Chapter 40: Cellrebrum
The Cellrebrum Region Rehabilitation Centre was the most advanced rehabilitation facility in Sapey. They had access to the most advanced technology and the most advanced experimental drugs. The Spiro Company ran the centre. It worked in partnership with Rezif Company, which specialised in experimental medication, and Aivr Company, which specialised in virtual reality simulation. The Carvaress Company was not a direct partner. However, it supplied all the experimental technology used by both Rezif and Aivr.
The drugs were used for many purposes. They could be used to calm prisoners who were anxious or even aggressive. They could be used to block prisoners’ emotional inhibitors. They could be used to induce certain emotions. Some drugs were even used to cause prisoners to hallucinate.
Drugs were administered in many different ways. They were placed in the food and drink, the air, or through injections. Only injections required prisoner consent. The other methods were often done without even informing the prisoners.
Technology was used for more than just surveillance. It was used to monitor prisoners’ health, their reactions to particular stimuli, and brain activity. Technology was also used to enhance hallucinations caused by drugs. Prisoners were often required to participate in life-like virtual reality settings to test how well they were progressing with their rehabilitation. Prisoners were placed in virtual environments that the rehabilitation staff considered triggers for the prisoners to reoffend. If prisoners performed well in these environments, they were more likely to be considered for release.
The Cellrebrum Region Rehabilitation Centre consisted of scientists, psychologists, and enforcers. Dr. Cortex was the Head of Staff for the centre. He signed off on all-important decisions regarding prisoners. Dr. Cortex was unique from other Sapiens. He was considered a product of ‘Direct Robotics’. His brain had been upgraded with technology. The upgrades gave him certain advantages, such as perfect memory and recollection of events, the ability to make immediate mathematical calculations, heightened use of senses, and direct input from web-based artificial intelligence. Zolam and Mida were his deputy heads. They were both trained psychologists. They were more hands-on with the prisoners, while Dr. Cortex observed behaviour and determined which technology and drugs should be applied to prisoners.
Of the new batch of prisoners, Vulay and Morgan were considered to require the most attention. The rehabilitation staff were most interested in Vulay. Her behaviour was very unusual for an enforcer. They wanted to understand why she acted differently and why she was different.
Her assessment began with interviews. She was interviewed as part of the broader group of new arrivals as well as individually. The rehabilitation staff were mostly satisfied with her responses to questions, but they felt they needed to know much more about how she felt and what she thought about the most.
They introduced a cocktail of different drugs into her food and drink so that her inner thoughts would materialise as hallucinations. After a few hours, it became clear that she was still thinking a lot about Victor. He was part of her hallucinations. She would sometimes have conversations with him. If a male staff member entered her cell, she would often think he was Victor.
Dr. Cortex called on Arville to monitor her behaviour with him. He wanted Arville’s insight, as he worked with her for a long time and was involved in her arrest. Arville explained how Vulay enabled Victor to grow his following by protecting him from investigations.
Dr. Cortex suspected Vulay’s emotional attachment to Victor was the main cause of her criminal behaviour. However, his passing would not necessarily mean she could be safely reintroduced into society. He feared two possible scenarios. In the first scenario, she would attempt to continue Victor’s work of causing disruption or even facilitate more abductions of children. This could be her way of continuing to show her commitment to Victor. In the second scenario, she would be able to move on from Victor but would find herself attracted to a similar type of character. Therefore, she could become an accomplice in whatever dastardly deeds this new love interest pursued.
Dr. Cortex decided that Arville would impersonate Victor. The drugs would cause Vulay to hallucinate so that Arville would appear as Victor. He believed Arville had sufficient background information on both Vulay and Victor to appear convincing.
Arville quite liked the idea of role-playing. It gave him a new way to torment Vulay. Arville was dressed in Victor’s clothes and even wore Victor’s cologne. He had an earpiece. Zolam would feed information through to him to help with conversations when necessary. Vulay was heavily dosed with hallucinogenic drugs.
Arville entered Vulay’s cell. He was a little nervous that she might recognise him as Arville instead of Victor.
‘Victor, Victor, you’re here. How can you be here?’ cried out Vulay nervously.
She was sitting on the sofa in the lounge area of the cell. Arville approached her. ‘Yes, it is me. I’m alright now,’ said Arville in a soft tone.
‘I saw you die in front of me,’ she said in a strained voice.
‘I was badly hurt, but they fixed me,’ replied Arville.
‘No. No. No. I saw you die,’ she said angrily as she moved away from him.
‘I’m stronger than you think,’ said Arville.
‘The Head Enforcer announced you were dead,’ said Vulay.
