Chapter 1: Prologue in A Straitjacket
A moment of waiting on the sidewalk was blurred by grey skies and raindrops. Two contrasting people stood together waiting to take a cab. The elder of the two was dressed in a white and light blue embroidered tunic reaching past the knees of her tight dark grey pants, while the youngest in a grey and black pocket dress fastened with a buckle belt. The youngest felt out of place dressed as she was, even with her tomboy style in mind. The older woman turns her bronze face to the young girl and calmly smiles while trying to snap the girl out of her daydream.
"Lydia? Helllooo, Lydia. Are you alright?"
The merlot eyed girl snaps out of her daze and darts her eyes at her mother. The woman was smiling, raising an eyebrow in amused inquiry over the girl's daydreaming.
"Liddy, dear. We can relax now, don't be so anxious," reassured Angeles. Lydia turns pink in the cheeks nodding to response to being caught daydreaming again. Angeles glances at a blue backpack on the girl's person, the same one she carried with her to school. Of all times to be daydreaming, the girl's mother stops her wandering imagination from going further to provide her feedback of the day.
"You did well. I expected things to not go as smoothly as they did," The woman moves a stray red hair from her face and follows the blonde girl into the taxicab. Her hazy mind tries remembering what were they even doing that day? A mission? Ah, yes, her mother finally took her along with her to work.
"I didn't realize this was part of your job. You made it sound so…different when you told me," The girl responded carefully with a dazed tone. The woman pays no mind to the girl's confusion brushing it off as being surprised.
"It isn't always this calm, but sometimes these moments give me reprieve from such demanding expectations the Inquisitors bring," the red headed woman types an address and payment into the meter of the automatic taxi, sending it off into a different part of Fifth Jerusalem. The taxicab drives along the roads while they sat calmly enjoying the evening ride. When it felt safe, the woman removes the hood off her head to adjust her red hair into place. She gestures for the girl to hand over something from her blue backpack before the girl pulls it from her dress pocket. The woman smiles in approval and looks at the information collected into the 'compact mirror', with names, dates, and locations noted on the Galaxy Federation Summit for a planned infiltration.
"An interesting trick, my child, though I won't ask where you learned how to pit pocket." The girl just grins while watching her mother process the information on the gadget. Lydia's airheaded thoughts concluded that she was coming out of shock, the shock of her mother being an intelligence gatherer for Ormus.
"It's nice to see you interested in this sort of stuff, Lydia. You're starting to get older now, and in need of considering your prospects for the future. If we play our cards right, you may have a good future with Ormus." Lydia's shocked face brightens up into a smile hearing an air of motherly pride in her mother's voice. The proud girl loosens her seatbelt and moves closer to look at the gadget with the red headed woman.
"What the heck do you do with this stuff?" the girl asked curiously. Angeles lets another side of her show, smiling with a mischievous glance at the document and playfully at her daughter.
"It's like in those movies about espionage. As part of reconnaissance, you have to simply, and discreetly, take what you found to your employer."
"That's where we're going now, right?"
"Yes, we will meet Pellegri soon to trade off the plans for next week's summit in-"
When all felt calm in the girl's world, a sudden blast from the back of the taxi bursts near the two. One of the back wheels destroyed in the blast sends the taxi off course and out of control from normal functions. The automatic taxi begins flipping towards a deserted area between sectors with the occupants screaming inside. In the next blur, the young girl finds herself toppled over on the wet ground unsure if she was feeling blood or the rain on her head. In her spotted vision she could see her mother able to free herself from the car crawling through a broken window. She sees her daughter staring back at her in a broken mess. The woman tries to get up to aid her when a shot grazes the woman's shoulder. She grunts again before looking up to see several Federation agents come towards them. The woman glares at the agents while her daughter lies helpless watching the event unfold. The spottiness in the girl's vision was becoming worse with the next memory flashing toward the verbal dispute between her mother and the Federation agents cornering her. The girl reaches out her hand, her heart racing with panic, an intense warmth building in her hands. A pestering whisper stirs up a mixture of a headache and turmoil in her mind. One of the agents started moving towards her noticing the injured girl and motions another agent to come closer. The mother moves after him when she is subdued by three of the men from reaching her. The girl couldn't subdue the whispering in her head, the voice becoming louder and oppressive.
'Who was this? Who's talking to me?'
The more she looked at her, the more the voice continued to speak to her. She tried so hard to fight it. Then, all she remembered next was screaming. Someone, was screaming…
Her mind went numb, the constant feeling of being cold engulfs her in what felt like the embrace of death. Was this what it was like to die? The world around you just goes black, like the end of a long movie. No flashbacks, no last-minute chance to say goodbye to anyone you cared about. Just, darkness?
