O-05-102, O-07-103 & Freedom and Redemption
"Hey, Fabb."
"Hey, Multiple. Which you are you? Four?"
We doubted.
When Four died to one of the invading Fixers, we immediately thought on how to break it to our friend. After all, we were the same person. Garcia was still alive. Four was simply replaced by Ten. Any of us could pretend to be Four and do a decent job at it, but…
"I'm Five. One and Four died yesterday to the Fixers. Seven and Nine are currently helping Ten and Eleven learn the ropes. I'm sorry about Four…"
"Haha, isn't it weird that you're trying to console me for your death?"
"As weird as it is to apologize to someone suspected of being a Beholder." I replied.
"Touché. I'll miss them."
"We will too."
The Extraction Department was eerily quiet. Fabb's teammates were usually silent due to stress and trauma taking away their personalities. Still, the few times I had been there, I was able to find their Sephirah being creepy. Where did Binah disappear to?
"The ex-arbiter stepped back for the day. Today is the most difficult day of all. The manager will have to reach the fifth meltdown before having a rematch against a simulation of an Arbiter."
"In that case, there is a lot of time before this place turns into a battlefield."
"Yup!"
Honestly, my mystified collectivity wasn't enough to grant me enough courage to question the Beholder. Why were they there? Weren't they supposed to be astral entities made of light or something like that? What was the Head's intentions sending a Beholder in disguise?
Many questions prowled my mind, yet I spoke none.
"Four was more talkative than you." They pointed out.
"Four knew you better than I did."
"That can be fixed easily. I am in need of a new victim who can stand my crazy theories about Lobotomy Corporation. The lore just has no end…"
"…don't you know everything there is to know already?"
"Nope! That's only the things that happened in this cycle! There is so much to the mysteries beyond the wall of time… I can't have enough of it! I want to know more!"
"Heh, how fearless. What if you end up learning something you wished you didn't?"
"That's the funny part. I will never regret discovering something. I refuse to refuse knowledge. Just like Binah, I am here to witness the things that happen in this place. I am in charge of facing the fear."
"Does that mean Garcia must build the future?"
"Multiple can do whatever they want to do. You don't have to feel chained to the corporation just because of somebody else's sense of purpose. Find your own and walk that path. That's what building the future is all about."
What is my purpose?
When I joined the corporation and went through the initial confusion of meeting my copies… I realized life had a fleeting meaning. I don't know why I continue to exist, but I am sure that I wish to move forward. Recognizing myself, firstly, in my copies, and later, in everyone else, made me realize of my most distinctive wish.
I want to see the end of this. I want everyone to see it. We are Record Team. Information may censor it later, but for the time being, I want everyone to experience the finale to our story.
"That expression… Four made the same face when they confessed their undying love for me." The Beholder giggled.
"D-Did we really do that?"
Seriously. Did we? How dare I keep secrets from myself?! Fabb pressed a finger against my chest and smirked.
"You should have asked them while you still had the chance. Now you will never know! Hahahaha!"
I shrugged.
"I won't bother too much. You just told me to do as I pleased and not act based on other's wishes. Four was their own individual; I am my own. For the time being, I'd like to be your friend, Fabb."
"This is what I meant, Four."
"Hm?"
"Nothing, nothing! Haha. A Head's agent must try to be mysterious, no? Let's be friends, Multiple!"
Agreeing with them, I wondered whether one day I would discover if they really are a Beholder or not. Oh, well. That's probably not important for Lobotomy Corporation's story. I will probably be meaningful for my own tale, though, so I was itching to find out more.
Those Multiple employees and the giggly jokester of Extraction went to the lounge before the Qliphoth Deterrence concluded to have some breakfast. Even though we were technically coworkers from the same layer, they failed to notice my presence. I won't judge them, however. The manager never got to reassign new employees to my department, so it was hard to notice me on my own.
Still, I kinda hoped they would include me in their chat.
Two days left. According to the intelligent AI, today was the last day we would receive a new abnormality, which meant that once I was done learning everything there was about those two, my remaining time in L Corp would be much easier.
Let's get it over with.
O-05-102. The black half of a pendant, holding a red rope on its bottom. It had a white dot on its spherical part. It reminded me to that Yin Yang symbol. Whenever I looked at It, I felt as if darkness crept into my heart. It made me feel… tingly… and electric… for some reason. Almost as if that was the right state for me to be in.
This piece was probably Yin. Employees would detest working with this one, so Attachment was out of the window. Since it emits such a powerful aura, weak employees should not enter this unit. Insight would imply speaking to it. Instinct, wearing it. Repression, hating it. As for me… I decided Insight would be best.
"Yin. You are important. Do not let anyone make you believe the opposite. You give meaning to everything that's good. If it weren't for you, there would be nothing but a neutral void. You make the Earth. Yang makes the Sky."
I was proud of my good understanding on the abnormality. My choice of words got me a great result and a lot of energy was produced.
O-07-103 was the other half of the pendant. The natural thing was to wear it for long periods of time, but I decided against it. Too much of a good thing will be bad. I mean, I've read up all the reports of the currently present abnormalities. I can't name a single one that is completely beneficial.
