Control and Fear:
(Earth #8193, New-Alexandria, The Narrows,Ashcroft Asylum, 1990 A.D.)
Narrator
Chapter 29 = Control and Fear.... Ashcroft Asylum in the Narrows District of New-Alexandria, 1990 on Earth #8193… Dr. Valentine sits comfortably in her session-room chair, looking over the first file of the three new patients that were assigned to her. She looks over the information in the folder, as the realization of just how difficult these new patients could prove to be sets in. The first of the new patients she is about to meet is a man by the name of Damien W. Smyth… aka The Piper.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"We all go a little mad sometimes,"
Narrator
Mutters Dr. Valentine, amused, as she reads that Damien W. Smyth was once a fellow doctor at Ashcroft Asylum specializing in cutting-edge Harmonic Therapy Techniques.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Let's see patient was a world-famous pianist and futurist in the field of Cognio-Harmonic Technology. However, he was caught performing illegal experiments involving Harmonic-Command-Based Mind-Control on unwilling test subjects. He forced the arresting officers to commit suicide before going on a two-year-long crime spree using his mind control technology under the persona of The Piper. He was arrested 6 months ago by Knight-Raven, Deus-Excess and Zorro. After his arrest, he was sent here. Smyth seems to suffer from a very deep-seated erotic obsession with the emotions of fear and control. Perhaps that is a place to start with him. Let's focus on the 'fear' aspect first and see where that leads us,"
Narrator
Mutters Dr. Valentine as she organizes her thoughts. Smyth's violent nature is well documented throughout the file. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little scared.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Fear is a weakness and there is no time for that, Gwen. Plus, we are not looking to arouse the patient by letting him frighten us.
Narrator
Dr. Valentine recomposes herself as she prepares to come face-to-face with this lunatic, this doctor of fear and control.
The silence of the office is broken by the sound of rapping on her office door. The good doctor stands and makes her way over to the door. She opens it with a welcoming smile and gestures for her visitors to enter, shutting the door behind them. One of the visitors is a very well-built guard dressed in full combat Kevlar, carrying a combat shotgun.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Someone looks like they would feel right at home on a battlefield going knife-to-knife with an enemy soldier.
Narrator
Next to the massive guard is a very thin, scraggly-looking man. He is wrapped up tight in a straight jacket and chains. His hair is dirty and wild. His eyes are a shade of blue unlike any she has ever seen. They shine in the dull light of her office like shimmering sapphires.
He locks his gaze with hers causing her to become momentarily lost in the immense beauty of his eyes.
Gwendolyn Valentine
His eyes are like the eyes of an angel,
Narrator
Thinks Dr. Valentine before reminding herself that those eyes hide horrifying insanity. The scrawny-looking patient grins maliciously at her as the guard escorts him over to the C.N.P. Couch and gestures for the patient to lay down. Smyth does as he is bidded and calmly lays down on the C.N.P. Couch. Dr. Valentine pulls up a chair and sits down nearby the couch gesturing for the guard to leave. The guard turns and walks out of the room shutting the door behind him.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Okay, Gwen. Mr. Moon believes in you. You can do this.
"You must be Dr. Smyth. My name is Dr. Valentine, and I am to be your new therapist. Let's start off easy, shall we? Can you tell me how you are feeling today, Smyth?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine warmly as she takes out one of her pens and starts the session.
Damien Smyth
"Tired. I didn't sleep last night, after all,"
Narrator
Answers Smyth, licking his lips wickedly. The C.N.P. Wall behind Smyth wakes up, detecting Smyth's Cognio-Mnemonic Activity. The thousands of radiant blue specks of light projecting from the wall begin to morph and twist.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Yes, I heard. Something about sexually assaulting one of the female guards last night?"
Narrator
Inquires Dr. Valentine as Smyth sensually exhales as if savoring a sweet memory.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"I heard you broke her arm in two spots and left her with a shattered kneecap and two cracked ribs. How did it feel to do that?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine, her tone more pressing than before.
Damien Smyth
"It was all Bateman's idea. He started the attack, but I could smell her fear and vulnerability pulling me forward like a moth to the flame. How could I resist joining in? I owe Bateman for that. I have seen that guard around here often. Her eyes were always so lovely and confident. But they held no fear. So Bateman and I put the fear into them, and showed her how illusory her sense of control really was. What we taught her she will never forget or escape."
