“What about your special implants?”
“They control and monitor the brain activity and hormones, yes. However, you triggered him to think for himself again. You encouraged him to expect reward for his violent actions. Now he is unsatisfied the reward has not come.”
“Then your treatment isn’t foolproof, and you need to start again and plug the holes. I make no apologies for using Subjugate-52 to help me take the Bountiful killer down.”
“I understand he was the only resource at hand, and you needed him, but you should never have promised him what you did.”
“I did what I had to do to survive and stop my perp from killing more innocent women.”
“Well we have a problem on our hands now. Because he keeps asking about you. Where you are, why you haven’t asked about his welfare, why you haven’t been to see him, why Detective Brentt promised he would become a Serene.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to start his treatment again. You know, the beatings, the shock therapy, the mind washing with religion.” Salvi scoffed a laugh. “And apparently this is all my fault.”
“Doctor Remmell and the Caretaker took things a step too far, granted,” Fen said, straightening his jacket, “but I’m here now to rein things in.”
“Yeah, and how does Attis Solme like that?”
“He likes keeping his complex open, so he will do what’s necessary to make that happen. Part of my remit here is to report to federal authorities. This complex is being much more closely watched now.”
Salvi stifled a yawn. “Great. Well, if you’re done with the admonishing–”
“I’m not here to admonish, detective,” Fen said. “I’m here to ask you to help me treat him.”
“Help?”
“Yes. I’d like you to record a video message I can play him. You will tell him he can still become a Serene, but in order to do that, he must undergo further treatment first. That he must be patient.”
“So you want to dangle me like a carrot in front of him, tell him if he’s a good boy, he’ll get what he wants.”
“We will word the video in such a way that it will be the final communication between you. I’m doing this to end this little… fixation… he has on you.”
“Fixation?” Salvi asked, noticing the hairs on her arms stand on end.
“We will stamp it out before it escalates.”
“Tell me something, doctor,” Salvi said, “how could Subjugate-52 possibly escalate if your treatment works?”
Fen stared at her a moment. “This man will be cured. The Solme Complex will ensure that. Now, I’ll send you the wording. Please send the video message as soon as you can.”
Fen ended the call and the silver sheen left Salvi’s eyes. She stared at herself in the mirror, pictured Subjugate-52 standing on the other side of it; tall, broad, the silver halo wrapped around his shaved skull. Then she pictured the Bountiful killer standing beside the Subjugate. She didn’t know which man terrified her more. The man with brutal tendencies or the man with formerly brutal tendencies, supposedly controlled by neural tech and drugs.
But was he really?
It had always bothered her just how easily Subjugate-52 had broken his serenity, but she’d pushed those feelings down because Subjugate-52 had come to her aid against the Bountiful killer. She knew their halos were predominately used to measure activity in certain areas of the brain, mainly as a warning system, and only to control them in extreme cases. If Subjugate-52 was not fully controlled and now had this ‘fixation’, what did this mean for her?
She’d studied Subjugate-52’s file in depth. Edward Moses had been an incredibly violent killer and one who had a very high IQ. He was finally caught by police only because he’d wanted to be caught. Was he playing the ultimate mind game with the Solme Complex, pretending to be cured when he wasn’t, to limit the torture, to gain access to the outside world again? Was he still Edward Moses beneath the façade, or had he really become Subjugate-52? Was he still the caterpillar, or had he really become the butterfly?
She stepped under the shower wanting to wash her mind of these thoughts. She closed her eyes as the hot water ran over her skin. All the while Subjugate-52’s halo stuck in her mind. She thought about the neural implant technology of the halo, how it monitored and controlled their behavior. Then she recalled the brief footage from Barker’s studio again. She pictured the woman who’d been wearing the neural device, saw the women raising their glasses on the Ceiling, throwing their long hair back, having a great time. Then she thought how ironic it was that the Subjugates were being forced to wear their halos while there were civilians in the city voluntarily wearing neural devices to get their kicks.
She stepped out of the shower, dried and dressed, then swiftly collapsed into bed. She wanted to keep thinking about the case, but her exhaustion had other ideas and swiftly pulled her into the dark depths of sleep.
6: ALTERNATIVES
Salvi looked around Ground Zero. It was heaving tonight. She wondered whether any of these people had normal day jobs. The place looked like it was filled with wannabe models and actors and musicians of all kinds; all the beautiful people. And those who weren’t beautiful were definitely rich. She could tell by the cut of their clothes, the jewelry dripping off them, the top-shelf liquor they drank, the tech they pulled from their pockets and purses or wore on their person. She’d occasionally see the glow of lenses or a ringwatch.
She didn’t want to risk hooking up with tourists again tonight. She wanted to meet the locals. She wanted to meet someone who could take her to the next level. She looked
