“Some believe the origin of many Monarch Programming techniques used today began during occult rituals described in the Egyptian Book of the Dead written around 1500 BC,” Donovan Arkdone began.
“Likely subjects?”
“The perfect subjects are from three to twelve-years-old and above average to exceptional intelligence. Like your metahumans, they can be male or female. We call them ‘candidates’.”
Kenneth Williams sat at the edge of his seat committing every word Arkdone spoke to memory while trying to think of how to word his next question.
“How are they programmed?”
“Ah, now that’s a question that could take quite a while to answer,” Arkdone reached for the half-empty bottle of Scotch and offered to fill Williams’ tumbler. Williams politely shook his head. The professor shrugged and poured himself another tall glass of the golden liquid. He took a leisurely sip before continuing.
“How much detail do you want to know?” Arkdone asked.
“As much as time will allow for now. Later, I want to know all of it.”
“Not everyone has the stomach for the vulgar details of my work.”
“Not everyone has the stomach for the vulgar details of my work, either. I believe we can agree we’re both exceptions to the rule.” With that, Williams reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out the two eyeballs and placed them carefully on the decorative silver platter in the center of their coffee table.
Arkdone leaned down to get a better look. He removed a royal blue Montblanc pen from his breast pocket and used it to roll the orbs. It only took a moment for him to realize what they were. “Nicely preserved,” he commented, nodding his appreciation. There wasn’t a hint of disgust or horror behind his steely gray eyes.
Williams grinned widely. I chose my partner well, he thought.
“Do I want to know to whom these belong?”
“A nobody.”
“Good. As long as they didn’t belong to your last business partner, I’m fine,” Professor Arkdone smiled wickedly.
Williams laughed heartily at the professor’s humor.
“So as for the methods—they are trauma based. Over the span of a few years, the candidate is systematically exposed to mind-shattering events. Often in the beginning, psychotropic drugs are used to help achieve the altered state of mind. The subject is forced to perform acts that go against everything they ever believed was right and good. They are forced to kill, maim, consume, witness and participate in any and every despicable, horrific, deplorable act ever thought up by the most sadistic human minds—the most deviant of whom are already on my payroll, of course.”
“Impressive,” Dr. Kenneth Williams was in awe. “I’d very much like to take a tour of your facility.”
“In due time, I’m sure that could be arranged.” The professor grinned handsomely.
“So, after your programmers have torn down the psyches of the candidates, then what?”
“That’s where the programming is vital. Their minds have been shattered. They’ve experienced such horrible traumas, their minds split into multiple personalities. Each personality has a job to do to make it so the entire ‘system’ functions. That’s why it is so vital we invest our time in only the most brilliant-minded subjects. Their intelligence gives their brains a certain malleability we need—an elasticity that allows these dissociative identities to coexist inside the same body.”
“What happens if you were to use a subject of average intelligence?”
“What do you think would happen, doctor?”
“I imagine the shattering of their minds would leave them a puddle of useless flesh.”
“Exactly.”
“That has happened before?”
“Of course.”
“And what do you do with those defective subjects?”
“They are used in the program as another means to traumatize those subjects who have survived the programming.”
“Fascinating!”
“Yes, it truly is,” Arkdone smiled with sick pride. “The subjects in trauma-based mind programming are specifically designed to have different personalities, none of whom allow themselves to be known to the core personality.”
“How does that work?”
“Well, it’s quite an intricate process, but through diligent training, a candidate is trained to respond to a code. The code is usually a certain phrase, but it could also be a song or a scent depending on what our client requests.”
“Who are your clients?” Williams asked.
Arkdone raised a single brow at his companion. “We’ll get to that later, Kenneth.”
Williams smiled. He liked to hear the professor make plans that included him.
“As I was saying,” Arkdone continued. “The candidates are programmed with a code, a trigger of sorts, that when activated, brings out the alter personality. That personality performs the given tasks without hesitation and without question. Another trigger word is in place to close the door to that personality, bringing the core back.