First Reply Forget Me Not

[Kal]

The office was sleek. Impersonal. A couch for the patient, a chair for the 'therapist'. No more, no less.

There were windows. The broad, wall-covering kind favoured by those who could afford a view, but they were muted, as was the view. No one would be looking in from outside. No one would be barging through the locked door or working noisily above or below. Kal prefered to work without interruption.

"Tell me, what is it you wish to forget - or remember?"

---

This is a bit of an odd one - the pitch is that your character, for whatever reason, wants to have their mind tinkered with a bit. Perhaps they'd rather be rid of a traumatic memory or perhaps they wish to remember something important. They might even be looking to quench an addiction or force themselves to do something in the future!

Alternatively, they could be busting the 'doctor' for tax evasion or practicing without a license.

If being on a specific planet is important to you, feel free - Kal travels all over the place.​

 

[Ran Serys]

The small hairs on her back stood up as she settled into her place across from the 'therapist'. The couch's cheap fabric and her bodysuit crackled as they rubbed against each other. The static electricity kept her from getting comfortable in her seat, but Ran didn't come to 'therapy' for comfort. She came for answers.

"Infancy. That's what I want to remember. The only thing I want to remember. Can you help me?"

She attempted to lock eyes with the doctor. Her stare held an intensity. In the moment she was steely, calculating, and scrutinizing. She did not want her time wasted. If she felt it would be she would get up and leave.

_______________________

Kal​

 

[Kal]

"Yes." Noting the subtle tension of a mind - and body - primed for confrontation and ultimately violence from a lifetime of strife, he raised a single lightly-greying eyebrow. The gravitas of 'age'. "Assuming you let me, of course."

He doubted a blunt approach would go over well with the woman, but then that had never been his speciality. His was the subtle hand, the softly spoken suggestion, the gentle prod that provokes consideration - confidence or doubt.

"How much do you remember and what is the source of the memory loss - or obfuscation?"

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

Freedom of choice. It was a new struggle for Ran, but any indecision would be the enemy of progress. She resigned to let the Man help her, despite her instincts screaming for the opposite. She scanned the room looking for a reason, or a clue to mistrust. If there were any, they eluded her.

She nodded her head in consent. The doctor had her full permission to proceed with any line of questioning he saw fit. If she did not like what he had to say, the conversation would be cut short. She did oblige him, but she would no longer be controlled by any being, government, or even rule of social grace.

"I don't remember much. Just the trauma. The passage of time has blurred the details but they are obscured even further by Sith sorcery and science," She held her tongue and shifted in her chair. It was hard to know how much to give. The Sith Empire had no foothold in this part of the galaxy but their name would always carry weight. Weight enough to make a medicine man speak a patient's secrets, and the word of the underworld would say this doctor was no saint. It was why he came recommended.

"Is that a problem?" She continued, "Because if it is, tell me now. Your 'help' while appreciated comes with a cost that I am willing to pay, and a cost that I am not."

_______________________

Kal​

 

[Kal]

Leaning back in his chair, the 'doctor' steepled his fingers, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. Here was something new, something more than everyday trauma and addictions in need of novel solutions. "Not at all."

"As for payment, I am quite happy to discuss that afterwards, if you like." The promise of an interesting story was enough to draw him in even if the details on repayment were uncertain. "I am familiar with the Sith and their methods. They have a uniquely rough-handed approach to minds. Subjugation carried out both for utility and to feel powerful."

It was clear he found the thought distasteful, both morally and professionally.

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

"It is as you say. They relished in how my weakness became their power," Ran's eyes locked onto the therapist. He knew her enemy and didn't seem very fond of them. It would buy him some good grace with her, enough to continue her story.

"They took advantage of my infantile mind, and I was not the only one. There are many like me. At least twenty others." The intensity she spoke with stifled her. She had thought about her plan to free the others in great detail but she had yet to speak any mention of the others to the outside world.

Ran felt a sharp pang of guilt. It felt like a rod had pierced her skull and then twisted inside her brain. Her heart dropped. She brought her hands over her eyes to cover the look of pain and shame. She wasn't here for her fellow mind controlled experiments; she was here seeking help for herself.

