Avengers: Search for the Winter Soldier – Ch 11. Mind Benders
Steve reads some of the details of the torture experiments performed on Bucky Barnes. He begins to really understand what it took for the KGB, Dept. X, Hydra and the Weapons Plus Program to turn his best friend into the world's most prolific assassin. With the guidance of Dr. Golden and Natasha he hopes to be able to follow through on his plan to reclaim the man who has always meant everything to him.
After dinner, Steve was already waiting in the office when Dr. Golden arrived with Natasha. They'd stopped by Emily's room to pick up the file folder which was kept secured in a safe there. Tonight she opted to put her tea in a tall thermal travel cup with a cover as she spent a lot of her time at the compound walking from one room to another and up and down elevators.
When the door opened, Steve stood up as the ladies entered the room.
"Captain," Emily greeted him.
"Doctor," he responded. He reached out to take the folder from her as she offered it to him before taking her usual seat and Natasha walked past him toward the credenza. She mixed a drink for herself and Steve, returning to place his on the table in front of him before joining Dr. Golden on the couch.
As he'd done previously, Steve sorted through the materials in the folder and placed all the items he'd already seen or read face down on the coffee table before opening the next file in the stack. He then placed the remainder of the folder on the table so he could focus on what he had in his hands.
"Any words of caution before I begin?" he asked Dr. Golden.
"Not really," she told him. "I think at this point, if I recall correctly, you should be reading up on more of Hydra's attempts to subjugate Sgt. Barnes. I'm not sure anything from this point would shock you more than what you've already read and if it does, I apologize. Some of their experiments will curdle your blood as you read."
Steve nodded in acknowledgment and settled into the seat to begin.
Operation: Vanquish
Training Report
Project: Codename: Winter Soldier
10 December 1954
Objective: Subjugation of Subject J.B. Barnes
Subject has not demonstrated any defiant behavior since the first ECT/Drug Administration and subsequent treatments which began seven days ago. He is being prepped for another round of treatment. Subject no longer shows any signs of defiance and appears to have lost the ability to speak.
Subject was carried to the Black Room for second round of treatment. Procedure lasted 12 hours and subject showed minimal combativeness at the beginning of the procedure. ECT quelled that minor rebellion immediately.
We are extremely hopeful that these procedures will be successful in retaining this subject for our program.
Dept. X
Operation: Vanquish
Re-training Report
Project: Codename: Winter Soldier
24 December 1954
Objective: Subjugation of Subject J.B. Barnes
It's been three weeks of consistent ECT therapy and drug treatments every 4 – 7 days. A period of healing is required by the medical team lasting a minimum 48 hours and often delayed to 72 hours due to obvious injury to subject's central nervous system (CNS) as indicated by constant body tremors and inability to speak or to walk on his own accord. ECT therapy along with physical punishment and psychological torture has allowed us to gain almost full control over subject.
Subject has ceased his rebellious behavior. Subject does not appear to retain any memory of his former self (due to repeated large doses of scopolamine) and does not challenge the information we tell him about himself; which is of course fabricated information. Subject is psychologically pliable and ready for reconditioning.
Dept. X
Operation: Vanquish
Re-Conditioning Report
Project: Codename: Winter Soldier
28 December 1954
Objective: Subjugation of Subject J.B. Barnes
Re-conditioning of the subject's mind has begun. It will be a slow and methodical process to be certain nothing goes awry. Our psychology department conducts evaluations each day and we have the go ahead to continue.
Subjugation of Subject J.B. Barnes is successful; Operation Vanquish is now complete
Dept. X
Operation: Sputnik
Conditioning of Hydra Assassin
Codename: Winter Soldier
1 January 1955
Objective: Implanting Code Words in order to control Winter Soldier through methods shared by the Weapon X Project out of Canada.
Soldier is slated for next mission on 11 January 1955 in Cairo. We hope our efforts will be worthwhile.
Update: Mission was successful. Soldier returned to handlers without incident. Upon return to Hydra base he was debriefed, mission report recorded; his memory wiped and put into stasis until next mission.
Update: Mission slated for 12 May 1956 in Paris. Results were as we'd hoped. Soldier returned to handlers for extraction without incident.
Steve noted that the time between recorded missions was eighteen full months. Which most likely meant that there was a year and a half that Bucky was forced to sleep through in a cryogenic state. Nearly two years of his life went by as the world outside changed and moved forward without him. Steve took a moment to really let that sink in and then he continued reading.
