Day 20: Dr. Crane's Office [Doctor's Office 1]

[damned_doctors]

At least Crane felt he was more prepared for the second group. Files could only tell you so much, after all, and he hadn't expected the attitudes that some of them had had. But people were people, all different and firm in the belief that they weren't insane. Crane figured he just needed to get used to doing therapy again. Anything fairly recent

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[soulofdiscord]

Therapy at last. The Scholar was academically interested as to what sort of things would be done to her, and what sort of person was entrusted with trying to probe the minds of madness... and sanity. Interesting question, that.

She walked in and sat down with calm confidence, black eyes regarding the doctor with some interest. Physically weak, academic, weak eyes, pouty lips... this was going to be an ordeal. Hopefully his mind would be strong to make up for that weakness.

[damned_doctors]

Quiet, calm, and a confidant air. It was tough to guess how this one would go. And were those black eyes? Curious thing...he'd never seen anyone like that before. By now, though, Crane found himself having a bit of trouble concentrating on the task at hand, but in that part of his mind where he tried not to venture now, he somehow found it in him to try to be pleasant.

"Hello, Ms...Nu Zhi," he said, glancing down at the woman's file. "I'm Dr. Crane. You are a scholar, correct? I know this place is probably different from you're used to, but there is a library. I believe you're going there tomorrow, actually. Also, if there's ever anything you'd like to talk about outside of our sessions, let the nurse know, and I'll come if I can."

[soulofdiscord]

"I have been called a scholar, yes," the woman answered with an enigmatic smile; it was part of her name, but names in the Jade Empire were also titles. She got hers because everything was an object of scrutiny.

Including this doctor and his offer. Either he was weak, or he was trying to ensnare her. But which one? "You are far too kind, Doctor Crane."

[damned_doctors]

"Such a pity for a scholar to have come here. But we'll have you well in no time, I'm sure." It was almost nice to have another intelligent person in the room, but she was a bit too quiet. He wanted her to be the one doing the talking, not him.

Too kind? It was amusing that she'd say that, the truth was far from it. He just wasn't willing to risk anything yet. Crane chuckled slightly before responding to the statement. "I'm just doing my job, to help you. Now, Ms. Zhi, what is the last thing that you remember?"

[soulofdiscord]

"Before I answer that, I do have a question for you, Doctor Crane. Why am I confined in this place? I assume there is some reason for it."

There was always a reason, after all. And hearing the official story might be a hint as to unlocking the real purpose behind the institute.

[damned_doctors]

"Confined? Well, I wouldn't quite call it that, but I'd say it's because we want to make sure that you do, indeed, get better without any external stimuli to possibly give the opposite effect."

He'd actually never really thought about it. It had been covered a bit in college and during his internship at Arkham, but it had been quite some time since he'd had to think about it. He could see why she was 'called' a scholar, as she had put it.

[soulofdiscord]

A bit of a displeased look at that. "'My spirit is bound/Imprisoned/For the body imprisons/Prison's jail/Binds my every thought', as it was written. Every room here is oppressive, doctor, and eternally being ferried about like cattle is demeaning. 'Stimuli' are all one experiences here... the same 'stimuli' of a nail being hammered down because it is not the same as the other nails, or of a stalk of grain being thrashed for daring to grow beyond its fellows."

But she had promised to answer him, in effect, and she did. To a certain extent. "...my last memory was of my lover."

[damned_doctors]

"What you say makes sense. However, I can assure you, Ms. Zhi, that that is not the intent of the rooms or the schedule, and I am sorry to hear that you believe it to be like that. Do you have any suggestions on how we can attempt to better accommodate you?"

Still, the response he'd gotten appeased him, and he would answer whatever questions she had to the best of his ability in order to get more. "Your lover? What was he...or she like?" You could never be sure nowadays. And besides, wasn't the type of person that one took as a lover a way to tell more about them?

