The Asylum Chapter 8

Jonas went back into the lab to see if Olaf needed any help.
“I’m getting some answers,” Olaf replied. Jonas envied Olaf his total absorption in his work – it was as though this was the only thing that was real for him, and as long as he could get on with it, then he was content. For himself, Jonas longed to be free again – and to persuade Ariadne to freedom as well. If only she wasn’t so timid!
“What I really need is some notes on the development of the alloy – but there aren’t any on this computer. So it’s back to the journals, I think – Pete’s put some more out for you to read. He’s looking for all the actual physical examples of the alloy that we have up here.” Jonas went and sat on what had once been Ariadne’s bed and began to work through the pile of books on the floor. Presently, Pete joined him, and they carried on together, pausing occasionally to read each other stories from them. It was another three days before they found what they had been looking for. I can see why they brought the boy to me. With those looks he could not be anything other than a Norwich. Luckily for them, his mother came straight to their house, and no-one else knows of his existence Luckily for him, the old man has some scruples. He does not want the boy dead, nor imprisoned, but he wants him – or rather, his all-too-distinctive looks – hidden. He has read that romance, The Man in the Iron Mask, and wants to know if I can do the same. The old fool does not realise how that iron mask would have reacted with the skin underneath it. But Master Peregrine Norwich will be an excellent person on whom to test the alloy my father was developing – and developing for such a purpose. The boy can stay down here in the cellar treatment rooms, until I have seen what I can make for him. I hope the cries from the other rooms do not keep him awake. This is a somewhat crude beginning, but it will serve. Bearing in mind the new science of fingerprinting, I have also made some little gauntlets for him to wear at all times. As the boy grows, he is more than ever a Norwich. And since they could not deny the legality of his mother’s marriage – apparently, the priest could not be bribed – then he is an embarrassment to the family. But his death would cause too many questions. They plan to remove him to a remote estate, now that he can no longer be hidden in a nursery. I am still not happy with the design of the mask and helmet, but the alloy is now perfected. At their request, I have made him a pair of metal boots – with lead soles. It seems he tried to run away…By the time he is an adult, I should also have the design problems solved. My eldest son is taking a keen interest in this work… Well, Peregrine Norwich has visited this place for the last time. Now that he is fully grown, there will be no need to fit and re-fit either the helmet or gauntlets. To that end, I have, as requested, designed a helmet that cannot be removed. I borrowed ideas from the latest advances in diving technology, and this has been fitted and fastened permanently. The old man is dead now, and his son fears Peregrine Norwich greatly – but the old man made him promise to keep young Norwich alive. I believe he will be spending the rest of his life on that remote Scottish island they own. Olaf was delighted.
“This could be exactly what I need! This, and the physical objects you’ve found. So that explains the small ones – they weren’t prototypes, they were made for this boy personally. That’s ideal, as I can date their development really easily. But the other things are harder to identify and put on a time-line – are there any other mentions of them?” Jonas told Ariadne all about Olaf’s progress when he visited her – and tried once again to persuade her to leave. He watched what little he could see of her face, felt her hesitation, silently urged her on to make the right decision, and could almost have cheered when she finally agreed. Once free again – for a given value of “free”, thought Jonas bitterly – Ariadne spent as much time as she could outside, trying to avoid Pete. That heavy suit made the stairs and the ladders difficult for him, and he wasn’t likely to follow her there. And Jonas had been right – this was better than being alone in the dark, even if she did feel afraid. Jonas had the big key to her cell, and locked her in each night carefully. Pete watched sardonically as she meekly went in and let Jonas turn the key on her.
Through the electrified bars of the garden, she could see her little car slowly beginning to be streaked with rust. It hadn’t been a very good car in the first place, but it had been hers, and she’d loved it. But sometimes Ariadne couldn’t avoid Pete. Olaf had sent her to fetch another of the objects they’d found – Jonas had found a mention of it – and Pete followed her.
“Your turn now,” he said, and patted the helmet she wore. “And do you know, at the moment, no-one can get that thing off you. Still – I’m sure Jonas has plans for you. He’s doing a good job of looking after you.” The undertones in his voice confused Ariadne.
“And after all – Wolvercote House has trapped both Jonas and his ancestor – just like me. I think you do owe him.” “I think I’m there! I think I’ve found a solution that will reverse the changes. It was Ariadne noticing that pencilled comment in the margin about enzymes that put me on the right track – if she hadn’t come and asked me what it meant…If this works, Jonas, you’ll have metal dandruff! I thought we’d try part of a foot first before we go near your hands or face.” It was a good week later though when Jonas looked down at his feet and suddenly realised he could see skin again! The metal was flaking away! Once Olaf was happy with the progress of the treatment, he began on Jonas’s hands.
“And then your face – but that will be slower. I don’t want to disfigure you.”
“Could I look worse than this? He was working on reconstructing my face: making me look like anything he wanted. I know how Ariadne feels when she catches sight of herself in the mirror.” “That’s what he wanted to do with Elise, with her mind – reconstruct it any way he wanted. And that’s what he’s done with Amelie. I found some of her notes on this computer when I was looking for yours, and had a quick look at them. What he’s done to her is way more complex than I realised.” “Like what? I thought he’d just made her perpetually angry.”
“No – much more than that. Those marks on her face – it’s that alloy again, but he’s got current and information flowing through it. It’s like he’s almost using it to power her, I think. I think he’s enhanced her hearing and sight. And he’s done something very odd to her mind with that interface at the back of her head – memory, thought patterns, it’s like he’s re-programmed her.” Lying on her bed, Amelie heard every word they said, despite the distance between them. Finally, someone was working out what had happened to her. But she was going to need all of them if they were to help her to get free: and it was so difficult to control her thoughts or her behaviour with the interface programmed as it was. At least she could recognise the pattern now, without Wolvercote constantly re-setting it any more, and use the sane moments to think and plan before she lost control again. She wasn’t sure if she ever would get free to run or not. But if she did, she’d show them her gratitude. She held on to this thought for as long as she could before the roaring tides swamped her mind again. This time it was Pete and Ariadne working their way through the old journals – trying now to find out more information about the machine Dr Wolvercote had used on Pete. He was beginning to suspect that it had changed him more than he had realised. Ariadne had made a comment about him being a natural at electronics, he was so calculating – but he was sure that once upon a time he’d been a much warmer and impulsive person. But it was easier to forget that Ariadne was a person, and just think of her as a tool – and with that metal helmet on her head, she was now a faceless tool. With Jonas’s hands and feet just about back to normal, Olaf was beginning work on his face. By the time that was done, Jonas should have full use of his hands again. Then they could free Pete from his suit – he’d nearly worked out how to do that, he just wanted to double check everything – and get this thing of his own head too. Pete said Ariadne was happy to go on wearing hers, which seemed a bit odd to Olaf until he explained that she was helping Pete with his own research. But sometimes she might want to stop, but Olaf mustn’t help her, or it would ruin the test and they’d have to start again from the beginning. Then it all made sense. He was sure Pete had said Ariadne had gone though – but here she was back. Maybe that had all been research too. Olaf shrugged and went on with what he understood.