Update: Mission slated for 17 February 1957 in Mexico City. Mission was successful, but Soldier did not return to handlers for extraction.
Operatives searched for him and found him wandering outside city limits. Wranglers were brought in to control the situation. Soldier returned with them without further incident. He was wiped and returned to stasis until further evaluations can be rendered.
"He wandered away," Steve said aloud. He looked up from the papers to Dr. Golden. "He walked away."
"Yes," she confirmed. "Even after Hydra was certain they had full control over him… he finished the mission and then wandered away."
"He was still fighting," Steve realized.
"He was," Dr. Golden replied with a small smile.
Steve went back to reading the next record.
Dept. X
Operation: Sputnik
Conditioning of Hydra Assassin
Codename: Winter Soldier
14 March 1957
Soldier was removed from stasis to evaluate his conditioning. Soldier did not respond to handlers appropriately and appeared reluctant to follow orders. Conference with counterparts in Weapon X Project is forthcoming.
**Update: See records dated Dec 12, 1959
Update: 31 May 1957
Winter Soldier is scheduled for a full mental evaluation beginning tomorrow afternoon. Soldier is becoming more difficult to keep under our control yet again. It appears to all involved that to keep the Soldier under our total control at all times, he must return to Hydra for full mind wipe within a period of 72 – 96 hours and returned to stasis immediately. Upon awakening he will be wiped again and totally re-conditioned before each new mission.
"Hydra needs him to return within seventy-two hours or the conditioning begins to falter?" Steve asked her.
"That's the way Nick and I read it as well," Dr. Golden told him.
"So if we keep him here long enough…" Steve suddenly realized.
"We should start to see evidence of the Soldier persona receding and Sgt. Barnes beginning to return. That is our hope anyway," she told him. "However, it has been many decades since these reports were recorded so we should hope, but not set our goals on that happening."
Steve regarded Dr. Golden as he contemplated her words and then nodded. He wasn't happy about that probable truth, but he did have to agree to its possibility. He turned the page and did a quick scan of the record there, it was more of the same so he flipped through the pages quickly until one stood out.
Dept. X
Weapon X Conference
Project: Winter Soldier
12 Dec. 2957
Dept X conferred with Weapon X program administrators for the purpose of experimentation that will be mutually beneficial to both programs.
It has been determined and agreed upon that a portion of the Research and Development Program of BGG/Chemical Division within Weapon X will be devoted to Dept. X for the discovery of the following materials and methods to be used on the Winter Soldier subject:
1. Substances which will promote illogical thinking and impulsiveness to the point where the subject would be discredited in public if they were to tell anyone what they've experienced.
Steve read all the way down to the last, including the items in between which turned his stomach into knots.
7. Substances which will enhance the ability of individuals to withstand privation, torture and coercion during interrogation and so-called "brainwashing".
8. Materials and physical methods which will produce amnesia for events preceding and during their use.
9. Physical methods of producing shock and confusion over extended periods of time and capable of surreptitious use.
...and the list continued to describe more and more heinous acts against their test subject, such as were declared on the next page as Steve continued to read.
11. Substances which will produce "pure" euphoria with no subsequent let-down.
12. Substances which alter personality structure in such a way that the tendency of the recipient to become dependent upon another person is enhanced. (ie, handler)
13. A material which will cause mental confusion of such a type that the individual under its influence will find it difficult to maintain a fabrication under questioning, in short; a truth serum.
Steve couldn't wrap his head around the information he was reading. Not only was it despicable to think about doing these things to a human being but knowing they had been done to his best friend made Rogers want to heave.
"I need another drink," he mentioned to Natasha. She immediately got up and took his glass to the bar.
Steve turned the page to find an itemized list of the actual experiments they had used to try to extinguish Bucky's personality and turn him into the Winter Soldier.
Mission: To investigate whether, and how, it is or could be possible to modify and control an individual subject's behavior by covert means for top secret and highly sensitive covert missions.
Steve read the first experiments and realized that they were the same ones Hydra had tried on Barnes early on in his capture. It was apparent that both organizations were well-versed in mind bending techniques. He flipped through the pages, scanning each record and its findings until he came to one that caught his attention. The number of the experiment also grabbed his attention so he flipped forward through the pages quickly to see just how many experiments they performed on Bucky… when he saw #198 he let the pages drop back down.
Before being able to read Experiment #12 he couldn't take his eyes off the first three words in the Notes section. He couldn't even imagine being at the mercy of men without mercy, being put through painful and terrifying experiments… and being stripped of his humanity and dignity in every way.
