Interview Log
INTERVIEWER: Dr. V█████ Grigori
INTERVIEWED: Dr. S███████ Cassander
FOREWORD:
The following interview was conducted to achieve a better understanding of SCP-X. Dr. Grigori wanted to to adress various illogical aspects of Proposal-X-A, such as the inconsistent nature of its anomalous effect and the way this would have affected the subjects' everyday life in the past.
Interview was conducted at Site-118 on 06/09/2020
Dr. Grigori: Good morning, Dr. Cassander. First of all, how was your day?
Dr. Cassander: H-How was my day? Well, what do you think, Grigori? Being stared at by my colleagues, avoided by old friends, being interviewed like an [EXPLETIVE] SCP-Object by the guy who got me fired from my old job… how do you think my day was?
Dr. Grigori: I did not "get you fired", doctor. I merely informed Director Coleman of what I thought was the best way to deal with this… unique situation.
(Dr. Cassander rolls her eyes and sighs)
Dr. Grigori: Anyway, Doctor… I assume SCP-X-A is in this room as well?
Dr. Cassander: Right behind you.
Dr. Grigori: Ah. And what do you see it doing?
Dr. Cassander: Nothing. He's just standing there, leaning against the wall, glaring at you.
Dr. Grigori: Hm. Well, anyway, Dr. Cassander, I am here to ask you some questions about SCP-X-A. Those are questions that I am sure you have answered a dozen times before, but for the record…
Dr. Cassander: Yes, yes, okay. (sighs) Ask away.
Dr. Grigori: Dr. Cassander, when did you first encounter SCP-X-A?
Dr. Cassander: Uh, well, I was there when he was born. That was about 18 years ago now. And yes, before you ask, his anomalous properties had already manifested by this point. I was the only one who could really see him. It took me a while to understand. My parents saw him as a stillborn instead.
Dr. Grigori: They saw it as a stillborn - so they did perceive it in some way?
Dr. Cassander: Yes.
Dr. Grigori: And do you have any idea why that could be?
Dr. Cassander: I haven't got a clue.
(Dr. Grigori frowns and adds an annotation to one of the documents before him.)
Dr. Cassander: Look, I don't know what to tell you. I don't understand this anomaly either. I've been thinking about this for years and I still don't understand it. If I had to take a guess, I'd say this is some sort of teleological effect. Something that manipulates probability.
Dr. Grigori: What do you mean by "teleological"?
Dr. Cassander: Erm, how to best explain this? I mean that there's no real anomalous, uh, "mechanism" at work. There's just a result. No matter what you do, in the end you will come to the conclusion that my brother isn't real. And the anomaly will do whatever it needs to do to bring you to that conclusion. It may be antimemetic, or retroactively reality-warping, or memory-altering or something else. The "what" remains the same, the "how" changes.
Dr. Grigori: I see. Dr. Cassander, can you tell me what you did afterwards?
Dr. Cassander: What do you mean?
Dr. Grigori: When your brother was born. Everybody thought he was stillborn; only you knew the truth. So what did you do then?
Dr. Cassander: Oh. Well, I took care of him. Raised him, taught him to read, fed him. My mother didn't know he existed, so somebody else needed to do it. I cut his hair, I tidied the room, played with him. All while I attended university. It was hard. Almost impossible. But I couldn't just abandon him.
Dr. Grigori: Interesting. It says here that you joined the Foundation nine years ago, is that correct?
Dr. Cassander: I did. I thought maybe what I learn here would help me understand all of this.
Dr. Grigori: If my math is correct, that SCP-X-A was nine years old at the time? Where did it live?
Dr. Cassander: Here. At Site-118. He was my, uh, my little assistant. He helped me with keeping my desk clean, finding documents that I had lost, sometimes helped me work through lengthy reports and essays.
Dr. Grigori: At age nine?
Dr. Cassander: (shrugs) He is a clever boy.
Dr. Grigori: So, you say that your younger brother has been living here at Site-118 since you came here? For nine years, this "little assistant" has been helping you? And then, after all those years, you finally decide to tell us about him?
Dr. Cassander:Was there a question in there?
Dr. Grigori: For nine years you kept his existence a secret. Why?
Dr. Cassander: Because I knew nobody would believe me. If I were in your position, I don't think I would believe me either. I know how absurd all of it sounds. But it's the truth. I have a brother, his name is Joseph, he's invisible. If I had told anybody, they'd have thought that I'm insane. Like you do, right now.
Dr. Grigori: But why do you tell us now? What changed?
Dr. Cassander: I told you because of what happened last year. That Containment Breach of SCP-████. I don't even remember most of what happened. Considering what I've read in the reports, that's probably a good thing.
(Dr. Cassander takes a deep breath)
Dr. Cassander: I didn't even try to evacuate, really. Everything happened so fast. I just… wandered around the Site. I panicked. I was so confused. Then something hit me on the head and knocked me out. Next thing I remember was me waking up three months later on the medical station. I looked around and Joseph was nowhere to be seen. He was just gone. H-He… he showed up again. Eventually. But… But that day I realised -
(Dr. Cassander pauses)
Dr. Cassander: I realised that day, that he will be alone if I die. I am the only one he can talk to. I am the only one that can see him. He always smiles and jokes around and everything, but I know that he really is lonely. And when I am gone, then he doesn't have anybody anymore. Nobody that can take care of him… I know he's not a kid anymore, but still, somebody needs to take care of him. One time he almost died trying to go over a crosswalk.
Dr. Grigori: That still doesn't make much sense, Doctor. By telling us, you haven't really changed anything. If he really exists, then we evidently cannot perceive him. In the event of your death he would still remain alone.
