Daemon

what was presumably Mosely’s brain. Other areas were highlighted in turn as Sobol continued, ‘Fear, aggression, empathy, and recognition all have their unique signatures in the human brain. Mental disorders, such as schizo -phrenia, also have their telltale patterns. So you see, you can hide nothing from me. I am about to know you better than anyone has ever known you. Perhaps even better than you know yourself.’
    Mosely was starting to tremble again. He saw the colors change in the brain diagram on the left-hand screen. He instinctively knew it was fear. He was seeing his own fear develop on-screen in real time. Feeding on itself.
    ‘You are afraid.’
    It took all Mosely’s restraint to keep from screaming in terror. He held it in, tightly closing his eyes. ‘Why are you doing this to me?’
    ‘Why
not
you? Society threw you away. Even
you
had given up on yourself. But I see the promise in you.’ A pause. ‘I brought you here because you were found to be above average in most ways. You are highly intelligent, and your personality profile shows you to be self-reliant and resourceful. These are traits I need in my soldiers.’ Another pause. ‘I don’t care about your level of education – that can be remedied – or your background, which doesn’t matter. Nor do I care about the things you’ve done. I only care about the things you’re
going
to do.My followers will wield incredible power. I am going to see whether my faith in you is justified.’
    Conflicting emotions swept over Mosely. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he watched the colors swirling over the image of his brain. He realized that try as he might, he could not biofeedback his way through this. He could not fathom – much less control – the sweeping patterns of color rippling over the folds of his brain.
    Sobol’s words percolated through the fear and confusion. ‘I will not lie to you; there is no escape from this place except to join with me. I tell you this because it’s not something you decide. It is a fact about you that we will discover together. After this course I will simply
know
whether you have joined me. And you will know also. You can try to fight it, but the result will be no different.’
    Mosely felt the fear again, but then resolve rose in him, too. This was knowable. The rules of the game were laid out, and now he could face it head-on. Now he felt the rage building. His body tensed.
    Sobol continued. ‘If at any point I find you unsuitable, I will kill you. Since I bear you no ill will, your death will be pleasant – an overdose of Demerol. So you see, your death will be far more agreeable than mine was. Perhaps this will be of some comfort to you.’
    ‘Fuck you, Sobol!’
    Sobol paused. ‘I see you have no special fear of death. Instead, you feel rage at your helplessness. But you are not helpless. Far from it. Your defense lies within you. I will measure your character, and if you have merit, then you have nothing to fear from me. On the contrary, you will walk under my protection to the end of your days.’
    Another pause.
    ‘Let’s begin. You do not need to speak, although your eyes must remain open except to blink normally. You can disregard this instruction, but doing so will commence your death byinjection after thirty seconds. You can choose this fate, if you wish, but since no pain awaits you in any event, you may as well follow this course to its conclusion.’
    Sobol regarded Mosely with an appraising look. ‘You are beginning to master your fear. That’s good. Make yourself ready.’ A pause of several seconds. ‘And we begin …’
    The right-hand screen dimmed and Sobol dissolved into blackness. A single word appeared in large white letters:
    FAMILY
    After a few seconds it was followed by several more in turn:
    RELIGION, VIOLENCE, SEX, LOVE, LAW, FREEDOM, HOPE, HONESTY, RESPONSIBILITY, HONOR, DEATH.
    The screen went black again. Then the word FAMILY reappeared. It lingered on-screen, like a searchlight stabbing out for him in the darkness.
    Mosely couldn’t help but recall his son. His lost son. Mosely’s recollections from his own childhood flooded in – growing up without a father. Alone. Guilt flowed through him. Self-loathing. Deep colors ebbed and flowed over the image of his brain. It no doubt signified strong emotion. Sobol was onto him already.
    Mosely blinked a couple of times beneath the goggles. He could close his eyes forever and let the Demerol flow into his