a minimum.

They were the perfect employee, really. If we had an army of [DATA EXPUNGED]s, our job would become surprisingly easy.

That being the case, what should I do? If I accepted one of the employees from reserve and then the captain decided to magically come back… it would be the same as telling them that we no longer have a need for them. Rejection. There's no way I could ever forget [DATA EXPUNGED]! I promised them!

Feelings, however, were sacrificial stones at Lobotomy Corp.

I munched the toast as I checked the candidate's profiles.

"May be join you, Ekpmephtil-senior?"

It had been a long time since anyone called me that. I raised my head.

The infamous red-haired punk from Central B and the lucky clerk who managed to join the Discipline Team. According to Kickass –an unreliable source–, they were going to become quite important in the future. The fact they carried so many reference books on them made me realize how things had changed since my arrival to the company. That, however, made their third partner stand out. That hooded employee carried only a single book. A novel.

I hid my documents and gladly postponed the tedious task to backstab my captain.

"Sure. You are…?"

"Izzy. Rank 4. This is Qwerty rank 4 as well."

I recognized the EGO gift on the blonde with ponytail. It was the Sheep's Clothing Greg received after surviving a trip to F-02-58's stomach. It was both worrisome and relieving to know they were no longer 'virgins to the horrors of Lobotomy Corporation'.

Izzy caught the quiet hooded employee with an arm and guided them to their seat.

"And this is O'Neal, aka Neal. Do not attempt to distract them when they're reading. A book's corner hurts more than O-02-56's beak."

"Haha, I'll be careful. What can I do for you? Are you also curious to know more about the rumored Inspector?"

"N-No, senior. We're here to ask for your guidance." The blond employee said before giving their punk colleague a look.

"We asked Kickass-senior about how to become the greatest captains in the neighborhood, so they pointed their robotic finger at Control. As they say, if you want to be the best, learn from the best!"

My eyes got a bit teary.

"The best is no longer with us…"

"Hm? Are you perhaps Nothing There wearing Ekpmephtil-senior's shell?" Izzy tested.

"No, no, it's… it's me. Aren't you looking for the Inspector?"

The only time Neal opened their mouth, I felt a thunder run through my body.

"Everyone knows they're dead."

A bell tolled in the distance.

The words I never wanted to reach my ears. I would rather work Repression on the Silent Orchestra than to face that reality. 'Missing' is one thing; 'dead'… I didn't want to consider that possibility, as probable as it was. Izzy was easygoing enough to ignore the tension in the air and continue.

"Kickass-senior already teaches us all there is to know when dealing with abnos. What we need to learn is how to deal…"

"…with people." Qwerty concluded. "I don't want my new teammates to look down on me for being a clerk…"

"Ex-clerk, you mean! Come on, partner! We've been through this!"

Neal left the comfort of the letters and gazed at me. Only then did I notice they were an albino, thus the hood.

"These two kidnapped me from Welfare. Pretend that I am not here."

"And you! You have to work! Your Sephirah was kind enough to offer you a transfer to Information so that you could put your reading passion to good use, but you refused Chesed!"

"It's not a passion for reading. It's a passion for novels. I hate paperwork."

That grumbly whitehead reminded me of Greg, but they would probably not get along.

"That is exactly why I can't leave you alone! Until you learn your way around Lobotomy Corporation, Qwerty and me will pester you and get in the way of your reading!"

"That's a bit mean, Izzy…"

"Wouldn't it be meaner to leave them unprepared for the future, vulnerable to the malice and the corruption seeping from within?"

"Poetry won't help you this time. Neal will do just fine without our meddling."

"But where is the fun in that? If I am to take over this Wi- I mean, if we are to make good relationships with our fellow BRIAH folks, shouldn't we also develop an interest in their aptitudes and their growth?"

I'll… just pretend that punk didn't reveal their plans to conquer a Wing. Despite their insecure personality, Qwerty was responsible enough to put a stop to them. They turned to the quiet albino.

"Izzy may be pushing you too far, but I think you should try opening up a little, Neal. Reading books is a wonderful hobby to have, but you are an employee for Lobotomy Corporation. As such, you must accomplish what is expected from you and perform accordingly."

The reader shrunk on their seat.

"That is why I agreed to 'kidnap' you. Ekpmephtil-senior, won't you teach us how to better mingle with our teams? We stand so much to learn from you… we would appreciate anything you could tell us."

My eyes met with Lin's, curious as they were about us. I raised a brow.

"I… am okay with helping you, but what kind of trouble do you have?"

"They're intimidated by my mighty voice and my insuperable charisma!"

"Their ego is so strong everyone flees from them." Neal mumbled. "I prefer books to people."

"And… I can't look anyone in the eyes… I end up apologizing for everything, even if I did nothing wrong…"

Rubbing my now long brown hair –Lin liked it like that–, I understood why they had troubles with people. I wasn't sure what to tell them, though. Their problems came from their personalities, so I couldn't just tell them to change their personas… or could I?

If they survive long enough, they will eventually obtain EGO gifts. In fact, Qwerty already had one. However, their issue seemed to arise from their past as a clerk rather than their trip to F-02-58's belly.

Nevertheless… my senior hated EGOs with a passion, so I won't be the one to encourage their use.

"How to deal with people, is it?" I repeated, trying to buy some time to think. Their eyes watched me with expectancy. "People are people. You just have to put yourselves in their shoes and sympathize with them."

"Such a hurdle! I am not mighty enough to overcome the barrier of mediocracy!" That was just arrogant and insulting, Izzy.

"So… I just have to understand why they are mad at me?" Take a step prior, Qwerty. Don't assume everyone is mad at you. Look at their faces to find out their feelings.

"I am not interested in secondary characters." Where do I even begin with Neal?

I rubbed my eyes, noticing the holes in their training. After all, the corporation only worried about their potential efficiency when dealing with abnormalities, not with actual humans. I would need to have a word with Hod and Angela soon…

Displeased by the idea of calling the 'superior AI' who used to bully Malkuth, I sighed.

The following sentences were heard at Record Department the [date irrelevant] during [time irrelevant]. The clock from the department moved and a bell tolled each time a sentence was spoken.

"And I tell you, you are Brook the apostle, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

"Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

"Do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"

Further investigation is required to find out how this phenomenon occurred and what it means. When questioned, no employee noticed anything remarkable. However, the new employees from the Welfare Team said they got to work with a 'gentle' abnormality.

Employee 00703 called them out for turning into freaky religious zealots, but employees 00704, 00705 and 00706 came from religious homes, according to their reports, so that behavior may be a response to the accumulating stress. Furthermore, 00703 shows a tendency to get engrossed on their lecture and ignore their tasks, which reduces their credibility. According to the rules listed on [some paragraph], [some number], employee 00703 will be given a warning and forced into a counseling session to fix their shortcomings.