Jonathan Friedman listened as Simon recounted his nine-month stay in a mental hospital, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.
Hollywood, a place of fame and fortune that can easily lead to great ups and downs, has many celebrities with mental health issues, and even more who enter rehab under the guise of treating mental problems.
However, very few among them are severe enough to require nine months of treatment in a mental hospital like Simon.
After Simon finished speaking, Jonathan Friedman looked at the young man opposite him and asked, "So, Simon, you're fine now, right?"
Although the other twelve consciousnesses were all silent, their memories still remained in his mind. Honestly, Simon truly didn't know for sure if he would have problems again in the future.
Jonathan noticed the hesitation in Simon's expression and probably understood something. He was also very aware that mental illnesses are usually very difficult to cure completely.
Moreover, Jonathan could understand why Simon brought this up to him today.
Hollywood actually doesn't have much prejudice against people in the industry with mild mental illnesses; as long as it doesn't affect their work, people might just think they have some quirks. However, for severely mentally ill patients, Hollywood, and indeed society as a whole, while not lacking in sympathy, inevitably shows a discriminatory attitude of keeping a distance.
From Simon's personal performance over the past period, Jonathan no longer doubted that he would achieve great things in Hollywood in the future.
Therefore, if Simon's past were to be exploited by someone with ulterior motives and widely publicized in the media, it could severely impact his public image. Even worse, if Simon's mental problems relapsed, the consequences would be even more dire.
With this concern, Jonathan asked again "Simon, since you brought this up today, do you already have a plan?"
Simon nodded and said, "Jon, first, I hope you can help me block the public events and potential media interview invitations that Fox has arranged to promote 'The Butterfly Effect' for a while. I hope to appear in the public eye as late as possible".
"No problem, I'll do my best to block those things for you" Jonathan nodded in agreement, then, remembering the newspaper content, he added with a smile, "So, you changed your name for this reason too, right? However, using an original word like 'Westeros' as a surname is a bit of a misstep; it's too conspicuous".
Simon just smiled without speaking.
Jonathan didn't press the issue, but he couldn't help but feel that the young man opposite him was hiding many secrets.
Thinking this, Jonathan asked again, "Simon, you just said the first thing, so what's the second thing?"
Simon said, "I want to go back to San Francisco and retrieve my previous medical records".
In fact, this was Simon's main intention for suddenly coming to see Jonathan.
Simon had always been somewhat grateful that this body had 'suffered' from schizophrenia, not dissociative identity disorder.
If Simon had shown signs of dissociative identity disorder at the time, with twelve souls from over thirty years in the future taking turns controlling this body, and saying or doing random things without understanding the situation. Under those circumstances, even if the current Simon hadn't been sent to some messy research institute, even if he had still managed to leave the mental hospital smoothly, the things 'he' had said and done would definitely have laid countless unpredictable hidden dangers for his future.
Although the reality was better than the worst-case scenario, even so, Simon, while in a schizophrenic state, with twelve other consciousnesses crammed into his mind, would inevitably exhibit some flaws in his words and actions that could lead people to suspect some things.
Many of these flaws were recorded in his medical records.
Jonathan, of course, couldn't know Simon's true intention for wanting to retrieve his medical records, but he fully agreed with Simon's decision.
As long as the medical records were retrieved and destroyed, even if someone with ulterior motives still wanted to bring up Simon's past, without this solid evidence, Simon would have much more room to manoeuvre.
Considering this, Jonathan quickly said "How about this, Simon, tomorrow I'll have Owen accompany you to San Francisco".
Hearing Jonathan say this, Simon shook his head and disagreed "Joe, I want to go alone. If you can just lend me a car. I'll leave immediately, and if all goes well, I can be back by tomorrow afternoon".
Jonathan was about to say something more, but seeing Simon's resolute expression, he said no more, stood up, and said, "Alright then, follow me".
Leaving the office, Jonathan said a few words to Owen Wright, retrieved a set of car keys, handed them to Simon, and then led him out of the WMA headquarters building.
The two arrived at the parking lot together, and Jonathan pointed to a plain grey Ford sedan, saying, "This is Owen's car; it's perfect for you to drive there. I won't lend you my Mercedes".
Simon nodded, naturally aware of Jonathan's intentions.
Jonathan's car was a brand new Mercedes-Benz 500SEC, the latest model of its era. Simon had left Watsonville penniless just over a month ago, and suddenly returning in a luxury Mercedes would undoubtedly cause unnecessary trouble.
After Jonathan finished speaking, he gestured for Simon to get in the car, then opened the door to his own Mercedes and said to Simon again, "Follow me".
Simon drove, following Jonathan's Mercedes.
Leaving Camino Street, they drove through the streets of Beverly Hills for a few minutes before stopping again in front of a bank.
Jonathan just told Simon to wait, then walked into the bank, and a moment later returned, got into the passenger seat of the Ford sedan, and handed Simon two stacks of cash, saying, "Here's twenty thousand dollars; I think you'll need it".