"But I will change that," She breathed an exasperated sigh. "I am not here for any of that. What I truly want is to get to the beginning. I want to know who I was before. Where I came from. I want to remember the exact moment the Sith stole my life. Is that possible and how do we get there?" Her face was a mix of desperate and determined, hopeful and pained. Like maybe this was her last shot for answers.

_______________________

Kal​

 

[Kal]

Her story was not unique, far from it. He was inclined to believe her indoctrination had been more in-depth than most, however. These twenty-one beings had clearly not been run-of-the-mill brainwashed cultists or similar cannon fodder.

That made it somewhat more complicated in some ways, easier in others. It was unlikely the most thorough methods had been used to wipe her mind, as they tended to leave an individual somewhat lessened, to put it mildly. Not exactly ideal for what might well have amounted to supersoldiers or perhaps assassins, given his first impression.

At the same time, the mental alterations would have surely been carefully implemented.

"I see. An unusual request, but not an impossible one. As I am sure you know, I am not a regular psychiatrist." He was not a psychiatrist at all, technically speaking, but details details. "A combination of mental exploration and scrying offers the best chance of success. I happen to be something of an expert on gleaning details of the past from the present."

The future was another matter entirely, but even there he was not entirely helpless.

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

What the doctor prescribed for Ran's problem seemed dangerous. Her mind had already been poked, prodded, bent and broken in one way or another. Now it was to be explored. She had concerns.

"Expertise and irregularity aside, what are the risks? What are the consequences for you and I should something go wrong?" She leaned forward in her seat. Credits were one form of payment but risk and consequence were the true cost of this ordeal. Could she live with what came next? If it meant further damage to her mind, she doubted she could follow through. In that moment her face was awash with uncertainty.

Her goal was selfish; and while it was a goal she needed to achieve, the promise she made to free her fellow experiments had to take precedence.

_______________________

Kal​

 

[Kal]

Her concerns were well-founded, a sloppy attempt could be catastrophic. Fortunately, telepathy came naturally to Kal.

"Minimal for an examination and likely the recovery itself. It is possible to take steps to make such acts more dangerous, mind you, but I am experienced enough to recognise them." In other words, there was a chance she would get her hopes up for nothing - that it could not be recovered, or at least safely recovered.

That was doubly true if the one to alter her had been a Sorcerer.

"I may be able to safely 'scrape' your mind for less direct sources of information, even in such cases. The metadata of the mind, if you will. It is difficult indeed to conceal everything of significance." There was a reason his associates preferred purging anything and everything with a blunt instrument when disposable assets were captured.

That sort of thing had a tendency to leave a being somewhat reduced, of course.

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

She was out of her depth. She felt uneasy because of it. She boiled down the situation to its bare essentials to calm herself. I am in a place where I can find the answers I seek. This man is an expert in his field and can help me. He is no friend to the Sith, or at least displays a level of contempt towards them. Mental exploration and scrying offer the best chances for what I need, and according to him it can all be done safely. It is worth the risk, but I will not go further than I have to.

"I understand. Do all that you can," She proclaimed. She was going to do it. She convinced herself that letting someone into her mind after another had forced their way in was a good idea. If it was, that remained to be seen, but that is how important reclaiming her life was.

"But be warned 'scraping' my mind is out of the question. I will not let my mind see more hurt, or be changed by another's mental manipulations. If that is agreed, you have my permission to begin the procedure." She locked eyes with Kal. She was ready, or so she thought.

_______________________

Kal​

 

[Kal]

"Very well, please lie back and calm your mind." Positioning himself behind her, he would place his fingers along her scalp, but not before a chuckle escaped his lips. "Ah, my apologies. Crude terminology, you see. I was referring to piecing together indirect information, not inflicting harm... but you have my word that I will ask before any change."

Alongside the words, he projected his sincerity. The gentle first steps of easing into her mind.

If she let him - and there was a good chance she would have to struggle with the instinct to repel him first - a lone tendril of awareness would extend between them, the Shadow slowly getting a read for who she was.

