Story

"Why haven't I gotten older? The answer is simple. Because I'm already dead." Yang Wensong looked at Zhang Jue, "The one you currently see now is the result of using my memories, a portion of an AI, and a holographic projection combined."

If anyone else had said such words to Zhang Jue, He would probably have thought that Yang Wensong was joking and didn't really meet God. But the person in front of him was Yang Wensong himself. Zhang Jue didn't think he was a person who would joke around. Zhang Jue looked around, and sure enough, he saw the light coming from several cameras.

Zhang Jue's face gradually became serious, "Dr. Yang, can you tell me why you were drafted here back then? What exactly happened at this site?"

The question Zhang Jue asked was very sensitive, according to the Foundation's confidentiality clause. These were things that Yang Wensong should not talk about with anyone without permission. Maybe it was because he was now dead, or because Zhang Jue knew Yang Wenbai and Yang Xue, or perhaps it was for another reason.

A few moments later, Yang Wensong slowly spoke. "It's been more than ten years." He said, "At that time, I had been promoted to the Head of Experiment at Site-14, and I was so full of vigor that I thought nothing could be difficult for me until I took over a project."

"It was a short knife, more like a dagger, to be precise. We found it among the relics of an antique collector."

"The knife was about 12 centimeters long and had a leather-woven handle. Its surface was rusted and looked very old but had a strange characteristic."

"People who held that knife would frequently start having dreams in which they would use that knife to kill some people, cut out their hearts and eat them."

"The scene in the dream was where they first held that knife, while those who were stabbed to death could not be found in reality."

"It wasn't anything remarkable, but then something happened that gave me the creeps."

"I had the habit of taking notes. Before each experiment, I would write something down."

"According to the notes, I found that I had tried to send two D-Class personnel into the experiment room nine times, but I had no memory of it at all. Since the beginning, I only remembered that I had sent one D-Class personnel in."

"From that point on, strange things started happening one after another."

"First was the room where that experiment was conducted, filled with the smell of rotting flesh and smells very unpleasant. As if there was a pile of dead rats in there, but we didn't find anything."

"According to the regulations at the time, each SCP was supposed to have a head researcher and a deputy head researcher. Yet it seems that only one head researcher was involved in the study of that knife."

"And the most bizarre thing happened. Since the knife was transferred to Site-14, the site has experienced a severe shortage of D-Class personnel. A shortage that cannot be explained, and we are convinced that no D-Class personnel is missing or absent. It's just that there is a discrepancy with the expected number of D-Class personnel."

"At the time, several researchers thought it over for a long time. Then they came up with the most and least likely hypothesis."

"All those missing D-Class personnel were killed by that knife."

"But after they were killed, they all became non-existent."

"From the time they were born to the time they died, all traces of their existence were erased, as if they had not appeared in this world."

Hearing this, Zhang Jue already knew exactly which SCP Yang Wensong was talking about, and it was SCP-3041 (The Red Knife). As Yang Wensong had said, the characteristic of this knife was that none of the people being killed existed. Both the perpetrators and bystanders will be affected by this knife.

Yang Wenzong continued, "We sent our hypothesis along with the knife to the headquarters."

"But the headquarters did not reply to us, and the matter was left unresolved."

"A week later, I received a strange email with only one word in English."

"It was an Antimemetic anomaly." Zhang Jue said.

Yang Wensong glanced at Zhang Jue and seemed puzzled that he knew this word. But he was relieved when he thought of Zhang Jue's status as a Special Advisor.

He nodded his head, "Yes, it's an Antimemetic anomaly. It was the first time I heard of this term at that time."

"Since then, I have been working on SCPs related to Antimemetics."

"But because of the characteristics of Antimemetic itself. My research progressed very slowly."

"Sometimes, I even forgot what I was doing before and could only retrieve my memory a little through my notes."

"I've been in contact with some researchers at the Foundation. She sent me some drugs, memory recovery drugs, to be exact."

"Then I made some big progress in my research, and in addition to memory recovery drugs. I found out several ways to resist the Antimemetic effects."

"One day, someone invited me and asked me to lend their site a help."

Yang Wensong sighed. There seemed to be some unspoken emotions about that memory. Zhang Jue looked at him and did not make a sound to urge.

A minute later, Yang Wensong continued, "After I came to this site, I realized that there are so many Antimemetic anomalies in the world. I couldn't even remember some of them after I took the memory recovery drug."

"That person is the Head of Experiment here. She told me that an object was going to break through the containment. If it is not contained again, then humanity will become extinct."

"But I checked the database and couldn't find the SCP she was talking about."

"All I knew was that the number of personnel in the site was indeed a bit off, like the D-Class personnel at site 14. Although no one remembered them, the fact that there was so few staff in such a large site was a problem in itself."

"Then, one day, it was no longer possible to access the Foundation's website here or even to contact the outside world. Because even if they received our call for help, they would forget about us within a few minutes."

"I realized that no matter what or how this place is going to be finished, the whole world will be destroyed."

"So, I designed this underground containment room to transfer all the information here. If one day all the people in the site die, this place will also be buried in the underground for a long time."

"Although it still can't stop it from breaking through the containment. I can only delay the time a bit and hope someone will find this place."

"Advisor Zhang, the fact that you are here means that you have some resistance to the Antimemetic effects that are located at the end of the room."

Zhang Jue looked at the door at the back. He had noticed it from the moment he entered. But he hadn't expected that the culprit who had gotten this place into this state would be right behind it.

"So, how can I enter it?" Zhang Jue asked.

"I... don't remember." Yang Wensong shook his head, "But I'm sure I've written the way in there as soon as you enter that door. I can assure you that."

"So..." Zhang Jue cupped his chin, thinking as he walked towards that door.

Yet just as his hand was about to touch that door, it suddenly stopped moving. He turned back to look at Yang Wensong.

"You have a great story." Zhang Jue huff, "If it weren't because I'm handsome, I would have let you fool me."