House of Skin

MEMOIRS OF THE TEMPLAR SOCIETY (5)

“When was the last time she ate?” Stadtler inquired.

Zero grinned. “It’s been some time, I think. It’s part of her conditioning, you know. She’s fed only when I fear lack of sustenance might cause her physical damage.”

The three of them were watching Gina through the two-way mirror. She looked terrible: thin, wasted, eyes blank. She was curled in the fetal position on the floor amongst her own waste.

“It’s disgusting.”

“Perhaps,” Zero said. “But we’ve broken her now, don’t you see? Her mind belongs to us, ready to be molded to our own liking. Who she will become now is up to us.”

Grimes said, “Now things get interesting.”

“She was very strong,” Zero said. “I never dreamed it would take this long to break her. But now I know that it can be done. That’s the important thing: The knowledge that the human mind can be destroyed, wiped clean of memory. The next step is to replace what she lost.”

“You still think you can do it?” Stadtler said.

“More than ever. I’m sure of it, in fact.”

Stadtler shook his head and lit a cigarette. “Any sadist can break a mind given time. There’s nothing unusual about that.”

“But so completely?” Grimes wanted to know.

“Yes. It’s just a matter of brutality.”

Zero looked angry. “How about you, Stadtler? Can your mind be broken?”

“Of course. But it would take you years.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I’m sure of it.”

Stadtler never caught the look that passed between the two men. If he had, some of the trouble could have been averted.