Chapter 135

Episode 135: Escape (4)

****

Papers were piled up on the desk in the Director’s Office. Not all documents are processed digitally. Important ones always come in paper form.

“Hello, Director.”

“Ah, hello.”

Advisor An looked at me.

“The staff in the Director’s Office were choosing dolls for Dr. Kim. I explained that just because it looks like a girl doesn’t mean its mind is the same, but… they didn’t change their minds.”

“Dolls are fine. I appreciate it.”

I absentmindedly scratched my head.

“What happened with the angel?”

“Ah, yes. Dr. Mayer returned to her hometown, and the angel has been quiet since then.”

As expected, it was neatly wrapped up.

“And. Dr. Chloe’s proposal—”

She offered to catch the Blue Roses?

I wonder what she’s thinking. According to Headquarters, we should start by dissecting Dr. Chloe… or at least take an X-ray.

****

“Dr. Kim. What are you worried about?”

“Huh?”

“Start with an X-ray. After that, you can decide whether to chase the Blue Roses or do whatever you want.”

Not wrong, but…

I pondered Nanami’s words for a moment.

“Nanami, what do you think? Is the Dr. Chloe trapped here the same being I killed on Jeju Island? Or is it a different entity?”

“If she calls herself Dr. Chloe, there must be a reason. Whether she’s the real Dr. Chloe or not.”

“That makes sense.”

I don’t know much about the original Dr. Chloe anyway. I’ll just assume she is Dr. Chloe. But that’s not the important part.

“Her demands…”

“Accept her research. Then we’ll consider some of her demands. For someone whose identity isn’t even confirmed, I don’t get why everyone’s so cautious.”

Nanami put it bluntly, but honestly, I don’t get it either.

I told the other scientists to handle it, but is it out of respect for all Foundation staff, fear, or something else?

It’s unlike the Research Department Head.

“Is there a reason why the Research Department Head is being so cautious about Dr. Chloe?”

“Lee Se-ah doesn’t trust easily. She probably knows something we don’t. Not my problem to worry about, though.”

Nanami’s implying it’s my problem to worry about. Well, no choice.

I’m getting curious too… Not human, not even a known type of humanoid supernatural phenomenon. Let’s find out what it is.

Judging from Paper’s summary, even the Humanoid Research Department couldn’t figure out Dr. Chloe’s identity.

Not a Mimic, not a Doppelganger, not a Fairy or Changeling, not something wearing a human disguise…

The report was full of what she *isn’t*.

It’s easy to figure out what she isn’t. Dr. Chloe isn’t a dog or a cat. But we need to figure out what she *is*.

Well…

We can’t rule out the possibility that the Research Department Head is pretending not to know. Maybe if we just beat her up, we’ll get an answer.

It’s been a while since the Director had to step out.

Paper and a few research interns were following me. Wait, should research interns even be allowed on such dangerous missions?

Paper hesitated for a moment.

“But, isn’t what you’re planning to do to Dr. Chloe human experimentation? Legally and ethically, isn’t that a bit problematic…?”

“First of all, Dr. Chloe isn’t human, so if we apply the law, it should be animal protection laws.”

Paper frowned.

“And it’s not illegal. The Foundation facility is treated like foreign soil, like an embassy or a U.S. military base. Foundation business is Foundation business.”

“What about the ethical issues?”

That’s something to think about.

“Ethical issues. Ultimately, it’s a matter of weighing means and ends. What do you think, Paper?”

“I don’t understand. I doubt there’s anything to gain by tormenting Dr. Chloe. The purpose isn’t clear, but the means—detention, human experimentation, torture—all seem… not great.”

That’s one way to look at it.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Are you going to change the plan?”

I thought about it some more.

Sometimes, under the guise of science or knowledge, we commit terrible acts. There’s no shortage of humanoid supernatural phenomena dissected to satisfy the curiosity of Foundation scientists.

