There is a concept called Doppelgänger.
It is the theory that a person who looks completely identical to someone else exists somewhere in the world, often referred to as a second self or simultaneous appearance.
It is also tied to urban legends that claim encountering such a being, whether it is a supernatural entity or a demon that lures people, will inevitably lead to the death of one of the two.
There are so many interpretations attached to that single word that it makes one wonder if that’s even possible.
Among those interpretations, whether any can be deemed the correct answer or which of them can be applied to this situation is still up for debate.
I want to assert that, based on my standards, this situation is somewhat acceptable, but some might challenge the idea that a commonplace Korean man and a once-imagined character—a cute girl embodying all his desires and rationalities—are the same individual.
But I didn’t care what anyone else thought.
If they wanted to deny it, let them deny it; if they wanted to call me out for being wrong, they were free to vent their frustrations.
That was ‘me,’ and I am… me.
Even before logically or rationally explaining, even before closely examining the image to scrutinize the face, my instincts had already detected it.
The truth, it seems, is like a facet of an object or its shadow, revealing entirely different aspects depending on the angle from which it is observed and the light that shines upon it.
Just like a blind person groping an elephant may come to a hasty conclusion, even when faced with unwavering truth, what’s correct may not represent the entirety, necessitating constant vigilance and caution.
The truth is immutable, a logical principle in itself.
No matter how confused or desperate the situation, it remains a banner to rely on, making me unwilling to retreat from my position of belief—my protection.
– $%^#-sama… Are you alright?…!!
Flesh is scattered, blood is spilled on the sandy beach. The quality of the recording equipment in the laboratory seems to be exceptionally good.
Even after rewinding it several times, the scene engraved in my retina remains unchanged.
Suddenly, the recording quality drops, and someone whose expression appears dazed falls from the air, tumbling out as if to confirm the situation before an open hole appears, leading to their collapse.
Why is this displayed so boldly as reference number 0 in the research log?
What? Someone even thoughtfully added comments. Let’s see what they wrote…
– Lady Anastasia! Please calm down and take a deep breath first…!!
“Uh?! What??”
An alloy-coated, cool mechanical finger brushed aside my dangling bangs, coming into contact with my heated cheek.
The head that had been inclined, as if about to devour the screen, was exposed to the coldness of the metallic surface compared to the gentle touch of coolness across my face, snapping me back to reality.
I raised my head and met the gaze of Zero’s lone scanner.
Only then did my muffled hearing and the blurred vision that looked like it had been mosaiced return to normal, conveying external information effectively.
Somehow… I thought I was maintaining a calm and composed mind, but it seems that blood rushed to my head to a point where I could hardly hear the sounds around me.
“…Huh.”
For a few seconds like that, the heat that filled my skin to the point where I could barely feel it mixed with the coolness of the tin can robot, becoming lukewarm before the thought of this not being the right time struck me.
– …Are you a little calmer now? –
“…Do something about that insane scanner flashing like mad. It’s starting to hurt my eyes.”
This thing might not know that a malfunctioning precision device is scarier than a human error.
As for me, it wouldn’t be a problem if I just had a glass of cold water. But you need to keep probing to identify the exact spot where it went wrong…
– Ah, this is a high-definition recording process arranged for cases requiring precise analysis. It is a natural phenomenon indicating the ongoing filming… –
“Delete it immediately. Before you completely overhaul the software.”
As soon as I growled, the scanner returned to normal brightness.
Just when I thought I might get to thank a person, here it was, stealing snapshots as if it learned something wrong.
“Do you have enough space to encompass all this?”
I wasn’t sure if she was just running late to come back from the restroom or if she was skipping today to rest in the accommodations, but the self-proclaimed quick-thinking Marina was still not present.
Ken, who I had been talking to just moments ago, seemed to have noticed something odd on my side, peeking over repeatedly.
Having mechanical eyes on one side must enhance his vision, yet if he gets caught checking the displayed materials here, it could mean big trouble.
In this place, it would be proper to secretly observe through cyberware or to take them wrapped up nicely into the room for a thorough examination.
– I apologize. While a typical text file could easily contain several million entries, the corporate security documents involving large-size attachments and several authorized plugins make it quite difficult to estimate the exact capacity.
After saying that, Zero conveyed the message not through an externally expressed voice module but by using the communication channel to display the message in front of me.
[ …You must maintain a voice below 20dB (decibels; a dimensionless unit primarily used to express sound) to reduce the threat of eavesdropping. ]
“Tch….”
I clicked my tongue lightly. Everywhere is filled with potential threats.
After recently finding some respite at a cozy home, it seemed my stress levels, which had decreased dramatically, spiked once again, but I managed to calm down.
…Just hang in there a little longer. If I can just wrap this up well, it feels like I won’t be tied to past matters any longer.
Clank…!!
“Ah….”
When I carelessly pulled the chair out and moved towards the opposite side of the server rack, Ken, having sensed an outright rejection, seemed visibly downcast.
