episode_0082

A very messy house.

Everyone else is struggling with their eyes closed.

As if being chased by someone in a dream.

Isn’t there anyone who is sane?

I checked the status of the AI.

As I approached, he quickly stood up.

“What is it? Were you able to move?”

“Starting just now. I’m a little dizzy, but I can move.”

The guy who was standing up and shaking his seat stumbles greatly.

“I don’t think it’s a problem?”

“Sure.”

It still doesn’t seem normal.

Although it is possible to move a little, it is at least as mobile as possible.

So even if I try to do something, I have no choice but to move alone.

“Then, please take care of the others here for now. I will keep looking for a solution.”

I tried to go out the front door again.

“… … Wait a minute.”

“Why. Did you find out anything?”

“Yes.”

Graffiti is ordinary.

It is a sentence that is repeated over and over again.

Until a little while ago, I was obsessed with ‘doodles’, but I couldn’t figure out anything.

So this time,

“Please search to see if there are any documents about mediocrity. You can do it now, right?”

“Yes.”

The guy sits down against the wall and closes his eyes.

“Is this it? There is one. I don’t think it has much to do with the current situation.”

“Show me first.”

“Yes. Then take out your phone.”

I took out my cell phone from my pocket.

When the guy flicked his hand, the screen moved by itself and a document appeared on top of it.

[Thoughts about mediocrity]

– Author: Foundation Council Member, ‘Professor’

“The preceding content is about the number of participants and their background… … .From here, you can see details about the experiment.”

The guy pointed his finger into the air.

Then the phone screen slid down on its own and stopped halfway through the document.

“Here.”

“Um… … .”

“How about it? Do you think you know something?”

The details of the experiment were quite long and complicated.

In addition, the document has been erased here and there, so there are almost no legible sentences.

I read each sentence carefully.

[Experiments on the application of ■■■]

***

[Experiments on the application of ■■■]

Experiment 1-1

Lucy, a female Bengal tiger from the ■■■■ Zoo in India, was placed in the middle of a flock of sheep at the ■■■■■■■■ ranch located in the same area.

– Lucy seemed tired due to the long-distance transportation, but soon regained her energy and explored her surroundings.

– Lucy, who is starving, recognizes the flock as food and reacts to it.

– The flock immediately ran away and returned to the fence. Lucy was recovered using a tranquilizer gun.

After applying ■■■ to ‘Lucy’, she was placed in the middle of the raised flock of sheep.

– ‘Lucy’ responded immediately to her prey.

– However, the sheep did not feel any discomfort at all and did not even think about running away. This trend continued even after one of the herd was eaten.

– Foundation personnel were deployed to retrieve ‘Lucy’, but they were unable to find ‘Lucy’ among the sheep.

– Through the suggestion of a supervisor on site, field personnel succeeded in recovering an animal that did not have white fur like a sheep, did not have teeth suitable for herbivory, and did not bleat like a sheep.

– ‘Lucy’ was recovered locked in a cage with a flying bug, a shepherd dog, and a Foundation supervisor.

Because Lucy was very full, the supervisor was only frightened and was able to return safely.

“Safely? Does this look safe?”

– They said that upon subsequent examination, all the animals looked like ordinary sheep.

– Additional anomalous phenomena were confirmed at the ■■■■■■■■ ranch where the experiment was conducted and the nearby ranch■■.

They no longer had any awareness of wild animals.

– The farm owner no longer expresses hatred toward wild beasts as before.

Even when you see a scene of a wild animal attack through a surveillance camera, they treat it as if nothing happened.

– Shepherd dogs watched as wild beasts attacked a flock of sheep, and even during the attack, they made an effort to herd the flock into the fence.

A shepherd dog was seriously injured after being bitten on the leg by an excited wolf.

– Sheep do not hide from attacks by wild animals and move as usual.

In that area, the number of raids on ranches by wild animals has increased significantly, with more than 20% of sheep being eaten by wild predators.

To resolve the situation, the foundation deployed personnel and erased the memories of nearby ranchers and animals.

Amnestics were administered to ■■■ people and ■■■■ animals.

Experiment 1-2

■■■ was applied to the foundation’s D-class personnel.

The person in question is currently missing, but traces of the person are being found everywhere.