A hero from another dimension who lost their heart, a Reality Adjuster whose brain was removed, Hasti with a monkey wrench stuck in her head.

We’ve done terrible things to satisfy the curiosity of Foundation scientists or to prevent future incidents.

Whether it can be justified or not, the nature of what we’ve done doesn’t change.

“We’ll start with non-invasive tests. X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs. If we can’t figure it out from that, we might need to open her up. We’ll decide then.”

Paper nodded. A few minutes later, we arrived at Dr. Chloe’s isolation room.

“Director, hello!”

“Ah, good work.”

I walked past the research staff and looked through the glass window of the isolation room. Dr. Chloe rushed to the window as soon as she saw me.

“I’ve been waiting, Dr. Kim.”

“It’s you.”

Dr. Chloe.

As expected, she was female. Small frame, yellow eyes, black hair that reached her shoulders.

Dr. Chloe’s eyes weren’t human, but otherwise, at a glance, you might mistake her for a student.

Dr. Chloe pressed her hand against the glass.

“I believe my proposal has been delivered. Spare me, and put me to work. As the creator of the Blue Roses, I’ll bring back the ones that escaped.”

“Ah, that’s not necessary.”

That’s not the important part.

We can catch the Blue Roses eventually, and they’re not causing any immediate problems. What’s important now is Dr. Chloe’s identity.

“Let’s make a deal, Dr. Chloe. Cooperate with a few simple tests, and I’ll grant you a couple of your requests. Survival included.”

Dr. Chloe’s eyes narrowed. To be precise, her eyelids lowered horizontally, and her pupils narrowed vertically.

It was an unsettling sight.

“What kind of tests?”

“Ah, just a few non-invasive ones. It won’t hurt much.”

Dr. Chloe thought for a moment.

“Fine. But promise me you won’t cause any trouble. Let’s cut back on the excessive security and escort procedures.”

No.

“I’ll be watching personally.”

The door to the isolation room opened, and Foundation staff behind me drew their weapons. Dr. Chloe slowly walked out of the isolation room.

“No ill intentions.”

Dr. Chloe had her hands up.

“How long will the tests take?”

“A day or two. If you tell us what you are, it might go faster. What are you?”

“Just a Foundation doctor.”

I sighed. She clearly has no intention of telling us. It’s possible even she doesn’t know what she is.

****

[Dr. Chloe. Imaging Test Results.]

[Author: Kang Cheon]

[I have no idea. As stated, Dr. Chloe is not human. The imaging results were… quite shocking.]

[First, let’s look at the head.]

[Like most humanoid supernatural phenomena, the pineal gland is well-developed. The problem is this. There are a bunch of bead-like things in her head. Uh… I don’t know what they are.]

[I thought they might be implants, but they seem to be some kind of eye connected to the brain via nerves. They’re not visible on her face.]

[And there are strange structures in her mouth, like baby teeth or something. They’re not visible outside. They show up on X-rays.]

[On her back, there are wings. They’re also inside her body, so they’re not visible outside. The material of the wings… I still don’t know. But most of it is made of muscle, like tentacles.]

[I’d like to consider her a Divine-Class Entity, but I don’t know which literature she might be recorded in.]

[The blood test results were similar. Dr. Chloe’s blood does contain human DNA, but the cell structure is peculiar.]

[The red blood cell count is about half that of a human’s.]

[The other half seems to be made of spiritual matter, which might have disappeared during the microscopic processing. Again, I don’t know.]

****

[Dr. Chloe. Imaging Test Results. Reply.]

[Author: Dr. Kim]

[Is this your diary, Doctor?]

[Can you just write “I don’t know” ten times? Why not ask the mages or symbolists for analysis?]

[Anyway, got it.]

[So, Dr. Chloe is half-human and half-something else? And that “something else” manifests as half her cells being non-physical, spiritual matter instead of biochemical structures.]

[Half-human, half-deity.]