I was barely able to suppress a yawn when I clocked in at work.
Yesterday was a crazy unbelievable day, and I really had to think it all when I returned to my room by I passed out the moment I saw my bed.
And here I am…
Returning to the work without even having something beside the coffee for breakfast.
"Just finish it," I remind myself again. "Then I'll sleep for the rest of the day."
My team's members usually came to the office just to sleep, and I could do that too. Why not?
I looked at the elevator to see it crowded. That's why I ended up using it… beside the fact that I would collapse at the stairs before reaching the 20th floor.
"So, you came today?"
A stranger talked to me when I entered the elevator after him. He didn't give me any sense of familiarity, so I answered using the most polite way I could offer at that moment.
"As you can see."
"The rumors say that the ethics department request your attendance today. Good luck with that."
"Yeah—"
So I'm already a famous figure here for different reasons, ha?
Even if the rest in the elevator didn't say a word, I felt their full focus in the little conversation that happened. As if mentioning the Ethics Department alone could cause such a big deal, let alone the fact that I was the one to go there.
I didn't know what the consequences of my actions were—which hadn't been my intention at all. I should've questioned it, but I didn't.
At least, I know that I didn't do anything wrong in the old company Vessel. If team A leader wanted to drag me down, then I would make sure to take him with me.
That crazy human being who thinks that his life is more precious than others'.
DING—
I was standing in front of the ethics department before I could know. And for some reason, out of every department on this company, it felt like the most normal one.
Partitioned workspaces stretched out, lined with desks and computers for the team. While, off to the side, a few people were busy making coffee. Just like what my old workplace used to look like.
More comfortable than seeing unpleasant things even before starting the day.
Here, there's no masks or animals. Even the employee who passed next to me was friendly.
"Crazy rumors again?"
I continued to look around me, then when I've reached the place I was invited to, I was completely out of words.
It was a simple open workplace. A meeting table, surrounded by a handful of carelessly scattered chairs.
"Excuse me," I knocked at the glass door, talking randomly to the empty room. "You told me that I have to be here at eight sharp."
"It is seven fifty five," The feeling of my heart on my throat was the only reason I couldn't scream. Meanwhile, the man who showed himself so casually and sat up from his sleep at the floor continued, unaware of the heart attack he was about to cause.
"Nathan Vale, right?"
"Yes."
"I've heard a lot about you."
"Should this be a good sign?"
"Who knows?" That man spoke. He looked more like a vampire with his pale skin, dark circles under the eyes, and long, messy black hair… an utterly exhausted vampire, so to speak.
"just sit down."
"Right." I sat it the chair opposite to his. "If I can ask. What is the reason behind calling me here?"
"Aren't you being too hasty?" With a click of this finger at the table, all the glass walls became black. "There's multiple things, but let's start one by one. By the way, you can say whatever you want… Nothing you say here can be held against you."
For real?
"If I'm not being accountable for what I will say, then what's the point of this?"
"It is more like chatting."
"...?"
"Formalities."
Oh—
"So I didn't really do anything wrong?"
"Who cares?" He simply put his hair in a law pun while speaking. "If you didn't kill anyone or tried to while you are in the Vessel, where is your fault?"
"Then that team leader is going to be questioned."
"By the responsible team, yes."
"Fair enough."
"Okay, Sir Nathan." He straightened his back before taking a random paper and started to write on it. "This time too, you found yourself in a Vessel out of nowhere."
"Yes."
"Do you know why we didn't do anything about this specific issue?"
"Me going into this Vessel?"
"No. You getting yourself constantly in such things is the issue."
Oh…
"Why?"
"Because it's bad luck. If you have it, then we have nothing to do about it."
"Oh, how comforting."
"Nobody can do anything about it."
"Right, right."
I sighed, feeling all the pain from yesterday in my bones…
"Now, next point." With a swipe of his hand over the paper, a visual image appeared— red and gray, but surely something I knew. "Do you know about this?"
"Yes, we've seen it yesterday. In the Vessel."
It was that panel the old watch showed… the one which was very similar to my crazy system.
"Do you know what it can do, or what is it?"
"No."
Seriously, I was never aware of what these things do, but I let it slide. Again.
"This was the company's old version of the watch you are currently wearing."
"...?"
"It surely changed, but the full and complete version of it isn't a watch at all. Just few know what it is."
