By R. John Quisenberry
“I have four candidates for the program. One took out 18 young men in a three-month killing spree. He tied tortured them for 24 hours each, then sent their index fingers to their mothers. Let’s call him Subject A.” said the rotund warden. He slicked back his receding hair with his own sweat as it dripped down from his vanishing hairline. His plaid, short-sleeved, dress shirt was already darkened in the armpits by his copious perspiration. His khakis were wrinkled as if they had been slept in.
“Remember, no pedophiles allowed. We could never deal with the message that would send if it were ever revealed that they were included.” said the doctor. His stiff collar shone bright white in the institutional lighting. As he stood patiently waiting for the warden to continue, the dapper man gestured for the larger one to have a seat even though it was the warden’s own office. “Once the story is known, these men must take the appearance of dark heroes.”
“I know your requirements. I have checked out the candidates very thoroughly. The next one was a gang banger. Once you condition him, that one should be a wonderful soldier. He is used to organization, orders, and being assigned to tasks of violence. He should be Subject B.” he said as he lowered his gelatinous backside into the faux leather of his office chair. It groaned with the sudden burden placed on it’s plastic structure. “He has a confirmed history of 10 killings and is rumored to have done at least 18 others.”
“Subject C coldly plotted the killing of six managers and their secretaries when fired and held police off for 16 hours. News of her capture brought on an investigation that revealed the business practices of the company had become criminal.”
“Criminal in what way?” asked the doctor as he slowly paced the floor of the dingy office. He plucked at a speck of lint on the sleeve of his charcoal gray suit. The silk of his pant legs whispered as he paced. He glanced at the fake wood paneling of the wall before turning his penetrating blue eyes to the muddy green ones of the seated slob.
“They were using child labor in 3rd world countries to produce their goods. A number of the factories had high fatality rates due to ignoring and often intentionally violating safety regs. The executives fired our woman for bringing up these issues. They also seem to have made threats against her family if she spoke a word.”
Glaring harder at the repulsive mass of flesh, the doctor responded, “I see. I did hear about such a scandal. The assets of the company were absorbed by several of its competitors when they went under. A shame we could not have recruited the executives. They would have been interesting subjects.”
“Well, that ship has sailed. Subject D is a family man. He came home one night and set fire to his own home and the houses on either side of it. The only survivors were the subject and his 16-year-old daughter. He confessed to the crime of killing both his wife and the other couples.”
“Did the other couples have any children?” He carefully cleaned his nails with a toothpick from his pocket as he posed this question.
“No. Both were childless and there was some evidence of their involvement in pornographic activities. The subject did not use this in his defense case and pleaded guilty. There is no information about the motive in the killing of his wife though.”
“Wonderful! I will take them all! Have them transported to my facilities as soon as possible. But, I want to see Subject A as they get him ready for transport.”