Experiment #12
Notes: Subject is naked, strapped down to a board with wrists and ankles cuffed to the board. Head is rigidly held in place by strap around forehead. Visor placed on subject's head. Visual and audible imagery projected into subject's mind as physical experiments begin.
Procedure: Cell is dark and cold, ice cold air is blasted into the cell; temperatures drop to freezing. Subject is draped with a sheet and ice water is poured over the subject and left there as the room temp drops to 20 degrees.
Result - Subject cries out in pain, over an apparently agonizing 4 hours, as he slowly freezes to death. Death occurs; subject is reheated slowly; body temperature returns to normal, CPR is performed and positive pressure artificial respirations are continued until subject begins spontaneous respirations at 1 hour 37 mins from time of death. Results recorded - subject survives.
Outcome - Successful
Experiment #33
Notes: High-potency muscle relaxant administered.
Result - Within 30-40 seconds paralysis begins to invade the small muscles of fingers, toes and eyes. Within one minute extremities stiffen, signaling full musculo-skeletal paralysis. Paralysis of inter-costal muscles (ribcage) and the diaphragm follows immediately, respirations diminish to 3 shallow breaths per minute, heart rate slows to 50 beats per minute; combined condition (cardiac distress and respiratory arrest) sets in for 2-5 mins, drug begins to wear off.
Observations - Subject remains fully conscious and aware throughout experiment, trying to gasp for breath. With respiratory system paralyzed - a simulated slow death, "much like drowning" occurs - subject fought unsuccessfully to move and to breathe, the fight or flight responses kicking in instinctively, range of movement nullified by paralysis. Subject is helpless in paralyzed state, resulting in an emotional and psychological terror.
Experiment Outcome - Successful.
Steve's hands began to shake as he continued to read about the atrocities committed against his friend. Dr. Golden took note of his response but allowed him to make the choice to keep reading.
He flipped page after page after page, realizing truly for the first time precisely what James Barnes had to endure to become what he was today. Steve shook his head as he continued to read about one experiment after another.
Experiment # 46
Aversion Therapy - unpleasant reinforcement to a response that is undesirable
Techniques Used; electro-shock, repeated pain infliction, starvation, use of terror drugs, exposure to fear producing situations, exposure to repeated terror-inducing events, exposure to extreme temperatures and environmental conditions for prolonged periods, exposure to loud noises and other stimuli to produce a startle response
Outcome - Successful, recommended for future utilization
Experiment # 72
Sleep deprivation
Notes: alternating Drug Admin.
Procedure - Forced sleep deprivation and isolation, combined with administration of paralyzing muscle relaxant and alternate FV-332 induction.
Effects - Body rigidness, severe muscular pain, uncontrolled trembling, fogged cognition and confusion, aching restlessness, blurred vision, auditory and visual hallucinations
Observations - Heightened anxiety resulting in sedation of subject at times. Subject vacillates between total psychological collapse due to traumatizing events, and outwardly affective bursts of rage.
Outcome - Subject removed from test lab and sedated for 2 weeks in coma induced state
Result - Subject recovers physically from effects, appears totally amnesiac of the events, sleep disturbances are recorded by staff coupled with violent bursts of anger occurring during normal daily activities
Experiment # 88
Desensitization - Audio and Visual
Techniques - use of projection equipment, including helmets and visors to project images and sounds into subject's memory until the terrifying and disquieting effects to the psyche no longer exist
Notes - restraints were needed to force subject to view visual images and listen unimpeded to audio loops - devices used on subject's eyelids to prevent blinking
Results – subject is able to kill, or view a kill, without regret or remorse. Subject shows no hesitation and no mercy - Excellent results
Experiments #131 - #157
Drug Experimentation and Therapy ** NOTE: Weapon X personnel were informed that KGB/Dept X was already in the process of using drug therapy to gain the subject's cooperation. Weapon X insists on continuing their program in order of completion.
Experiment # 165 - #198
Memory Erasure and Control/bold
Notes and Observations - Synapses in the brain work as transmitter/receivers, overloading of information results in brain ceasing to process and transmit. Excessive Acetyl Choline in the brain can interfere with memory processing and control - to this extent, excessive AC can be artificially produced through the administration of drug therapy or through the use of radio waves, known as EDOM or Electronic Dissolution of Memory
Notes - Memory transmission can be halted for the duration the radio signal continues. Memory is distorted and orientation with time passage is destroyed. Awareness skips over those minutes during which he is subjected to the signal
Results - Successfully demonstrates that microwaves can be used to directly bring about changes in the electrical patterns of different parts of the brain.
