James' grip on your hand tightens as you swallow the lump in your throat. He glances over to you but you're frozen, staring at the tiny black phone in his hand. This is it. Any answers you are, or are not, sure you want will come from this call. Your pulse picks up speed as dread knots in your stomach.
"Hello?" the woman on the phone probes. "Are you still there?"
"Yeah," James grunts, his jaw tense as he runs his thumb over your knuckles, glancing back at the source of the voice. "Tell me what you know."
The woman on the phone lets out a long, deep sigh. "Well, where to start?" she says. "How well versed are you on biology? Chemistry?"
James glances to you and you shake your head.
"Assume I'm not," James grunts.
"Well that complicates things," the woman mumbles. "All right let me make this simple. The pill is a...suppressant. Kind of. It targets the amygdala - the emotional processing center of the brain. But...it's fascinating."
"Why?" he asks.
"Because it doesn't just suppress," the woman says. "That's it's main function, sure. But it also stimulates other processes."
"How can it do both at the same time?" James asks.
"Excellent question," the woman says. "This particular drug seems to primarily suppress the ventral tegmental area, which feeds the amygdala."
"And that means...?" James questions.
"It's how a person perceives pleasure," the woman says. "And emotion. Love in particular, because of the connection to dopamine creation." You inhale sharply as your brow furrows, and James squeezes your hand as the woman continues. "In our trials we also saw suppression of activity in the hippocampus."
"Memory," James says, glancing over at you.
"Correct," the woman says. "This particular suppression method prevents recall via extermination of the emotional connection to those long term memories."
"Explain that," Barnes says gruffly.
The woman sighs. You can tell she's brilliant, and speaking at a lower level to foster understanding. It also strikes you how young she is. She can't be any older than yourself.
"As people, we remember things more clearly when there are emotions tied to them," she says. "By eliminating emotional connection, this drug prevents memory recall."
"But if the person taking the drug were to experience strong emotion?" Barnes poses inquisitively.
"Then they would likely start remembering things," says the woman. "And it would probably be a...traumatic experience."
"Hmm," Barnes grunts, brow furrowing as he seems to be processing. "You said it also simulates?"
"Oh, yes, I- Oye, Anjelah tell Doctor Sorenz I'm on third rotation today, will you? Gracias. Sorry about that. Anyway, the stimulation, yes," she says, clearly multitasking. "What's interesting is that not all of the areas of the limbic system were suppressed. Some were actually over stimulated by the drug."
"Which?" Barnes grunts.
"Areas responsible for focus and attention. Like Adderall on steroids," the woman says. "Someone taking this drug would be incredibly detached from others. Sociopathic, in a way. But highly effective and precise in intellectual processing. Superior in areas like...I don't know. Academic studies? Research, maybe?"
"Behavioral analysis and interrogation?" Barnes questions.
"Sure," the woman says skeptically. "I suppose so. Yeah. That would be an ideal occupation for someone taking this medication."
YOU ARE READING
Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)
FanfictionSet immediately after the events of Saving Steve (Book 2), Bucky finds himself locked up in the hands of The Company - a mysterious shadow organization asking too many questions about his Winter Soldier programming. And he'll do anything to hide th...
