cannibalmind | For lastvoyages: Fifth Casefile [text]

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cannibalmind

[private]
Blood Pudding, Classic Recipe:

1 quart human blood
12 ounces bread crumbs
1/2 lb. suet
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 quart milk
1 cup cooked barley
1 cup dry rolled oats
1 ounce ground mint

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl; pour into a large kettle or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Pour into a wide shallow bowl and season again if necessary. Chill thoroughly, until firm. When cold it may be cut into slices and fried.

[public]
What a fascinating study in casual human depravity. I imagine that several of you must be severely traumatized by the Admiral's latest idea of a quick vacation. If a sympathetic professional ear is needed, my door is always open.

[private to T-X]
I refuse to offboard at any more Ports without a weapon.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

buywithme

Comrade... [He trails off, because those are many words which apply to him, and he has many thoughts to construct about them.]

...Comrade. Brother. Is there some way that you can use to-- to be able to tell? If you still have Stockholm Syndrome or not?

Arthas said to me that I could be put in any kingdom anywhere, and that I'd... I don't know. I'd fit in. I'd 'ssimi-- assimil-- [He clears his throat:] Because I'd learn to believe whatever they thought there. O'Brien said it too, that I was a warden here because of the same thing. Because Stockholm Syndrome, and sometimes, I think about leaving and it does make me feel sick, Brother.

The T-X. She's the blonde robot lady, isn't she? [Short pause] I don't know her too well, Comrade, but she seems quite compelling...

From:

cannibalmind

I could perform a screening on you if you wish. However I doubt that it will be entirely necessary. People who are truly mired within the Syndrome will be so protective of it that they will not even consider the idea. You may have a touch of it; I cannot tell yet. But...and forgive me...

If you are a man who connects emotionally and socially with the society around you, values it and responds to it--be it a kingdom or the odd little society here on the Barge--why is that bad? If approached in a balanced fashion, without extremes, it strikes me as a virtue. The ability to blend in, to become one with the community and make its concerns your own, is something that can be admirable. It could be one of your greatest strengths once you master it.

I believe that the key for you is moderation and self knowledge. Such assimilation should be something you choose to do, not something you need to do or do as reflex.

Also...on a personal note...I actually have no particular wish to leave this place myself, even though I am currently an Inmate.

[He pauses, wondering why he just confided that. But what was done was done.]

Miss Anderson, as I call her, is a being whose very existence has caused me to question certain of my assumptions and habits.

From:

buywithme

...Thank you, Comrade. [The self doubt is still there, and the guilt and fear, but that was something that he'd never been told before, and it's a nice perspective to hear.] I'd never thought of it like that, honestly. I'm just always afraid that my decisions, and my morals, can't be trusted.

[He pauses, very briefly, then asks:]

Why do you want to stay here?

From:

cannibalmind

Confidence will come with time and experience in your new mode. [A brief coughing fit and a hrumph] I am assuming you have only been here a few years, of course.

And actually...thank you. The opportunity to give counsel is...I missed it.

[He leans back and considers his words.] Back in my world I am a criminal, an outlaw, a fugitive. I can never hold a public practice again. But this place....

The need for a practicing psychotherapist--at least one--is intense here. And the people that I would be treating...! Imagine it, comrade. People from alternate societies, the future, the past, magickal worlds, worlds where space travel is common...and all thrown into most unusual circumstances on a regular basis. To be a part of a society wherein my skills are needed, and my background not that unusual...it is a fascinating idea.

From:

buywithme

Two and a half an inmate, and...a little over one year as a warden.

Well... in that case, brother, I'm glad that I needed your advice. I guess it must be strange, being able to do something that's...that's so good for people, and then knowing that you can never do that again where you originally came from.

I'm glad that you actually want what this place is offering you, Brother.

Could I ask what it was that you did, back home? [People don't tend to notice this about Prefect, but his tendencies to obsessing over his work have made him a little self absorbed since he was assigned to Barron, and honestly, all the public warnings about Hannibal have more or less passed him bye.]

From:

cannibalmind

It is. I never expected that aspect. There are things I could do here, accomplishments I could attain and actual...good...[he seems to taste the word] I could do, if only I can work to earn local trust.

What I did? Well.

[How to explain? His rage is more or less under control under the TX's watchful eye, and he has been given much food for thought since coming here. So...]

I was, by any standard, a very evil man. My sense of revenge was...theatrical...and involved several deaths. [And sometimes he just killed people because they insulted him or were in the way. But that part he glosses over, feeling an unaccustomed twitch of shame.] In fact when I first came here the TX did well to watch me constantly. I realize that now.

[A soft laugh. It's easier to confide now that Prefect has done so. And he feels he needs to. Perhaps it's the drugs, or the pain, or just...the irony of it all.]

My turning points always happen at ports. First I found myself a benevolent, redeemed seller of potions, and then...died on an end stage world.

You know...I liked being the potion seller.