Mind Games

Prologue

Lia

"It’s a chip," he says, "that will not only give me the power to control what my subject says and does, but will also study her brain frequencies and her mutation." I sit quietly at a metal table, playing with an antique set of Barbie dolls and pretending to eat my stale fruit snacks like I was instructed. The room is about the size of a small moving truck, paper and tools thrown about its rusty metal walls. The air smells as if it could be toxic, almost as if rotting animal flesh conceals itself beneath the clutter. A single orb of light illuminates the chamber, flicking on and off as it dances across the leaky metal ceiling.

"And it works?" The other asks, turning to look at me. His gray eyes penetrate an icy aura deep inside me, as if he's shooting a million ice sickles with just his glare.  I avoid eye contact with him.

"One-hundred and ten percent." The other avows proudly.

"How?" The man questions, I can still feel his eyes burning holes in my flesh. I continue playing with my dolls and try to tune them out. For some reason, their conversation makes me so mad, so infuriated; I squeeze one of the dolls so hard her head pops off. I toss the decapitated body onto the floor and make the other dolls play soccer with the head.

"Well, it's quite simple. After planting this chip inside E372's brain, it attaches to the motor cortex, the basal medial temporal lobe called the hippocampus, and parietal lobe causing…well, you’re a brain surgeon…I'll leave it to you to finish the rest." He grins as he begins to face my direction, his sharp brown eyes peering through thick framed glasses. "And hopefully, this chip will help discover why my subject has such a dumbfounding amount of intelligence at her meager age. And why she can manipulate the human mind like she does, as well." He straightens out his long lab coat and the other man looks over to him, laughing.

"Who would give up their little girl for science like this sweet thing?" he replies, grabbing my chin and giving it a small shake. "She doesn’t look mutant to me." He spits out the word 'mutant' like it was poisonous to his lips. I force an angelic smile upon my face, seeing an opportunity to soften the man's rock-hard heart. I start brushing one of the dolls hair with a minute doll comb and conferring him a look that screams help me! Save me from this cruel man! But my attempt to pull at the heart-strings gets shot down immediately; I can tell by the snide, crooked smile that plasters his face. I drop the act, not allowing the emotion of defeat I feel in my heart to show on my face.

"I would," the scientist says, "she is my girl; therefore, I can do whatever I want with her." I silently mock him. "She's my girl; therefore, I can do whatever I want with her…" I think. You make me sick.

"Dr. Parker, is it legal?" he asks musingly. The scientist chuckles lowly under his breath; I can't help but to laugh, myself. Legal? Did he really just ask that?

"If it was legal, I wouldn’t be having any fun," he grins. He winks in my direction and I flash him an artificial smile, lifting the headless Barbie doll, almost as a threat. That revolting grin of his diminishes and he turns his attention back to the client.

"I just don't think it's moral. Chipping young kids and all," the client confesses, gazing over to me. Parker leans in closer to the man.

"These mutants can't be trusted. What if they start a riot because they want to be in power? We all know who would win that fight. The mutants would because they are superior to us! They can defeat us easily! That's why we need to chip these kids. To study these mutations. Imagine what we could do if we discovered how to recreate the mutations and gave them to…soldiers for say. Imagine the U.S winning every battle we wage. Not to mention in record times. We'd be unstoppable. We'd be on top of the world," Parker spits harshly. The man stops to consider, fingering his wallet. His eyes linger, catching on mine. I bite my lower lip and saturate my look with sadness. I shake my head to the client, trying to convince him not to buy. His eyes dilate outlandishly and the life drains from his porous face. He snaps back to Parker, color flushing his cheeks.