Once they were ready, he would switch to telepathy. All the better to tune out his surroundings and focus on the task at hand. <What is your earliest memory? If you visualise it for me, I will bring it to the forefront.>

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

She winced as the telepath made contact. His voice pulsed in the front of her skull. A feeling of unsteadiness washed over her. It was like being out at sea. She felt as if she would keel over and retch at any moment. Instead, she inhaled and exhaled deep in an effort to right herself.

My earliest memory. She attempted to visualize. There was the flash of an empty void and an inky black gate slammed shut as she approached. A single tear tumbled down her cheek. She blinked it away. When her eyes opened again, they opened to a blast. The tail end of the concussion grenade that gave her back her life appeared in front of her, and so did the rest of her final battle as a mind-controlled Sith soldier. She latched onto it. Again, she experienced the moment. Picking herself up from the ground and blasting three fiery holes through her subjugator, the Sith Lord Jagos. Revenge was sweeter the second time.

"That was a welcome memory but not what I wanted. May I try again?" She asked.

A seed of doubt sprouted in her mind. What if who I was before is gone? Lost? All I know is war. How could I remember innocence?

_______________________
Kal​

 

[Kal]

He sensed her discomfort the moment he spoke. It seemed more tangible than he had expected, given his rather gentle touch. A failure on his part - any telepathy would be especially unpleasant to one who had very likely been on the receiving end of its crudest, most destructive forms. What had been done to her as a mere child?

Far too many organic younglings found themselves indoctrinated and exploited.

Such practices disgusted the Shadow - the use of child soldiers in particular.

Her memory was telling - and so was what preceded it. A gate, a seal, something along those lines. It would make this difficult but also meant that there was almost certainly something worth finding behind it. <Please. This is a good start.>

He meant it, despite the failure - if nothing else it would help get her used to his presence and to sharing. The more at ease she was the more she would be able to focus, and focus might well be needed in abundance for what was to come.

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

The doctor's words strengthened her resolve. They were on the right track. The question was how much longer they'd be on it.

She focused again. Her goal was the first memory, as far back as she could go. The black gate appeared in her path again. This time Ran did not blink. She did not yield. She studied the gate, held on, and made getting past it her new goal.

This time she could feel the tendril at her back. It was the link between her and the doctor. It might have also been a lifeline, to keep her from getting lost in the mindscape through which she traveled. A much needed safety precaution as what she saw before her didn't make sense, but it felt right. Her instincts and the tendril seemed to guide her.

Inside her mind, she pushed the gate, she kicked the gate, and she shoulder-bashed into it. It did not open or fall. The center of her brain pulsed with pain every time she tried. Brute strength did not help. It just caused more hurt. She stopped and switched tactics. She looked for a lock, a button, a switch, a screen, anything that might open the gate. She saw nothing. Stuck inside her own mind, kept from key memories via Sith Sorcery bolstered by science.

<You are an expert. What do I need to do, Doctor?> She asked.

_______________________
Kal​

 

[Kal]

A block of some sort, visualised as a gate. Again and again, she attempted brute force. Again and again, she was rebuked. While he had not made an attempt of his own, he strongly doubted he would succeed where she failed.

This was her mind, after all. If anyone could brute force it safely, it was her.

<You were on the right path, examining it. I believe a subtle approach is best. I doubt there will be a flaw that leaps out to you, but that doesn't mean one cannot be created. Try to visualise a backdoor.> It was not that simple, of course, but it would get her mind pointed in the right direction. It should work if he could do his part behind the scenes.

Slowly, carefully, he began prodding at the seal. Picking apart enough of its foundations.

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

She did as instructed only to feel a chill crawl up her spine. The feeling settled in her hippocampus as the back door started to form in theory and then in front of her. She felt a surge of energy and heard the sound of sand shifting. The inky black gate began to erode bit by bit. Its pieces broke slowly and poured themselves into a pile on the floor.

The pile swayed, shifted, and morphed, replacing the inky black gate, to become a sandy mouth of a desert cave. Not quite a back door but it was the shape her mind imagined.

The obstacle is gone. It has been… replaced. Was that our goal?