Steve flipped through the file open on his lap. There were dozens more of these heinous experiments that they had inflicted on Barnes. He couldn't even comprehend the magnitude of the crimes committed against his friend. He had promised himself that he wouldn't shed another tear on Bucky's behalf until he was able to do the same for himself; he had to take half a dozen deep breaths through his nose to keep himself from letting loose though.
"Captain? Are you all right?" Dr. Golden asked. It took him a few seconds to acknowledge her question and then he did so with a simple nod of his head. "Time to take a break," she told him.
Steve closed the file without an argument. His mind was reeling and he felt numb and angry at the same time.
"How do they get away with this?" Steve asked.
"Because we can't find them," Dr. Golden told him. "These organizations have been doing this to unsuspecting victims for decades… nearly a century."
"It's kind of ironic that the Soviets named their assassin Winter Soldier, don't you think?" Steve asked.
"We do," Emily told him. "It's quite obvious that his codename is a bit of a slap in the face at the American government."
Natasha looked at Dr. Golden with a frown, not understanding how the Winter Soldier moniker was an insult to Americans.
Emily noticed her inquisitive expression and explained, "In December 1776, the writer Thomas Paine penned a phrase that went like this, "These are the times that try men's souls: the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country, but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman..." which simply meant that the American fighting man would most likely cease his endeavors to forward his country's defense in the face of the harsh winter conditions. Calling this man the Winter Soldier surely was meant to convey that nothing will deter him from his mission."
"Do you think all that was done to him can be undone?" Steve asked.
Dr. Golden shrugged. "Bruce believes that some of it may be reversible. Some of what was done to him does not adhere well and appears to be temporary. We have no idea what that much drug administration has done to him or what the permanent side effects will be from the drugs and the outrageous ECT he's undergone. We can't even be sure that any memories he gets back will stay with him. There is something that we call 'intrusive memories' or 'memory fragmentation', in which patients will get flashes of visual memory that they can't put into any context with their past or with other memories. It can be very frustrating and even traumatizing to many patients who simply don't understand what they are seeing."
"Are you talking about a flash back?" Steve asked.
"No," Dr. Golden answered. "A flashback and an intrusive memory are two different things… and Sgt. Barnes very well may experience both. An intrusive memory can be very distressing to the person who's experienced one, but with these fragmentations the person remains in control of reality and simply sees an image or thought fragment that he can't quite grasp.
"A flashback is like a waking nightmare; they often come on suddenly and are uncontrollable. With a flashback, the sufferer cannot distinguish between the flashback and reality, feeling as though the traumatic event is happening again, at that moment. Those are absolutely terrifying to both the sufferer and the bystander."
"Will we be able to tell the difference when it's happening?" Steve asked.
"You should," Dr. Golden tried to assure him. "The difference between an intrusive memory and a flashback can be a subtle one at times, but while a memory can be distressing and even cause anxiety, reassurance is usually all that is needed; a flashback, while also very intrusive, is a dissociative event, meaning, there is a period of time, either brief or extended, where time and reality are suspended for the duration of the flashback. He won't be here, in the present day, during a flashback; it will be a… reliving of a traumatic experience as if it's happening again for the first time. Flashbacks are very vivid, and very frightening, sensory experiences."
Steve shook his head at the thought of these nightmares continuing to traumatize Bucky even after he's been rescued. "What do we do?" Steve asked. "What ican/i we do?"
Dr. Golden gave him a compassionate smile. "We wait. Be patient. It'll happen soon enough. How and why and when, we don't know, so don't make yourself crazy with it in the mean time. We'll just have to take it as it comes to us. We'll be here to help him as he needs it."
Steve nodded that he understood.
Dr. Golden glanced at her watch to see it was just after midnight. "It's time for all of us to get some rest. I'll see you both in the morning. Captain, will you be all right?"
Steve raised his eyes to look at her. "Yes, Doctor. I'll be fine."
"Please get some sleep. When the time comes, you're going to need to be rested."
"I will. Thank you, Doctor." Steve stood up and excused himself. "I think I'm going to sit with him for a little while. I have to, or I'll never sleep."
Dr. Golden nodded and offered him a small smile. She completely understood how all this information was affecting Captain Rogers. If he needed to sit with the Soldier to reassure himself that his friend was fine before being able to sleep, she certainly wouldn't deny him of that.
TBC'd