‘He kept it secret so he could get you to talk,’ said Arville.
Vulay was feeling very stressed.
‘Believe your eyes,’ said Arville.
Vulay saw Victor sitting in front of her. She could even smell his low-quality ‘rights’ cologne. Suddenly, she lunged forward and hugged him hard. ‘I’ve missed you so much,’ she said.
Zolam felt relieved that they had made a breakthrough. Dr. Cortex remained focused on Vulay’s brain activity.
‘I’ve missed you too. It feels like forever since I’ve seen you,’ said Arville.
‘Please, don’t wake up,’ she said as she pressed her face into his chest.
‘This is all real. Trust me,’ said Arville.
‘We have so much to talk about. For now, just for today, just hold me in your arms,’ she said.
‘Sure,’ replied Arville as he kissed the top of her head.
She lay in his arms for a couple of hours until Mida entered the cell to inform Victor that it was his time to leave. Vulay became stressed as they took him away. Mida reassured her that Victor would be back the next day. Mida was also carrying a plate of food. It was Vulay’s dinner. He placed the food on the table.
Arville returned to the Observation Room. ‘That was a boring waste of time,’ he said.
‘I disagree. That was an amazing breakthrough,’ replied Dr. Cortex.
‘You managed to establish trust. You convinced her you were the real Victor,’ said Zolam.
‘Tomorrow, you need to stimulate a good conversation. I am interested in learning what she desperately needs to tell you,’ said Dr. Cortex.
‘Remember, you need to remain sympathetic to her,’ said Zolam.
‘Sure, I can do that,’ replied Arville. ‘If that doesn’t produce results, I have a few creative ideas.’
Arville left the Observation Room.
‘What about him?’ Zolam asked Dr. Cortex.
‘He didn’t lie. Her outpouring really did bore him,’ replied Dr. Cortex.
‘He needs more help than she does,’ said Zolam.
‘Some Sapiens can’t be helped,’ replied Dr. Cortex.
The next day, Arville entered Vulay’s cell. She was exercising in the middle of the cell. When she saw him, she ran over to hug him.
‘Did they tell you when we can become official cellmates?’ Vulay asked Arville.
‘No mention. They don’t trust us,’ replied Arville.
‘Yes, trust is lacking. They took away my three hours of outdoor time,’ said Vulay.
‘They didn’t even give me any outdoor time,’ said Arville.
‘We have something better. We have this time,’ she said as she held him tight.
Arville tried to be enthusiastic, but he was struggling, as this moment seemed to last far too long for his liking.
‘I have something interesting I need to tell you,’ said Vulay.
‘I’m all ears,’ replied Arville.
‘The girls were imposters,’ said Vulay. ‘Orcille knew, and it seemed like the parents caught on. That’s why they are here.’
‘I can’t see how that’s possible,’ replied Arville. ‘They fooled too many for that to be plausible.’ Vulay frowned. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. Vulay walked into the bedroom. Arville followed her in.
‘I feel we need some private time together,’ said Vulay. ‘I’m finding it hard to think. I suspect they put something in the food or drink.’ She began undoing her top.
‘Hmm, a bit of fun. It seems like it has been too long,’ said Arville as he began to feel excited.
Meanwhile, in the Observation Room. Dr. Cortex ordered the guard outside the cell to remove Arville immediately. The guard came rushing in. Vulay was unbuttoning Arville’s shirt.
‘Okay, let’s go now. We can’t allow this,’ he said as he grabbed Arville by the arm. He led Arville out of the cell. Vulay was sitting on the bed, staring up at the cameras.
Arville entered the Observation Room. ‘Why the hell did you pull me out? I was onto something big,’ shouted Arville.
‘You were about to be exposed,’ said Dr. Cortex.
‘I was about to start enjoying this job for a moment,’ said Arville angrily.
‘You said something stupid,’ said Dr. Cortex. ‘She doubted you. She wanted you to remove your shirt so she could see and feel your wounds. The wounds you don’t have.’
‘You don’t know what you are talking about. She would have hallucinated them like she did the rest of me,’ argued Arville.
‘Hallucinations only occur for the familiar,’ replied Dr. Cortex. ‘She has never seen your wounds before. Therefore, she is unable to hallucinate them.’
‘Your drugs suck,’ said Arville angrily. ‘I am a master interrogator. From now on, I’ll do things my way, and I will give you everything you need.’
‘Sure, tomorrow, you may adopt whatever approach you feel is most effective,’ replied Dr. Cortex. ‘We will just purely observe your performance.’
‘You won’t regret it,’ said Arville as he walked out of the Observation Room.
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