She expected to wake up, still balking at the idea this was real. Lydia tries to imagine herself jumping up from her bed shouting out of a strange nightmare. But Lydia was still falling, still swimming through a heavy fog of darkness with her arms and legs too limp to pull herself up from submersion.
How could she be dead? She never got to see her friends again, she never got all her questions answered, she couldn't save…. Lydia grimaces with teary eyes, feeling helpless drowning in the abyss looking for a life raft. The girl gasps feeling the firm grasp of gravity carrying her limp form. It didn't feel like she was drowning anymore, yet she was still engulfed in a world of darkness. Gradually the more she tried to calm down, the more things start to come back around her. The first thing was her hearing, she could hear voices muffled around her in a hushed tone that harmonized with the beeping of a machine. Whether they were male or female she couldn't be sure. One was soft spoken among the voices, sounded more clearer with how close it was to her ears. The other muffled voices varied in lower inflections with indistinguishing intentions.
When the softer voice speaks again, she feels her body land on a softer surface, almost fastened into a seat. Was she getting into a car? Holy crap were those agents kidnapping her! Those guys were going to cart her off somewhere to their government torture-murder camp! Lydia started to scream with the sound traveling in the space within her mind. The girl was horrified her mouth wouldn't move but was replaced by the softest whimper. The soft surface whatever she was lying on moves back with her head and torso following it. Her hand twitched as her eyes started to register the world around her with psychedelic blurs. Lydia awes the swirl of monochromatic shades dashed with red, letting out another soft whimper. Her twitching hand is held down, the unknown touch finishes strapping her to the seat. An unknown object slides itself over her head, sounding like a machine, and quiets down when it sets around her eyes. The girl then grimaces, feeling needles poking into her right arm and neck, her body unable to move forward to pull off the things that were causing the stabbing pain. Then it began again, the swirling whirlpool of darkness dragging her back into the depths. The dark abyss rapidly replaced with a zooming array of colors and patterns. The dizzying patterns zip across her visions before auditorily senseless noise bombards her eardrums. Lydia screams in pain covering her ears, feeling her limbs turn into noodles. The world turns back into a park with her sense of perception warping into rainbows shrieking. Lydia returns their shrieking with confused screams. The trees around her melt into rings of hypnotic earth tones that bled into a red sphere.
An eye, a bright red eye blinks at her from a distance. The blinking eye focuses on her in chatty whispers, and then the red from the giant eye starts to burst through like a torrent of water flooding in. Lydia tries fleeing from the eye in her psychedelic nightmare with her body morphing into swirls and her ears assaulted by her memories. She could hear the voices of her mother, and uncle, her friends, and the strangers' muffled voices before the red water engulfs her. Her body tumbles around in the water gasping for breath, the girl hearing her voice echoing in her haunted mind. "You need help mother! The sooner you realize that the better!" The message mocks her repeating over again, "You need help, you need help, help, help, help, help…"
"Mother!"
The girl jolted from her bed reaching out to nothing. Her grasp was cut short from restraints that left her comfortably strapped to a hospital bed. The girl stares up at the ceiling with gradually calm breaths until muttering curses under her breath. Her medium length blonde hair cushioned the fall when she plops her head back on the pillow. The girl looks around the room with disorientation, glimpsing the logo of the Federation Medical Pavilion etched into the hospital door on the other side of her room. Lydia recognized this space, and her mind returned to her senses. That nightmare, an ever-changing nightmare at that. A reoccurring nightmare that came to her never making sense on what she thought happened to her mother. The dream all fractured by demented visions similar to a bad high. Her wine-colored irises clench shut before looking up at the ceiling. In resignation she decides to look at the sliding door which also had the only window in her room. The one window inside the room was an observational window in the door for doctors and aides to check through. She glances down at her white hospital pajamas and the patient tag on her arm, before pulling at the restraints on her wrists. The girl sighs and let's herself eavesdrop on a hushed discussions of the doctors at rounds.
"What do we have next today, Dr. Morrison?" An attractive woman asked while examining her connection gear closely. The beautiful yet unusual looking ruby eyed woman focused intently at the latest file on her screen. Her albino appearance stood out from the small group that walked beside her. Dr. Morrison alongside her led the group of residents and established faculty from room to room in the unit checking on treatment plans and progress.
"Unfortunately, one of our more complicated cases so far," frowned Dr. Morrison in reply.
"You mean the patient in that room? I don't see what so complicated about this one. She seems as aggressive as a basket of kittens," scoffed a resident. His comment earns him an icy glare from the albino woman, which shuts down his commentary swiftly.