Sorry, but I had far more important tasks than smooth communication or socializing with the team right now.
Instead of awkwardly refining some partially restored data, I started to thoroughly read the exposed portions one page at a time.
I didn’t need to scrutinize the technical jargon-filled experimental data or samples individually. In any case, they were hard to understand, and what I was looking for was a clear cause to dissolve the discrepancies between the past and present.
In that sense, I regretted how short the footnotes attached to that darn snuff film were. The amount of information provided was disappointingly minimal… who can comprehend something that just bluntly says ‘Revelation’ without any context?
All these characters were up to no good—this was like some kind of mind game, wasn’t it? If they had something to say, they should just spill it out instead of tossing around impressive and grandiose statements.
Rustle.
As it had been before, I tossed around the items mixed disorderly in a box, scattering the signals wide to rummage through the inside. It wasn’t aimless searching; it was more of a careful process to avoid breaking the thin threads.
Since it clearly had the label of reference number 0, I figured there had to be a reference file written based on it hidden somewhere… and not long after, I hit the mark.
‘…Oh, indeed.’
When the item was tossed into the sea of information, it seemed prepared for damage, akin to a box wrapped tightly in several layers of robust tape.
I had no intention of returning it neatly, so I ripped open the wrapping and pulled out the contents inside.
It was a chaotic odd document that was certainly difficult to imagine as something hidden by the meticulous megacorp, with not even the date of file modification being organized.
This looked like someone’s handwritten notes. If someone was leaving something like this on the lab server, they had to be quite an important figure, didn’t they?
Then, the author B.M? Hopes were high that someone with such business model-like initials had documented useful information, so I settled down and opened the most aged record first.
[ Saturday, August 4, 2192. …Amagi’s long-cherished project still has many absurd points. The secrets of the human body, all the mysteries harbored within the brain have not been unveiled yet. To develop a comprehensive system governing and controlling all that out of the blue? ]
[ I also strongly agree that a middleware is necessary for observing humans in a way that’s easily understandable for them. However, this is… akin to saying that if it’s uncomfortable to walk, one should instead run or master symbolic logic before basic arithmetic. ]
[ Thursday, September 20. Based on a sample of 100 individuals, a general evolutionary model was designed, but once again, adding a randomly selected 101st citizen caused the predictive reliability to plummet. Specifically, to the point where it wouldn’t be mentioned even in any cheap statistical publication. ]
[ Wednesday, January 2, 2193. Despite ongoing failures, the budget has been significantly increased. I can’t tell whether I should celebrate the major success of the company I work for or mourn the fact that the cultured brain that I was designing has overloaded and died once again. ]
[ Monday, March 18…. One step short. Rules including irregularities, a doctrine that encompasses paradoxes. Critically, there is a lack of clues regarding the uneven choices made at the crossroads of evolution for our humanity. Without figuring this out, while outcomes can be extracted blindly, regular procedures involving humans can never take place. ]
[ …God has personally granted me the answer. ]
Right after that chilling phrase was the very video attached.
I was incredibly curious about how shooting me to death contributed to solving their issues, but regrettably, it seemed today was where my limits ended.
“Hmm? Cutie? Are you working late tonight? If our ace pulls an all-nighter, then I have to hang on too….”
“…No, I’m heading out now. And this isn’t finished restoring yet, so don’t touch it. Absolutely.”
It must be stressful to see someone who usually goes home promptly after washing up and working all day sticking around late.
I dismissed Marina, who was offering to stay back and assist with the work, saying it wasn’t about that.
It was wise to avoid behavior that might raise suspicion, but… as she was leaning toward the screen, I had no choice but to quickly close the window as I couldn’t even copy some data.
I wanted to at least grab a portion to check back in the room… dang.
…
…Boom!
– You must take off your suit and lie down for me to organize things. –
“……I don’t care, you idiot!”
Ignoring the nagging Zero, I rubbed my face against the bedding.
Suppressed my desire to sneak a glance toward the server room, I trudged back to my room and jumped onto the bed.
The soft texture somewhat comforted my twisted insides but didn’t resolve the fundamental issue.
From tomorrow, I would need to wake up a little earlier to get to work, and since I was aware that sensitive data was buried somewhere, I’d have to be careful in my actions… things were about to get extremely busy.
“Ha….”
Feeling the urgency of time made me regretful.
If only someone, just one person who remembers that situation had been there….
Who was the B.M. who wrote the notes? What happened to me after I collapsed? What exactly was the research being conducted?
There were no answers, yet the questions kept piling upon one another, making the discomfort feel heavy.
While I drifted off into a daze, ultimately succumbing to the pressure of my gaze, a fact I had overlooked came to mind while I was struggling to take off my outerwear.
…Wait, am I the idiot, or is Zero just clueless?
“Hey… Zero? Don’t you remember anything? When I first opened my eyes, you were already cleaning up that… place.”
– ……. –
I certainly was not the sole survivor; I hadn’t come back to life alone.