Narrator
The blue ghostly lights of the Wall morph themselves into a horror show of images as Smyth relives the assault in his mind. Dr. Valentine can see the guard desperately trying to crawl away from them, fighting with all her might, but to no avail. Dr. Valentine watches and takes notes as Bateman slams the guard's head into the floor while he continues to brutally pound into her with each thrust of his hips. She can see Smythe forcing the guard's mouth open and inserting himself as he pulls her hair and mocks her.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"So, you feel no guilt? No remorse for the pain that you and Bateman caused her?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine, feeling relieved when the blue lights return to their abstract state.
Damien Smyth
"You tell me, Doctor. What should I feel for her, exactly? What should I feel? Don't you see, Doctor? Giving fear is my gift to all mankind! Only through this act of giving am I really alive. Only through Fear can I show the world that their sense of control is nothing but a façade. I am Fear… I am Control. The only true free will is my will!"
Narrator
Smyth's eyes pierce deep into Dr. Valentine's core sending a deep dark shiver through her heart.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Are you trying to scare me, Smyth?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine, doing her best to maintain her composure.
Damien Smyth
"Oh no, my dear Doctor. I already have! I can smell your fear! You're saturated with it. But don't worry. Yours is a fear I want to savor for a long time to come,"
Narrator
Answers Smyth.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Calm down, Gwen! Don't be scared. You're the doctor and he's the patient. He's restrained. He cannot hurt you.
"Perhaps we should move on. Let's start at the beginning, shall we? I have your file here but there are large gaps in what we know about your past. Let's start with your parents, shall we? Who was your father?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine, attempting to sound casual but secretly desperate for a change in subject.
Damien Smyth
"Wait… wait, I know this part. I've done it before with my patients. This is the part where I'm supposed to break down and cry about how my father raped me and stole my… ohh, what's the word… innocence? Is that right, Doctor?"
Narrator
Answers Smyth playfully.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Did he?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine probingly.
"No, I'm afraid not, Doctor. Despite how easy it would be, my so-called 'insanity' is not something that can be blamed on my father. You see, he was not alive long enough. My mother made sure of that. The way she stripped away his sense of control and dissected him muscle by muscle, piece by bloody dripping piece. It was beautiful and it filled me with warmth. I could smell my father's fear fill the air, and it was glorious"
Narrator
Explains Smyth, his sadistic smile growing wider with every word as if reminiscing on something truly precious to him. The lights of the wall spring to life, morphing and bending in order to convey the gruesome images playing out in Smyth's mind. From the images, it appears Smyth is witnessing the event from his bedroom. His mother seems unaware that her crime is being watched. Dr. Valentine observes the images as her heart finds a subtle sensation of pity for Smyth.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Oh, gods, the poor child. To have to witness that.
"Your mother killed him? She killed your father right in front of you? How old were you when you saw this?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine. Compassion saturates her voice as she leans forward placing her hand on Smyth's shoulder only to have him turn away from her coldly.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Pull it back Gwen, don't over-relate.
Damien Smyth
"I was twelve, but I'll never forget how it made me feel. I felt something inside me wither and die and from its ashes, a new sensation bursts forth. From then on, I knew the power of Fear. Seeing her kill him. Seeing the fear in his eyes as she did it. It touched me. It aroused me."
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Aroused? As in sexually?"
Damien Smyth
"Yes. That was my first climax,"
Narrator
Answers Smyth as Dr. Valentine scribbles down more notes. After a few moments, the images fade and the lights return to abstractness.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Well, that's a massive red flag right there.
Narrator
Dr. Valentine takes a deep breath and then continues.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"So, to what gender are you sexually attracted, Smyth? Men? Women?"
Damien Smyth
"Terror and Vulnerability, doctor. Their gender does not matter,"
Narrator
Interrupts Smyth, clearly becoming aroused. He chatters his teeth for a moment and licks his lips once more with excitement.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"I see. Well, your mother may have hated your father enough to kill him, but what was your relationship like with her?"
Damien Smyth
"Complicated, Doctor, very complicated,"
Narrator
Answers Smyth, turning back to Gwendolyn.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"How so?"
Damien Smyth
"Oh, in all the typical ways, I'm sure. Mothers and sons always have complicated relationships, after all. The role of 'Mother' is a very multifaceted one. When I climaxed watching her kill my father, my view of her was transformed, just as I was. She had become my crimson goddess of fear and control and the sole object of my devotion,"
Gwendolyn Valentine
Wow, a real Norman Bates here,
Narrator
Thinks Gwendolyn with a slight chuckle, writing down 'Mommy Issues' in her notes and circling it.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"You mean she became a sexual obsession to you?"