Dr. Cassander: I… I don't know. I thought, maybe, if people at least know that he's around, or that he could be around - I thought maybe he'd feel less lonely? I… (sigh) I don't know. It's silly, really.
Dr. Grigori: Hm.
Dr. Cassander: You still don't believe a thing I'm saying, do you?
(Dr. Grigori pauses, leans back in his chair and watches Dr. Cassander for a few seconds.)
Dr. Grigori: You know what? I think you are right. The whole thing really does have to do with that Containment Breach a few months ago.
(Dr. Grigori produces a folder of documents and shows them to Dr. Cassander)
Dr. Grigori: I've got the medical reports right here. Back during the breach, you were hit by a falling chunk of debris. It hit you on the head and left you unconscious. And with a mild concussion. Some personnel found your body and dragged you to safety during evacuation. So far, your memory is correct. But you did not stay unconscious for three months.
Dr. Cassander: I did not?
Dr. Grigori: No. I talked with the staff at the medical station myself. They say you woke up after a few hours. You seemed… disturbed. You kept asking all kinds of questions about the breach - about the casualties, the survivors and so on. Then you started screaming for someone, or something. The doctors said you were barely comprehensible. They got Dr. Alt from the Department of Psychology to have a look at you. He said you were traumatised, or under shock. You couldn't think clearly. So he sent in a Junior Researcher with some Class-E Amnestics, to help you forget whatever it is you saw. Cheaper and easier than therapy, you know…
(Dr. Grigori turns over the page and points to a paragraph)
Dr. Grigori: Unfortunately, that idiot researcher somehow confused miligrams and mililiters. He gave you an overdose. You were just lying there for the next months, catatonic, mumbling in your half-sleep. The doctors were worried that you might not wake up again, or that you might wake up… changed. I'm not surprised that you don't remember this part. Overdoses like that can leave your memory - and psyche - somewhat, uh, damaged.
(Dr. Grigori leans back again. Dr. Cassander stares at the folder, then at Dr. Grigori)
Dr. Cassander: No. No that is not why I see him.
Dr. Grigori: The doctors were amazed at how quickly you recovered. Nevertheless, they said that the long-term consequences might be… unpredictable. We cannot rule out hallucinations, for example.
Dr. Cassander: No! That's - I- I mean… I didn't see Joseph for the first time after the overdose. I… I have known and seen him for years. I raised him!
Dr. Grigori: Did you? Or do you just think you did?
Dr. Cassander: Th-That's not how hallucinations work! They don't change memories!
Dr. Grigori: Yes, but we are talking about a hallucination caused by an overdose of memory-affecting drugs.
Dr. Cassander: That is not why I see him. He is real! You - what, no, he doesn't! (Dr. Cassander gesticulates towards Dr. Grigori, while talking in the direction of the wall.)… no, no, you… I…
(Dr. Cassander stares at the wall for some time before turning to Dr. Grigori again)
Dr. Cassander: I know that he is real. I would know if he wasn't.
Dr. Grigori: Apparently not.
(Dr. Cassander stands up and stares at Dr. Grigori)
Dr. Cassander: He is alive, he is real, and he is standing right there!
Dr. Grigori: Sit down, doctor.
(Dr. Cassander clenches her fists, then sits down after a while)
Dr. Grigori: Okay. You say that he is real. Fine. Then tell me: When your brother was born, everybody thought he was stillborn, isn't that what you said?
Dr. Cassander: Yes!
Dr. Grigori: What did your parents do with the corpse?
Dr. Cassander: …I don't know.
Dr. Grigori: Also, you say that it took you a while to understand that your parents saw him as stillborn. Did nobody notice your different reaction?
Dr. Cassander: I don't think they did.
Dr. Grigori: And that doesn't strike you as peculiar?
(Dr. Cassander remains silent)
Dr. Grigori: In your personal file here it says that you lived in a flat-sharing community while you attended university. You claim to have raised your brother during this time. Did nobody notice you behaving in a strange way?
Dr. Cassander: I… I don't remember being part of a flat-sharing community.
Dr. Grigori: Really? Sudden, unexplainable memory loss! Weird. That almost sounds like you received amnestics recently, do you know when that could have possibly been?
(Dr. Cassander stares at Dr. Grigori)
Dr. Grigori: (sigh) Doctor Cassander, it is obvious to everyone but you that SCP-X doesn't exist. It's really just a story you tell, maybe because you want to gain people's attention, maybe because you are just mentally confused. Regardless of why you tell this ridiculous story, it still costs the Foundation money and ressources to deal with this problem. So, perhaps, if you considered just for a second that you might not -
Dr. Cassander: (quietly) You think you know everything better, huh? You think that I'm just a rambling lunatic who should be locked up in some cell? After almost a decade of hard work for this Foundation? After all the sacrifices that I've had to make? You can [EXPLETIVES REDACTED] [[footonote]] Both Dr. Grigori and Dr. Cassander have been reprimanded for unprofessionality [[/footnote]]
(Dr. Cassander and Dr. Grigori remain silent for a few seconds)
Dr. Grigori: Oh well. This is going nowhere. I am afraid that we are going to have to end this interview right here. Maybe Dr. Alt and his psychology department will have more success with you. Have a nice day, Doctor.
(Dr. Grigori stands up and leaves the room. Dr. Cassander remains inside.)
Dr. Cassander: Idiot.
Dr. Cassander: No. No. I don't know but…
Dr. Cassander: How could you say that? You… you don't seriously believe that, do you?
(Dr. Cassander pauses, then leaves the room)