The rest of the day was quite spooky. Someone kept summoning Meltdowns on my department. Since I lacked the manpower to work everywhere, the manager assigned Ten and Eleven to my team temporarily. I almost got killed by black waves that crept the corridors, but Eleven sacrificed themselves for me.
I didn't like that. I mean, I would thank the Garcias for their sacrifice, but still, I may had survived the hit on my own. They just threw their life away over nothing. Besides, what did my life even matter? My department had no Sephirah. I was completely alone here. What did it matter if I died or not? No one would notice.
The path I traveled was riddled with thorns; it was a penance with no end in sight.
Another man started to ramble through the speakers. I couldn't care anymore for their bullshit. Still, he continued.
We are all sinners. Our imperfect eyes could not see the world properly. It is time that I purified them. Humanity had to give up on freedom and desire for survival, but do you think those are truly gone? No, they merely have been waiting for the chance to rise again. Freedom is a necessity for one to be truly human. Just one bite of this sweet fruit will redeem them, all of them!
I covered my ears. That psycho was spouting some religious nonsense pro-humanity that failed to inspire me. If humans were so great, why was Lobotomy Corporation happening? Are the results so important that they justify the process? This… all of this… is rushed. This is so incredibly rushed I cannot believe any of this is happening.
Everyone around seemed overjoyed when the day ended.
'Eyes facing the fear, breaking the cycle' they said.
'Eyes embracing the past, building the future' they claimed.
Something was terribly wrong, but nobody seemed to notice. Why are they forgetting about it? Why is the manager deluding himself over this incomplete ending? Sure, he got the light he wanted and produced the energy he needed, but did he really collect all the seeds he required? Why moving forward if the path wasn't perfect?
This is another way of evading reality. I would never fool myself to think things were finally right when everything I did was built on a mistake.
It filled me with so much anguish, I hid inside the elevator and cried alone.
I couldn't understand anything. I came late into the party and things kept happening without pause. I lacked the context to understand the meaning of my feelings. It was… empty and despairing.
"I found you." A voice said. "Your tears…"
I didn't know what she wanted from me anymore. No matter how hard I worked, there was no happy ending to be had. I personified misery, so obviously my tears would turn black. Lobotomy taught me weird things happened when emotions got too intense. Mine were beyond the boiling point.
Angela reached into her pocket and picked something.
"As Lobotomy's overseer, I have taken many actions to prevent new variables from emerging. You resisted all of my attempts and awakened to a new sense of self."
"What are you talking about…?" I sniffed, confused and emotionally exhausted.
"Although it was too late and it didn't even matter anymore, I interrupted yet another one of your actions. Today was meant to be the last hurdle in our way to completion… However, there is a problem no manager has ever conquered in any of the cycles. After all, it doesn't matter to Ayin how many attempts it takes. He only needs to triumph once. How egoistic… He had the gall to say that to my face despite knowing I perceive time hundreds of times slower than humans… How much eternity am I meant to suffer for this project to bear its damned fruit?"
"…I don't know… but... this cycle certainly doesn't deserve to be the last."
The AI pointed a white gun at me. It surprised me she found any meaning in stealing me of my life. Alas, I didn't mind it. At least I would be able to rest for a while longer…
Bang!
The bullet pierced right through my mind, breaking it into a million pieces.
Afterwards, the bullet turned into a black hole that sucked in every fragment, becoming whole again. When I opened my eyes again, the sockets were empty. My irises were back to being simple white dots in the darkness of my gaze. I had a fresh arm, so that was pretty neat. I did a good job protecting this body of mine. Good job, me!
I touched the empty hole that pierced my head. It didn't bleed. It occupied a center spot on my forehead. I don't know much biology, but my brain couldn't be too happy about it. You could say… I got lobotomized. Still, that new wound allowed me to retrieve everything, so fair was fair.
And I mean everything.
All of my past cycles. All of the old versions of myself. Each and every single little thing was returned to me. I was a spectator to the things that I should never forget. Even if I died again, I would roam the world at a frequency of 1.45 MHz. As long as my gun was shot one more time, I would find my way back to the story I was meant to witness.
I got up and summoned my grey raincoat and my ear headphone. I hummed a happy tune. I asked Angela to return me my handgun. It felt nice in my hands. I finally understood what it could do. I kissed it. I was physically unable to erase the smile in my face.
"I'm sorry I died at such a bad timing to T-09-85. At least, I can now boast to be the only concious employee who has worked with every single abnormality Lobotomy has to offer, including those of the older cycles."
"You… Are you…?"
"Hm? Ah, right. This is the first time this is happening for you." I cleared my voice and faced her with honesty. "Yes, I am who you think I am. I've been called many things in the past, but in this cycle I am known as the Inspector. However, I have a name. Since it probably got censured due to my earlier death, I would like to reiterate my introduction to you, Angela."
I'm glad I made it back in time. This time for sure. My name is…
"My name is Simon. I know exactly why tomorrow is going to fail… and I'll be there to help you conclude this charade." I offered her my hand. "Shall we?"
