Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam or it's characters. But if they do sue me, I think it would be a good idea to take away my textbooks…really.
Warnings: Dark, violence, should be considered AU. Similar vein but I hope it is different from my 'DSM-II' (it wasn't written at 6am for a start!).
Apple Corer
Dr. J looked at the inert form on the procedure bed that occupied the centre of the white and sterile looking laboratory. The grey haired man went back to the stainless steel instruments on the side, his one hand feeling the cold smoothness of each one, before he put them away. They were the precision of science, each a cold and merciless beauty.
The doctor allowed a small smile to form, looking back to the bed with almost a child like excitement. He couldn't help it but to again to gaze back at his latest work. The simple clothes of his latest subject were hardly adequate in this room, and the man noticed the flesh of the boy goose pimpled slightly. Except for around the restraints that bound his wrists and ankles, where the skin was red and welted. Bionic eyes moved up to the face of the Japanese boy, whose eyes were bruised and swollen, closed. That was to be expected, and should disappear within a few days. But Dr. J's excitement rose at the tiny crust of blood under each side of the boy's sinus.
The procedure had been so simple, and yet the effect could be so great. He'd got the idea after visiting a neurological conference many years ago, in which a researcher lectured on the effect of pre-frontal lobotomy's on chimpanzees. The talk had set a seed of an idea in the doctor's mind, and it encouraged him to take a step further into this field, despite his lack of surgical skill.
There had been many subjects before, none of which society would miss, before he'd allow himself to create the perfect soldier in this boy.
There was nothing left to do in the lab, it was pointless to stay longer.
Before Dr. J locked the door he took in the imperfect being surrounded by perfection. He'd worked hard at the fruits of his labour, and was impatient to see if the rewards were to be what he expected.
But the outlook was good so far; the boy wasn't dead.
~*~
The spoon clanged noisily to the table. Its user had dropped it after the plate of nutritional mush was empty. Dr. J looked up from his notes to the table in the training room. The person sitting at it slowly looked back at the doctor before saying flatly, "Hungry."
"Heero you can't be hungry, you've had your nutritional requirements for the meal."
"Hn…" The blue eyes looked back at the plate, longing there to be more…
Dr J. sighed, before scribbling on his notes 'diet must be strictly controlled'. The over eating had been noticeable, and it would be a problem if it continued. No use having the perfect soldier that couldn't fit into a Gundam.
Some lab assistants cleared away the plate and spoon, leaving Heero at the table staring into space. Dr J. set down the notes before picking up a different clipboard with his mechanical hand. He checked through his prepared lists of tests for the afternoon, and everything seemed to be in order.
The doctor moved to the table with the blank faced pilot, his white lab coat fluttering as he strode before sitting at the table himself.
Still the blue eyes stared into space, only an emptiness behind them
"Heero." The boy's attention immediately went to the doctor, who had to smile, distractibility had been something that concerned him; it had been a common side effect in the previous subjects.
Dr J slid the laptop across the table, the eyes following it, as if it was some weird and wonderful object. "I want you to start the hacking simulation, complete it as soon as possible."
The wing pilot efficiently snapped up the lap top screen, and immediately started typing at the keys. Subject's eyes darted across the screen, taking in any bit of information, and immediately putting it to use.
Dr. J sat back holding the clipboard with his bionic hand, making observations with his good one. He was relieved Heero hasn't seemed to suffer any intellectual damage or memory loss. The doctor cast his mind back to some earlier subjects. In particular he recalled subject 036, who after the procedure couldn't even do a child's puzzle…preferring to put the pieces in it's drooling mouth, and didn't even notice when an assistant had removed the mushed piece of cardboard from it's mouth. Just continued to sit there drooling.
The good hand rubbed the temple of the man; thank god his skill and knowledge had improved since then. Heero was evidence of that.
Still the nimble fingers seemed to fly across the keys. It had been nearly an hour, and still the pilot hadn't flinched or hesitated once in his task.
Heero was something that no one else had managed to achieve before, and once the war was won Dr. J could publish his study and results. Well…once he had cleared up a couple of the ethical 'issues' around it, he could easily win the Moniz prize for medicine.
The brown haired boy stopped suddenly and flipped his computer around to show the doctor he had finished. The man focused on the data before saying, "Well done Heero."
~*~
It was nearly a month after the procedure, and Dr. J was observing his perfect soldier practice on the firing range. Shots steadily sang out of the semi-automatic pistol, only leaving the smell of burnt gun powder and warm metal behind. Every single shot hit its target.
The last round left the barrel, and in one fluid motion Heero released the empty clip onto the floor, ready and waiting for his next order.
"Give me the gun Heero." Dr J took it from the boy and snapped a new clip into it before handing it back.
Cold blue eyes stared at the weapon in his hand. "Heero," the doctor said, "put the gun to your head."
Swiftly the nuzzle of the grey metal was against the boys own forehead. "Now…pull the trigger."
There was a click…and nothing happened. The grey haired man laughed and smiled at his success as the pilot continued to stand in that position.
Apathy. Complete and total apathy to him self and others. Science's triumph.
The smile still played on his lips and he took the gun from the boy's hands, and replaced it with another fully loaded one. "Continue to practice firing at the target."
Dr. J had started to disassemble the empty gun in his hand when he noticed the Japanese boy had not continued to practice firing.
Artificial eyes looked up to see the pilot pointing the fully loaded gun at the doctor himself. "Heero…what are you…"
The shot seemed to echo much louder than any of the others had before. Dr. J stumbled…and fell back onto the floor. The red gore of flesh and bone at his neck oozed with blood before dripping onto the floor.
The gun slowly dropped from Heero's fingers, joining the red. He stepped towards the twitching man, and examined the wound. Old experience and knowledge told him the doctor would live, his assistants were in no doubt watching this, and would appear to the old man's aid any minute now.
They'd save him with their expert medical skills, how ever; there would be nothing they could do about his shattered spine. Dr. J would be paralysed.
Heero didn't know why he had turned on the doctor, he had an intense impulse, and it was something that reminded him of…something he had so long ago.
But now, that impulse was gone, and likely to never return. If Heero had been able to feel emotion at that moment, he'd have been aware that it was a tragic thing that he didn't care for his loss.
Fini
Authors Note: Yet another gripe with psychiatry I have. This is based on the history of the Lobotomy. Moniz was one of a pair of psychologists who pioneered and 'popularised' the lobotomy in the 50s. No surgical skills, but with an estimate of 40,000 people receiving the psychosurgery in the 50/60s, they must had had plenty of practice to perfect their technique. Well, Moniz in '49 won the Nobel Prize for Medicine (how nice). However, Moniz met an ironic end when he was shot and paralysed by a patient on whom he had performed a lobotomy.
It is pretty obvious what my opinions of lobotomies are, so if you disagree, give me an email and I'd be happy to share my evidence and reasoning.
Last thing, 'Apple Corer' is the particular technique Moniz and colleagues developed…yes…lovely image of what they do to your brain isn't it?
Now you read it, please review, but thanks even if you don't.