Peter "Petey" Kilmer, known as Petey K. when working at Lumon, was a severed employee at Lumon Industries who became distrustful of his employers and decided to reintegrate.
History[]
Early Life[]
Petey was previously married to Nina, through whom he had a daughter named June, though they eventually divorced. Petey and June enjoyed playing guitars together in their garage, with Nina once videotaping one of their sessions as they played Enter Sandman by Metallica.[1]
Employment under Lumon Industries[]
After becoming employed at Lumon Industries, for reasons unknown, Petey agreed to undergo the Severance Procedure, which surgically divided his consciousness into two personalities: an Outie, who lived in the outside world, and an Innie, who only existed on the underground Severed Floor to work.
On the Severed Floor, Petey served as the department chief of Macrodata Refinement alongside Irving B., Dylan G., and an unknown other refiner who eventually retired and left Lumon. In their stead, Mark S. was hired as a replacement and came into existence roughly two years before Petey's disappearance. Petey conducted Mark's orientation interview, during which Petey asked him nineteen times who he was. After realising he knew nothing about himself, Mark threatened to find and kill him. However, Petey and Mark would eventually become best friends within MDR, often joking together, as Irving stated that Petey was, "the only one who appreciated [Mark's] humor."
A year later during a fire drill, Petey led Mark towards the restricted Security Office, revealing the path to reach it.[2]
Reintegration and Disappearance[]
Petey eventually discovered another department somewhere on the Severed Floor, one where the Innies "didn't get to leave," presumably referring to the Testing Floor, though this was unconfirmed. Shaken by the discovery, Petey's Innie became distrustful of Lumon, and was somehow able to get a message to his Outie that alerted him to the company's questionable activities.
Petey came into contact with Asal Reghabi on the outside, and agreed to undergo Reintegration, an experimental procedure she created that was able to reverse the Severance microchip's effects completely and reconnect the two severed halves of his consciousness. Now one mind again, Petey was able to bypass the Severed Floor's chip activation threshold, allowing him to map out the floor in detail and remain completely undetected for at least two weeks. He stashed his map on the back of a group photo of MDR. Though Petey managed to achieve full reintegration, according to Reghabi he did not follow her post-op instructions and fled at the first signs of illness,[2] signs that were soon recognized as "reintegration sickness," a degenerating, unstable breakdown of his mind due to the mental stress of two combined identities.
One day, Petey vanished and never came into work. Mark was promoted to department chief, though Harmony Cobel and Seth Milchick refused to tell him why Petey had disappeared, somewhat distressing him despite his efforts to appear indifferent. Mark supervised the orientation of his replacement: Helly R.. Later that evening at his sister's home, Mark spotted Petey in the back garden while getting a glass of water. The two shared a look before Mark was distracted by a passing car and Petey vanished. Mark dismissed him as a random "businessman."
Meeting Mark Scout[]
The next day, Mark was at Pip's Bar & Grille in town and Petey suddenly appeared and sat opposite him, demanding he hang up on a call with his neighbor. He introduced himself to a bewildered Mark, remarking how different he was from his Innie self. He explained that he was from work and had managed to un-sever himself, though he was afraid that Graner was already out there searching for him. Petey handed Mark a letter and warned him that "nothing down there is what they say," and that the things he knew about Lumon needed to stay known. At Mark's questioning, Petey confirmed he was Mark's best friend, while Mark was his very good friend. He gave Mark a card, which explained that the Innies believed their Outies were monsters, but he knew they weren't really. If Mark wanted to know what was really happening on the Severed Floor, there was an address he could go to for answers. Leaving Pip's, Petey narrowly avoided being caught by Graner, who arrived at the diner moments after he departed.[3]
Following his directions to 499 Half Loop Road, Mark found Petey in a dilapidated greenhouse with some limited supplies. Mark asked him what they were actually working on at Lumon but Petey, even with reintegration, was still no closer to an answer, also explaining that they had no idea how many other departments existed due to their separation. He unveiled a large painting on a wall of a map he made of the Severed Floor, but suddenly suffered a brief headache that made him cry. He clarified it was reintegration sickness, being the first person to ever have it, and the cold conditions of the greenhouse didn't help, as he couldn't return home for fear of being caught. Mark asked him what the terrible things were that actually happened on the Floor, to which Petey described a room they were sent to after they misbehaved, then pulled a tape recorder out of his belongings. The tape included a recording of one of Innie Mark's stints in the Break Room, where he was forced to read the Compunction Statement on the verge of tears by Mr. Milchick, finally helping Mark realize the suspicious nature of Lumon.