She stepped closer to the threshold. Then through it. First, her senses were assaulted by flashes of violence, war and death. She felt the heat of blaster bolts, heard the agony drenched screams of the wounded, and smelled their charred flesh. Second, She heard the low distorted hum from the inside of a bacta tank, saw the lights that blinded her on the operating table, and felt the dull pain inflicted via scientific experimentation. Finally, She felt the weight of Sorcery. Its heaviness crushed her sense of self, replacing it with ultimate obedience to the one they call Jagos.

She came out on the other side. She could see a babe buried in the hefty bosom of a green-skinned and heavily tattooed woman.

Could this be a trick? Or is this my first memory?

She asked. She wanted to believe it. It felt surreal. To have a history that stretched more than just a few months back felt like, in some strange way, a lie.

_______________________
Kal​

 

[Kal]

One gate crumbled and another took its place, so to speak. This was a place of thought and metaphors, not clear-cut laws of physics. <More or less. This is more an art than a science.> Which was not to say it was not a precise art.

She stepped through and his mind followed - and then they were both greeted by a snapshot from a lifetime of strife. It was the sort of thing that would have inspired intense emotion had he not been thoroughly desensitized by delving into the minds of the living and the dead alike. Fortunate, really - she might need an objective observer.

<It could certainly be true. The perspective is off, but that is not necessarily important. Focus on the details, please, those a baby might notice in particular. Eyes, facial features, the tattoos on the arms.> It was rare for an organic to have any clear recollections of their earliest youth, but his methods were not entirely natural.

In his experience, the mind forgot a lot but the spirit very little.

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

Ran walked toward the wee one and the woman. Both were green-skinned; an even brighter shade when they smiled at one another. The woman’s hands and arms were smooth like silk and warm to the touch. The cloth robe she covered her body with was rough and smelled of wet dirt. The fire they sat beside brought a cozy heat and a mix of shadows and light that only enhanced the woman’s beauty. She looked like Ran but tinier, more delicate, and exhausted. She had one tattoo on her forehead. It was intricate and prominent. Its image stuck with Ran.

He was right. The details a baby would’ve remembered were there. They were vibrant, pronounced, and clear. The rest was present but muted and dull. Ran looked at the baby. The details of its face were obscured but she didn’t need her eyes to know that she was looking at her younger self. She could feel it and she could feel her mother holding her.

Then she felt herself being ripped away. She could hear the rattling of chains as her mother stood up and struggled with a Sith trooper. He was stronger than her and the baby was taken from her grip. Her mother ran after them but was yanked back as the chain around her leg reached its length. She could hear her mother’s banshee wail and see her reflection in the Sith trooper's armor.

“I’ve got the baby and I’m applying the anesthetic now. Get Lord Jagos and tell him he was right. This one is strong.”

When they left the cave there was once again darkness.

There is no more. That is it. That is all there is to find. Ran was enlightened but defeated. The moment was bittersweet.

_______________________
Kal​

 

[Kal]

A babe pulled from the arms of its mother, transformed into a living weapon alongside others in a similar situation. Lives irrevocably altered - twisted to suit the agenda of the maliciously ambitious.

The very worst the Sith had to offer - which was saying something.

<All there is to find in your memories. You know your origins, now. The Sith-Imperials kept exacting records of some of their misdeeds, there may be more out there. If nothing else, does it offer some small closure?> It was better to know than not, or so Kal had always believed. A painful truth was better than a blissful lie - and far better than a painful lie.

It would be far easier to leave than it was to enter, now that she was so inclined. Strictly speaking, all it would take was to open her eyes, though Kal would do his best to make the transition as gentle as possible.

Another successful consultation. Licensed or not, he considered himself a fantastic doctor.

Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

It has, and more. Ran answered before opening her eyes. The office was returned to view even though the woman had never left what comfort it provided. She was still sitting on the couch, the static was still at her back, and she was still across from the doctor. Little had changed but Ran was no longer the same.

"Thank you, Doctor. It was not how I imagined it, but I have what I came for. With it, I will find what became of my family. I will go on to free my fellow experiments and if they, too, need your services, I will send them your way." She smiled, an unnatural expression for her, but a true one.

"Shall we settle up? Name your price. My wealth is limited, but I will see that you get it." She stood up. No longer uneasy, she held an air of gratitude in her being and her words.

_______________________
Kal​