The Company Man (7) Part 1

Nic sat alone and half-naked in the Truth Chamber. Unable to move in his chair, his mind ran wild as the reality of his situation began to sink in. 

          I shouldn’t be here! He fretted, I told them everything! I’m a good Officer. What blasted truth do they want? 

          He gripped the arms of the chair and tried to wriggle free, but it was useless. The thick metal clasps around his wrists and ankles felt cold on his bare skin, yet the leather of the seat felt warm and clammy. A leather strap across his forehead pinned him back, and he was sweating profusely. 

          There was an old monitor hanging from the ceiling in front of him, a steel door behind that, and black walls loomed close to the sides. 

          He tried to scream, but his mouth was stuffed with a clench guard. It was held tightly in place by metal wires that felt like icy razorblades wrapped around his cheeks.

 

After a few minutes, a skinny old man in a long white coat entered and shuffled to Nic's side. He was wearing a stethoscope around his neck and carrying the fat bureaucrat’s manila folder. His eyes were like black pits, and his long prune-like face looked serious as he thumbed through the pages. 

          Nic had never seen a man so old. He was sixty at least. 

          Then, he raised his eyebrows and let out a soft chuckle, before turning to face Nic.

          ‘Well, well, we can’t have this now, can we?’ His gravelly voice quavered, and he pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket and shone it into Nic’s eyes, 

          ‘You have quite the imagination, my boy.’ He grinned and softly tapped Nic’s cheek. ‘We’re going to set you right.’

          Nick grunted and squirmed. 

          ‘OK, OK, Calm down,’ the Doctor said, almost mockingly, ‘do you have something to say?’

          Nic’s muffled attempts at speaking became more desperate, and the Doctor’s grin became wider.

          ‘I think you’ve said quite enough already, Lieutenant!’ He chirped, ‘but don’t worry, you’ll have your chance to tell me something more appropriate soon enough.’

          An orderly entered pushing a small trolley and placed it beside the chair. 

          Nic saw an array of shiny needles, scalpels, and miscellaneous metal objects that glistened under the white light. His body stiffened, and he tried to recoil, but it was no use.

          The Doctor became gleeful at Nic’s reaction, and he reached for an instrument from the tray. 

          ‘Don’t worry,’ he said menacingly, ‘hopefully, we won’t need them all.’

          He held out a thin silver instrument about the size of a matchstick and made sure Nic could see it. Then, with the thumb and forefinger of his free hand, he forced Nic’s left eye wide open, before wedging the small implement between his upper and lower eyelid. There was a strange buzzing sound, and Nic felt a transparent screen stretch across his whole eye that blurred his vision for a brief moment.

          He winced, and when he tried to blink, a searing pain shot through his eyelid and rocked into the back of his head. He tried to wail, but his screams only came out as a muffled yelp.

          ‘There, there,’ the Doctor said softly, ‘thank the General that we can use this marvellous technology nowadays,’ he paused and stared at Nic earnestly, ‘we used to just slice off the eyelids and switch on the monitor.’ He laughed wickedly and inserted a second device into Nic’s other eye.

                  

For what felt like hours, Nic watched video after video on the micro screens, his unblinking eyes unable to avoid their glare. 

          Footage of Privates working in the tunnel, Officers commanding their squads, the epic scenes of the Grand Visigoth’s arrival, and the baying crowds, as he landed in his shining blue orb. The General was there too. His image flashed between the scenes, almost subliminally, although his face was always unclear or blurred. He was standing proudly at the podium, and medals adorned his chest. The videos highlighted the wondrous progress the Company had made over the last century. According to the montage, it had grown from a seed of despair at the end of the world into a blooming technological marvel, and its citizens were almost ready for its metamorphosis. The transition into an intergalactic society and the Grand Visigoth’s most noble crusade were waiting just around the corner.

          Nic was dizzy from the onslaught. Moreover, every time he slowly felt his weary eyes beginning to close, searing pain shot through his head and jolted him awake. He could feel the saliva leaking from his mouth, running down his chin, and dripping in soft splashes onto his chest. His body was limp and only held in its place by his restraints.

          Eventually, the Doctor reappeared beside him and switched off the screens.

          ‘Hmmm,’ he said, as he inspected Nic’s eyes once more, ‘I think that should do it.’ 

          Nic could barely muster a grunt, and he sat there broken, his unblinking eyes unable to meet the Doctor’s. He wondered how a man who looked so frail could strike such terror into his heart.

