Today at 2:20 p.m., Dr. Famous took his chance to go to the barbershop because his hair was 2 centimetres long, and he wanted to shave it off. The buzzed hairstyle suits his face shape. Also, it would not obstruct his eyes while he was working.
“Shave it all off, oh, but leave some hair at my scalp. I don’t want to be bald.” Famous told his regular barber.
Cutting the hair did not take long. Famous stood up, then he used his hand to sweep some hair from his shoulders, face and head. He turned to face the mirror. There was the scar on his face which had long been elaborately sewed, reaching over the whole left side of his head. It was also clearly visible because, since no hair grew on and around it. There was a little scar in the same direction at the left ear.
They were the surgery scar and the shot scar. They were the memorabilia that he gained from approaching death, and his brain had to undergo surgery. It had made him a new person as if there had been another one inside him, it was a good story. It helped him to have a better work performance and to get promoted from the low-class researcher to the doctor-class researcher. It helped him to work together with Dr. Ran. Also, he might get promoted to be the deputy chief of the department soon.
Many years ago, the time when Famous was only a low-class researcher, the suspect who wore the white lab coat ran out from Warehouse-29a. His hand held the little box which carried a Safe-class SCP object. He was escaping. He walked relaxed through the canteen in order to not raise suspicion. However, he could not go out until the end of his shift. Otherwise, someone here would suspect him.
Famous was very anxious because one thing was missing. He was working at the warehouse-29a when the object went missing. This could be his most serious case yet. He might end up unemployed, be transferred to other, worse places than here. Who would send the money to his mom for her living? His eyes almost jumped out of his head when he saw the theft in the video recording from the CCTV but he could not see the face clearly.
“Don’t you know who that is?” The officer in the interrogation room pointed to the photo of the thief.
“I really don’t know.” Famous replied.
“This one maybe helps you to remember.”
The officer brought another photo to him. It was the photo which was from another CCTV from many days ago. It caused Famous’ face to pale.
“Famous, I ask you again. Have you ever met him?”
The photo showed Famous talking with a man from the archive. He realised that he was the same person who stole the object.
“…Yes, that’s me and that’s him. I don’t know him. I don’t know his name. He asked me for directions. I don’t know that it would turn out like this.”
“Did you give him the key card?”
“No, I follow the rules.”
“The investigator told me that your key card was used for entering and exiting the warehouse and other parts of the Site. The overall is 27 times.”
“That's crazy. It wasn't me. That person must have copied my key card to use it for sure.”
“Your key card will be blocked until that man is arrested.”
Famous walked out of the questioning room. His key card was blocked. It was necessary to enter and exit the office. What should he do now?
“Damn it, Famous, no cases of theft have happened since I’ve been here, but that has happened when you’re enrolled here.” Researcher Grate, Famous’ co-worker said.
“How am I supposed to know that he’s an outsider who blended in here?”
“So, you have to be suspended from your job until the object is returned.”
“No, if I take days off, they won’t pay me while taking them.”
“I can’t help you. It’s your problem.”
“You’re…very generous.” Famous said, “But forget it, I’ll take him down myself.”
“How do you plan to do that?”
“I’ll…punch him into pieces.”
Grate laughed at Famous. “Will you really break him into pieces? Oh, call me when you’re going to kick him. I wanna see that.”
“I-I’m really serious. You’ll see it.”
Famous walked out from the room. He did not know where he should go to or start from. He had to think of a way to bring the object back. He would not let anyone label him as a loser anymore, whatever may come this way. He would do it, by all means, to prove himself to anyone for how brave he was.
Famous searched for that man. He asked others but no one knew him and they said that he was wasting their time. Only this, he wasted a lot of time. He did not care. He had a mission to do. Finally, he found him. He walked in others group and pretended to act as nothing happened. Today was your end day, you bastard!
Famous followed behind the person’s and pulled him by his shirt behind a corner.
“Return the object, right now!”
“Hey, calm down, you can talk to me.”
“I saw you enter the warehouse. It isn’t your place.” Famous said with a threatening tone, “Return the stolen thing to me, then I won’t hurt you.”
“Wait, wait, I think you misunderstood me.”
“Don’t lie to me. What’s inside in the bag!? Open it!”
“You’re violating personal rights.”
“I don’t care. Will you open it or do I have to call a security guard to search for it?”
“Alright, alright, I’ll open it then.”
The man slowly used his hands to get the bag down from his back, but he suddenly swung his hand to hit at Famous’ face before running away.
“I knew it was you! You’re bastard!”
Famous followed the thief. He attempted to escape from the Site. He ran through the hallway, pushing others who obstructed him, so they fell down on the floor.
“Go away!”
He reached at the canteen and pushed others away. Then, he stepped on the tables. Famous took some bottles placed on the carts and threw them at him. This caused others to look at him in shock. Famous quickly followed him, stepped on the front table on which 2-3 persons sat and talked. They were the department heads.