Okay?
"Why not use a similar version?" I asked, then shocked my head as if I'm already aware of the answer. "That thing— the gems on it. It's doing its job as a power source, but because it is a product of something related to an anomaly of some type… it is doing things the developers never intended."
Then it hit me.
Why the system seemed to be useful but also became extremely dangerous in many ways…
Something in me has to do with the gems or the anomalies— and neither seemed to be good news.
Breath, Nathan.
Breath.
So what if it's true? Being aware of it will only make things difficult.
"You are as smart as they say." That man swiped over the paper again, then another photo appeared. This time, it was the researchers I saw yesterday. Not the anomalies, the real ones.
"All the researchers, who were in the same spatial cycle with you, are suffering from aftereffects. Likely it's something that make them work more, but it still an aftereffects."
Okey?
"And you don't seem to have it."
I've got out of the Vessel wearing that coat, so I can't say that I wasn't affected at all. But since I was alright, nothing seemed to be serious.
"They heard the music, but I didn't. That's why."
"We consider the possibility that you have developed a form of cognitive specialization as a psychological defense against trauma, anomalies, and similar phenomena."
Specialization?
No, no…
No.
"This is too far from reality since I can't feel any difference from what I always used to be."
I was acting more ignorantly, but that's my way to deal with all of this.
Plus, the system itself said that I had no specialization yet.
"In the end of the month, we will make sure. But for now— we are just making you aware."
"Is this a part of what the ethics department does?" He didn't even say a word about his job, did he?
"Yes, the ethics department you know will never do that but we do. We actually name ourselves 'the ethics department' while the mission you know we do is usually taken by the HR."
"Is this something you are allowed to tell me?"
"It's no big deal, since we already decided to talk with you about it."
Okay—
Just seeing him taking a serious attitude made a violent shudder wracked my entire body.
His eyes flashed yellow… didn't they? Or am I just imagining things?
"You've secured two Vessels in one go… which the responsible team failed to contain."
"You mean the forest house Vessel?"
"Yes, how did you do that?"
"Just opened the door and closed it after." I made it simple as much as I could. For some reason, saying nothing felt like a suspicious thing to do.
"In all the previous exploration records, the anomaly killed the person the moment he clicked the key. How did you survive that?"
"My colleague said to me before that the high volume can make it stop or so for a while. I simply took advantage of it."
"Right— then you closed the door after?"
"Yes. His hand was cut off, so he went crazy. I didn't know what happened to it since I found myself in the elevator again."
I was canceling every important information but it still was a good story.
"And that was enough for neutralizing it…"
I think?
"Then there was the sudden failure of containment at the main research lab, and you got involved in it, somehow."
"Okay?"
"And that one hadn't been just secured, but also vanished…"
Right, where are you going?
"How did you do it? Adeline from team A said that you and Sials from team B hacked through the spatial cycle and helped her and everybody to get out. Then you didn't get out with them, or couldn't?"
"Couldn't. Maybe the Vessel recognized that I and Silas were the ones who got through it without waiting for the door."
That man hummed, very thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "So, how did you get out?"
"By crashing the main computer there. We escaped by using the forest house Vessel key then returned here."
That yellow glow suddenly seemed too obvious. Too uncomfortable and strange… to the point that made the knot in my stomach even more painful.
He was a human being, right?
"So, by a pure coincidence, you've successfully dealt alone with two Vessels that might cause heavy losses if you weren't involved."
"..."
I didn't want to listen to the rest, but I couldn't interrupt him either.
"You are classified as a very promising talent. The higher console in the company decided that you have the chance to be a part of the containment department, especially team S. Even if you didn't have any specialization."
"I'm going to leave this branch and return to the main office at the end of the month. There's no chance for me to stay."
"Right, that's if the specialization test was negative. What will you do if it is positive?"
"Resign from my job."
"...?"
"I'll just leave it."
"It's permissible, but are you sure?"
"Yes." I stood up, ready to leave. "This is the worst-case scenario."
"If you changed your mind, then you know where to find me."
"Yes…"
With a simple nod, I left the room, then the whole floor, and returned to my team's office.
And for the rest of the day, I was just wandering around and doing nothing. Reading random books, watching random movies and documentaries, or just learning to use the violin.
That was my genuine way to escape my reality—
And apparently, it had been a remarkably successful method…