          The Doctor turned to the tray beside him and picked up a syringe containing a murky brown substance. He very slowly attached a six-inch needle that he held, very deliberately, in front of Nic’s eyes. Then, he flicked it gently, and a single droplet glistened under the fluorescence of the room and fell onto Nic’s chest. The Doctor didn’t break eye contact as he jabbed the needle into Nic’s arm and pressed the plunger. He looked almost giddy as Nic’s eyes began to roll back into his head. 

          Nic didn’t wonder any longer, as the murky liquid began coursing through his veins. He knew him for a sadist. The same joy the Privates felt at digging the tunnel was the same joy the Doctor felt now. The more agony Nic felt, the more the Doctor’s face beamed.

          ‘That should loosen up that mind of yours,’ the Doctor muttered, ‘now let’s see what you have to say, shall we?’

          Nic’s felt light-headed and the pain in his eyelids was gone. He still couldn’t blink but it didn’t seem to be a problem any more. He felt a rush of euphoria. His mind felt open, like a long-closed door had been opened and light was flooding a room once enshrouded in darkness. He tensed in his chair and focused his eyes on the Doctor.

          The Doctor unclipped the wires around his cheeks and removed the clench guard from his mouth. 

          ‘What… do ….you ….want …from …me?’ He gasped as air filled his lungs.

          ‘We want the truth, Lieutenant,’ he said sarcastically, ‘this is the truth chamber, after all.’ 

          He picked up two small metallic discs about the size of a small coin and attached them to each of Nic’s temples. They were adhesive and remained firmly in place. He then picked up a small rectangular controller that had a circular dial on the front of it and held it in front of Nic.

          ‘This will help you see sense, my boy.’ He said matter-of-factly, before pressing a button on the controller. An image appeared that Nic recognised. It was security footage from the mess hall several days before, when he had first met Odessa. He watched again as she casually strolled across the hall and killed the two guards in the doorway.

          ‘You see!’ He yelled, ‘that’s her, that’s the Alphan-’  

          Without warning, the Doctor twisted the dial on his controller ever so slightly. Electricity surged through Nic’s temples, and he squirmed in pain at the unpleasant sensation. He dug his fingernails into the arm rest.

          ‘What’s that Lieutenant?’ The Doctor held his hand to his ear. ‘Did you say something?’ He was practically licking his lips as he spoke. His brittle voice belied the venom behind his words.

          ‘It’s… the …girl--’

          The Doctor didn’t let him finish. 

          Nic heard the Doctor grit his teeth together as he turned the dial a little further this time.

          So painful was the shock that Nic wailed. His arms and legs twisted. They were red raw from the clasps, and he could feel the warm wetness of his own blood running over his hands and feet as he desperately tried to free himself.

          The Doctor laughed wickedly as he turned the dial back to zero.

          ‘Now Lieutenant. What do you see?’

          This time Nic could see images from the tunnel. A Trooper’s perspective. Out of nowhere, a flash of bright white light and a shielded Odessa blasted from the shadows. The Trooper fell, and with the camera askew, Nic saw an upside down image of Odessa blasting through Troopers with orange energy beams that came out of her fists.

          The image cleared, and Nic looked at the Doctor. He was smiling and waiting patiently. 

          ‘Her… name… is… Odessa,’ he panted, ‘and she--’

          ‘She is no-one!’ The Doctor screamed, ‘how utterly ridiculous that such a creature could exist in our world! She’s a Private,’ he sneered, ‘and a drillpod pilot. Her fate will be the same as yours.’ He turned the dial three quarters of the way and held it for what felt like the longest twenty seconds of Nic’s life. Nic shuddered violently in his chair and writhed in pain. His hands and feet were soaked in blood. 

          ‘Let’s try that again, Lieutenant,’ he patronised. ‘Tell me what you see.’ He played the same video and then looked at Nic.

          Nic lifted his head and met the Doctor’s eyes.

          ‘I… see… nothing,’ he panted, ‘nothing at all.’

          The Doctor stood up straight and beamed.

          ‘You see, lieutenant,’ he chirped, ‘it’s not that hard, is it?’ He chuckled softly. ‘There’s just one problem though.’ He paused, leaned in close, and whispered in a soft staccato, ‘I just don’t believe you.’ He spun the dial to maximum and cackled as Nic writhed in unimaginable pain and lost consciousness.