Fragile (Numb, Part 8/Final Part of Act 1)

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

”Heartbeat is steady, blood pressure low but still within normal parameters. She’ll survive but I’m not sure if she’s going to wake up.”

”We rarely had someone react in a way that extreme. How long was it since the last suicide attempt? 10 years? 20?”

”21. A young boy, about 16 years old. Fell in love with the female agent who inoculated him without her noticing. Wasn’t able to properly express his feelings and thus felt rejected. I think he slit his wrists? Something like that.”

”It’s always a shame. But still, we’re getting some data out of this, don’t we?”

”Well, her need to return to her previous state was interesting. Most subjects prefer having their emotions reactivated. We need to analyze what exactly made her reject the emotions. She seemed antipathetic from the beginning.”

”And exhibited a certain potential for violence. But I don’t think I have to remind you what happened to our dear colleague.”

”He wasn’t careful enough, it was his own fault. He knows how unstable the test subjects are. Should have been more careful.”

”Yes, yes, you’re right. Still, it’s a tragedy.”

”I’m getting myself some coffee. Do you want to come or should I bring you one?”

”I’m fine, thanks. I want to monitor her a while longer.”

”Suit yourself.”

The doctor left the room and Lucifer stayed behind, alone with Persephone. He grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to the bed. Right next to him was the machine that monitored her vitals. Everything seemed fine, considering the circumstances.

He had been surprised by Persephone’s jump from the window. Eir had been panicked and apologetic, fearing for her job. He had reassured her that it hadn’t been her fault, he had probably pushed that young woman too far. And after all, Eir had acted fast and the ambulance had arrived in time. _@suesa

Her spine was injured, and it wasn’t clear if she would be able to walk upon waking up. If she ever woke up. Scans showed a serious head trauma and a small fracture in her skull. Both her legs had been broken by the fall. Persephone almost vanished under all those bandages and machines attached to her.

Lucifer reached for the bit of thin hair poking out under the soft fabric and caressed it. He had hoped for the young woman to fall in love with him. Sometimes it happened and he was able to have some very pleasant months, sometimes even years, with a test subject before they were given over to the researchers who cut open their brains to check for structural changes.

The emotion blockers weren’t perfect, in fact, they were far from that. The chemicals had to be injected repeatedly through a subject’s whole life to avoid emotional contamination. As a result, none of them lived past the age of 50, not significantly at least. That was less than ideal. Way too expensive and wasteful.

To solve the problem, the “Awakening” project had been put in place. Selected test subjects were chosen, and the effects of the emotion blocker neutralized, so observe what happened to the brain. The idea had come from studying bees.

It had long been known that a bee’s brain changes its structure and even genetic expression under certain influences or just simply by learning. These circumstances could be triggered to achieve the desired result.

Of course, insect brains are a bit less complicated than human brains and bees were easier to acquire than suitable human subjects. That was the main reason why the “Awakening” project had been dragging on for decades now. But every new subject gave a whole new set of insights.

”Who knows, my dear Persephone. Maybe you’re the key to it all? Maybe your genetic makeup is what caused you to want to return to an emotionless state? Who knows, it might be your children who will populate the earth in a few centuries.” He stopped, then chuckled. ”Well, not the whole earth of course. Only the slave cities. But for them, that will be the whole world. Just like it has been your whole world from the moment you were born.”

He stood up and stretched. Maybe it was time for a coffee.

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It’s completely silent. Slowly, very slowly, Persephone opens her eyes.

Keep the heart rate low. Keep it low. They can’t know you’re awake. She thinks to herself. It’s a mystery to her why none of the devices monitoring her had picked up that she wasn’t in a coma. Nobody knew that she had heard every word.

Nobody knows how scared she is.

Soft steps approach and Persephone quickly closes her eyes again. The breath of another person touches her skin.

”I know you’re awake”, a woman whispers. ”I’m the one who manipulated the machines. I’m getting you out of here. Just keep silent, don’t open your eyes, don’t move at all. I’m disguising you as a corpse.”

A light blanket is placed over Persephone and the constant beeping of the devices in her room stops. The woman must have turned them off to be able to free Persephone of the cables. The bed starts to roll. Out of the room. Into an elevator.

Into freedom.

Hopefully.

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References:

Injury pattern in leaps from a window. A case analysis of 48 patients

Activity-Dependent Changes to the Brain and Behavior of the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera (L.)

Gene Expression Profiles in the Brain Predict Behavior in Individual Honey Bees

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Picture taken from pixabay.com

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