“All the test subjects I met this morning can be dismissed.” He waved a hand. “Pay them whatever they were promised and ensure they remember their nondisclosure agreements.”
The room absorbed this. One of the conversationalists from before raised his hand. “Doctor?”
“Yes?”
“My name is Chad and I’m new to this, but… why? How will we do our experiments?”
“Why is always a question that moves science forward,” Dr. Brenner said. Chad the newbie nodded, and Brenner added, “Although one should be careful about asking it of your superiors. But I will tell you why. It’s important we all understand what we’re here to do. Does anyone have a guess?”
His treatment of Chad kept them quiet. He thought for a moment the woman might speak up, but she simply folded her hands in front of her.
Give the entire first chapter a read over at Entertainment Weekly and keep your eyes peeled for a brief appearance of a young Kali, or Eight, who Eleven meets in Pittsburgh during season two. The book is set to hit shelves early next year.Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.Follow VICE on Twitter.“Good,” he said. “I don’t like guesswork. We’re here to advance the frontiers of human capability. I don’t want the common Mus musculus of humans. They are not going to give us extraordinary results.” He swept a gaze around the room. Everyone was intent. “I’m sure you’ve heard of some of the foibles elsewhere and your own lack of results are why I’m here. There have been embarrassments, and a great many of them can be sourced to inadequate subjects. Whoever thought prisoners and the asylum-bound would tell us anything we need to know were fooling themselves. Draft dodgers and potheads aren’t any better. I have a few more young patients transferring here for a related program, but I’d like a range of ages. There is every reason to believe that a combination of chemical psychedelics, people with high potential, and the right inducements can unlock the secrets we need. Think of the intelligence advantages alone if we can persuade our enemies to talk, if we can make them suggestible and exert control… But we can’t get the results we want without the right people, period. We need those with potential.”