[soulofdiscord]

Hm... an offer? ...why not? She would test this doctor on just how helpful he was, and whether his word actually had any weight in even the simple matters, before she would even think about trusting him with anything more. "A simple suggestion, then. On the matter of the staff here and their treatment of me? No speaking to me, and no touching me. The former accomplishes nothing; the second implies that I am unable to even walk in a straight line unassisted, and also that the staff knows nothing of even basic courtesy

[damned_doctors]

It certainly was a simple suggestion, and Crane would have guessed that she was even testing him; but he had offered, so he needed to follow through with it and do what he could. "Yes, it's in my jurisdiction." As far as he was aware, at least. "The nurses are quite a...chatty bunch, so the former may be more difficult than the latter, but I'll work it out with them."

At any rate, his question seemed to have struck a chord of some sort. He hadn't remembered reading anything except maybe a few brief phrases about a lover in her file, and even then it wasn't much. It was more about the patient herself, not someone of any relation or acquaintance to her. If the smile was any indication, this may be a subject to linger on. "No, I don't know anything of him, Ms. Zhi."

[soulofdiscord]

They seemed to be reaching some sort of equilibrium; tit-for-tat, as the common people had it, question for question, and therefore answer for answer

[damned_doctors]

And indeed, the things that she said about her lover, Sky, spoke volumes about her, as well. She was a much different person than what she appeared, to have taken on such a lover and to love as she said she did. Not afraid to defy what others dictated to be right, for instance, which made Crane a little uneasy to think about. Would she do a similar thing to the institute's rules, which were intended merely for her to get well?

"You are...very lucky to have him. Not all are able to find such a love in today's world." Not that he cared for the ways of love. It was merely an observation, since the divorce rate was at an all-time high and so many people were having affairs and feeling unsatisfied with each other. "You just gave a short summary, but what exactly is the Way of the Open Palm?"

[soulofdiscord]

"Rather, Doctor, say that not everyone can have such love." A bit of a derisive chuckle, and her eyes shifted back to the present. "If either of us had decided to obey society's demands, for us to remain in our stations, then we would never have been this way. If either had been content with a normal life, if either had chosen peace over discord, if either was not willing to do what it took to keep that love strong... if either of us had settled for our first loves... then my answer would have been vastly different. There is no such thing as 'luck', Doctor Crane; merely destiny and those who are not afraid to seize it

[damned_doctors]

Destiny and no such thing as luck, hm? That was an interesting philosophy, and one that Crane didn't quite share, though there were some things, other conversations, that had been working on his mind throughout the day to cause him to accept this with a silent nod instead of asking further as he would have liked to. He'd think about that one later.

Most of the people he knew must have 'fallen out of the Way', as she had put it, then. Humility and justice were something alien to him, and he'd always been around violence and things that were quite the opposite of tranquility and content. He wanted to inquire into this other one, then, to see what it taught, and to see whether these ways taught of a middle ground, but first he should answer her question.

He didn't quite want to answer the entire truth. It was a stupid thing to even consider. Because having more people that I've helped get well looks good on the resume and my history in this field would not get a good reaction, and he might lose the rhythm that they had with one

[soulofdiscord]

That answer? It displeased the Scholar, and she shook her head in disgust. "That answer is weak, Doctor Crane, or it is a lie. If the field truly fascinates you, then you should correctly answer that you are helping me because it furthers your own understanding of the field and your own knowledge of the human mind. If it does not, then you are merely hiding behind the shield of your 'job', and your efforts are mere mechanical motions."

Neither were in accordance to her own Way, though lying for the sake of gaining an advantage was close, and unless the doctor could somehow show a bit of spine, Ling was done with him. A mere cipher could not hope to comprehend the Way, and Ling had far more fascinating contacts to renew; she would not waste her breath if the other was incapable of understanding.

[damned_doctors]

Crane listened for a moment and an amused smirk came across his face. "Very well, then, Ms. Zhi. You've caught me, it was a lie. Is self-satisfaction taught in that other way of yours? Or revenge? Because, if you must know, that's why I'm here in this desk. I wouldn't call them mere mechanical motions, but attempts to return a previous state of being."