Marko looked at his charge in dismay for several moments before he left the room. He closed the door gently - then rammed his fist into the opposite wall. "Fuck!" he yelled, more in anger than in pain, before he stormed off for the doctor's office.
"Who the hell interfered with the conditioning?!?" he roared as he barged into the office. "I said minimal treatment! We know they function better if they can interact normally - look at Elsa! Not only does Ranko not remember much, what she does remember is being told to forget!" he ranted at the Doctor, not even noticing there was someone else in the room.
"I ordered the change," came a voice from behind him. Jean's voice. Marko didn't even think, he just lunged first, catching Jean on the cheekbone. Then he grabbed the taller man by the front of his jacket, and lifted him against the wall.
"Bastard! You almost screwed up Rico and Claes with your ideas, you did screw up Elsa, and now you might have ruined Ranko, too. Your way doesn't work, and it never did - they have to interact, or they go insane! They need to feel human, or as close as possible, or they berserk! Or they fade, like Angelique!"
He very carefully did not mention Henrietta, the girl who had become quite successful despite having some of the most thorough edits. That was due to special circumstances - it was better for her not to remember those last few days before she'd "qualified". And José had very carefully retaught her how to interact, how to feel human. Jean treated the girls like disposable weapons, and had instructed Claes' and Elsa's handlers to do the same. One had caught himself, and his charge, in time - the other had not.
"You do know that I will recommend your removal from this project for this?" Jean sneered down at him, despite his feet being four inches off the ground. Marko was about to answer when he was interrupted.
"Marko is right," two voices said at the same time - the Doc, from behind him, and the Boss, watching from the door of an adjacent office. "Your method has proven the least successful so far - Rico is our least effective operative, not through lack of training or talent, but through lack of motivation," the chief continued. "That falls on your head."
"Also," the Doc elaborated, "the individual parameters of the conditioning is up to the handler involved, and that handler alone. Section 2's continued need for Rico is the only reason I will not at present recommend your termination. In fact, if I thought she could handle it, I'd turn her over to José immediately, just to get you off the project. You are also barred from requesting further alterations of Rico's restrictions, since she's getting close to the redline."
The sneer receded, and Marko slowly set the man down on his feet. Jean took a moment to straighten out his clothes and his features. When he answered, his eyes glittered coldly, as usual.
"I see," he said, and left.
"The question now," commented the chief, "is what we do about Ranko."
Marko scratched his head in worry.
"That's just it, Boss, Doc. Something very screwed up happened during conditioning - Ranko says she remembers the whole thing, listening to me telling her to forget, and about killing. Like posthypnotic suggestion, almost. The wierd thing is that she had company inside her head while listening," he explained.
"Company?" both the older men asked.
"Yeah. A cat, of all things. She said, and I quote: 'I met him while I was asleep. I was afraid of him, and you told me not to, while I was asleep. So I wasn't, and when you went away, I played with him.'"
"We'll investigate," the Doc promised. "Further edits at the moment might ruin her, and we need to know what we're dealing with."
Marko looked at him, then the boss, and nodded slowly. "I put her back to sleep before I left, and said I'd have a doctor or a nurse with me the next time. Do you have a moment now?"
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(Posted Wed, 13 Oct 2004 18:31)
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