“Famous, what the bloody hell are you doing!?” Dr. Arthit yelled after him.
The security guard in front of him attempted to stop the thief, but he was hit by him. It seemed that guy was very good at fighting, but Famous could only do ordinary punches. He grabbed the gun from the security guard. Then, he shot at Famous with the intention to kill him. Famous could press himself at the wall before the bullet was able to hit him. Gunshot sounds had raised the staffs’ attention and the officers were ordered to take care of these two persons.
“Since you were so fast in your pursuit, I thought that you were good at fighting.” He said.
“Give it back to me!”
“How incredibly stubborn.” Then, 2 security guards got in this way but were shot to death before he ran away.
Famous did not dare to move. He did not want to be dead. His hands continuously shook. Alright, that was real fear. That guy had already gotten a gun. So, what should I do? What things I could use to face him? Even if I managed to face him, it was very risky.
“Aren't you going to follow him?”
There was a person near him who spoke up. Famous turned his face up and saw the old janitor who had a haircut which hid his eyes, wore broken eyeglasses and was cleaning the floor. He immediately said.
“I don’t know. Maybe I'm scared.”
“Everybody else is also scared.” The janitor said, “I saw how you made a mess in the canteen.”
“I’m sorry. I need to catch him.”
“Why did you stop, then?”
“That’s because…he has a gun. Didn’t you see that?”
“You aren’t frightened by a gun. You’re frightened that you can’t stop him.” The janitor said while he was cleaning on the floor.
Famous might indeed not be frightened by a gun as the janitor said. He could catch the thief, but only if he tried. Others in this Site might also encounter him and be faced with the same problems. Some were able to be successful but some failed. He did not want to be the later.
The thief got into a parked staff car. He started the engine by short-circuiting it and drove off when Famous arrived, but not in time. Famous hurried to run to run to a BMW F 800 R motorbike, his favourite motorbike which was parked nearby there to follow him. That guy arrived at the bar of the first gate and hit other cars obstructing him. The security guard at the front gat shot at him while pressing a button to deploy the hidden nails on the road. This caused that tires of the car to get ripped open after driving over the nails. The car slightly lost its balance, but did not stop yet and was still able to drive further. Famous drove like the flash, passed by other two cars which were out of order and softly landed on the road.
Famous followed him. Soon, he found the stolen car which was parked. Suddenly…
Bang!
An object flew towards his head on the left before Famous jumped of the motorbike and dove behind the back of the stolen car. He felt pain at the left ear. Then he touched it. Blood! Famous’ ear was injured, which might be from the shot. It caused his blood to drop on his lab coat.
“Bloody hell! This can't be washed out!”
Famous tilted his face and saw that guy on the street who randomly shot him until he was out of bullets. Then, he threw the gun away before he ran away. Famous searched inside the car and found an axe. Did a staff car also have an axe like this inside it? He might be able to use it as a weapon or maybe he could just intimidate him so he handed over the object.
“I am giving my very best today.”
Famous followed him. He would have never anticipated that he would be followed by this lower-class employee up to this point.
“I believe now that you still follow me. I might underestimate you.” He said.
“Return the object to me!” Famous shouted and shew the axe. “Do you see this? I’ll cave your head in!”
The thief put the bag down “If you’re really mean it, then come and get it!”
Famous gulped down his saliva. Even though he had never punched others, this guy seemed to be good at fighting. He seemed well trained for combat and he might badly lose. But since he reached this point, he would be a loser if he ran away now.
Famous quickly attacked first. He used the axe as a weapon. However, that guy could dodge and punched Famous in the face. Then, he disarmed him. Famous still resisted. He swung his leg to kick at his leg. Famous thought that he would be strong enough to take him down, but he received a counter-attack into his stomach. Then, he fell down. Famous grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to let him fall due to his weight.
Famous kicked that guy’s chest and rolled away. He climbed to the bag which was placed nearby, but his leg was grabbed. Famous kicked at full stretch at his face. Then, he quickly grabbed the bag. After that, he stood up to run away.
Bump!
Famous felt heavy and his head was in pain. He did not feel well and it seemed that he might black out. He felt hot like there was something hot on his head. Then, Famous fell down while he was tightly grabbing the bag. He hit the ground and saw that guy held the axe. Now, he raised the axe up again for the killing blow. However, he suddenly fell down on Famous and everything went dark.
…There was a bright light that caused Famous to open his eyes. He found himself lying on the same ground as before. There was nobody around. It was very strange. He stood up and used his hand to shield his eyes from the light. There was someone’s shadow at the light.
“Where am I?” Famous asked.
The shadow slightly came to him and started to grow up, until it was above his head before it lent him its hand. Famous had a little hesitation before he stretched his hand out to him. While he was reaching out his hand, there was something suddenly grabbing his shirt at the back which caused him to turn back. Then, he was surprised as the something was another Famous. Yes, there was another him which looked like a twin and wore a lab coat which was full of blood but he had no injuries.
