Author's Note: New Followers! Thanks nsfields27 and GundamFan2015 for your interest in my story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads these continues to enjoy my works!
Chapter 9
The next Day…
Alright…it seems my next lead is Elise…
But how to get a hold of her?
I am to work under constant supervision and then go straight to Sieg…
I'd have to think of something…
But what…?
At the moment, I was in said Commander's office. I had taken up a habit of sketching in a notebook; Something to ease my boredom outside of playing piano in the lounge. Sometimes it would be something from Inkopolis and other times something I saw in the Gorge I drew from memory.
Hmm…
I looked at Sieg, still doing paperwork while on a call.
Hmm…
I started sketching…Let's see…
Okay…
Okay…
Done…even got the look of boring stoicism…
Now I'm bored again…
I suppose asking never hurt…it worked last time…
"Sieg, may I visit Elise?" I asked. "I want to make up for my misdeed against her…she seemed all smiles, but I still feel guilty…"
He looked at me, a bit surprised.
"Alright then…" He actually agreed. "But the guards are to keep a close eye on you."
"Thank you, Commander." I politely replied before turning to leave the room.
I walked all the way down to the medical bay, guards following me all the way. I pressed the button next to her office door and it opened.
"Hello, Elise." I waved.
She looked at me and flinched before returning to her usual smile.
"Oh, hello Ink-uh…Alice!" She waved, almost calling me 'Inkling' while doing so. "What brings you here?"
"I thought I could make up for what I did by helping you out a bit." I told her. "What I did was wrong and I want to make up for it."
"Oh, um…okay…" She looked around. "I just need help testing on Sea Slugs."
"That works." I nodded my head. "Don't worry; I won't lock you in the storage room again."
"Worry?" She looked at me. "Why would I be worried about that? I know you wouldn't do anything like that…I'd only be put in there if I did something wrong...um..."
Pretty sure she was afraid of that…
"Well, good." I smiled. "Any way I can help out with your scientific pursuits, I will!"
That caught her attention and she hurried and got some supplies from her desk.
"Then let us practice medicine!" She said, determined.
30 Minutes Later…
We spent the time testing some serums I couldn't identify on some Sea Slugs to see the effects of them. Nothing so far, but they're supposed to be medicinal. The little creatures are actually sort of adorable as well, so that was nice…
Now…how to ask Elise…?
"So…do you take a lot after your father?" I asked.
"I hope so." She answered. "He was a brilliant man."
"What'd he do?" I was a little curious.
"He was a doctor." She told me. "He was one of the top researchers behind many medicinal and a few technological advances available to us today."
"Like what?" I asked.
"Well, a few vaccines, medical procedures, and a lot of research on the mind." She listed.
"The mind?" That caught my attention.
"Oh, yes! She reached into her desk and grabbed a book. "He wrote this based on his research."
Sights, Sounds, and the Mind
"What's it about?" The title was a clue, but I wasn't entirely sure about it.
"It's about how what we see and hear can affect our mind." She explained. "He was very influential behind this!"
She showed me a pair of sunglasses.
"And these are…?" I've seen some Octarians wearing them, but I wasn't sure what they were.
"They're hypnoshades." What-shades? "Wear them and turn them on and your mind is controlled so that you follow orders to the letter."
"That's horrible!" I shouted.
"No, it isn't" She shook her head. "With criminals, traitors, deserters, and the like, we can't afford imprisonment for anyone outside of Death Row and we'd prefer not to kill our own kind, so with these, one lives, simply working hard and following orders to the letter until that person's sentence is up. It has different setting based on level of crime. The more serious the crime, the more controlled your mind is. If you're well-behaved and don't have a criminal record, you can just be you, but more loyal. Only the worst criminals become mindless drones."
"I mean…I suppose when you put it like that…" I still hated it, but could see the logic… "Wait, what about sounds?"
"The music." She surprisingly answered. "Our King makes music that influences people. It tunes out their thoughts some and numbs themselves to the fullest extent of life down in the domes. It varies person to person, but it is to make Octarians more loyal and to numb our suffering."
"Wait…" Something was off. "Are you hypnotized?"
"I was inoculated at a young age." She told me. "We couldn't function properly if everyone but the King was under the influence of the music. One is selected for inoculation based on their feats and commitment to the Octarian cause, though some music can break the effects of our King's music…"
"…Where is your father now?" I wondered.
"He…was given stage 3 hypnosis and sent to the Canyon." Her tone became more somber. "I'm…sure Sieg had his reasons, but…"
Sieg…
"What did he do to Sieg?" I asked.
"He made Sieg the Supersoldier he is today." She explained. "He injected several experimental serums into the future Commander. They worked, though slowly introduced and looked very painful to go through. I guess he held a grudge…"
That was…huh…
"Do you?" I was curious.
"Oh, no!" She assured me. "Father always told me grudges are pointless and get in the way of progress!"
"Huh…" I suppose so… "How'd he even end up in your father's care, anyway?"
"Lieutenant Sasha brought him in." She replied. "After some kind of incident, she brought him in and Father took an interest."
Sasha…that name again…I'm not sure what she did to him, but I get the feeling it was mentally scarring…
"Thank you for the information, Elise." I bowed my head.
"Oh, no problem!" She grinned.
I found myself grinning back at her.
"I think I'm going to go to bed early…" I told her and my guards.
Elise and I waved each other goodbye as my guards escorted my out of the room.
Well…I know the source of his strength…and why he dislikes being touched…but what of those pictures…? I suppose tomorrow's a new day…