Refuge in Baird Creek[]
Sympathetic, Mark agreed to let Petey stay in his home by setting up a bed in his basement, which Petey was grateful for. He entered the bathroom to shower and noticed his phone ringing, but was struck by another, more powerful headache that made him heave and caused his nose to start bleeding excessively. He stepped into the shower to clear his head, but the reintegration effects only worsened as he suddenly hallucinated and saw his Innie self standing by the sink, both staring at each other in shock. Shaken, Petey fell onto the shower floor as Mark asked if he was okay.[4]
Petey responded he was fine and had just slipped, then joked with Mark over the "awesome" bathrobe he gave him that was gifted by his brother-in-law. He asked if the surrounding area was safe and free of any watchers, which Mark confirmed as the neighborhood had never filled up. Irving then walked into the bathroom talking about an all-floor mixer, and Petey was suddenly back in the MDR office in his suit, talking about Cobel and Dylan's file Sunset Park. Mid-sentence, Petey's memory glitched again and he was back in his robe, then he returned to the basement in front of a bewildered Mark, again asking if he was okay. Petey apologized and explained the sickness made him disoriented, but its effects were temporary; Mark asked what Sunset Park was, but Petey didn't know.
That night, Petey talked with Mark about reintegration. His disorientation was caused by the mental stress of having two different lives suddenly meshed together, and the relativity of his memories was scrambled, making his first day at Lumon feel as far back as his fifth birthday. However, "they" said it would get better (presumably referring to Reghabi). Mark asked who "they" are. He explained that "they" is a group determined to stop Severance's continued blight on humanity, and they are someone other than the Whole Mind Collective activists. Mark then told Petey he wouldn't reintegrate, as Severance had managed to help him, but Petey questioned if the cost of said help could be murdering people at work without even knowing it. He then revealed the mysterious department he found that Lumon had kept secret, one where the Innies never get to leave as they were down there at that moment. Petey then suffered another reintegration hallucination and became paranoid they were being watched, so Mark had to remind him that they weren't at work. He questioned where June was, then cried from another headache, before explaining who his daughter was to Mark.[5]
Reintegration breakdown[]
In the morning, Mark woke Petey to tell him he would be at work, and reiterated that he wouldn't reintegrate, as Severance was helping him slowly cope with the death of his wife two years prior. Petey perked up at hearing this and mentioned that Innie Mark would sometimes come into work with red eyes, which they used to tease him about as being due to an elevator allergy, even making a song for it. Understanding now that the grief is what makes Mark stay, Petey sombrely told him that "you carry the hurt with you. You feel it down there too. You just don't know what it is." Mark then left for work while Petey slept.
Later in the day, Petey was attempting to re-draw his map of the Severed Floor from memory. In the middle of drawing, Petey's memory glitched and sent him back to MDR, trading jokes over the drawing with Mark at their desks. Mark broke the hallucination by throwing the divider between their desks up and jolting Petey back into reality. He reacted with dread as he realized the sickness was worsening. Just then, Mark's neighbor entered his home and began snooping around his belongings, before descending to the basement and forcing Petey to hide. She received a call and stepped into the bathroom, where Petey managed to spy her from his hiding spot. Flashing back to the administration office at Lumon, he recognized her as none other than Cobel. Taking the opportunity to flee, Petey ran out of the house and hid in a bush, waiting until Cobel drove away.
He walked away from Mark's house, but instantly flashed back to the Severed Floor's hallways. His hallucinations became more intense and powerful by the second. He attempted to use his map to navigate through the maze of corridors, but then flashed back to the real world again, finding himself on the bridge connecting Branch 501 and Kier. He wandered through the cold, snowy streets still in his bathrobe, increasingly confused as his mind started to reach the breaking point.
By nightfall, Petey reached a convenience store. His nose was bleeding heavily and covering his face and robe. Believing he was back on the Severed Floor, Petey grabbed random items and screamed at the convenience store worker that he needed tokens to eat. He then suffered another devastating headache, groaning in agony and collapsing onto the floor. Police and paramedics soon arrived and escorted Petey out of the store, at the same time Mark had arrived there while searching for him. Petey spotted him standing a short distance away and locked eyes with him, then collapsed and lost consciousness, prompting Mark to flee.[5]
The next day, Mark received a news alert on his phone from The Kier Chronicle, reporting that Petey had died from an "unknown ailment". He was 52 years old.[1]
Legacy[]
Petey's funeral was held that Sunday. June and Nina attended along with other friends and family. Mark also arrived to pay his respects, as well as Cobel in her cover persona as "Mrs. Selvig." Nina, upon learning Mark was from Lumon, coldly dismissed him as not actually knowing Petey at all. June reacted similarly and asked him "Do you ever think that maybe the best way to deal with a fucked-up situation in your life isn’t to just shut your brain off half the time?", suggesting that he and Petey had become Severed for somewhat similar reasons. The funeral service began soon after, playing the home video of Petey and June performing Enter Sandman, to his family's grief. Hidden from the service, Cobel approached Petey's corpse in the casket and used an electric drill and tweezers to drill into his skull and extract his Severance microchip. While watching the video, Mark became increasingly overwhelmed with emotion and constantly remembered the moment Petey died, abruptly walking out of the service as the song reached its climax.
