Chapter 476

What's more, among the O5 Council, there are not many councilors who like this guy who doesn't know if he counts as a human.

11

—He doesn't understand sex, freedom, equality, doesn't enjoy killing, but is accustomed to killing.

A very troublesome anomaly.

"In addition." O5-10 opened another document, looking like a professor answering questions for students, but her status here was not high.

At least several O5-2s lower than O5-1.

"There is a problem here with an agent in the official record who is only referred to as A. A., and his full name is missing or damaged in all official records."

"Regardless of the accountability for the deaths of him and his former lover, the sequence of events pointing to his... transformation... is best described as vague, with multiple conflicting accounts existing."

"All evidence points to one conclusion: at some point in the recent past, a large-scale CK-class reality restructuring occurred, causing the fragmentation and repair of the timeline."

"But just like repairing a vase after it's broken, the repaired timeline is... full of errors."

"The new timeline looks quite close to the timeline before the repair, but you can see obvious cracks."

"Events that can't be connected, things that happened for no reason, unsolved mysteries, it's not because we don't know the answer, but because we don't know how to ask the question."

O5-1 nodded, but still had no big emotional changes.

He moved his palm with age spots, took out a notebook from his pocket, flipped through it slowly, then raised his eyes, looking at O5-10 and asking:

"In other words, this was caused by the activation of what you called—'Flower'—?"

Now there is one biggest problem.

In everyone's cognition, what should have been called "Thorn" was called "Flower" in O5-10's mouth.

And the latter was absolutely certain about this, and certain that in this matter, except for the mysterious Administrator, only she knew the truth.

"No." O5-10 said.

She looked at O5-1's somewhat terrifying eyes and explained slowly:

"'Flower,' as far as we know now."

"It doesn't repair the timeline, it resets the timeline."

"If you use a vase as an analogy, starting 'Flower' to reset the timeline should be throwing away the broken vase and making a new one."

"They look basically the same, but there must be subtle differences... it's just that this should be impossible."

"If we were to do it, you'd be right." O5-2 also joined the conversation, "What about 'Abel'?"

His hands were folded on his thighs, his two thumbs drawing circles on each other.

"'Abel' and what does this have to do with it?" O5-10 asked.

"Uh... this is an observation result placed on my desk one day."

O5-2 was stunned and explained slowly.

"Since Omega-7 died in battle, 076-2 has never shown his sword again, not once. Then I think the sword and the substance that makes up 'Thorn' are quite an interesting coincidence."

"My current hypothesis is that 'Abel's' sword was extracted from the same source as 'Thorn' in some way, or is 'Thorn' itself."

"But if what you're saying is true, how was this 'Flower' moved into 'Thorn,' simultaneously with the majority of Omega-7 task force members' encounter with disaster occurring nearby..."

"Do you think 'Abel' should be responsible for 'Flower' transforming into 'Thorn'?" O5-10 asked.

O5-2 shook his head and said:

"Not just 'Abel'."

"'SCP-073' was also found at the scene of the Omega-7 massacre—and what cannot be explained is that he finally reported being 600 miles away, at Site-17."

"Perhaps, we can listen to his opinion."

O5-1 had been silently watching all this.

"No."

His words were as silent as he was.

Silent and powerful.

"But..."

O5-1 raised his hand, interrupting O5-10's question.

This meant that this small meeting of only four people had reached the most classic and ancient part of the meeting—

A show of hands.

"When the tightrope walker reaches the middle, it's the last time to play with swords."

"'SCP-2000' is about to start next month, RAISA has already enabled 'Series 4,' the Foundation can barely stand repairing this universe, let alone the things in that universe."

Finally, he quoted a proverb.

"—'Let's tidy up our own house first, then manage our neighbors'."

O5-10 looked around the room.

O5-2 nodded in agreement.

O5-13...

Well, O5-13 is O5-13.

Although a man wearing an O5-13 badge is sitting here, the real O5-13 does not exist.

—O5-13, also known as the "Deciding Vote."

Everyone outside the O5 Council is told that he exists, and memos have been created in the name of O5-13, but O5-13 only exists as a deciding vote to break a tie.

O5-13's vote rotates among the O5 members, starting from number 1, and is passed on in turn each time a deciding vote is needed and used.

But in this small office, there is no need for this vote at all.

Sigh...

O5-10 felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Even though she is an O5 councilor.

Even though she possesses secrets, wealth, and military power that people can't imagine.

Even though she appears directly in the President's office, the Rothschild family's castle, or the world's richest man's private yacht without any appointment or application, the latter will only be fearful and afraid.

But when her opinion conflicts with O5-1 and O5-2.

What remains of her as O5-10 is only the name "O5-10."

"If you insist."

O5-1 looked at her calmly, with no ripples in his eyes that were as silent as the dark night, and looking at them felt like the soul would dissolve.

"Not just me."

"I want you to bindingly, forcibly, swear that you will not take any action to investigate the connection between 'SCP-073,' 'SCP-076,' and 'Thorn'—or what you call 'Flower'."

"Understand?"

He was like casually ordering something.

As long as it was ordered, no matter who the person ordered was, they could only honestly follow his instructions.

And there was absolutely no possibility of any rebellion.

O5-10's lips moved.

Finally, she nodded reluctantly.

"Agreed."

"Since that's the case." O5-1 leaned on his cane, slowly stood up from the sofa, and looked down at the other three people in the room.

"Adjourn."

"All copies of today's meeting will be identified as cognitive hazard items and handed over to special containment measures—Sub-Rosa level."

"Please hand over all your materials, including visual materials and notes, to RAISA for containment before tomorrow."

"Adjourn."

As the voice fell, the screen went completely dark.

Without a doubt, the Foundation completely exposed its side unknown to the world to the entire universe.

Even exposing the private meeting of the Foundation's absolute high-level management—the O5 councilors.

O5-1's oppressive force is full, it's not hard to imagine what kind of power he held during the period when the Administrator was not at the Foundation.

Viewers have reason to suspect that this file was disclosed under the instruction of the Administrator.

"It seems that in a moment of carelessness, I accidentally touched the incredible inside story of the Foundation..."

"Pure passerby, rational analysis, not blowing or blackening, I suggest everyone skip the O5 councilors, don't talk nonsense, don't accidentally set someone on fire."

"Yes, yes, the four Doctors of the Apocalypse have crossed hundreds of thousands of years of time and are still alive today, maybe the O5 councilors of that year are still alive."

"Yes, yes, yes, talk about 'Abel,' talk about 'Abel'."