My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

Marcus Lynton?

I looked at the man in front of me.

If one were to ask what age he looked, the answer would probably be in the early-mid thirties, but he was in reality 40 years old, with dark hair and a clean-shaven face.

Although I had never seen him in person, he was not an unfamiliar face to me, having already found out about him through Truth.

A new Professor.

They did mention something about bringing new people in due to the lack of staff from the incident last time, so I checked it out, and this guy seemed to be the head of the new lot.

The man who would be in charge from now on.

The Wardens' new Chief Administrative Officer of the San Cinelia Playground branch, as well as the new Head of Concept Office - Truth Operations Branch―bearing a few more such titles that didn't make much sense to me, this man certainly wasn't lying when he claimed that.

The first thing he did when he arrived was declare a mandate regarding compulsory new specialised soothing medication for me and Ruti; seeing as how we caused an incident that resulted in the need for new replacement officers, our last prescription evidently wasn't doing its job well enough.

Although, that was more the Professors' negligence than a fault of the medication.

Anyway, it's because of that new sedative drug that I'm really not feeling it right now.

The old Professors had gotten good at forcing me to take the medication, so I was already tired most of the time before, but the new dose was even stronger.

So, I thought, I'll just get this over with quickly.

Needless to say, I already knew why the new Head Professor had called me here. Without wasting any time, I opened my mouth.

"What did you want to know?"

My monotone voice lazily reverberated throughout the typical, uninteresting office space.

To my question, Marcus Lynton raised an eyebrow.

"You knew?"

His question puzzled me for a moment, but then I realised.

He was new around here, so he might not have had it fully explained to him.

"Why would I not know?"

After a moment's hesitation, he nodded, obstructing the ends of his mouth as they slowly curled upwards.

"Yes. Right. Well, Cipher, as you seemingly already know, that is why I called you here."

"It isn't the first time. I'm tired because of you, be quick."

As if ignoring my words, he straightened the papers on the desk in front of him and rambled on about something.

"I've read many reports about you, labelled Concept of Truth, but I could never truly believe the stories... Until I met you in person, saw you with my own eyes, heard you with my own ears, and asked you questions with my own mouth, I thought the notion was preposterous that someone like you could exist..."

His droning passed through one ear and out the other, with only sparse phrases sticking out to me.

"I believe your power is something to be utilised and revered, not shunned and locked away."

"I believe you hold a great potential for humanity."

"To propel the development of science, of humanity, I believe your power should be made the best of, not hidden and buried over a thousand metres beneath the Earth's surface."

"The reason I called you here is for that purpose."

"Cipher."

"Will you help me to advance humanity?"

I stared at him for a while, whose enthusiasm was palpable through his glowing face.

Although he said it was for humanity, that was only half the reason he called me here; in reality, he wanted to use me and my Measurement of Truth to satisfy his own curiosity and desire to answer unknown questions.

I didn't know whether he thought he could fool me or not, but it didn't matter.

I didn't care about advancing humanity anyway.

Why should I help?

From what I have seen and heard from Truth, humans have never presented themselves in a way that deserved something like that.

I've never been to a school, but the children in the Playground do receive education. I never really needed it, but it was a way to pass the time, so I also had it for a while until I realised that what they taught was full of inaccuracies, misconceptions, and biases, at which point I just taught myself.

So, I know some stuff about history and the like.

The endless wars humans have waged against themselves like idiots.

No matter the level of technological advancement, things like that have always been prevalent; so, what would further advancement possibly change?

The more advanced a human civilisation is, the greater the capacity for harm and destruction.

Of course, it doesn't affect me regardless of whether technology advances or if a war is waged, so I'm fine to help in that regard, but on the other hand, I also don't gain anything from it.

It doesn't affect me either way, so, objectively speaking, why would I bother to contribute?

By helping, I could advance humanity, and that would be a morally good thing.

But, by not helping, I could also be saving humanity from countless future wars that utilised that same advanced technology; that would also be a morally good thing.