Petey's influence after his death was critical towards the investigation into Lumon, as Mark kept his phone and eventually met with Reghabi, a meeting that would ultimately lead to him choosing to reintegrate further down the line. Petey showing Innie Mark where to find the Security Office a year prior was also critical, as Mark led the rest of MDR in an act of rebellion by hijacking the Overtime Contingency protocol to spread word into the outside world of Lumon's heinous treatment of the Innies.[1]
Personality[]
He was regarded by Mark as the "tone-setter" for MDR and was well-liked by the whole department, Mark in particular. Unlike his co-workers, Petey was apparently more suspicious of Lumon and the unexplained nature of their work, going so far as to map the floor and eventually find a department with permanent Innie workers, hardening his resolve to expose the company's activities.
Nothing is known about Outie Petey's personality, though he may have been more sympathetic to his Innie's plight than other Outies, as he willingly chose to reintegrate, despite this technically ending his own autonomous existence.
Reintegrated Petey was a kind, sarcastic, but mentally unstable man, ridden with paranoia due to Lumon's relentless hunt to capture him. As he was suffering from reintegration sickness, Petey struggled to differentiate between his two personalities and even his location, mentally flashing between the Severed Floor and the outside world. Petey was selflessly determined to expose Lumon in spite of his instability. However, Petey was also careless and somewhat ignorant, as he ignored Reghabi's post-op instructions after he became reintegrated due to his sickness beginning to show, a choice that ultimately lead to his death.
Physical Description[]
Petey was a middle-aged man with tan skin, silver/grayish hair, and brown eyes. For work and in his Innie form, Petey had neatly groomed hair and a clean-shaven face, complemented by a dark gray suit over a light blue dress shirt and a gray tie.
Post-reintegration, Petey's hair became unkempt and he grew a slight grizzle. He wore a gray trench coat over his work clothes, minus the tie, but later switched to wearing a red and blue bathrobe Mark had received as a gift from his brother-in-law, Ricken.
Relationships[]
Quotes[]
- Petey: "Nothing down there is what they say."
- Petey: "I'm your best friend. And you're my very good friend."
- Petey: "We had a joke that you had an elevator allergy. There was even a song for it."
- Petey: "You carry the hurt with you. You feel it down there too. You just don’t know what it is."
Notes and Trivia[]
- Petey was 52 years old at the time of his death [1]
- Though he may have been referring to the Testing Floor, Petey explicitly says "they" when referring to the Innies who never get to leave, implying that there was more than one in the department he found.
- With the second season revealing that Gemma Scout was seemingly the only Severed person on the Testing Floor, its possible that he either found a different department with more than one permanent worker, or there are more test subjects than just Gemma on the Testing Floor.
- The former can be further supported by his direct use of "department" instead of "floor," as he would've been able to clearly note the distinction due to the need to take an elevator to reach Testing.
- With the second season revealing that Gemma Scout was seemingly the only Severed person on the Testing Floor, its possible that he either found a different department with more than one permanent worker, or there are more test subjects than just Gemma on the Testing Floor.
- It's possible that Petey's divorce from Nina was the reason he chose to become Severed, as June implies he did so because of a "fucked-up situation."
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
| Season 1 | |||||
| #01 | "Good News About Hell" | #04 | "The You You Are" | #07 | "Defiant Jazz" |
| #02 | "Half Loop" | #05 | "The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design" | #08 | "What's for Dinner?" |
| #03 | "In Perpetuity" | #06 | "Hide and Seek" | #09 | "The We We Are" |
| Season 2 | |||||
| #01 | "Hello, Ms. Cobel" | #05 | "Trojan's Horse" | #09 | "The After Hours" |
| #02 | "Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig" | #06 | "Attila" | #10 | "Cold Harbor" |
| #03 | "Who Is Alive?" (voice) | #07 | "Chikhai Bardo" | ||
| #04 | "Woe's Hollow" | #08 | "Sweet Vitriol" | ||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The You You Are, 1x04
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Defiant Jazz, 1x07
- ↑ Good News About Hell, 1x01
- ↑ Half Loop, 1x02
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 In Perpetuity, 1x03