thewarningafter | IC inbox for Snowblind

Hey. Hope everything's back to normal for you, too. Just thought I'd let you know I finally talked to the Admin about that thing we were planning on doing. She needs your approval, and then it's settled.

[ He speaks with some nervous energy- even though he wanted to do this, he's also been putting it off. But after killing Claire again- well, it's past time. ]

[That thing we were planning on doing. Okay. That's...fine. Stephen is pretty damn sure there was only one thing he and another person were planning on doing that involves the Admin, but the vagueness of the message is putting him on edge. He remembers all too well how that one asshole tricked him into writing a prescription after his last death.]

Okay.

[Think, Stephen, think. The procedure can't be done without the patient's consent, so it shouldn't be possible for this to be a trick to get the wrong person's brain adjusted. Right?]

Any new information I should know about before we, uh, do the thing?

[ Well, it's been a time. He'd been glad to see Stephen back and around- for a minute, he thought he'd just lost his chance to do this. ]

Sorry, I didn't know you died until today. You're okay now? Did you lose memories?

[ Because 'do the thing' does not inspire confidence. He doesn't wait for a response before he continues. ]

I can tell you what we were planning, because its pretty heavy. I'm getting a NIMA intervention to keep my violent compulsions- yes, we know it's a risk and I still want to go through with it. I took awhile getting to the Admin, but she said it was fine. Now we just need your authorization for the procedure.

Something like that.

[He's wracking his brain for all the angles on how this could be a trick. They'd planned this out pretty thoroughly, though, and he isn't aware of anyone else who would know about it. Moreover, their inboxes are supposed to be truly private, at least according to Winter.]

I've got kind of a slight problem on my end.

Oh, yeah? What's going on?

It's a...cognitive impairment.

[Not a lie.]

Now might not be the best time for me to try to exercise my judgment as a doctor.

[ He sighs heavily. ] So not memories, then.

Listen. I get if you want to wait, but I thought maybe I'd lost my chance at doing this when I saw you on the obituary. John won't, and I don't want to trust Stein with my head- I don't think that's too surprising. Is there anything I can do to work around the problem?

[Stephen lets out a long, uneasy breath. The guy has a point. There's no way of knowing how long this will last, or if anything else will happen to Stephen before he has a chance to take care of the request. And, too, he's describing conversations no one but his patient has any business knowing about.]

Convince me that you're you. Tell me things only you would know we talked about.

[ There's a short pause as Sylar tries to work out what that means. He doesn't know its him? Or his memory is actually spotty? Maybe he can only remember certain things. Either way, he's got to come up with something. ]

When we were last traveling together, I talked to your Cloak for awhile. And you explained the basic mechanics of magic on your world. You told me- well, you implied that you were a time-traveling pain in the ass.

[ His smile is audible on that last sentence. ]

When I first contacted you about this procedure, we talked about how I don't understand people here, because my world is apparently full of primarily awful people. Although you pointed out that my power probably had something to do with all of that.

Does that help, or should I talk specifics for the procedure?

Okay. That's -- alright, that's good.

[Stephen nods to himself, unseen. He remembers all these conversations -- has trouble stringing them all into one narrative when it's impossible to visualize the person with whom he had them, but it all sounds right.]

Your outcome for this, I asked you what you'd consider a success. Tell me that.

[ That he definitely remembers. So it's not that Strange is worried he won't set up the right procedure because of a patchy memory. It's something to do with not recognizing Sylar for the person who he'd talked about this with before, maybe. A type of brain damage could do that with faces. What an interesting loss. ]

I don't want the people next to me to die because of me. If we can avoid that, then I'd be happy enough with the result.

Alright. Yeah, okay, we can do this.

[It hasn't escaped Stephen throughout all of this that he's just had to admit his current problem to a serial killer. It's too late now, though; he's said enough that the cat's got to be out of the bag.]

You're going to need to write out your full name so I can copy it onto the request.

Your memory's okay, but you can't recognize people? [ It's clearly a guess, but they've talked around it enough that Sylar has to ask. ] Someday I'll figure out the pattern to these death losses, other than they're all terrible.

Okay, here you go.

[ It's only a moment before the text gets sent over. Hopefully Stephen won't have enough time to get cold feet for this. ]

I'm Gabriel Gray.

[Not Stephen's first choice of people to entrust with this information, but here they are.]

Yep. Same compound agnosia I wound up with the last time I died, actually. As far as I know I'm the first person to get a repeat, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread the word.

[Deep breaths. Stephen gives it one last run-through in his mind, examining all the angles. He's covered his bases, though; he's as certain as he can be that it's not possible for him to be ordering the procedure for someone other than his intended patient.]

Alright. I'm sending it in.

Edited 2017-06-10 17:53 (UTC)

Thank you. And I'll keep your death loss a secret, promise. [ He owes him that much. ]

You think it might be brain damage, the death losses in general? Something that happens due to the revival process, and the nanites don't kick in to fix it until later?

I've heard a theory like that, that maybe they don't finish all the repairs before they pack us up and send us back out. I'm not sure I buy it; I told -- I told someone, last time, name and face recall aren't closely interrelated enough that I would expect to see this constellation of symptoms in one patient absent any others.

It does seem extremely specific, especially since you've had a repeat. So what, they're actual punishments to us, for using up the NIMA supply?

-actually, that would make perfect sense, here. The Admin isn't allowed to do a lot of things, but what she is allows is not exactly standard.

Not very well designed punishments when some of them make us so much more likely to get killed again right away...but yeah. It feels too deliberate.

[ Siiigh. ] I can't believe I'm still over-optimistic about this place. Oh, well.

Anyway, I'll let you know how the procedure goes on my end. I imagine more paralyzed fun awaits, if the NIMA injections we've had before are any indication.

Yeah, don't envy you there. Give me a call when it's done; outgoing calls are kind of hard for me right now.

[ He snorts in amusement. ] Yeah, I can just imagine. Okay, I'll give you a call soon. Hope that doesn't last too long for you, Stephen.

[ He calls again in the morning, just after lockdown ends. ]

Hey- hey, Doc. This is Gabriel Gray- you authorized the procedure for me yesterday? I think it must've happened while I was sleeping. I went through a mental checklist and I feel fine, but violent thoughts aren't anywhere near as frequent.

[Oh, hey, look, it's a stranger -- no, it's his patient. Good clarification, there.]

Well, good morning to you, too. Mind turning on your video? It's easier to gauge your reactions if I can see you.

Sure thing.

[ He switches it over, and compared to the previous times they've talked, he seems more comfortable somehow. Perhaps actually relaxed? Maybe he's just glad to have this procedure over with. He waves at the tablet. ]

Hi, there. Gotta say, it was nice not being bitten by spider-robots today.

[Unseen, Stephen leans in close to look at the man's eyes on the screen -- he seems focused, even cheerful. Stephen sits back and flicks on his own video, unaware that his face will appear obscured with static now that his own personal anomaly has vanished without having been murdered. His mind is still on checking his patient's mental acuity.]

Can you tell me a little about our conversation last night? What we talked about before I authorized the procedure?

@godsend, voice, Day 245

Night 246

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Morning 246

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