However, I've learned from Truth that morals are a social construct. In that case, does it even matter either way?

Furthermore, if you think about it, my not helping doesn't actually prevent anything since humanity is going to advance anyway, whether I contribute to that or not.

In the end, all that matters is my own opinion, preference, and decision.

Helping to advance humanity and answer its long-unanswered questions.

Or.

Delaying humanity's future technological struggles and wars by however long.

Truth be told, I couldn't care for either case.

Because, again, it doesn't affect me.

Ah.

That drug made me tired.

At the moment, I just want to get this whole thing done and over with so I can close my eyes and go to sleep.

But, there was one thing stopping me from just saying 'no' and leaving right now.

That was, Professor Marcus Lynton's eyes.

I could see in his eyes the unfathomable depth of his scientific curiosity.

He wants to know 'why'.

He wants to know 'how'.

He won't stop until he is satisfied, but seeing him like that, I don't think he will ever be.

It's very likely that if I reject his "proposal" to help advance humanity, he will just force-feed me more drugs and give me no choice.

Ugh.

Just thinking about that bitter taste makes my tongue shrivel up.

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Asking whether he would actually follow through with such a thing, Truth gives me a positive answer.

Well, it wasn't a surprise.

In that case, I really don't have a choice.

Though, as long as it's over with quickly, it doesn't matter.

"..."

"Okay."

"You wouldn't let me say 'no' anyway."

There have been times in the past when selfish and daring Professors have asked me questions regarding their curiosities or even their personal lives, and even some of the other kids here have done so, though more infrequently.

Of course, I always informed the (at the time) Head Professor about them because it was getting annoying, and he quickly transferred them to another branch or fired them altogether, which resolved the issue.

Apparently, trying to use me or my Measurement for one's own gain was taboo, no matter who it was, so the matter ended simply.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll be able to do that this time because the one who approached me is the Head Professor.

I could also see that Professor Lynton might get quite persistent and irritating with asking me his questions, so I should think of a way to get out of it.

At my reluctant agreement to work together, he beamed.

"Very good! I'm glad to hear that, Cipher."

Though subtle, I saw something sinister hidden beneath the Professor's smile.

It wasn't malicious, per se, but it was definitely some kind of hidden intention that alerted my nervous system and put me on edge.

"There's no need to rush things, and you must be drowsy, so you may go and rest. I will call for you in a couple of days, where we will begin the questioning."

"..."

"I hope you look forward to it, Cipher, as do I."

Without a reply to his meaningless statement, I turned to leave the room.

Casting one last glance at the delighted face of the new Head Professor, a sudden query came to mind as my gaze rested on his deceitful countenance.

That guy, Marcus Lynton.

Like the others who came before him; both the kids listed as a risk to society and the Professors whose job it was to look after them.

Just like they, who were swiftly moved far away from me in response to their selfish 'crimes', he had already crossed the forbidden line of approaching me.

Even if it's a pain, there's nothing much I can really do to stop him, at least for now.

All that's left is one thing to see.

Will he take things too far?

"..."

Rolling my eyes across the predictable response given to me by Truth, I then turned away from the Professor.

...Well.

He won't be able to disguise his actions forever.

Once the higher-ups find out what's going on, he'll probably get fired or even imprisoned soon enough.

At that time, everything will be over.

So, even if it's a bit of a bother, I guess I'll just have to wait patiently until there's an opportunity to let them know.

Having exited the office, I made my way plodding back to my room.

It was a little annoying that I couldn't get rid of him right away, but it didn't really matter if I had to wait a short while.

As I wondered when I might be able to tip them off about what Marcus Lynton was doing, perhaps the medication was taking its toll on me as I mindlessly muttered to myself.

"...What's the worst that could happen, anyway..."

After all, he was only going to ask me a couple of questions, right?

It had never been an issue for me before, so I didn't see why that would suddenly change now.

I was sure that he'd be gone before long, and things would return to normal.

To that, even Truth remained silent.