"You jest, but this girl killed six people before being brought here." She takes control of the discussion as a moment to teach the younger staff. "Lydia Vein, female, age fifteen, was brought here due to injuries sustained from an automobile accident. Upon admission, it was brought to our attention she was also under the charge of multiple homicide for allegedly killing six people who were assisting her at the scene. Since admission, she started showing recurring delusions and auditory hallucinations. Due to her disturbing and textbook behaviors observed, our team gave her the diagnosis of Paranoid Schizophrenia. Although most patients with Schizophrenia overall do not become violent to this degree, Ms. Vein is part of a small percentage that develop aggressive behaviors and impulsivity as are sometimes found in this form of schizophrenia. Unfortunately, this may be due to improper or lack of treatment of her symptoms long before the crime occurred."
Though she looked away from the albino doctor, Lydia could tell she was talking about her.
"Through her stay here at the hospital, Lydia made a full recovery from the accident. However, she continues to show the same behaviors with escalating episodes involving attacking hospital workers, a suicide attempt, and an increased lapse in memory of what had occurred. Progress in treating her mental health has been limited based on the data collected. So, I ask this group as a team, based on her current condition, what are your plans for the patient?"
The residents appeared sheepish to answer in front of her, when one finally answers in a soft voice.
"W-we could try a different type of medication combined with the counseling sessions."
"But that has been tried consistently with great intensity, and without much improvement," refuted Dr. Grant, another faculty member. There was a continued pause until Mr. Shahid, a resident, spoke up.
"If I may ask, what would you think about Personality Reconditioning?"
"My response would be, 'What are you thinking'? That is a rather extreme measure to take on a patient that's been in our care for only a month," snorts Dr. Grant.
"What would the procedure entail for someone so young?" asked the ruby eyed woman, who entertained the idea by gesturing for the resident to continue.
"Umm, I think about the same as anyone really. There are different types based on the latest journals, with level 7 appearing to be the best option for patients with a history of aggression."
"You do realize you are suggesting injecting nanomachines into her brain to control her behaviors?" reminded Dr. Grant.
'I'm sorry, WHAT?! They're going to do what?! That's an ACTUAL thing?!' mentally yelled a shocked Lydia.
"Yes, but that would not be that far off from using nanotechnology to repair damaged tissue from her head injury. Except with Level 7 Personality Reconditioning, it does involve nanotechnology implanted into the prefrontal cortex to regulate a patient's behavior, then medication can be given to maintain the effects of the corrective procedure," explained Dr. Morrison. He frowns while looking at the albino doctor.
"While we understand your concerns, Dr. Grant, this procedure has been documented to be beneficial for patients with aggressive psychiatric disorders such as these…though at this time, consent from the family and your approval would be necessary, Director."
The albino woman nonchalantly returns her gaze to Dr. Morrison, not taking long to contemplate, and responds, "I fully understand the risks that may come with the procedure. But I think the positives and the prospect of her being able to live a productive life outweigh the risks this may cause. With that being said, I give my consent to this procedure. Thinking of her family, her next of kin is still hopeful to help her find any means of recovery."
'My mother would never consent to this crap.' frowned Lydia.
"Melvina, I mean Director, are you sure?" Dr. Morrison almost appeared surprised by her response.
"Yes, I trust your clinical judgement as a team in this case. However, this type of procedure requires the upmost care and precision. With that mind, I think it should be done with someone with more experience. Do proceed carefully with her care," Melvina instructed. Lydia tries to maintain a stoic expression while her brain reels at the prospect of being 'reprogrammed'.
"Understood, we will set up the patient for Level 7 Personality Reconditioning in the next procedure block. Everyone, please continue on to the next patient." Dr. Morrison takes the lead by guiding the group to the next room over with Melvina falling behind looking towards Lydia's room. The girl could sense the woman staring at her. Lydia bites her lip hearing the woman's heels click into the room with calm strides. The girl closes her eyes pretending to be asleep in the hopes she just wants to check her vitals and walk away.
"I know you're awake, Miss Vein," the director smiles.
'Shit.'
Reluctantly Lydia meets the director's gaze, never hiding her discontent for the woman. A woman who for almost a month made her feel like the protagonist in a horror novel. Melvina just crosses her arms looking at the pitiful mess.
"Thanks to your little outburst previously, you left me with no other choice."
"Outburst? I didn't do anything." Lydia protested.
"You stabbed someone with a pen and tried committing suicide by jumping out of a five-story window," argued back Melvina with a sneer and shakes her head with feign disappointment.
"How could you do this? You were out of restraints, got to go to the atrium, and even finally started talking in therapy."