“What are you doing here?” Famous asked.
“Isn't it actually you doing something here?” Another Famous said.
“I don’t know.”
“You have to come back home.”
“How do I come back? Who are you?”
“I’m you. You’ll find me when you wake up.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, the darkness covered all directions. The light was gone. Famous was alone. He was falling in the endless darkness. He felt himself fall down from an unknown height.
…Famous opened his eyes again. The light from the light bulb felt painful in his eyes. His eyes slightly adjusted to the environment. He turned his face to the side and there were many devices for monitoring. There were many wires. The room in which he was felt familiar. This place was a hospital. It seemed that Famous had risen from the dead. He was in a safe place.
Famous attempted to stand up until a nurse came to him.
“What happened?”
“You have a grave injury.”
“I can slightly remember, and how long did I sleep here?”
“26 Days”
“T-twenty-six days?”
“Yes, please take a rest now.”
Famous watched the nurse exiting from the room. He closed his eyes. He would soon be better and return to do a low-class work as usual. He tried to calm his mind. However, there was the feeling that there was something for which he had to open his eyes again.
“Good morning, Famous.”
It caused him a little shock when Dr. Arthit1 came in quietly and sat beside the bed.
“Why did you come here?”
“Because I can go everywhere for here.”
“Are you saying that this isn’t a hospital?”
“Famous, you were about to die.”
“I know. It’s really good, isn’t it? I don’t know my physical conditions now.”
“It’s the same.” Dr. Arthit said, “They…told me not to tell you.”
“What they told you?”
“I won’t lie to you. Your brain had a grave injury. The skull penetrated down to the brain.”
“That…seemed very terrible.”
“You might not be the same. That’s why they left you to die.”
“Then, why am I still here?”
“I asked them to do brain surgery by taking another person’s brain to replace what was injured.”
“Oh…”
“You might want some sympathy.”
“I should thank him.”
“Not anymore, Famous, when you know that the brain for the replacement is the brain of the one who attempted to kill you.”
“…What!? No, I don’t want that!”
“Don’t worry, that person has already passed away. The memories and thoughts are still yours. You might even feel nothing at all from the changed brain.”
“Umm, that’s really bad.”
“No, that’s alright. Well, I’ll leave you alone now.” Dr. Arthit stood up from the chair. “Oh, another thing, you won’t work at the warehouse anymore. They transferred you to the underground. You’ll have a new job, a new position, and a new boss, good luck.”
“But I like you more than others.”
Dr. Arthit slightly smiled at a corner of the mouth before he left from the room. Famous started to have little worried about the new brain which he disliked it. They would better let him to be dead rather than placing someone into his head. Especially, that person was a bad person and he did not know when he would have a bad-minded. He did not want to be changed to be others, especially when that person was an enemy.
Many months later, after he got back to work, it seemed like he was a new person. It was actually a new job, a new position, and the boss named Ran who was very strict as usual, to the point where he wanted to go back to the warehouse like in the past. However, it was strange that he did not feel worthless at his work. His tasks had meaning. The boss let him do tasks which he previously did not dare to do or even thought. The dirty tasks in the shadow of the Foundation where people talked about taking someone’s life for the sake of experimentation. However, there was one time when it seemed that Famous was not his old self anymore when his lab coat was dirty with Class-D’s blood after he expressed his anger towards them with a huge log. When Dr. Ran restrained him and gave him a disappointed look. He was not conscious when he did it. It seemed that he became another person, the one who was inside his head. He felt very guilty for himself, he wanted to be gone from this world.
Many days after that incident, no one dared to talk to Famous. They were afraid that Famous might hit their head. He sat at a shared-office table. There was a paper on the table. It was the resign paper but it wasn't filled out. He felt that he was watched by someone for a long time. It made him feel furious, then he turned his face to the adjacent office table. There was the glassed man who looked at him. He was not familiar. He probably was a new employee. That guy smiled when Famous turned his face.
“Hello, it’s great here, isn’t it?”
“I hope so.” Famous replied, then he turned his face back to the paper.
“Have you been here for a long time?”
“Many years, but at this department, I was only for a few months now.”
“I was transferred from another workplace. Could you give me some sort of tip?”
“…stay alive, don’t die early.”
“That…is very good.”
Then, that person stood up from his office table and reached Famous. His leg got accidentally caught on the office table. That tipped the teacup over which was placed next to the resign paper Famous was filling out. Famous started to get furious with this guy.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I hope you won’t get angry with me as I ruined your…resign paper, but you can fill out a new one.”
That person stretched his hand to Famous. “It’s a handshake, don’t you know?”
Famous sighed, then he did a hand-shake with this guy.
“Ok, my pleasure.”
“Tomson Niranarm, nice to work with you.”