Before undergoing amnestic treatment, researchers at the same facility developed an aversion to using Class D in experiments.

“This is murder!”

“No matter how good it is for humanity, humans like us should not be used as biological experiment subjects!”

[DATA EXPUNGED]

Experiment 1-3

After applying ███ to CREEP-702, D-class personnel were asked to speak about 702’s anomalies.

Then [DATA EXPUNGED]

Dr. Palover, who led the experiment, was scheduled to be terminated immediately, but was demoted to Class D after a disciplinary committee meeting.

In this process, the opinions of the ‘professor’, a member of the council, were mainly reflected.

The Foundation is preparing new containment procedures for CREEP-702.

In order to control the situation, Mr. ████████████████ as amnestics were administered to Foundation personnel en masse.

***

The document is finished.

dark house. Others are still struggling with their eyes closed.

Sitting in the middle of it all, the AI calmly conveyed its feelings.

“No matter how I look at it, I don’t think it has much to do with the current situation.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Well, the current situation is because of that graffiti. It continues to replicate itself and eats away at people’s bodies. I don’t think it has anything to do with mediocrity.”

I shook my head.

“No. That’s not all.”

I scrolled again and found a line of sentences.

It was an experiment record regarding CREEP-702.

After applying ███ to CREEP-702, D-class personnel were asked to speak about 702’s anomalies.

Then [DATA EXPUNGED]

“This. Did you find any information about CREEP-702?”

“Yes. There is nothing.”

If I had known about this, it would have been a definite hint.

Unfortunately, there is no information left.

All that’s left is to guess. It’s closer to guessing rather than guessing.

“Still, it probably wasn’t a very dangerous entity. It would be a huge burden to conduct an experiment on such a dangerous entity.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. An experiment was conducted with an object with simple characteristics, and it led to unexpected results. You can think of it this way. A simple trait that you would never have thought of as dangerous… … . In short, it copies itself… … . Wouldn’t you have thought it was worth experimenting at this level?”

“I don’t think people will be that complacent.”

In my opinion, this is the correct answer.

This guy is just annoyed.

“No matter how much I think about it, it feels like some kind of speculation.”

“There’s one more.”

This time, I scrolled the screen up a lot.

To the very beginning of the experiment record.

[Experiments on the application of ■■■]

“Experimental subjects mentioned in this document. What do you think its characteristics are?”

“Um… … .Makes the applied object look ordinary? Or does it hide its dangerous properties? And since it was said to be applied, perhaps it was something like a medicine or spray?”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“It’s not about making it look ordinary, it’s about actually making it ordinary. Even if you distort reality.”

“Uh. Then what does Dabin mean?”

“Originally, there was graffiti that was continuously copied. But this product was applied there. To look ordinary.”

“Yes… . Yes… … .”

“If you think about it this way, it also explains why reality became strange earlier. How about it?”

After speaking, I looked at the AI’s reaction again.

I’ve figured it out up to this point, but he still reacts coldly.

“The logic is very empty.”

“Of course. I don’t know anything.”

“Are you risking your life here?”

Even now, you still have a grumpy expression on your face.

I pressed and stroked his head.

“This is how we usually hit people here.”

Because there is no other way.

I lifted my phone screen one last time.

“And, the solution was also found here.”

“… … Amnestic agent.”

“That’s right.”

The graffiti is gone, but its impact remains.

Just like the farm owners in India who showed abnormal symptoms even after the tiger Lucy was recovered.

In the end, there is no choice but to erase the memories.

It is possible to erase memories with Choi Se-rim’s abilities.

“Dabin? Where are you?”

Currently, Choi Se-rim is struggling on the floor with her eyes closed.

The graffiti covering the body has disappeared, but the space where the flesh was torn off still remains.

You can’t expect help in a situation like that.

In the end, I have no choice but to do it myself.

The first time I saw the amnestics was on the third floor.

Endless hallways.

And vending machines lined up on both sides of the hallway.

You can get an amnestic from one of them.

I don’t know what would happen now.

“You are here watching other people.”

“Yes.”

I picked up my bag, put it on my back, and picked up the golf club I had been using a while ago.

Go down to the third floor and find an amnestic.

Because it’s something we’ve already done.

you can do it.

Behind your back.

The front door closed with a bang.