When Simon saw Jonathan stop the car in front of the bank, he roughly understood his agent's intention. He had originally planned to refuse, but after thinking about it, he still accepted the money.
Bidding farewell to his agent, Simon drove west through downtown Los Angeles, then onto California State Route 1, heading north along the coastline.
Driving a private car was much faster than taking the bus back then.
However, it still took Simon over five hours to drive from Los Angeles to Watsonville, a city south of San Francisco.
He checked into a motel in the small town of Watsonville as it was already nine o'clock at night.
Simon had already made a phone reservation before leaving Los Angeles.
After resting overnight in Watsonville, Simon arrived at the mental hospital on the outskirts of the small town at ten o'clock the next morning, right on time.
As a public mental hospital that mostly relied on federal funding, the Watsonville Mental Hospital, with its aging buildings, still had that desolate and chilly appearance.
Simon waited patiently for a while outside the office of his former attending physician, Dr. Henry Chapman, before a nurse informed him he could go in.
Dr. Chapman was surprised to see Simon return so soon and immediately asked with concern if Simon felt unwell in any way.
Simon was naturally fine. He exchanged a few pleasantries with Dr. Chapman, and hearing a faint clanging sound, he asked, "Henry, is there renovation going on recently?"
Dr. Chapman, seeing no abnormalities in Simon's words, relaxed and gently explained, "Last Wednesday, a patient propped up his bed and hung himself, and was unfortunately discovered by other patients. Then, in the following days, two more patients copied him. After three deaths, the hospital is now bolting all the beds to the floor".
Simon fell silent at his words.
Patients in mental hospitals are very sympathetic, but as doctors, especially doctors in public mental hospitals like this, the pressure is also very great.
The matter of patient suicide was not something he should casually reveal to a visitor, but Dr. Chapman spoke of it, treating Simon as a friend, and also with a desire to confide in someone in such a repressive environment.
After a moment of silence, Dr. Chapman spoke first, asking, "Simon, since you're not having any problems, why are you here today?"
Simon organized his words slightly and said, "Henry, it's like this, if possible, I hope to take my original medical records with me."
"I see" Dr. Chapman responded, but his expression didn't show any surprise, he just said, "Simon, do you have 500 dollars?"
Simon was momentarily stunned and a little confused, but he quickly pulled out $500 from his backpack and handed it to Dr. Chapman.
"Then, please wait here for a moment" Dr. Chapman took the money, put it in his pocket and then left the office.
Simon watched Dr. Chapman leave, feeling somewhat puzzled.
However, Simon did not question Dr. Chapman's intention in asking him for $500. He still had full confidence in Dr. Chapman's character. This kind middle-aged man had even taken half a day off to drive him to the local court for his name change hearing.
Before coming to Watsonville, if his agent hadn't proactively lent him twenty thousand dollars, Simon had originally only planned to bring some spare change he had saved up for travel expenses.
A few minutes later, Dr. Chapman returned, handed Simon a thick file bag, and said, "Simon, here you go".
Simon took the file bag but couldn't help but look at the middle-aged doctor who had already moved back to his desk and sat down again.
Dr. Chapman noticed Simon's puzzled expression, smiled, and said, "I won't ask you why you want to take these things. Actually, you're not the first person who has wanted to do this. That $500 was for Wesley in the archives. This way, even if someone asks about it later, he'll say the file was lost".
Simon, rubbing the edges of the paper file bag, asked, "Henry, will there be any problems?"
Dr. Chapman shook his head, gave him a reassuring look, and said, "Simon, in public mental hospitals like ours, in worse cases, no one would even care if one or two people went missing. However, besides this file, during your hospitalization, I also routinely provided a monthly report on your condition to Stanford. If you want to retrieve that information as well, you'll have to go to Palo Alto. Oh, and one more thing, those reports are all under your original name".
Simon nodded, he actually remembered that point.
However, those monthly progress reports only briefly summarized his treatment progress and did not involve certain details Simon wanted to keep hidden. Therefore, Simon had no intention of wasting time on those materials.
The two chatted for a few moments, then Dr. Chapman stood up again and said, "Well, Simon, I'll see you out. There's nothing good here worth you staying around for".
Simon nodded, put the file bag into his backpack, and the two left the office together.
On the way to the parking lot, Dr. Chapman asked about his recent situation.
Simon didn't hide anything, briefly recounting the events of this period, and even showed Dr. Chapman the copy of the 'Los Angeles Times'.
The middle-aged doctor was very happy for Simon when he saw the article about him in the newspaper. Before they parted, he gave Simon his home address and contact information, hoping that Simon would visit his home in the small town of Watsonville if he ever came to San Francisco again.
Leaving Watsonville, Simon drove along California State Route 1 for over an hour, then stopped by a deserted stretch of coastline. He carefully lit the medical records on fire, confirmed that all the papers had turned to ash, and then scooped up the ashes mixed with sand, scattering them into the sea. Only then did he feel a complete sense of relief.
His past, it seemed, was completely lost to the wind.