Heartless Imperfection
Chapter XVII
Zen awoke to a sharp prod in his side. He snorted and got up, rubbing the pain. "What is it?" He looked around the room, everyone was standing except Sora and Donald, who, in fact, were on beds opposite Zen.
"You should probably hear what Donald finally has to read," Said Cloud, shaking his head. Barret nodded, looking directly at the duck, who was now flipping back to the first page.
"It begins like this:
Day oneI've gotten my funds from the… you know who, and they've assigned me to this top-secret laboratory in a world not even I know. Haha. I've got my specimens ready, and we'll begin testing tomorrow.
Day two
Test subject one has a strange look to her, but that doesn't bother me. Not in the least. I should explain what we're testing for, right? Hearts, my friends. I'm a doctor that studies Hearts and Heartless. I've thrown myself into the strange world of darkness and pulled myself out like Ansem wouldn't have believed! He embraced it, but that's not what scientists and professors are to do! They have to stay neutral! There must be no fighting or disagreement or arguments about our findings, and our intelligence isn't just some new set of clothes to go gallivanting out to show off in! It's a subtle set of shoes, delicate and clean, shined and untouched until put on! It should be an experience, not some brigade of evil!
Day three
The female showed resilience to our testing. I should explain what we do to "test" their hearts. I've developed a complicated machine, one I put to use on myself for my colleagues to toy with and figure out risks and other things. Yes, I am that selfless. I could have been killed, but it would have been carried on by another brilliant doctor or scientist. Anyway, what I did was find special items that reacted to Hearts, which could be anything, really. A picture or meaningful object to that person will trigger something. When I've found out what makes them tick, I just apply it to my machine that projects and enhances an image into the subject's head. This way we can get a clean look at the Real Heart, the perfect heart. Another machine I hook up simply extracts this Real Heart for us to put into a stasis tube to study. I found this method through the Heartless. I can't quite explain it myself, but it does involve changing the subject's mood to reach in and bring out the heart. The person doesn't die, oh no. I couldn't bring myself to kill another human being. Keeping the Perfect Heart in a special stasis tube to be examined. There is no "real" way to study it, one has to get close to the Perfect Heart and experience the strange feelings given off by it. It's quite fun and exhilarating.
Day four
The subject had some strange emotions in her Perfect Heart. But, as we hadn't predicted, no memories or images were shown. Someone once told me, "Hearts have memories engraved on them. Memories that can't be easily taken or ensnared or stopped." I'm beginning to doubt him highly, if all I can get from this Perfect Heart is… well, I'm not going to explain it. We'll move onto the next test subject the day after tomorrow.
Day five
More testing on the female, not only does she express feelings in such a strange way unknown to me, but there is also no strand of doubt or evil in this Perfect Heart! This is marvelous! We must push back the next subject, I must test further!
Day six
I was most enfuriated today. The female's heart has… disappeared. My assistants and colleagues claim it was still in the stasis tube before leaving the facility. We really should put up surveillance. Does no one realize what happens if a Perfect Heart remains out of stasis for long!? Heartless appear! This is but the second reason for their reappearing after those monsters closed the fabled Kingdom Hearts. Blast it all!
Day seven
This test subject is male, and not quite as resilliant as the female. His Perfect Heart has shadows, doubts, fears. These things, when I experience them, are horrifying. There is not one shred of evidence containing a happy "memory", or feeling, as my friend would put it, at all. Interesting, indeed.
Day eight
I do believe Perfect Hearts can decide when to show certain emotions and when to shield them! If only the first one hadn't gotten away! Today we discovered some touching moments until it turned to ash in our minds. We'll move onto the next subject tomorrow, there is more to be solved!
Day nine
We opened the third subject's Perfect Heart and set it out next to the other, and got a reaction! How strange! They seemed to collide! The newest one seemed to glow a dull yellow and the opposite a dark gray! Does this have something to do with their moods co-existing? Strange indeed!
Day ten
We tested the newest subject alone from the other Perfect Heart, but something strange happened. The feelings I felt, the same ones, I can recall nearly heaving up my breakfeast again, were one in the same when I compared them to the second subject's. After extensive research I found more feelings on it, warmer and more tender than the other's. Let's see what happens.
Day eleven
More testing of the emotions on this third Perfect Heart, sigh. It has more feelings, both mixed between depression, rage, and calmer moods. We finished early today, we will be trying something new tomorrow!
Day twelve
I've forgotten to mention we spoke to the test subjects before removing the Perfect Hearts. The female would rarely open up, wouldn't even tell us her name. Our gracious bosses, who still fund my discoveries, didn't tell me where they got these…kids. Yes, they're all kids! I requested them to be. I do believe kids have the most perfect Perfect Hearts than anyone on any world! All of the evil ideas and queer thoughts interrupt them when they reach puberty, and they are worthless to my experiment. I think the time right before that happens is the best, they have all the emotions required, or "memories", as my friend would put it. The second subject was ruthlessly enraged by nothing in particular. I am beginning to question his sanity. The third is quite harmless, responds to caring expressions with love like a flower to the sun. With that out of the way, I'll move onto what we did today. After testing numerous times, putting the Perfect Hearts back in their bodies, causing the children to pass out each time, we decided, "What would happen if we put the Perfect Heart in the wrong body?" Well, curiosity got to us, and we attempted it. The second subject's Perfect Heart was inserted into the third's, and guess what! The third awakened, with the mind of the second! This is a find indeed! Is it possible the brain does not serve as our central thinking after all?
Day thirteen
I was wrong! The third boy accepted the Perfect Heart, but isn't exactly the second! He has no memories of anything, even if my friend were true! He inhibited the feelings and emotions of the second boy, not the real experiences and memories! He can't even explain them himself, when we finally calm him down. My, oh, my.
Day fourteen
We got the same results, though it was really vice versa the first, and the second boy was more open. He even explained to us some things about his past. It's all so saddening, though. I thought I was onto something, that my friend was correct in saying Hearts could contain memories. What will I do now?
Day fifteen
They brought in a new experiment, haha. This one is strange. They told me his history, too! He was created! Well, all of us are "created", but this one wasn't born from a mother and womb! My bosses claim the boy was created by their boss. I'll test with this one, haha.
Day sixteen
Strange indeed. They must have created some kind of memories for him, he knows sadness, hate, happiness, and everything. He seems to be the most balanced of them all. Those blue-suited executives of mine will never understand my work! I'm to go to a meeting tomorrow. I will write when I have the time. Possibly during then, so I'll bring this along.
Doctor A-------Namse
Donald stopped reading, and took a long, exasperated gasp. "I don't know what Namse is, do any of you?" He looked at them. They were all engrossed in the tale. Zen spoke up,
"I don't know what his name is, but he sounds like a freak." The boy hopped off of his bed and stretched. "When are we leaving this place?"
Everyone turned to Cloud.