"Yeah, look at what good talking to you has done for me," Lydia scoffed at the woman gesturing at her arm restraints.
The woman suddenly regains her composure, realizing the ridiculousness of arguing with the adolescent. She mutters about the poor girl not understanding anything and puts on her serious face sternly beginning to explain the situation.
"Lydia, you put yourself in a bind. Because of the nature of your crime, and the lack of improvement in your behaviors, you're leaving us no choice but to pursue more invasive treatment methods."
"You mean this Personality Reconditioning? Are you seriously trying to lobotomize me?! My mother would never let you do this to me!" She dismisses the girl's questions and replies while looking at her chart, "Believe what you want, Lydia. Your family wishes for you to get well, and to see that the charges against you are dropped. This to me seems like the best option." Melvina continues with a monotone but calm voice.
"While there can be some complications from this type of reconditioning, it is a non-life threatening and easy procedure for an experienced neurosurgeon to do. You can expect a quick recovery and a shorter stay with no prison time, since you were not of sound mind when committing the crime."
Lydia tried jumping out of the bed pulling at her arm restrains grunting and thinking of several more things to say to the director before she blurts out, "Like hell I'm letting you do this to me! Let me go you bitch!"
Her curses result in a hand around her chin pushing her back onto the bed. A second hand had a needle pointed towards the girl's eye with Melvina holding it in an aggressive stance. Lydia couldn't believe nobody was seeing this during rounds. She could scream she thought, but a primal fear buried her urge to do so…unless she wanted things to get worse. Melvina hovers lower towards Lydia's ear in a hissing tone, almost wanting to gouge the girl's eye.
'Perhaps things were already worse…'
"Listen to me, you brat. I have had it up to here with babysitting such an ill-mannered child. I have tried and tried to help you through this, while your precious mommy couldn't bother to come look for you after the accident. I suggest you stop trying to find rescue from your predicament you and your mother have put yourselves in and face the music." Melvina's face turns into a crooked smile watching Lydia eyeing the needle with trepidation.
"Your mother has left you to rot…accept it. You are being left here at the Federation's mercy, to do with as they please. When everything is over, I will have you ready to join us, willing or not," Lydia had stopped listening to the woman when hearing about her mother in such a harsh reality. She refused to believe any of it, this all felt too much like the scene from a drama.
Melvina ends her rebuttal with a shot of the girl's daily medication into her restrained arm. She moves away from the bed and says, "Your next dose will be in about twelve hours. I predict we should be having your procedure within 48 hours, though I could pull some strings to get you a spot sooner. Now keep your chin up, Lydia! Think of this as not the end, but the start of a brand new you."
Melvina gently pats the girl's head and turns to leave the room. As Melvina walks away, she puts on a mask of concern passing through the hall with faculty finally paying attention to the woman's missing presence. Lydia shakes her head and continues to pull at her restraints grunting. While Melvina waves in a pretend sad smile she takes comfort listening to the girl struggle and shout at no one who would see through the façade.
"The hell is wrong with you people. Somebody, for GOD sakes, let me out of here! Help!"
-FMP Faculty Wing-
A later part of the morning, long after rounds, a stoic and effeminate man phases into a less familiar space of the hospital, entering a lavish part in the faculty wing. Upon entering one of the many higher up offices, claret eyes spot a woman with long flowing white hair sitting at her glass desk typing nimbly on a desktop. The head of the Federation's Medical Pavilion finishes looking through a file on her computer, admiring the wavelengths displayed on the screen. The man waits for her to finish, a moment of envy crosses his thoughts when he admires the view of Fifth Jerusalem from her office windows.
"You can sit down you know," Melvina mutters impolitely from behind her screen. Her brother smirks at the woman when she finally acknowledges him. 'Her attitude will never change.'
"A hello would be nice," The claret eyed man said. He sits beside her desk in a visitor's chair crossing his legs becoming entertained to see his sister engrossed in another project. "If I knew you would be so busy, I would have waited later to visit. Should I find a book to read while you're finishing that?" Melvina picks up on her brother's sarcasm. She briefly glares at him before shutting off the screen she was analyzing.
"I appreciate the visit, nonetheless. Mother has been hounding me for weeks about my research on the U-DO patients. It has been hard finding people lately for the experiments since the Militia conflict." Melvina stretches out of her seat and walks to a cabinet set on the side of her office. The woman starts preparing two small drinking glasses, wanting to welcome her brother back after such a long time.
