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# The date says no.
- URL: https://www.smallfailuresofreality.com/the-date-says-no/
- Published: 2026-08-03T18:27:38.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-03T18:27:37.000Z
- Author: Evan Mercer
- Tags: story, formal man, office

![Evan holds an old employee badge dated 2019 above a drawer of tangled lanyards; the photo strongly resembles the Formal Man.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/88/e88830a3-d951-4682-b91c-ff9b3de17f28/content/images/2026/07/mon_fm_lookalike-1.jpg)

Facilities is installing new badge readers, and I’ve been tasked with testing some old badges for compatibility because I’m apparently the only person who knows where they are.

This was the third badge I picked up.

For a second I thought it was you know who.

It can’t be him, though. The date is too recent.