“How complete is the memory loss?”
“We’ve perfected it after dozens of human trials. I have the frequency so precise that the candidate maintains all their mental functions but no memory of who they are, where they are, where they’ve been or of what they are capable. They are beautiful blank slates. Would you like to see for yourself?”
“Yes, of course.” Fredrick answered immediately.
“Please, feel free to don some gloves. I’ll need your help with our subjects.” Arkdone said as he grabbed two for himself.
“Will we be using humans?”
“No, tonight I’ll just have to show you with some well-trained rats.” Arkdone walked to a cage, opened it and pulled out two rats: one brown, the other white.
“If you would, Fredrick, in the refrigerator behind you, you’ll find a plate of cheese. Please remove it and place it at the far end of the rodent maze we used before. This time we’re going to see the creatures run the entire maze perfectly, as they have memorized the path.”
“Fascinating,” Bjorn offered, genuinely interested in what was about to happen. He placed the cold glass plate of cheese at the far end of the maze and watched.
“All right, let’s begin,” the Senator said and put both rats at the start of the maze.
Both rats scurried through the course just as Arkdone said they would. Neither of them ducked down any wrong paths and both arrived at the cheese inside fifteen seconds.
“Yes, they’ve obviously memorized the maze,” Bjorn nodded excitedly.
“Now, choose one and bring them to The Perfect Concussion device.”
Bjorn wasn’t fond of rats in the least, but he obeyed the Senator out of obligation. He chose the brown rat. The white rat ignored his chosen colleague and continued nibbling on the cheese.
The Senator was holding an electrode in one hand and smearing some jelly onto its surface with the other. “Just hold him still for a moment while I attach the device,” the Senator ordered.
Bjorn obeyed, though fear ran up his spine like ice at the thought that he was holding a creature connected to that machine. “Sir, forgive me for asking, but is it safe for me to hold the creature during the frequency blast?” The rat now was wearing the electrode at the base of its skull and squirming in Bjorn’s hands. Afraid the creature was about to bolt, the doctor clinched his fists around his middle, only to see the rat’s eyes bulge alarmingly. He loosened his grip on the rat, but was so preoccupied with it that he hadn’t noticed the giddy grin on Arkdone’s face as he reached to flip the switch.
A loud thumping sound startled Bjorn so effectively; he nearly dropped the rat stiffening in his gloved hands.
Arkdone was laughing at the shocked look on Fredrick’s face.
“What’s your name?”
“Dr. Fredrick Bjorn.”
“Well, I guess it was safe enough for you to hold the rat then, wasn’t it?” He continued to chuckle at his prank.
Fredrick, on the other hand, felt faint for the first time in twenty-five years.
“I’ll go retrieve the white rat and we’ll start the race to the finish again.”
Bjorn slowly removed the electrode from the back of the rat’s head, enjoying the pain filled squeaks still emanating from the creature. He walked slowly back to the starting box, looking into the dazed rat eyes as he shuffled.
He had been working with humans for so long, he had forgotten the thrill he could get from holding a helpless creature in his hands, to feel its heart race against his fingertips, to watch its entire body stand rigid with fear. It gave him a rush. Humans were still his favorite, but this rat setup wasn’t so bad, Bjorn decided.
Now as for Arkdone’s little prank, he would have to remember the bastard’s sadistic sense of humor. Apparently, he was recruited to replace a former physician who had, in Arkdone’s words, “served his purpose.”
Bjorn appreciated the challenge his new boss provided and felt a sick sense of admiration for someone so callous to those around him.
Both rats were back in the starting box. “Now, let the race begin,” Arkdone announced as though to a crowd of a hundred people instead of just Bjorn and the rats.
The white rat took off running his usual path flawlessly toward the cheese.
The brown rat took a few steps and started wandering back into the starting box, then turned in several circles before stopping to lick his paw and clean his face.
“There, you see? No memory of the maze he knew perfectly moments before.”
“How permanent is the loss?”
“Completely. He will never regain his former memory, but we can build new ones on the blank slate that is his mind.” Arkdone nodded meaningfully.
“You’re planning to use this on the Winter Clan, aren’t you?”
“You catch on quickly, Bjorn. That’s what I like about you. I think you’ll fit in just fine here.” Arkdone patted Bjorn on the back so enthusiastically, the doctor had to catch himself against the maze.