project vessel (twenty one pilots)

one - to be yours

five years ago

"Dr. Black, do you think the subject will positively react to such a major addition in the simulation?" Young Dr. Tanner asked, nudging his glasses higher up his nose as he raked his hands through his dark brown hair, a habit adopted after sleepless nights wracking his brain over the subject's simulation. The mentor waited a moment before answering. Dr. Black worked with the government since the conception of Project Vessel, one of the Head Scientists in fact. Deep thought lines creased his forehead and age was written in every wrinkle of his face as he pondered over a small clip or a report, taking his time to study and digest every detail before him. His round-framed glasses were perched on the tip of his nose and his hair was not quite ashen white, but was a pale silver, combed back in an unchanging style that had been frequented by the good doctor for the past two decades. Black did not answer, and the assistant irritably repeated his question.

"'Positively react', hmm?" Dr. Black mused. "We have observed the world the subject has built for himself; he has taken it to  the beyond, weaving details we had never expected from him. We took a boy and we showed him one emotion and we let it control him and we let him control it. He designed a universe of complex misery and pain, of raw struggle and desperation. He dealt with troubles we have never seen here in Isle. Self loathing, anxiety, even the act of harming oneself...they have accumulated in his brain. He has built up walls so fortified he no longer remembers the way to the gates. As for the addition, and please refer to my granddaughter by name-" The man added an occasional gesture for added flair and drama, taking off his spectacles even, continuing as each detail was hungrily consumed by Dr. Tanner. "She will be the ultimate challenge for him. He has vowed himself misery and loneliness, and she will be a symbol of happiness, love; of good and togetherness. She will make him question the facade of a reality he lives in."

Dr. Tanner scrunched his eyebrows and they formed a "v". He stumbled over words, hands moving in, out, and back in his labcoat pockets (which was a tic he often had), finally finding the right words to articulate. "If he questions the simulation, isn't there a chance he might..overload? Perhaps even wake up? The subject have proven to be..well..complex. He's more powerful and definitely more..well, deep than all the others. Number 21 has the potential to become a catastrophe. Last addition proved to be a dangerous feat, and he is nowhere close to being as big of an impact as your granddaughter."

"The boy..ah, yes. That was two years ago, and look at the strength the subject found in him. Of course, what Number 21 and that boy have is not as major as my granddaughter and the subject, but it still marks a very important change in his simulation. He discovered hope and friendship. Now, we will test those waters and see if he is able to discover love, romance, even intimacy."

"You're giving up your granddaughter rather easily," Tanner answered in an attempt of a joke. Poor delivery and a difficult-to-amuse scientist quickly changed his grin to a frown as Dr. Black paced to the other side of the room, opening a binder of the newest reports.

"I'm not 'giving her up', Tanner. The girl we are putting in his brain is a simulation, a string of programming and alteration of code, designed to look like her and act like her. It is not my granddaughter. Not the real her." Black hastily reminded him, skimming over a log detailing the changes in the subject's emotions from last night's feed. "Dr. Tanner, Number 21 has exceeded our expectations. He is harnessing the potential to possess the power Project Vessel wants. We have a boy who's living in the future in his brain as a man. I've talked to him, fed him, watched him his whole life. I've seen his simulation since the very beginning; his mistakes, his pain, his failures, his achievements, his experiences. From the day he opened presents on Christmas Day with his little brother to his embarrassing first kiss. I've practically raised Number 21."