“Now then,” Iris said, after a short pause in the conversation. Walking ahead to lead the way, Iris suddenly looked back over her shoulder at me. “Today’s tests will be held in the research cell down this hall.”
There was a large, intimidating door in the direction she indicated with her chin. The metallic, gray door gave no indication as to what could be on the other side… On the wall next to it was a keycard reader and the simple text “SCP-914.”
I cocked my head to one side, puzzled. No wonder our walk through these corridors dragged on longer than usual today. Apparently our destination wasn’t Dr. Bright’s lab, where we always conducted our experiments. Seeing as “SCP” was written next to those numbers, it was safe to say this research cell contained an SCP object. Were we going to use some sort of new, special method for this experiment?
“Actually, we’re here to prepare for the experiment,” Iris said lightly. “Dr. Bright supposedly has plans to move the research to the next phase, but in order to do so, he needs some things.”
What was that all about? It could only spell trouble… Every once in a while, Dr. Bright would pop out with something that made me question their sanity, so I couldn’t bring myself to fully trust the researcher. What type of experiment was that weirdo scheming to use me in?
“Beats me. But he said this experiment would prove extremely valuable to you. This just had to be one of the times he was excessively cryptic regarding the details… I’m not entirely certain, but I believe it is regarding the world you originally came from.”
Hmmm… The world I originally came from? What was that supposed to mean? That wording sounded as if it meant I originally came from a world other than this one. I was suddenly filled with uncertainty. This was a covert research facility in the United States of America…supposedly. In which case, it was still on the same planet as the modern Japan I knew, even if it was hidden from the eyes of the public. Or was I wrong on that account? Was I truly in a strange and incomprehensible world other than my own? “Hmph! He’ll only play you for a fool if you read too deeply into what he says,” Iris grumbled in disgust.
“At any rate, the experiment requires quite a bit of preparation. Dr. Bright has work that demands his attention elsewhere today, so he won’t be joining us. He said to get as much ready as we can while he’s gone. Taking orders from that freak bothers me more than it should.”
Hm, so Dr. Bright was busy elsewhere. I guess that was bound to happen. They were such a complete and total weirdo that it tended to slip my mind, but Dr. Bright was one of the most famous members of the SCP Foundation. I’ve heard they was quite the big shot! It wasn’t surprising they didn’t have time to focus solely on us.
“If you look at it another way, for Dr. Bright to take such interest in us and predominantly focus his research on us…it proves that we—or rather, you—are a highly valuable entity. I really do wonder… What are you?” Iris asked, as she heaved a heavy sigh.
In truth, no matter how much we gleaned about my abilities through countless tests, we still didn’t have the answers to any of the fundamental questions. Why did I appear in this research facility? What was I? How did these powers work? Although the Foundation tended to lump us together as associated entities, what exactly was my relationship with Iris? The more I thought about it, the more confused I felt.
“Those are questions anyone who associates with SCP objects has. Speaking from my experience in the field, I think you’re better off not thinking about it at a certain point. Dwelling on it too much is bad for your mental health. It is exceedingly common for researchers driven mad by obsessing over such thoughts to get walked off the site,” she said, warning of horrifying possibilities. She proceeded down the corridor until coming to the gray door that was in our view for some time now.
This was where we were going to spend the day conducting tests—or to be more precise, where we would be doing the prep work for an experiment. Lifting up the cardkey dangling from her neck to verify ID, Iris opened the door.
“This is where SCP-914, The Clockworks, is contained,” she said.
Clockworks? Unlike most of the labels that tended to describe SCP objects exactly as they were, this name didn’t instantly evoke a mental image. What did “clockworks” mean in Japanese again? Was it some type of clock…?
“You’ll understand when you see it,” Iris said. She gave a charming wink before entering the room ahead of me.
I tried to hastily follow after her, but…
“Stop!” she suddenly shouted in a piercing voice and threw all of her weight into shoving me back. Although this looked serious, there was too much momentum behind my step to suddenly pull to a stop; I crashed into Iris. Seeing as she was smaller than me, I wound up pushing her down and falling on top of her. As she whimpered in pain, I opened my mouth to apologize—and was struck speechless. The room that contained The Clockworks was thrown into utter disarray.