The man glances at the remaining files on the woman's desk as her back was turned. Despite disc copies being a rarity now, he knew his sister collected those for cases she thought were deviated from the norm. Those types of files were reserved for patients who she deemed as 'perfect candidates' for her research. A few sat open for easy peeks, easy identity fraud if you were bored that day. One specific disc on the desk catches his eye, while Melvina rummaged to find a good beverage to serve for the occasion. He silently pulls a handkerchief from his pocket, and silently covers the disc with care in his hand. The man looks behind him before slipping the disc in the pocket of his suit jacket, placing another disc on the desk. Melvina turns around none the wiser to her brother's trickery. The man lounged in his chair, now maintaining his cheeky grin Melvina was so accustomed to seeing.
"I don't have much in stock, but a light shot of lemon vodka would suffice for our short meeting."
"Really sister, do you think I would drink and run?" he asked.
"Yes, yes you would." Melvina scowls at her brother's feigned shock. "But I have no qualm over it, since Vector has the conference going on at the Federation's weapons division." Wilhelm didn't need to read his sister to know she was displeased by his reclusiveness. He takes the drink from her returning a beguiling smile.
"Forgive me for my absence, sister. Vector has gotten busier these days with the rise in Gnosis terrorism. The military has been ever generous in their demands for updated weaponry and the new android for fighting Gnosis."
"There is no need to apologize. The important thing is you're here now." Melvina sighs loudly and pouts at her situation. "It's just the disciples have been no better company for the past two years. With you having been gone for so long, I was starting to think you replaced me with your puppets and that abomination," Melvina huffs in her seat savoring the break from her work. Her eyes were softened by her older brother's presence, briefly happy to see him again.
"Perish the thought, Melvina. I could never replace such a temperamental being as yourself," Wilhelm teases in response. Melvina holds back her temper to her brother's teasing comments, drinking the shot of vodka quickly.
"What is the status of the Failsafe?" Melvina asked.
"Nothing new since last year. After his detention the previous year, he has been good at not using his abilities." Wilhelm drinks his shot quickly. The lemon freshens his breath while the vodka burns down his throat. "However, I have noticed him being careless with using it for the Kukai Foundation."
"You really shouldn't let him have so much freedom, brother. The Matriarch will start to think you are not doing your job." Melvina's smile turns to a glare. Wilhelm quietly shushes the woman before she continues to scold him further.
"I assure you; I have everything under control. These past three weeks have been me merely buying my time for the right opportunity."
"As long as you're not making excuses again. Your behavior these days has been quite concerning to her. I hope you are not getting attached," Wilhelm finally glares back at Melvina who giggles.
"Relax brother. I don't think you would be stupid enough to become attached to the Failsafe as he is. Just don't let 'you know who' think otherwise," Melvina winks at him. Wilhelm rolls his eyes at her until noticing his sister tapping her finger on the little information that caught his eye. Melvina begins pouting in a childish manner.
"I assume you didn't invite me over to chitchat about my procrastination. What do you want now, Melvina?"
"It's just, I'm flabbergasted by the lack of initiative on our dear Angie's part. It didn't hurt for me to spend time on this, but I've gotten frustrated waiting for that traitor or the abomination to show up. Not a sign of either one," Melvina pouts before picking up the intriguing file with a devious gaze.
"Aren't you the least bit curious what I have planned for her?" Melvina asks and watches for his reaction before speaking. When he says nothing, she continues.
"Bit of a shame, really. I didn't want to resort to something so harsh, but the noncompliance is a sign we need to try a different approach." Wilhelm keeps his stoicism in front of his sister, watching her slowly twitch at his continued apathy and skepticism.
"You hope this would flush them out of hiding? Hmm, I can only imagine at least one of those two finally stepping in. A shame with 'Mother' being so close, that neither may appear."
Melvina snorts her last retort, "I guess that woman has you whipped too, eh, Willy?" The brother maintains his composure, though a distinct coldness in his voice could be felt.
"Name calling will not make finding the traitor quicker." He pushes his empty glass towards her and sits up from the chair. "Besides, you shouldn't be so envious of an accident, Melvina. I didn't mean for this to happen. Of course…we can take comfort knowing we finally can give her what she wanted. Eh?"
She hated his way of getting the last laugh, never giving her the satisfaction of watching him squirm over his own mistakes. Wilhelm adjusts his suit jacket while adding, "I will continue to keep my eyes out for the Deserter. When I have her, the Failsafe will have no choice but to return to whence he came." The man calmly checks the time through a nearby clock sighing before he gets up from his seat. "I did not anticipate time flying by so quickly. I will try to visit again soon, with better news next time. Farewell sister, " Wilhelm continues to smile warmly at her and starts to vanish. "Don't forget brother," Melvina called back in a nagging tone.
"Could I ever forget?" Wilhelm waves back before vanishing completely.
