Professionals
Summary
In light of Gruff’s intel,
Subject makes a request of the Commanding Officer of the Institution’s military: if the horde infiltrates the city, he would like Donnie captured and brought to him to investigate the vision.
Treatment
Subject attends a Professional to see a batch of cadets being sworn in as Lawkeepers. This takes place in Hightown, near the Black Pyramid and at the top of the social class. The architecture, machinery and technology, and manner of dress all appear relatively modern compared to what we have seen in the world so far. After the ceremony, Subject approaches the Commanding Officer about the status of a request he’s made. The CO alludes to the difficulty he has had getting in touch with Subject, and Subject confirms his end of the bargain, saying “We execute the final procedure today,” and “She can be rehabilitated.” The CO approves the request but we do not learn its nature.
Subject enters a lab with many scientists working among varied computers and technologies. He stands before one of the larger devices where a woman is restrained and hooked up to various apparatuses. An assistant catches him up on the woman’s test results up to this point and the preparations that have been made. The assistant makes an observation that they could improve the subject’s recovery speed while negligibly affecting the data by omitting parts of the procedure, but Subject makes it clear they will follow all the protocols by the book, saying, “regardless of our intentions, personal or scientific, we must perform our duties in accordance with the will of the Founders.”