In the aftermath of the Iroonis shooting ourselves in the head, I was asked to give some technical briefing to one of the managers looking after the Middle East. I did not know the guy or his department. I worked as an embedded contractor often having to do this sort of work for different sections. The liaison guy controlling my work was a nice Irishman and we had become great friends. Mick was an old hand who knew the company inside out and I relied on him preferring not to get involved in the client side politics. 

Having set up the necessary, I met the guy down on our floor. He was a middle aged Englishman with a mid-Atlantic accent. He asked me where I came from and when he heard I was from Iran he gave a wry smile but talked kindly of Iran. I did not think much about it and started the briefing.

While taking him through the material I noticed something odd about his forehead. On the top right side of his head the skin was very pale in a jagged circle about an inch and half in diameter. The skin discolouration was clearly result of some trauma. It was not a normal shape. It was flattish as though the bone was missing or had been replaced by something artificial. 

When the briefing finished, the guy having thanked me and stopped by Mick before leaving. Mick came over and said it went well and the guy was very appreciative. Then he asked me whether I noticed the hole in the man’s forehead. Seeing the puzzled expression on my face he did not wait for an answer explaining the guy was serving in Abadan at the onset of our glorious revolution, and together with an American colleague were taken in by the local revolutionary guards. During his captivity the guards had shot him in the head but he had survived. I was too shocked to ask any questions.

I have always wondered how I would have behaved if the shoe was on the other foot.