CHAPTER 25
"Thank you for meeting with us at this hour, Bruce. I appreciate the risk you are taking."
Martin stood to welcome Bruce into his quarters, then beckoned for him to take a place around the desk. Lorraine and Barbara were already there, and they both nodded to Bruce in greeting.
"We can speak freely in here," Martin said to Bruce. "It's not often we can share the company of someone who is assigned to the conversion process specialist staff."
"Indeed," Bruce answered. "We are usually sequestered from general staff. Diana's orders, and they carry throughout the Fleet. We are allowed some free time, though it is obviously very precious to us."
Lorraine smiled at Bruce. "This is why we are so grateful to you for agreeing to join us at such a late hour."
"It should be obvious to you why we're having this meeting," Martin said.
Bruce nodded. "The rebel leader. Of course."
"Yes," Lorraine said.
Barbara's face was a mask of worry. "We must know – what are the chances of Diana succeeding in converting Julie?"
"I cannot define those chances precisely," Bruce said after looking at everyone in the room. "What I will say, though, is that Diana has made a significant breakthrough. Juliet Parrish is very stubborn, but she is no different to anybody who is forced to go through the conversion process. Conversion affects everyone who undergoes it, always in a profound way. I believe it is only a matter of time before she breaks." He let everyone process what he just said, then continued, "Once that is done, Diana will condition and program her to betray her people. Of that there can be no doubt."
"That cannot be allowed!" Lorraine said. "If she is converted, not only will she be compelled to betray her own people, she becomes a danger to us and our movement as well."
"I understand and agree with you," Bruce said. "However, I fear that I have lost what little influence and control I may have had over this situation. And I never had much of that to begin with."
"What do you mean?" asked Lorraine.
"Diana's original approach to converting Juliet Parrish had been cautious, mostly due to my recommendation. I was hoping that might stall for time, so that she could somehow be freed before she was converted," Bruce explained. "However, on the night she experienced the cardiac arrest, Diana had decided to adopt a new, far more aggressive strategy."
"It was too aggressive," said Martin.
"Clearly," Bruce confirmed. He looked at Lorraine and Barbara before he continued. "I've already told this to Martin earlier, but I will share this with you now. Diana pushed Juliet Parrish beyond her limits. The human was already displaying a strong tendency for cardiac arrhythmia when subjected to highly-stressful stimuli. Diana simply decided to ignore my admonitions. Nevertheless, despite the fact she almost killed Juliet Parrish, Diana made significant progress towards successfully converting her that night."
"It's ironic," Martin said.
Lorraine frowned. "What is?"
"The fact that Julie's brush with death actually saved her from getting converted."
"For now, at least," Bruce said. He slouched as he looked down at his boots, not wanting to look at his comrades in the eye. "I feel ashamed. I have participated in more than twenty conversions as a member of Diana's conversion specialist staff. I know that what I am a part of is wrong. We torture people, drive them to near-psychosis… conversion is a cruelty that no person should undergo." He swallowed hard before continuing. "I've even been part of conversion attempts where the subject either suffered permanent physical brain damage or actually just died during the process."
"We understand," Lorraine said, reaching out to Bruce, squeezing his arm gently.
"I do not want to continue being a part of these cruelties," said Bruce. Then he sighed. "But I suppose it is just my misfortune that my training on the homeworld as a medical technician makes me useful to Diana and our leaders. "
Martin clasped a hand on his shoulder. "We are at war, Bruce. Whether or not we want to, we all become party to cruelties that attack our conscience." He shook Bruce gently, who then met his gaze. "You are doing the best you can to help. I know that."
"We all do," Barbara said.
"Thank you," said Bruce, bowing his head slightly. "So what happens now?"
Martin spoke. "We have a couple of possible plans. But without your direct involvement, none of them has a chance to succeed." He looked at Bruce square in the eye. "I ask you now: Are willing to take a big risk, to help us?"
"To help the Fifth Column," said Lorraine.
"To help Julie," Barbara added.
Bruce looked at everyone, then nodded. "What do you need me to do?"