Damien Smyth
"When she killed my father, she showed me the true nature of Control and Fear. I needed more. I needed her,"
Narrator
Smyth breathes in deep as his body writhes with lust.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"So what happened?"
Narrator
Presses Dr. Valentine, pretending not to notice his increasingly sexual body language.
Damien Smyth
"Mother's Day. For a while, she was my goddess. I was nothing to her. I was just her lowly, unworthy son. A socially awkward waste of her eggs who embarrassed her at every turn. I loved her, and every day, I would strive to be worthy of her. Every day, I would strive to make her see me in a positive light. But I always failed, and it always hurt."
Gwendolyn Valentine
"I see,"
Narrator
Mutters Dr. Valentine scribbling down notes.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Okay, that's strangely sweet yet psycho.
Damien Smyth
"I was fifteen when that Mother's Day came around. I spent a whole year planning my gift. It was to be my grand final attempt to win her affections. I worked so hard, toiling away to create the perfect supreme gesture to show her how much I loved her. A gesture to show her that I was worthy of her recognition, of her affection,"
Narrator
Explains Smyth. The light-show kicks back to life, revealing a montage of a young Damien Smyth working hard after school at his desk over many days on some sort of multifaceted Mother's Day presentation.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"How did she react?"
Damien Smyth
"How do you think?"
Narrator
Counters Smyth as the images suddenly change.
Damien Smyth
"She attacked me, berated me, beat me so badly I could no longer stand from the pain inside. Then she stripped me naked and tossed me out of the house. She let me crawl bleeding, broken, and exposed through the grimy and pervert-filled back allies of the Narrows. Well, I am sure you can imagine how they received me. A vulnerable and broken little lamb left at their mercy. I was tortured, degraded, and used to satisfy every urge they had!"
Gwendolyn Valentine
"That must have been horrible for you,"
Narrator
Mutters Dr. Valentine, softly running her hand through Smyth's tangled hair.
Gwendolyn Valentine
No one deserves that, no one.
Damien Smyth
"The fear and submission they forced on me washed over me like a tidal wave of pleasure and shame."
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Pleasure… You enjoyed it?"
Narrator
Responds Dr. Valentine, confused.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Of course you did, but it's not your fault, is it? Nature and nurture made you a broken boy. But you deserved help, not abuse. There could have been hope for you then but now… now I don't know.
Damien Smyth
"More than I could ever hope to express."
Gwendolyn Valentine
"How did you survive all that?"
Damien Smyth
"I was rescued by a kind and compassionate young nurse who lived nearby. She could mend my wounds but she could not heal the rage…"
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Rage? Explain,"
Damien Smyth
"Those perverts gave me the best gift of Fear that they could. They took advantage of me, and I am forever grateful. What they did, they did because they wanted me. But my mother, that rejection hurt me in a very different way, and on a much deeper level. I tried so hard on that Mother's Day presentation. I spent a year preparing it and perfecting it. And she rejected me. When I woke up in that night-nurse's apartment, rage was my only burning emotion. A rage that blazed like a monstrous inferno inside me, fed by the years and years of her constant rejection. It was that rage that drove me onwards through my recovery in the night-nurse's care. Once I was healed, I walked out of her apartment to find I was no longer that boy who pined after his mother. I now had a goal and a drive to fulfill that goal,"
Narrator
Explains Smyth, grinning twistedly.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"What goal was that?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine.
Damien Smyth
"Revenge. If my mother would not love me willingly, then I would put the Fear into her by force. I would show her that my will is stronger than hers and teach her what Terror and Control really mean!"
Narrator
Answers Smyth, laughing.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Of course, you'd want revenge against that monster.
"That is a lot to unpack, Smyth, but thank you for sharing it. Your honesty with me is important and I appreciate it very much,"
Narrator
Responds Dr. Valentine, jotting down her final notes of the session.
Damien Smyth
"Of course. As a fellow doctor, I understand how crucial it is for doctors and patients to be honest with one another. However, I do believe we have neared the end of our time for today,"
Narrator
Responds Smyth.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Wow, you're right,"
Narrator
Replies Dr. Valentine, looking at her watch. A loud knock at the door causes Dr. Valentine to get up and go open the door. In steps the large guard from before. He makes his way over to Smyth and yanks him hard to his feet and escorts him out of the room.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Gods, is the roughness really necessary? These patients are human beings, you know?
Narrator
Thinks Gwendolyn as the door closes behind them.